Author: travellingross

Belgium: Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp

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Friday 1 May to Tuesday 5 May 2015

travellingross rating = 7/10

Leaving the Western Front WW1 battlefields, we headed north to the outer suburbs of Ghent as a platform to explore some highlights of Belgium – beer, chocolate, architecture, paintings, the blood of Christ. We stayed in a nice house on a big block with an automatic lawn mower. A cross between a bed & breakfast and a motel with daily housekeeping, strange automatic lights, pathetic heating, a Spanish family living in another closed off section of the house, and a front door that we were told had “a mind of its own, so do not go outside without your key”. Odd like only the Western Europeans can do. But a comfortable and welcoming base where we did a series of day trips. Highlights:

Bruges

  • The traffic to get even near the main historic centre was ri-dic-u-lous. I was convinced that a concert was on or the Pope was visiting or something epic. But no, this is just a typical Saturday in Bruges. Mad busy.
  • A canal city with many corners and hidden sections. There are two large squares with historic buildings surrounding them. I have seen the movie “In Bruges” so was re-living that.
  • Basilica of the Holy Blood. Yes, they claim to have a vile filled with dried blood that was washed from the body of Jesus Christ when he was taken down from the cross. This relic is displayed a couple times per day and I thought it would be held up to be admired in front of the crowd. But you file passed it and place your hands over it in prayer while the crowd watches you do this. We were about 10th in line. I wasn’t ready for that! Can’t say this was a spiritual/religious experience as I was too occupied studying it for legitimacy while also trying to act in prayer as a couple hundred eyes watched me.

Ghent

  • Unfortunately a wet cloudy day, but a scenic canal town. Nicer than Bruges, but very similar.
  • Hot chocolate that comes in a tea pot. With a chocolate on the side. Sickening is an underestimate, but gave me a sugar high for a good couple of hours. When travelling with Allyson, you need this energy haha.
  • Adoration of the MysticLamb is in the cathedral. Never heard of it, but apparently a globally recognised masterpiece consisting of 12 hinged panels painted in the 1430’s. It is under restoration, but from the glimpse we saw, I can appreciate the incredible detail and value.

Brussels

  • On the way to Brussels we stopped at Waterloo to see where Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington in his final battle on 18 June 1815. A huge mound of grass covered dirt with a lion on top is the landmark they chose to honour this with. Interesting. Under a huge reconstruction/reno for the 200th anniversary. I like visiting places like this to learn history as I would never pick up a book or Google it to learn more about this battle.
  • Brussels was my fav of the Belgian cities we visited. Maybe cause there was not a canal in sight. I liked the town square facades, the lack of tourist crowds, the chocolate shops, the delirium beer.

Antwerp

  • A short stop for lunch on the way to Amsterdam. A flag filled town square, and a cathedral with Rubens painting. I don’t like Rubens I have realised. He painted people with too many muscles, which takes away any ability for me to be convinced by his realism. Keep trying mate, you’ll get it right one day.
Crowds everywhere
Basilica of the Holy Blood
Spot Mum
Nice
Closed…
Adoration of the Mystic Lamb
Mannekin Pis, silly.
So much chocolate
Palace
Looking down towards town square
Beer tasting tray
The cathedral seems unfinished
Much better.

The Somme: WW1 Battlefields

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Monday 27 April to Thursday 30 April 2015

travellingross rating = 10/10

I have been to Gallipoli. To the D-Day landing beaches of Normandy. To many war memorials in Australia. Visiting the Somme western front World War 1 battlefields has been on my list for a while and to visit soon after the ANZAC Day centenary was special. This region is town after beautiful town of stories filled with pain, destruction, loss and recovery.

We left Reims and headed towards the city of Amiens stopping at Peronne to tour the museum. This was the first town of many that we saw Australian flags flying and other Aussie symbols – there is a strong sense of gratitude and after spending time here I learned more about how the Australian soldiers were crucial in many battles to push back the German front. Our first memorial was Le Hamel which was a bit challenging to find especially considering it is relatively new, but included very interesting displays. After one night in Amiens, we continued north stopping at Villers-Bretonneux and then crossed into Belgium staying in a very modern 4 storey townhouse (stairs, so many stairs) in Ypres, which would be our platform for the next 3 nights exploring the battlefields and memorials. Highlights were:

  • Adelaide cemetery to see the grave site where the remains of the Australian Unknown Soldier were exhumed and taken to the national memorial in Canberra.
  • Villers-Bretonneux: including the school & museum funded by Victorian school children and the main Australian memorial in the Somme. The latter is out in the fields on a slight hill that was the centre of a key battle to save the town and push back the enemy. Hard to fathom how many died here, and the concept of trench warfare over such a long front. Reading the tombstones and small crosses placed by school children recently was very sad.
  • The British memorial – the largest outside of the UK. Walking closer to it, you realise the white panels are filled with lists upon lists of names. Only a few gravestones. Most of the dead were not recovered to be buried but lay beneath your feet or in the farmers paddocks. Everything looks so peaceful and beautiful today.
  • Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres. Seemingly endless rooms with artefacts, re-enactments and shocking stories of the chemical gases used, including photos of victims or survivors with terrible injuries. Makes you realise it is not just about those who died, but the ones who survived who probably wished they didn’t.
  • Menin Gate Last Post. This is done every night at 8pm. As we power walked to get there, I had a bet with Mum that we wouldn’t be late and I couldn’t imagine more than 15 people would be there. I was wrong. It was packed.
  • Memorial Museum Passchendaele – seemingly small place but many levels and re-creation of what the trenches would have been like.
  • Talbot House, Poperinge – a place where select soldiers could escape the frontline for a short stay. The House is well preserved with interesting photos and you can imagine the haven this would have been.
Aussie flags line the streets
John the Baptist’s head is usually on display here!
Commemorations for Anzac Day centenary
The grave stone of the Unknown Soldier now in Canberra
The kids can barely spell ‘respect’ but they feel it. Touching.
From the tower. Windy.
Bullet holes from WW2.
Looking towards the town.
The stupidity of war
All of this is rebuilt after being totally destroyed
Looking into Ypres
At the end of the war. Hard to imagine the town looked like this.
A few more people than 15
The level of detail they re-created…um…leaves little for the imagination.
When you realise that a grave stone can represent this many people, the scale is even more compelling
Bomb craters left to grow over. We had a great lunch opposite here.
Mum loved the stairs…not.
Goodbye to the Western Front. Lest we forget.

France: Paris and Reims

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Thursday 23 April to Sunday 26 April 2015

travellingross rating = 8/10

We arrived at Salzburg train station half an hour ahead of our 8 am train to Paris to find it cancelled. What! Another reason not to book train tickets in advance (dig dig). The train info centre helped us get on a train to Munich where we could connect but would need to check with the German info desk as their trains were on strike and the cause of the issue. At least we were heading off and in the right direction. After a long time at the Munich station we were rebooked onto several more trains to Paris arriving 3 hrs later than originally planned. All comfortable and modern trains unlike one’s I’ve taken in Italy. We spent 1 night in Paris near the train station, then rented a car and drove north to the centre of the champagne region. Paris highlights:

  • My 3rd time to Paris. I like the culture of this city, but each time I’ve found it increasingly dirty and full of tourists. We seemed to stay in immigrant’s quarter and not a very comfortable feeling walking around.
  • The height of the Eiffel Tower compared to the rest of the city is still amazing.
  • Mum visited Sainte-Chapelle with the stained glass windows that she didn’t get to last visit and I went to the Conciergerie, a former palace and then prison during the revolution. Mum really enjoyed hers. Mine was not v good, with only highlight being a re-enactment of Queen Marie Antoinette cell where she was held for months prior to her execution. Interestingly, I learned in Vienna that Marie Antoinette was a daughter of the Austrian Queen (she was one of 16 kids married off to the European monarchies!).
  • Montparnasse – never been to top of this office tower that has great views. Unfortunately it was a bit hazy but still a different viewpoint of Paris.
  • Driving out of Paris. Survived the chaos and happy to have an automatic in this traffic.

Reims highlights:

  • The cathedral was the coronation place for all French kings and queens. Destroyed in WW1, it has been rebuilt. Not much to see on the inside though.
  • The German surrender to end WW2 was first signed here 7 May 1945 and then re-signed in Berlin a day later at the insistence of Stalin. Fascinating museum in Eisenhower’s war rooms with original maps etc still in place.
  • Veuve Clicquot. Lucky to get a walk in tour of this champagne house and their caves where all the bottles are stored. The 50 euro tour was best of the two we did and finished with 2 full glass sized tastings of my current favourite champagne. Veuve means widow.
  • Day trip to Epernay. It was a Sunday so I get that not a lot is open but I thought that the Avenue de Champagne would be the epicentre of tastings but it was hard to find more than a couple places. And cost 15-18 euro to taste 3 half glasses. But it was still awesome to drive through the picturesque Champagne Region and I had a couple of champagne breakfasts, lunches, and dinner.
  • ANZAC Day centenary. A momentous occasion in Australian history, we struggled to find a war memorial in Reims but would make up for this in coming days across the Somme battlefields…
Our hotel to right with red window covers
Didn’t go here last time. Where the storming of the Bastille occurred that triggered the French Revolution
Flaming Pancakes. No joke, they were on fire. Smothered with pure alcohol.
24 km2 of old chalk mines is where the champas is stored!!
This holds 200,000 bottles of champagne and rivalled the Eiffel Tower at the World Fair in 1889
I liked this house
The father of champagne, a monk
Place where WW2 German surrender was signed 7 May 1945

Austria: Vienna and Salzburg

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Friday 17 April to Wednesday 22 April 2015

travellingross rating = 7/10

An idea popped in my head a couple months ago when my suitcase turned up in Perth at my mum’s house – fly my mother and bag to meet me half way in Amsterdam. Thereby saving me coming all way back to Perth and being able to meet mum in Europe for her birthday and mother’s day. Plus this break aligns with the centenary Anzac day and I know we both wanted to tour the French WW1 battlefields following our last trip in 2012 to the Normandy D-day landing beaches, so it was perfect. I had two flights from Paramaribo and mum two from Perth, meeting in Vienna. Highlights and observations:

  • Always amazes me how full flights can be when several per day across Europe but not a spare seat from Amsterdam to Vienna
  • Amsterdam airport seems to be in a permanent state of renovation lately. And their free Wi-Fi requires you to reconnect every hour which is annoying.
  • Cold in Vienna. About 13C max. First day wet but other 2 days were clear and sunny.
  • Easy to get into old town centre via a tram stop on our closest corner. Highlights were elevator up north tower of saint Stephens cathedral – not that stunning or globally worthwhile; saint Peters church with its impressively decorated interior; Hofburg palace where we learned about the Austrian monarchy that ended in 1918 and in particular the empress Elisabeth aka Sisi who seemed like a spoilt brat who whined about life too much and was stabbed thru the heart with a letter opener in 1889.
  • The Austrian monarchy seemed doomed well before WW1 and the assassination of heir Franz Ferdinand.
  • Schloss Schoenberg was a train trip out of town and included a tour of many well preserved state rooms. The grounds and gardens were not that amazing but maybe better in late spring or summer. Lots of walking but we got there in good time with an express ticket to jump the line which meant the day was not rushed. Plenty of time to head back into town and visit the state hall library with its thousands of books dating back to the 1300’s when the university was founded. Beautiful room.
  • Our apartment was very nice and spacious with full kitchen which we made use of for breakfast and an evening meal.
  • Train to Salzburg comfortable and new but going through tunnels created a vacuum which was annoying for mums ears.

After training to Salzburg we walked about 15 mins to our hotel in the newer part of town. Not a far walk from there to the historic centre and the walk had many shops etc to explore. I wanted to visit this city back when I did the Munich Oktoberfest trip but didn’t have time. The city is known for its scenery and the film location for The Sound of Music. Also was the birthplace of Mozart. Good to finally visit and I think it would be even more scenic in winter covered with snow.  Highlights and observations:

  • Too many bikes on pedestrian streets and malls.
  • Wandering the alleys, getting lost, popping out into a scenic platz (square)
  • Sound of music tour. I can’t remember a lot of the movie but a good half day tour which is ever popular as 50th anniversary of the film.
  • Fortress high up on the hill with panoramic views
  • Late breakfasts in town squares
  • Learning about the Prince archbishop history and that Salzburg was its own state for a long time becoming very wealthy from salt mining.

Next stop – Paris and the champagne region of France.

For the fireplace I am yet to own
Fresh off the plane
Tourists
No one wanted to live next to the executioner
Rebuilt after WW2 bombing destroyed it
Where Maria from Sound of Music trained to be a Nun
Mum’s plane to the left, mine to the right

Suriname: A Dry Easter with Sloths

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Tuesday 24 March to Wednesday 15 April 2015

travellingross rating = 9/10

Still in Costa Rica, the newly tyre changed rental car made it to the petrol station on the sniff of an oily rag where I fuelled up and returned the car. Sitting in the free shuttle to the airport I yelled stop as I glanced out the window to notice my wallet sitting on the rental car company counter. Phew, close call. Costa Rica is one of those silly countries that charges a departure tax. And u have to pay before going to check in. I didn’t leave much time for this but lucky I checked in online and no bags to check. 3 flights and I was back in Paramaribo fairly exhausted which is not how this break thing is meant to work. It actually took me 5 or so days to get back to a normal sleep pattern which is odd for me.

This rotation was zero alcohol! It’s something I wanted to do when I started. I actually hoped this would be a dry camp not selling alcohol. Working continuously like this is tiring enough without throwing in the temptation of a beer or several down at the bar. Most people couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t drink but I still socialised and went to the bar. Sometimes with a mug of tea! I think I’ll make this a trend.

Highlights this rotation:

  • Installation of new air quality and weather monitoring stations. Was a long planned project so it was good to see it through to install.
  • Easter. Quiet and not really commemorated here. But I still had my own Easter moments.
  • Putting on weight. When I drink, I lose weight.  So the best part of a month without booze is I have noticed a few extra kilos which is a good thing for me.
  • Sloth. I saw my first one!!! It’s kind of a must-do in Suriname to see a sloth and better yet to relocate one that could otherwise be harmed by clearing activities. So this Good Friday was my sloth relocation day. Strange looking, slow-moving and shy. Remind me of koala’s.
  • Running. I finally started running again. The geology superintendent is a runner and dragged me along. He was impressed I could go the 7 km distance and keep pace. So I guess I’ve still got it and we went several times when weather was kind.  We actually had a whole week without rain. Driest I’ve seen Suriname yet.
  • Work. Continues to be enjoyable and I’m happy overall. Some testing times that raise my heart rate. But nothing I can’t handle. I’m focusing on the big picture a lot more this time around and not sweating the small stuff. So long as I’m learning, I’m happy. I am exposed to different perspectives and methods to build my work and life knowledge.
  • TV. They didn’t pay the bill so the t.v. in dining room didn’t even work 90% of this rotation. No CNN, not even crappy soccer. And the internet has been terribly unreliable, but that doesn’t really affect me since I have a private SIM card with internet. We joke that this workplace is worse than North Korea for external communication. When international dialing was cut, along with TV and internet, the IT Manager was re-named Kim Jong Un and I started to wonder if I woke up in 1995.
  • Evictions. The army came to site to evict the illegal miners from our property. Never seen so many guns and ammunition in my life. Overall no violence, but a bit concerning to have breakfast with a bunch of uniformed guys carrying weapons.
To think so much unexplored and unknown
4 to a room in construction. cramped.
Big bucks

Costa Rica: Road Trippin, Hiking Volcanoes, White Water Tubing

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Tuesday 17 March to Monday 23 March 2015

travellingross rating = 8/10

I didn’t need to be at the Panama City airport until 4:30 pm so I had most of the day to relax and final minute explore. Being St Patrick’s Day I went to the Irish Pub a couple of blocks from my hotel for lunch only to find it closed. Huh. I arrived at the airport to hunt down Madison, my friend who I met in Ghana during that Project and together again in Suriname. She is from Nevada and another reason for my tainted accent and un-Australian words. And also the reason for my now relaxed approach to travel, not booking everything, not over-planning as much. Pre-Madison I would never roll into a town without booking something, but that’s pretty much how this whole trip went.

Madison had flown in from Suriname and waiting in Panama City to connect with me for the 1.5 hr flight north to San Jose, Costa Rica. This capital city does not have good reviews, but I found it better than expectations and while busy, slightly dirty and chaotic, it had many shops and facilities that were enough for me. Nothing globally amazing from a touristic perspective though. We overnighted here and then got an afternoon tourist shuttle bus for $50 USD each 4 hours north to the tourist epicentre of La Fortuna.

La Fortuna was great. Right on the edge of the Arenal Volcano Park with many things to do. In hindsight we should’ve stayed here longer than the 2 nights we allocated. Our full day was a morning hike up a dormant volcano that has a green lagoon at the summit looking up to Arenal. A crazy steep and rough ‘path’ takes you to the top which would be very slippery in the wet. It was good to explore this though as Costa Rica is not as forested as I previously thought and this national park showcases some of their best. Which after being in Suriname is not as good. We had lunch at the waterfall nearby and then taxi’d to the Baldi Hot Springs which were awesome. Not a natural representation of hot springs, but swim up bars in 30C plus water with 28 pools and some that are insanely hot. Aside from the 150 kids on a school trip, it was bliss. We both dislike kids (especially teens laughing and taking up our barman’s time for soft drinks) so this was annoying. It was not until dark that we found the “sin ninos” pools (no kids!). The drinks were more expensive but worth it for the peace and higher quality hotter pools. We rode some slides too. One that you’re meant to only go down the slide, go around once and then drop out the bottom. For some reason I kept going round and round like 4 times before I forced myself to drop out. I badly bruised my tailbone in the process and a slight rip in my brand new board-shorts right on the bum. The food made up for this with an excellent buffet. I would go back in an instant.

After discussing transport options with our awesome hotel reception guy, we rented a car and hit the road to our only pre-arranged part of the trip. Meeting up with some Suriname work mates at Blue River. This drive took 4 hours to get 150 km. Terrible roads made from sharp rocks and plenty of potholes to dodge; tested my driving skill a bit. We got to the resort and I seriously thought our GPS had navigated us incorrectly. It didn’t look at all like the website. But it was the right place. We glanced at each other with the same ‘what have we got ourselves into’ look and checked in. The rooms were huge and comfortable, except for the lack of bar fridge for our champagne and the poor water pressure. The resort is not what I would call a resort. Run down and lacking in features so it was disappointing since it was the most expensive and hard to get to accommodation of our trip together. Very weak internet was only at reception which is a 300m walk so that sucks for people who have yet to book their next destination. Not much of this place made sense to me. There wasn’t even a view. The Blue River is impressive – volcanic minerals reacting together to create bright blue water. The only activity we did (aside from cover ourselves in mud, stand in the green hot springs) was tubing. Now, my understanding of tubing is gentle floating down a river with beer in hand sitting in an inflated tube. This was far from that. White water tubing that should be done in a raft. Knee and elbow pads, helmet, life vest, shoes. It was an hour that made me feel like I was in a washing machine. My body aint cut out for that and I ended up hitting rocks with my butt and constantly trying to navigate away from rocks.

We left early morning to head towards Liberia where everywhere in the city had lost internet. So without a plan we made a snap decision based on a conversation I had with 2 girls in Blue River to head to Playa del Coco on the coast. As we drove in, it was apparently a tourist haven but maybe the wrong time of year as the landscape looked like a fire had been through or so tinder dry that one spark would set off a wildfire. It was HOT. And the beach was black sand and not very appealing to swim. But a good spot to be.

Next day I dropped Madison at another beach town – more crappy roads to get there since I selected the ‘scenic route’ on Google maps. I then drove 4 hours back to San Jose on decent highways but without overtaking lanes which was frustrating. Saw many monkeys in the trees above the road. And some very scenic landscapes. Didn’t stop once and rolled into the hotel at nightfall with the fuel light flashing and ‘estimated km remaining of 0’. Perfect. Only took one wrong turn on a roundabout and stayed on my right side of the road the whole time. Checked in and laying on the bed checking my messages when the phone rang. Reception asking how everything was. And “Sir, I am sorry to tell you that your vehicle has a flat tyre”. WHAT. We drove on terrible roads and I get a flat in the middle of the city. And it’s the only part of the road-side assistance that the rental car company doesn’t cover. I can change a tyre, but it was the last thing I felt like doing after the long day. So I ate at Denny’s across the road and then got my hands dirty. My last tyre change experience in Perth was not so great, so this time I was impressed with myself and restored faith in my abilities. With that, I spent my last night in Costa Rica.

Websites and Tips to Make this Trip

Stayed at:

  • San Jose – Holiday Inn city for USD $92/night; then Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton at Airport for USD $150. Both good and great locations for what you need.
  • La Fortuna – Hotel Monte Real for USD $86/night. Highly recommend.
  • Blue River – Blue River Resort & Hot Springs for USD $128/night. Not worth it and too isolated. I’m sure there are better places to stay to visit Blue River. Or day trip in from Liberia.
  • Playa del Coco – M&M Hotel for $50/night. Cheap and simple with shared kitchen. Includes breakfast.

Rental car through www.adobecar.com

Baldi Hot Springs was USD $68 per person and discounted when booking from hotel. Included buffet dinner and you can run a bar tab and pay on credit card at end. www.baldihotsprings.cr

Don’t pay for tours of the green lagoon or waterfall. Just get a cab and do it yourself.

Road trippin
Not so attractive
If this is paradise, I want a refund
Madison makes me break all my rules

Panama City: Canal time

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Friday 13 March to Tuesday 17 March 2015

travellingross rating = 10/10

I really enjoyed Panama. I never realised how big the city is with Dubai like sky scrapers, major shipping malls, variety of restaurants and fast food, awesome running and walking paths along the foreshore. The shipping canal brings obvious wealth to the country and u can see why they fought hard to win operating rights from the USA that they finally received NYE 1999.  Many ships sit offshore waiting to take the short cut thru the thinnest part of central America.

Flying from Paramaribo to Panama City, via Aruba, I landed mid afternoon and it took far too long to clear immigration. Longest line I’ve seen in an airport. It was first time I have flown Copa Airlines (national airline of Panama) and I liked them. I am impressed that I can take 2 flights and be in such a big city that afternoon. I am inclined to do this again for a future break. Taxi system at airport is semi organised but expect a tip to walk you to the cab.  I hate that. And u share with someone. I shared with an older man who met a woman on an internet dating site and had an internet relationship for 16 months and now time to meet face to face. That’s pretty damn brave. And a better story than the usual “I’m here for work” etc. The hotel taxi actually uses an app to calculate the fare. That’s a first for me. But it is handy that USD is taken everywhere and the Panama currency is paired with USD. Another reason for me to come back and spend my USD (I’m paid in US dollars).

Highlights of this trip are pretty simple. Sleep and the canal. After a long rotation (for me) I was keen to do not much other than relax and catch up on personal life that you don’t get much time for when working all the time. My hotel was adjacent to a cathedral where bells rang out to announce mass times. Starting at 6am. Hmmm. Only down-side of the hotel.

The only touristy thing I wanted to do in Panama was the canal. Construction started in the 1800’s by the French and finally finished by the USA in 1914. 100 years ago last year. Good timing to come as they have refurbished their tourist facilities for the centenary. I like the idea that humans had the audacity, ingenuity, power and capability to cut through a land mass to create a shipping channel that shaved off days of time in sea trade transport around the southern tip of South America. I didn’t know much about the engineering prior to visiting, other than it was a huge feat and technique that has stood for a century. Now after visiting I am a full bottle. A 14 hr tour will do that to you! Arriving at the ferry port at 630am, I didn’t get back to hotel until 830pm. I could’ve done a partial transit. But you know me…if I am here, I will do the full thing. YOLO. So I went from ocean to ocean and transited the full length of the Panama Canal. Long and at times a bit same same, but very interesting to an engineering mind and impressive to rise up tens of metres in a series of locks to reach a man-made lake and then be dropped down to ocean level again at the other end. It takes 8 minutes to fill and drain a lock so it is not a quick process (you go through 3 locks at either end) but fascinating. The boat was totally full (150 people would be my guess) and includes all your meals. I will let the photos tell the rest of the story.

Websites and Tips to Make this Trip

Stayed at DoubleTree Hilton hotel for bargain price of USD $69/night booking through www.worldmate.com

Panama Canal Tour was expensive at USD $250 and you might find something cheaper if you shop around. I think people book through multiple agents for the same boat www.panamacanaltrips.com

We waited here for ages pending entry to the first locks. Ships that can’t fit through the locks can offload here and train containers to the other side.
Two lanes
A ship is about 10 metres above sea level being floated up to next lock.
Go here if you just want to see the canal but not go through it
I thought it amusing that the crew on the cargo ships were also taking photos. A novelty for them too.
Building wider locks to take bigger ships. Been building for years, costing billions. meant to open last year in time for centenary.
Passing the continental divide. This was the hardest part to develop as it required most excavation.
Crossing the Gatun Lake. Man-made lake that makes the whole canal function.
This time we went through with a big ship. cool.
Taken from my hotel room
Genius or insanely unsafe.

Farewells, Welcomes and More this Rotation

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Wednesday 11 February to Friday 13 March 2015

travellingross rating = 8.5/10

Following 6 relaxing nights in Tobago, I got back to Suriname for the longest rotation yet…

  1. Night 1 on site was farewell party for Matt. Great night as always and people came down from construction camp to celebrate with him at the purple heart exploration camp bar.
  2. Valentine’s day. I told myself I would not go to the bar. But my arm is rubbery and easily twisted. It was Saturday night after all. And I dropped my phone as I got it out of my pocket to show a photo.  Dropped on the top right corner smashing the screen. Devo central. I use my phone for everything in life. Luckily one of the mining engineers had an adapter where I could plug a mouse into the phone and use a curser to navigate around the broken screen. I did this for weeks until my new phone arrived from the USA care of my life saver Ryan.
  3. Melissa started. A colleague and friend since we worked together at Boddington and fresh out of New Zealand. I recruited her to join me in the jungle. After 2 days of exhausting travel to the other side of Earth, I’ve rarely seen someone so pleased to see me as she rolled late into camp at 820pm 16 Feb. Great showing her around and having a fellow Aussie to chat to and someone who instantly knows my work style, method and temperament.
  4. Another expat employee in my group started. His first time out of the USA. Dedicated to erosion and sediment control. Getting new starters mobilised and settled requires a lot of organisation and a fresh thought process for me to share my expat learnings with first timers. Both are coming back for second rotation so I must be doing something right!
  5. Madison’s birthday. Great times. But the construction camp bar is terrible compared to the exploration camp bar. Explo camp might have water/electricity/internet outages all the time, but damn we have the best bar.
  6. Biggest concrete pour to date (400m3)
  7. 1st ore movement in pit
  8. Executives visit. There are not many people I would stay in for. But the top boss for environment and social is one such person. So I extended a week to be at site for the 2 day 10 person delegation from Denver. A couple of tough questions and I gave a couple presentations. But went well and I got positive feedback, mostly related to how relieved Denver is that I am here. They trust me and have confidence in my abilities.

Needless to say I was brain drained at the end of this 32 day rotation. Productive, enjoyable and much better than the last one. The sun is setting later so I have time for walks after work which is nice to break up the days. Longer rotation means shorter break. But I will take days in lieu next break. For now I have 12 days in central America.

I like to think his face is one of sadness, not being annoyed that I am posing in the center rather than him.
There’s always 1 tool who jumps into a selfie shot wearing high viz clothes.
Good lord
Bought this in Denver for $32 american dollars!!! Holy cow. Didn’t realise the price until the counter. It’s good though. High grade jasmine 🙂
Enjoying her 1st juego Parbo beer.

Recuperating in Tobago

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Wednesday 4 February to Tuesday 10 February 2015

travellingross rating = 6/10

It’s never a pleasant experience going to the airport hungover, let alone get up at 4 am to pack all my belongings, get in a taxi, head to the airport in snow, navigate the Denver airport and spend all day travelling. Fortunately, I had Matt with me as we were both on the same flights through to Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. Even more fortunately, I was going to a Caribbean island for 6 nights of 100% relaxation. The travel was ok, but I remember sitting on the tarmac during our Houston layover for more than an hour. And United Airlines (as with most USA airlines) have terrible or non-existent in-flight entertainment or food. Didn’t help that trying to watch Dumb & Dumber 2 on my laptop stopped at the 40 minute mark for no reason and then my laptop battery was going flat. Ah, 1st world problems. Matt and I had enough time for a beer together in Port of Spain airport (yes we can both back it up) as he headed back to Suriname for his last rotation and I boarded a 25 minute flight across to the island of Tobago.

Lots of people have told me to avoid Trinidad, but that Tobago is really nice and worth a visit. Apparently the bigger island of Trinidad is wealthier but full of crime, dirt and people. Tobago only has a 60,000 population and a diversity of things to do. Surprisingly, I had to pay a $67 USD visa to enter T&T which does not apply to USA or Canada citizens. I received mild questioning as to why I did not have a visa before arrival but was able to fill a form and get a visa waiver at immigration.

I stayed at the Kariwak Holistic Haven Hotel. An exotic name for a relaxing retreat. Very close to the airport and tropical with bird feeders, two pools, a yoga hall, hammocks and a general vibe of simple relaxation. This was just what I wanted. I always like to stay by the beach on coastal places but this was perfect. I didn’t drink a drop of alcohol on Tobago. Nor did I swim in the ocean. Time to detox, sleep til midday, laze by the pool (ozone treated rather than chlorine or salt and it was awesome!), read, etc. I did two touristy things – walked to Pigeon Point beach (ok but too touristy for a beach), and a half day rainforest tour of one of the world’s oldest conservation reserves that was founded in 1776 and this was really good. A particular highlight was receiving a random phone call at 10pm from Perth Airport to ask where I wanted my suitcase delivered to!!! Totally out of the blue and unexpected. My bag was finally found. Sure, in Perth which is no good to me, but in safe hands with all contents! Unbelievable.

Overall, Tobago was not that great or memorable. I found Curacao to be better with nicer beaches, better people and cleaner. Tobago felt like Africa in places and too under-developed for my liking. The hotel was great and I’m sure the diving is good. But I think the Caribbean has better to offer than Tobago.

Websites and Tips to Make this Trip

Booked the hotel through www.kariwak.com for USD $205 per night for pool side room

Rainforest tour through Harris’ Jungle Tours USD $65 or 400 TT www.harris-jungle-tours.com

Denver airport – departing
Tobago, Crown Point
I didn’t even try to get the bird in this – so many around
Appropriate shirt
Too small, too public, bad sand
No idea what this bird is, but we spent ages trying to photo it. And it’s not even that pretty.
Bliss
Loved the reflections
I have a thing for moss in rainforests
Like an angel