Hi Guys
After the last mail I was told that using phrases like ´too hot´ is not allowed given the present climate in the northern hemisphere, so from now on I will simply refer to the soaring ambient temperature as warm.
Since last time I have managed to escape a nearby outbreak of yellow fever and a hoard of mossies that left me with over 100 bites on one foot alone, and caught a plane to Panama. Then northeast to Coata Rica and now into Nicaragua. Nearly all of the time I have been travelling on old US school buses, some of them still painted yellow with the appropriate notices inside e.g. ´Behave as you would in the classroom.´
Panama
Best bites
- The Panama Canal - an engineering wonder when it was completed in 1914 with 3 huge locks at each end and a big lake it the middle. The whole thing is 80km long with each lock 33m wide and 305m long. Each ship going through it releases 52 million gallons of water in to the sea. I managed to get close to it on a viewing platform and it is impressive with 8 railway engines, with ropes attached to the ship, being used to guide each ship throuh the lock (to stop it hitting the sides).
- Bocas del Toro - Paradise - I knew it was because everyone said it was. These are a group of islands on the Carribean Coast. Incredible beautiful beaches deviod of people and rubbish. Some are too rough to swim off but others are protected by a reef, making them very calm. Needless to say the water is warm and crystal clear. Lazing in a hammock over the water at my accommodationis blissful, and looking through the floorboards of the room and seeing the sea is something else.
Worst bites
- My Camera breaking. It just stopped in Panama City and as it was at the end of a role of film I couldn´t get it out without ruining the film and so lost a whole roll of pictures. So as I was leaving that day I had to rush around and find another one for not too much money ... at least i got one, lets hope it is working.
- Wandering just a couple of blocks from the tourist areas in Panama City to be warned by the local not to carry on as it was dangerous - and this in broad daylight! We turned to walk back the way we came and they warmed us not to go that way either!
- In the little hostel over the water we never did figure out how the sewage worked ... but well we were right on top of the water. But the beaches were on the other side of the island, a 15 min walk away.
Costa Rica
Highlights
- Beautiful Cloud Forest in Monteverde. Many people go to Costa Rica just for the (feathered) birds and especially the Quetzal (bird of Paradise). Unfortunately, as this was a cloud forest it contains trees and clouds and so is wet and virtually impossible to see anything let along a small bird high up on a tree! And the winds in some places are so strong (wind 50mph, gusts up to 90 mph) that the forest is stunted and is called a dwarf forest.
- Humming Birds - Incredible to watch and feel them whizz around you like they are in a speeded up film. Speed, elegance and constant terratorial battles. Talking of film, I wasted tons of shots trying to get a decent picture of them in mid air, and most of them are probably just of thin air!
- Bathing in hot rivers warmed by Volcano Arenal. The river is diverted to form waterfall you can sit under and pools to laze in. Sitting under the waterfalls is like having a massage ...
Low lights
- Loads of tourists. Often on 2 week breaks, all with loads of money and so driving up the prices. The word ´tour´ in the title means US$25 added to the price for starters.
- The roads, some are OK and some are... bad. I took a bus for 26 miles (42km) and it took 2.5 hours to get there, without any abnormal stops. This is the only place I have been where the quality of the roads is measured on the Beaufort scale.
- The only really cheap thing here is bananas (since they grow them across most of the country), you can get about 75 of them for one British Pound. Now just imaginewhat that does to your diet! No best not.
Nicaragua
Choice Cuts
- Laguna de Apoyo. A wonderful old volcanic crater about half ful with a lake 7km across. Beautiful place to chill, I even got up to watch the sun rise over the crater rim - superb.
- In the huge Lake Nicaragua (largest lake in Central America) rise two volcanos close enough that their lavas joined to form an island, Ometepe. The highest of these at 1,620m (the lake is about 50m above sea level) and is a perfect volcanic cone with a very small crater, about 150m wide, at the top. Despite having had enough of trekking, it is a month since my last trek so it seemed like a reasonable idea to climb it. It was some climb - only 1 day but starting at 5.30am, 3 of us plus a guide climbed an increasingly steep slope made of rocks, mud and covered with vegetation - the path was the most tricky I have climbed. Near the top the only vegatation is huge ruhbarb-like plants covered in spikes, many of them slimy cos they were rotting, which looked like they were from an old Dr Who set. As there was no grip on the loose shale we had to grab hold of them to pull ourselves up. At the top after over 5 hours there was complete cloud cover, but we waited and eventually it clearedto reveal we were a very long way up. Inside the crater there were deposits of yellow sulpher accompanied by a nasty smell, and all the rocks surrounding the rim were really hot. Coming down was tougher than going up as it was almost impossible to stop yourself slipping. Round trip 10.5 hours - well worth the effort, but would I do it again? Not a chance!
Dog Ends
- Crossing the border from Costa Rica by a remote crossing I entered Nicaragua at San Carlos at the south east of Lake Nicaragua. It is bloody awful, dont ever go there. Firstly the place is smelly, the wooded shacks that pass as houses and hotels are falling apart, a complete dump. When both the bank and the petrol station are not at least clean then you know you are in the wrong place. Some people just hang around on the streets, but they are the really motivated ones. But worse was to come - once it got dark my room started filling up with bugs, coming in through the gaps in the cardboard walls, so I went outside to get away from them. Mistake! Wall to wall flies, crawling all over me, constantly flying into me, trying to get up my nose (mouth was firmly shut as they dont taste great). There was no one else on the streets despite the fact that it was only 7pm. Managed to make it the 100m to a restaurant which was relatively fly free. Asked the managewr there whether or was always like this and he said ´No. Only during the dry season and occasionally during the wet season!´
A couple of hours later I left the restaurant and was slightly relieved to see that there were a few less flies and other people were wandering about. When I got back to my room I found out why. Thousands of flies had died in my room and everything was covered in them - disgusting! I was so glad I had been carrying my mossie net around (for 3 months without using it). The next morning most of the rest of the flies had died and was stuff was covered once again. Out on the balcony, in the corner by my room, it was 2cm deep in dead flies from one night - sweeping up the dead flies is a daily task. I didn´t stay a second night!
- Also in San Carlos, young children and dogs were scrabbling on the floor for my leftover scraps. The larger beast usually won, but sadly that wasn´t always the children. After I finished the children asked if they could have the chickens neck which I had left - they devoured it in seconds.
And that is about what I have been up to. Next I am trying to do some surfing (on the sea) before heading up to Hondras for some diving.
Luv
Pete
Showing posts with label Volcanos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volcanos. Show all posts
Thursday, 26 February 2004
Wednesday, 8 May 2002
Where 17 Salta, Argentina --OR-- How to 'Walk' with a Hole in My Knee
Not quite such a cold, snowy and spectacular month but ... er ....
interesting nevertheless (is that really one word)...
Zigzagging my way between Chile and Argentina. From Puerto Natales in South
Chile I took a 4 night boat trip north to Puerto Montt, then down to Chiloe
a poor but traditional island on the west coast, back across into Argentina
to Bariloche (the most trendy ski resort type place that you can imagine),
San Martin de los Andes which is even more trendy than the place you just
imagined (probably cos it has a longer name), back into Chile to Pucon, a
town with a huge snowed capped volcano and nothing else. Northwards via
Santiago to Mendoza (yes back into Argentina) where they make wine and
therefore they have sunshine Hurrah!! About time too. Northwards again to
Cordoba and Salta in the north West of Argentina.
It´s difficult to imagine that the villages in these areas are in the same country as the major
European style towns. Some of the villages are third world, the houses made
of mud and the people native indians. Here as in most places the whiter the
skin the greater the affluence.
Just for a change the downers (Lows) first ........
- On top of a very snowy mountain in Barriloche admiring the incredible
views I trod on a virgin piece of snow (there were a lot of them about) but
I didnt expect from such a piece of snow that it was just a thin cover over
a huge hole ! My leg was strangely drawn right into this orrifice which
wouldn´t have been a disaster except that in the course of it´s penetration
my knee met a piece of sharp rock - it stopped suddenly, and hurt!
For the first time in my life I could see inside my knee through a hole I could have fitted my little finger into (although I didn´t actually try ´cos rolling around in the snow uttering
expletives, and seeing the remainder of my trip flash before my eyes, seemed
far more appropriate behaviour at this point). After a half hour ´walk´
through sometimes deep snow to the chairlift I tried to keep my leg as
straight as possible as each time I bent it my newly acquired aerosol in the
knee sprayed my boot and the snow bright red. Eventually I got back to
civilisation and to a hospital emergency room where I got stiched up (for
US$ 4 - a bargain). Now 3 weeks later I can at least walk properly again !
- Economic Crisis - Fortunately not mine, but the whole of Argentina´s.
Things don´t get any better for the locals. At end April all the banks, ATMs and
foreign exchange places were closed for a week to stop the withdrawls (cos no-one here trusts the banks anymore)! It worked. Luckily I had US$ cash so I changed money with the locals on the street. I heard about some riots in Buenos Aires but I am a long way from there at the moment. When I arrived in Argentina 2 months ago I was getting 2 pesos to the dollar, now I am getting well over 3 so you can imagine how cheap everything is to us foreign
folk (in December it was 1 pesos = 1 dollar).
Put it this way : Argentina. Probably the only place in the world where you can enjoy first
world quality at third world prices ! That´s why I´m still here (and it´s
an amazing place).
- Pucon, the place with the great volcano. Couldn´t climb it cos I hurt my
knee. Bugger.
Time for some High bits
- Bariloche only had 2 types of shops. Chocolate shops and ice cream shops.
Most shops sold Chocolate flavoured ice cream, but I didn´t find anywhere
that sold ice cream flavoured chocolate, and it was nearly all excellent.
And, thanks to the exchange rate it was all really cheap. We stayed there a
while ! - well I had hurt my knee and all that ....
- The 4 night boat trip. Great scenery (just the usual snow capped peaks
and glaciers) although it was cloudy most of the time. At night the sea
glowed an incredible bright green due to phospheresence (a bio-chemical
reaction ....... algae ........ or something like that).
- The wine! Did I mention the wine yet! Chilean wine rates far better than
Argentinian, amongst the cheap US$1 per litre stuff I mean - I´m a bit of an
expert on that now (well it´s cheaper than the beer litre for litre).
- Stayed at a top hotel, one of the ´Leading Hotels of the World Group´.
Well when I say ´stayed there´ it was more like sneaking in and enjoying
their facilities for an afternoon, drinking our 20 pence a litre supermarket
wine on their sunbeds.
- The food in Mendoza - Imagine a top class ´All you can eat´ with loads of
variety for US$3 (2 pounds). Or all you can eat pasta for US$1 (60p). I
think I´ve put on a bit of weight recently.
Oh and culture. Of course culture. I mean I have seen some, cos that´s
what I came for. I have seen some cultural things...... at least I think so
........ 9th April I think it was.
- Difunta Correa Shrine - The most materialistic semi-religious place
imagineable. Argentinians pray for houses, cars and anything else they want
and if they get it they build a model of the house, truck or car and leave
it at the shrine. There is a whole town of houses (several hundred) about
1m high on the hillside and a roomful of trucks about 1m long. The room
where those who prayed for sporting success looks more impressive that Real
Madrids trophy room. There are even some rooms that are vaguely religious
but the catholic church apparently shuns this shrine and it is not
surprising. Surreal... it has more goods that some shopping centres I have
been in.
- Salta - The landscape looks like Arizona or Colorado. The shapes of the
rock almost defy belief. The colours of the rock make up an artists
palette, almost all the colours of the rainbow - ever seen green and blue
rock - it´s all here.
So where to go next? Bolivia soon, maybe via Chile, and I must get
somewhere decent to watch some world cup action, not a good time to be in
Argentina just in case England get an unlikely win. Winning the world cup
won´t solve Argentina´s problems but there are a lot of pissed off people
here already and getting knocked out early on sure won´t help !
Bye for now
Luv Pete
interesting nevertheless (is that really one word)...
Zigzagging my way between Chile and Argentina. From Puerto Natales in South
Chile I took a 4 night boat trip north to Puerto Montt, then down to Chiloe
a poor but traditional island on the west coast, back across into Argentina
to Bariloche (the most trendy ski resort type place that you can imagine),
San Martin de los Andes which is even more trendy than the place you just
imagined (probably cos it has a longer name), back into Chile to Pucon, a
town with a huge snowed capped volcano and nothing else. Northwards via
Santiago to Mendoza (yes back into Argentina) where they make wine and
therefore they have sunshine Hurrah!! About time too. Northwards again to
Cordoba and Salta in the north West of Argentina.
It´s difficult to imagine that the villages in these areas are in the same country as the major
European style towns. Some of the villages are third world, the houses made
of mud and the people native indians. Here as in most places the whiter the
skin the greater the affluence.
Just for a change the downers (Lows) first ........
- On top of a very snowy mountain in Barriloche admiring the incredible
views I trod on a virgin piece of snow (there were a lot of them about) but
I didnt expect from such a piece of snow that it was just a thin cover over
a huge hole ! My leg was strangely drawn right into this orrifice which
wouldn´t have been a disaster except that in the course of it´s penetration
my knee met a piece of sharp rock - it stopped suddenly, and hurt!
For the first time in my life I could see inside my knee through a hole I could have fitted my little finger into (although I didn´t actually try ´cos rolling around in the snow uttering
expletives, and seeing the remainder of my trip flash before my eyes, seemed
far more appropriate behaviour at this point). After a half hour ´walk´
through sometimes deep snow to the chairlift I tried to keep my leg as
straight as possible as each time I bent it my newly acquired aerosol in the
knee sprayed my boot and the snow bright red. Eventually I got back to
civilisation and to a hospital emergency room where I got stiched up (for
US$ 4 - a bargain). Now 3 weeks later I can at least walk properly again !
- Economic Crisis - Fortunately not mine, but the whole of Argentina´s.
Things don´t get any better for the locals. At end April all the banks, ATMs and
foreign exchange places were closed for a week to stop the withdrawls (cos no-one here trusts the banks anymore)! It worked. Luckily I had US$ cash so I changed money with the locals on the street. I heard about some riots in Buenos Aires but I am a long way from there at the moment. When I arrived in Argentina 2 months ago I was getting 2 pesos to the dollar, now I am getting well over 3 so you can imagine how cheap everything is to us foreign
folk (in December it was 1 pesos = 1 dollar).
Put it this way : Argentina. Probably the only place in the world where you can enjoy first
world quality at third world prices ! That´s why I´m still here (and it´s
an amazing place).
- Pucon, the place with the great volcano. Couldn´t climb it cos I hurt my
knee. Bugger.
Time for some High bits
- Bariloche only had 2 types of shops. Chocolate shops and ice cream shops.
Most shops sold Chocolate flavoured ice cream, but I didn´t find anywhere
that sold ice cream flavoured chocolate, and it was nearly all excellent.
And, thanks to the exchange rate it was all really cheap. We stayed there a
while ! - well I had hurt my knee and all that ....
- The 4 night boat trip. Great scenery (just the usual snow capped peaks
and glaciers) although it was cloudy most of the time. At night the sea
glowed an incredible bright green due to phospheresence (a bio-chemical
reaction ....... algae ........ or something like that).
- The wine! Did I mention the wine yet! Chilean wine rates far better than
Argentinian, amongst the cheap US$1 per litre stuff I mean - I´m a bit of an
expert on that now (well it´s cheaper than the beer litre for litre).
- Stayed at a top hotel, one of the ´Leading Hotels of the World Group´.
Well when I say ´stayed there´ it was more like sneaking in and enjoying
their facilities for an afternoon, drinking our 20 pence a litre supermarket
wine on their sunbeds.
- The food in Mendoza - Imagine a top class ´All you can eat´ with loads of
variety for US$3 (2 pounds). Or all you can eat pasta for US$1 (60p). I
think I´ve put on a bit of weight recently.
Oh and culture. Of course culture. I mean I have seen some, cos that´s
what I came for. I have seen some cultural things...... at least I think so
........ 9th April I think it was.
- Difunta Correa Shrine - The most materialistic semi-religious place
imagineable. Argentinians pray for houses, cars and anything else they want
and if they get it they build a model of the house, truck or car and leave
it at the shrine. There is a whole town of houses (several hundred) about
1m high on the hillside and a roomful of trucks about 1m long. The room
where those who prayed for sporting success looks more impressive that Real
Madrids trophy room. There are even some rooms that are vaguely religious
but the catholic church apparently shuns this shrine and it is not
surprising. Surreal... it has more goods that some shopping centres I have
been in.
- Salta - The landscape looks like Arizona or Colorado. The shapes of the
rock almost defy belief. The colours of the rock make up an artists
palette, almost all the colours of the rainbow - ever seen green and blue
rock - it´s all here.
So where to go next? Bolivia soon, maybe via Chile, and I must get
somewhere decent to watch some world cup action, not a good time to be in
Argentina just in case England get an unlikely win. Winning the world cup
won´t solve Argentina´s problems but there are a lot of pissed off people
here already and getting knocked out early on sure won´t help !
Bye for now
Luv Pete
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