Blog Detail
- COME FLY WITH ME....
- Tour of Equatorial Explorer
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Wednesday 11th March
Well!!! Wow!!! We think we are going to like this – a lot! We are currently on board The Captain’s Choice chartered jet and it is looking very promising!
Proceedings were painless at the airport, the Captains Choice check-in desk easily identified by the profusion of yellow tee-shirts. We are to have four escorts, Keith, team leader, Denise and Paul and Bruce who is the doctor.We have enjoyed our first glass of champagne, met the chef as he handed round canapés and everyone is busy weighing one another up – there is already the inevitable wanting to move seat – but we get moved around on every flight so everyone gets a fair shot at front/back/over wing etc. The plane is spacious and as it seats 92 in business class seats (when configured for a routine flight it takes over 200) and there are only 60 or so of us plus escorts, there is plenty of room. It seems like the age range of travellers is about the same as us plus/minus 10 years. Lunch arriving, more later.
Superb fillet of beef for lunch served by a great English crew and everyone seems to be settling down well, helped by very generous servings of wine and liqueurs. We have just crossed the International Date Line so it is yesterday again – I have achieved my lifetime’s ambition, to have more than 24 hours in a day!!
On arrival at Samoa airport we were welcomed with flower leis and once in our hotel room we were greeted with flowers everywhere – on the bed, in the towels, in the soap dish…..Just time for a drink in the bar and an early night.
Wednesday 11th March – for the second time!!!
It is a very strange feeling to be doing the same day all over again but here I am at 7am gazing out on a clear blue sky with waves gently breaking on the reef – the beach is just yards from our ground floor window.Breakfast was very civilised with attentive service from handsome young men in skirts! Then at 8.30 sharp we were on board our two coaches (CCT style, plenty of room to move around) to ‘do’ Samoa in a day. We know it is the rainy season here so are well prepared but as we set off the weather was looking pretty good.
We headed east with a guide with the unlikely name of Mussolini (at least that’s what it sounded like). He proved to be quite entertaining and well informed – we know already that CCT generally employ the best local agents and guides. Samoa is divided into Western Samoa and US Samoa – we are in WS on the island of Upolu, capital Apia. It seems from what we heard that Samoa has taken a very balanced view of tourism and is determined to learn from the mistakes that some of the other South Pacific islands have made (Hawaii being a good example of over development) – they do not want to become too dependent on it and from what we could see there is very little evidence of the effects of tourism. They also have a programme in place to educate the villagers about tourism and where is fits into their lives. One of the results is smiling faces and waving children everywhere!
The locals live in fales, traditionally a reed roof supported by tree trunks and open on all sides – some of the more modern homes have tin roofs and block walls, but nevertheless the majority are open to view. It was strange to be able to see everyone’s worldly goods on show – not that they have too much in the way of possessions – and it was not really possible to take photographs as it would be too intrusive. Samoans have a very strong family based culture based on respect for their elders and strict discipline of children – a few lessons to be learned there then! What was so unusual – and again not a photo opportunity – was that the tradition is to bury their dead in the front ‘gardens’ so most of the fales we passed had mausoleums out front, bedecked of course, in heaps of flowers.
The Church also has a strong influence and we gather that Sundays it is quite a sight to see whole villages dressed to the nines and off to Church. Each of the 300 or so villages on the island has at least three or four Churches. From what we could see they are a happy and contented lot, earning and needing little!
At lunch we were taken to Faofao beach for a BBQ lunch and chance to swim, followed by a tour of the home once occupied by Robert Louis Stevenson – it’s now a museum. His Samoan name was Tusitala – “teller of tales”, and even though he only lived in Samoa for four years he wrote 13 books on the island. He was revered by the Samoans and is buried at the top of the 1200ft Mount Vaea where the locals carried his body; they still make pilgrimages to his grave. It was a bit of a hike for us and we were short of time so we passed on that!
As we left the beach there was a torrential downpour which all added to the spectacle of the many waterfalls which are a feature of Samoa. We had a brief stop at Papapapatei Falls as we crossed the spine of the island en route back to Apia and our hotel, Aggie Grey’s Lagoon Resort.
Tonight was the CCT welcome dinner and we enjoyed a bottle of wine in the bar beforehand watching the fire dancers greet the sunset – at least we think that was what it was about! It was also about scantily clad men, conch shells, drums and firebrands. Very exciting.
Dinner was a fine affair with good food and plenty of complimentary wine. The floorshow was spectacular, especially the beautiful dancing girls, handsome men (partly clad again, this holiday is taking on a theme) and the fire jugglers combined with a haka-style ritual dance.
An early night was called for, as we have to be up at 3am tomorrow for the next leg of the trip.
Thursday March 12th
It is not quite 6am and we are on board the jet about to have breakfast as the sun comes up on the South Pacific. The alarm went off at 3am, followed by the CCT wake up call at 3.30 – taking no chances. By 4 the luggage had miraculously disappeared from outside our rooms and the bleary eyed were gathered in reception ready to go. We have a two-sector flight –to Tahiti first for refuelling.I am now putting pen to paper in Rapa Nui. the Polynesian name for Easter Island. It was a long day on the plane – a three hour sector, a five hour sector and a plus five hour time change but we were well looked after with great food, and as much champagne or wine (or whatever) as we could drink.
The hotel is a hoot! We were warned that accommodation is limited and we would be in the ‘best available’ local hostelries. As we arrived at 9.30pm we were told that the bar would be open till 10 so at 9.35 a thirsty contingent of about eight Brits (there are supposed to be 18 in total on the trip but we haven’t identified them all yet) descended to find it closed, locked and in darkness. British fortitude won the day and we managed to acquire a beer each before it was closed, locked and plunged into darkness once more. One couple wanted white wine and we were horrified to hear they had none – it turned out that the girl just didn’t understand. We know this island is remote so we know we have to make allowances – Easter Island is part of Chile but we are 2300 miles from the coast of mainland Chile and a really tiny speck in the ocean – try finding it on the map! It was given its European name by the Dutch sea captain who first sighted it on Easter Sunday 1722.
We had an encounter with a cockroach (and a dog hidden asleep behind Geoff’s chair in the bar which aged me 10 years when it moved) so it was a somewhat nervous author who took to bed in a clean if basic room – and then imagined cockroaches crawling under the door all night especially as in the light from the hallway shining under the gap I could see hundreds of little legs scurrying past – we did get one in the bathroom but that’s all!
We have been split into two different hotels and it was only retrospectively that we discovered that we had actually drawn the short straw and the other hotel was significantly better in terms of both accommodation, and as it turned out, food.
Friday March 13th
We had a 9am start for the day but that presented no problem as my sleep patterns are now totally destroyed and I don’t think I will ever get a good night’s sleep again. I never quite recovered from the jet lag from London despite five days in Sydney before we set off.We were excited about seeing this place and en route to our first stop learned that it is a volcanic island, only 115 sq km and lying 4000km from Samoa – sorry about the mix of miles and km in this story but I think that might become a bit of a pattern! There are only 5000 inhabitants and all but a handful live in the only town of Hangaroa. It was not until 1967 that the first jet arrived here and tourism started in a small way. The airport landing strip that we landed on was extended in 1984 by NASA for emergency use for the space shuttle landings – if you think back to the early news broadcasts on the shuttles, they were always landing somewhere near Easter Island – the problem was most of us hadn’t a clue where it was!
Scientists have proved that the first inhabitants arrived in 500AD although Polynesian legend predates that and revolves around a king whose own island was destroyed by a tsunami. He had a dream of a wonderful new island, set sail and found the island of his dreams. Well that’s near enough!
Now to the famous Moai statues – there were originally almost 900 of them and they were made to represent kings, princes and priests so that the islanders could worship their ancestry. The platforms some of them stand on are called Ahu and they cover burial grounds and are thus sacred. The Moais were built between the 11th and 17th centuries; apparently building stopped abruptly around 1680 and no one has been able to say why, although the island experienced a period of unrest after that time. Many of the Moais were destroyed in this unrest as well as in the 18th Century when a new cult, that of the Birdman, took over. By the mid 1800s only a few remained standing and much of the restoration which results in what we were able to see has been done since the 60s. Some very early photographs taken by explorers were used to try to identify what went where and why. The bodies and the ‘topknots are made from totally different stone quarried on different parts of the island.
Legends abound and this tome could easily become even longer than it is going to be if I went into it all (Easter Islanders for example insist they walked to their positions) – suffice to say they are seriously impressive and seriously spooky! Most of them no longer have their coral eyes – they were the last thing to be added after the statues were erected and they all faced inland.
We were separated into groups of about 20 each with a guide – ours was Emilia whose day job is teaching Tahitian dance on the mainland. Despite all the guidebooks warning about it being a bleak place subject to howling gales and heavy mist, it was very hot and sunny all day and we walked our legs off from one sight to the next. For me the most special was the first stop of the day, at the Ahu Tongariki in the early morning sun – the light was fabulous and whilst the sun was not in the best position for photographs it created a very special atmosphere. This Ahu has 15 Moias, the tallest being 11m high and weighing 80 tonnes. They were discovered in 1960 when a tidal wave moved an entire beach and uncovered them. Japan lent the island a crane to re-erect them.
We saw all shapes and sizes, standing, fallen, part carved from solid rock – and one that even looked like Geoff!
Lunch was at a beach and some of our party were desperate for a swim but Emilia was determined to give us the full experience and went ‘off piste’ to the crater of Rano Raraku which was the quarry that was principally used for the ‘bodies’. We ran out of time to be able to walk amongst the partially carved ones which are still lying where they were left as we had to get to lunch – and a much needed beer!
Lunch was not particularly a highlight but the dance show (getting to be a bit of a theme) was spectacular again, with beautiful girls who can move their hips in a way mine never have and young men in loincloths – the telephoto lenses were out in force to see what they were wearing underneath.
The afternoon’s programme included the spectacular mile wide crater of Rano Kau, which we had glimpsed from the plane on arrival. We stood on the cliffs at Orango with their sheer drop to the ocean and the weird round dwelling houses, as it is where the Birdman cult originated. We also climbed down into the caves at Vinapu to see the petroglyphs (bird paintings). By the time we got back to Camina Tahatai (our hotel) we were hot, dusty and smelly – with an hour to shower and change, pack for the Amazon as we have to leave our main luggage on the plane, and get to dinner – and we were starving.
It was a jolly affair as we rearranged the room to make a table of eight and joined up with 6 other Brits. Unfortunately the food was a bit average but the night was good fun.
It’s worth adding that Easter Island was much greener than we thought it would be and is also very strictly controlled; you are not allowed to walk without a guide, not allowed to stray off the path, and there are ‘rangers’ monitoring people everywhere they go. At one point I rested my bum on what I thought was a wall, only to be turfed off it unceremoniously as it was apparently sacred!!
Saturday March 14th
Yesterday’s entry has just been completed at 7am and we are already airborne (no picnic this holiday, what happened to rest and recuperation!) en-route to Peru. It was a 5am wake up call, a quick breakfast and airport transfer. We think (hope?) that is the last of the early starts. The tour doctor has issued dire warnings about the mosquitoes in the Amazon – there are two types – day time ones (yellow fever) and night time ones (malaria) – we have been told to wear long trousers, long sleeves and repellent – we have 100% Deet which is a bit like putting paint stripper on your skin but we will comply with instructions.A champagne breakfast got the day off to a second start and we arrived a little early in Iquitos, our start point for the Amazon, but lost some time while immigration procedures were sorted out – international planes do not usually land there so it was a real demonstration of jobsworth on behalf of the officials .who were determined to make the most of it. The plane was an object of curiosity too with mobile phone photos being taken by the airport workers.
Iquitos was described by our guide as the most beautiful city in Peru, if not in the whole of South America. Talk about rose coloured glasses. It is the first port on the river and is expanding rapidly due to oil being found in the forests below the Andes in the northwest. We thought it was pretty dire – in fact I would go as far as to describe it as filthy and we have seen some third world sites on our travels. There is still some evidence of its prosperity during the rubber-boom years, with ornate buildings with ironwork balconies and tiled facades but it was a long time ago. It is actually on an island so there are very few cars but zillions of bikes, scooters and tuk tuks frenetically chasing one another down narrow streets and muddy alleys.
We boarded Amazon Queen for our journey downstream, looking nervously overboard at the filthy water but there were no bodies or dead dogs floating by and we eventually set off - we did not know really what to expect but certainly not this vast expanse of very fast flowing water, pretty murky, with logs the size of fishing boats hurtling past. It is fair to say, I think, that there was some apprehension about what we were going to. First impressions however dispelled most fears – Ceiba (pronounced sabre) Tops Lodge seemed well organised with accommodation in separate thatch or tin-roofed huts in a jungle setting. We were very impressed with the facilities and cleanliness – the room had a king sized bed (mine) and a single bed (Geoff’s!), a stocked fridge, a spotless bathroom and no apparent access route for wildlife of the multi-legged variety – probably the best accommodation so far. And believe it or not, a mobile phone signal! Last place we expected that.
A couple of Pisco Sours later we were off for an orientation walk to the massive Ceiba tree from which this place got its name. What a motley crew we made, with everyone taking the mossie warnings very seriously – never seen so many trousers tucked into socks in my life before. What no-one had warned us about however, was the ankle deep mud – I suppose ‘rain and forest’ might have given us a clue and this walk was to be the first of what became known as the Amazon log roll – the pathways were conveniently laid with logs to balance on – not easy with shoes covered with thick slimy mud and there were a few casualties on the way.
This part of the diary is being penned lying in the blast of the air conditioning unit (it is very hot and humid here) as we have a long day on the river tomorrow and I need to be up to date. There is a 6am bird watching trip in the morning but we have seen far too many 6am’s already on this trip so have declined.
The food at dinner was relatively basic as was to be expected - rice and fish - but it was both wholesome and filling and we avoided any salad of course.
Sunday March 15th
Awoke to the sound of torrential rain and said a quiet thank you that we had declined the bird watching! We had both managed to clock up about 6 hours solid sleep which is the longest since we left England on 5th March!After a good breakfast we were off downstream into the jungle to visit the Yagua Indian tribe – whilst we might consider that we were great white hunters I don’t think anyone was under any illusions that we might get boiled in big cooking pots – we were all realistic enough to accept that it was going to be tourist Amazon of course. En-route we saw freshwater dolphins, including amazing pink ones putting on a show for us. From the river we could see how primitive life still can be in this part of the world and every time we passed a little village or settlement, the children rushed to look at the boat and shyly wave.
The Amazon is described as the last great wilderness on earth and still has an area of virgin jungle the size of Europe which remains largely unexplored. The river is the second longest in the world – after the Nile - with the largest volume of any river. There is a difference of 30-40m in water level between summer and winter – we were in high water season. Such is its force when it meets the ocean that fresh water is carried 100 miles from the land. Lecture over.
We have been in rain forests in Puerto Rico and jungle in Sri Lanka but seen nothing like the lush vegetation that reaches for the sky here – the river has no banks as we know them, it sort of disappears into the trees.
We know that there are still ancient tribes carrying on their own culture here and we are realistic enough to know that the Yagua people have been ‘tourist-ised’ and were performing for money, but nevertheless both Geoff and I felt that we have experienced a taste of real jungle life. We were greeted by the village elder in his grass skirt, our faces were painted with juice from some sort of nut or other and all the skinny little children gathered around, still shy despite their ‘exploitation’ as some of the cynics would call it. There were many conversations as to whether what we were participating in was right or wrong and I don’t think we all resolved it! They danced, played music, taught (some of us) to use their blowpipes and sold us some crude handicrafts. They freely allowed us to photograph them and showed little curiosity in our trappings of ‘wealth’ – cameras, jewellery etc. In fact when negotiating for a mask we misunderstood and offered two 10-dollar bills (the mask was 20 Sol). One note was handed straight back to us with a smile as we had given him twice the price – wonder what would happen if you did that on a market in England.
Lunch back at Ceiba Tops was again simple and hearty and then we were loaded into speedboats for a trip up river. This bought a whole new meaning to ‘white knuckle ride’ – the boat we were on with about 8 others hit a submerged log at high speed and for one awful moment tipped onto one edge and we thought we would capsize until the driver righted it. We were a bit shaken up and when we disembarked for a walk to see some giant lilies, which required the customary log roll walking, it was hard going until the knees settled down again. There were wild pigs everywhere and we disturbed a sleeping Anaconda which thankfully hissed loudly so we all managed to avoid it.
Currently we have an hour’s respite from the schedule and are waiting for possible changes to tomorrow’s schedule to the Galapagos. HRH is there apparently for Darwin’s anniversary and it might mean we are disrupted. The British are not popular with the Aussies tonight.
In conclusion, this Amazon experience has been brilliant and I don’t expect we will ever do anything like it again – our lasting memories will be the vastness of the river, the speed at which it flows, dodging the debris, the Amazon log roll walks AND NO MOSSIE BITES – no skin left thanks to Deet, but no bites either! Oh and the vultures that perch on every rooftop in Iquitos waiting to pounce on the copious amounts of rubbish in the gutters.
Monday March 16th
We are now on the tarmac waiting for clearance to take-off to Guayaquil, – for those like us who have never heard of it, it is Ecuador’s largest city having been reclaimed from an insect-infected swamp. The Galapagos are 1000km from the coast. More later, doors closed, ready for off.A few facts on the Galapagos (the Spanish word for tortoise) – 16th century sailors named the islands Las Encantadas (The Enchanted) as the prevalent mists make them appear and disappear in minutes apparently. There are 13 main islands of which we will only be able to visit five. They erupted from the sea millions of years ago and have never been joined to any mainland. That means that any wildlife there has either had to swim, fly or float there on vegetation and due to the lack of natural predators, has no fear, not even of humans.
We are currently on the ground at Guayaquil and well done CCT and Monarch, the immigration officers are coming on board to stamp our passports saving us valuable time. However we now know the impact of the royal visit – the airport at the Galapagos can only take three planes at any one time and HRH’s is parked up there. Ours was meant to stay there too so that the crew would be able to see some of the islands too, but because of shortage of space and security, our plane has to fly back to Ecuador so our lovely crew will miss out on one of the highlights of the trip. NB Must write to Charlie-boy at Buck House and tell him how fed up our crew were to miss out on one of the highlights of their trip, thanks to him.
It is now 10.15pm and I have to write up the end of the day first, as we have just been treated to the most amazing spectacle. Dinner on board was not a lingering affair and we took cognacs out onto deck to enjoy the warm night air – there in the spotlights at the side of the ship were seven Galapagos sharks (about 2.5m long) swimming with two large male sea lions. Apparently according to one of the naturalists who joined us, the lights attract plankton, which attract little fish, which attract bigger fish, which attract the sharks. We stood and watched our very own show for almost an hour, as they were joined by flying fish and a shoal of tuna (we think) until eventually the anchor went up and we set off to travel through the night to Santa Cruz Island.
Now back to the beginning of our Galapagos experience – on arrival at the wharf at Baltra Island we were amazed to see enormous sea lions (they have ears, seals don’t, that’s how you tell the difference) lying on the benches in the shelter provided for tourists to get out of the sun. No chance of them moving either!!! We were transferred to the Galapagos Legend, our floating home for the next three nights, by Zodiac dinghies and once on board had lunch, lifeboat drill and a briefing on what to expect. Then it was off by Zodiac to North Seymour island. We were divided up into five groups, each taking a turn to disembark first – we were part of the Albatross group, and our naturalist was George. As we got ready to land on the island, there was a large (extremely) bull sea lion fast asleep across the landing steps that had to be moved by George flapping a towel at him – he was very reluctant to move for us! We quickly realised that two pairs of eyes and two cameras were totally inadequate as there was wildlife everywhere – in fact sometimes it was hard to know where to put your feet.
We saw land and marine iguanas, the blue footed booby (like they have stood in a pot of turquoise Dulux), amazing frigate birds in full courting colours blowing up their massive ‘balloons’ underneath their bills, snakes, lizards and sea lions of all shapes and sizes everywhere. Nothing, but nothing moves out of the way. One baby seal stirred himself from sleep and flopped across to my feet and nuzzled my leg (hopefully a fellow traveller has captured it on film). This was a real Attenborough moment for us! The terrain here varies enormously from smooth sand to stony paths and we had been warned about the difficulties of walking at our briefing especially in the heat. Some found it far too tough underfoot, with a couple of falls – it was not for the faint-hearted. There was no sign at all of these mysterious mists and it was hot and sunny all afternoon.
As walking, concentrating on where my feet were and looking at the wildlife all required my total attention, it was difficult to be able to record the facts on the wildlife as well so this story does not have a lot of facts about what we saw – we will have to rely on the photographs to remind us. But we are grateful to have had the chance to come here – it is amazing.
We had a briefing on the next day’s excursions and have a wake up call at 6.30, breakfast at 7 and Zodiacs at 8. This is the point in the trip when I started to feel a little off colour and in fact, hardly ate anything at dinner. All will be revealed. The Legend sails through the night so that we are anchored at our next island – Santa Cruz - by the time we get up the next day. The schedule is very well organised.
Tuesday March 17th
Ah well, having eagerly anticipated a late-ish wake up call and a night without worrying about mosquitoes, cockroaches or the effects of humidity on my hair, I went down with a dose of what might be Amazon belly and spent the night in the bathroom. Currently I am pilled up to the eyes with Imodium waiting to see if I will be able to make this morning’s trip – I can’t believe I might have to miss something.It’s noon, back on board and I made it but it was a real struggle and to be honest from a wildlife point of view it was a bit tame after yesterday. Some of our group were very keen to see the famous Darwin swifts but they are hard to spot, but we did see blue herons, lava herons, and lots of sally light crabs, marine iguanas, and flamingos as well as having a jolly good walk! The land iguanas were a bit disappointing as I think I had been seduced by all the talk of the land of the dragons and expected them to be about four foot high!
After deciding that lunch was not an option for me, I decided to catch up on some much needed sleep in the afternoon – the excursion to Floreana Island was mainly swimming and snorkelling or swimming with sea lions (I don’t think I fancied that) so Geoff stayed on board too and watched an interesting documentary on the islands – which incidentally are moving 2 feet a year further south due to the fault line they lie on. We gather from some of those that went ashore that it was not possible to remain on the beach and swim – there was a long walk first, and swimming unsupervised or even staying on a beach unsupervised was simply not allowed due to the strict conservation rules.
Dinner was to be a BBQ on deck as the weather was so fabulous and unfortunately I had to resist all food except a small jacket potato. It seems that my problem may either be a reaction to the malaria tablets as suggested by the doctor and other passengers, or the salad I foolishly ate when we first came on board, as I am apparently not the only one with a problem. Maybe we were a little hasty in blaming the Amazon, although we did get a box breakfast to eat on the way down river so that might have been a bit dodgy.
After dinner there was a long lecture about the islands, which to be honest we could all have done without, so that we could have lingered up on deck, but we do understand that it is important for the guides to impart their knowledge and for us to understand what the islands represent. This year is the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Galapagos national park and there is no doubt at all that conservation is the passion here and to maintain the islands as they are will be an upward struggle in the future. Tourism is restricted to either 100,000 or 150,000 per year, depending on which guide you listen to, but even so it is hard to come to terms with the conservation aspects when you consider the copious consumption on board the boat, especially the fuel used for it and the Zodiacs. I forgot to mention that the toilets on board use a vacuum system and NO paper at all – and I mean NO paper can be put down them – very hard to get used to putting toilet paper in a bin, especially with my condition. When you go ashore you are allowed to take nothing at all other than water, and woe betide you should you drop even the tiniest scrap of litter – and rightly so.
The sea lions and flying fish were back on show tonight; there are no sharks in this area but we still enjoyed yet another free show this evening.
Wednesday March 18th
Woke to the sound of the anchor going down off Espanola Island – that is not to say we hadn’t woken up when it went up at about 3am as we set sail – how did we come to actually request Suite 2, which is over the anchor?????After yesterday’s lost time we were determined to make the most of our last full day and were ready to join the rest of the team and get onto the Zodiacs.
This was quite a walk – two hours on rocks laid as a path –not stones, but serious rocks, we had to balance from one to the next! The sea lions were there to greet us – we would be disappointed if they weren’t – and off we went. Espanola has huge colonies of marine iguanas, much more brightly coloured than those we have seen to date – at least it makes for easier photography as black iguanas on black rocks is not the greatest picture! Yet again we had to come to terms with just how trusting these primeval creatures are and it really is hard to walk without stepping on someone’s tail! At one point we were looking across what seemed to be a barren piece of land and suddenly realised that it was almost covered in iguanas, they are so well disguised!Espanola is the only place in the world that the Waved Albatross returns to breed but we are about a month out on our timing – once the young hatch, it will be six years before they return to mate themselves and they return to exactly the same part of the island - remarkable.
After lunch it was time to hit what passes for civilisation in this part of the world – San Cristobal Island that in contrast to the others we visited, is inhabited. We were taken to see the breeding programme for the giant tortoises. We saw characters over a hundred years old as well as the little ones – don’t ask which is male or female in the pictures or even which is the oldest one as they all look remarkably the same.
We got shopping time (yippee!) in the little town but we fled back to the safety of the ship, as I am still not too well! No details however. I was confined to the cabin again as Geoff enjoyed the farewell dinner. I did make it on deck for the nightly water show again, with a turtle joining in tonight.
Thursday March 19th
Anchors away at 3am again and another early wake up (who was asleep anyway!) at 6, breakfast 6.30, bags out 7.30. There is a snorkelling trip this morning before we leave the islands, but we are staying on board.It is now 8.45 and for the last hour we have been on deck watching the eagle rays put on a performance round the ship – they swim close to the surface with just the tips of their fins out of the water, looking like small sharks swimming in unison. They also somersault right out of the water from time to time. Everything in this part of the world is born to perform. One moment of disquiet came as we watched our luggage piled high on tiny boats head off out to sea – presumably down to the wharf at Baltra in advance of us. Either that or it was a pirate with a good haul of dirty washing.
I spoke to the CCT doctor and asked whether I should stop the malaria tablets on the basis I had no bites in the Amazon and the parts of Guatemala we are visiting is not malarious – by a consensus of opinion I have stopped and hopefully can get on the mend as I am starving!!!!
It is now 12.15 local time and we are at the airport experiencing the first delay of the schedule to date. An earlier plane has been delayed and we can’t get our plane in to land to pick us up. However we did get on board eventually with only a half an hour slot for our plane to land, load the bags and us and get off again.
It is 3.57pm and Captain Nick (or was it Jeff) has just told us that we have crossed the equator, so I guess that means we are on the downward slope towards home.
Three hours behind schedule we disembarked in Panama and went straight from the sublime to the ridiculous! The Marriott Hotel is so opulent after what we have become used to and it seems really at odds to be back amongst tower blocks, limos, casinos and shops. We have a fabulous room – may be this is the night of sleep – please.
Time for some facts about Panama – it is a long narrow ‘neck’ of land stretching for 400 miles between Costa Rica and Colombia and its average width is only 75 miles. There is a lot of expansion going on here with forests of tower cranes everywhere you look downtown where our hotel is, but of course there is still the inevitable shanty town cheek by jowl with the modern buildings.
For those interested here are some facts on the Panama Canal, for those who are not feel free to skip this section! It opened in 1914 and takes on average 18 hours to do the whole trip from Atlantic to Pacific – the alternative is via Cape Horn and could take as long as 3 months, shipwrecks not included. It is 50 miles long and cost $387million with many live lost to malaria, yellow fever and other tropical diseases amongst the workforce who were mainly from Jamaica and Barbados which explains the evidence of Afro-Caribbeans amongst the population today. It was designed by the French (Ferdinand de Lesseps who also built the Suez canal playing a prominent role) with construction started by them and finished by America. Approximately 14,000 ships pass through each year. More when we have experienced it for ourselves. Tonight is dine around so great excitement and I need to get ready.
Friday March 20th
Last night it seems that the slick CCT organisation fell apart and we are not too sure why. We had been given three choices of local restaurant and had made our choices for the two nights we are to be in Panama – however we had noticed that we had been asked to put our requests in, but Keith explained he would deal with it on arrival. So with barely an hour to check in, get showered and changed, we reported to reception at 8 to be told there was no choice, just one seafood restaurant close to the hotel – the choices had originally included Spanish, Argentinian and Panamanian restaurants and we wanted to experience the latter two. Having only just recovered my appetite, seafood was the last thing I needed so we opted to stay in the hotel and actually enjoyed a quiet meal on our own, we have been in constant company since we left home so it was good to be just the two of us.We had the luxury of a lie in today as our tour didn’t start until 11am and this is now being penned at 10.30pm after what feels like a very long day. Once on the coach for our canal experience it soon became obvious there was a lot of time wasting going on which we could not understand – both ways over the same bridge, parked up in a lay-by etc. It turns out that we had a set time to pass through the locks and we were early but we still have no idea why we could not have stayed at the hotel, had a shopping morning, or even been given an explanation. Eventually we were taken to the Balboa Rainforest Resort for a short time, which was actually very stylish and many of us would have liked to have stayed there for lunch.
But it was not to be as we had the canal to do - we entered it via Gatun Lake and started to sail through the Gaillard Cut, the site of the continental divide. This is one of the narrowest parts of the canal and there is an 8-year widening programme going on. In fact the canal was more like a river in places and not at all what I was expecting. The reason there are locks is that the levels between the Pacific and Atlantic differ by 26metres.
We went through three sets of locks, Pedro Miguel locks (lowered by 31 feet) and then Mirfaflores, which is a double set and then out into the Pacific. It was really a boy’s day out as once you have seen one set of lock gates open and close and the water go up and down it is really enough. However we were squeezed into the locks along with a freighter that was about 100 times bigger than us and he got very close! Some of the ships are only slightly narrower than the locks themselves and they are tugged into position by little rail cars on geared rails; that was actually quite interesting to watch.
There were some dining out options tonight including the Panamanian restaurant but by the time we got back all we really wanted to do was relax so we opted to stay at the hotel. It seems like it was not all plain sailing on dine-around however, as we understand that 20 places had been booked at the Spanish restaurant but there were only 4 takers; as it was Friday, his busiest night, the proprietor was pretty mad.
Saturday March 21st
Time to pack for the next leg of the journey but first we had a tour of the old parts of Panama. An element of irritation and chaos ensued when we found that we were crammed like sardines into mini-buses with our copious hand luggage (as we were going straight to the airport). Rebellion was very close when an extra coach was located and pressure on space eased – it became very obvious why we needed to be on small buses when we saw the narrow streets.Panama City is definitely on my list of places never to drive in – they all seem to be maniacs. The local buses are known as Red Devils and are painted in crazy designs and colours – they refer to it as graffiti, but we thought they were wonderful. I omitted to mention earlier that we are now all equipped with small receivers and ear pieces so we can hear our guides as we walk, without having to keep grouping round.
The tour took us into the centre of Panama City where high rises jostle for space with tenements and market stalls but it was no way as dirty as Iquitos. There are three ‘cities’ to Panama – the new modern city, the second city founded in 1673 and called Casco Viejo and the first city, Panama Viejo which was burnt to the ground in 1671 by the pirate Henry Morgan. Its location and importance made it an easy target and he was able to take the fort quickly and defeat the Spanish soldiers. We saw the ruins of Panama Viejo which are preserved in a park-like setting, but it was Casco Viejo which really captured our imagination – the old buildings in French style were stunning and we enjoyed a walk along the walls of the old fortification with views across the water to the new city – innumerable panama hats were purchased at this time and it became very difficult to distinguish one man from the next in our group!
We had an afternoon flight to Guatemala and had no idea what to expect of this next section of the trip at all – it is 7pm and I have to record our first impressions before we go to dinner. Guatemala is apparently Spanish for land of many trees and is also known as the country of eternal spring, as they do not experience any winter. I should say that this was perhaps the one place we were not bothered about visiting and had no preconceptions of at all – it was hard enough to locate it on a map! Guatemala is the third most populated country in South America (behind Nicaragua and Honduras) and as we flew in we were surprised at how big Guatemala City was. From the plane we could see how the city was built around chasms in the topography and we soon learned that this is a highly volcanic area, with 3 tectonic plates, 33 volcanoes some of which are active, with 24,000 people killed as recently as 1976 when a million people were also left homeless.
It was the usual South American chaos of traffic and roadside shacks as we left Guatemala City for our hotel in Antigua which for 200 years was the capital of the country. It is pronounced ANTIGUWA here rather than the more usual pronunciation of the Caribbean island , ANTEEGA. An earthquake largely destroyed Antigua in 1773 and there is still visible damage today.
Intriguingly there was a checkpoint on the road just outside the little town and we are led to believe that as it is close to Easter and Antigua is a popular place for religious festivals, they were making a charge to enter the town! There’s enterprise for you!
Expectations of our hotel Casa Santo Domingo were running high, as it had been given quite a build up but it is simply the most amazing place we have EVER stayed in. It is a former monastery and around every corner there is an effigy, a fountain, or an artefact. The rooms have roughcast walls, fireplaces ready laid to be lit, huge wooden beams and look as if they were part of the original living quarters of the monks. This turned out to be wrong however. as you will discover later. We went out to explore a little as it has a confusing layout and came across the ruined part of the old monastery where there is just the remains of a Church with a massive gold altar back drop – there was to be a wedding that night and the whole place was lined with perfumed white roses – it was absolutely stunning. We also found the crypt where there are two skeletons lying under glass in the floor – hair on my arms was standing on end!
A little about the place – the monastery was founded by Dominican monks in 1542 and by 1580 there were 50 friars living there. It suffered badly in the 1773 earthquake and its remains were pillaged by locals to get building materials to rebuild their homes. By 1944 Antigua had been declared a national monument and in 1989 a wealthy Guatemalan submitted plans to restore the monastery and convert it to a hotel. It opened with 4 rooms and now has 128 on two levels – we were ground floor with a little patio garden, the upper floors had a small balcony. It is now known as one of the best hotels in Central America and fellow guests have included Bill and Hillary Clinton, Oscar de la Renta, Harrison Ford and Julio Inglesias.
Sunday March 22nd
6.20am just been woken by the alarm in the room which the previous guest must have left set! We need all the sleep we can get and I had been woken by voices at 4am but Geoff assures me he has been awake most of the night as the wedding party partied on! When we came to bed last night it was silent as the grave, all lit by candles along the corridors and as spooky as hell so we are not sure what they were doing at that point!Before I proceed, just a note to say that although it is sunny still, the Sungod of intrepid travellers not having left our sides for the whole trip, there is a distinct drop in temperature here.
Back to last night – CCT had laid on a candlelit dinner in the courtyard garden which was a stunning setting – the atmosphere was heightened by Gregorian Chant music and all the waiters dressed as monks with Keith joining in for good measure. Bizarrely the food was two options of each course – salad or soup to start, beef or chicken to follow –but we got no choice, they served alternatively and you just had to hope there were enough swap requests to go round. On seeing our amazement at this, our Aussie friends explained that this also happens at some banquets and weddings there too. Very odd.
But enough of last night, we had a long day ahead of us travelling into the mountains to visit Chichicastenango where there is a famous market in an area still steeped in Mayan culture.
During the three hour journey there we learned that in the rural areas of Guatemala the indigenous population of about 20 distinct groups do not mix together and have not embraced modern life, still retaining many of their traditions. Illiteracy in the country as a whole stands at 27% but this rises in country areas to as high as 60% especially amongst females. 98% of children start first school but only 38% complete it and 65% of the country lives below the United Nations poverty line of $2 a day – this rises to over 80% in rural areas. Less than 3% of the population owns 70% of the land, and 45% of the population are under 15 years of age. The population is growing at almost 3% per annum, with some of the indigenous groups having as many as 12 children per family. As they have no work, they rely on the children to work their land for them to grow food to live on. Iris, our German guide, gave us lots of insight into the Maya culture and beliefs. Their civilisation dates back to 2000BC and no-one has been able to conclusively prove how it came into being – in fact, it is only in the last 20 years or so that their hieroglyphics have been able to be deciphered giving more of an insight into them.
It was an interesting drive to say the least – especially as the route comprised major road works for most of the way as Guatemala expands its section of the Pan American highway – excitement was heightened by a major rock fall across the road, which had only just happened as we rounded a corner, and the soil and small rocks were still bounding down the hillside. We were somewhat luckier than the local bus, packed full of people, and the roof loaded with all manner of produce etc., which had been hit broadside by a large rock.
We drove through several small markets with vegetables of all descriptions on sale as well as pigs tied by ropes to a motorbike! But we made it to Chichi as it is known and it was well worth the trip. The market covers 5 blocks and was so colourful with masses of handicrafts for sale – but were we the only cynical ones – surely this stuff was mass-produced and could not have been made by hand by the Quiche Maya that populate the area?
Lunch was on the terrace of a local hotel before we hit the trail back to Santo Domingo with dozens of photographs and camcorder footage.
Tomorrow we have a walking tour of Antigua itself, which lies in the shadow of three volcanoes, Agua, Fuego and Acatenago. Fuego apparently always has a plume of smoke emanating from it, as it is relatively active.
Tonight was a dine around evening but based on past experience we opted to eat in and were so glad we did. Apart from the fantastic atmosphere that this place has, the food was stunning – quite dispelling our earlier comments following the CCT dinner – maybe we were on a tight budget? We both had fish – I had salmon which was delicious and Geoff opted for a fish we had never heard of but thoroughly enjoyed. The presentation of the food was also brilliant and worthy of any excellent restaurant we have eaten in.
Monday March 23rd
A late start to the day as we are not due at muster stations until 10am and we also have a free afternoon, so I will be able to catch up with myself.It is now 5pm and we have both decided that Guatemala, and particularly Antigua, has been the surprise of the trip. Antigua is just delightful and we so enjoyed the walk this morning. Before we set off we found the viewing platform in Santo Domingo’s grounds where the volcanoes can be seen and took some pictures before the afternoon cloud descended – clearer skies in the mornings here. We were a little phased by the presence of what seemed to be ‘heavies’ everywhere around the hotel and grounds, who were obviously carrying guns. Then a marimba band arrived and some glorious looking models in national costume. We knew there was a socialist party conference going on (on the world economic crisis and how it will affect Latin America and the Caribbean) but we did not realise that the Guatemalan president was coming too. His helicopter landed just as we were herded off on our walk and his motorcade was blocking the street. Seems like we are being following around by important people.
Most buildings in Antigua are only single storey and built in Spanish style, also on a grid system with Avenues running north/south and Calles running east/west – impossible to get lost, so they say. First stop was the jade museum where we learned about how jade is mined and more of the Mayan history – they believed that Jade would bring them immortality. The jade industry in Guatemala had all but disappeared as the Spanish killed anyone who wore it, but in the 70s an American archaeologist rediscovered it here and there is now quite an industry in it, as we understand it to be superior to jade from the Far East – well they would say that! We saw convents (including Convento de las Capuchinas built for a small group of nuns from Madrid), churches (including the beautiful yellow La Merced, which is covered in fabulous stucco work and was built in 1767) and the Parque Central which when it was known as the Plaza de Armas was the site of tournaments and corridas, and where people were flagellated or condemned to death.
Lunch was in the courtyard of a small hotel and we had the most wonderful surprise with a breathtaking performance by masked dancers which had to surpass anything we have seen to date – typically the camcorder had been left behind as it has been on the blink since Panama! We did find it necessary to explain to the waitress why we had all left the delightful salad that accompanied the lunch – why are CCT doing this to us!
Hopefully our photographs will do Guatemala and Santo Domingo justice as we could use up another five pages on Antigua! Not surprisingly there were no takers for dine around and we enjoyed another terrific meal which was topped by a spectacular desert of grilled fruit which arrived with a shot glass filled with what turned out to be dry ice which ‘exploded’ when the fruit sauce was poured onto it – volcanic is the only word to describe it!
Tuesday March 24th
Time to move on and I think everyone was reluctant to leave such a beautiful place. It was a 7am bags out and breakfast and as we are such a well-behaved group, everyone was prompt for the airport transfer.It is currently 11.30am Guatemala time and we are about to enjoy another meal from Niall, the on-board chef, this time it is BBQ’d pork – hopefully the presence of a cooked meal will stop some of the moans!
Now we are in Havana, and of course the dollar is most certainly not king here. The Castros are Marxist of course and I think that if I record all the turbulent history of Cuba it will probably send my readers to sleep, as it would take a long time to tell – was that a sigh of relief I heard? But I can’t resist a few facts – Cuba is the largest of the Caribbean islands and the most westerly. It was apparently discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, then conquered by the Spanish, seized by Britain in 1762, swapped for Florida (yes really!) the following year so it went back to Spain, 1868 saw the War of Independence, a second war in 1895, became a Republic in 1902, was a dictatorship under Batista after WW1, Fidel Castro with the help of Che Guevara overthrew Batista in 1959 and the US broke off diplomatic relations. Castro got into bed with the Soviet Union, then the Bay of Pigs and so it goes on.
We also learned that Cuba has the most aged population of all the Caribbean islands and has just raised its official retirement age by 5 years to ease the financial burden.
First impressions? To begin with it is much cleaner and tidier than the towns we have visited in Latin America – certainly on the outskirts – that is not to say there is no evidence of poverty, because there is, but there doesn’t seem to be the filth of places like Iquitos. The beat up, patched up American cars are a hoot – string and sealing wax about sums them up. Before we went to our hotel we went to the two forts that guard the entrance to the harbour – Castillo del Morro – built originally in the 16th century to repel pirates, which worked OK but it didn’t keep the Brits out – and Castillo del la Punta (although I am in some doubt about the name of this one and the captions in the photo albums differ I think saying San Carlos de la Cabana – I think I am either befuddled or “facted” out). In the latter a cannon is still fired every night at 9pm when a military ceremony is held – we were later to here the boom that night. We got to hear about Che Guevara of course and saw his office (for those who don’t know, he was Castro’s military commander) – the second of the two forts is so large that it can house 7000 soldiers and was built after the English attack in 1762.
We have been invited out tonight by Keith along with all other CCT ‘returnees’ – it was to have been at Floridita where Ernest Hemingway drank his daiquiris but we gather it is closed due to a fire in the area, so as I sign off for the day the venue is a mystery.
Wednesday March 25th
Not too sure what to say about last night really! Of the group of 65, 29 were invited along and we were dropped on the outskirts of Old Havana as the streets are again too narrow for large buses. We are assured that Havana is one of the safest cities to walk around but we hadn’t reckoned on the alley where the restaurant was to be quite so smelly – like a urinal is the best I can describe it. We were herded into a tiny doorway leading to a jam-packed bar, with a very large Caribbean gentleman barring our way to stop us trying to make a break for a drink. All the walls were covered in signatures and we later learned that La Bodega del Medio was the haunt of Ernest again, is reputed to be the original home of the Mojito and is still supposed to be the watering hole of the literary set. Keith had arranged for us to be ‘fed’ on the basis that they had taken us at short notice and to give us menus would be too complex. So per table we were served all at the same time – a plate of cold chips, a plate of what we think was chilli mince, a plate of prawns in a sauce, a plate of rice and beans and some roast or boiled sliced meat – the jury is still out on whether it was pork or lamb – and the inevitable salad.The place was authentic enough and there was some good live music but the food was rubbish really - the rice and beans which are staples here were the best of the lot. We had to remind ourselves again of our location and accept that we were provided with the best there is but having read the guide book about Cuba which talks of shrimp, crayfish, crab and so on, we were a bit phased.
I have just written that up at 9am and we have been watching the hustle and bustle of Havana from our room before our walking tour. I should add that I now have a heavy cold to add to my holiday trophies.
We have a free afternoon and I intend to catch up on some sleep as these bad nights are starting to get to me – the shops here have nothing in them anyway so there is little point in retail therapy. When we set off this morning, I didn’t think I would like Havana but it seduces you. In Habana Viejo (the old town) there is an ambitious reconstruction programme underway to restore every building to its former glory – and glorious they must have been, before the rot set in. The architecture really is amazing and totally eclectic but virtually every building is crumbling – how the rebuilding programme will ever reach a conclusion I have no idea but we gather Unesco backs it to some extent.
We walked down Calle Obispo, which was once the heart of the entertainment district and apparently according to National Geographic Magazine is one of the busiest pedestrian streets in the world. Music permeates from every bar, old cars line the side streets and the atmosphere is not at all threatening. It is really hard to capture Havana in words. We had a delightful guide with an unpronounceable name, and the CCT receivers were really useful as we could wander around and listen to her. One fact worth a mention is that the Capitol building is modelled on the US Capitol but the dome is 9m higher – they are enormously proud of that in Havana….
We went back to have a drink in the Bodega as some of the group had not been part of last night’s dinner – strangely it didn’t smell so bad outside in the daytime but wasn’t a lot cleaner! There are lots of ‘photo-touts’ here – large ladies smoking cigars, men in gangster suits with gigantic cigars, performing dogs, ladies in national costume and some who look like ladies of the night – and one who was obviously an Ernest Hemingway look-alike – Keith sent him on his way as we realised that Geoff is a dead ringer for him, so we had our own!
What we had not realised is that rationing still exists here –flour, sugar, rice and beans are all issued on coupons and there is no reason for anyone to have to beg for food – it does explain to some extent why the restaurant food is so basic and Geoff tells me that only certain places in Havana are licensed to serve beef.
We wandered back through the fascinating streets to the hotel and I got my two hours rest and didn’t really fancy going out that evening. But we were promised a “famous” chicken restaurant (now then is it the chicken or the restaurant that claims the fame?) and a floorshow so it was best foot forward. The chicken was delicious, served with rice and beans, which we now know, are called Christianos y Moros (translates as Christians and Moors, but not sure why). Of course there was salad too. After dinner, we drove along the Malceon, which sweeps along the ocean front and is one of the areas that is regaining its old glory – it is also known as the longest bar in the world as it is where youngsters gather to socialise and drink a few beers. The promised floorshow was actually fairly expensive seats (courtesy of CCT) at the world famous Tropicana which is an open air show seating about 1200. It was certainly spectacular with a cast of over 200 dancers and acrobats in the most amazing costumes. The seating wasn’t brilliant as it never is at these supper club type venues, and it was hard to see all the action but it was certainly loud and if I am honest just a little bit too long, but that might have been down to the fact that I was feeling pretty dire. Each table of 12 was given three bottles of rum and some mixers – if we had consumed all that we would not have seen a thing - as it was we understand that one of our party had to be carried from the coach at the end of the night.
Thursday March 26th
Help! Almost missed breakfast – we slept through the alarm which is unheard of, and had to rush down to grab a quick bite before going off on tour again at 9 and there was a queue to get into the restaurant. A very quick juice, coffee and bread and preserve and we were off to the cigar factory. This was a real eye-opener and if anyone ever moans to me about working conditions again I will point them in this direction.There is no mechanisation at all in the production of cigars, with 400 staff turning out 25,000 cigars of all sizes a day. Even the packing into boxes or tubes is done by hand. All the employees are allowed to smoke as they work, the health and safety police haven’t reached here yet and the working conditions alluded to are probably best not described! The myth about thighs of dusky virgins is just that, as is the one about saliva being used – they use a vegetable based glue as it turns out. Having said all that production control is very strict and each and every cigar is checked by hand and can be traced back to the person that rolled it – the rollers have a strict individual quota to make each day depending on the size of the cigar they are making and rejected ones have to be made up on the following day’s quota. Most roll between 150 and 200 a day, and when they have completed their quota they can go home. At the moment there is no overtime and no intake of trainees as the effects of both the recession and the smoking bans are felt – they only make what they can sell, there is no stock-piling. It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be especially how they use different grades for filler and outer coverings – even the ribs from the tobacco leaf are ripped out and re-used as ground fertilizer so nothing is wasted.
The Museum of the Revolution came next and we were surprised to find that it is somewhat decaying – we would have expected money to have been pumped into keeping it up to scratch. We had a guide who was passionate on his subject and did go on bit but one or two in the group appointed themselves as spokesmen for us all and urged him to get on with it. We felt that was a little unfair as they have a job to do and for Cuban nationals it is important we understand some of the history of the country.
The Plaza de la Revolucion followed and seemed to us to be a total waste of public money considering the state of the rest of the city – its obilisk is the tallest building in Havana erected as a memorial to Jose Marti, a national hero. The square is stark and empty – except we understand when it is being used for political rallies. The military building opposite has a massive image of Che Guevara on the walls – his face is everywhere of course, not just on tee-shirts.
We passed a massive (gross understatement) cemetery where over 2million people have been buried, the population of Havana is only 3million. They are unlikely to run out of room as they take a fairly dispassionate view of the dead – after two years, they dig up the bodies, clean off the bones, put the bones in urns and re-use the plot! Nice one – no-one told us about the bone cleaners job in careers advice at school.
I read somewhere that Havana is seedy yet languorous and I could not have put it better – as an example of decay and resurrection it is a total one off. Lunch today was out in the Western suburbs at the Havana Club overlooking a glorious beach billed by as the Caribbean but in fact it was the Atlantic. Apparently it was once the exclusive haunt of the bourgeoisie but now anyone can buy a day ticket for about 8 pesos.
As our time Havana draws to a close, it is time to start thinking about clothing for colder temperatures as we head for home. We opted to go to the hotel’s jazz night – a great meal (hey, no salad!) on our own which included fillet steak (see note on beef earlier). The jazz pianist was brilliant, a young, tough looking dreadlocked West Indian, who played like a dream. Geoff gave him some Pesos and he nearly fell off his stool!
Friday March 27th
Homeward stretch now, packed, breakfasted and ready to set off to Ponta Delgado on the island of San Miguel in the Azores. It is the largest of the 10 islands that make up the Azores which legend has it, are the tips of the lost continent of Atlantis pushing up through the Atlantic Ocean. We know nothing about them at all other than they are 900 miles away from Portugal to whom they belong.It is now 6pm Azores time, 3pm Cuba time and we have just had an almost seven hour flight enjoying lavish hospitality – flying will never be the same again. Bloody Mary’s, champagne, a meal accompanied by Sauvignon Blanc, and currently a large Cognac – doing wonders for our livers. The crew have presented all the men passengers with a cigar and the ladies with a fridge magnet from Cuba and there is a list of passenger email addresses going round so hopefully we might be able to keep in touch with one or two. There has been some confusion on board however, as our daily compendium advised both a light lunch and dinner would be served on board and it seems the crew are only geared for one meal – however we are assured that CCT are sorting food for our arrival should we need anything after the hearty lunch that is! As you can imagine this has resulted in a few more grumbles.
Geoff instigated a whip round for the airline crew (there are about 17 of them) so that they could have a good night out – they are with us at our farewell dinner tomorrow and of course can’t drink prior to a flight so this is there last chance
The crew have been fabulous, they are all based at Monarch in Luton, been very professional yet friendly and they have worked so hard. More tomorrow.
Saturday March 28th
7am looking out at the marina and the temperature change is really noticeable. But if the sun doesn’t shine today, we can hardly complain on our last full day. Impressions driving from the airport in the dark last night were one of deserted streets – no pedestrians, no cars, no nothing. And very clean and tidy – about as far removed from the chaos of Havana as you could get. Ah chaos – a good word also to describe last night. Generally, when our group of 60 odd books into a hotel there is only ever a hard core of a dozen or so in the bar – last night everyone was there and it was a free drink and sandwich (or meal) on CCT. The staff did not know what had hit them and there were only two working in the bar.So, this is now the last touring day of our adventure and I have a feeling it might be quite a subdued one. Some of the Aussies are all frozen to death for a start – it is about 16 degrees so we are OK and in any case there are only two types of clothes left in the suitcases – dirty and filthy so we have to wear what we can.
Any comments on the Azores can only relate to San Miguel Island but we gather than only one of the islands is uninhabited and it is possible to island hop quite easily. The vegetation is surprisingly lush and tropical and we are led to believe that they never get frosts and the temperature rarely falls below 10 degrees. To Geoff and I it is very reminiscent of how Madeira was before it was wrecked by over-tourism. Or tour covered view points over the coastline, beautiful churches, charming little villages with really friendly children practicing their English on us – it has an old world charm. We also saw some of the pre-Easter ‘penance’ marchers who walk for 7 days around the island accepting hospitality where it is offered –they all chant prayers as they walk and wear brightly coloured blankets over their backs.
Lunch was advised as being some authentic local concoction cooked in the hot springs of Vale das Furnas and we were taken there to see the springs and boiling mud, as if to prove it. It was very like the geo-thermal valleys in New Zealand but on a fraction of the scale.
At the base for lunch in the little town of Furnas there was the opportunity for the brave – or very foolish – to bathe in the hot water springs – this turned out to be a very large, five foot deep concrete ‘fish pond’ full of murky brown water supposedly caused by the iron deposits in the water – immersion was billed as taking 10 years off your appearance. I decided I would rather look old and haggard than risk whatever evils might be lurking below the surface. Quite a number braved it despite its disgusting appearance.
The lunch was a weird concoction of potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, chicken, beef, black pudding and chorizo all cooked together for six hours in those springs or so they would have us believe; this was preceded by cabbage soup. Very filling and surprisingly tasty.
The wheel dropped off in the afternoon when all they could find for us to do was to go around Europe’s only tea factory where no-one was working anyway - enough said. Unfortunately the cloud had come down so going to any of the higher points of the islands which we believe includes a 3m wide crater of a volcano with two lakes, was off the agenda.
The evening was the CCT farewell dinner and we assembled at 7.15 prompt to be marched across to the marina, straight into a sort of shop serving free drinks and cheese canapés – it turned out to be an Azorean tourism promotion.
By now we should be used to the fact that when it comes to group eating we get strange meals and we are not too sure how they get chosen or even if CCT gets any choice in the matter. The bean soup starter was fine, then along came a massive piece of fish with vegetables which we assumed to be the main course. As it was stuffed with a seafood puree we thought better of it and asked for a substitute only to find that it was not the main course, but an intermediate one. It would have fed a family of four on one helping! Then came the beef main course which was very average and it was a good job there were two desserts.
Some lively farewell speeches followed including one guest with one of her limericks (Castro rhymes with gastro so that made for a good laugh), and we got chance to see some of the hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs from the tour doctor had been taking – he certainly is a brilliant photographer.
Sunday March 30th
Awoke to a glorious blue morning, bags out as instructed, breakfasted and I have opted for the walking tour of the town, while Geoff has bottled out – enough walking for one holiday! It was a thoroughly enjoyable hour or so and I can reinforce earlier comments about the unspoilt charm of the place. It is being promoted now in the UK as a holiday destination and could be well worth looking into. We ambled around the streets which are cobbled in black and white patterns and very attractive. We learned that much of the land where our hotel and the sea front building are is reclaimed land from the sea and that the City Gates had been rebuilt and re-erected in their current position in a delightful square. Our final stop was at the chapel of a convent with a shrine to the ‘Only Christ of Miracles’ and it was simply breathtaking. Our local guide had arranged with the Nuns that the chapel could be opened specially for us. The non-walkers in the group then met us with the coach and it was off to the airport.This last but one entry is at noon, with a glass of champagne from the captain as the toasts are about to start – the chef is running around with canapés and something tells me that this might develop into a party
And now the final entry written at home retrospectively – yes, it did develop into a party and the atmosphere was really brilliant for the last hour or so of the flight with everyone up out of their seats.
So it was a merry crowd, in more ways than one, that said their goodbyes as we all went our separate ways at Luton airport, bringing the holiday to a close.
For the record we travelled 21932 miles from Sydney to Luton and spent a total of one day, nineteen hours and thirty two minutes in flight.
ConclusionReading back on this it seems I have moaned constantly about the food – well, we are not especially fussy eaters and are well used to overseas cuisine but nevertheless at times it was a little odd although CCT were always more than generous when serving wine and so on with our meals, so no grumbles there at all.
That said, we had the most amazing time, seeing sights that we would certainly not have had the chance to at our time of life had we been travelling independently. Travelling with a group is not for everyone and at times it is necessary to bite ones tongue and just put up with the idiosyncrasies of others – they probably felt the same about us! With the excellence of the local guides used by CCT we feel that we were able to learn so much about the places we visited and so got the maximum value from the trip. This was not a holiday to laze around or just go and take a look – in many ways is was as educational as it was exciting.
We had anticipated the trip for so long and it lived up to every expectation - so where to next? That’s currently a burning question.
