Looking Back on 2011 and what now in 2012?

It is now February 2012 and we have been back for over 3 months. Looking back 2011 was a fabulous year with all our expectations exceeded.  And 2012 is shaping up to be another interesting but quieter year.

We started 2011 living in a rental house in Lyall Bay, which is where we had been since selling our big house in Strathmore in July.  Lyall Bay is a relaxed, older suburb of Wellington.   Our house was 3 minutes from the bus stop, 4 minutes from Aunt Sallie’s Diamond Deli and 5 minutes from the beach.  Three days a week I would go to the office with Grant and Evie walking me to the bus stop and then continuing on to enjoy a coffee and walk on the beach.   On the days I didn’t go into the office I would join them.  This relaxed routine helped me be relaxed and well-prepared for our big trip.  

As the departure date for our trip got closer we started to clear out the house, getting rid of lots of items that we would not need in the future.  The family did quite well from our surplus furniture, kitchenware and linen, as did the Salvation Army op shop.  The rest of our household was transported up to the ‘boatshed’ in at beach house in Paraparaumu for storage.

The trip was everything we had anticipated and more.   We saw and experienced so many things and because the trip was extended and not rushed, the memories are clear.  Even today, I see images or hear comments that bring back lots of clear images of the things we saw and did.  I enjoy being able to savour and reflect on these experiences.

On our return we moved into our retro one-bedroom beach bach at Paraparaumu.  The quiet location and lack of mod-cons means it is easy to live a simple life.  I have grown vegetables and herbs (not very successfully); produced chutneys and bread (quite successfully); and enjoyed plenty of pilates, walks and bike rides.  I haven’t felt this relaxed for years.

What next?  I decided while we were away that I wanted to put my energy into volunteering in local activities.  So far I have returned to my work with Business Mentors NZ working with business north of Porirua.  I have been approached to go to Fiji in March and September to work with SMEs in Suva.  This is very exciting.  I have also registered as a regular Meals-on-Wheels driver and got myself on the board of Kapiti SuperGrans Charitable Trust.  (SuperGrans provide mentors who provide practical training for people who want to learn new home skills, like making economical meals, knitting, gardening etc.  Many of the things most of us are fortunate enough to learn from four parents.)

Our days are quiet with a relaxed rhythm and daily walks on the beach – which Evie just LOVES.  We travel into Wellington  once or twice a week with Thursdays being my regular day at The Johnson Group office where I spend most my time training and mentoring staff as well as working on our systems and processes.  I also work on these things from home by remote access.

I am really enjoying having the time and energy to enjoy some simply pleasures.   We are very lucky to be in this situation and I try to make the most of it, every day!

Our big OE – 2011

Our big OE – 2011, a set on Flickr.

Central America, Equador, Chile and Home

Grant, getting ready to run down the zip line above the rain forest at Lake Atitlan

We travelled to Guatemala from Mexico via shuttle bus through high mountain ranges.  At the border a Guatemalan  immigration officer asked me for US$20 “to stamp my passport”. However when I pressed my questioning and asked for a receipt the demand was suddenly withdrawn.   I was pleased that I had been warned that this was not uncommon and to ask for a receipt.

Our first stop in Guatemala was Lake Atitlan, a large, highland lake nestled between mountains and three volcanos. Here the very steep hillsides are covered in patch-worked fields of corn, beans, coffee and avocados.   Many families still rely on subsistence farming to feed their families however as child mortality has improved and the population grown, the availability of suitable agricultural land is desperately limited.  As a result crops are now grown on land that is so steep that it must be extremely difficult to cultivate, never mind walk up and down.

Guatemala is very much like the southern state of Chiapis in Mexico which if fact was part of Guatemala until the late 1800s.  The Mayan culture is still strong and people generally speak a Mayan language as their first language. There are eight towns/villages on the shores of Lake Atitlan and ferries are used for transport between the communities.  It is a very popular tourist destination for young backpackers, (like ourselves, haha), and ex-pats who have made it their home.  We got to chat with a couple of  expats at the local sports bar who had chosen Lake Atitlan as their place to drop out.   One guy, who was onto his third rum and it wasn’t even lunchtime, was living very comfortably on a Canadian disability pension.  In fact, he told us that he was having trouble spending it all!  Another told us about the panic attack he had two days before he was due to return home to the United States.  He never made it there and is still stuck in Guatemala.

We had chosen the sports bar as our drinking hole because they had broadband TV and were showing the highlights of the opening Rugby World Cup game between the All Blacks and Tonga.  (This was the only game we saw until we got to Santiago and the quarter finals.)  Most people in Central America have no idea what rugby is – football is their game.  However we met one guy knew enough to ask:  “Is that the game where you tuck the ball under your arm and run?”

After a week at Lake Atitlan we discovered that we would have to delay our departure for a further day.  National elections were being help on the day we hoped to travel and all public transport was ‘grounded’.  This is only the fourth election since the end of 36 years of civil war and military dictatorship and this meant that people were taking it very seriously.  While we did not witness any unrest, banning travel and the sale of alcohol was a security measure to ensure that people were less able to disrupt the election process.

Guatemala is a developing country with high levels of poverty and a very high crime rate – although we did not feel threatened at any point. Currently the biggest issues are created by the Mexican drug cartels that have moved into the area.  It is not drug use which is the problem in this and other Central American countries but the business and transportation of drugs that creates the crime and other problems.   The demand for the drugs comes out of the United States however it is the poorer countries of Mexico, Central and the north of South America where  the social harm of the drug trade is having the biggest impact. This is a sad trend and one for which many of the locals cannot see a solution.

Our next stop in Guatemala was the old capital of Antigua,which was abandoned in 1772 after a major earthquake.  The highlight of our week was a visit to the semi-restored ruins of the Santo Domingo monastery.  The ruins, which cover a whole city block, had lain untouched since 1772 until 10 years ago.  Underneath the rubble of a number of stone churches and other buildings we were able to view catacombs, crypts, mass burial sites and holy alters, one of which contained beautiful large carved statues that remained untouched by the falling masonry that destroyed the surrounding area.   It was a spooky and fascinating experience. Once the archeologists were finished, the developers secured and preserved the sites and then built a 5-star hotel and several small museums  that now house amazing collections.  This includes religious icons made of solid silver, religious paintings, miniature religious icons used for home alters as well as pre-Colombian artifacts.   An interesting addition to the pre-Colombian collection was that each beautiful item was paired to an equally amazing contemporary sculpture,  which in themselves made for an high quality collection.

El Zonte Beach Restaurant

Next we headed further south to El Salvador we spent some time with a great bunch of surfies at El Zonte beach on the Pacific coast.  Here we stayed at the Horizonte Surf Resort which is really a fun name for a simple motel-like complex on the shingle beach.  There was three small restaurants on the beach were open-walled huts and sand floors where we ate as a group. Having spent a lot of time on our own, it was really nice to have the company of fellow travellers including a delightful two-year old and her surfie parents.  Her father, Edgar, runs a surf school in Lima, Peru  and her mother, Aimee, is a professor at Walden University which specialises in distance learning.  This meant that Aimee could continue her work part-time while the family enjoyed a six month holiday chasing the surf.    Other less social friends at the resort included a huge orange iguana, who liked to swim in the pool, and a large colourful guacamaya parrot.

Our final stop in Central America was Costa Rica where the wildlife and rainforests are the major attraction.  We spent five days at eco-resort with the strange name of ‘Lands in Love’  (http://www.landsinlove.com/).  The resort is owned by 18 Israeli animal-loving friends  who moved to Costa Rica with their 30 dogs and 50 cats.  (They had also chosen New Zealand as a possible venue but decided against us because one of their dogs is on our list of dogs banned from importation.)  The resort is located in a magic place and  our room overlooked the cloud forest, from which puffs of cloud rise as the day warms up.  The second highlight was the food that they served in the vegetarian restaurant on site.  This was the tastiest food of our whole trip and I picked up a lot of tips on vegetarian cooking from my conversations with the chef.

Next stop was the capital city of Equador, Quito which sits in a long, large valley in the Andes, 2,800 metres above sea level.  (That’s the same altitude as the summit of Mount Ruapehu.)  The landscape is of a grand scale so to get a better view we took a trip up the ‘teleferico’ (gondola) summits at nearly 5,000 metres.  It was not a comfortable feeling riding up a single cable for 2 kilometres, particularly when the gondola stopped mid-journey.  We survived but due to the rapid change in altitude I later succumbed to a ripper headache.  This meant I had to take it easy for the next 24 hours until it finally subsided.

From Quito we returned to Santiago from where we had started our trip.  Santiago which is a modern, well laid-out city with a European feel and this makes it a very pleasant city.  To top it off we managed to obtain a one-bedroom apartment in a great part of town at a very good price.  This was only the second time that we had enjoyed accommodation with our own kitchen and lounge which in contrast to 3-star hotels and hostels provides for a very relaxing time.  As an added bonus we were able to watch the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on cable channel, ESPN.

Watching the protesters and the police in Santiago.

Santiago has some great museums but it was a lively protest that provided one of the best entertainments with its array of armoured vehicles, tear gas and water cannons.  Another entertainment that Grant had discovered on our first visit, and wanted to check out again, was what is colloquially labeled  ‘Coffee on Legs’.   Cafe Haiti has a unique selling point.  Customers (mostly male) sit up at the counter and are served by gorgeous long-legged ladies in tight-fitting mini dresses and plunging neck-lines.   Later Grant and I had some fun discussing if this type of  cafe would take off in Wellington.  🙂

During our lasts few weeks of travel we were both looking forward to coming home but at the same time we were still very much enjoying our travels.  We developed a comfortable, slow approach to travelling and really enjoyed the freedom of no itinerary.  We discovered that we were very compatible travel companions, which was fortunate since we were together 24/7 for six months!  We also found the whole journey was easier than we thought it would be.  That’s because the facilities and infrastructure available to travellers is ubiquitous in the places we travelled, although the quality varied.   Venezuela was by far the toughest, due to a lack of infrastructure, while Mexico and the Caribbean would have to rate as the cruisiest.    Our travel was made easier as our Spanish language skills improved but we never made it to conversational level.

We flew out of Santiago late on Thursday 13th October and landed in Wellington on a cold, moist Saturday morning.  However we were soon warmed up by the lovely welcome from our four children and a great breakfast at our favourite cafe, Elements in Lyall Bay.  It is good to be home in wonderful New Zealand.

Mexico

Cooking School in Puebla

We arrived in Cancun, Mexico from Cuba on 14th July on a memorable flight with Cubana Air.  The plane was an old Russian Yak and the interior looked more like the inside of an old Go Wellington bus than a modern aircraft.  The flight went well with the only hitch being  as we started to descend.  Suddenly last amounts of condensation cloud poured from the air conditioning units.  This was rather an uncomfortable feeling until we realised that the airline crew were showing no reaction what-so-ever.  This was obviously a normal occurrence.  We were pleased to land in the modern environment of the resort city of Cancan.

Mexico is a big country with lots to do and see.  In all we spent 7 1/2 weeks moving around by bus from one destination to another, spending 5 to 7 days in each place.  We travel at a quiet pace which allows plenty of time to get to know a location and also to have some relaxation.  Travel from one place to another can be tiring – finding the right transport, doing the trip and then locating accommodation, settling in and getting our bearings.  All this in elementary Spanish.

The distances are large but the bus system is fantastic.  They have four different classes of bus – the best being the ´platinum`which has only three seats to a row.  These are more expensive but great for over-night trips, which is when most of the long journeys take place.  Our longest trip was 16 hours and we did several of 12 hours.  For shorter journeys we took the ´executive´class buses on which they provide on-route videos with headsets, free drinks and comfortable seating.  Most of the roads between the major destinations are toll roads which reduce the travelling times considerably.  These highways roll through the countryside using large cuttings and bridges between and across the massive mountain ranges and plains.   The scenery is interesting and often of a grand scale.  There are large areas of agricultural land, many of which are small holdings of corn, beans etc.

After recovering in Cancun for three days we headed for the smaller, nearby town of Tulum.  It was here that I decided I wanted to complete a SCUBA Open Water Dive certification.  (Grant came along for company, bless his soul.)  If either of us had know how difficult I would find it, I don’t think we would have started.   This was the toughest physical and mental training I have ever put myself through.  The nicest part is that we did our dive training sessions and initial dives in a ´cenote´.  The land on the Yucután peninsula is limestone and contains many under-ground rivers.  In some places the roof part of the river has collapsed leaving either open pools or cave-like environments that rivers runs through.

Our dive trainer (Marc) was a younger guy from England who didn’t know what it meant to slow down for an older student like me.  On top of that he was extremely thorough and put us through our safety skills with great rigour.    (We even had to use one of these techniques when the valve on my BCD vest stuck open.  His response was simply to disconnect the hose and continued the dive.)  Marc was determined that I would practice the removal, replacing and clearing of my mask until I could do it without a look of panic in my eyes.  I don’t know why I struggled so much over this simple exercise except to say that my brain just didn’t want to operate properly in my state if heightened anxiety. The end result is that we passed!  We know that due to his tutoring we are certainly very well trained however it left me totally exhausted, both mentally and physically, at the end of the four days.    We have since completed a follow-up dive which I completed without any problems and actually enjoyed!  I look forward to doing more but I am not sure Grant is as keen as I am.  (Grant, thanks for being my best ´buddy´ on this experience.  I am not sure I could have done four days underwater for you.   XX )

From Tulum we decided it was time to get out of the 30 degree temperatures which we had enjoyed for the past 3 months.  We headed for the highlands of San Cristóbal in Chiapis state.   This was our first encounter with the Mayan cultures that are still very active in southern Mexico and Guatemala.  We particularly enjoyed a guided tour to the local town of Chamula where the people still practice their Mayan religious practices inside the church that the Catholics built in 1547.  These Mayan people had a cross and used incense before the arrival of the Spanish, and they continue to use their versions as part of their religious practices.  They also have revere John the Baptist above Christ, since it was John who baptised Christ and that makes him the top guy.   The Mayan sharman continue to practice the traditional healing of souls inside the church and while we were there we saw this in action.  A sharman rubbed a live chicken over a man to transfer the illness to the chicken, which then has it`s neck rung.  It is then taken away and buried – along with the illness.  The same is done with eggs by female sharman on women and children.  This  community decided they no longer need the Catholic priests since they could talk directly to their favoured saints, making the priests redundant.  There is only one Catholic priest who attends the church once a month in order to carry out baptisms.  This is the only remaining Catholic practices they retained after throwing away the confession box some decades ago.  We were also lucky to witness the priests visit.

The tour to Chamula provided us with a fascinating insight to how the Mayan people have retained their culture and languages over the 500 years since colonisation.  The community is self-governing and the woman, in particular, wear their traditional embroidered and woven clothing.  It also appears that the women do most of the work.  It is not uncommon to see women carrying a baby or toddler on their backs while carrying a load of wood on their heads, or selling goods in the market.  Girls  learn from they mothers at a young age.  We saw girls as young as 7 years old carrying younger siblings on their backs, while selling products and we also met a 2-year-old who was learning how to make tortillas.  In these communities it is still very important that the girls help provide the household labour while also taking part in the production of textiles to add to the family income.

The Little Tortilla Maker

From San Cristóbal we headed north to the cities Veracruz and Xalapa, then to Puebla and Mexico City.   We enjoyed the food in every location, particularly the salsas picantes made from various types of chillies.   In Puebla I did a cooking class, learning how to make salsas, moles and tortillas and  I am looking forward to trying some new recipes when I get home.   (Watch out!)  In Mexico city we stayed in the centro historico which has more police per kilometre than anywhere we have been.  Accordingly it is now said to be the safest place in Mexico.  At no time have we felt under threat however we are always very  careful with ourselves and our belongings.  We are still travelling very light which means we have fewer items to look after and we can usually have our backpacks with us on public transport.

Our next stop, Acapulco, however didn’t leave me feel quite so safe.  (While we were in Puebla I had managed to obtain a week in a time-share apartment there.)   By the time we reached that point of our journey we were both feeling a bit travel weary so it was lovely to have our own home  –  an apartment on the 9th floor over-looking the beach!  However the week we got to Acapulco the police had arrested one of the big drug lords and as a result there was a war going on to resolve the leadership gap created.  Headless bodies were being found at the local Walmart while taxi and bus drivers were being shot on the streets.  All this violence is targeted at people involved in the gangs however it still didn’t make me feel very confident about being out on the streets.  This feeling wasn`t helped as the Mexican media has no hesitation showing large photographs of dead bodies on the front page of the newspaper.  This may reflect  quite a different acceptance of death by Mexican people which is also seen  in the annual fiesta, the  “Day of the Dead” .  Also one guy I met explained to me that Mexicans spend their life preparing for their last battle – the battle with Mother Death.   It’s the one fight that you can never win.

As a result of this feeling of unease we made the most of our apartment, the pool and the beach.  Luckily we didn’t have to go much more than 300 metres to get food or other supplies though we did make a trip to see the cliff divers.  We also enjoyed the company of two other Kiwis over drinks in the pool each evening.  This was nice as we had not met any other New Zealanders since leaving Caracus four months prior.  Mexico is a wonderful country to visit and the violence made me feel sad for the Mexican people.  It is having a big impact on tourism along with the financial crisis in the USA.

The View from Our 9th Floor Apartment

After a week at the beach we took two days by bus to reach Oaxaca (pronounced Wahaka).  Oaxaca is a old city of restored streets and buildings, good food and handcrafts.  We took a tour with the `Fundacion En Via`which provides micro-finance loans to women in the villages to start businesses.  It is the US$50 fee for the tour that provides the loans.  On the tour, hosted by the volunteer employees, we got to meet the women applying for the loans or for further loans to extend their businesses.  The six women we met worked from their homes producing contemporary clothing, dyeing and weaving textiles, making bags and running a corner shop.  As part of the approval process we got to ask them about their businesses and they were very honest and open with their responses.  I really enjoyed seeing how small amounts of money can make a difference to a family and community and it was a privilege to be part of the process.

It makes me wonder what we can do in New Zealand to encourage people who do not have the resources to get an enterprise underway. There are schemes for those who have already started a business, like the Business Mentors NZ programme that I am involved in.   However I know from my own experience that its very hard to start even a simple enterprise when you don`t have any discretionary earnings, savings or equity – but you do have the necessary motivation and energy.

Mexico was great and we stayed there much longer than we thought we would.   It is an easy country in which to be a tourist and  has a diversity and scale that kept surprising us.  We particularly enjoyed learning about the Mayan culture, both ancient and modern, as well as seeing the influence of the Spanish and Catholic colonisation.  The many churches and museums hold the most incredible relics from both eras.

This clay figure is about 2,000 years old!

Next stop Guatemala.

Cuba – Caught in a Time Warp (For Now)

Public transport in Ciego de Avila, Cuba

It is more than three weeks since we left Cuba and it soon felt a bit like we had been living in a dream.  Grant and I are both finding Cuba hard to describe but I will try to capture some impressions of this fascinating place.  It is nothing like we have experienced before and we doubt it will be the same if we were to return there in five years time.   After more than fifty years of Fidel Castro, it is now under the leadership of Raul Castro and changes are taking place right now.

We did not know much about Cuba before we arrived and I felt a bit apprehensive about how it would be.  However we found that tourists are made very welcome and there are lots of facilities to help make travel easier.   However atheists first thing to get used to is that Cuba has two currencies, the ‘peso moneda nacional’and the ‘peso convertible Cubano’ (CUC).  Tourists have to use CUCs and it is the only currency that locals can use to buy luxury goods – like soap! Unless they work in the tourist industry then they are paid in ´pesos nacional´ which means they are limited in the goods they can buy.  They even still have rationing on some food items, including meat and milk.  However the two currencies also mean that Cubans live 25 times more cheaply than tourists can. We managed to have a meal at a local restaurant one night – a whole deep-fried fish with rice and salad each was only 23 pesos nacional, so less than a dollar. Tourists are not encouraged to purchase goods and services at these local service providers but we are not sure how it is regulated. (Another of Cuba’s mysteries.)

The Cuban people are not wealthy.  In fact life can be quite hard but that doesn´t stop them being cheerful and very outgoing. They are also very proud of being Cuban. You can’t help but admire their success in thumbing their noses at the United States for 50 years.  The stand-off between Cuba and the USA is quite funny to observe.  They have an equal dislike for each other.  
There is huge Cuban culture in literature, the arts, music and dance.  Everywhere we went there were very good musicians, playing in groups at restaurants and in the streets.  This is another way that they can earn ‘pesos convertible’. Cubans are well-educated, often too well for the money they earn.  I met a man working at a resort hotel as the restaurant booking clerk because he earned better money there than being a professor at the university.   To give a comparison, policemen earn about the equivalent of US$26 per month and some doctors less than that.

We started our trip by flying into Havana from Jamaica, arriving at the airport terminal at the same time as a flight from Miami full of ex-pat Cubans, many of whom were loaded down with massive amounts of luggage including items like LCD TVs etc.  They are allowed to bring these items in as long as they pay the duty on them.  (And as we found out later, they must have permission to visit Cuba – it is not an entitlement.)  We witnessed many noisy and happy family reunions as we waited for our taxi which we shared with a young couple that we had met in Jamaica.    We spent nearly a week in Havana, much of that time exploring Old Havana which is a UNESCO World Heritage site with many of the building being restored.  However there are also many building that look quite sad for lack of maintenance.  But looks can be deceiving as they may be beautiful inside and some that look great of the outside can be very run down inside.

We stayed in a ‘casa particular’ which is a private home where they rent out two or three rooms to tourists.  It is all highly regulated but this also means the standards are high.  Rooms cost between NZ$28-33 per night.  They also offered breakfast which usually consisted of fresh fruit, fruit juice, eggs, bread and coffee.  All for NZ$4.50  each.    This type of accommodation is all over Cuba and we were referred from one `casa particular`to another as we went.  (The other option is to stay in hotels for which you pay international prices, i.e. over NZ$200 per night.)

However we did take the opportunity to give ourselves a holiday, within our holiday.  We booked five nights at Caya Coco where we stayed at an all-inclusive resort hotel on the beach. This cost us about NZ$130 per night – meals, entertainment and drinks included.   Grant learned to sail a Hobie Cat over the four days which he really enjoyed.  We also made friends with Eugenio Gonzalez, the sailing instructor.  Eugenio lived about one and a half  hours by bus from the resort, in a town called Ciego de Avila.  We decided to make this town our next destination and Eugenio decided that he could smuggle us out on the worker’s bus instead of us catching a taxi.  This meant a ‘tip’ of 10 CUC  (US$10) to the bus driver instead of 60CUC for a taxi.  (There are many things that Cubans are ´not supposed to do´and this was one of them.)

On the day of departure, we met up with two of Eugenio´s colleagues (it was his day off) who made sure we didn’t look too obviously like tourists by changing our t-shirts and hats. (It is not an easy feat for me to not to look like a tourist, with my red hair.)   They then walked us out to the road to meet the bus, passing the security guards who were checking all the departing employees bags for contraband.  Once of board the bus, our hosts greeted all their colleagues as a way of making sure they all knew what was going on and also ensuring that they were all part to it.  This was all quite exciting and scary as we didn´t really know what the consequences were if we were stopped and questioned.   About half an hour into the trip, we stopped a routine police checkpoint and a policeman came on board!.  He walked down the aisle of the bus, again looking for contraband.  During all this we kept our heads down and crossed our fingers.  He must have seen us but as it turned out we weren’t what he was looking for and he left us alone.  Phew!

Once we arrived in Ciego de Avila we were met by Eugenio and his wife and daughter who after finding us some accommodation in a ´casa particular’ took us to meet his parents and then out for dinner.  The next day we met up again and he showed us his town complete with ´coaches´ (horse-drawn carriages for taxis), bici-taxis, old American cars and old Russian trucks converted to buses.  You name it they use it to get around since private individuals are not able to buy imported vehicles.  We were again invited to his parents small home (where he also lives as there is a big housing shortage in Cuba) for a lunch of fish, rice, beans and salad.  Some of the fish was caught at the resort by the his colleagues who fish while hosting guests at the marine sports facility on the beach.  This was a very generous invitation which we really enjoyed.  In return all I could give his mother was our grateful thanks and a packet of cashew nuts that I had purchased in Jamaica. Eugenio’s friendship and willingness to share his knowledge and home was a highlight of our Cuba visit.

We then travelled by public bus to a town called Remedios where there were so few cars on the streets, it felt like we were on the set of a cowboy movie.  The buildings are all Spanish mission in origin.  There is a central plaza next to the church, hotels and restaurants, municipal buildings and Spanish colonial homes, some of which have been converted into ‘casa particular’.   Our next stop was the city of Trinidad, another UNESCO World Heritage site on the south coast.  Here we ate in restaurants that were furnished with original colonial furniture and fittings, and crockery and glassware that was over 50 years old.  This is mostly because it is difficult to obtain new items in Cuba. It also made for some lovely environments to eat in.  Trinidad, like many cities, has a Casa de Música where you can drink, eat, hear great live music and dance.   We did the eating, drinking and listening but unfortunately Grant and I will never make dancers, even after receiving a lesson or two.

The Cubans don’t waste anything and are extremely succesful at recycling materials.  They make items for sale from resources and techniques we have long left behind.  There was jewellery made from old cutlery and dyed bone as well as various types of clothing that use crochet, tie dying, pin tucks and embroidery.  (I really enjoyed looking at all the handcrafts and how they were made.)  All this good use of raw materials reminded me how much we take for granted all the goods we can buy and also how much we throw away when it could be recycled.

From Trinidad we bused to another beach on the north coast where we spent four days in a run-down beach resort hotel, where the food was some of worst we have had on our travels.  I was not eating too much by this stage as I had a bad case of food poisoning in Trinidad, and I wasn’t wanting to repeat it.   By then I was also sick of Cuban sandwiches which most often consisted of ham and cheese – and nothing else!  The best ones  also contained mustard, tomato and pickles but because we are on a budget these were few and far between.   We have some great food in Cuba and also some not so good food due sometimes to the availability of produce.  For example, a salad might consist of just cabbage and carrot.

After two more days in Havana, back at our previous ‘casa particular’, we took a flight to Cancun, Mexico.  The Cubana Airlines plane, a old Russian model, was in a similar condition to some of the old Go Wellington buses.    Our last memory of how things work in Cuba was when massive amounts of water vapour started pouring out the air conditioning units above our heads as we descended into Cancun.  Since the hostess didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong we just held our breaths.  I think we finally breathed out when we had landed safely and the engines were turned off.

Overall, Cuba was a great experience I would recommend to others.  The people are great, the culture is rich and the political situation is fascinating.

The best things included:

• the bus system that gets tourists around the country.  (Cuban have their own bus system which is highly overcrowded.)
• staying in ‘casa particulars’ and meeting the hosts and their families
• getting to know Eugenio and his family
• the old buildings, particularly in Havana and especially the magnificent art deco ‘Bacardi’ building
• observing how things work and trying to understand it all, and be comfortable with the major differences between what we could do and what the Cuban people were allowed to do – like travel outside their country.

Can’t Help But Love the Caribbean

This post is long overdue due to the limited availability of the internet in the Caribbean.  We visited Trinidad and Tobago (2 weeks), Barbados (1 week), Dominica, Antigua and Jamaica (5 days each).  They are all island nations with small populations and as a result they have less developed infrastructure and resources to varying degrees.   Here are some impressions:-

The People

After our three weeks in Venezuela where the people were friendly enough but reserved, we found the people in Trinidad to be delightful.  We couldn’t get over the fact that every time we stood on the side of the road waiting to cross, the traffic would stop for us to cross.  Truely!  This friendliness continued throughout the Caribbean but the people were slighly different in each place.  For instance, in Jamaica they are outgoing,  loud and spirited while in Dominica they were quieter and more reserved.  More than 95% of the Caribbean people are of African decent, except in Trinidad where 40% of the population are from East Indian descent.

Communication

All Caribbean islands (except a couple) have English as their official language but we soon discovered this didn’t always mean we could understand what they were saying particularly when they are talking amonst themselves.  In fact, most of the time we didn’t have a clue as each island also has its own creole language.  These are  generally based on English but with the broad accent and the different words it sounds completely different.

The Food

The food in Trinidad and Tobago was like nothing we have ever seen before.  ‘Salted fish and Bake’ was a breakfast favourite.  This is canned fish that comes in from Nova Scotia which in the old days was the cheap option for feeding the slaves.  ‘Bake’ is a fried bread made from flour and water.  There was also ‘Roti’ which is stuffed roti with curried meat, chick peas and vegetables.

Everywhere in the Caribbean they serve rice and beans cooked together.  Other regular foods include plantain, darseen (taro),  breadfruit, grilled fish (usually overcooked), lots of chicken in curries and stews, pineapples, mangos and pawpaws.

Every island has it’s national beer which is very cheap and a great way to quence a thirst.

The Beaches

Yes, they are fabulous!  Just like the photos.  Our favourites were in Barbados (where they go for kilometres) and Dominica (especially Pirates Bay where we had to either get there by foot or by boat).  The water is warm and clear and a great relief from the hot climate.  (Most days are about 30 degrees or more and while the rainy season has officially  started we have not seen much at all.)

Transport

We have flown between islands and then used the local buses.   Some are mini vans that officially seat about 12 and then there are medium sized buses that officially seat about 24.  Well, that’s before they put a fold-down seat in the aisle (which makes for four seats across) and then they squeeze five people into that row – plus Grant and I have our packs on our laps.  This made for an interesting two hour journey in Jamaica over mountainous roads.  The other thing they do is drive around the town until they have enough people to fill the bus. A guy who rides shotgun hustles for passengers as we drive along.  All great fun and a great way to experience how people live.

Accommodation

We have mostly stayed in ‘guest houses’ as there are very few hostals.  A guest house is often a small hotel/inn where you often get breakfast included.  They vary in quality a great deal – many don’t have air conditioning but provide fans.  Staying in this type of accommodation has meant that we have been able to stay within our daily budget for accommodation, food etc of US$100 per day – most of the time.  We find these places by talking to taxi drivers, who initially view us a big spenders who might hire them for a ‘tour of the island’ etc,  but once they realise we are backpackers then they will take us to an accommodation within our price range quite willingly.  The other way to find accommodation is to talk to shop-keepers etc who generally know someone who have rooms to rent etc.

The Wildlife

Our most amazing experiences have been with turtles.  In Trinidad we stopped one night at a small hotel by a beach.   Over  dinner, our delightful ex-pat Polish host advised us that if we took a five minute walk down to the beach about 8.30 pm we would see Leatherback Turtles nesting on the beach.  It was an amazing experience to see there massive ladies (weighing in at 150-250 kgs) making their way out of the surf and up the beach.  Once in the soft sand they dig a 50 cm hole with their flippers and lay about 100 eggs.  This all takes about 2 hours before they head back into the water.

Our next experience was the opportunity to swim with the Greenback Turtles in Barbados.  The turtles are fed each day and share their space with us, allowing us to stroke their backs and heads.  Both there experiences were moving.

Things I liked:

• Swimming and snorkling in the warm water
• Going to the watch West Indies play India in an ODI match in Antigua
• The rum, except in Jamaica
• The really cold beer
• The (mostly) good tasting street food
• Hanging out with Grant everyday

Things I didn’t like so much:

• The really, really hot days
• Not having NZ Savignon Blanc
• Not being able to get internet access for days at a time

The Caribbean was lots of fun, easy travelling and we could have stayed there for much longer.  It is easy to see how people get ‘lost’ here and never leave.  After six weeks we had not been to all the islands we wanted to go to, but decided we needed to move on.  Next stop Cuba!

Venezuela – a country of contrasts

My pet Tarantula

It took us an extra day to get from Santiago to Caracas, due to a series of delays with planes and the weather.  (The bonus is that we got to stay in a nice hotel in Guayaquil, Equador.)   It was Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Caracas which is all a public holiday.  This meant that many people have left town to go the beach, those who have money that is.  Caracas is a city of two halves, the eastern section which is home to the middle class and the wealthy, and the west which has many areas of ‘barrio’ housing.   The malls were open but some shops were closed as were all the businesses.  The real bonus was that the metro trains were not crowded and at only 1 Bolivar (50c) per ride they were great value.  We visited parks, museums and the largest shopping mall in South America which had an entertainment park on the roof (including a roller coaster) as well as outdoor restaurants. This is in the rich side of Caracas.

We stayed in an apartment of a guy to rents out a couple of rooms.  Our host, Nelson, was born in America and now lives in Venezuela.  He has his own an apartment as well as another that he rents out.  He was a real talker and full of advice. We also shared the apartment with another Kiwi, Simon, who is quite a character.  He was passionate and vocal about his political ideas which included plenty of conspiracy theories.  This made our time there both interesting and frustrating, listening to his crazy ideas.  (I can’t believe that the only other Kiwi we met in Venezuela was such a nutter!)  

We booked ourselves on two tours – one to Angel Falls and the other to the Orinoco Delta. We flew to Canaima in a small plane, with a pilot who read the paper on the way there! Canaima is situated on a river lagoon into which several waterfalls cascade.  Beautiful.  From there we were transported up the river in a long boat with an outboard motor on the back.    Only trouble was the motor on our boat was playing up and that combined with the low water levels (meant the boat had to be pushed up lots of rapids) resulted in our four hour trip taking nine hours.  We spent the last two hours navigating rapids in the pitch dark.  We tried hard not to think about what would happen if we tipped out.  We had no way to communicate with anyone and there was very limited safety gear.  Once we got to the camp we then had to wait two hours while they cooked out tea – chicken barbecued over an open fire.  Delicious. 

Got into bed (i.e. our hammocks) about 11 pm and up again at 4 am to walk the 1 1/2 hours to the base of the Angel Falls (the highest falls in the world at 983 metres).  The great news was that the hammock was comfortable and the trip back down the river only took four hours. All in all good fun.

After a couple of days we were back in boats on the Orinoco River Delta.  The camp we stayed at was really well set up.  We had our own ensuite hut over the river looking out across to jungle.  We got really well fed and could even buy a beer.  Our guide, Marco, took us piranha fishing in a tropical downpour and then the fish were cooked for our dinner that night.  They were sweet to eat.  We got to see two types of river dolphins, snakes, lots of birds and I got to hold a pet tarantula!  We also visited the local people who live on the river with their many children.  There homes are very basic, just roofs and no walls;  power from a generator; gas to cook on and not much else.  

We spent the last week at various beach towns on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela.  The ferry to Trinidad only goes once a week which meant we had six days to rest up.  Our favourite place was Rio Caribe, a small fishing town with lovely beaches.  Our hostess, Arlet who is a Swiss woman, was very generous and took us on her daily trip to the beach to walk her dog.  This was also the only place where we have been able to got out after dark.  We were told by one ‘posada’ owner that no where was safe after dark in Venezuela – ‘that is when all the rats come out’. 

Venezuela has had a socialist president, Hugo Chavez, since 1998.  He has introduced a new constitution, made social reforms to improve the wellbeing of the poor, nationalised the main oil corporation and TV channels and at the same time has mis-managed most government functions.  While the poverty level has dropped most people are worst off and there is a lot of discontent from large segments of the population.  Life is hard for most Venezuelans, even the middle class. You see lots of people selling goods on the side of the road, or even standing in the middle of the road, at places where there are speed bumps.  Despite having lots of resources this country is going backwards and it is sad to see. 

They also have corrupt military and police forces.  On our bus trip to catch the ferry to Trinidad, we got stopped at a check point and asked for our passports.  Luckily a woman on the bus spoke English and ‘negotiated’ with the army guy for us.  He seemed convinced that we might be from Colombia, despite our passports saying we are from New Zealand.   She pushed back on him and we were let through.  The rest of the passengers on the bus were very quiet, that is  until we got down the road when the whole bus had a highly animated conservation about the incident.  You could tell they were angry about what had happened and the soldier’s attitude.

It has been an interesting and challenging time.  It is not an easy country to travel in as it is not set up for tourists and information is hard to obtain.  Our lack of conversational

Spanish didn’t help either.  The people who did help us were very kind especially the four Swiss ladies we met at four different locations – three were ‘posada’ hosts and the other was a fellow traveller.

Our first stop – Santiago, Chile

The weather when we arrived in Santiago was just like Wellington on a nice Autumn day.  About 21 degrees and then cooling down at night.  We found our way to our hostel by bus and foot, only getting lost once.  The hostel, Moia Viajare Hostel, is in Barrio Republica which is an area of many old colonial homes as well as a large number of small universities.  The streets are full of students during the day and into the evening.  The hostel is situated opposite a police station which means we get woken up each morning by the guys testing the sirens on their vehicles.  They sound like car alarms going off.  I think they do it just for fun.

We have spent the past six days exploring Santiago by metro train and lots of walking.  It is easy to get around and has a good feel.  We were surprised by the numbers of stray dogs on the streets.  At one intersection there was a dog on each corner, sleepily guarding his territory.  Many are obvious victims of car accidents, hobbling along on three legs.  The dogs don´t seem threatening but I certainly wouldn´t want to test it.

We have eaten a mixture of street food, restaurant meals and home cooking.  ´Completos’ (hot dogs) are a favourite fast food.  We have tasted both very good and very bad ones.  I had a fabulous empanada with ´carne and pimenton´ (mince and capsicum) filling, served with chili salsa.  Yummy!  Today we went to the fish market and had lunch at a fish restaurant.  Expensive but good, it couldn´t have been fresher.  Coffee here is about the same price as NZ which makes it an luxury item.  Food at the supermarket is about 30-40% the price it would be at home.

Our packing has worked out fine so far.  So far we haven´t discovered anything we should have brought.   New habits include washing out our ´smalls´ each evening and getting used to wearing the same clothes, in different combinations, each day.  That has not worried Grant, at all!

Our limited Spanish is useful but often not enough to understand what exactly we have ordered to eat.  🙂 We have created a few laughs from the locals with our limited vocabulary and bad pronounciation.  Good fun for them and us.  We can only get better.

Tomorrow we fly to Caracas in Venezuela.   The weather there is 28 degrees on most days.   We are not sure how we will cope but will be sure to let you know.

Grant on Avenue Republica

The trial pack for our big OE

My gear - less what I will be wearing on the plane.

Grant and I had a trial pack for our big trip last weekend.  We each only have a small pack that we will be able to take as  ‘carry on’ luggage on the plane.  This means they need to weigh less than 8 kgs.  The great news is that all my gear weighed  less than 5 kgs and Grant’s was less than 6 kgs.  (It is a good thing we are mostly going to hot places so don’t need very many clothes.)

I have  a few things to put in yet; mostly medical/first aid gear, a sarong and a couple more items of clothing.   At least we know that we are on track.

It has been good fun planning for this aspect of our trip.  Only experience will tell us if we have got it right.

Only  22 more sleeps!

Updates – and what’s comes next

Sue Dunlop and Jacqui Gilvray - 20th May 2010

A lot has happened since my last blog.  The biggest and saddest event was the death of my oldest friend, Sue Dunlop, in July 2010.  We had been just the best of friends since we met at kindergarten when we were both aged 3.  She was a wonderful ‘fairy’ god mother to Jacqui and gave me unconditional love over all the years.  This is a photo of Sue taken in May.  She died on 12th July.  She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and then died within a week,  with the most incredible bravery and acceptance.  We had a lovely celebration for her at The Pines here in Wellington, with lots of music, stories and photos. I still miss her lots but I am doing my absolute best to follow the instructions she gave in her ‘living will’ – “Raise a glass, have a laugh and get on with it.”  Inspirational!

There have been lots of other things happening too.  Jacqui and Matt are enjoying the little townhouse they bought in Stokes Valley and she is doing great in her job at ACC.   Melissa has had an excellent year at university and graduated in December.   She has returned to Vic to do her Honours year and Jamie is doing great at his job at Star-Mart by the airport.  Emma had a great final year at Queen Margaret’s College and is settling into Vic and her student flat on The Terrace.

I visit my mother, Mary, in Napier regularly.  She has infarction dementia and is increasingly happier to be close to her lovely services apartment at Princess Alexandra Retirement Village in Napier.  They look after her so well.  It is very comforting and reassuring to know she is so well looked after.

We had a good year at The Johnson Group in 2010. We were all so glad 2009 was behind us and in retrospect we did okay. Campbell Hepburn has joined us as a shareholding director and is doing a great job running the business.  I got out of his way and moved to part-time hours in September.   I have been allocated ‘special projects’ which includes working on getting our operations manuals into order and training new staff.

I have enjoyed this and the chance to relax a little – after ten years of working 50/60 hours per week.  My health is much improved in readiness for our big OE.  Grant and I really enjoy our Pilates exercise routines and we are both in the best shape we have been in for years.

On 12^th April we are off!  We fly to Santiago, Chile for a week. From there we fly to Caracus, Venezuela.  After that we have no set itinerary but do know that we want to travel up through the Caribbean islands, visit Jamaica and Cuba before flying to Mexico. From there we will head south through Central America – Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama etc.  We have a return ticket from Quito, Equador on 15^th October.

We have planned and worked towards this adventure for three years and it is very hard to believe it is finally going to happen.  I know we will miss all our family and friends, and they will miss us.  I am very grateful for all the support we have received towards achieving this dream.  We are very lucky that we have the opportunity, and are fit enough, to do our ‘intrepid journey’.  I am sure it is going to challenge us and we will come home with a fresh outlook on the world.

Watch this space for more posts from our travels!