Exploring Patagonia: Chile and Argentina

16 May 201717 May 2017 / travellingross / Leave a comment

13 – 22 January 2017

travellingross rating: 7/10

Wow they speak fast Spanish in Chile! I cannot even pick up the occasional word to follow the sentence. When I booked a connecting flight to Puerto Montt via my already booked flight to Santiago, I had not realised that because Montt is not an international airport, I would need to clear immigration and customs in Santiago, bag drop, then clear security as a domestic passenger. Which all up takes 2 hours and resulted in missing my connecting flight. So, I got to know the Santiago airport for 6 hours. Arriving in Montt near midnight, sped to the hotel by what I think was an unregistered taxi, then straight to bed. However, I was able to sleep in since check-in for my ferry to Puerto Natales was not until 12:30pm and I could then be free of my bags for 5 hours until we departed on a shuttle bus to the ferry terminal. Very very conveniently, check-in was at the Holiday Inn which is attached to an unexpectedly enormous mall. Walking to the mall, I was struck by how this simple small town is far more scenic than Mendoza. My free time enabled me to buy some hiking boots, weather proof pants, get my Big Mac fix and continue the seemingly endless travel planning.

The cargo ship masquerading as a passenger ferry was everything I expected and served the purpose I was searching for. 3 nights of no internet, no alcohol, no pressure to go tour. Just sleep 12 hours a day, listen to audio books, sort photographs on my laptop and of course look at the fjord scenery that you can only witness on these waters.

Puerto Montt

The ferry

All aboard…this moment I felt like a cow

My not so spacious room

Off we go

Dining Room…a lot like work

Cruisin

Helipad

The alcohol free bar

Torres del Paine is not that remarkable to me. Sorry, don’t hate me all you Patagonia lovers. I have seen more profound and jaw dropping landscapes. I think instead the attraction is the isolation. But now it’s become such a tourist hot spot that there are people everywhere. The glaciers however are inspirational. Grey glacier in particular is a 3 hour boat trip, which sounds ridiculous, but the scenery and view points are out of this world. The mountains and fjords are otherwise nothing I haven’t seen in other parts of the world and in my opinion not worth the hassle to come all this way unless you are coming to camp and hike the W or O trails. Which 80% of the people no doubt come for that. It’s just the crazy ones like me who come to see the views, tick the Patagonia box and sip a beer while literally looking down on the camp sites from my stupidly expensive with terrible WiFi, but comfortable, hotel.

Departing Torres was a mission made complicated by my plan to cross into Argentina and go straight to my next sight seeing destination. After researching many options (including the very handy website www.bussur.com and my friend Madison), I concluded that taking a risk of getting a shuttle to the national park entrance and attempting to hop on an unbooked bus to El Calafate was worth it. Cause I really didn’t want to spend another night in Natales having already been forced to spend 1 there when the ferry arrived 8 hours late. Through a bit of haggling, begging, and money, the driver let me on the bus! And helped me print my Argentine reciprocal fee receipt at the Chilean border. We swapped buses 3 times, and finally I was dropped off at a hotel that lucky for me had vacancies, an open restaurant at 10pm and a big fat scotch whiskey. Couldn’t wipe the smile from my face – I did it!!

Driving into the Park

My hotel

The most windy walk ever to get to the Lake Grey ferry

Grey Glacier

Hotel view

Trek up to the 3 towers

Made it!

Very happy it was clear

The trail is beautiful

Having to step aside for these guys…

On the bus to Argentina

El Calafate is a nice large tourist town. The Argentines do tourism better than the Chileans and the infrastructure is a higher standard. The main reason people, including me, come to this particular town is to see the Perito Moreno glacier. I had a full day trekking tour of this monster booked for 22 January and was the motivation for coming down to this part of the world. Now, this is jaw dropping and well worth the effort. Makes me want to go to Antarctica!

Met this guy in El Calafate

I found the house style interesting

Perito Moreno Glacier!

Foot ready

This arch collapses every few years

Not on the ice, but good to have after a memorable day

Torres hotel was booked directly at their website http://www.lastorres.com and was $368 USD a night! Getting there was a challenge and I ended up getting a lift with a man I met on the ferry. At the time I thought he was being generous, but when he dropped me at the hotel asked for $60….hmmmm. I guess I failed my first hitch-hiking experience.

Perito Moreno glacier Big Ice trek booked through http://www.hieloyaventura.com for $4000 Argentine Pesos ($260 USD). Take food, good shoes and a back pack to carry your crampons. There are lots of papers to fill and they don’t accept e-signature.

Malbec in Mendoza

25 January 2017 / travellingross / Leave a comment

7-12 January 2017

travellingross rating = 5/10

Mendoza is hot, rough and loves the fact that they are a developing wine district of the world. I did not realise that their claim to wine fame has only been the last couple of decades or so. But it was famous enough for me to be here. On a whim. One of my randomest yet. Thinking that I would do a January ski trip, following my Perth break, I had to scramble for an alternate plan when that did not come to fruition. It’s the time of year to visit Patagonia, so I thought why not and I’ve wanted to see this epic glacier down there. How hard can it be? But first I need somewhere to chill. Easter Island. But it was impossible to find a flight to the island. Lots coming back but none going in. Ok. Mendoza. Who doesn’t love a wine region?? So after a quiet, productive, ‘New Year, New Me’ work rotation, I left site relaxed and completely unready for what I was about to do.

It took ages to get to Mendoza, via Guyana and Panama and Santiago in Chile. The latter I was shocked that I had to pay a visa fee of $117 USD just to transit through the country. Not a good 1st impression Chile. Especially given that I already had to pay $100 USD for the privilege to enter Argentina thanks to Australia charging these 2 countries a fee for their nationals to enter ours. All leaving a bad taste in my mouth and this was the first moment of many during this trip when I questioned “why I am here?”

I jumped into what I’m sure was an unregistered taxi and we sped across town to my Airbnb apartment that I had booked 2 days ago. We got lost. Yep there are two Lamadrid streets in Mendoza. And Mr Taxi took me to the wrong one (no Uber here yet unfortunately). Once I did get to my apartment I was happy that it was a passcode entry and I did not have to talk to a single human being to check-in. A bottle of wine greeted me on the table and I was impressed with this loft apartment.

Over the next few days, I went on two different style of wine tours. One to Luján de Cuyo where we visited Dominio del Plata, Matervini, Caserena (lunch) and Mendel (for $170 USD through Trout and Wine). And another bicycle tour to the farther out Valle de Uco (for $150 USD through Mendoza Wine Bike Tour). The first could’ve been done by anyone and nothing amazing. The bike tour was memorable and I highly recommend for something different and to immerse yourself in the region. But it is for the fit who don’t mind the sun.

All the wineries give very long tours of their fermentation and process. 45 mins. Before you do the tasting. Boring when the process is all the same and they act like their winery is unique. Or maybe I just found it boring cause it lacked the awesome people who I normally do wine tours with. The lunches though are incredible and they do not hold back on the wine or the food. Pairing the wine with food is what they do best. I also learned something new – rinse the glass between tastings with a cheap table wine, not water.

Overall, Mendoza is not a very attractive city, quite dirty and chaotic. I think when the mountains are visible it might be more scenic. Out at the wineries it can be pretty, but not jaw dropping. And Spanish speaking would change your whole outlook. I tried to call a taxi and they only speak Spanish; that’s when I realised my Spanish is so pathetic I can’t even order a cab. Luckily I was able to message the Airbnb host to ask her to order a taxi to my dinner reservation at 1884 Francis Mallmann, which was rated as one of the best restaurants in Latin America and it was deluxe. So personally, I would not recommend it compared to the great wine regions of the world. And I got a terrible head cold a day after arriving (thanks 24 hour airline travel!), which I could not shake even with copious amounts of wine. I realise this prolonged it. I just like to point out that I am a trooper who does not let a head cold get in the way of a travel experience.

I would not recommend the Airbnb apartment. Lovely place with everything you could need and perfect host all for $77 per night. But the location is a bit boring. Sure… it’s an 8 minute walk to a street full of restaurants, but no shops or hotels to grab a cab. And the loft bedroom was hotttttttttttttttttt. Not in a good way, just sweaty and stifling.

My apartment

Winery

4 wines with 4 tastes

Fun and easy

This winery has concerts in the cellar

Fancy

Starts with small portions but the mains is huge and you are full at the end.

Iguassu Falls: Indescribably Epic

9 September 20169 September 2016 / travellingross / Leave a comment

2– 6 September 2016

Travellingross Rating: 10 out of 10

Brazil has long been on my travel to-do list, but getting a visa has always been a hassle and turned me off trying. So when I heard that this year over the few months of the Olympics, Brazil was waiving visa requirements I was hooked. Usually I don’t plan or think of what to do on a break until say 2 weeks out. But this one I had a fair idea about since the beginning of the year. I am still winging it, but I knew that Iguassu Falls was a must-visit after seeing the photos a friend took during a visit some years ago. I have a thing for waterfalls and the more epic the better – Victoria, Niagara…now Iguassu.

But like anything epic, it starts with a journey. 17.5 hours. Including an 8 hour layover. Following a good work rotation where I was actually able to find time to go for a run after work, I was not my usual wiped out self on day 23. I went out for dinner with a friend in Parbo then got picked up at 10:45 pm for the airport. Odd flight time of 1:45 am meant I didn’t even sleep in the city compared to the last few breaks where I have been staying a night or 2 before flying out.

Belem airport was more advanced than I expected. English seems to not be widely spoken though and I quickly remembered that Portuguese is not that similar to Spanish. I got through immigration without a word spoken, and I didn’t even have to fill a form! I am amazed that my bag and I made all the connections including a twenty-minute connection in Rio. With a driver waiting for me at the Foz do Iguacu airport, I was ready to relax.

Belmond Hotel das Cataratas is flawless. I cannot fault a single thing. From the welcome at reception (and free room upgrade!), to the fireplace filled lounge, to the barman carefully explaining the varied types of Caipirinha, to the breakfast, to the views, to the perfect rooms with the little sticker on the toilet paper….I could go on haha. Great recommendation. Although only 2 nights is required to see the sights, I booked 4 because of timing and because I knew I would enjoy the down-time.

The Falls are incredible. Over 270 individual waterfalls occur across this divide between Argentina and Brazil. The photos hopefully tell the story. They say the Brazil side has the view, the Argentine side has the experience. Basically you get drenched on the other side with an immersive experience across a lot of boardwalks, whereas Brazil has the panoramic views and one boardwalk that looks up the main chasm “the devils throat”. I thought a lot about crossing the border to also visit the Argentinian side but decided not to.

The weather was not the best. 2 days were wet and cold (17C). Nice to relax in the hotel with a hot stone Amazonian massage and drink, while catching up on life. The pool is heated but I didn’t swim. I really wanted to do the helicopter trip over the falls and luckily on my last day the clouds cleared and the choppers were able to fly. Fortunately I did not have a flight to Rio until 4pm so I had time. It was only a 10 minute flight, but so good. I did a similar flight over Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe many moons ago and really like the vantage you get from the air and seeing the mist swirl up.

So, I am really happy to be in Brazil. To have seen the Iguassu Falls. And this is just the beginning.

Belmond Hotel das Cataratas. My hotel. I loved everything except the colour.

Sitting room.

Pool

View from my room…wet day

First view of the falls just across from the hotel

Time to stay inside, get room service and drink champagne.

The bar was too good

The bar. Birds.

Ahhh the sun came out to play. Briefly.

The Argentina side and their boardwalks

No thanks…to the boat trip.

The Brazil boardwalk

About to get wet!

Couldn’t see much of ‘The Devils Throat’

Such great photos

Amazing power. The noise!!

After

Naturally…

Feeling smells.

The warnings are everywhere not to feed these bastards

But people do

Flawless breakfast. Yes, I have 3 drinks.

Helicopter tour!

Hahhaa this guys face

I love this

My hotel

The Amazing Caribbean Race: Windward & Leeward Islands

9 August 2016 / travellingross / Leave a comment

23 July – 8 August 2016

This break was all about the islands. Cover as many as I could to get a taste and determine which ones to come back to for longer. Due to best flight times, I had to depart a day late and return a day earlier giving me two restful days in Paramaribo but meant one fewer island to tick off. A part of me wants to lay claim to visiting as many islands as I can while I’m working this location – at this point I’ve got a year left. But it’s also very relaxing, enjoyable, knowledge fulfilling and…who wouldn’t want to travel the Caribbean! Especially when you can be in Barbados in 4 hours.

Barbados – 9/10

5 nights. Turtle Beach Resort. Discounted for low season.
Within a few minutes of checking into my room, I stood on the 4th floor balcony looking at the amazing view and down below in a public laneway access to the beach a tall young local man started talking to me. After a moment to decipher his accent, I realised he was trying to sell me cocaine. Welcome to Barbados. This happened another time on the beach. As someone not at all into drugs, I find it unsavory and disturbing.
Very rough surf on the south coast, when I traveled to the west it was so much calmer. Next time I will stay on the west coast.
Staying at an all-inclusive for the first time was good to not have to worry about food choices or paying for drinks, but I did feel locked up. Like on a cruise ship.
I drank a lot more than normal instinctively trying to get my money’s worth.
Lots of children. Next time I’ll find an adults only all inclusive.
This country is less developed than I expected.

View from room

Turtle snorkel catamaran tour

The hotel I tried to stay at but ‘couples only’.

Golf time

Grenada – 7/10

2 nights. Allamanda Resort. Good location on the beach and cheap.
Again offered drugs within moments of stepping onto the beach.
The fort overlooking St Johns is totally without maintenance and a public safety risk, but great views of the harbor and port.
I had not realised that this country had a communist coup in the late 70’s, then another coup where the prime minister and cabinet were locked up in the fort and executed. Then the USA invaded and ‘liberated’ the nation because they thought the new military government was building an airstrip to support Soviet and Cuban air craft to refuel in the southern Caribbean.
I walked into a nutmeg store and said hi to the young male attendant as I was the only one in the store. He immediately replied “you know me”. I stared and wandered. He said “look at me well”. Then it dawned on me that we sat next to each other on the 1 hour flight from Barbados to Grenada. Small part of the world.
Grand Anse is a nice long public beach with clean water and nice sand.
Found a nice marina with a bar, restaurant and pool. A rare place that was new, functional and welcoming.

View from the fort

View from the fort

Grand Anse beach

St Lucia – 6/10

2 nights. La Haut Resort. Way out of Soufrière town.
Taxi from airport to hotel was an hour and cost 80 usd! A signal that this island is not cheap.
Too mountainous which makes for bad beaches, and long travel times.
Gros Piton hike was the toughest I’ve done. My calf muscles were sore for days.
Incredible views from La Haut plantation resort were amazing but the place closed for good the day I checked out. Up for sale. Spooky quiet at night which had me laying in bed thinking I was in the movie paranormal activity.

View from room

From the town pier.

The ‘trail’ up the mountain. Crazy.

View from the top of Gros Piton

After hiking up for 2 tough hours

Up in the clouds

Petite Piton

Having a beer afterwards. Watching the CPL – T20 west indies style.

The hotel owners house!

The hotel owners house! – random rain storm

and rainbow

Martinique – 9/10

2 nights. Can’t remember the hotel as I literally walked off the ferry and checked into the first hotel I found. But it was nice. Except the level 3 elevator door didn’t work. And I was on level 3.
Finally a developed island! A carrefour grocery store, paved sidewalks, street lighting and people leave you alone rather than try to sell you cheap bead necklaces.
Only downside is it’s French speaking, but that could be a positive since people leave me alone!
21st century buses, roads and intersections. Hub of a ferry system.
Bakeries and food that is beyond chicken and Creole
Although I almost got run down crossing a road. I hate crossing roads.
The beaches close to town are not very nice. And full of local children.
Service is snail pace.
I’d definitely come back and couple it with other French islands. I think the French funding and connection to the European Union means they must abide by EU standards which are much higher than the former British colonies that are poor.

Dominica – 3/10

1 night that turned into 2. Fort Young Hotel. Lovely refurbished hotel and best part of Roseau.
Do not return. Undeveloped, wrecked by a recent storm, mountainous with long travel times on bad roads, dull landmarks. Although, no one bothered me to sell stuff on the streets or offer me tours like I was in Lucia.
Roseau is a simple under developed town with nothing noteworthy. Except for my hotel, which was modern, sprawling and good service.
The activities desk while seemingly professional, postponed my organized tour of the island not once but twice. Fully knowing that I only had 2 days 1 night on the island. And although I’d paid already for something they couldn’t offer anymore, did not provide a partial refund or even a genuine apology. Giving me the sense this happens often.
As if Dominica knew I didn’t like her, she punished me further by hovering a rain storm over the island at the time of my evening flight causing it to be cancelled and being put up by liat airlines in a hotel room with no ac and a ceiling fan moving so slow it may as well have been switched off.

Hotel

President’s House and Office, opposite the hotel

Trafalgar Falls

Hot baths. Literally baths.

Says everything about Dominica

Antigua – 8/10

3 nights that was supposed to be 4 except for Dominica. Airbnb apartment in English Harbour. Well located with lovely views, but in a loft with no cross breeze so it was stinking bloody hot.
Very modern airport.
Renting a car was simple and easy to cruise around. Although some hairy corners on what should be single lane one way roads.
Again no hassle from the locals and I rode a public ‘bus’ to town with ease for a dollar. The bus is a mini van that loads in the people, most without seatbelts. Similar to what I rode in Grenada.
Beaches are lovely but not as postcard worthy as I believed from Google images. But I do believe the phrase that there are as many beaches as there are days in the year on Antigua.
I’d likely come back and use this as a base to explore Barbuda, St Kitts and St Barts.

View from my room

Pigeon Beach. My closest beach. Ok

Climbed a hill

Halfmoon Beach. Lots of seaweed washed up recently. Not as nice as claimed.

Jolly Beach

And that’s it. No hurricane. Although it threatened. Some islands I’d come back to, others are firmly on the DNR list. Definitely prefer ferries over planes where I could. Easier to get around than I thought and lots of research online that you can just google and make it up when you wake up!

Beautiful Waters of Semuc Champey, Guatemala

24 June 2016 / travellingross / Leave a comment

17 June 2016

Travellingross Rating: 9 out of 10

11 hours. 3 vehicles. 3 bad movies. That’s what it took to get from Antigua City to the middle of flipping Guatemala. Changing vehicles because the roads got rougher and skinnier. I was told it would be eight hours arriving at 4pm for free time before dinner. Oh no. But hey, that’s what to expect in a developing country. The very fact I got here and the hotel had my reservation was a surprise.

Only yesterday, I booked a 4 night tour for the simplicity of not having to think about booking anything for the rest of my Guatemala time. Having not heard/researched about anywhere in this country other than Tikal, I saw a photo of Semuc Champey and thought it looked pretty. Done.

On the final vehicle from Lanquín, I met a great Scottish/Florida couple and we had laughs and fun the next couple days. The hotel was all Guatemalans except for us and I set my alarm to make it for the 8am tour stated on my voucher. Only to find out after toe tapping at 8:20am that I, of course, was on the 10am tour with everyone else!

The tour included an intense hike up to the look out (mirador), then down to the natural pools, a cave tour with just a candle to the light the way, and a leisurely float down the river in a tyre tube. The pools are beyond beautiful and consist of a natural limestone bridge over the Cahabón River. The water is refreshing (read: cold), with fish that nibble your feet, jumps and slides along slippery rocks, and an incredible waterfall that tunnels under the pools. Stunning. Worth the long trip and hassle to get here.

How to Make this Trip

Tour: booked through Aviatur in Antigua city for $450 usd including a single supplement. Great agency that speaks good English right near the arch. Only downside was the tour vouchers are written very generic without hotel names or tour contacts. But in the end (after a couple of phone calls along the way) it all worked out ok. I have become much better at spontaneous travel and ‘just going with it’.

Accommodation: Hostal El Portal. A pain ( literally) to get to. Riding 45 minutes from Lanquín in the tray of a truck holding on to bars while misty rain falls. But perfect location just outside the Semuc gates and overlooking the river. Electricity only 6-11pm and no telecommunications at all (I wasn’t expecting this). Oh and no hot water.

The bumpy, winding road

One of the vehicles

The rickety old bridge to cross

El Portal Hotel – my room on the lower left

Hiking to the mirador

Ahhh the view

Deforestation is obvious and extreme. Hill slopes and tops cleared for crops and plantations

The river going below the limestone formation

The beautiful natural pools

The Cahabón River and Hotel El Portal

Antigua – the Historic City not the Island

21 June 2016 / travellingross / 2 Comments

13 – 16 June 2016

Travellingross Rating: 10 out of 10

This city in Guatemala is an infusion of places I have been before. Fortunately the best parts of those places. A bit of Peru, Costa Rica, Cuba and Mexico.

But different to those countries (I know I’m broad brushing entire countries and not comparing to all of Guatemala just yet), here in Antigua city, it’s like the tourist doesn’t exist. Sure there are people trying to sell tacky jewellery and cashews. But other than that everyone goes on with life and it’s authentic. Not like Cuba with their vintage taxis and tourist pesos made solely for the foreigners. Or like Costa Rica where everyone seemed to target the assumed wealthy foreigner. Here kids play basketball with archaeological digs and repairs in the background. A volcano erupts smoke in the near distance. And the stalls on the streets are intended for the locals, not the tourist. All in a relaxed, simple atmosphere that is safer than my minimal research lead me to believe.

A world heritage listed city that literally has an historic site or ruin on every corner. I did not see anything outside the core but I felt that, unlike other world heritage listed towns, this one is a working lived in, functioning city. I really enjoyed my time here and it was a great way to kick off my Guatemala and Belize trip.

How to Make this Trip

Flights: Copa Airlines via Panama City. Long layover in Panama so I paid $50 USD to enter the lounge which was a great decision.

Transport: Pre-arranged an airport pick up and transfer to my hotel through Around Antigua for $43 USD. I read that Guatemala City is hazardous for tourists and not much to see, so I was happy to see someone holding my name on a sign and get straight outta there to my hotel in 45 mins.

Accommodation: Hotel Meson de Maria for $56 USD per night via booking.com. Quiet, perfect location and with a delicious included breakfast. Only downside was the weak Wi-Fi signal.

Ahhhh my hotel from the rooftop terrace

My hotel. Loved the courtyard

The arch. Symbol of the town.

Typical street scene

Basillica

Inside the basillica

Riiiiiight

Creative fountain

City Hall

“The most preserved church in town”

City Hall looking to Cathedral

Typical courtyard

Local beer overlooking some ruins

Parque central. Very peaceful.

Another corner, another ruin

Volcano overlooking the town

A volcano blowing a puff of smoke. I’m sure there was a tremor one morning.

From Santa Cruz look out

Kids playing in front of a ruin under restoration. Such a contrast.

Love this

I don’t normally show food, but here’s some local dish. Food is good here.

Turtle Time in Galibi, Suriname

16 June 2016 / travellingross / 1 Comment

11-12 June 2016

7 out of 10

After my first standard rotation of 23 days for quite some time, I decided to spend the first few days of break in Suriname to explore more of the country and see the turtles that come ashore for a few months a year to lay eggs. I missed it last year, so booked a 2 day tour and set off. After a night out in Parbo first…

The tour set off at 8:30 am in a vehicle that did not have seat belts for the passengers in the back seats. And along the same highway I travel to work, but this time instead of turning at Moengo, we went all the way to Albina. It was interesting to cross the Marowijne River into French Guyana and see prices in Euro and the French flag flying. The canoe trip to Galibi (not accessible by road) was fun and occasionally bumpy rocking against the waves. Accommodation was much better than expected with simple bed in my own room as only six on the tour. The town is dull and unremarkable.

Saw two turtles, one of each type and watched them dig a hole and lay eggs. Was great and fascinating to watch these creatures. But thought we’d see more and wait around to watch the turtles cover their eggs and head back to the ocean. Instead we left soon after the egg laying started. Likely because a bunch of other tourists arrived on the same stretch of beach. Up until then we had been alone which was peaceful. After a rough and horrible canoe trip back to town, we arrived at 11pm for a game of cards. In my mind I thought we would be out til 3am or so.

The guide did not communicate a single word of English, so fortunately a Spanish girl who also is fluent in Dutch translated the key points for me. It was a lot of driving/travelling in 2 days, but overall I enjoyed it. And it was great to see more of the country I’ve been working in for eighteen months. Something I never wanted to do in Ghana.

How to Make this Trip

Tour booked through Jenny Tours

Road side sloth rescue. He was a bit wet

Memorial to 36 murdered people during the civil war

Leaving Albina for French Guyana

In the canoe

Cool

France

Famous prison

Somehow we dodged this storm. I was worried.

Galibi ‘hotel’

Beds at Galibi. Better than I thought – a hammock

Leatherback making her nest

So delicate to scoop out the sand after being rough to create this large area

Green Sea Turtle

Leatherback

Galibi school – Winnie the Pooh!

Galibi school

Galibi beach time

Token work photos – Mill

Token work photos – CIL

Ping pong at Rec Room

The night before the day after. Fun in Parbo.

Home of Curacao Liqueur

15 December 2014 / travellingross / Leave a comment

Friday 14 to Wednesday 19 November 2014

Curacao. Yet another country I didn’t know existed and a name I pronounced entirely incorrect (it’s cure-a-sow not koo-rac-o). But a country that has intriguing character, great people and many turquoise bays to explore. And to be fair to myself for another geography failure, it is a country that only became official in 2010 when the Dutch Antilles were separated under the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Getting to Curacao from Fort Lauderdale I became trapped in a terrible traffic jam of gridlock hell that amplified frustration when trying to get to the airport for a 10:50am flight. I roared into the rental car return, raced to check-in and then I became one of ‘those people’ trying to cram 4 bags into 2 to meet the TSA requirements of only 2 pieces of hand-luggage. All along I was worried they’d weigh my bags but instead it was all about the number of items. Rejected by the TSA security, I was against the wall between the water fountain and the toilet stuffing souvenirs, food and belongings into my back pack and then kneeling on my carry-on suitcase to zip it up. In the end I got to the gate only to be told my suitcase was now too fat and would have to be checked. Free of charge. $25 saving, a lot of sweat and a bit of stress. Next time I’ll know better. This could be the first and last attempt at carry-on only.

3 hrs later and I landed mid-afternoon in Willemstad, the capital of Curacao. In Fort Lauderdale the night before, and under the influence of some beers, I booked the Marriot beachfront hotel through an app on my phone. I have a policy of not staying in Marriot’s because they tend to be the ones targeted by terrorists. But the Hilton was booked and the Marriot had the beach hotel vibe I was chasing for 5 nights ahead of my return to work. Getting to my room and any concerns about expense or being blown up washed away literally with the waves outside my room. I love these kind of hotels and have always enjoyed these vacations whether it be in Zanzibar, Turks & Caicos, or Broome. The check-in process was the best I’ve experienced anywhere.

The sea water here is perfect temperature. It rained a fair bit though and was cloudy 70% of the time which meant it wasn’t really hot enough for me to feel like beach weather. People smoke on the beach which annoys me. I used the steam room everyday. I’ve added ‘steam room’ to my ‘Dream Home’ list.

Other highlights included renting a scooter for a couple of days and cruising around the island to the Sea Aquarium, along the coast to some truly beautiful bays and out to the factory where the Curacao liqueur is made. It’s a brief tour here, but interesting to learn how this orange flavoured blue drink originated and is now the component of many cocktails around the world. All because of importing Spanish oranges that suffered in the hot Caribbean climate to generate the famous liqueur that now comes in many colours but blue is the most recognised. Wandering around the two sides of Willemstad was enjoyable. The harbour inlet separates the two sides but is joined by a mobile pedestrian bridge that opens for ships, tug boats etc. Very relaxing to sit at one of the waterside restaurants with beer in hand watching the ships go by. Ahhhhhh island life.

Websites Used to Make this Trip

Booked the scooter through www.curacaoscooters.com

On a rare clear day

Marriot

Cloudy a lot

Seal time

love these fish

They’re real

Dolphin gets some height!

Animal cruelty can look a lot like fun. Riding dolphins.

has had better days

Who would’ve thought i’d find Japanese here.

Appropriate spot to sit under that sign

I’ll be back

Road Trip to Space

18 November 201418 November 2014 / travellingross / Leave a comment

Monday 10 to Thursday 13 November 2014

I’ve always been fascinated by space travel and exploration. So a key motivation of visiting Florida was to tour the NASA Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. The place of moon landing missions, space shuttle lift-offs and now the new Orion outer orbit exploration program. So, it might have been tough leaving my Miami Beach apartment, but I was excited to go on a road trip north.

I bussed to the airport to collect my Kia Forte rental car – not fussy on the car make/model. I’d read that this can take a long time waiting in line and it was true. About an hour to get to the front of the line and then collect the car. January was the last time I drove on the right, and that was in Ghana where driving is more about dodging pot-holes than staying inside your lane. So I was a little anxious, but for no reason, a few miles in and I was in the zone. I’m glad I got an electronic toll pass thing so I didn’t have to worry about what route or lane to be in. One less stress. I selected ‘scenic route ‘ on my GPS as I wanted to follow the coast. Turns out scenery = traffic gridlock on a suburban road that saw about two glimpses of beach. Frustrating, but lesson learned and lots of time to listen to American radio.

Palm Beach: My first pit stop for lunch. Only because it’s a place I’d heard of. Very upper class swank ville with all the buildings lacking the usual advertising vomit that is everywhere else. Immaculate gardens and clean streets. At times it felt like walking a movie set.

Melbourne: Picked this place to stay simply because of the Australian city connection. And that it is only a 45 min drive to Cape Canaveral. Nice town with a bit of history and had a brilliant steak for dinner at a classy beach steakhouse. I ended up staying 2 nights here because the day I’d planned to go to NASA was Veterans Day (Remembrance Day) public holiday and also because I saw a news story that they were moving Orion to the launch pad and if I delayed by a day then I might see it. That’s the beauty of making it up as you go – amend your plans on the hop. Although it did mean I would not make it to Orlando. I was relieved by that as I didn’t want to tackle another big city and the theme parks – I like Disney and Universal, but going to Disneyland alone is possibly the most depressing thing I could think of at that point in time. Another time.

NASA Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral: 10/10. Exceeded expectations with a full day (8 hrs!) on 12 November 2014. Lots to see, read, watch, touch, tour. $50 entry and a 2.5 hr up close optional bus tour for $25 extra. I didn’t see everything, but saw the hit-list I selected from the tour map and particularly enjoyed the Space Shuttle Launch Experience, Space Shuttle Atlantis hanging from the ceiling, and the moon landing Apollo/Saturn V exhibit with one of the unused Saturn V rockets on display. Excellent audio/visuals and very educational on the space race with the Russians, the new commercial space programs and ‘simple’ stuff u don’t think of like how they transport the rockets/shuttles to the launch pads from the vehicle assembly building. With the sun set and a head full of new info, I drove to the nearest town (Titusville), pigged out at dinner after skipping lunch, then had a big fat Glenfiddich scotch whisky to close a memorable day.

NASA Astronaut Hall of Fame: 8/10. Just out of Titusville, I went here the day after Cape Canaveral, but it doesn’t open til midday so a good excuse to sleep in and chill. Brief compared to yesterday and it does a good job displaying in chronological order the achievements of the NASA space program starting with the very first astronauts to today. Free with yesterday’s ticket.

Fort Lauderdale: I headed here with McDonald’s in hand following the astronaut thing. This time much wiser not to select ‘scenic’ route, however I still met peak hour gridlock eventually but was smart enough to get off the 95 and take a different road – I only got honked twice the entire 300 kilometres! I found a good beach bar with live music and then found a cheap hotel just up the road. Good way to spend my final night in the US of A.

Next stop….Curacao

Websites Used to Make this Trip

Booked the ‘Dollar’ rental car through rentalcars.com

Found booking.com had the best for cheap hotels. Their mobile phone app (Android) has become very intuitive and one of the best apps out there. I stayed at Days Inn, except for Fort Lauderdale which I can’t remember and wouldn’t recommend.

Research on NASA at www.kennedyspacecenter.com. I debated booking online tickets, but didn’t and didn’t need to either. If paying by credit card, use the self-service kiosks at the entrance to bypass the line up entirely.

Yay

Apollo 11 crew walked this to the capsule

Orion capsule replica

Awesome

Atlantis’ last mission was to release a satellite. a replica of the satellite is in the lower part of the photo – tiny!!

Public viewing point for launches

NASA Kennedy Space Center - Orion launch pad

Crawler that takes rockets to launch pads

Space suit with moon dust still on it - cool

in the mid sixties

Spanish moss hanging from trees is pretty

In the hey day – lots of launch pads ready for space or war????

Dress rehearsal’s even included planting the flag. The stage is set for faking the moon landing?

So this is Suriname

4 November 20147 November 2014 / travellingross / 2 Comments

I’ll be honest upfront – I had not heard of the South American nation called Suriname before I accepted a job there. I always thought that Suriname was the name of the Project, not the country. As someone who likes to boast about my geographical knowledge, this is somewhat embarrassing. To the people of Suriname, I recommend some serious PR to raise your profile as so far my impressions are of a beautiful country, with generous people, a fascinating history and an enviable global location (aside from the flights in and out which are few and poorly scheduled).

As my first entry to diarise my experiences, I will try keep this brief but hopefully informative for all those that are interested in learning more. This format and website is new to me so let’s see how well I can use it and communicate the message. Here we go…

The journey to Suriname was long, tiring, and testing of my travel skills. Perth to Hong Kong (cause Cathay Pacific was the cheapest 1 way fare to LA) to Los Angeles (overnighted) to Miami to Aruba (overnighted due to work making an incorrect flight booking) to Paramaribo (landed at 1am, overnighted in a nice hotel) to the Merian gold mine construction project site (4 hour car ride south and towards the French Guyana border) arriving at 2pm.

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24 hrs in Aruba was enough to check out the high rise hotel district and wander around town. Not sure I would like to return here. Didn’t really excite me, but that could also have been the head cold and general confusion over what time it was. Paramaribo (or Parbo for short) is an attractive capital city with a few hundred thousand people, world heritage listed with lots of Dutch influence from the colonial days. Inevitably I find myself comparing back to Ghana as my only other international working experience, but really there aren’t many comparisons between this part of Sth America and West Africa. Here is a wide mix of races, clean air, fewer people, less confusion, more organisation and higher wealth.

Why am I here, how and what’s the deal? Well, I am glad you asked. I’m still trying to figure that out myself. The last month or so of life has been a whirlwind where I felt almost sucked into a vortex and now spat out typing this in Miami Beach after my first rotation. Bit dramatic, but that imagery makes for good reading. I left Perth Monday 6 October 2014, and prior to that was a series of appointments to get organised for the trip and job. Prior to that was 7 months off working after finishing up my last job in February. That time off was fantastic overall. The last couple of months a bit monotonous looking for work and thinking about what the next career move would be. I guess this relaxing time explains a fair bit of why the busy last month has been such a gear change for me. Like pressing the power button. It’s hard to think about it much when you’re in the middle of the ride, and that’s why I’ve done very little the last couple of days and I think it is beneficial to write this to take stock and think “wow, did all that just happen” and “how fortunate I am to finish one 3 yr assignment, have 7 months off, and be in South America working on another rewarding international assignment”. And South America was the goal for my next career move. Ideally a Spanish speaking one, not Dutch. But if that is the only box not ticked, then who am I to complain? Doing a 23 days on, 19 days off roster in a warm tropical country on the edge of the Caribbean working as the most senior environmental person on site is a career move I’ll take any day. I worked hard for a decade (and years of study before that) to position myself for these opportunities. Calculated and knowing that if I worked hard and with focus, the rewards will be there for me. Taking those 7 months off was the best thing I could’ve done: to re-energise, reconnect with my goals, live life, meet great people. A year or so ago, I really thought I wanted to give it up and get out of mining, get out of environmental, find a new career where I could do the 9 to 5 without care. I still aspire to branch out eventually and do something different, but not for the same negative motivation I had at that time. So that brings me in a round about way to reflecting on Suriname, the new job, the new life chapter, and the new memories. Here is a list of random observations that I noted down over the last few weeks:

Songs on radio that are from today. So far no Celine Dion like in Ghana!
Airport far out of main town. 30 mins before hit significant buildings.
Fast food place in hotel lobby.
Hotel pool actually looks swimable and breakfast had variety.
Travel brochures in hotel that have tourist sites I’d actually be interested in seeing
Road to site brilliant for first 2 hrs, then dirt road that’s bumpy to the point you can’t read or type. Apparently much better than a month ago though.
The site exploration camp is like a shanty town. The facilities are shared, basic, like a 2 star caravan park.
Site is half hr drive from exploration camp
Saw a monkey
Significant small scale mining everywhere. Called porknockers.
Drive on left
Showers are raw water harvested from roofs but looks clean, drinking water is bottled.
Food is good. First night I had duck but all bones. Beef is imported. Chicken is common.
Bar has small selection. Nice setting. No mosquito protection. More nationals than expats there when I went on first night. My intent is to avoid the bar.
Must take laundry to laundry people to wash and then pick up yourself. I spent 3 days trying to pick up my washing only to realise I was looking for the wrong bag cause I forgot that I’d changed rooms and needed to look for the new room number. Searching through all the laundry bags is a highlight. Especially when I inadvertently started trawling through the dirty laundry bags and the woman had to stop me. oops.
Showered with a frog on second night.
Little spiders, bugs and lizards everywhere
The site vehicles are new hilux and have electric windows and Bluetooth stereo. And machete. Hmmm.
The forest is impressively dense. And trees are ridiculously tall.
Terrain is very steep in places with deep valleys
Forgot my black tea leaves. Here they only have Lipton tea bags nooooooo.
The work mobile phones are from the days when Jesus walked the Earth. Screen is the size of a postage stamp. But I’m since told that smartphones on way coming…. Android. Yay.
Work email account is powered by Gmail.
Windows 8 computers and I’ve got a really good laptop. Nice way for me to experiment with this before buying a new personal one. But it keeps crashing. Argh.
I have 7 staff. 3 senior, 4 junior. Plus 2 vacancies. All great people and I feel the makings of a great team – the rossification has begun. The juniors are all African descendants. Very interested in asking about my time in Ghana and the language.
The work is interesting, the people good and lots of opportunity for me to contribute value. So far so good.
No goats, but stray dogs everywhere.
Internet access is available in wifi and just got a lot better and reliable with upgrade to link going to city. But still slow and drops often. Lots sites blocked. I bought a private SIM to get open net. But it is still slow; will try a different phone company next rotation.
Power outlets are USA style
A mosquito borne virus (Chikungunya) is spreading quickly through the country – I really don’t want this and cover up as much as possible.
Although the new camp has much better facilities, I am in 2 minds about requesting to move there. Because they don’t have internet in room until late November. I value my internet so think I put that above nicer room and nearly private bathroom (share with neighbour). Plus my office is at exploration camp so I’d have half hr commute there and back if at construction camp. I value sleep and my personal time so don’t like this idea.
Instead of moving to new camp, I luckily was moved to a new room in Exploration Camp that is bigger, better furniture, better air con. But…on first night, my bed collapsed when trying to put suitcase under it!! It made such a loud noise that my neighbour started yelling at me through the wall. I called Matt for help to put the bed back together. Hilarious moment. Actually there have been many funny moments and I haven’t laughed so much at work in a long time. Great to work with humorous people who I connect almost instantly with.

And so there you go. First entry complete. Good to get that out there. And for all those that have patiently waited for an update, thank you for waiting while I got myself sorted. I appreciate your interest, thoughts and well wishes. All is good and I look forward to taking you on the adventure.