• Richard Ellis
10月 2016 – 8月 2017

The Americas

Richardによる302日間のアドベンチャー もっと詳しく
  • St John, USVI

    2016年12月11日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    New boat, new country, soon to be new crew...

    We awoke the next morning with a feeling of confidence in our new electronics. However, Dave had slept on it (and likely consulted his boss) and arrived bright and early in good spirits. After explaining the electricians doings from the night before, Dave wholly overlooked all factors and announced his predetermined decision: we're getting a new (read: different) boat.

    Mixed feelings welled in as we gratefully accepted. Anne's Turn is a 2005 Hunter 40, newer and 10 feet shoter than our previous ship, Windseeker. We were happy to leave any potential unresolved problems behind, but had a sneaking suspicion that we would miss the luxury of space, lots of space. Especially with the impending arrival of her highness, Felicity.

    Further inspection reinforced this. Anne is well equipped for blue water sailing and live-aboard cruising. Perfect for us. So well equipped in fact, there is almost no room for anything else. She's now well packed, with a bathroom full of travel bags and windsurf gear, and we've yet to put her highness aboard and do the food shop. Hmmm. The good news is that so far, Anne's batteries have offered little concern. She's a huge step up in manoeuvrability, handling, speed and ease of sail. Truely a delight in the water. A good result to date, fingers crossed.

    Yesterday we, all three of us, experienced our first migration by 'private vessel'. Customs in JVD, BVI was just as expected. A man in uniform sat behind a well used desk in a quaint two storey police building. No computers, no phones, just paper and stamps. Conversation was nil, as I handed over our papers and got more grunting than Grant himself on a day of DOMS. After paying our dollar (literally), and 40 cents for paperwork, receiving no passport stamps or formal emmigration documents, I left a nervous man. USVI here we come.

    A short sail later and a salute to no man's land we arrived to a heavily congested Cruz Bay at St John's island. Now we're getting used to anchoring in some tight spots, but this was something else. The bay was divided in three sections by two well marked channels. The northern most anchorage was well above our draft, and the northern channel left us under a foot clear, so we were already playing with fire. The other two anchorages had back to back private moorings which covered almost all of the available anchorage. Oh, and the whole bay was enclosed by a reef which plummeted to 60+ feet behind. After intially being booted off a spare (private) mooring we snagged, we squeezed into a narrow gap on the edge (read: in) the channel. What a polava.

    US customs, as expected, was the complete opposite of BVI customs. Four enclosed booths, with computers, camera's, fingerprint scanning and of course wonderful, wonderful AC. The only thing different to mainland US customs were the staff. Apparently local, they toned down the intimidation of a mainland official and for a moment I almost felt welcome. We passed in with our existing US visas like a cool breeze through the open hatch. Let's hope clearing out is just as simple.

    USVI and BVI are geographically intertwined. The water border weaves around islands like spaghetti on a plate, and it's not unusual to be checking a chart to determine an island's nationality. Despite this, the cultures differ dramatically. America is alive and well in the USVIs, with fast food chains, obnoxious stereotypical american tourists, tipping, sales tax and of course - the american flag. On every building. Just in case you forgot you where you were. The harbours a more developed, more congested and almost entirely private, we soon found out. Fortunately we found a less congested anchorage for the night and were able to witness an incredible sunset!

    Red Rock is supposed to be one of the main harbours in the area. We approached in the mid morning, after a nights sleep beside the pizza boat (fantastic idea). An 18kt tail wind ensured a swift entry into the harbour (even without sails), and the rising chop ensured Jools recieved his daily beating (Jools versus boat is an ongoing saga). His back is looking like a battlefield after being tossed across the kitchen into an immovable stove. One hand for the boat, lesson learned. Oh and if he tries to blame me for it he's having a laugh. I digress - we couldn't find a mooring or a slip even remotely accessible by land. We had no choice but to moor in the wind and chop, until we found all the moorings were private. So we anchored, and it dragged. And we narrowly got out of a sticky situation before taking a risk on a mooring again. Fortunately whilst enquiring about moorings, a lovely lady offered is her friend's, which we enthusiastically accepted, and remoored. Meanwhile, Scotts knot tying had let him down. Heading aft to get in the dinghy proved problematic when the dinghy wasn't there. In a strike of good fortune, it had washed up onto the beach amd was retrievable with a short swim of shame. Bowlines only from now I'm guessing. Oh and all that was just to get ashore so we could get some food.
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  • St Thomas, USVI

    2016年12月12日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Wind. Blustery breeze.

    Hunkering down under the aeroplanes in the flattest, most protected water available. Coincidently a very nice spot! We're playing it safe until with winds drop back down below 20kts, at least for now.

    We've picked up the princess, she's alive and buzzing at the warm weather and clear blue water. To top it off, our anchorage happened to be host to numerous families of turtles, who popped up all over the bay, and forced us into countless impulsive swims. We also got the windsurfer up and running over these two days. Believe it or not, everyone our boat can windsurf - how's that??!

    It was great to be waiting on the weather. In a nice location we just had time to burn. Everyone set their own clocks and did their activities as they pleased. Not that we were ever on a hectic schedule, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

    I'm going to take the liberty here to offer a little insight to the weather. Jump to the two paragraphs if you don't like weather. So I bet you're thinking we get sun all day and moon all night, right? Wrong. We're riddled with showers, all the time. Although the sun is shining for most of the day, it doesn't take good eyes to spot a darkening cloud on the horizon. Contrary to weather at home, these clouds arrive quickly and leave quickly, torrenting with rain. Squalls would be the best way to describe them, as the reliably bring wind, lot's of wind, and heavy downpours. Often, in less than a minute, they're gone. With five or six of these per day or per night, it's infuriating. Hatches open, washing out; hatches closed, washing in. And by washing I mean electronics. Close the hatches and the bot roasts. First world problems, I know.

    We're also sitting in the trades, so we reliably get easterly wind and swell. It makes for easy route planning. It also makes for easy guidebook writing, as authors need only provide guidance for one wind direction. And in the charting world, a western anchorage is a safe bet. With regard to the temperature. I've seen only 26 and 27 degrees since we got here. More consistency than Fraser's presence in class during his study in Otago (never).

    Yesterday we motored up to Great St James Island to get a better angle to attack St Croix in an Easterly breeze. During his evening anchor dive, Scott meandered over to a nearby rocky outcrop. With Felicity and I in tow, we stumbled across a massive crayfish in around 1m of water. The rest is history. Scott's appetite for hunting cray is enormous. No crack goes unsearched and no craycray goes unattacked (size pending of course). After wrestling this sucker out of it's (particularly small) hole, we realised that there was no other way back to the boat than swim. Furthermore, the shallow water was surging with the swell, and sea urchins littered the alcove. With both hands tied up with said fish, swimming was tough. Witnessing Scott get smashed on rocks, urchins and pricked by a fiesty crustacean was undoubtedly the highlight of my day. Felicity took her sweet time getting the dinghy as Scott's shallow injuries mounted. After an eternity she (the cray) was safe in the yacht and fed us four for dinner...with leftovers. A fantastic end to an otherwise uneventful day.

    As a little aside, who's reading my blog?? I literally have no idea who's reading this. A teacher, some time during my numerous years of education, told me I should tailor my words to my audience. Send us a like or a comment if you're reading and let me know what you want to read more about!!
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  • St Croix, USVI

    2016年12月14日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Biggest sail to date: 35nm.

    Perhaps the most hectic few days on the trip, St Croix has been a real roller coaster ride!

    The island itself pops up from the sea bed like a white man in Tokyo Square. The coastline is home to several stretches of underwater sheer cliffs, some over 2000 feet tall. The ocean floor is said to plummet to over 25,000 feet, making it the second deepest body of water in the world. A diving spectacle not to be missed. Unfortunately for us, it was not to be. Here's why:

    The sail itself was rather entertaining. Apparently our crew is not overly accustomed to a rolling sea. Whist making breakfast, Jools decided to embrace the force of the ocean and tackle myself, his cereal bowl and a box of cornflakes from the galley into the head. Not anticipating the force of a grown man's tackle resulted in the both of us dangling off the bathroom door covered in a pool of cornflakes, at the concerned hilarity of the others. Another loss for Jools in Jools vs Boat.

    Scott also provided further entertainment with the inevitable onset of seasickness. Forcing his cereal down over the space of around two hours, at a peak pace of three cheerios and two oats per spoonful, Scott couldn't help himself. The fire bucket quickly became the vomit bucket as Scott emptied the contents of his stomach repeatedly for the remainder of the voyage. These actions were cause for concern for the crew as we searched for a cool breeze and a steady horizon. Too late for the seasickness drugs...

    Christiansted Harbour is tucked in behind a reef providing a safe haven for boats. Shallow draft boats only it would seem. After scraping through the channels and narrowly avoiding unmarked shipwrecks, we finally found a spot to anchor. Flirting with the bottom seems to be a national passtime here - so many charted anchorages leave you less than three feet clear.

    Upon anchoring we discovered a major problem. A weld in our forestay bracket had sheared in the trip over. This had caused the deck of the boat to begin to tear from the hull, and effectively turn the front of the boat into a crocodile's mouth. Major problem. In fact, we were lucky to still have mast!

    As the sun set and we mulled our problem over with beer and sunset on the waterfront, our fate sunk in. Prior to even getting an inspection we could tell this was a major. We also began a fruitless search of alternative transport off the island. Literally, the only commercial transport off the island was by seaplane, which only allowed one carry on bag per person. I needn't remind you how much gear we have. We were screwed.

    The next morning the admin began. After a myriad of phone calls and internet searches we finally found someone to take a look at the boat. A bloke named George at a nearby marina was our saving grace. Now George had just been shot after an altercation over an outstanding bill, and was currently operating on just three hours sleep, as he had us know. He seemed short fused so we trod carefully, we couldn't blow our only opportunity. Eventually, Jools found some common ground, literally, in Scotland and got George on our side.

    He made room for us on the fuel dock and inspected the boat immediately. He deemed it unsailable almost instantly (as we had expected). Great. We immediately consulted with the charter company and it was agreed the boat would be taken out and fixed in St Croix and it would not be ready until the new year...not good.

    We still had the option of resuming our charter on Windseeker - we were assured she was fixed - but she was in Tortola and we were about as far from Tortola as you can get...not even the same country!

    We spent the whole day trying to resolve this problem. Everyone on the island was friendly but nobody had a clue what they were talking about. Ferries do exist, ferries don't exist. Planes leave all the time, planes never leave. Try this place, this place has closed. How confusing and frustrating...could this be the end of our trip?

    Just before dark we had all had our wits end. We were seriously stumped and had resorted to beginning to consume our beer supply - we had to lighten the load somehow! Our only option was to fly two people back to St Thomas. Clear customs, check into BVI by ferry, taxi to the boat, stock her up, wait three days for the wind to settle down, sail six hours to St Croix, reclear US customs, pick up the other two with all the gear, check out and sail back to BVI. It was at five days worth of travel and transport the two of us would do alone. the other two would be twiddling their thumbs in the Caribbean heat...

    As we sat there and prepared for the worst, a bloke walked down our dock, notably lost. We sparked a conversation and after some typical boaties chat we discovered he was sailing his boat to Tortola at 8.30am the next day. We all exchanged shooting looks. After probing as to his crew carrying capacity (and explaining our conundrum) he insisted we join him and his crew for the journey and that all of our stuff (ALL our stuff!) wouldn't be a problem. Utterly dumbfounded at the perfect convenience of the opportunity, we gratefully accepted. What a stroke of luck (at last)!

    Craig and his boat Cheeky Monkey would be our ticket out. Funnily enough, Cheeky Monkey is also the name of Lou's old boat in Oconomowoc. Coincidence?

    Panic mode ensued as we frantically tried to pack up the boat, all the gear, all the food, reload Cheeky Monkey, clear customs and make arrangements for Anne's turn...it was 5pm and we were leaving first thing the next day!

    We ferried our gear to Cheeky Monkey that night (many dinghy trips...thanks guys) and got to know the crew over a beer or two (okay, three). They were in the process of rigging brand new sails, and were headed to Tortola for a yacht race on the Saturday. To make this incredible situation even more ridiculous, they were short of crew, I had recent experience in racing 40 footers and all of us happened to be willing to race. Furthermore, they were headed first to customs (where we needed to go) and then planned on spending the next night in Nanny Cay, a short dinghy ride from where Windseeker was currently berthed. So the deal was sealed and we were all very excited for what the next few days would bring. I am still struggling to find words to describe the astoundingly bittersweet contrast of this situation, and how luckily it came about.

    Up at the crack the next morning, we devoured the remainder of our refridgerated goods; ham, egg, avo, cheese and onion wraps. After faffing around at customs (seriously, those guys are on a different planet) and dropping off Anne's Turn, we headed out to Cheeky Monkey and began our voyage home - very grateful to be leaving our problems behind and reinforcing the wise decision to charter and not buy. The voyage was fantastic! A motley crew from all walks - a pilot, a mechanic, and two nurses - all ending up in St Croix for the island lifestyle. The beers and rum flowed and the tales of diving, fishing and sailing escalated as the boat ploughed onward. We even got a visit from the local dolphins. Later in the afternoon, Jason caught a fairly decent sized Mahi mahi on the troll and painted the cockpit red with blood whilst filleting it. He was the happiest man I've seen in a while! I should mention we were carrying a full rig in around 20 kts breeze (a hefty heel) and the bloke was half cut and filleting a fish. What a legend. As we arrived in calmer waters, the boat was heading for disarray: seasickness had painted the stern, rum and ginger lined the cabin and cockpit and a few of the boys were heading downhill at the mercy of the dreaded 'boat pour'.

    Tortola brought another ordeal with customs, eventually resolved with nothing but a smile and some warm words.

    An invitation was extended our way for dinner (said fish) and a race brief, so we hurriedly dinghied our gear from boat to boat. Unable to get a cab to the restaurant, the right thumb scored us a ride in another mariner's car - another stroke of luck. Jason had found us a restaurant and traded half his fish if they would serve us the other half. It was well and truely up there with the most delicious fish I've ever had. It was even good enough to stop us arguing the exorbitant price we paid for our own fish.

    Race day morning and our motley crew looked just that. Sifting around for bacon and gatorade, it was clear that having fun was going to be the priority on the water. The wind was, again blowing a solid 20+ with squalls getting up over 25 kts on a regular basis. Craig, backing up the tales of the previous day, again carried a full rig - and a full glass.

    It quickly be came evident that only four people on the boat knew how to race (myself and Felicity included). We also discovered, post start, that no one knew the course or the rules. Reassuringly, they also didn't know how to worry, and with that, we were set.

    The race weaved around the 'Drakes' - islands adjacent the Sir Francis Drake Channel - and threw hell at us. Squalls came and went like a horse on a carousel bringing stinging rain, powerful breeze and almost zero visibility. Testing conditions. On our approach to the final mark, a small tear in the headsail exploded, ripping leech to luff along the seam of a brand new sail. We couldn't believe it. With no spare headsails aboard we were finished. A really gutting finish to such a fun race. Dwelling in our misery was not an acceptable approach. We pick up our heads, cracked a beer and headed back to port.

    The afternoon was spend getting Windseeker ship shape. This didn't take long and we were soon on our way back to Norman Island for the night. We wined and dined aboard like old times sake before rejoining Cheeky Monkey at Willy T's - a floating bar in the anchorage. It got rowdy at a rate of knots and before we knew it we were bombing off the top deck. The next bright idea involved putting eight people in a dinghy and going to explore the nearby caves under the moonlit sky. Phosphlouresence glowed in the wake of the dinghy, before plunging into darkness inside the caves. Moving inward with our hands on the walls was cause for hilarity - coordination was impossible. It was a fantastic night with some fantastic new friends and we waved their sorry souls goodbye the next morning from a distance. They'd breathed life into our adventure with so much enthusiasm, we couldn't wait to continue the journey!
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  • Cooper Island, BVI

    2016年12月21日, イギリス領ヴァージン諸島 ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Christmas is coming and so are the crowds.

    Felicity has been safely dropped at the ferry and begins her five day voyage home. Glad that's not me! It's been great having her aboard despite the numerous cups of tea required throughout the day.

    We had a fantastic days diving the RMS Rhone, wreck on the western shore of Salt Island. It was a spectacle to behold. The ship has broken into four or five parts and contains numerous swim throughs. It is home to all kinds of coral and fish including the green sea turtle and many large lobster - luckily protected from their greatest predator (Scott) by national park regulations. To give you and idea of the size - the propellor is 18 feet in diameter! I'll get some go pro footage up when I can.

    Planning is now in full swing, as we nut out how to play Christmas, new year, guests and the remainder of our charter.

    In the undernews, the boys are diving 45 feet on a single breath. Scotty probably a little more. Soon we will be fish and never need land again...except for the wifi. Everybody loves a wifi party.
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  • Culebra Island, SVI

    2016年12月23日, プエルトリコ ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Super excited for what this country has to offer!

    Technically part of Puerto Rico and therefore US soil and US water, but not good enough to be mainland USA, but not far enough not to be, but still far enough not to be USVI which would require a new permit, but not a new passport stamp and new customs by phone and then not by phone and a registration number that isn't right but if you remove numbers it is... No wonder nobody could tell us the deal, because nobody knows. Customs won't even reboot their computer to complete the immigration process. I guess we'll wait and see how this plays out.

    Culebra is one of two Spanish Virgin Islands, located just east of Puerto Rico. The other being Vieques. The islands themselves have stuggled (figuratively) to ever be put on the map. Having little significance to Puerto Rico or anywhere else, perhaps their biggest blip in history is that they have been host to US bomb testing over recent years.

    As with all isolated islands unable to sustain any kind of industry, tourism has begun to take hold. And rightly so. Claimed to be the second best beach in the Caribbean, Playa Flemenco was a deilght! Anchoring on the opposite side of the headland (in an extremely calm anchorage) left us a short walk through an ex miltary explosive zone, and a hop through a chain link fence, short of the beach. We were greeted with a horrific tourist scene which we immediately avoided and found our spot on an endless expanse of white sand and tuquoise blue. Worth the walk and some.

    Culebra also played host to Jools' first cray. Questionably qualified at diving and diving in questionably marine reserve waters, Jools had an announcement. He was not to leave this trip without his first crayfish. So it was to be. Mere hours later, at the bottom of the decent, tucked under a rock no bigger than a doormat, sat two delectable treats. Hesistant at first, then slow off the mark, dinner looked a distant dream. However, with Wallace in his veins, the scot delivered on his ambition and treated the boys to two tasty treats. In fact he completed the dive with a third which, selflessly was discarded for take at a later date. Mark my words. Muy bien. Feliz navidad!

    Christmas eve was spent on the wifi at the Dinghy Dock, a restaurant on the waters edge, providing beers and dinner to the the local mariners. As we soon discovered, many locals live on their boats and use this as their local watering hole.

    Christmas day brought strong wind. Holed up in a womderfully calm anchorage in Esenada Honda, we were reluctant to leave. However, our sense of adventure got the better of us. We battened the hatches and weighed anchor, confronting the onslaught that lay ahead. Culebrita was our destination, a short hop from Culebra itself, but said to host the second most beautiful beach in the Greater Antilles. A must do.

    The waves were powerful, steepening up as they shoaled on the shallow water around us. We eventually made safe haven in paradise! Selflessly sharing the beach with only one other boat (who left a short time later) we basked in its beauty; rich white sand, foreshore lined with palm trees, and turquoise water! I whipped up a quick foccacia bread and Christmas lunch followed shortly after - a top ten sandwich in Jools' books. Not bad from boat rations!

    The afternoon flashed by. We went swimming, explored ashore, got coconuts, made cocktails, climbed the mast, consumed some frosty beers and played a few games. A shame we couldn't be with the families but it was undoubtedly the next best thing!

    We cruised back to Esenada Honda in the setting sun. A shallower, downwind route was much less rough and much faster getting us back to anchor in no time. With no fresh catch and no fresh meat, canned chicken was hardly going cut the mustard for a Chrissy dinner. Not being too happy about the situation, especially given my morning efforts to find a tasty bird, I absconded and turned my efforts to what we did have in good supply - beer and cocktails. Meanwhile, the boy's got creative. They made pastry and turned it into a pie, a massive chicken pie. It was definitely the first time I've had canned chicken pie for Christmas dinner but I tell you now - if I get any say in future Christmas dinners, it won't be the last!

    Boxing day brought the gift that Christmas day couldn't. During our excursions on Christmas, we sailed past a reef that looked too good to be true. The reef protruded from a headland on the mainland, curling around between shallow rocky outcrops and clusters of mangroves. Behind the reef was a shallow anchorage, accessible (just) by an equally shallow channel. All of this was exposed to 20+ kts of prevailing wind. If you haven't yet caught my drift, let me give you a hint with a math problem: lots of wind + very flat water + windsurfing gear + windsurfer(s) = ? Unlike a regular math problem there was more than one answer to this one: a heap of fun, fantastic windsurf session, tired arms, torn sail, happy boys...I could go on. Extremely glad we made use of the opportunity nature provided us with!!
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  • Puerto Rico

    2016年12月27日, プエルトリコ ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Tourists, spanish and crazy, crazy drivers.

    We just ticked off the western most point of our sailing route. Unfortunately, that coincides with the leeward most point, which means we have several days upwind sailing ahead, but that be tomorrow's problem!

    We planned this sail for Boxing day but the wind we woke to almost forced us to postpone. We did our due diligence and decided to have a crack. Although it was rough, we had protection from Culebra and some outer reefs and were running a deep angle which, in the end, made for a really enjoyable sail. Felicity's fishing rod hooked us a mackerel in the late stages of the journey which saved us another night on canned chicken. Phew! Fish tacos instead! We're in a little conundrum with our fishing. Two, actually. The first is that we're not marine biologists, and none of us have knowledge of the local fish. Hence, we don't know what's good for eating, what's good size or in general, what the hell we're doing. The second is that reef fish here may have Ciguatera, a food borne toxic disease. The combination of these two is what makes it difficult. The food gods looked upon us once more that day, and put us within reach of google. Confirmation was all we needed. We're making in roads on our marine biology, when we have to. Soon enough we'll be able to leave our good friend google on the mainland.

    We're tucked up in the lee of Isleta Marina. An odd spot, consiting of two small islands connected by a shallow reef. Isleta Marina, as you could guess, is and island with a marina, a very unloved marina at that, and towering apartment blocks for the unintrepid holiday goer. An overwhelming sense of neglect struck us before we even got close. Shipwrecks litter the anchorage, marina and harbour. I'm not talking the Titanic, not even Rainbow Warrior. I'm talking Carlos Sanchez' 15 foot dinghy, or Gomez' 25 ft yacht. In fact there are even sunken boats still in their slip at the marina. Loads of them! I would take a stab and say less than half of the boats in the water here are in a useable state. How sad.

    The issue only got worse ashore on the mainland. Direlect houses, businesses, cars, and infrastructure - the whole town of Fajardo appears tired. Except for the dry stack. Four stories of pristine boats, stacked on the hard and sticking out like a prince amoung plebs. It's obvious maintenance is a struggling aspect of this culture. The marina manager agreed. Noting that often these things were passed through generations, and some younger generations were reluctant to spend money on their inheritance.

    We allowed ourselves on full day in Puerto Rico. Hardly generous but we have a schedule to stick to (believe it or not). Hence when I say 'full', I'm packing that day like Fraser's lunchbox at high school. Speaking of lunchboxes, fuel for the day started with homemade toasted french baguette, fried eggs, beans and sausages, woo! We took our dinghy to the marina and ferried ashore. We met a top bloke on the ferry who offered us a ride to the car rental. We were on our way by 9.30, pretty good considering our starting location. After the first acceleration, first bump and first requirement to brake, I was entirely confident our rental car was not up to the challenge. Warning lights on an a busted dash were the least of our worries, was we dodged potholes, a million lunatics and lanes that end without warning. A very stressful drive.

    Our first stop was El Yunque NP, the only tropical rainforest America. Given that it's not in America, this is, in fact, a useless fact. Nonetheless, it was a rainforest and boy did it rain. This didn't deter the hoards of tourists idling about, obstructing our mission. We're talking, queues for the visitors centre, queues to park, not being able to park at all, single file continuous moving queues on the tracks. On a rainy tuesday in the middle of nowhere, I couldn't believe it. The rainforest itself exceeded expectations but the excursion was marred by the crowds and the rain, which entirely obscured our view from the peak. Anyhow, a leg stretch/workout was well overdue and much appreciated.

    From El Yunque we travelled west to San Juan, stopping only for mexican on the road side. Bloody good mexican.

    With minmial research and even less time, our expectations for San Juan weren't high. But they were blown away. San Juan is the beating heart of Puerto Rico, and it's port delivers life blood to the country. Without it, Puerto Rico wouldn't be.

    Old Town is on San Juan island at the mouth of the harbour, joined to the mainland by a short bridge. Since the 1500s it has been fortified to protect to port of San Juan, Puerto Rico and hence the shipping entrance from Europe to the 'New World'. The significance of this port to trade for the spanish empire can be seen in the size and complexity of the fortifications or 'Castellos' which overlook and protect the port and city. Now a World Heritage Site, the fortifications cover the island from tip to toe, and make a coastal spectacle for visitors; avid sailors and ghastly cruise ship guests alike.

    Inside the towering walls and fortresses is the town on Old San Juan, a cross polenation of Spanish and Caribbean architecture, resembling something one might imagine Cuba to be, cobblestone streets included. Interestingly, and reiterating above, a coastal suburb outside of these walls, hundreds of houses on prime beachfront property were all direlect. Historically being an area for slaves and theives (outside the walls) might have had an influence here. Heavily rennovated and adapted to the foreign crowd, the town inside the walls is stuffed with high end clothing and jewellery shops, arts and craft stalls, the odd pub and restaurant (not as many as we had hoped) and of course, all the american wonders; starbucks, pizza hut, Wendy's. ... you name it! We dined at a local joint, couldn't read the menu, ordered something that resembled unripe banana, got something that looked like a muffin, thoroughly enjoyed it and were on our way in the pouring rain, back to Fajardo. On the way we took advantage of a Walmart and stocked up. We've learnt to love a Walmart, that's for sure. Reversing the morning's commute, we caught the last ferry back and got back to the boat around 11pm. All in a day in Puerto Rico.

    It was disappointing we couldn't make it to Rincon, the surfing capital of Puerto Rico or to Ilsa de Mona for some world class diving. We would have worked these in if our cruising grounds permitted. Another time.

    I'm writing this one from the boat. We're broad reaching in 12kts and blue skies. The boys are in kindle klub, rolling through the books. We've topped off the diesel, gas, and water and have Vieques in our sights. We'll spend the next two nights there before battling back up to St Thomas to collect Cat and Dave. Bring on the New Year!
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  • Vieques, SVI

    2016年12月29日, プエルトリコ ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Our tour of the SVIs resumed in Vieques, the second of the two islands. It's skinny, tall and longer than you'd expect. Very few people populate the island and even less make themselves visible. It would have to be one of the more isolated places we've been.

    Although it didn't really feel that way, Vieques was rather disappointing. We failed at trolling. We failed on the crayfish hunt. The diving, which was supposed to be top notch, was decisively average - so much so we didn't even bother. The phosphlouresence was supposed to be the best in the world yet offered little more than a fizzle and many mosquito bites. Our first night's anchorage was picturesque yet overly rolly. And the wind blew strongly all the time except when we tried to go windsurfing.

    These first world problems swiftly became a distant memory on the evening of the second night. We made anchor in Esenada Honda (not to be confused with Esenada Honda on Culebra Island - really original place naming here). Excluding the odd passer by, we were the only people in the harbour. We tucked in the lee of some mangroves, in what later became glassy water and had the darkest, flatest most peaceful night of the trip. Boy did I relish that sleep! As it was our last night as an awesome threesome, we topped off the night with a cheeky man date, stargazing.

    Dawn alarms blared the next morning, as we reluctantly rose from our slumber and made haste eastward, directly into the oncoming trades. Cat, Dave and a very distant Jost Van Dyke awaited.
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  • New Year's Eve

    2016年12月31日, イギリス領ヴァージン諸島 ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Happy New Year to you all!!!

    Our sail back from Vieques proved uneventful, long and windy. Windseeker showed her weakness in windward sailing, and her strength under motor. St Thomas grew on the horizon and soon enough we made landfall. We picked up groceries, two humans and more distaste for the wasteful consumerism that rots America and it's colonies.

    There is no recycling on the islands, rubbish is rubbish. There are very few water refill stations (you're expected to buy more plastic). Packaging is excessive. Bars serve disposible glasses only. Cars are oversized and boisterously loud. It's such a shame to see this unsustainable behaviour and even worse to be forced to be a part of it.

    Cat and Dave were welcomed aboard swiftly at a much calmer Red Hook, St Thomas. They'd met up in the airport prior and bussed to meet us, it was great to see them! We were again racing the sun, only this time for a change we had both started at the same time. A beer, a rope tow and another delightful evening in paradise later, we made Great Harbour, JVD.

    It was packed like I've never seen a harbour before. As the saying goes, it was worth writing home about - so I will. Picture a bite from a sandwich, a deep one. Scale it up to the size of a downtown block. Fill it with water and throw in around 150 boats. Ranging from about 25 to 200 feet long. That was Great Harbour on NYE. If you thought watching boats launching at boat ramps provided entertainment, think again. Punter after punter, idly threading the needle between millions on millions of dollars worth of boat. Anchor chains crossed, anchors dragged, channels were blocked, swing paths interlinked like a venn diagram on crack and exchanges of profanities and bitter faces became increasingly common as the anchorage congested. Dinghys, ferries, paddleboards, kayaks, swimmers and inflatable swans were also par for the course on a venture from the yacht.

    We found ourselves a spot, in 50 feet of water and hooked in amoungst the chaos, anxiously watching the proximity of our neighbours at each turn of the wind. We wined and dined and entertained ourselves with the abundant shenanigans around us.

    The next day, after a slow start, I was fortunate enough to get to visit my friends at customs again. I was hoping for some smooth sailing, 'scuse the pun, as there were heaps of people to clear, not much time to do it, and it was the festive season after all. Painstakingly, this was not the case. After waiting 20 minutes, they told us all to come back later as they had to leave to go to the ferry terminal and clear in ferry passengers. Glad to get out of the hustle, and with permission to go ashore, we resumed our day.

    Later that afternoon, I returned and was greeted with more incompetence. During a previous immigration, customs had written the wrong boat name on my passport stamp. Somehow Scotty and Jools who had arrived on the same boat, had been given the correct name. After explaining our story to three seperate agents (two of whom were wrong), completing a whole new set of papers, waiting in line four times, I finally got our stamps. Turns out all I really needed was a bottle of bubbles and a home cooked Christmas cake, as was proven by several others during my wait.

    Alas, the last day of 2016 was rapidly disappearing (as did the other 364 of them) and there was yet much fun to be had. Rapidly disappear it did, as the afternoons swimming and snorkelling blurred into cocktails, beers, bubbles, roast chicken (credit: Scotty), and several rounds of liars dice as all real pirates would.

    Arriving ashore at Jost was impressive. Bars and restuarants overflowed onto the beach, dinghy docks three abreast, all kinds of dress up outfits, all kinds of crazy people, a stage and temporary concert area - the place was the buzzing! The rest of the night stays on tour but we'll have you know we woke up next morning and still had five crew aboard. Great success!
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  • Virgin Gorda, BVI (Part Deux)

    2017年1月5日, イギリス領ヴァージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We're headed back to our favourite spots, and making efforts to cover those we missed.

    Battling to keep up on the blogging front. Watch these spaces for updates and additions. Hopefully you're all on holiday and have a good novel to fill that reading void! I've got a hold of some photos and updated the Puerto Rico blogs, and if you're on insta, add joolspeters for video updates or head to www.instagram.com/joolspeters to see his work. It's a lot of footage so we're about four weeks behind!

    Update:

    It's been great having the extra company aboard. The extra hands are also pulling their weight; dividing time in the galley, partaking in missions ashore and giving us the option to split into two teams when necessary.

    Since new years', time has flown by. We've hit JVD, Virgin Gorda, Anagada then readied about and hailed Cooper, Salt and Norman Islands eventually docking back at Tortola to drop Dave and restock the ship.

    A few highlights from the week that was:

    The windsurf gear has held together, now ragged but still in very much usable condition. Windguru is in the red from tomorrow on - no doubt one of us will be putting a shoulder through the main panel in due course. We had a cracker of a windsurf in both Gorda and Eustatia Sounds, with cool 18-20kt breezes and flat seas calmed by an outer reef. In the mix was a failed attempt to windsurf from Anagada to Virgin Gorda (14nm), Jools not happy with the dying breeze. I took advantage of more breeze and a slightly shorter distance to tackle Euststatia Sound to Dog Islands. A howler of a downwind rendering me physically useless for much of the day. Cat and Dave added to the returns, with hours of uphauling and not much sailing - credit to both of them for the perseverance under challenging conditions!

    Jools and Scott tangoed in a battle of epic proportions with the elusive and, frankly quite frustrating, Anagada lobster. Snorkelling the same reef four times proved fruitless, while the boys made good use of the first aid kit, tending to an ever increasing number of coral cuts. Loblob: 4, boys: 0... for now. I'll note that coral reefs definitely add to the homefield advantage of a lobster, when compared to a rocky surround. This purely because the monolithic mass of rocks offers little more hiding than a superficial crack or overhang. Whereas coral is typically a large network of vacant spaces, tangled in itself and plentiful other reef based organisms. We're increasingly careful with the fields in which we choose to do battle.

    The RMS Rhone is such a fantastic dive. I've now done it twice and it is well and truely my favourite dive. Perfect warm, blue, calm water, three swim throughs, one of which into darkness with nothing but silhouettes of fish around you, lobster, turtles, stingrays and sharks, coral everywhere, five seperate sections of ship, I struggle to do it justice with words alone. If you're ever in the area put this at the top of the list.

    If you've been missing stories of boat problems you can miss away. Aside from a dodgy fridge and a busted (spare) bilge the new year has been kind to us. Nine days left, here's hoping!

    Norman Island again delivered. I personally love this island, it would come in second favourite to Virgin Gorda of all our stops to date. Plus, it's less than an hour from our home port so it's a no brainer either side of call to port. We spent our last night with Dave there and it was another cracker. Crystal blue waters have not yet failed us, visibilty there hasn't been less than 15 meters. We've also taken a liking to the floating bar, Willy T's - which was well and alive this night. We danced, there was drunken tomfoolery incuding more bombs of the top deck, and we gossiped about the eclectic mix of patrons; the very rich, the very high, the very drunk and of course the very local - circling the bar in 17 feet of boat with at least 500 horsepower of unmuffled inboard engine. That night ended in the first three of what, no doubt, will be many cat-splits; the process of rowing dinghy under occupied catamaran, a hilarious combination of stupidity, cheek and silent oarsmanship. The giggling gaggle of five happy to have finally ticked the cat split off the list.
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  • St John, USVI

    2017年1月12日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We're now four and although Dave will be missed, you and I both know the world is designed for fours. I'm feeling some heated rivalry of cards and dice coming up. This boat's nay short on competition!

    The boys are currently below the boat diving Santa Monica rocks - lots of speak of dinner, lets hope they walk the talk! We've got plans for St John and St Croix but the weather turns wild tomorrow and I'm not sure we want more forestay drama just yet.

    We've also booked Cuba for the end of January and our return flight is to Mexico, where we'll look to mosy south as far as dollar (or peso) allows. If you fancy a charity donation I take cash, card or bookings in my name! In the meantime, we'll turn the page on the Pirate phrasebook and pick up a Spanish one. Hola Senõr!

    Update:

    The swell has come in strongly and is battering exposed north and east coasts. The worst of the wind has passed but there's said to be more to come... We're holed up in St John, looking forward to some land based exploring and top notch snorkelling. Last night's anchor-dive-turned-crayfish-hunt proved successful and forced us to alter our dinner plans. I will never forget Scott with two arms clamped on a crusty under a rock. Looking for assistance, but unable to signal, Jools read his mind, swam down, and tugged him out by his chest, cray in hand. Hysterical tomfoolery at the ocean floor.

    Customs are again playing games with us. Hopefully I can extend my Visa to get off these islands!

    Second update: Terry's bay Crayfish Massacre

    That evening's underwater shenanigans were the start of many more in Rendezvous Bay. Combined efforts of boys and girl saw crayfish for dinner four nights in a row - an underwater massacre instigated by none other than Scottfish himself. By the time the fourth night rolled around, the infamous canned chicken was looking like a roast bird on Christmas day!

    But the treats did not come without consequence. We were hunting in terrain rich with spiny urchins (you know the black ones? Super spiny!). All four of us were spined (some more than others) at various underwater locations (remember we're just wearing shorts and gloves). The worst off was undoubtedly Jools who, after staking out an urchin free hole, was duly surprised when his decent sized catch dragged him through a nearby bed of the spiny buggers! His wounds were a sight to behold. That evening was spent with a pair of tweasers and two bowls of warm vinegar. The next day Jools tried to avoid further injury by sticking to windsurfing, only to return to the boat with more blood - nobody was surprised. Meanwhile, I was dropping catches left, right and center as we had crays swimming backwards for their lives as we got increasingly creative in our hunting methods - even so far as to incorporate the boat oars! All of our dives took place on the same stretch of coast (south of St John), over no more than 2nm of it...and only one dive was with SCUBA. The thrill of the hunt has us hooked, but we're still playing by the rules and there's been an increasing number of catch and releases as we mature as hunters. Scott however, won't pass a bug without giving it a cheeky tug on the antler...child...

    Rendezvous bay had more to offer than just food. Having really just stumbled across the place, we were delighted in what it offered. The water was flat, super flat. The bay was largely deserted, save for the odd day trip charter. The anchorage was free (few and far between on St John). The water was clear, I'm talking at least 20m vis on the good days. And the snorkelling was epic; we made friends with the resident turtle, Terry, whom we literally watched eat breakfast every morning - same spot, same time. Eddy and Elma the eagle rays also made regular appearances, along with Steve the stingray and his parasitic fish friends and of course, the many members of Terry's family. Quite the underwater zoo! Oh, and if you think I've gone crazy by naming all my aquatic friends, you're right. But you should hear me talking to them!

    Now you can see why our accidental night at Rendezvous turned into four. The only drawback was frequent, heavy and frustratingly short downpours which kept the hatches closed and boat hot.

    We ventured along the coast during a few of the days to explore the National Park that is, largely, St John. A 'top five things to do' list had us hiking the Reef Bay Trail on a blustery day. After ascending for a good few sweaty hours, we reached the top of the trail. Unfortunately for us, the top of the trail finished a few hundred yards short of the peak of the island. Somewhat dumbfounded we asked around and discovered there was no way to get to the peak, or any nearby peaks, and our best bet was to get on a bus and go climb a headland. It was impossible to see the ocean from anywhere, save for a glimpse from atop a brick wall. National Park you say.

    Bitterly, and in denial, we continued to ask around. A local assured us of "Great views" on an alternative route back to the boat. We followed it and arrived at the beach, again with little more than a glimpse of the ocean. We loitered through a mosquito infestation and had our packed lunch on the beach in the pouring rain. Not quite how we planned it, and thoroughly disappointed, but it's hard to make us unhappy when we're eating orzo pasta.
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  • End of an Era

    2017年1月20日, イギリス領ヴァージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The time to say goodbye to our trusty stead is upon us. Looking back, here's how the numbers stacked up...

    Today marks 56 days on a boat. 55 consecutive nights in a rocky bed. Six of those were on moorings and three in a marina, making for 45 restless nights on our own tackle. No mean feat considering how easily one could succumb to the ease of a nearby mooring ball. All of which, I might add, were dropped inside Scott's free diving range (60 feet).

    We've been to 20 islands comprising three countries on three different boats, and dragged ourselves through customs countless times.

    We've swum on every day except one (Puerto Rico) and we've snorkelled far far further than we've walked in that time. I haven't done the math but I'm quite confident we've breathed more air underwater than on land, 42 collective dives equating to US $350 dollars worth of air. I guess that qualifies us as fish? We've windsurfed in every country, and repaired the sail at least half a dozen times. Between activities we've read 28 books collectively.

    Keeping the team full of energy was tough given the appetites on board but we've eaten like kings and queens. All meals cooked aboard save for four dinners ashore. We've caught and cooked crayfish and fish (and coconuts...never again) and baked dozens of loaves of bread, baguettes and even bagels. To the patisserie, we've indulged in brownie, biscuits, cake and scones, and made do with limited resources and a faulty three burner gas stove/oven. That there is $2700 worth of groceries.

    We've barely seen a car, let alone a traffic jam. Public transport has not featured, period. We've set two alarm clocks and only risen to one. I've done two loads of washing and the same number of shaves and a total of three hot showers in two months. Pressing a shirt is but a far far distant dream.

    We've swum the bluest waters, sailed the strongest winds, climbed the rockiest mast, lay on the whitest beaches and watched the most glorious sunsets. The elusive green flash, still just that. To no end we will miss this lifestyle. I guess you could say, we've been living the dream.

    We're back on Tortola for two nights (courtesy of Cat's cousin Patrick and his family), then St Thomas for one before flying out to Cuba on the 22nd. Ten days in Cuba then we hit Mexico where we hope to rendezvous with our unemployed compatriots, Mike and Char. Tally Hoe!

    Hope everyone had cracking Christmas breaks, sounds like NZ took a bit of a battering but there'll be plenty of summer left yet!
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  • Adios Virgin Islands

    2017年1月21日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    WAFFLE WARNING: I had a bit of time on the plane...this entry is for the avid blog readers only.

    It's painful, coming down from the high that has been the last two months. Losing members of our pseudo family. Losing our home. Returning to the relentless packing and unpacking of bags. Our kitchen and our horse, gone with the wind.

    Patrick and Mary (Cats cousins) have a gigantic house in the hills above East End, Tortola. It's filled with their three young kids and little else, at least it looks that way because there's quite simply just too much space to fill. Well that or we've become overly accustomed to the confined quarters of Wind Seeker. Fittingly, the place is located just a few minutes from what may as well be their own private beach. Not bad.

    Finding this abode became somewhat of an afternoon activity. First off, road names and numbers don't really exist in the VIs. Houses are located "based on identifying features" ... I'm not joking. Unfortunately, many houses are built without said 'identifying features', rendering them somewhat unlocatable. In particular houses (like Patricks) which are not visible from the road, rely on 'identifying features' of a nearby 'identifying feauture' followed by a series of directions from that 'indentifying feature'. In fact, when you ask for directions the most common response would be "what does it look like?"

    To aid our navigation we had a tourist map (read: sketch), a few poorly remembered verbal directions, and what was left of google maps from last time I loaded that area. Now I know a poor craftsman blames his tools, but those are some pretty shitty tools. To keep us on our toes, our rental car had less engine than a scooter and Cat was driving up hills that made Mt Doom look like the Great Plains.

    So we got lost. We had no working phone, and what was left of google maps was dismally inaccurate.

    Whilst manoeuvring around other cars on a two-way single lane gravel road, our signs of distress were recieved by a lovely lady in a 4x4 - whose name we never learnt. Turns out, she knew a lady who knew where Patrick lived and kindly led us through a maze of roads that looked like driveways to our destination, under verbal direction from her friend on the phone. Her friend was, surprisingly, aware 'his cousin and two friends' were coming to stay - unknown to both Patrick and Mary as to who either of them were. Thank you mystery ladies and your island gossip!

    It was a welcome slap in the face: forget the internet and fraternise with the locals.

    I feel I've not spoken much about the BVI locals so I'll take a minute to do so.
    BVI residents are divided into two groups; belongers and (by default) non-belongers. Belongers are, as you could guess, those born on the island or descendants of those born on the island and they are essentially all members of the same family in one way or another. The head of the family is uncoincidently the Prime Minister, who seems to be able to do what he likes to look after his family and, I guess, his islands - although the former takes priority, often at the cost of the latter. Belongers have the upper hand in the employment market, with both employers and employees having to jump through numerous hoops and wait incredible periods of time to prove that a belonger could not do their job. Taxi driving for example, is reserved exclusively for belongers. It appears to the unsharpened eye of a tourist, that the belongers operate in their own right, and everyone else on the island is an inconvenience.

    I don't mean to labour a point but a pair of serial armed robbers have been loose on the island in recent months, and have targeted every supermarket except for the one owned by the Prime Minister. Apparently their identity is common knowledge and their background...well obvious. You get my drift.

    I have been disappointed in the friendliness and charm from the locals. Rumour has it they take some warming, and I'll believe that, but they put on a front which appears hostile and often unwelcoming. Few and far between offered little more than the necessary communication and we found far better dealings with non-belongers and tourists on the whole. Customs by far the worst culprit who have no idea what they're doing and punish you for trying to do it right. Of course, there were exceptions, and to be fair I'm not the chattiest of types but my impression stands.

    Economic development is not high on the list, and if I may speculate this could be because the only industry they need is tourism, who come by the boat load (cruise ship, ferry or private yacht) and have no other choice for their goods and services. Opportunities to develop good business appear plentiful and at times we struggled to understand why nobody would capitalise on them. Apparently the business permits are about as easy to get as one of Santa's reindeers so businesses go bust before they can even start trading. I feel their frustration.

    On reviewing this entry I see I've just unleashed a rant that I've been bottling for weeks. So I'll put myself in their shoes for a second. Why should we be friendly to people taking over our country? Why should we welcome tourists who aren't here to see us but to use us to witness (and often spoil) the beauty of our country? And why should we spend tedious hours stamping and signing the same forms, closed in a box in the island heat, when we could be fishing and diving instead? Why should we share our private beaches with strangers? I suppose it would feel like a constant invasion.

    Perhaps it is best the island keeps true to its roots and maintains its island life for which it is so very famous. I just hope that they see the value in what tourism brings to the island.

    Our exit strategy to Cuba conprised a ferry to St Thomas, a night in Marvin's Air BnB, a few rides in Marvin's 4x4, a few lectures on 'shaking the foundations of heaven and earth', followed by a flight to Miami, four hours in the airport and another very empty flight to Santa Clara. Sayonara sea legs, we gon' get that walk on!
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  • Santa Clara, Cuba

    2017年1月22日, キューバ ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    A blast from the past.

    Hablo espanõl? No. We knew we were in trouble the moment we landed in Santa Clara. We were drastically underprepared for Cuba. In particular, collectively we had almost no spanish, our only booking was the first night's accommodation and Cuba has no internet.

    Alright, no internet is an exaggeration. But not far off. The only way to get online is in a "wifi hotspot" (read: plaza) with a prebought internet card. We're yet to find a casa, bar or restaurant with wifi and you can't get a mobile plan that includes it. I kid you not, the only way to get online is in a park. Outdoors!

    I'm sure all you GenY's can feel my pain. We've been travelling for three months now and all our research and bookings are done online, on the fly.

    So we're going old school. We've stepped back in time, why not embrace it? In our armoury we carry a spanish pocket phrasebook and 16,000 mexican pesos. No, if you were wondering, that's not the right currency and cubans don't take card. Period. Underprepared, entiendo?

    Drama aside, Cuba is fascinating! Colourful pastel facades of breezy single storey dwellings line streets buzzing with activity. Horse drawn carts, 1960s dodges, motorbikes with side cars and old men playing dominos are par for the course on the road. Bicycles of all shapes, ages and passengers weave down narrow streets in ordered chaos. Kids, dogs, goats and horses mingle with traffic making even just spectating quite stressful.

    We're staying in casa particulares. They're everywhere and typically are just a spare bedroom in a family home. As Cat said, it's really just Air BnB but the Cubans beat them to it. The families to date have been genial and oh so hospitable, despite our ignorance to their culture and language (oops we're sorry). Most of them don't speak english but you'll be surprised how many ways there are to communicate. Cat speaks the first most spanish, so Scott and I usually thrust her forward to recieve the barrage of incomprehensible dialogue, which is quite often followed by 'no entiendo'.

    Santa Clara is less touristy than the other areas we planned to visit, and it was nice to spend our first evening immersed in Cuban culture without the entourage of the 'you buy somethiiiiinnnggg's!!!!'. Oddly enough that slightly contradicts where the night went from there.

    Taking in the activities of the plaza from an adjacent bar, we were approached by some locals whom we chatted to between drinks. One of them, Reina de gainer - number one in Cuba, offered to show us to a nearby restaurant. We followed causiously, helping him with his litre of port along the way. He ended up dining with us and, as we grew to expect, didn't have a dime to contibute to the bill. It didn't phase us, he was great insight and even better entertainment and the total bill was less than 25USD. We even had some rums with his brother at a cafe afterwards, at 4USD per litre (yes, you buy by the bottle!?). Finally an affordable country!

    Still in recovery from the previous nights dinner, our stomachs were pleasantly assualted by breakfast. So much breakfast! Our casa mama had made (just for us) fresh fruit, crepes, omelettes, bread rolls, two types of cake, biscotti, guava smooties and espressos, all neatly set in a sunny outdoor courtyard adjacent our room. At 4USD each (we later found out we could have paid 3) I didn't want to leave.

    We spent the morning investigating transport options to our next destination, Trinidad. With buses booked out, and no trains due to a hurricane in 1993 (still not repaired), we defaulted to a taxi and spent the next few hours in the comfort of a car cruising through the Cuban countryside. Happy as Larry.
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  • Trindad, Cuba

    2017年1月24日, キューバ ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Cavaillas y El Rey des Tortillas.

    Two nights in Trinidad allowed just one day and a hot afternoon by the time we added our transport at each end. It's a small town, unnecessarily confined and hosting very basic amenities. Tourism is dominant. Every second house is a 'casa particulares' or 'hostal'. Every restaurant targets tourists and every man and his dog are pushing horse treks or taxis.

    The town is quaint; old but not tired. The colours are bright and streets cobbled, and the daily scenes are reminiscent of the stone age. Life is simple here.

    We spent the afternoon wandering the streets, visiting Plaza Major, and ascending a hill for a vista overlooking the town - ever more confused on how this country operates. A cowboy atop the hill showed us up a rickety and definitely not safe ladder to a roof top with quite a spectacular view of the town, surrounding valley and distant beach - playa Ancon. No hablo espanõl was not enough to deter his sales pitch, and we ended up buying horse rides off him, almost because we'd rather do that than pay the obligatory tip.

    So day two in Trindad was on horseback, very unhealthy horseback. We trekked out of town and into the valley, from cobbles to asphalt to dirt tracks. It was fantastic! Amusement from the horses' bowel movements was plentiful (yes, some of us are late bloomers in maturity), races regular and well beyond our control and in the saddle crotches bruised and backs ached. The destination was a natural pool and (unnatural) bar, which we embraced with swims and mojitos. We made friends who spoke english and spent the remainder of the trek enjoying some welcome understandable chat! A day well spent despite our feelings for the treatment of animals.

    Scott spent the remainder of the day trying to get cash and internet which took him around two and a half hours and he returned a broken man.

    We had dinner that night at our casa. After accepting a dinner invitation earlier that evening, we thought we would be dining with our host family. That was not the case. We spent the majority of the meal, awkwardly accepting our courses and stumbling over spanish vocabulary and formalities, as our hosts waited eagerly upon us. Such a strange world.

    Our tickets out of Trinidad were again in the form of taxi, as the bus had sold out for the next few days and the taxi turned out, in the end, to be the cheaper option. Just to clarify, now that we know - 'taxi' in Cuban (I suppose the same in english) refers to a car you can pay money to for a ride. In the absence of laws or a regulatory body, there is no limit to the number of humans and/or bags (or anything for that matter) in which that taxi may carry. Or for that matter, when you're paying a predetermined fee, the route it may take, and the number of different cars you can ride in. Lets just say when we got to Viñales seven hours later, we had sore bums, sore backs, symptoms of heatstroke and one debateable case of carbon monoxide poisoning. And, we were far from the most irritable of the passengers. Surprisingly, the booked out buses could have been the better option.
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  • Viñales, Cuba

    2017年1月26日, キューバ ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Bicycles, Caves, Mogotes and Tobacco.

    Our western most stop in Cuba! Coming from our eastern most stop meant for some brutal travel, but I'm sure there's worse to come.

    Viñales is small. There's one main drag, one convenience store and one million tourists. It's out of the way, well off the main highway, and almost camouflaged into the surrounding landscape. From the roof of our casa, lush green tobacco fields extend gently over rolling hills to the vertical rock face of numeorus mogotes - rocky mounds.

    Rising to another casa breakfast, we opted for bicycles as our transport mode (third brutal day on the bum in a row!) and after a little hiccup over the quality of our bikes, we were off. The valley of Viñales is extraordinarily picturesque. Dirt trails cut through tobacco farms and clusters of palm trees, backdropped with the rocky faces of the towering mogotes. Farmers tend their crop, and señoritas their casas. Pigs, horses, goats and dogs stare blankly at passer bys and smell of burning wood sifts intermittently through the valley.

    Before stop number one, we asked a local man (in a very blue pair of overalls) the way to La Cuerva des Piscinas. Half way onto his bike already, he pointed the way, then led the way, mentioning something about his famillia. Little did we know he was to be our tour guide for the day and we would have to understand spanish or get lost trying.

    Our bikes took us first to a cave you could swim in. Unsurprisingly, it was cold and dark but wonderfully refreshing from the day's heat. Stop two was his famillas cafe in the valley for lunch. Stop three was his friends bar for a drink (of water to his disgust) at a very overhyped lake. Stop four, on our request, was off the beaten track, up a 'big' hill and 'very far' away. 20mins later we were there with little exertion. I'm guessing the lack of spending opportunities was the driver in his attempts of dissuasion. Our spanish improved steadily over the day, and between us (read: Cat) we had a vague idea of where we were going and what we were looking at. By the end of the journey we were more than happy to tip the man for his day's work. Hopefully it buys dinner for their family and not his beers on the way home.

    We dined out every night in Viñales and spent most meals exploring the menu in search of some delicious local food. Our favourite dish would have to be Ropa Vieja which is usually a lamb and tomato based curry but varies from restaurant to restaurant. Aside from the usual pizza and pasta, food here is repetitive and rather bland. Hopefully Havana steps it up!

    On our second day in Viñales we went ziplining over the forest which was exhilarating and incredibly efficient. That might sound and odd description but it accurately sums it up! We had a very brief tour of a tobacco farm which ended in us hiding from the police - probably because they were illegally selling cigars. Nonetheless it was a bit of excitement! The afternoon was spent swimming in the pool and relaxing at a hotel overlooking the valley - with a long walk at either end.

    We're yet to figure out the Cuban economy. There are two currencies; CUC and CUP. One CUC = about 1 USD. One CUC = about 25 CUP. Basically, CUC is for tourists and CUP is for locals. From several different conversations, a local earns the equivalent of around 20 CUC (welder) to 70 CUC (heart surgeon) per month. Say on average about 1.50 CUC per day. But, a tourist pays 10CUC per person per night for accommodation, 2 CUC for a beer and around 6 or 7 CUC per person per hour in a long distance taxi. Now I'm assuming at least half of that ends up with the government but nonetheless, why would anyone not be in the tourism industry???
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  • Havana, Cuba

    2017年1月29日, キューバ ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Crumbling Havana.

    Where do I even start? Five nights in Havana have blurred into one so this entry won't be chronological, but instead representative of the jumbled memories in my idling brain.

    Old Havana is exactly that. It's dirty, it's smelly and it's falling apart but the original architecture is gorgeous. I would have loved to see this place in its heyday. We're staying near Old Havana in a casa on the third storey with a very helpful and friendly young couple. They've made some good life decisions and got set up on Air BnB, now they own their house and their car (rare in Cuba) and have a steady stream of income and plenty of guests to fill her old man's taxi. Well played.

    It's hard not to overlook the poverty in this area of the city. It's not poverty like you see in countries like China or India (I assume - never been). There are few beggars and fewer homeless, and the majority are well dressed and look well fed. But the state of infrastructure is a mess. Empty shells of direlect buildings - some now hosting a variety of vegetation - are common, and piles of rubble from not-yet-completely-demolished buildings lay unsafely over the footpath. Gutters are non-existant and pipes spurt water (?...or worse?!) freely onto the street or the unsuspecting passer by. Roads and footpaths were once respectible, I'm sure, but now are buckled and cracked or with dangerously large potholes or, more commonly obstructed by piles of aggregate, rubbish, rubbish bins or a poorly parked three wheeled bicycle taxi.

    In addition, the streets are filthy (making jandals and rain a dangerous combination) and it's difficult even for the dullest of us olefactors not to be nasally assualted many times per day. Unhealthily skinny stray cats and dogs loiter the streets and skulk in the shadows, searching helplessly for aid.

    New Havana is a different storey, it's much cleaner and greener and slightly less smelly. It's on the edge of our walking range so we've only spent a morning there and to be honest we really only went for the ice cream!

    One thing the government has begun to do well is restoration. Havana contains many truely beautiful buildings, many more in fact, than could be reasonably expected to be maintained. The museum of the revolution is one such building which we spent an afternoon reading (or looking at pictures as it was almost entirely in spanish...grrr) up on our mates Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. A history every Cuban is overwhelmingly proud of, demonstrated with busts and faces created in every form of art and displayed at any opportunity. We're also yet to visit a monument or statue not dedicated to a soldier of Cuba's independence. We took a walking tour with Ernesto, who offered reasonable english, excellent insights and a ridiculous amount of dates and spanish names. Woosh!

    We've clocked up some serious distance on foot, averaging well over 20,000 steps per day. We're making in roads on waking fitness but cardio fitness is well and truely gone, as discovered on the first run in months. Two actually, along the Malecon boardwalk in the early morning, which was dotted with fishermen and some fairly impressive catches for a handline! Come to write about it, we've actually spent almost all of our time in Havana walking or drinking dangerously strong mojitos - after all we are in the home of the mojito.

    The best part of Cuba is most definitely the people. All of our hosts and guides have been fantastic. It's so nice to see locals stopping just to say hi to one another, handshakes and kisses and smiles all round. Honks and waves too, an intricate part of the daily routine. I wish I spoke better spanish and could have had some better interaction, but that's my own undoing.

    There are two things that have really been bugging me about Cuba so you're in for another rant! The first is the lack of internet. Cuba has been shielded from the world by their communist government for over half a century, and it's worked, largely I'm guessing because they're an island. Perhaps someone can tell me how that's going for mainland China or North Korea - I'd look it up but, oh yeah, I don't have internet. Private internet is non-existant - you can't buy it for all the money in Cuba. ETESCA is the only (government operated) internet provider. Cubans can set up an account with ETESCA which they can top up with cash at the shop (read: wait in line for hours) up to about 10 hours internet at a time. Everybody else waits in the same line (Scott loves doing this) and can get a max of three hours at $1.50 per hour. Then you get to walk to the nearest plaza or park, and enter the codes to get you online. Then you spend the majority of your valuable hour watching the wheel of doom spin. Or disconnecting and reconnecting. Or fending off chancers trying to sell you more internet at five times the price. IT'S HORRIBLE! Skype or data calls? You're dreaming. You'll be lucky if a picture message goes through. Oh and remember - the government controls what you can or can't see, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's blocked American content i.e. half the internet. I wouldn't know, I'm yet to buy enough time to load a webpage.

    Why don't they get with the times? Clearly they have the infrastructure, and the majority own phones. Surely it's the readily available access to information they so desperately need. The world is leaving Cuba even further behind, but perhaps that's the way they like it. Although, apparently privatisation is well on the rise, we'll see how that goes!

    The second on my list is the food. It's awful. I can and will list all the food in Cuba in one sentence. Rice, beans, chicken, pork/ham, beef, fish, bread, spagetti, cheese, eggs, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion and (to be fair) a reasonable variety of local fruit. So we've eaten omelettes and fruit for breakfast (read: ham, cheese, bread and egg). Sandwiches or pizza for lunch (read: ham, cheese and bread) no butter, mayo or tomato sauce of course. And for dinner we opt for spaghetti or rice, beans, questionable cuts of plain fried meat and salad (read: cucumber, lettuce and if you're lucky - tomato). Oh and when I say ham, it's often that gelatinous sausage that looks like dog food. Yum. That's dining at 99% of food outlets. We took a stroll through some local food markets on our 9th day in Cuba. We found chilli, capsicum, herbs and spices - litterally everything you need to turn the boring meals on their head. Why oh why do you do this to yourselves!?!? The impact of communism on Cuba for us, is most visible through the food. Citizens still queue for their free daily rations of rice, beans, oil and coffee at unmarked stores that make the 40's look like the distant future. There is only one brand of bottled water available, period. It's full of chemicals and usually makes you gag (at least on the first few gulps). Actually, the tap water tastes better but we've been warned away on that one. Coke and for that matter, anything US made - you're having a laugh. Infact, anything imported whatsoever is a lucky find. We've been on the street-food hunt, trying anything unidentifiable, hoping to crack the local secret dish - so far no luck. It's abysmal. The only incentive to eat is that it's cheap, and we're burning some serious calories on foot that need replacing. On this front, Mexico can't come soon enough.

    We stepped up our game on the last two nights and found some chinese in Chinatown which was a welcome change, followed by a Swedish restaurant which was delicious - fine dining at $15 per head. I was battling an upset tummy by this stage so I was grateful for some food I could look at without feeling sick.

    Cuba's history is repressed and unfortunately quite dyer at times. A fascinating read if you have the time, and offers a bit of insight into the above - famine and governement induced economic depression. Surprisingly, Castro even admits to making a few bad decisions.

    Perhaps I'm spoiled but in my opinion Cuba is only for the intrepid traveller. The cultural shock and intrigue wears off after a few days and the inbetween is a battle a lot of time. If I were to do it again, I'd start in Havanna, spend less time there and spend more time in the country visiting the natural beauty.

    If I haven't put you off, here a few tips I wish I had recieved prior to arriving in the tobacco capital:
    - Do you research beforehand. Plan your route, research your destinations and book your flights.
    Accommodation, buses and taxis are easy enough to get when you're there if you know where to look.
    - Triposo App is worth it's weight in gold, offline too!
    - Book buses as early as you can, they often sell out.
    - Learn some spanish.
    - Bring with you all your favourite treats.

    That's Cuba done and dusted. An empty, delayed and very short flight later, we were in the americanised metropolis of Cancun. Stomach status: on the rise. Happy days!
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  • Cancun, Mexico

    2017年2月3日, メキシコ ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Food, glorious food!

    Getting to Mexico was better than sitting down to a sunday roast after a week on dehydrated rations. I was still recovering from an upset stomach, so I didn't have much of an appetite. That quickly changed when our new found gang of hombres stumbled across an open air food market. Guacamole, burritos, empanadas and tacos had never tasted so good! I think I'm going to like Mexico.

    Mike and Char are in good shape, they've spent the last week or so cruising through the Yucatan from Mexico City. Great to catch up after a good few years!

    Cancun was just how I imagined it. We stayed in a shady hostal in Cancun town, to avoid the extortionate prices of food, drink and accommodation that are found along the huge resorts and hotels which stretch along miles of white sandy beaches comprising the peninsular. All the major American brands are back in play, Starbucks as usual, the biggest culprit.

    We're enjoying spending the Mexican peso. At 16MXN to the AUD, a 10 peso bus ride wasn't enough to deter us from getting to the beach, nor from indulging in the bakery section of the supermarket for another delicious meal. Avocados for $1 per kilo, I'm in heaven!

    Cancun was a short stop. We're headed to Tulum by bus. Glad for a pit stop in civilization, but equally glad to leave it behind as soon as we did. Hasta la vista baby!
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  • Tulum, Mexico

    2017年2月5日, メキシコ ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Ceynotes, Tacos and Superbowl Sunday!

    Tulum is famous for it's numerous ceynotes (caves) and that was right at the top of our list. All around the town these geological wonders have been commercialised with compulsory guided tours on land and by snorkel and SCUBA. Fair enough, you wouldn't last long lost in an underwater cave. Of course, with that comes the tourist hustle which we are becoming evermore used to.

    We chose Cenotes Dos Ojos for our exploration of the underworld, based on a friend's recommendation and I will back it up with my own - this was a big highlight of the trip so far! Foolishly, we decided to cycle the 20 odd km from our hostel to the entrance in the heat of the day (our hostel came with the free use of beach cruisers). After an early morning food poisoning scare, and a few cookies in the toilet, Mike rose to the challenge and led the peleton in. We arrived in a bit of a state, but grateful not to be road kill and for the pennies saved on transport.

    The Dos Ojos (literally: two eyes) is a series of partially submerged limestone caverns. We donned masks, snorkels, fins and torches (and wetsuits for the ladies) and plunged into 24 degree water at the mouth of the cave. It was crystal clear. From underwater the natural backlight created black silhouettes on an awesome crystal blue backdrop. Rays of sunlight too, beamed through from the surface to create some truely remarkable lighting.

    We spent just under an hour following our tour guide over, under and around the stalagmites and stalagtites, sneaking off to dip down through swim throughs and the like. He led us to a chamber called the Bat Cave, where we emerged to witness hundreds of bats, unflustered by our presence.

    It was a hurried tour, I would have liked to stay longer but my body was grateful to return to the warm of the sunlight. On our way out of the park we stopped by another open ceynote for some phat mangeres and some more cool swim throughs. On reviewing our camera work, we were gutted to find the go pros had been battling with the dark light and all of our footage and photos are really bad quality. Noooo!

    We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at our hostel and having some refreshing beverages. Casa dol Sol is an unusual hostel. It's run by a tiny mexican man and his wife (I think) and their young son, who had a habit of confusing me with his spanish. It was a partially complete, three storey concrete building. It had absolutely no soundproofing and wall mounted fans that put Boeing to shame. The second level was for camping (on a bare concrete floor) or you could opt for just a bed (no walls - internal or external) and the top floor was a construction site which appeared abandoned. The beds however, were the comfiest in a long time. Ahhh for a good nights sleep!

    Strolling the main drag in search of dinner, we stumbled across Antojitos La Chiapaneta, an open kitchen tacqueria. It was unanimously absolutely delicious! Service was prompt and the staff knew how to keep the food coming. At seven pesos per taco (under 50c) we couldn't help but dine there three nights in a row, and if you asked me what I wanted for dinner tonight, I'd still go back. We'll be using some special words in our reviews for this one, that's for sure.

    Sunday, lazy Sunday, was exactly that until an earlier suggestion of reigniting MERC sprung into action. The Mt Eden Running Club has a long and dyer history. Built for drinkers with a running habit, the core foundations of the club are rife with problem. Many men have suffered in its days, and completing a run is always far from a sure bet. Nonetheless, inaugurating two new ladies to the club (Cat and Char) was an inticing prospect. So the team geared up and set off to the beach in the beating heat of the day.

    First to be dropped was Char, easing off to a brisk walk under the inhibiting pain of a tight ITB. Shortly after, Cat tripped on what she claims to be a twig (MERC Fall Investigations later proved no such twig existed) and gracefully grazed ankle, hip and palm on the asphalt. Eventually the heat got to all of us and we regrouped to walk the final kilometer to the beach. Such a good swim! Another of many in the Caribbean Sea. After re breaking Mikes rib, Scott and Mike ran home again under duress while us ladies caught a cab and bought a well deserved lunch for the team. Let's hope the next one goes a little better...

    Lazy Sunday continued that afternoon, as we spent our time blogging, reading, researching and learning spanish. We headed to a bar in the early evening to watch the Superbowl which turned out to be another great game of sport - the Patriots coming back from over 20 points down to beat the Falcons in overtime! Only one drunken Mexican interrupted our viewing, spitting on the floor and creepily ogling Char before being removed by security and sneaking back in three or four times. Such fun!

    It's been too short, Mexico. I've barely touched the east coast, and certainly haven't begun to see the rest, but the country is so big and diverse it might just have to be done by itself. Another time. In the meanwhile, we're on a bus to Chetumal before a boat to Caye Caulker, Belize. It smells worse than a portaloo and we've been holding cloth over our faces for the last three hours. The joys of travel, am I right?
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  • Caye Caulker, Belize

    2017年2月8日, ベリーズ ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    To say we went to Belize is a lie. In fact, we're doing our best to avoid it. We've been warned of dangers many times and it only takes a quick scroll through the local rag to make that assertion yourself. Instead, we'll stick to the touristy hot spot of Caye Caulker.

    Caye Caulker is a tiny island off the east coast of Belize, barely above sea level and  protected from the trades by the mesoamerican coral reef. The surrounding waters are super shallow, barely deep enough for the ferries and not even deep enough to swim! It's got that caribbean island feel. Time is just a distant concept, happy hour is every hour and everybody is your 'man' or 'bro' especially if you like green or white.

    We spent four nights here, getting in some serious feet up time. Our first two nights were in Pause Hostel, which clearly should be spelt Paws as it was an animal sanctuary for birds, cats and dogs - dozens of all of the above. It was a feral place; the grounds smelt like cat piss, the ocean, showers and bathroom wreeked of human waste, the room was filthy and our beds still had the previous occupants sheets on when we arrived (at night). The bathroom was disgusting, there was no hot water, the toilet had no seat and finding tp was a difficult ask. It was humorously awful until we discovered that a raw faecies were being discharged directly into the same place we were swimming. That was the straw the broke the camel's back, so we moved elsewhere.  M&N Hotel felt like a luxury hotel based on our previous experience, infinitely better with lovely staff and not only towels, but fresh towels daily. What a treat! Not to mention it was cheaper than Pause!

    We spent our days on the island wandering the streets, unwittingly in search of the finest cheap dining. There are a surprising number of bars and restuarants with quite a variation in price range and style of food. Undoubtedly best at breakfast was the local Fry Jacks hut. Deep fried corn bread/tortilla stuffed with your choice of chicken, ham, cheese, beans or eggs for a mere $1.50 US. A great start to every day! We also took delight in the local grill with unlimited rum, pulled pork buns, key lime pie and a variety of bakery treats enforced by the rising king of the donut, Scott.

    The highlight of Caye Caulker would have to be the snorkelling. We took a full day trip with the Caveman and were not disappointed. It was an eight stop affair including swims with turtles, sharks, stingrays, eagle rays and plenty of fish and coral. The biggest prize (and main reason for the trip) proved too elusive on the day - no manatees for us. I was gutted, I've always wanted to swim with these creatures but like Caveman said "you can't control mother nature!" Our final two stops were to feed the tarpon (big fish) and the kite birds. Our guides were young and fun and very efficient which was a welcome change from some, who treat you like you can't tie your own shoe. There were plenty of options for snorkel tours as there's not too much else to do in the island. The interesting thing was that the reef extents from Cancun almost to Panama but they all snorkel the same spots. Surely there's some hidden gems they're not showing the tourists?

    Caye Caulker is also one of the closest ports from which to visit the Blue Hole - a giant circular depression inside the lagoon. I would have loved to dive this or even fly over it, but at $120US it was too hard to justify. The woes of sticking to a budget...

    MERC got up and running again on the island. Still working on any measure of base fitness, I was stoked for some suuuuper flat running. Unfortunately, the entire length of the island can't have been more than about 2.5km somewhat limiting explorative distances. An intervals session was proposed at the local soccer field and for the first time in MERC history, appeared successful despite a barrage of verbal insults from the local kids. The second run more than circumnavigated the island, and almost ended in disaster for me, coming through a bout of the old Delhi belly. Almost. Things are looking up for the club!

    All in all it was a solid few days rest on the island. It took some adjusting to go back to english speaking, with accidental 'Holàs' slipping out on occasion. I'm sure, however, it'll be harder to go back to Spanish.

    We caught the ferry back to the mainland  (Belize City) which was surprisingly well run, except for the fact it was overbooked and we had to sit on the floor. From the we split Belize in two, bussing five hours due west across the border and into Guatemala. I was humoured by the emigration agent playing games on his phone whilst processing people, barely bothering to batan eyelid. Love it. We'll spend the night in Flores and set out to explore Tikal tomorrow. Fingers crossed for no rain!

    For now our biggest conundrum is whether or not to visit Honduras. Suggestions welcome!
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  • Flores, Guatemala

    2017年2月10日, グアテマラ ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Temples, toilets and the mother of all rope swings.

    Flores is another tiny island, located on the inland Guatemalan lake, Lago Peten Itza. It's accessed by a small and heavily trafficked causeway, or by tiny wooden boats. It's a balanced mix of local culture and tourism, yet to be completely overwhelmed by extraterrestrial wealth.

    For us, Flores was the launching point for a day trip to the Mayan Ruins at Tikal. Tikal once was the central hub for thousands of square kilometers of Mayan communities, hosting temples, palaces and towering pyramids. Today, the ruins lie half buried deep in the forest, partially exposed and restored for archaeology and tourism. We opted for a guided tour in english (read: spanglish...you have to speak spanish to understand their english). It departed the hostel at a brutal 4.30am in order to get out to Tikal as the park opened, ahead of the crowds.

    The ruins were impressive; giant limestone structures emerging sporadically from the lush green canopy of the Tikal Forest. Large areas of ruins had been restored and cleared of vegetation allowing us to envisage life in the Mayan era. Unfortunately for me, I was suffering a hefty case of the runny bum, which made for some uncomfortable occasions, many in fact, between the van ride each way and four hours on foot. Thankfully, the park had numerous baños, freshly cleaned for the start of the day. A stroke of luck I won't forget!

    We also witnessed a variety of wildlife including the long billed Tucan, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, hideous turkeys and a few other shrub dwelling mammals I will never remember the name of. Quite the zoo!

    By 11am we were starting to battle fatigue and the intense heat and humidity the jungle turned on. We retired back to our accomodation (hostel Yaxha) for a nap (or a run if your name is Scott or Mike) and another toilet break. It only took a moments contemplation to decide to dine at Burger King for a late western lunch and some AC. Muy bien!

    During this time Cat did some research and lined us up the perfect afternoon activity. We dawdled down to the lake front (not far at all) and for once openly recieved an offer for transport on a river boat. Our destination: Jorges rope swing. A spot of hestiation saw the price drop from $3 to $2 each, return. Jorge is about as ancient as the morning's ruins. He lives on the lakeside in a respectable house only accessible by boat. He's set up a giant rope swing and a diving board beside a viewing platform and terrace, all of which sit up on the hill a few metres above the lake. I admire his business prowess. It's about $2 entry for the swing and he offers a variety of marked up beverages, while his wife provides some local cuisine to the hungry swimmer. The whole site faces west, perfectly presented to the setting sun. We swung, swum, dived and drank the afternoon away before our captain returned to ferry us back to Flores under the dwindling twilight. Not a bad arvo at all.

    We're still largely on the mexican food. Tacos and burritos on offer at every turn. Thanks to Scott's sniffer and appetite for the sweet treat, we've found some great bakerys - or more commonly, road side bakers - and treated ourselves to doughnuts and whopping slices of cake. Dinner varies from $3 - $8 depending where you get it and your appetite for the runny bum. Accomo at hostels is usually around $10-12 for a respectable joint. The cost of transport and tours is where the dollars go, so we have to choose wisely for them especially when we're on the move as much as we are.

    I'm writing this one on my phone in the back of a van that makes Pauline's '87 Mitsubitshi Sportpac look new (no offense mum, I know you loved that car). I've almost got Cat on my lap, and from the looks of the row behind I'm about to have vomit on my shoulder. AC and seat padding? Maybe in a decade or two. Looking forward to completing the eight hour trip and a dip in the pool in Lanquin. Travelling really is a two sided coin.
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  • Lanquin, Guatemala

    2017年2月12日, グアテマラ ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I finished the last entry in the van on the way to Lanquin, but I didn't predict the drama that would unfold in the later stages of our journey. On one of the windy roads through the back country, a motorcyclist had collided with a car and the result was fatal. This caused a huge pile up of traffic and pedestrians, who literally flooded out of the forest and streamed up the road in their hundreds. Even our driver pulled over and hurried to investigate the scene. It was so sad to hear villagers bawling on the roadside, a wary reminder that this crazy driving can have consequences.

    Nobody had any intent on clearing the road, so we had to hunt for an alternate route. We backed out of the crowds and found ourselves bumping down a narrow single lane gravel road that was undoubtedly 4WD territory. The bums ached and the journey length blew out but the scenery was excellent! Even the local kids would run to the roadside to watch the gringos whom they might never have seen before. Somewhat expectedly, our comrades in convoy took a hit to their front axle and damaged their brakes (a little worrying!). Our drivers promptly took the wheel off and began banging away at various parts of the disk. They appeared to have some idea as to what they were doing, but when the van pulled out, it squealed like a girl in a ghosttown, much to our amusement and the other passengers fear, I'm sure.

    We didn't arrive in Lanquin until after dark, blowing out the journey to well over nine hours. We were greeted by an aggressive mob, yelling at us and questioning our accommodations. The journey wasn't quite yet over. Our final stretch was in a 4x4 buggy up the steep gravel roads to Zephyr Lodge. It was impressively located atop a ridge, with views up and down the valley and over the river, dramatically emphasised with and infinity pool and a jacuzzi. On point. Good recommendation Fif! We were definitely overdue a beer and a good feed.

    We also hit our coolest temperature since Chicago, I'm not sure what it was but it might have snuck under 20°C for a moment. At some point I might have even seen a shiver. It won't be the last, I can guarantee it. In the dorms, the boys drew the triple bunk, reminiscent of school camps, and brought maturity levels to match. Are you surprised?

    Daybreak revealed the true beauty of the valley, and the rising sun packed some serious heat. We were in no hurry to leave the comforts of our new abode, so lazed around the pool until the early afternoon.

    For lunch we trekked back to Lanquin for a dirty chicken and rice and explored the tiny cobbled/gravel streets of the village. Gravity led us through some back streets and muddy paths to the rivers edge, where we stumbled upon an unsuspecting family washing in the river, who appeared embarrassed about the situation. Following the bank downstream, we found a wee eddy and clambered in for an ice cold swim. An attempted down river drift ended in nothing but blood and bruises, a result of a swift current and a sharp bottom. Foolish boys. Our shinanigans rapidly became the spectacle of a local family who witnessed the entire ordeal, staring unashamedly in absolute silence. I think the main attraction was Cat, based on her height or amount of skin showing - a distinction none of us were able to make.

    Aside from this excursion, and a few jogs from Cat and the boys we spent the majority of time at the hostel. Which meant we ate and drank at tourist prices which was frustrating because it was nearly impossible to avoid, given the difficulty of getting to and from town. Nonetheless it was extremely convenient, relaxing and stress free - no complaints from me (for once!!)

    Next stop: Antigua.
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  • Semuc Champey, Guatemala

    2017年2月14日, グアテマラ ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Find Pengiuns only let's me put six photos per footprint, so I'm adding Semuc Champey as a seperate one and to be fair, it deserves it.

    Our hostel offered a guided day trip to this natural wonder for 225 Quetzals ($45NZ), lunch included. Our chariot was a ute with a home made tent-like frame bolted over the tray. We piled in and rode the half hour or so over some horrific roads in the cool air under a hot rising sun. In itself it was a great ride, weaving through the countryside, seeing families and farmers in their daily routines stopping only to shout 'Holà' at us, the giant gringos.

    Our first stop was to venture into the underground. Caving was included in our package so we stipped down to our shorts or bikinis and retied the trainers - a look more unusual the the dreaded sneans. At the entry to the cave we were armed with our only equipment: a candle. It wasn't until we were held up at the entry that we realised our guide hadn't even brought a lighter, which gave us a lot of faith in his preparation... The guides took great pleasure in turning us into warriors with candle-soot face paint. I'm sure they were laughing at as the whole time, cheeky sods.

    Unlike most caves, this one was surprisingly uniform in size and water depth and had a distinct lack of alternate caverns or routes. That or we couldn't see further than our candlelight permitted. This made for easy navigation despite thex wading, swimming, climbing and jumping that was involved. What happens when you climb a waterfall with a candle? Yes it goes out, but keep it safe in your back pocket or tucked in the side of your bikini bottoms and hope that an amigo will give you another light on the other side. The tour culminated in a rock jump into darkness followed by a now heavily congested exit route. Glad to have been the first through!

    Upon exiting we raced for the sunlight, as slow progress and relentless wetting and re-wetting had brought a chill to the bones.

    The next activity was a sketchy and pretty darn massive seated rope swing. It provided outstanding entertainment watching many amatuers attempt to dismount the swing into the racing river below. Many complaints of pain put the girls off, but the boys all had a crack and walked away with only minor bruises and humility.

    Still in recovery, we were marched to the local bridge for another hit of adrenaline. A young and highly abusive Guatemalan boy set the bar for the jump, climbing onto the suspension wire, parading up and down whilst giving us a gutful before dropping a dizzying 10m into the river. Some attitude. Some kahunas. We all jumped, girls included, and were grateful for our shoes on impact once more!

    We're more used to the hustle now and are learning quick and easy ways out, or how to avoid the situation altogether.

    Lunch came and went with little excitement, save for my attempt to pick up a pile of sticks Guatemalan-style (with my head). A different life they lead indeed!

    The afternoon brought us to Semuc Champey, literally the only reason this secluded and so very isolated place is on the tourist trail. Semuc Champey is a series of terraced rock pools, filled with turqoise blue water and schools of those fish that nibble at your toes, creepy! The main river, Rìo Cahabón actually flows underneath the terraces; an impressive tunnel of roaring white water, only just visible to the intrigued tourist.

    It was nice to relax after the hike to get there, swimming, diving, jumping and sliding (barebummed) down the terraces, from pool to pool. The natural beauty speaks for itself in the photos below. We went back the same way we drove in, ever appreciating the friendly and smiling locals.

    All in all it was one of the best days in Central America yet! Definitely worth the hot and bumpy eight hour drives we put ourselves through at each end.
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  • Antigua, Guatemala

    2017年2月15日, グアテマラ ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Curry, comfort and a colonial cosmopolitan.

    Antigua Guatemala is not to be confused with the island of Antigua in the Caribbean, for those of you with a sharp memory. We're still in Guatemala, very much so.

    Antigua was once the capital of Guatemala and is located just a short ride from it's predecessing capital, Guatemala City - a now buzzing metropolis in the south of the country. Antigua is what I imagined Havanna to be and has delivered on all fronts.

    It's a United Nations World Heritage Site, situated in the Guatemalan highlands between towering, hazy volcanoes and steep lying coffee plantations. The streets are cobbled, impressively maintained and buildings low rise, wonderfully coloured and trimmed with cast iron grills and art deco sculptings. The WHS title lived up to at every turn. The town is a perfect grid, and streets numerical in both directions, distinguished in orientation as Calles or Avenues - a navigators dream!

    We spent three nights here at Hostel Matiox, which I highly recommend! These nights were split up by a night on a Acatenango (see seperate footprint) but the days just disappeared as we wandered around town, nibbling on delightful treats, shopping in the markets, preparing for the hike and knocking back delicious coffees.

    We stumbled across a delicious curry house, Toko Baru, which we had to repeat-dine at. Huge plates of curry with all the sides and sauces for $8 NZD. We had some delcious italian ice cream at the recomendation of our hostel, and a cheeky name drop saw us get it free! The bakeries also on point with their bread and sweet treats.

    We also made an effort to cook dinner one night, and sourced all our ingredients from deep within the massive local markets, speaking only spanish or more often just pointing. It was good fun deciphering what was what and interacting with friendly and funny locals. Despite the hectic crowds and midday heat.

    Cat and Char are keeping our spending on track with an app called Trailwallet. It's quick an easy to use and an excellent way to prove we drink too much beer. We've been making progress on the planning for El Salvador and beyond, with countless hours on the hostel wifi and bean bags.

    We've now got a week in San Pedro at a live-in spanish language course, so you mightn't hear much from me until I graduate. We also go a man down today. Scott is pulling the pin and heading home for some family time. It's been four months on the road with him - a good long spell! A shame to see him go but hopefully he eludes any real work for some time yet. Perhaps it will give the northern hemisphere lobster species some much needed regeneration time. Hasta luego Scott!
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  • Volcán de Acatenango, Guatemala

    2017年2月17日, グアテマラ ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Up, up, up and up some more.

    Antigua Guatemala and Lake Atitlan are the mountainous capitals of Guatemala. We'd been eyeing up a challenging hike since we hit this continent and boy did we strike gold.

    Acatanango was not our first pick, in fact we'd been looking further afield, but it had been recommended to us and our hostel offered to arrange it, so we locked in the overnight hike at the modest price of $35NZD per head.

    Acatanango is a giant. It's Ngaruhoe shaped cone tops out at 3980m (taller than Mt Cook!), making it the tallest in the country and one of the tallest in Central America. This region lies on an active fault and is dotted with similar peaks, many still alarmingly active. Lake Atitlan is also a caldera, surrounded by peaks and the geograhical resemblance to the Central Plateau is uncanny.

    Our two day expedition began with some nervous wees and a shuttle pick up. A shuttle pick up always includes a free tour of the town, as one must navigate as many narrow cobbled streets as are required to visit all the hostels, plus some. This tour continued, picking up food and gear and of course tour guides. The tour company obviously not bothering to do all this before they picked us up. Hot tip: Learn to love a shuttle ride.

    Hopefully you're not thinking lesser of us for getting tour guides. Trust me, if they say you need one you most probably do unless you want to get lost, robbed, stabbed or worse.

    The start for this hike was at a local's house on the side of a narrow, two-lane mountain road with no parking or footpath. So we parked on the road, unloaded all our gear into the gutter and repacked our bags with the overnight camping gear and food with which we had been provided - all the while dodging trucks, buses and men on horses. Luckily we were able to fit it in the three tramping packs and two day packs we had; the rental packs comprised canvas on a welded steel tube frame. "In my day..." right dad??

    After some serious faffing and a $10 NZD park entrance fee we were ready to go. Starting elevation: 2500m (over half way already!). We crossed the road and were instantly funnelled into a steep river of loose volcanic rock. It went straight up. It literally pointed at the summit. As far as you could see. In the midday heat, a rising dust cloud and a pack laden two-forward-one-back step routine, it was undoubtedly one of the most brutal ascents I've done.

    And it didn't relent. Up, up, up, rest, repeat. We climbed out of farming pasture (yes, they farm this slope?!), into rainforest and deeper into the clouds. The view disappeared, the temperature dropped and quads and calves burnt like the Great Fire of London. Our group was in surprisingly good shape. The lead pace was slow, and the stragglers were slower still, but we only had one turn back and zero audible tantrums.

    As the afternoon dragged on the trail flattened and forest thinned. We tip toed along the top of the clouds, fatigued yet grateful for the break in ascent. By now the thinning air was adding noticeably to the difficulty. Late in the afternoon I heard a few 'bang-rumbles'. I feared the worst; thunder meant rain. It struck frequently and grew in intensity as we continued. I verbalised my fears and much to my surprise, was informed as to what we were hearing. It was the nearby Mt Fuego, erupting from beyond the clouds!

    By 5pm we were scaling the final stretch to our campsite. This confused me. The whole day I had not seen a single plot of flat land. Certainly nothing flat enough to pitch a tent, let alone ten tents! And we were currently on all fours climbing in tussock laden scree. Where the hell were we going to sleep?! My confusion was resolved moments later when we scrambled past a homemade timber retaining wall. Genious. There were several of them; a few meters high, constructed of stripped trees from the surrounding forest and cutting into the steep volcanic rock face. Each retained just enough rock to pitch a row of tents on the 'flat'. Hazardous terrain encompassed each site, making even just going for a wee quite a risky exercise.

    It was an unceremonius end to the day. We had not yet conquered the beast and the thought of a cold nights sleep on rock wasn't exactly what we desired, although putting down the pack for the last time felt damn good! Our mood was swiftly replaced with excitement by another huge bang from Fuego. Heads swivelled to watch the giant blast another ash cloud into the atmosphere. It wouldn't be the last. As the night fell the blasts became more and more regular, and the lava brighter and brighter, rocketing out of the crater and tumbling down the cone. Explosions of molten orange in all directions. By now the high clouds had evapourated, thousands of stars had come to shine and our fantastic guides had made us a fire. We'd also snuck up a couple of beersies each (cheers Mike!) which had finished chilling in the crisp mountain air.

    That evening was worth every step of the climb. We sat around the fire drinking beer, eating ramen noodles and toasting marshmellows, with the mountain of fire providing endless spectacle under the starry night. Truely incredible.

    During our earlier excitement, our guides had snuck off and felled a tree each for firewood. They'd made good use of the scree and dragged the 5m long trunks back to site. Their evening's entertainment was letting the more foolhardy of us chop them up with a machete. Hard work for the days end, but it generated heat we much desired, especially Cat who had brought up and worn every item of clothing she had plus some of mine!

    To say we awoke the next morning would be misleading, as most of us never slept. The freezing cold, continuous blasting and a rocky bed countered our fatigue and prevented any decent rest. 4am slowly drifted around and we were roused back into the icy wind for the summit climb. It was cold. Really cold. And pitch black, thanks to the rogue head torch straight to face, abolishing any form of night vision that might have developed under the half moon.

    The ascent started slowly, as we slipped and scrambled and bumped into each other. With no cloud cover yet, the sparkle of distant towns was our only reference point, and progress was faster than it seemed - especially with no packs. It only took an hour and a half before we were making the final ascent to the summit, with the sky glowing orange, blue and black under the rising sun. In an unworldy coincidence, with the sky still half black, we popped over the summit of Acetenango to witness Fuego in all her might; firing lava high into the sky and down her slopes in a fashion only hollywood could recreate. By this stage, low level cloud had drifted in, soaking the lowlands in a fluffy white blanket. The only land visible was the peaks of numerous mountains, poking up from the mystery below. Peak elevation: 3980m.

    We sheltered from the roaring sub zero winds in the lee of some rocks, tucked into some banana bread and muesli bars whilst watching the sun rise over Mt Agua, a nearby peak, and Fuego continuing to announce its presence. It was a morning I will never forget.

    Moments before frostbite cut through my cotton socks (yes, yes, no cotton on the mountain - sorry mum and dad!) we were hustled to the start of the descent. The triple head count that ensued was by far the biggest indicator of the guides' care for our wellbeing I had witnessed all trip. That quickly went out the window as we burst into a free-for-all descent. Shoes buried deep into the soft scree as we ran, jumped, skidded, slid and skied down the mountain, narrowly missing rocks and on occasion, each other. The hour and a half ascent obliterated by a fifteen minute run-tumble back to base camp.

    By the time we got back, we'd all warmed up, the sun had turned on the heat and the wind eased. We drank hot chocolate on heaven's porch, soaking up the sun, the view and the morning that was.

    A lot more faff followed as we packed up camp and readied for the descent. The packs were much lighter without the water, beers and food yet the legs were suffering from the previous day and descending was no less brutal. We had one fast guide (running fast) and one slow. The fast guide set a pace almost impossible to match; ascending the steep, slippery narrow and winding track like we had the summit earlier that morning. Very impressive. Meanwhile in the middle of the field, the quads had packed in and a combination of fatigue and lack of coordination saw Cat rack up quite the number of spills. Perfectly acceptable under the circumstances, I might add. In fact, by the time we reached the bottom, at around midday, I was thoroughly impressed at the state the team was in. Well, except for the fact we looked and smelt like we'd been dragged through a chimney.

    We were spent and ravenous. We loaded up the van and prepared to depart. The thought of jacuzzi and pizza were making my mouth water. However, it was not to be. Our van crapped out (for lack of a less vulgar phrase) leaving us tired, hungry and stranded on the side of the road for nearly two hours. Aid came in the form of cold beer and it would have taken a lot more than a broken bus to bring me down from that high (no pun intended). A huge thanks to nature for nailing the weather and the tectonic activity and to our legendary guides/Guataninjas for putting up with useless gringos and learning english for us!!!!

    By the time we made it back to Antigua in our rapidly repaired bus, we were hangry, busting for the loo and in need of a shower. After much debacle, our needs were met (in that order) so we put our tired, wrinkly feet up in newly appreciated comfort and relived the day that was.
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  • San Pedro, Guatemala (Part 1)

    2017年2月23日, グアテマラ ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Back to school amigos!

    I concede, english can't cut the mustard in every country we visit so let's give this spanish a crack.

    Guatemaya Language School is located in the tiny town of San Pedro (popn 14,000) by lake Atitlán in the south of Guatemala. We're here for one week (20hrs) of spanish school and as many cultral experiences as we can get our hands on. We're staying with two seperate homestay families. Cat and I are with Char's teacher, Javier, his lovely wife Lola and their six year old handful of a daughter, Magda. Mike and Char are nearby with Chema and Conchita, their two young kids and a baby. There is one other guest room in each house; ours occupied by Jack, and elderly Canadian and Mike and Char's is occupied by Ana, and american lady. Speaking on behalf of everyone - we're loving this experience!

    We get our own rooms in the casas and spend time with the family during meals and in the afternoons/evenings. Guatemalans don't do 9-5s like us gringos and the children's schools only do half days so there are always people about. Days revolve around mealtimes (a family affair) and accordingly a lot of time is spent sourcing and preparing food. Perfect.

    The school itself is nestled into the steep hillside overlooking the lake. It is tiny. There are four teachers and there are rarely more than four students at a time. It has one indoor classroom with a lean-to common area and three very much outdoor "classshacks". The air is fresh, the view is impressive and the teachers are excellent. We're in the morning slot from 8-12 where Mike and I share a teacher and the girls are taught one-on-one. There is unlimited, free, locally grown coffee which we heartily consume at break along with a tasty new local treat each day. Not far from a perfect learning environment.

    Our spanish is progressing quite rapidly and we are all throughly enjoying the learning. We also enjoy using our spanish with the families and friendly locals, especially the children with whom we trade patience; them with our language and us with their relentless games and energy.

    Outside of school, we're making the most of our live-in experience. We've dabbled in homemade tortillas, briefly, as it's extremely difficult and we can only handle so much embarrassment in one day. We've cooked the barbie and made the salsa. We've spun (or tried to spin) cotton. We've witnessed weaving. We've participated in shopping for ingredients and various aspects of cooking and I've played more "shop" with Magda than I have in real life. We've toured Javier's coffee farm and corn fields, and learnt a lot about both comodities (or more accurately in this instance - staples). We even watched Chema's team play football at the most lavish artificial turf I've seen since UCLA. We've ridden in tuk tuks and in the boot of a taxi and dodged both on the street many many times per day. We've learnt that jeans are appropriate attire for farming, running, teaching, dancing and football. We've eaten corn or corn derivatives in every meal, and given up sugar almost completely (not by choice). Almost. Mike even worked a day on Chema's farm. On top of this we also have our daily homework and study to complete, and a run if we have time - who said holidays were relaxing?

    The best part of this experience is that we have been given the opportunity (at last!) to understand the culture. We understand the duties of each family member, where they go and what they do each day. We've learnt how they make money, where they spend money and where they can't afford to spend money. We've been shown the garden and the farm and understand the farm to table processes, and the relative values of their staple foods. We've been told of difficulties we didn't know existed financially, physically and mentally and also learnt of corruption and misdemeanor.

    Live-in spanish school is an activity I can most definitely recommend! The best part is that this week of the trip is costing me less than $35NZD per day, including treats. Ka-ching!

    ...continued in Part 2...
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