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Keith

I've just arrived back in Seoul after flying from Shanghai today. I sat down to look at the blog and realised it's been quite a while, with a lot of kms under the wheels so to speak. So it will be interesting trying to describe the past few weeks, so forgive my spelling mistakes as some of the names are a bit hazy.

After Bhukara, I visited Shakrazib, the birthpalce of another great conqueror in Tamerlame. Then it was on to Samarkand, a fabled city from the middle ages, and definitely the most interesting and exotic of all the Silk Road cities. The Registan area, with its caravan serai (trading post), mosque and mesdrassa were all stunning, and the best examples of tilework I saw on the whole trip. It is quite overwhelming to see all the geometric patterns, every one a little different, as well as the floral scrolling patterns, and Arabic inscriptions thrown in for good measure. Makes wall paper and tiles, and concrete and glass towers in the west look a bit drab.

After Samarkand it was on to Tashkent and the craziest border crossing I think I've been through with the possible exception of Checkpoint Charlie in 1985 before the Berlin Wall came down, but that was scary crazy. this was just downright crazy with hunderds of people (and the local produce) pushing and shoving to get through to the two tiny windows that were open. Still, it makes for a good memory, looking back.

From Tashkent it was off to Kyrgyzstan, and the circumnavigation of (Lake) Izzyl Kol. This entailed a trip every other day, with time to rest and enjoy the scenery, take a walk, swim in the lake, stay with an eagle hunter, watch the eagles hunt, visit a nature reserve, break a foot, and visit a 15th century caravan trading post high in the mountains on the way to geting into China through the Touraget pass. (By the way, the foot broken wasn't mine, but an elderly female who went horseriding and fell while dismounting). This part of the trip was quite restful and relaxing, which was just as well, becausing crossing the pass to Kashgar was a long tiring day. There were two border crossings, spaced out by driving 50-70km over bumpy, dusty dirt roads, at altitudes of around 3500m-3800m. When we finally arrived in China and Kashgar and saw our hotel it was a great relief, being the best in town! Who said backpacking is all about roughing it!

After a round of the sights (including the old city) in Kashgar it was a series of train and bus trips all the way down the Silk Road corridor, to Dunhuang (Magao Grottoes of Buddhist cave art), Zhiang Wei (probably spelt this wrong) the western end of the great wall of China, to the Terracotta army near Xian, and on to Beijing.

The museums along the way all had fascinating exhibits of the life and times of the Silk Road and some stunning collcetions of art, and even mummified remains of westerners found in burial grounds in the Taklamakn desert (the name means those who go in never return). The Magao grottoes and Xian's Terracotta army, as wellas the ancient irigiation systems that sustained life in the desert oases but transporting water across 100s kms to allow crops to be grown are items that stand out.

However, I think the real highlight was standing on the wall of the fort that marked the end of China, and looking out into the forbidding desert and thinking about the early traders on the Silk Road, and how they had to fight off bandits, or face being sold into slavery (if they were lucky!) was also a time to reflect on the journey that was coming to an end.

Beijing was very different to the place I remember. Shanghai was a fairytale wonderland ofneon, second only to Las Vegas. When I was in Beijing, people had to run after the buses before they stopped to try and be first to the doors to get a seat (that included not letting people get off). Now it is a lot more civilised, although the behaviour still presists when trying to get on & off the subway! Time was spent visting the Forbidden City (home to the Ming & Qing emperors), a walk past of Chairman Mao's body in the Moasoleum(!?), a visit to the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple, Behai park, and some other places where there were less than 10,000 tourists trampling through the grounds.

Shanghai was a fairytale wonderland of neon, second only to Las Vegas. When I was last there the land across the river from the "Bund" (the land where the Europeans forced China to cede and for trading concessions) was just a swamp. Now it is home to futuristic modern high-rises, Shangha's new financial capital, and a real live magnetic levitation train. I took the train from the airport to town. We accelerated smoothly out of the station and reached 100km/hr in about 300m, and roared into the first bend at over 25okm/hr before hitting top speed at 430km/hr! Boy, what a ride. Shame it was all over 6 minutes later, but it was so much fun I rode it back out today.

During this time I received an e-mail from Laurie with the sad news about Maria's untimely passing, and the lovely way he put it reminded me that travel is a bit like life, and about enjoying the journey rather than getting to the destination. I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to tavel, so I'll keep on doing it while I can.

Regards,
Keith

Just a quick note to say hi from Moscow. You may have seen there was an explosion in a market. I'm as safe and well as a person can be after 3 days on a Russian train. I arrived after it happended and everything seems normal now. The plane crash in the Ukraine has overtaken the headlines.

Regards,
Keith

After Montreal we headed up to Quebec which, not surprisingly, had a lovely European feel with lots of French inspired buildings, like Montreal. Unlike Montreal it has a walled citadel and city walls built in the 1700s to keep those nasty British imperialists out. It was interesting to wander around and look at these fortifications and historic sights and ponder the history. It's one history area I must read some more on. The Last of the Mohicans and Pocahontus don't tell it all unfortunately!

After Quebec it was back to the US, and on to the Arcadia National Park on the wild Atlantic coast of the state of Maine. This was ruggedly beautiful and a pleasant couple of days walking in the wilds was good after the hustle and bustle of the cities. Then it was off down the I-95, which runs through 14 States as far south as Florida, to New York. Here I had the misfortune to have trouble with my flights over to Seattle where I was to start my trip through the Canadian Rockies.

I only had an hour or so between arriving in Las Vegas and leaving for Seattle, but the flight leaving New York was delayed by a couple of hours. So I had to change my Vegas-Seattle flight for a Vegas-Phoenix-Vancouver trip. The lady at the US West counter did an amazing job with this ticketing, and I reached Vancouver in a somewhat knackered state around 2pm. Why Vancouver, well because that was the first stop for the tour through the Rockies. Amazingly it all worked out well, even to the point that the tour leader on the Canadian trip was the same one I had from my trip in Mexico in Jan 2005. Twilight Zone material.

Vancouver is a great place, and I want to go again. But then I probably think that about most of my destinations. I took a ferrry ride along tyhe back waters of the harbour and saw a different view of the city at the maritime museum, strollled around Gastown, an historic area chock full ot tourists and homeless people, and had time to see an IMAX film on Mars. (if only I could go there!)

From Vancouver we headed up to Jasper and Banff, the hear tof the Canadian Rockies, with spectacular mountains and glaciers along the Icefield highway, lovely glacial lakes, the highest mountain in the Candian Rockies, the conitental divide and a unique point where the snow melt waters flowed to three oceans (Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic), and concluding the chateau at Lake Louise.

In Jasper there was lots to see and do, including a few hikes. At Banff I had a very active day, with a 12km walk along the river valley, followed by a 13km hike up & down the Sulpher mountain track, and followed this with an hour long soak in the hotsprings next to the gondola. Pure magic, so i wasn't stiff or sore the next day at all, although the two people who cycled the flat river walk were sore for three days!

From Banff it was off to Glacier National park, whch had the best view of all of the places I've stayed, except perhaps the EBagle Channel, and Torres del Paine. It was superb, by a surging ice-melt stream, under a large rocky crag. Ahh, that's what camping is about. From Glacier we headed back to territory I'd covered before - Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons at Jackson, and Craters of the Moon - in Oct last year. From there it was "Go West young man" as we followed the Missouri and Snake rivers along the Lewis and Clarke trail, and the Oregon trail.

Then it was north west to get to Mt Rainier and Mt Olympic national parks in the Cascade mountains of Washington State. Here it is temperate rain forest territory, with wild rugged coastline battered by heavy swells, and strewn with large driftlogs and stony beaches (like the west coast of the South Island). Mt Rainier liveed up to its name as it was wet and rainy but we still got out and walked in the forest. Lots of elkj were about and to walk in the forest and breathe in the air was quite spirit restoring, another joy of travel.

Then it was back to Seattle to stay the night, where I had to get up very early the next day and fly to San Francisco. This is where I pick up my flight back to Melbourne. So after all this time, and all the miles underneath my feet, its with a smile on my face that i look forward to my favourite destiations, the places I call home.

Regards all,
Keith

Greetings from Montreal in Canada. Having a rainly old time fo it but it is a lovely place to wander around.

After leaving Panama, I made my way to San jose in Costa Rica, and after three days enjoying the sites, started on my way north through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras to Antigua in Guatemala, where I had been some 16 months ago.

Highlights on the way were:

+ Costa Rica: Monteverde cloud forest, night - time walk in the spooky jungle, and a walk on the active volcano near La Fortuna.
+ Nicaragua: Ometepe island, volcano climb, pre-Columbian petroglyphs, and Granada's colonial ambience.
+ Honduras: Roatan Island, a couple of days of beach time, and Copan's Mayan ruins

Landing in New York was quite exciting, although the trip was uneventfual, and via Atlanta. I only had a day so had to choose a few special highlights as there was far too much to see and experience. So, it was: Untied Nations tour, Empire State Building, Museum of Natural History, viewing the Statue of Liberty, cruising around Downtown Manhattan, a walk in Times Square at night, a walk through Central Park, Ground Zero, and the night-time Manhattan skyline on a cruise around the bay/rvier areas.

After that it was up early and off to visit the Finger Lakes, an area of glacial lakes created by the last Ice Age. And on to Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist boat ride on the way to Toronto. there I checked out the First Peoples exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum, very interesting to see the technologies and artifacts.

Next was a visit to a National PArk so we could partake of a traditional Canadian canoe trip. Two people managed to fall in and had to get rescued, so it was an interesting afternoon. The water was very cold so they were lucky not even to get a cold. Then it was on to Ottawa, where of all people, John Howard was visiting, so there were more Aussie Flags on display than I saw when I visited Canberra!

Montreal is built on an island and well managed so it isn't crowded, and the architecture is very interesting, with few big towers and skyscrapers, so it has a nice feel. I have another day here, so will be exploring more.

Regards,
Keith

This week finds m,e doing some more independent travel in Panama, on the start of my way up Central America to the US.

I left you in Manausm, where I went on a four day Amazon trip, doing all the usual things people do in the Amazon such as:
* camping in the jungle,
* riding small boats amongst the treetops,
* piranha fishing,
* getting rained on and sunburnt,
* being eaten by insects (ants and mosquitos),
* alligator wrestling,
* watching the river dolhins from a hammock,and
* taking a siesta after lunch

Then it was back to Manaus for a trip to Venezuela´s Gran Sabana, where the open country shots for parts of the movie Jurassic Park were filmed. Took a four wheel drive over some pretty bouncy roads, and swam in some wonderful waterfall pools, while being in country that dates from some of the earliest times on earth (2 billion years).

After that little aside it was then onto the highest waterfall (single drop) in the world at Cainaima National Park. We took a small plane flight to the park HQ and then a four hour boat ride up the river, with stops to get out and push (for some reason equal rights for the privelege of pushing canoes only extends to males, must be an EEO case in there somewhere!) to reach our lodge, and see the first view of Angel Falls (983m high).

The sight was pretty awe inspiring, and the next morning there was a hike up to the base of the falls, and a swim in the ice cold water. After lunch it was with reluctance we left the lodge and returned down river (mainly because of the canoe pushing involved, although it wasn´t as bad going down river). We capped it off with a trip behind a couple of waterfalls (a la ¨The Phantom¨) and then took a small plane ride over the tepui (table mountain) that the Angel Falls drop from, with six tight sweeping turns above the falls for good measure. Fortunately everyone´s stomachs held.

After the flight back we took off for a couple of days R&R on the beach at Playa Colorado (another national Park) and then headed to Caracas through the crazy traffic in the lead up to Semana Santa (Easter or Holy Week ). Caracas is pretty crazy and I survived without being robbed, except for having to fork out $30 for the taxi fare to the airport (everyone has to so it is daylight robbery.)

For the last week I have been taking it easy around the old, colonial parts of Panama city, and have a look at the canal tomorrow. Then it is on to San Jose (yes, I don´t need to know the way, because I´m going by bus)in Costa Rica.

Regards,
Keith

Sorry to bump Joy´s interesting blog from the news, but I can´t seem to stop my updates blogging twice (Richard, where are you?).

This update is an ABC of Brazil, that stands for Amazon, Beaches and Culture. Like most of my trousers when I was young, it is actually back to front as I want to deal with Culture, Beaches and then the Amazon.

Culture

After my flight from Rio I was in Savador (can´t remember if I wrote about this so you may see it twice). Salvador was the first capital of Brazil and has lots of colonial history, as well as lots of culture, including the second most famous Carnival in Brazil. This was largely over by the time I got there but the aftermath was present everywhere, with lots of giant street decorations, and African influenced music and dance. So I hit the churches (very different from the Spanish ones,a nd interesting in their own right) and the museums. There is lots of history and the connections between Brazil and Africa due to the slave trade, and a couple of excellent museums giving some of the grubby details.

Then it was time for an overnight bus ride to a place called Olinda. Yes Linda, it means O Beautiful! This is an historic area of the city Recife and was a lovely little place. It also had great cuisine with the best dish tasted so far, shrimps cookend in coconut milk inside a baked pumpkin. Absolutely delicious! By an amazing cincidence when I was in Africa, one of the tour leaders there was a Brazilian lady who used to take groups on the same trip I am on now. The second most amazing co-incidence is that she is now my tour leader on this trip! She had told me I must go to Olinda and have this dish so she took me to the place where it is made, and it was everything she had described. Yum.

Beaches

Then it was south to a lovely beach place a couple of hours away that was where the rich settlers used to land their slave boats. They referred to the slaves in code as ¨chickens¨in order to protect their dirty little secrets. So in typical Brazilian style, the place is called Porto de Galinhas, or Port of Chickens. It is now a beach resort and a taste of what was to come, with the long wide sweep of beautiful white sand that squeaks under your feet and stretches off to the horizon in both directions. The sun was hot, the water was warm, and the coconut and fuit juices were icy cold. A dune buggy trip and a couple of boat trips (one to the mangroves, and the other to a snorkelling place) rounded it off. A great way to relax and get into the beach mood.

After that we headed north to a national park for a cave trip, and guided walk through some temparate forest, and then hit the beach with a vengance at a place called Jericoacara. Four days of kicking back and relaxing, with little to do but explore the sand dunes, lie on the beach and relax. It was also here I found someone with a good game of chess. Well two people actually. A seven year old boy who was quite a talent for his age, and a guy who ran an internet place who was thrilled to find someone (i.e. me) who could give him a challenge. So I left Francisco (the boy) with a present of a chess set and board, and left Piedro with the promise of games to come via e-mail.

Next it was a great 3 day trip along the beaches and across the sand dunes to a place called Sao Luis. The trip involved jeeps along the beach, crossing rivers on little ferries (one was man-powered by two guys using poles!) and visiting little fishing villages on the way. One we visited was just in time to see them dividing up the morning catch. It was magic, as we had to stop each day when the tides came in and meant driving on the beach wasn´t possible. We stayed in little places that tourists and even travellers don´t get to see (Paulino Nevis, Cubare), took a boat trip on the Parabanai delta (third largest in South America, and the only seaward facing one) amongst the mangrove swamps and seeing marine iguanas, capuchin monkeys, getting bombarded in a torrential downpour (it is the rainy season now), and watched sunsets from the tops of dunes. Amongst the massive white dunes near Barrenienhas, we swan in fresh water lakes created by the rain, in a national park. The dunes are creepng over the land eating up the pasture and trees, including areas of mangroves, and even and farms and houses.

Sao Luis is another chistorical/cultural town, so I visited another small but interesting museum on local arts and crafts. But the real attraction was coming further north at Belem, on the mouth of the mighty Amazon River. A quick visit to the Zoo/Botanic gardens and I was primed for my next adventure.

Amazing Amazonas

From Belem, to Manaus is 1500km or so, and it was five days up the Amazon in a river boat, seeing how the locals live on the river with canoes instead of cars, even the kids of 3-5 years old would come out in little canoes (instead of riding bikes). Sitting back, watching all the wildlife - two species of river dolphin, two sorts of storks, herons, egrets, vultures, eagles, parrots, toucans, parakeets, water buffalo, cows, pigs, horses, donkeys and chickens, even a marine iguana.

It was a bit like a time machine testing Einstein's theory of relativity. While we weren´t travelling at the speed of light, our sense of time slowed down, as the only important times on the boat were breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everything drifted by and was looked at with great interest and resulted in animatd disscussions on board, and then it was gone, with a new object of interest coming into view.

It is too hard to decribe the river's vastness. It was wide, so wide, and all around. We went up little channels to avoid the strong downstream curent so were really close to the banks and could see lot´s of what was happening in the forest or the islands that passed by. It was also so deep that we passed large ocean going freighters like the ones in Lyttelton (Manaus is one of the biggest ports in Brazil 1500km from the ocean!).

Today in Manaus has been another cultural experience, with time in the Opera House (World famous, ask Mum I'm sure she ) and two museums on the Amazon indigenous cultures as preparation for the trip tomorrow - four days in the Amazon Jungle, including two nights sleeping in the wild.

So, that should leave you something to read about next time.

Regards,
Keith

I arrived here in Salvador, north of Rio de Janeiro, three days ago after leaving Antarctica, and after safely negotiating Drakes Passage on the way back from Antarctica in hurricane force winds and rough seas. Then it took a most of the day to fly from Ushuaia to Buenons Aires, and Buenos Aires to Rio. The next day I left for Salvador, two hours north by plkane from Rio.

But I´m sure you want to hear about Antarctica. The old cliche about a picture being a thousand words is certainly true for Antarctica, so while I have sent a few postcards home, I wasn´t really able to descirbe what I was seeing, so the pictures on the cards will have to do. And as it is so difficult to encapsulate 10 days travel in a small web blog, I have scribbled some notes under various headings below which I hope will give you a flavour of what it was like.

Antarctica:
It is a land of superlatives, e.g. the coldest, driest, and highest continent; the last discovered, the last explores, the one with the most fresh water, the most ice, etc etc. And it lives up to its reputation.

Departure:
I left Ushuaia in the late afternoon and we cruised slowly down the Beagle Channel, clearing land about 10pm, after dinner, and then headed south. The weather on the way down was a bit rough, but I didn´t get sick, although many people did, with some not leaving their cabins for two days.

Crew & Passengers:
We had 101 passengers, and a boat crew, and specialist crew. The people on board were an odd mix. The sailing crew were Nordic, the Deck crew Filipino, a Russian Doctor, an Irish safety officer, Italian Chief Steward and Purser, Russian Maitre De, a Swedish Chef, the people who doubled as cabin and dining room crews were Filpino, and the Specialists and Expedition (Zodiac) crews were Canadian, with one exception as the marine mammal specialist was English. The passengers were mainly British, Australian, and Canadian, with some Americans, Dutch, Irish, and a few miscellaneous such as Swiss.

Sailing:
On the way down we were kept pretty busy, as there were lectures from the specialist staff on board. So we were treated to some history, some talks on Antarctic birds, Antarctic marine mammals, and Antarctic geology. Perhaps these subjects aren´t for everyone, but I enjoyed them. We were also treated to the film the
"March of the Penguins", about the emperor penguins in Antarctica, a film of an old salt sailor rounding Cape Horn in a sailing ship in a hurricane, and a film on Shackelton´s famous Antarctic expedition survival story.

Arrival:
We arrived late in the evening of the third day and were fortunate enopugh to have a zodiac (inflatable boat) expedition around the coast of Elephant Island, landing where the party from the Shackleton Transpolar expedition on the ship Endurance endured their second winter in the Antarctic. It was a cold and bleak place, to put it mildly.

Outings:
We usually had two or three zodiac trips a day, and all except one involved a landing on the islands around the Antarctic Peninsular, with that one being landing on the Antarctic mainland itself. We stopped at:
+ Elephant Isalnd (Wild Point where Shacleton´s party
was rescued)
+ Danger Islands (penguin colonies)
+ Paulet Island (volcano and historic site - first
party wintering in Antarctica)
+ Browns Bluff (Antarctic mainland and penguin colony), + Deception Island (active volcanic caldera, where we
sailed inside to see an old whaling station, and
swum in the Great Southern Ocean water at 1 degree C
(yes!!) in a geothermnal area on the ocean edge);
+ Cruised the Lemaire Channel (a lovely BBQ and
stunning scenery and whales and orcas),
+ Ice berg alley (seals, penguins, ice bergs)
+ Livingstone Island (Port Lockroy, a British Ant.
research station and penguin colony;
+ A Bulgarian research station, and
+ Point Hannah (elephant seals, penguins, and fossils

Wildlife:
On the trips we saw lots of wildlife, in the water, lolling about on ice floes, or in the skies. There was plenty of birdlife - gentoo, macaroni, adelie and chinstrap penguins, skuas, gulls, snowy shearwaters, pertrels (giant, cape and storm) and of course, over Drakes Passge, the mighty albatrosses (royal and wandering). Seals - Crabeater and Weddell, Antarctic fur seals and elephant seals, and were lucky enough to glimpse lepoard seals. We were also treated to a mother land large calf humpack whale doing synchronised swimming which drew oohs and aahs from those watching, and they finished with a twin tail fluke display as they dived. We also encountered some orcas at close quarters in the Lemaire Channel.

Ice:
We went for a cruise in a place called ice berg alley near the Lemaire Channel, so got to see the wonderful eroded shapes that the water and the wind carve the bergs into. In the Weddell Sea, we encountered the massive tabular bergs that tower over the ship and stretch for miles. Cruising around the islands and channels meant there was plenty of stark scenery with bare rock and lots of ice, be it ice cap, ice bergs, or glaciers.

Weather:
We were very lucky with the weather, it was fine when it needed to be, and calm when it was necessary, so the trip around the islands and peninsular was very calm and safe. The way back was very rough, as acknowledged by the captain when he told us the winds ahd reached hurricane force;. Again I was fine and so able to help myself to extra desserts!

The Ship:
The ship was the MVS Explorer, quite famous in its way, being the first to be purpose built for trips south, and being smaller than many cruise ships or converted icebreakers, it could go to places they could not. It was about 80m long, with a 15m beam and 8m draft. The rooms were small but there was adequate space wioth lunges, lecture hall, decks, and separate dining room.

Food, Cold, and Other Thoughts:
There was an executive Swedish Chef, so the food was superb, and there was plenty of it. It was necessary as the cold, and being outside on the water in the wind, meant a two hour outing with a 3 km walk used a lot of eneregy compared with the same exertion in a warmer climate. I was a bit surpised there were no Southern Hemisphere experts, as the specialists were Artic experts transposed to the South.

Well, that´s about all for now. I´m now headed for quite a change of pace with beaches in the North East of Brazil, cruising up the Brazilian Amazon by slow boat, with a jungle expedition at Manaus, and a trip to Angel Falls in Venezuela (wolrd´s highest) on the way to Caracas. The weather is hot and steamy, and people in Rio and here in Salvador, are nursing their post-Carnival hangovers. Signs of the Carnival parties are all around, with many decorations still being in the streets.

Sos that´s all for now.

Regards,
Keith