Good Friday. A toasty 0C in Montreal. Training to Quebec City tomorrow.
I had fish and chips Nan
A lot of snow yesterday
Good Friday 2016
Author: travellingross
Island Hopping: Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico
Monday 23 November to Tuesday 1 December 2015
All year I wanted to do a break that involved island hopping with ferries, and this was it. A slight flight delay leaving St Maarten on Monday 23 November 2015, meant missing the 1pm ferry to my first virgin island and getting one a few hours later to Virgin Gorda. But the ferry ‘terminal’ was a nice place to hang out. I stayed on several islands during the next 7 days across the British, USA Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Would have ideally done a sailing tour but all were 7 days. And usually in a group where u rent the entire boat. Instead I relied on ferries and renting cars.
Virgin Gorda: my first and favourite. Grabbed a rental car, nice hotel overlooking one of the many bays and Richard Branson’s private island, exploring the baths area, hiking the 2nd highest peak of all the islands, walking through a spider web, friendly locals, good food, and simple to get around.
Hermit crab in the wild. Lots of them.
Super flat island
Richard Branson’s island
Richard Branson’s island
So many yachts
Bitter End Yacht Club
The baths
The Baths
The baths
The Baths
Tortola: the capital of the British VI’s and therefore more suburban, again I rented a car as easiest way to get to the places I wanted to see, nicer beaches, expensive hotels for what you get but I was booking at very last minute. With 2 nights, I did want to day trip to some of the smaller islands but ferries not so frequent from road town, probably better to have stayed near west end.
British pub
Again, driving on the left with left hand drive
Road Town
St John: arriving on thanksgiving meant most hotels booked or wanting a minimum 3 nights. About ten minutes before getting a taxi to west end ferry terminal I phoned a place and got a room for 1 night at low season rates (high season kicked in thanksgiving) so I was relieved with that. I was slightly worried and stressed but still glad I was going with the flow and booking as I went. The ferries between the usvi are so much nicer than bvi. The difference is so obvious, u immediately feel in America with USA customs, flags, beer and accents. The room was perfect for what I needed, thanksgiving dinner below average but I still looooove turkey, and the majority of the island is forested national park. The taxi ride to cinnamon bay beach was a fear for my life as the driver sped in the rain along winding roads while me and another guy held on in the back of what appeared to be a safari vehicle without seat belts or side panels. The driver was super rude, reckless and gave a bad impression for this island but I do like its quietness and some of the bays beyond the main town would be worth exploring on a return visit.
the electrical poles are like something out of Asia
And the strongest alcoholic beverage I have ever had. I am pretty sure it was tequila with a dash of blue
v nice
Cinnamon Bay
the beer was goooood. The food presentation rubbish
St Thomas: I ferried the short distance to red hook and then taxi’d to my hotel closer to the capital. The most populated island of the USVI it is clean and residential. I used Marriott points to stay in an iconic hotel with incredible views. The service here was brilliant and refreshing after staying in simple hotels for the last several nights. I did not explore much of this island beyond the hotel complex which was huge.
My hotel in the sticky out bit.
This guy got a little too close for my pool time relaxation
Paddle board yoga
Sunset with cargo ship
Puerto Rico: no ferries here from usvi so I had to book a flight. 3 nights here, and a much larger island. But after reading my Caribbean guide book I was happy to centre my activities around San Juan city. I was surprised to see all the USA stores and brands. I realise this is a USA territory but it felt like being in Miami. And with black Friday specials, I took advantage and did some shopping. The old town was great to explore with many forts satisfying my fascination for these historical structures. If I were to stay in old town I would stay at El Convento with incredible tapas, sangria and history. I stayed at another Marriott which is comical to me and friends who know my previous avoidance of this brand due to it being a general terrorist target for bombings. But I’m a sucker for a good points program, especially when I’ve achieved gold status and get upgrades without asking, treated with the respect I deserve and here I even got a 25% discount for finding a cheaper online deal with the Marriott price match guarantee. Winning. The weather was wet and windy so fortunately I had my beach fix elsewhere. The Spanish speaking had me wishing I had learned this bloody language by now. Thank god for Google translate app.
Not swimming weather
Impressive
The last day of break was all travel back to Suriname. Awake at 3 am, in the Paramaribo hotel at 1030 pm. The flight connections are ridiculously bad to get back to Suriname. But hey, after a sedate and enjoyable break I was too relaxed to care.
It’s Been Ages: Suri, Denver, Suri, Home, Suri, Sint Maarten
Tuesday 8 September to 22 November 2015
Well it has been a long while since my last post. I had a free day in Paramaribo on 8 September after I returned from Windsor, and on this day I found out my Grandfather was diagnosed with a brain tumour with a very short prognosis. With that devastating news I started my rotation. It was the most hectic yet as the project hit peak, I moved into a new camp and there were many meetings (including one week in Denver), issues and events that occupied my time. None of it fully planned. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the only thing that stresses me out is when everyone wants a piece of me. I felt it more than I think ever before.
With flights booked back to Perth hopeful to see my Grandfather one last time, I was scheduled to land on my nephews 3rd birthday and grand final day with my team, the West Coast Eagles, in the Aussie rules football ultimate game. Flight delayed. Not an hour, not a day, but 2 days. Luckily my good friend Madison was on the same flight to Amsterdam so we spent a couple days in Parbo. Worse places to be, and being in a fine hotel such as the Marriott is better than most places. I finally departed Parbo early evening on 3 October and slept on 4 continents in 4 days to get home. I won’t detail my 8 days at home in Perth. Other than to say it was important to be with family, the first time for 9 months, and the funeral went all according to plan. My time on the ground was brief and I experienced another flight cancellation along the way. But who complains in these circumstances.
Under construction
Coconut mat laying at site for slope stability
And ALL my stuff
I’ve always been fortunate to be able to read/type when in the car. The 4-5 hrs on the road between site and city are some of my most productive!
I have wanted to go here for ages, and Madison took me for dinner during our stranding. nice.
At the Marriott
On the plane after I learned my Grandad had passed away
yawn
Kings Park, Perth
She used to drive with music. Now we ‘talk’…whatever that is. hahha
He has forgotten many of the things we used to do together. But he can now pull faces in a selfie. #gifted #whatmoredoyouneed
I flew back 16 October (my cousins 18th Birthday!) 3 days early (which I will take for a Perth Christmas) for an audit. Went well and set me up for a 27 day rotation as I also stayed a bit longer. Busy but productive, with some memorable moments of hiring people, giving promotions, playing complex boardgames, work mates birthdays, booking my home Christmas flights and Madison resigning. Never a dull moment in Suriname and I still struggle to find the time to just be by myself and catch up on outside life. It’s quite social here! Which is weird considering the work hours are longer than Ghana.
With all that it was time for a break on 14 November. On an island, in a vacation rental, with no expectations, bookings, or must dos. Time to be alone. Let go of the work persona. Enter the Dutch colony of Sint Maarten. I only booked the trip a week before and the only planning was to fly into one island and out from another. There were a lot of Airbnb places to choose from and I’m really glad I picked a good one.
I went out with some work friends the night before flying out and with a 230am pick up for the airport we didn’t sleep. I was flying with another guy on the same first flight so we shared the weariness together. At least until Trinidad where he went home to Canada and I connected to the Dutch side of Sint Maarten. A short taxi trip to my Beacon Hill apartment and I thought I would crash out, but it was only 9:30am and a whole beautiful Saturday ahead so I powered up and explored. Simpson beach is windy and turbulent but beautiful to look at. The airstrip runs parallel to this beach so the roar of the jet engines is a bit distracting. I found a couple of nice bars and much to my stomachs surprise I was enjoying tequila sunrises. Nice. Then to the grocery store to stock up. This involved a trek passed the Sunset Bar and Grill overlooking Maho beach, which is famous for the low flying aeroplanes that land just metres from the beach. Crazy dangerous but awesome. People stand where the signs say don’t go so they can be literally blown away by the jet blast as planes take off. The force is a lot stronger than I thought, with people holding on to the fence so not to get blown back.
I ended up extending my stay by two nights to make it 9. I just wasn’t ready to move on. And that’s the beauty of travelling without a plan. Some days I stayed in and caught up on my life. Other days I ventured to the main town Phillipsburg. Most adventurous I got was a day trip to the English colony of Anguilla with an organised tour. The day was sunny and clear, but unfortunately the surf was up and the beach not as incredible as everyone makes it out to be. The sun sets early at 5:35pm so the evenings feel longer, which is good when I don’t want to spend full days touring.
The apartment was blissfully quiet and modern for $139 USD per night very reasonable for the location. The owner lives in NYC and this is his vacation home that he rents out when vacant. The terrace had a nice view, but the waves reverberated off the enclosed space making it loud and having to shut the door to hear TV or music. Annoyingly the owner has a property manager who seemed to come and go as he pleased. One morning before 8am I’m still asleep and he came to hose down the salt from the terrace. Very invasive and not what you expect from a vacation rental. But other than these two things it was great. Oh and the owner only charged me a tiny fraction of the rate for the two nights I extended which was a welcome saving.
My apartment was on the left
My apartment
My apartment
My apartment. Nice to unpack and stretch out.
View from my terrace balcony
Maho Beach
Yet people freely try it out
Delicious food. And I’m not even a foodie.
Mullet Beach. Great name, best beach.
It’s seen better days
Philipsburg
The not so nice side. Philipsburg
Simpson Beach
Simpson beach, rather close to the runway
Flags at half mast following the Paris terrorist attacks. Half the island is French.
Insanely good sunset
With the batteries recharged, the mind freed, the sleep reserves built up…time for some island hopping…
Iceland, Copenhagen, Windsor Make for a Fantastic Break
Friday 21 August to Tuesday 8 September 2015
travellingross rating = 10/10
After another short busy rotation, I was off again. This time to Europe which is the best flight as it is direct to Amsterdam, on a good airline (KLM) and leaves in the late afternoon rather than the usual 6am or thereabouts. With the shorter time on site, it was hectic (but still enjoyable and challenging in the right ways), so I had limited time to plan anything for this break. Fortunately I was meeting 2 friends who shared the planning work load. And it helped having a day off in Parbo before flying out (to get the KLM flight, rather than fly questionable Surinam Air).
Iceland
Landing in Amsterdam, I had a five hour layover which was enough to get my McDonalds fix, then meet Amy who had flown in from South Korea a few days earlier to catch up with cousins in Rotterdam. I spotted her in the WOW (yes, that’s the Icelandic budget airlines name) line and it was our first time in person for 18 months. Amy and I did more research for Iceland while reading the wow airplane magazine enroute from Amsterdam. Very informative and we quoted from it throughout the trip.
We arrived a couple hours ahead of Chiraag (a mutual friend from Perth) and then set off to collect our Renault Captur rental car before heading east. Iceland is only 330,000 people but the rental car guy said they have had 1.5 million tourists this year so far. the rental car guy gave me the low down on random things to beware of renting a car in Iceland – sand storms, wind so strong it could flip your door off, ash damage, the speed limit is max 90kmh. So throughout the 7 day trip we would remind each other “hold your door” when getting out as the wind was truly the strongest I have experienced. It was also cold for summer and I was very glad to bring my thermals. As I expected, Iceland is overall quite expensive, especially on the food side since most of it is grown in glass houses due to the cold and infertile volcanic soil. A soup for instance is around $23 AUD (but some places have refills). But this is offset by free entry to every sight that we saw (expect Blue Lagoon). The 3 of us all have similar travel interests and Iceland is full of natural wonders which is my travel turn-on so we all rated the trip as one of our best ever. We laughed a lot and it was an excellent setting to catch up. Chiraag had roaming data on his phone and that made a world of difference so we could search places to see if worth a stop as we drove by, navigate, review restaurants ratings before deciding to walk in etc.
The photos speak for themselves and show the beauty of this country. Highlights for me were seeing countless waterfalls during a 6 km hike, seeing my first glacier, swimming in a thermal hot river, bubbling hot springs, and of course seeing the Northern Lights unexpectedly in the capital city (Reykjavik). The latter has been on my dream travel list for many years and we saw something spectacular as we walked out of our apartment – purples, whites, greens. Surreal and filled the sky. I still want to see more and hear that Canada is also good for it (with the added bonus of polar bears). Overall, Iceland reminded me of New Zealand but ten times better and less populated so it made driving a dream.
this woman filmed the inside of the plane, leaned over me to film the take off, and landing.
Growing cucumbers
We went inside. Not the highlight of my trip.
Very relaxing. 3 km trek to get to it though.
Copenhagen, Denmark
We hauled ass to the airport to make it in time for Chiraag’s 6:30am flight to Dublin and then Amy and I battled the longest security line ever known to man for our flight to Copenhagen. We landed about midday and still did not have accommodation. I had spent time last night searching options and found an AirBnB place that would be perfect only to get declined when I checked my messages on airport arrival. So we taxi’d to my back up hotel contemplating whether to stay there one night while we found something better. But we searched and got an ‘instant book’ AirBnB place in a really good location that we could go immediately to to drop our bags and then come back at 5:30pm to check in.
Copenhagen is a smaller global city of about 1 million people and so more my preference than the overly busy cities elsewhere in Europe. Over the 5 days we managed to visit a range of sights including doing a free walking tour (for a tip), the Carlsberg brewery, Rosenburg castle with the crown jewels and royal collection, the Amalienborg Palace which has no big gates or exclusion zones, and shopping along the world’s first pedestrianised mall (that confusingly has bikes and cars on it). The Danish capital offered Amy and I time to sleep in and relax more than the full days of Iceland so we both enjoyed that. Food was really good (which is saying something coming from me who is not a foodie). The weather was mostly cloudy and wet except our last full day that we went to the brewery. I had very little knowledge of Denmark, so I enjoy these type of trips where you go in ignorant without even knowing that they are not on the Euro currency (how annoying) and now know more about the country than some Danes themselves. Amy and I are now full bottles on the Danish Monarchy. I have little idea what the remainder of the country has to offer, but the city is only 16 km from Sweden across a road bridge so it would be quite simple to return and explore the Scandinavian area.
Say no more, I’m there
Where they used to hang people outside the courthouse
Nyhavn
Strangling it with a crown
Please don’t touch
350 year old blood stains on the former King’s clothes
Antlers
Spot the mistake
Thrones
Didn’t know this was used to make things
This car drove into the palace. I think it was Mary!
Not as good as Heinekin tour in Amsterdam
Until Hitler started using it.
Windsor, United Kingdom
We were asked to check out early from our Copenhagen accommodation (11am) so we got to the airport with time to have a bite to eat and spend our last Kroner before saying goodbye as I flew to the UK and Amy to Taiwan. We’ve previously travelled to Las Vegas, Niagara Falls, Houston, and Jamaica together but I would say this was our best trip together so far.
The mission of the UK trip was to stay with a friend I met at the Ghana job (doctor who was Chief Medical Officer) who lives in Windsor and also to meet up with friends I met at Munich Oktoberfest in 2013. It was nice (and cheap!) to stay with a friend for a change, and nicer still to be in a place where I had no tourism desires since it is my 3rd time to Windsor/London and I have done pretty much all the tourist items there (except I still want to do the London eye, see Kew Gardens and Greenwich). So instead we visited the local pub, went to the local shops, saw a stand-up comedy show in Chiswick (must be posh as the comedians kept referencing this), bussed into Piccadilly Circus to see a Saturday matinee performance of ‘The Book of Mormon’ (ok stage show from the writers of South Park, but I am surprised so many people go see it as it is as controversial as that TV show), then met up with my Oktoberfest friends for dinner and a couple beers, and a sunny Sunday to wander the main street of Windsor and have a final pub dinner (unfortunately the worst steak sandwich I have eaten…or attempted to eat I should say) before getting up at 4:45 am Monday morning to go the 15 mins to Heathrow to catch my flight to Amsterdam and then direct back to Paramaribo. A relatively quiet way to end the international component of my break. Typing this on the flight and have a day off in Parbo tomorrow (Tuesday) before returning to work Wednesday.
I spent longer in the passport line than I did on the 1.5 hr flight
Still impresses me
Websites and Tips to Make this Trip
Stayed at:
Iceland: Hellisholar Cottages, Hvolsvollur, 280 euro for 2 nights for a 3 bed studio cottage. VERY small with no light in the shower (lucky for mobile phone flashlight). Nice setting, terrible restaurant food.
Klukka Apartment, Selfoss, ISK36,000 ($267 USD) for 2 nights. Looks terrible from the outside but spacious, modern and adequate on the inside. Half of someone’s house cut off and adapted. Good location.
Reykjavik Airbnb apartment for $463 AUD for 3 nights. 2 bedroom unit in a complex with a small balcony which we could watch Northern Lights from.
Copenhagen: Montergade 4, $900 USD for 4 nights. See Airbnb review.
Rental Car: Compact car (Renault Captur) from Green Motion booked through holidayautos.com for 399.25 Euro. Glad I got an automatic.
Suriname: Parbo and Berg en Dal
Wednesday 29 July to Wednesday 5 August 2015
travellingross rating = 8/10
My short rotations and short breaks continued. This time a 15 day rotation, then 7 days off then 15 days on before finally getting back to my normal 19 off, 23 on. All to provide coverage for one week when the top 4 environmental staff would be off-site. I don’t mind it all that much but it is hard to get into a rhythm and have people around you wondering what the hell kind of roster you are doing. But for sure I was not going to fly out of the country for just 7 days off. So I stayed in Suriname. Spent 5 nights in Paramaribo at a different and nicer hotel than the Marriott which is what work puts us up at (although I have reached Gold Status with Marriott so the upgraded rooms are growing on me). Had 2 nights at a jungle resort as well. Would like to have travelled along the coast to see the turtles coming ashore to lay eggs but it is wrong time of year.
I tried to make plans with the locals I knew were on break in Parbo but quickly realised the Surinamese are not the greatest for sticking to plans. They don’t know what they’re doing until 5 minutes before they do it. It’s a level of disorganization that grates against my every instinct and motive. But maybe that’s all part of the test. I did spend a day out with some local guys from work and went to the cinema (saw Pixels which I enjoyed), which was good to see parts of town I’m yet to experience.
Berg en Dal (the jungle resort) is considerably larger than I expected. Full bus load of people came along with me for the 2 hour journey from the city. Beautiful setting by the river. Had to wait 2 hours before I could check into room. Food is average. Lots of families. Down side was that everyone speaks Dutch so all the tour info and greetings are in Dutch (this convinced me to download the Dutch language in Duolingo and finally succumb to learning Dutch over Spanish). Very tranquil place with cabins immersed in the rainforest like you’re in a tree house. No ceiling fans anywhere so lack of air movement makes it stuffy in this humid climate, but rooms have air cons. The beds are super comfortable soft, but I do prefer a firm mattress. There was a father and son who wore the same outfit every day – day and night. There are many adventure activities available; I chose kayak on the Suriname River which was a good mix of energy and exploration (the threat of Piranhas is an added incentive not to capsize).
The 7 days spent in Suriname were perfect time off to catch up on life and have some alone time. Work is so time consuming and hectic that there’s not much time to do anything else. Or when I do have a spare hour, I just want to vegetate.
Haven’t even had time to read it 😦
the demon hour?
a balcony! and a view of the pool/river. wow.
They don’t even celebrate Christmas so it is amusing that Macca’s advertises Christmas in July.
Torarica
The tallest wooden structure in South America
Yes, I went.
Kayak time
Aruba and Cuba: Turning Thirty Three
Wednesday 17 June to Tuesday 14 July 2015
travellingross rating = 9/10
I worked a 16/12 day rotation this time around to provide team coverage at site. Short and rushed, but productive. In need of some me-time, I planned 5 nights in Aruba to relax and do nothing, then head to Cuba with Melissa for my birthday. Both of us wanted to visit Cuba and it seems everyone else wants to go as well since the USA was scheduled to open their Embassy in July after closing it in the early 1960’s following the communist revolution. The thought is that with the Americans recommencing diplomatic relations, Cuba will become Americanised with all the marketing and commercialisation that comes with that. So our breaks aligned for these few days and we jumped on the Cuban bandwagon.
But before that was Aruba. I stayed here for 1 night on my first trip to Suriname in October 2014. Back then, I judged the place fairly harsh for just a 24 hour jet-lagged layover. I found it very crowded with high rise resorts crammed along the best sections of beach and traffic jams in the heart of town. I decided to give Aruba a second chance, mainly because it is one flight from Suriname and very easy. The flight from Suriname was delayed and I arrived 3 hours late. Fortunately my airport pick up was waiting for me – a big black guy named Bully! Bully was standing with my name on a sign and another guy was waiting with him. This other guy saw my name on the sign and asked if I was Latvian. His Mum’s last name is same as mine, which originates in Latvia. Not many make that connection.
I took the recommendation of a colleague to stay at a small beach house complex that was perfect for what I needed. Self contained, private, away from the high rises but close enough to walk to the better parts of the beach. Aruba is very windy, however my open front room was well protected and I could sit on the deck all afternoon without being blown away. A couple of times I went downtown. Called a taxi and cost $20 usd. Getting back, I hailed a taxi and he volunteered a price of $12 usd. Two things either happened: call out fee, or agree to price before getting in which I normally do but get lazy with.
So Aruba was much better second time around. And I discovered things I would like to explore for a third time if that comes my way. In fact, I spent 8 hours here on way back from Cuba waiting for a connecting flight. Was nice to know where to go for that time and feel comfortable…almost not like a tourist for the first time in months and months!
I met Melissa at the Aruba airport and we took two flights on Copa Airlines via Panama City to Havana, Cuba. It was hard to plan in advance for this component of the break. There’s not much internet based tourism sites and the ones that exist are run by the Government and not 100% reliable. We booked 3 nights at one hotel to start, with intent to rent a car and head west along the coast. As it turned out, renting a car is something that must be planned a month or so in advance! So we ended up doing a couple of day trips – one to Vinales in the west to see some fascinating limestone formations called magotes. And another to the Havana beach in the east which was scenic but some sections with litter floating in the water and not many facilities.
So, we got to know Havana very well. Did a lot of walking of the historic centre, a long trek through the cemetery and then to Revolution Square. Hot days. The city does not have much greenery and is the definition of a concrete jungle with many old buildings crumbling like you would imagine the streets of some Syrian city. The day after my birthday was meant to be when we rented a car, but given the lack of car availability, we went in search of a new hotel and that was a mission and a half. Nothing was available. And you can’t just jump on booking.com because they do not support Cuban travel. Nor does tripadvisor. Bloody communist history ruining it for the modern day traveller.
Skype is blocked here, so rather than birthday chats I exchanged whatsapp audio messages over breakfast and then Melissa and I headed into town to tour the Revolution Museum and then wander the Malecon oceanfront drive. Back to the hotel for a swim, duty free vintage French (Reims) Champagne (thanks Melissa!), and get ready for our ‘Havana Nights’ tour. It was just a small group tour that included dinner (basic food), visit to the fort for 9pm cannon firing (I am fascinated by forts so this was cool to do), and a very flamboyant salsa singing/dance show at the Nacionale Hotel (2 hours was a bit much but interesting to watch). We then went in search of a nightclub and the taxi driver took us to a local place where I downed a double rum and coke, and that was enough for me. Back to the hotel for a night cap whisky (I’m not a rum fan) and reminisce about 33 great years of life. When my sisters turned 33, I told them it was the same age that Jesus was crucified. No one told me this when I turned 33. So I told it to myself as I passed out at 2am.
Cuban Observations
- No billboards or street advertising
- Not a shortage of taxis, constantly calling out at u if you want a cab. Seemingly new yellow cabs for tourists and the old 50s cars targeted at locals who share rides. Agree price before getting in as no meters.
- Not that isolated like I expected. Western music and drinks and food everywhere.
- No ATM’s. People lining up at banks to withdraw or change money. USD has a 12% commission whereas other currencies 5%. Need to convert to local tourist currency (CUC) which is 1 for 1 to USD but they take this commission. So it’s a forced money making thing for them. Bring Euros or Canadian dollars to exchange.
- Customer Service is rude and abrupt.
- An operator is required to connect your calls in hotels.
- Hotels advertise as 5 star when they might get 3.5 or 4 in Australia or USA.
- Internet is expensive, censored (including phone apps), and limited availability usually in hotel lobbies. One place was $7 usd an hour.
- A Cuban Tourist Card is needed (like a visa) and can be purchased at airport counter before departing for USD $20.
- Work emails (or any other Gmail accounts) don’t connect. But hotmail does.
- Most people we met were taking 2+ weeks for Cuba. Factoring in time for things to go wrong, and the slow pace of getting things done.
- USA credit/debit cards are not accepted.
- No phone service on Telstra.
Websites and Tips to Make this Trip
Stayed at:
- Aruba – Beachhouse Aruba for USD $185/night for fully contained ocean view; but garden view without kitchenette is USD $85/night. Plus tax. Only 8 units and secluded. beachhousearuba.com
- Havana –
- Quinta Avenida Hotel for Euro 87.40/night twin room. Nice hotel with lovely pool, but far out from the main town for a tourist.
- Melia Cohiba for USD $208/night for deluxe room. I signed up for their rewards program when booking to get a 20% discount. Expensive but after searching the city for a hotel, this was well worth it. www.melia.com
CIL tanks going up quick.
Excavator Simulator challenge. I didn’t lose!
Bugs
put labels on the bins I say.
The beaches are too shallow though. I know, always gotta be something wrong for travellingross
Re-lax-ing
No idea what they were trying to do or fix.
Ew
When you wash your own clothes in the kitchen sink, hang them to dry and they block your view of the beach
Saratoga
A birthday photo in front a tank that Castro fired from. Box ticked hahaha
Cabinet room. This was the original Presidential Palace.
A capitalists worst nightmare
I really like my birthday gift
So much colour
Dry tobacco in b/g
All the wealthy mansions were given over as Embassies following the revolution
Replica of the Pieta in Vatican
From a co-worker. Nawwwww
First day in Aruba
View from my hotel room
Walking along the beach
Denver & Orlando: A Birth, U2 and THE Rolling Stones
Saturday 6 June to Tuesday 16 June 2015
travellingross rating = 10/10
The flight to Paramaribo on Surinam Air has become a little bumpy. The big black woman next to me who prayed when we took off from Miami has now started singing softly. To calm herself I suppose. I’ve just watched ‘The Accused’ with Jodie Foster on my phone. A 1988 movie that I’ve long overdue watched. And one of the few movies that survived the great external hard drive loss of 2015. This is where it ends. Where did it begin I hear you yell, let me tell you…
I met up with Melissa in Miami and we rented a car to explore the shops and see ‘Entourage’ movie at the cinema. One of my fav tv shows of the last 5 years made into a movie that doesn’t leap from small to big screen but entertaining nonetheless. Melissa returned the vehicle to the airport and had a few more days in town before returning to site. I on the other hand was off to Denver. First time I’ve ever booked flights the night before. Spontaneous is not really in Travellingross vocabulary. Leaving things to the last minute is. So I had known for months that this weekend 7 June was the date my close friend Matt’s (re Rockies January ski trip) 1st baby was due along with the U2 tour hitting his home town of Denver. Good enough reasons for me to visit. And it turned out fateful given as I stepped off the cruise boat into Wi-Fi freedom, baby labour was on and during my flights to Denver the baby boy was born 2 days early. Layover in Charlotte which is also the first time I’ve ever googled “where am I” and intriguingly told North Carolina. Ok.
Staying in the Courtyard Marriott downtown off the 16th street mall was a nice choice. But for the 5 nights I needed, it was only available for 3 so I had to shift to a dodgy motel near Matt where my neighbours were permanent residents with cats. On the Saturday, I was able to see baby Tucker within 24 hrs of birth and introduce Matt to the concept of ‘wetting the baby’s head’ at the local bar. Sunday was a wander around town and then meeting my former Boddington boss at a bar near the Pepsi Center ahead of U2. I saw him for a brief moment in my January Denver visit but this was first real time hanging out for 6 years. When I first met Tom in 2006 it was a pivotal moment in my life when I was meant to transfer to the Adelaide head quarters and so I bought U2 concert tickets for their Vertigo tour at the Adelaide oval. It was a hit album and everyone, including long-time fan Tom, wanted to go so he got tickets as well. But I was abruptly transferred to join Tom in the small town of Boddington for a new gold mine expansion project I’d never heard of and we both sold our U2 tickets. So attending a U2 show 9 years later in Denver with the man who made my career is a bit special for both of us. And the show did not disappoint. Although an arena rather than stadium show (like the one I saw in Perth in 2010), it was epically grand with amazing effects, lighting, vocals, and twists that make me admire this band even more. I’d read that most songs were from their latest less-than-successful album, but this show is sold as every night being different and every song I wanted to hear was there and the encore 3 were my 3 favourites in an order I predicted to the randoms we befriended: City of Blinding Lights, Where the streets have no name, and One.
I caught up with Matt’s new family a couple more times before flying out Wednesday morning 10 June to Orlando. It was time to save some money so I booked a Days Inn, which are budget hotels that have been adequate for me in the past. This one was next to the county jail. But 50 bucks a night! I was more worried about the reviews of bed bugs than the prisoner visitors over-nighting creating fights. I heard plenty of arguments and a few late night parties with the obligatory car park burnouts, but above all no bed bugs. Phew. The only reason for Orlando on my itinerary was The Rolling Stones concert Friday night. Many encouraged me to visit the theme parks and Disneyworld. But my Disney dream was to put up the do not disturb sign for 6 successive nights and do what everyone else does on their weekends.
The Stones were beyond brilliant. Enormous stadium, high energy show for anyone let alone 70+ year olds, hit after hit, and exceptional seats right next to the ‘cat walk’ as the woman next to me called it. It seemed the whole city was excited about this show as it dominated news, radio and bars around the venue. Even my hotel price tripled for the night. Similar to U2, attending this concert had history. Seeing the Stones in concert has been on my list for years and they were scheduled to play Perth in March 2014 and better yet I was home for it. Cancelled. Due to Mick Jagger’s girlfriend committing suicide. So when I saw a 12 date North American tour scheduled a couple months ago, I got VIP tickets and planned the entire break around the 12th June in Orlando. Crazy for some, exorbitant for others, life for me. Long-term mega successful artists and entities like the Rolling Stones inspire me, and yes I have a list of artists I’d like to see. Irrelevant whether u like their music, it’s undeniable they perfected their craft and sell a product that still packs 60,000+ seat stadiums. Lyrics written 50 years ago that connect to an audience today. And I like their music. It reminds me of family car trips, cleaning my Bodd house and that I can’t always get what I want. But if you try sometimes, you get what you need.
The concert finished just before midnight and I didn’t get to sleep til 4am. Mostly because there seems to be no taxi stand or hotel in downtown Orlando. I had to share with two women heading to sea world and I had to give directions to the driver. Orlando is not somewhere I’d return. Unless you come with friends to do the theme parks and stay at one of them. But it was a good opportunity to visit a suburban mall and catch up on things.
Feeling fulfilled after a productive relaxing entertaining break, the bumpy Surinam Air flight landed in Paramaribo in the early hours of 17 June and I arrived at the hotel at 2:30 am, couldn’t sleep until 4am, awake at 7:15am, in a vehicle to site at 8:30am, straight into the Managers Meeting at 1:30pm. Hitting the ground running. Time to pay for an expensive break.
Chalk art festival
celebrating the birth of his son
Bono inside the big screen
Ate at the IHOP several times
The 1st and only time by the pool
Sympathy for the Devil theatrics
Red coach, business class
Miami and a Bahamas Cruise
Friday 29 May to Friday 5 June 2015
travellingross rating = 8/10
The last work rotation was a hectic 16 days. A short one due to time owed from a longer rotation earlier this year. So there was not much time to ease back into it following my return from Amsterdam, which sucked cause it took me 5 days to get back into the time zone and hit fifth gear (it’s hard for me to admit that, as I used to claim there is no such thing as jet lag). Although that direct flight back was excellent with an economy comfort paid upgrade and landing at a decent afternoon hour versus the usual late night flight. There’s not much to report from a work front so I’ll include a couple photos and say it was training, budget planning, rain (350mm wettest month of the year), co hosting 5 Colorado school of mines visitors, stray dog ‘management’, and Suriname re elected their president. Interesting how developing countries care much more about elections than developed countries seem to.
I departed site a day after my sister’s birthday 28 May and had orchestrated a large group of us who all happened to be in Parbo at same time to have a night on the town. Something I would never do in Ghana so another sign I prefer this place. Great night and a rude awakening to get the 4 am shuttle to the airport for a 7:15am flight to Miami via Curacao. In the morning rush, I somehow lost my external hard drive that has my laptop and phone back-ups on it along with movies, music, and photos. Yeah so, my entire life ready for someone to hijack my identity. Weirdest thing is when I got to Miami the cable was in my suitcase, but not the actual device. I was sure it must be in the Suriname hotel but no. It’s a lesson to protect this like gold in future. Everything on there (except movies) is backed up on another external hard drive thanks to my OCD, so I don’t think I’ve lost much. Just hate losing stuff and this year is not trending well in that regard.
3 nights in Miami staying in a 5 star hotel was bliss. Time to sleep in, order room service each night, tick off some long due to-do list items. I usually file all my property and finance e-documents promptly but haven’t since November 2014. That’s just one example of how my organised life has got away from me since starting in Suriname.
On 1 June I set off on a 4 night Bahamas cruise. I’ve spent years thinking about whether I would like a cruise. Too old, too confining, crowded, hitting an iceberg. The usual hesitations. But with my placement in the Caribbean area I knew it was cruise moment of truth. After researching many farther afield options with different companies, I settled on a shorter Norwegian cruise in case I hated it. The reality was so different to expectations. Hard to spot a 65+ person with a diversity of ages, club techno music on the pool deck with a party atmosphere, big drinking culture, and lots of space. The balcony room was spacious enough with a bigger bathroom than expected but overall dated and tired. There were 3 stops but I didn’t get off at Nassau as it was rainy terrible weather. This suited me to have a chill catch up day. They push the paid shore excursions but no obligation and I did my own thing. Easy enough except Grand Bahamas was a long taxi trip from port and not well organised. The evening entertainment is well structured and sort of corny, repeated. There is a casino on board and that surprised me although it shouldn’t.
Docking back in Miami at 7am, you had to be off the boat by 930am. I’m very glad to have done a cruise finally and rid some of the doubts. I would do another one, on a different company to compare and ideally around a few more islands. I do feel an obligation to get off at each stop so maybe a cruise with a couple full days at sea would suit me more.
My desire for a ‘do nothing’ break was not getting any more realistic as the night before docking back in Miami I booked flights and tickets to see the U2 concert in Denver as well as my good friend who was about to have baby number 1!
Random Observations
- I love that USA has everything I can get at home – groceries, snacks, restaurants. But that can be overwhelming to me who is less used to that choice and range nowadays. I walk into a store and almost step back at the number of aisles and check outs.
- I went to an Italian cafe and ordered a Greek salad. Delicious.
- Losing my external hard drive was eye opening to realise how much personal data I carried on that with such a care free attitude. Now it’s in the hands of someone who could choose to delete all the data by formatting it or go through all my files…and maybe steal my identity.
- Miami is easy for me
- I go through moments of wanting to party and be around a herd of people, to wanting to be alone in a hotel room without seeing another human being. Miami typically is associated with the former, but I craved the latter. Especially after getting the party out of me in Parbo.
- Grand Bahamas – “this is where John Travolta’s son died” stated the taxi driver as the first opening line of her tourism remarks
- Cruise ship air con seemingly set to 16C so it is freezing inside
- The movement felt on the ship is more than I expected, like you’re drunk and swaying. This was only night one. Other days were never felt. Not sure why.
- Food is good
- Internet is $25 per day
- Champagne selection sucks – Presecco.
- Announcements get annoying and too frequent
- Many restaurant options, half complimentary. The others with a cover charge of $15-30
- Great Stirrup Cay was beautiful and exactly how I pictured the Bahamas. Walk further along the beach to find more secluded bays with some of the clearest water I’ve seen – where kayaks look like they are floating on air rather than gliding across the water surface.
CIL
Mill
Christening my new name engraved glass from Amsterdam
that’s where the cruise ships depart from
cause 1 shower head is not enough
Felt rough, but always better than this guy!
with Miami in background
South Beach
loooooong corridors
Games room
1 of the many bars
Took ages to not see Miami anymore. From the room balcony
Not sure how the poor feel about this
Parked up
The ship in b/g
Amsterdam: Finishing with a Birthday and a Mothers Day
Wednesday 6 May to Monday 11 May 2015
travellingross rating = 7/10
Following our short stopover in Antwerp, we returned the rental car to Amsterdam airport and then taxi’d the 25 mins or so to our vacation rental apartment. The location was out of the main part of town, but a 2 min walk to a tram stop that was easy enough to navigate wherever you wanted to go. The accommodation was welcoming and modern. Mum would have her birthday on 7 May and then it was Mothers Day on 10 May.
I have never had an interest in visiting Amsterdam. Amsterdam to me is about pot, prostitution, canals and bicycles (who do not obey any traffic rules). Not exactly the key drivers for choosing my travel destinations. This city is busy with tourists and the layout of the streets around the canals made me annoyed for reasons I still don’t know – maybe because you are constantly on the lookout for something that might run you over. It was nice to spend 6 nights in one location and relax a little and of course spend a couple of my Mother’s special days together. Here are the highlights and some observations:
- Rembrandt House: I like his paintings and works. The house was sold by his bank to re-pay the mortgage and he died in debt. Interesting how this tends to happen to artists.
- Keukonhof Gardens: for Mum’s birthday we spent the day at the largest tulip flower festival. Picturesque place with many colours and settings to explore. An hour or so to get there by bus, but with my great navigational skills (as opposed to Mum’s) I got us there and back with time to freshen up and go out for a delicious meal overlooking the canals in a fancy hotel.
- Anne Frank House: We took turns lining up for 2.5 hours to get into a museum where all the furniture is removed and you are ushered around looking at wallpaper and floorboards. The interesting part was seeing her diary and papers. Anne comes across as a typical teenage girl spoiled brat and maybe that is what makes her story connect with so many young people – that she was normal. The Dutch Resistance Museum resonated with me more.
- Heineken Experience: I had very low expectations of the brewery tour but Mum and I were both surprised at how good and creative it was. More than just a brewery tour, but an explanation on marketing, branding and how their history has evolved over the years. The tour finishes with a few beers and let’s just say that Mum was merry.
- Zaanse Schans Windmill Park: For Mothers Day we trained here to explore some of the few remaining windmills in the Netherlands. Educational and scenic. Not many eateries though and could be more orientated to making a full tourist experience. This was our last full day in Amsterdam and for the trip and we concluded with a tasty dinner at the Lebanese Restaurant down the road from our apartment. One observation is that most restaurants seat you without a menu and you sit waiting 5 mins until they bring you the menu.
How they dispose of their rubbish for collection
Me on the R
Van Gogh
Red Light District
Ridiculous
Inside a windmill
Mum didn’t like the gaps in the wood boardwalk. Neither did I.
travellingross 