Route 2FMNUZ, heading off into the sunset

Home, sweet home / Com a casa enlloc ?

2008-05-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

A month has passed since our return home …. how time flies! During these four weeks we have tried to re-establish our lives where we left off ten months ago, but actually it has not been easy. Indeed, more difficult for some than for others, but for all of us a change that we predicted but didn’t give much thought to. Some of our friends commented that we mustn’t get the post-partum blues – nine months with a clear objective that has now passed – well, maybe we are feeling them.
After days, weeks and months travelling more than 100,000km, over 800 hours on the road in more than 10 distinct forms of transport, using more than 20 currencies, sleeping in over 100 new locations, in five different continents, reading more than 30 books, writing over 100 posts in two blogs plus a mountain of emails and hand-written letters , getting to know hundreds of people and taking thousands photographs whilst visiting new locations, villages and cities that we didn’t know and had previously never visited, picking up where we left off is proving impossible!
We have returned to our home, family, friends, neighbours and surroundings , but it is not the same, it is now different, we are different. Neither better nor worse, just different. We now know each other so much better, indeed we know ourselves much better. Taking off the pressure, the lack of expectations and the new experiences of each day, made it possible to take in everything that was happening both outside us and within. And tomorrow, if circumstances allowed, we would all do it again, without doubt, but as we have already done it once, the next time, if there is a next time, the experience will surely be something else.

I should have liked each of us to have written our point of view now that we have returned, as I tend to idealize everything and always see the glass half full, but part of our return has been returning to our old ways. Diana has started work and the girls, as they have no commitments whilst waiting to restart their education after the summer and meanwhile are looking for temporary work, have caught up with friends as much as possible and have enjoyed themselves, especially their nocturnal selves. Thus a month has passed without us writing any posts for either blog, for which we apologize.
This post will appear on both our blogs, so don’t bother checking the other one for a different welcome note. Yes, a welcome note, as this is not a farewell but our return to the life we thought was our reality, although now we wonder if this is the case.
With our love,
Manel, Diana, Ella and Blanche
family@carreras-david.com

Ja ha passat un mes des de la nostra arribada a casa... com passa el temps! Aquestes quatre setmanes hem intentat reprendre les nostres vides on les vam deixar fa ara deu mesos i, la veritat, no ha estat fàcil. Per a uns més difícil que per a altres, però per a tots, un canvi amb què comptàvem però al qual potser mai dediquem gaires pensaments. Algun amic ens ha dit "que no us agafi una depre postpart" -per allò dels nou mesos i viure'ls amb un objectiu molt clar, que ara ja no hi és... Doncs gairebé ens agafa.
Després de dies, setmanes i mesos recorrent més de 100.000 quilòmetres, durant més de 800 hores de viatge, en més de 10 mitjans de transport diferents, a través de cinc continents diferents, usant més de 20 divises, dormint en més de 100 llocs nous, llegint més de 30 llibres, escrivint més de 100 posts en dos blocs i un munt de correus electrònics i cartes manuscrites, coneixent centenars de persones i fent milers de fotografies mentre visitàvem llocs, pobles i ciutats que no coneixíem i on no havíem estat mai, tornar on ho havíem deixat tot no és possible. Tornar a casa, amb la família, amics, veïns i entorn sí, però ja no és el mateix, ara és diferent, nosaltres som diferents. Ni millors ni pitjors, diferents. Entre nosaltres ens coneixem moltíssim més, així com cada un a ell mateix, perquè aquest temps també ha estat un viatge cap a nosaltres mateixos, on la falta de pressió, la falta d'expectatives i la novetat diària ens ha permès absorbir-ho tot, el de fora i el de dins. I demà, si poguéssim i les circumstàncies es tornessin a donar, ho repetiríem, sens dubte, tots i cada un de nosaltres, però com que ja ho hem fet, doncs la pròxima vegada, si hi és, l'experiència ben segur que serà una altra.
M'hauria agradat que cada un de nosaltres escrivís sobre la seva visió ara que ja hem tornat, perquè jo tendeixo a idealitzar-ho tot i sempre que hi ha un got el veig mig ple, però part del retorn ha estat tornar a rutines anteriors. La Diana s'ha reincorporat a la seva escola i les noies, com que no tenen "obligacions" mentre esperen reprendre els estudis al setembre i busquen feina per a aquests mesos, han recuperat tot el "temps perdut": han vist les seves amistats tant com els ha estat possible i han disfrutat de la vida, sobretot la nocturna. Així, hem passat un mes sense escriure cap post nou per als blocs, de manera que us demano mil disculpes; a més aquest serà compartit entre les dues "https", o sigui que no fa falta que busqueu si en l'altre bloc surt una altra versió de la nostra benvinguda, perquè és la mateixa. Dic benvinguda, ja que això no és cap comiat de res, sinó el nostre retorn a la vida que pensàvem era la real, i evidentment ara en tenim molts dubtes.
Amb afecte,
Manel, Diana, Ella i Blanche
family@carreras-david.com

Cami de casa / Going home

2008-04-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

Dimecres varem marxar de Singapore despres de passar-hi uns dies, coneixer en Max, el fill de la Patricia i en Mahesh, visitar els Lothgren i veure la Chloe. De fet les noies varen estar a casa la Chloe mentre nosaltres dos ens varem quedar a casa els Lothgren. Despres de mesos de dormir principalment en hostals ve molt de gust quedar-se a casa els amics, sobretot quan aquests et tracten tant be com ho han fet amb nosaltres. A Singapore hem vist moltes botigues i fins fet alguna compra, tambe hem anat al cinema a veure "L'altra Bolena" i hem passejat molt, malgrat la calor i l'humitat que hi fa; el jardi botanic, el del gingebre i el de les orquidies son una mostra extraordinaria de la flora tropical i un lloc molt agradable per passar l'estona. La ciutat combina els edificis moderns, seu de bancs i grans empreses, amb barris com la petita India o el Xines, on trobes una replica simpatica d'aquests llocs que inclou temples, botiguetes i restaurants. Es una ciutat plena de forasters que hi treballen, altres forasters que treballen pels forasters que hi treballen, i uns quants descendents dels seus primers habitants, que sovint no tenen acces a les mateixes possibilitats que els forasters (que hi treballen). Tot sembla funcionar molt be, encara que com que la critica no es permesa, no se sap gaire que es el que va be de debo i el que no.
Ahir varem arribar a un Londres assoleiat pero bastant fred, a les cinc del mati nomes hi feia 6 graus, i es clar, venint del tropic ens va xocar una mica, encara que a Londres, si hi fa sol, tant li fa el fred ja que es quan la ciutat es mes bonica. Despres d'un bon esmorzar a un cafe tipic del centre i de deixar la majoria de les bosses a casa uns amics varem anar cap a Cardiff en autobus, un viatge d'un xic mes de tres hores que ens varen passar volant, al cap i a la fi anavem a veure la familia, i a mes el sol ens va acompanyar tot el cami. Diumenge tornem a la capital i dimecres havent dinat, cap Barcelona! Si tot va be arribarem la tarda de Sant Jordi, com haviem previst. Deixarem enrere molts llocs nous, molta nous coneguts, molts amics, molts llits i moltes hores de viatge, i esperem emportar-nos els records, els bons moments que hem passat, tot el que hem vist i apres durant aquests mesos. Tornarem a casa coneixent-nos bastant mes que quan varem marxar, amb ganes i energia per emprendre una nova etapa, cada un de nosaltres la seva nova etapa, amb un record comu que nomes nosaltres quatre compartim. A partir d'ara, en les nostres vides, sempre hi haura un abans i un despres d'aquest meravellos, unic i especial, i tambe privilegiat, molt privilegiat viatge.

On Wednesday we left Singapore after having spent some days there getting to know Max, Patricia and Mahesh's son, and visiting the Lothgrens and Chloe. In fact the girls stayed at Chloe's whilst we stayed at the Lothgrens'. After so many months of mostly sleeping in hostels, we have really appreciated staying at friends' homes, especially as they have all treated us so well. We visited lots of shops in Singapore and even did some shopping, we also went to the cinema to see 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and walked a lot, despite the heat and humidity. The Botanical Gardens, which include the Ginger Garden and the Orchid Garden, are home to an extraordinary collection of tropical flowers and plants and it is a really pleasant place to spend some time. The city combines modern buildings, its banks and large corporations, with neighbourhoods like Chinatown and Little India where you find replicas of those places including temples, small shops and restaurants. It's a city full of foreigners who work there, other foreigners who work for the foreigners who work there and a number of descendents of the original population who often don't have access to the same opportunities as the foreigners (who work there). It all seems to work very well, although criticism is not permitted and so it's difficult to know what really functions well and what doesn't.
Yesterday we arrived in sunny London, although it was cold. At five o'clock in the morning it was only 6 degrees and obviously, coming from the tropics, it was a bit of a shock although when the sun is out in London, even if it's cold, it's at its most beautiful. After a hearty breakfast in a typical cafe in the centre, we dropped some bags at a friend's house and headed to Cardiff by coach, a sunny journey of just over three hours which sped by, to see the family.
On Sunday we return to London and on Wednesday afternoon we head to Barcelona. If everything goes according to plan, we'll arrive in the afternoon of St Jordi. We'll be leaving behind many new locations, new acquaintances, new friends, many beds and hours of travel and will be taking with us many memories, goods times we've had, everything we've experienced and learnt over the last nine months. Arriving home, we'll know so much more than we did when we left, with an enthusiasm and energy to start the next phase, each one our own, but with a common experience we four have lived together. From now on there will always be a 'before and after' in our lives marked by our marvellous, unique, special and also privileged, very privileged journey.

Now is Tibet, tomorrow it could be Taiwan / Ara es el Tibet, un dia potser sera Formosa

2008-04-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

Haver visitat fa poc durant 3 dies una ciutat de la Xina no em dona cap autoritat sobre el Tibet i els afers relacionats amb els JJOO, pero haver seguit les noticies i la premsa especialitzada, i haver mantingut orelles i ulls ben oberts mentre erem a la regio, m'ha permes formar una opinio personal sobre la realitat xinesa. En la nostra visita a Chauzhou el primer que varem notar va ser una gran inversio en infraestructures, principalment carreteres; tambe varem notar una constant agressio a l'entorn al llarg de les carreteres per on varem viatjar en forma d'abocaments indiscriminats. Mentre que algunes zones del centre de les ciutats, tant a Shenzhen com a Chauzhou, semblaven haver estat desenvolupades recentment, aquesta expansio nomes consistia en edificacions gegants sense deixar lloc a arees de lleure. Els nous enclavaments per a habitatge eren purament funcionals sense deixar arribar la llum natural als pisos que s'amuntegaven en blocs els uns massa prop dels altres. Dels espais interiors no en puc dir res ja que no els varem visitar. Passejant per la part vella de la ciutat varem constatar que els negocis individuals amb prou feines generen el suficient per sobreviure i, observant la vida quotidiana de la gent, semblava que la vida era ben senzilla. El transport en tricicle comparteix els carrers amb cotxes de luxe i molts i molts autobusos La meva primera impressio va ser d'estar en un estat capitalista en gran desenvolupament, sense pero, les llibertats i els dretss a que estem acostumats a l'oest. Jutjant pels resultats economics de la Xina un nomes pot pensar en un estat capitalista molt agressiu amb dos tipus de normes, una cara a fora de lliure competencia i un altre d'estricte control de la produccio i els seus mitjants cara a la seva poblacio. El nombre de vehicles de luxe em fa sospitar que la corrupcio es un sistema ben establert per aconseguir favors o drets especials. L'exit economic de la Xina es d'els xinesos, pero tambe en part es el resultat de les aspiracions de les empreses occidentals-i els seus accionistes-, i a la llarga poden costar car a les nostres economies; potser caldria que pensessim on volem que es fabriquin els nostres bens. Pels seus preus favorables, massa sovint hem mirat cap a l'altra banda, i ara amb els JJOO a sobre, una vegada mes ens taparem els ulls, mentre ens serveixin els seus productes a bon preu... Pero, es acceptable aquest preu? Els abusos de la Xina no es limiten a l'ocupacio i les massacres portades a terme al Tibet des de 1950, tambe impliquen el desplacament constant de la seva poblacio, enviant gent Han a viure-hi per "diluir" la causa tibetana, obligant a qualsevol ciutada xines a canviar la seva residencia quan el govern ho ha volgut, menyspreant els mes basics drets. A la Xina res ha canviat des que els estudiants varen prendre Tiananmen, amb la diferencia que com que l'economia creix rapidament el govern ara pot -si ho vol- comprar tots i cada un dels ciutadans a mes d'utilitzar l'arengada nacionalista per guanyar-se el seu recolzament en grans causes internacionals, sovint fent de victima. Fa ben poc varem escoltar al president xines dir que esta disposat a "parlar del que sigui amb el Dalai Lama, sempre que aquest no questioni la integritat de la Xina, ja que tant en el Tibet com Formosa en son parts indiscutibles".

Having recently spent 3 days in a city in China does not give me any authority on the Tibet and related Games' issues. However, having been following the news and reading specialized press as well as keeping my ears and eyes well open whilst in the region, allows me to have formed a strong personal opinion on China's reality. On our visit to Chauzhou the first thing we noticed was lots of investment in infrastructures, mainly on roads; we also noticed a constant agression to the environment on both sides of the roads we traveled along, consisting of several dumping sites and rubbish landfills. Whilst some city centre areas, both in Shenzhen and Chauzhou, seem to have been recently developed, this has been done on a large scale, with only buildings of gigantic proportions, leaving no space for leasure areas. New housing developments seemed to lack any "luxurious" access to natural light and buildings were piled one next to the other, becoming just functional. As we did not visit any inside, I cannot coment on their living spaces. Walking the old town we saw how individual businesses struggle to generate a sizeable income and from seeing the population's daily activity, I suspect they live a very basic way of life. Cycle richshaws share the road with new luxury cars and many, many buses. My first impression was that of a fast developing capitalist state without any of the freedom or rights we enjoy in the west. Judging by China's economic results, I can only think of a very agressive capitalist system using two sets of rules: free competition towards the outside and strict state control of production and its means towards their people. On account of the luxury vehicles we saw, I can only suspect corruption as a well established system to obtain special rights or privileges. China's economic success is their own doing, but also the result of western companies -and their share holders- greed, and eventually could cost our economies dearly; perhaps it is time we reconsider where we want our goods produced. Because of their favourable prices we have become complacent and often turn a blind eye, and now, with the Olympic Games around the corner, we are once more prepared to close both eyes, as long as we can buy their goods cheaply. But, are they so cheap? China's abuses aren't limited to the occupation and continued masscre of Tibet since 1950, they also involve the constant displacement of their population, sending Han people into the region in order to dilute the Tibetan feeling, forcing anyone the government wants, to move to other regions, in a clear show of disregard for people's basic rights. Nothing has changed for the Chinese since the students took Tiananmen, except perhaps that their economy is growing at such rate that the government can, when they want, buy each and everyone of its citizens, often stirring nationalistic feelings to gain support for big international issues and playing victim. We have recently heard the Chinese president say he is "prepared to discuss anything with the Dalai Lama, as long as he does not question China's integrity, as both Tibet and Taiwan are inseparable parts of it".

Ara, cap a l'est /Eastbound

2008-03-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

Dema, ben aviat, agafarem l'avio cap a Hong Kong, en certa manera tornant enrera enlloc de seguir viatjant cap a l'oest. Quan deixem l'India decididament haurem comencat el retorn, encara que aparentment ens allunyem d'Europa. El nostre viatge s'acaba, ja fa dies que ho diem, ara, abans de fer cap a casa volem tastar la Xina -malgrat totes les discrepancies i la seva actitud envers alguns Tibetans- i visitar amics a Toquio i Singapur. Les setmanes que hem passat aqui han estat plenes de sabors ben diferents i darrerament de molts colors. Abans d'arribar teniem moltes ganes de descobrir una mica aquest continent (sense el mal usat sub) tant diferent i intrigant. Ara en coneixem alguns llocs, algunes tradicions i costums i hem pogut iniciar-nos en les seves religions. A voltes han estat dies durs, conviure constantment amb una pobresa 'acceptada' no sempre es facil, alguns dels costums locals ens han continuat sorprenent i no ens hi hem acostumat, encara que si adaptat -ajustat com diuen aqui- per tolerar-los (les escopinades , quin remei!), d'altres els hem abracat i ens els emportarem a casa. Molts dies han estat meravellosos, acompanyats de gent generosa acabada de coneixer i regats per rius venerats, mars molt especials, sortides i postes de sol increibles i muntanyes espectaculars. Potser de tots els llocs on hem viatjat durant aquets mesos, l'India sera el primer on tornarem -qui sap; enrera hem deixat les noies de Moolamatton, les impressions de Bombai, la vida rural del sud del pais i, mes recentment, les altes muntanyes d'Utranchal; a mes, ens queda pendent la visita al Nepal, i qui sap, quan les coses s'arreglin, potser un dia fins podem visitar el Tibet i tot.
Per ara, avui hem enviat mes de 30 quilos d'equipatge cap a casa en un intent de viatjar un xic mes lleugers (ara nomes portarem dues motxilles!), i dema, ben aviat, canviarem de decorat i, amb sort, portarem el bon temps cap al sud de la Xina... ja us ho explicarem.

Tomorrow we'll catch an early plane to Hong Kong, and although it may seem we are moving away, we'll have started our return. Once we have left India we'll certainly be on our way home, even if we'll be traveling east for a while. Our journey starts to end, we have been saying it for a while, but before going home we would like a taste of China - despite their attitude towards Tibetans and our contradictions - and to visit some friends both in Tokyo and Singapore. The weeks we've spent here have been full of different flavours and lately many colours. Before our arrival we really wanted to discover bits of this intriguing and different (and mistakenly belittled) continent. Now we know some of its places, traditions and even had an introduction to its religions. Occasionally some days have been hard, to live among "accepted poverty" has not been easy, and some of the local habits continue to surprise us (spitting being one of them) and we have not grown used to them (although we have had to "adjust" as they say), other ones we'll take home and make them our own. Many days have been great, meeting very generous people and surrounded by venerated rivers, very special seas, amazing dawns and sunsets and dramatic mountains. Perhaps of all the places we have visited these last months, India is the first one we'll come back to, who knows. We have left behind the girls from Moolamatton, the impressions from Bombay, the rural life of the south and more recently the extraordinary Himalayas. We have also a visit to Nepal pending, and maybe, one day, we'll even make it to Tibet. For the time being, today we have shipped 30kg of things back home, trying to travel a little lighter, with only two rucksacks, and tomorrow, early in the morning we'll change scenery and maybe even manage to take the weather with us, to the south of China... we shall see.

Animals salvatges i paranys de ciutat / Wild life and traps in the city

2008-03-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

Des que varem escriure el darrer blog entre altres coses hem tingut la sort de veure tres cadells de tigre en el seu entorn natural, lliures i salvatges, des d'una torre d'observacio a pocs metres! Va ser un mati extraordinari que recordarem durant molt de temps; era el tercer dia al Parc Nacional de Dudhwa i encara que el dia abans haviem vist rinoceronts de ben aprop (a tres o quatre metres!) des de dalt d'un elefant, hi haviem anat esperant tenir la sort de veure un tigre... aixi que tres el darrer mati que hi erem va ser molt afortunat i ens va deixar molt contents i satisfets. A mes del parc de Dudhwa, hem visitat Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Orchha i el famos temple de Khajuraho (conegut per les talles erotiques, encara que n'hi ha moltes mes que no ho son, tant o mes impressionants), i ara som a Agra. Era evident que hi haviem de passar, per veure el Taj i el Red Fort, i encara que ens feia mandra viure la part mes turistica i comercialitzada de l'India, les visites a tots dos monuments no ens han decepcionat. El Taj fins que no el veus no t'adones de lo bonic i gran que es, i encara que ahir hi havia forca gent que tambe el visitaven, ens va impressionar. Es clar que darrera hi ha una historia entre romantica i trista, la d'un senyor amb molts diners que sempre que viatjava volia que la seva dona preferida l'acompanyes, i en una ocasio en que anava a fer la guerra i va fer que tambe l'acompanyes, ella es va posar de part (del seu 14e fill!) i s'hi va quedar... aleshores al tornar ell va dir que abans de morir li havia demanat que contruis un monument per fer saber a tothom com de gran havia estat el seu amor... qui vulgui que s'ho cregui! En la construccio d'aquest monument hi varen participar 22000 treballadors durant una pila d'anys, i ben segur que mes d'un hi va deixar la pell; les incrustacions en el marbre son de pedres de colors portades de diversos paisos llunyans i el mateix marbre el varen transportar 2000 elefants des de mes de 300 quilometres de distancia. Aqui a Agra t'atabalen tota l'estona intentant vendre't tot tipus de reproduccions i bagateles relacionades d'alguna manera amb el Taj. Avui hem (de fet he sigut jo el que hi ha caigut) caigut en el conegut parany que en ciutats com Agra et posen els conductors de rickshaws: et proposen de portar-te on tu vols per un preu raonable i aixi que has acordat el desti et convencen - i un cop dalt del vehicle i en una zona allunyada no tens gaires opcions- que acceptis de visitar una zona de botigues on ells rebran una comissio encara que tu no compris res i aixi els ajudes a guanyar algun diner mentre tu veus la ciutat i algunes botigues; el que no t'expliquen es que despres de visitar el lloc on volies anar et passaras dues o tres hores anant d'una botiga a una altra en una zona gens interessant de la ciutat, ja que cal anar almenys a 5 llocs per rebre ells una quantitat acceptable de comissions, i el que havia de ser un dia de passeig tranquil es converteix en una empipadora i llarga processo de visites a botigues on venen coses que no vols a preus infalts per als turistes, i a sobre al acabar el recorregut, com que ha fet tants quilometres i saps que es realment una feina molt dura, especialment pels ciclistes de mes de 60 anys que ens portaven, els acabes pagant el doble del que havies acordat i ben segur, mes del que t'hauria costat anar on volies i tornar en un dels molts tricicles motoritzats que fan el servei de taxi.

Since our last blog, amongst other things we've been lucky enough to see three tiger cubs in their natural habitat, free and wild, from an observation tower a few metres away. It was an extraordinary morning which we'll remember for a long time; it was out third day in Dudhwa National Park and even though we'd seen rhinos the day before from the back of an elephant (about 3 or 4m away!), we were hoping we'd see a tiger .... and so three the following morning means we were very lucky and we were thrilled. As well as Dudhwa, we've visited Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Orchha, the famous temple at Khajuraho (known for its erotic carvings, although there are many more that are of other subjects that are as or more impressive) and now we are in Agra. Obviously we had to come here, to visit the Taj and the Red Fort, although we were worried about visiting one of India's most touristy and commercialised places, however the two monuments didn't fail to impress. Until you see the Taj, you can't appreciate its beauty and size, and even though there were lots of visitors yesterday, it was impressive.
There is, of course, a sad and romantic story behind it of a man who had lots of money and who, when travelling, liked his favourite wife to accompany him and who had her accompany him to war where she went into labour (their 14th child!) and died .... and so, on his return he said that before she passed away she asked him to build a monument to show the greatness of their love ... and whoever saw it would know. Twenty-two thousand workers participated in the construction of this monument over a period of many years, and many must have died. The coloured stones set into the marble were brought from far and wide and the marble itself was brought by 2,000 elephants from over 300km away.
Here in Agra they hassle you to buy all sorts of reproductions and junk somehow related to the Taj all the time. Today we fell (actually it was Manel who fell) for a known scam by local rickshaw drivers in cities like this. They agreed to take us where we wanted for a reasonable price and once we were near where we wanted to be, they convinced us to go to another area and visit some shops where they would receive a commission even if we didn't buy anything, thus helping them earn some extra money. What they didn't warn us was that this would turn out to be a three hour tour of uninteresting parts of the city as they need to take you to at least 5 shops to get reasonable commissions. What was going to be a relaxed day wandering in the old town had by then become a long and annoying succession of visits to shops where they sell things you don't want at inflated, tourist prices. At the end of the journey, as they had cycled many kilometres and as it is a very tough job, especially for the elderly drivers we had, we ended up paying double what we had agreed and obviously more than we should have paid to go to where we had originally wanted and back, even in a motorised rickshaw!

North of Varanasi, mes cap al nord

2008-03-01T04:25:00.000-08:00

Com heu notat anem alternant entre aquest espai i el blog que fem a http://elperiodico.com/blogs/blogs/rutafamiliar/default.aspx per mantenir-vos informats, o sigui que ja sabeu que hem canviat un xic els plans i no visitarem el Nepal, com teniem previst. Les darreres dues setmanes hi ha hagut una vaga generalitzada i s'els va comencar a acabar el fuel i a fallar la distribucio del menjar, en algunes ciutats hi havia toc de queda establert i bastantes manifestacions. Abans d'ahir el govern i l'oposicio varen arribar a un acord i van acabar la vaga, i encara que la situacio ja s'esta normalitzant, ens va semblar raonable postposar la nostra visita fins a la propera vegada que siguem per la regio (esperem que hi hagi una propera vegada), tant per seguretat com per respecte vers els Nepalesos, ja que com extrangers segur hauriem tingut (el seu) menjar i (la seva) gasolina. Malgrat aquest canvi encara esperem avistar les muntanyes dels Himalaies i fins algun pic important, si podem visitar el park de Dudhwa, al nord de Lucknow, on ens dirigirem aquesta nit, com ve sent habitual, en tren.

Avui hem anat a Kushinagar, una ciutat a 50 quilometres (o dues hores en bus) a l'est de Gorakhpur a visitar temples budistes, ja que n'hi ha mes d'un, doncs es la ciutat on va morir "el Buddha" i sembla que encara s'hi conserven algunes cendres (que no hem vist). El trajecte, com sempre que et mous per carretera a l'India, ens ha aixecat els cabells , encara que com que el cami es tot en linia recta, aquest cop els adelantaments mentre venen cotxes i (pobres) motos de cara i la circulacio de tres vehicles en paral.lel per una via de dos carrils, no han estat tant esgarrifosos, i aixo que hem fet tota la tornada drets ja que l'autobus anava ple - en algun moment fins hi havia un parell de passatgers al sostre i tot!

Des que hem arribat al nord del pais s'ens fa mes dificil trobar llocs per menjar seguint la dieta vegetariana que portem fent els darrers mesos, ja que sembla la poblacio es mes mixta i no hi ha la majoria vegetariana que haviem trobat als estats del sud. Com que intentem menjar en llocs on facin nomes cuina vegetariana, ara hem de buscar-los durant mes estona, i com que les poblacions estan escampades al llarg de forca quilometres, a vegades porta mes estona, i com que des que varem deixar Madagascar no hem provat ni el vi ni la cervesa - ni altres alcohols- tampoc podem parar a fer una birra i reposar un xic quan no trobem un lloc per menjar. No es que haguem fet cap vot especial ni ens haguem convertit a cap religio, simplement ens va semblar que era una oportunitat massa facil per "fer vida sana" per deixar-la passar.

Avui a l'estacio ens hem pesat i seguim en el mateix pes que quan varem marxar, o sigui que l'alimentacio esta funcionant, encara que aquests dies a vegades ens hem sorpres conversant sobre el menu ideal per un apat per a cada u, o intentant debatre quines coses -de menjar- son les que cadascu troba o ha trobat mes a faltar en aquests mesos de viatge... poster com que la tornada es va acostant s'ens fa inevitable comencar a pensar en com seran els primers dies despres de retorn i sobretot, que menjarem!

You will have realised that we try to keep you up-to-date with our movements alternating our news via this blog and our other one at http://elperiodico.com/blogs/blogs/rutafamiliar/default.aspx and so you will know that our plans have changed a little and we are not visiting Nepal. In the last two weeks there has been a general strike there , fuel is running short and food distribution is becoming difficult, in some cities curfews have been imposed and there have been demonstrations. The day before yesterday, the government arrived at an agreement with the opposition and the strike ended and stability is being restored but we thought we'd postpone our visit until our next trip (if there is a next trip) both for our own safety and out of respect to the Nepalese because as foreigners we would be sure to get (their) food and (their) fuel. Despite this change, we should still be able to see the Himalayas if we visit Dudhwa Park to the north of Lucknow, where we are headed tonight by train ... as always.

Today we visited Kushinagar, a city about 50 km away (2 hours by bus), to the east of Gorakhpur to visit Buddhist temples - there is more than one. It is the city where " Buddha" died and it seems his ashes are still there (although we didn't see them). The journey, as always when travelling on Indian roads, was hair-raising although this time as the road was straight overtaking, creating three lanes of parallel traffic on a road designed for two, wasn't so scary when cars and (poor) motorcyclists were hurtling towards us. We had to stand for the whole of the return journey as the bus was packed with even a couple of passengers travelling on the roof.

Since our arrival in the north, we have been finding it difficult to find places serving the vegetarian diet we have been following for the last couple of months, as the population here is more mixed and the majority are not vegetarian as they are in the south. As we try to eat in places that only produce vegetarian food, our search is taking longer every time, and as these towns are really spread out over several kilometres, sometimes we walk a long way, and as we haven't drunk wine or beer (or any other alcohol) since leaving Madagascar, we can't even stop for a beer and rest a while when we can't find anywhere to eat. It's not that we've converted to any religion, it just seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up to live "a healthy lifestyle".

We weighed ourselves at the station today and we are all the same weight as when we left last year and so this diet is working although over the past few days we have surprised ourselves by discussing our ideal menu and which food items each one of us has missed most on the trip ... maybe it's because the end is in sight and inevitably we are thinking about our first days back and above all what we are going to eat!

Indian Railways

2008-02-19T23:41:00.000-08:00

We have invested in the Indian Railways Timetable (Trains at a Glance - 30/- = 50c), a tome of 300 pages which not only gives you information on all the trains run by Indian Railways, but also what is the content, quantity and cost of each meal served on their trains, who is liable for discounts on their tickets, how much tickets cost, where to find wildlife in India and lots of other interesting information. Manel has read and inwardly digested all this book has to offer and so discovered that if you plan to travel further than 500km, you can break your journey en route for 48 hours. Hence our stop here, Rajahmundry, a medium-sized town halfway up the east coast. We arrived here on Monday having travelled overnight. It is not a town that receives many (if any) tourists and so most people stare at us unashamedly. Yesterday we visited the Iskcon temple, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a pastel extravaganza, and then wandered around the busy market and a really very exclusive jewellers just because it was there. Such exquisite things! There are a lot of people in this region, including many women, with shaved heads, which is surprising to see after the long, long hair and plaits of Kerala. In Tirupathi, a town near here, pilgrims sacrifice their hair at the Venkataswara Temple. Their hair later ends up in American and Japanese wigs.

We're all moving at a slower pace. This morning we've left the girls in their room watching cable TV, something they haven't done since before Madagascar. Poor Ella is recovering from a bit of a fright this morning ... a small cockroach was lurking in her straw and ended up in her mouth .... nasty!

Tonight we move on again. This time to Bhubaneswar, 'the city of temples', in Orissa where there are over 500 of the original 7000 temples still standing. The girls are thrilled.

Varem comprar l'Indian Railways Timetable (Trains at a Glance - 30/- = 50c), un volum d'unes 300 pagines que no tan sols t'informa dels horaris de tots els trens a l'India, si no que a mes detalla el contingut, les cantitats i els preus dels menjars que serveixen als trens indis, qui te dret a descomptes, el preu de cada tipus de bitllet per a cada distancia, on trobar animals salvatges i santuaris per animals al pais i molta mes informacio interessant. En Manel la va estudiar tota i va descobrir que en viatges de mes de 500 quilometres es pot fer una parada de dos dies i per aixo ara som a Rajah Mundry, una ciutat petita a mig cami de la costa est. Hi varem arribar el dilluns despres de viatjar tota la nit. Com que no reben gaires, o cap, visitants occidentals, la gent s'ens queda mirant descaradament. Ahir varem visitar el temple d'Iskon de la Societat Internacional per a la Consciencia de Krishna, un lloc peculiar, i despres varem passejar per un mercat molt concorregut i una joieria molt exclusiva, ja que ens varen convidar a entrar-hi. Quines joies! en aquesta regio hi ha moltagent, incloent dones, que porten el cap afeitat, cosa que ens va sorprendre despres de disfrutar dels cabells llarguissims i llargues trenes, que porten a Kerala. A Tirupathi, un poble proper, els peregrins ofereixen el seus cabells en sacrifici al temple de Venkataswara. Els cabells acaben a America i el Japo en forma de perruques...

Avui anem mes a poc a poc. Aquest mati hem deixat les noies a la seva habitacio mirant la tele, cosa que no havien fet des d'abans d'anar a Madagascar, i a mes tenien satel.lit! Pobra Ella, aquest mati s'ha endut un bon ensurt quan ha trobat una petita cuca(ratxa) que hi havia en la palleta de la seva beguda dins la boca... ecs!

Aquest vespre agafem el tren de nou, anirem a Bhubaneswar, la ciutat dels temples, a Orissa, on queden 500 dels 7000 temples que hi havia. "les noies estan encantades".

Moolamattom, Kerala

2008-02-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we visited Munnar, a town in the centre of the tea producing area of Kerala. We left early in order to avoid the heat and drove for about two and a half hours up into the mountains where the air was fresher and cooler. On the way we experienced, once again, Indian driving at its scariest ... passing the aftermath of a nasty head-on crash between two buses.

You know you have arrived at the tea plantations because the landscape changes and the hills are suddenly covered in a neat patchwork of bright green bushes as far as the eye can see. We stopped at the smartest hotel in town, as the woman we are staying with knows the owner, and had a buffet breakfast of curries, puris and, for the first time in a while, toast and jam. We then continued our tour and visited a dam and Echo Point where there are stalls selling tea (surprise, surprise), essential oils, cheap plastic toys, wooden trays and home-made chocolate. You could also have a ride on an elephant. On the road we had seen a working elephant dragging trees up a hillside. Mercy, our hostess, told us that in December the area is packed with tourists and the vendors do a roaring trade, but yesterday there were just a few "palid people" like us about. Back in town we tried masala tea (tea with spices) and wandered around the market. Another interesting day.

Our stay here in Moolamattom is coming to an end. On Sunday we move on and from then on will be almost constantly on the road until we get back home. Yet again we've met some lovely children whose company we really have enjoyed and yet again we have been shown enormous generosity and kindness by everybody living and working at the home.

Ahir varem visitar Munar, un poble de la zona on es produeix te a Kerala. Varem sortir aviat per evitar la calor i varem conduir durant dues hores i mitja cap a les muntanyes, on l'aire era mes fresc. Durant el viatge varem tornar a experimentar la perillosa manera de conduir de l'India i fins varem veure dos autobusos que havien tingut un greu xoc frontal.

Quan el paissatge canvia i tots els camps semblen ordenadament tapissats d'arbustos d'un verd brillant, saps que has arribat a la plantacio.Varem aturarnos al millor hotel del poble, ja que la dona que ens hi acompanyava coneix l'amo, i varem disfrutar d'un esmorzar amb curris, puris i per primera vegada en molt de temps, torrades amb mermelada. Despres varem seguri fins a "Echo Point" on hi havia paradetes venent te, olis essencials, joguines barates de plastic, plates de fusta i xocolata feta a casa. Tambe es podia pujar als elefants. Pel cami haviem vist n'haviem vist un treballant, arrossegant troncs. La nostra hosta, la Mercy, ens va dir que pel Desembre aquesta zona es plena de turistes i els venedors fan l'Agost, pero ahir nomes hi havia algunes persones "palides" com nosaltres. De tornada al poble varem provar el te massla (amb especies) i varem visitar el mercat local. Un altre dia interessant.

La nostra estada a Moolamattom ja s'acaba. El diumenge tornarem a viatjar i a partir d'aleshores, gairebe cada dia ens mourem de lloc, fins a la tornada a casa. Un altre cop hem tornat a coneixer canalla encantadora i hem disfrutat de la seva companyia, i un cop mes ens han acollit amb gran generositat i tothom que treballa i o viu a la llar ens ha tractat molt be.

Mumbai to Cochin

2008-02-01T04:06:00.000-08:00

After almost a week in Mumbai, we have now moved south to Cochin in Kerala. The journey here by train was overnight and took 27 hours. Despite the length of the journey there was always plenty of activity going on around us. At each stop vendors got on selling delicious hot battered snacks, tea, newspapers, maps and there was a constant flow of staff from the ‘pantry’ carriage also carrying through similar things to eat. The carriage was divided into sections with acres of curtaining and velcro each containing two tier bunks, we travelled 2^nd class, with another bunk across the aisle. There was a very elegant 71-year old lady dressed in a sari sharing our section who chatted to us. It turned out that she was a former plastic surgeon who had studied in Edinburgh and who was on her way to Cochin to go scuba diving and snorkeling off a protected island with the Natural History Society of Bombay. I must admit that was not what I expected her to be doing.

When we awoke the landscape and vegetation had changed. We were now traveling through palm plantations and crossing picturesque, early morning river estuaries. The temperature had also gone up.

The train arrives in Ernakulam and from here we got a ferry across to Cochin– a lovely way to arrive in any city. After the energy of Mumbai, Cochin is a surprisingly slow–paced city. Yesterday we wandered through Jew Town where there are hundreds of antique shops aimed at the many tourists who visit here and then on down Bazaar Road which was busy with local people and where there are dozens of warehouses filled with sacks of spices and pulses and small shops selling essential oils.

Today we took a 'backwaters' tour. This involved driving, at breakneck speed, to a small jetty about 30km south where we boarded a houseboat. We then sailed along waterways, across a lake and around a group of islands, stopping off on one where we shown how they collect 'natural juice' from the flower of the coconut palm in ceramic bowls and where we were also shown some of the many spices that grow in this region such as cardamom, arrowroot and all spice, which is a plant not a mixture of spices as I'd always thought. After a really delicious lunch, we then set off in narrow boats through the backwaters, getting stuck on various occasions as the water level was so low, and this time we stopped in a village to see how they make coir string from coconut fibre. We saw a number of kingfishers as we travelled through this beautiful place.

Despres de gairebe una setmana a Mumbai, ara hem viatjat cap al sud, a Cochin (Kerala). El viatge en tren va durar mes d'un dia, 27 hores. Malgrat que fos llarg, al nostre voltat sempre hi havia molta activitat amb que distreure's.A cada parada colles de venedors pujaven al tren oferint-nos delicioses pastes acabades de fregir, te, mapes i diaris, i a mes sempre teniem el personal del vago restaurant "fent passadis" i constantment oferint-nos coses similars per menjar. El vago estava dividit en seccions amb kilometres de cortines i velcro i a cada seccio hi havia 4 llits disposats en dos nivells. Nosaltres viatjavem en segona classe hi hi havia una tercera "llitera" de costat al passadis. En aquesta part de la nostra seccio, hi havia una elegant senyora de 71 anys que vestia un sari i que va xerrar amb nosaltres. Mai hauriem endevinat que era una cirujana plastica retirada que havia estudiat a Edinburg i ara anava a a Cochin a bussejar en una illa protejida amb un grup de la Societat d'Historia Natural de Bombai.

Varem despertar en un nou paisatge amb vegetacio diferent de quan havien anat a dormir. Estavem travessant plantacions de palmeres i estuaris pintorescs i la temperatura havia pujat molts graus.

El tren arriba a Ernakulam i d'alla varem anar fins a Cochin en un ferry, una manera molt agradable d'arribar a la ciutat. Despres de tota l'activitat de Mumbai, Cochin es una ciutat sorprenentment lenta. Ahir varem passejar pel barri jueu on hi ha centenars d'anticuaris especialment dirigits al tots els turistes que hi passen, i despres per Bazaar Road, on hi ha molta gent de la zona i dotzenes de magatzems plens de sacs d'especies i llegums i petites botigues venent olis essencials.

Avui hem anat a fer una passejada en barca per les"backwaters". Aixo ha implicat anar en un autobus, a una velocitat exagerada, fins a un petit "amarre" uns 30km al sud de la ciutat, on hem pujat una casa-barca. D'alli hem anat per canals, travessant un llac i voltant varies illes, desembarcant en una d'elles on ens han ensenyat com recullen el "suc natural" de la flor de les palmeres cocoteres en unes olles de ceramica penjades de l'arbre, i tambe ens han mostrat varies de les especies que creixen a la regio, com el cardamo, l'"arrowroot" i el "allspice", que es una planta i no una barrejad'especies comhavia pensat sempre. Despres d'un delicios dinar, hem cntinuat la passejada en una barca estreta pels canals mes petits, quedant-nos encallats a la sorra varies vegades, ja que la marea era baixa, i aquest cophem desembarcat en un llogaret on fan corda amb les fibres del coco. Mentre descobriem aquest precios llloc hem vist diversos martins pescadors.

Marxem de Tana / We're leaving Tana

2008-01-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

Dema marxem de Madagascar, be si els vols no s'endarrereixen, es clar. Hem passat mes de sis setmanes en aquesta illa, primer convivint amb la canalla de la llar que Yamuna hi te organitzada i despres visitant un xic altres parts del Pais. Ha estat una experiencia extraordinaria, especialment al tenir el privilegi de coneixer tota aquesta canalla i la gent que hi treballa cada dia, veure com viuen i acostar-nos al seu mon. .Visitar els parcs que hem vist i descobrir la fauna i la flora de l'illa tambe ha estat increible; feia anys que teniem Madagascar al cap i per una rao o altra mai hi haviem arribat, ara sabem que hi volem tornar! Habitar a la ciutat ens ha ensenyat com sobreviu molta gent, com tiren endavant dia rere dia, entre el fum dels cotxes, la manca de serveis per nosaltres basics, l'olor de les escombraries descomposant-se i les plujes torrencials que varen arribar amb el Nadal i que ben segur continuaran al llarg de tot el mes. Ens hem acostumat a comprar al mercat local i a veure les mateixes cares que et saluden al sortir de casa cada mati, a agafar els busos del barri i trobar-hi la mateixa gent, a fer i tornar a fer el cami envoltat dels familiars venedors, de veure els camps d'arros que ha crescut i ja han començat a segar, de trobar durant setmanes el terra sempre ple de peles de "lixi", per ara ja no veure'n doncs la temporada s'ha acabat. Han arribat les prunes i amb elles nosaltres ens n'anem. Veloma Madagascar!

Tomorrow, unless the flight is delayed, we'll be leaving Madagascar. We have enjoyed more than six weeks on the island; first sharing our time with the children Yamuna houses in their home and later traveling to other places. It has been an extraordinary journey and we have been very fortunate to meet all these kids and their carers and to get to know a little how they live. Visiting some of their parks we have discovered new flora and fauna to us. We always wanted to go to Madagascar and now we know we want to come back! Living in the city has taught us how some locals survive, how they fight each day amongst the car fumes, the lack of some basic services, the stench of the decomposing rubbish and the torrential rain they endured after Christmas and that will stay for a while. We have become accostumed to shopping in the neighbourhood market and to seeing the same faces greeting us every morning when leaving home, to catching the local buses and to finding the same people every day doing again and again the same route surrounded by the same vendors, seeing the rice fields growing and being harvested and also seeing the floor constantly covered in lychee peels and stones. Now these have disappeared as their season has ended and the plums have arrived. We are leaving Madagascar too. Veloma!

Lemurs, leeches and chameleons/Lemurs, camaleons i sangoneres

2008-01-13T23:29:00.000-08:00

We are back in Tana having spent a week visiting this beautiful island. There are no motorways here and so our journey of approximately 800km south took us Monday afternoon and all of Tuesday to get there…but it was worth it. Our first stop was Isalo National Park where we spent a day first climbing up the huge escarpment having Bara tombs pointed out to us (actually pointing at tombs is fady – taboo- here and so our guide did it with his knuckle) and then crossing a plain towards a natural plunge pool. We walked about 12km and saw plenty of Madagascan wildlife…technicolour grasshoppers, owls, a kingfisher, lizards, a chameleon and a troop of ring-tailed lemurs!
We then moved on to Ranomafana, but on route stopped at Anjà, where Frank, our one-armed guide, showed us more wildlife and took us scrambling over almost vertical granite rock faces.
Ranomafana is in the jungle and so we expected rain but instead had the most brilliant sunshine and again we saw lots of flora and fauna including leeches, two of which managed to attach themselves to Manel and Blanche, who were unaware that their blood was being sucked until we saw the stain on their T-shirts!
After the noise, pollution and dirt of Tana, these few days away were a refreshing change.

Tornem a ser a Tana havent passat una setmana visitant aquesta magnifica illa. No hi ha autopistes aixi que el nostre viatge de 800km cap al sud va durar la tarda de dilluns i tot dimarts per arribar-hi…pero va valdre la pena. La primera parada va ser al Parc Nacional d’Isalo on vam passar el dia, varem escalar un penyassegat mentre ens ensenyaven tombes Bara indicades sense assenyalar (en realitat assenyalar es fady – tabu- i per tant el guia ho va fer amb el puny), i seguidament atravessant una plana en direccio a una piscina natural. Vam caminar 12km i vam veure molts animals de Madagascar…grills que semblaven haver caigut dins un pot de pintura, mussols, un marti pescador, llangardaixos, un camaleo i una tropa de lemurs!
D’aqui ens vam dirigir a Ranomafana, pero de cami parant a Anjà, on en Frank, el nostre guia amb un sol un braç, ens va ensenyar mes animals i ens va pujar a una roca practicament vertical.
Ranomafana es a la jungla per tant ens esperavem pluja, pero sorprenentment vam tenir molt de sol, i de nou vam veure molta flora i fauna incluint sangoneres, dos de les quals van aconseguir enganxar-se a en Manel i a la Blanche, que no s'en van adonar fins que van veure la taca de sang que restava a les seves samarretes!
Despres del soroll, la contaminacio i la bruticia de Tana, aquests dies han sigut un canvi molt agradable.

Heading south from Tana / Cap al sud de Tana

2008-01-06T22:49:00.000-08:00

Avui es el primer dia que no hem anat a Tsinjo, el centre d'acollida de canalla, i ens preparem per marxar a descobrir un xic d'aquest extraordinari pais. Anirem cap al sud i despres cap a l'oest. El territori es molt gran i les infraestructures un xic precaries i per tant suposem - i ens ho confirmen- no podrem fer molts quilometres cada dia, o sigui que anirem tant a poc a poc com calgui, disfrutant pero de la rica varietat dels paissatges que anirem trobant.

Avui es el primer dia que no passarem per la casa-camio que hem vist cada dia prop de Fianarivo, tampoc veurem els venedors ambulants que ocupen els dos costats de la carretera que hem seguit gairebe cada dia del darrer mes, pero ben segur que en veurem d'altres, potser fins venent coses diferents i tot. Avui tambe es el primer dia que hem fet la motxila, despres de 30 dies disfrutant de tenir la roba en un armari... ja s'acosta el dia de deixar Madagascar i ens ha anat be la practica!

Today is the first day we haven't been to Tsinjo, the children's home. Instead we are getting ready to travel south first and then west, to see some of this extraordinary country. This is a very large place and the roads are not necessarily in tip-top condition, so we don't expect to travel very far every day, but this will allow us the opportunity to enjoy each and every one of the different landscapes we'll pass.

Today is the first we will not pass the lorry-house which we pass near Fianarivo on our way to the home, nor will we see the many sellers that populate both sides of the road, but we are sure to see many others along our route, maybe even selling different items. Today is also the first day we have had to pack our rucksacks after 30 days of enjoying the use of a wardrobe... we'll soon be leaving Madagascar and so the practice was convinient!

Merry Christmas i Bon Nadal

2007-12-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy 2008

Bon Nadal i Felic Any Nou

Felices Fiestas y Prospero 2008

Diana, Manel, Ella i Blanche XXX

Tana

2007-12-15T05:50:00.000-08:00

Amb les motxiles buides i la roba a l'armari pensavem que estariem com a casa i la veritat es que els dies que portem a Tana ens sentim gairebe com a casa. O sigui que l'Ella i la Blanche tenen ocasio de barallar-se de tant en tant i nosaltres de fer de pares ignorant les seves disputes. Barallar-se de fet es una exageracio, alguna petita discussio sobre qui deixa que a qui i es clar, com que el que voldrien portar esta brut... Em penso que als 4 ens agradaria poder portar alguna cosa que no tenim aqui ja que malgrat haver fet alguna compra tant a l'Argentina com a Xile, Australia i a la Mumbai, la roba que portem comenca a estar aburrida i gastada. A mes des que varem deixar America del Sud, fa molta calor i no cal posar-se gaire coses... la mateixa samarreta o l'altra i uns shorts o uns altres (qui en te dos parells) es repeteixen. Aqui la terra es molt vermella i hi ha bastanta pols, per tant ja ens hem acostumat a anar un xic empolsegats, encara que mantenim l'habit de fer tantes dutxes com podem -encara que gastant tant poca aigua com ens es possible. Seguint amb la primavera constant, la meva al.lergia es dispara de tant en tant i empipo als altres amb grans dosis d'esternuts, i encara que ens queden algunes anthistaminiques, no sempre sembla que funcionin, i es clar la contaminacio de la ciutat no hi ajuda gens.
Seguim patint de les males conexions a internet i a vegades es un suplici fins enviar un correu i tot, ens ha arribat a caldre fins una hora, per tant de moment no estem penjant fotos i les nostres session es limiten al que podem aconseguir. Des que tenim telefon les noies han rebut alguna trucada, que sempre les alegra i nosaltres un missatge -gracies Carlos!

We thought that emptying our backpacks into the cupboard would help us feel at home and indded it had some effect. The girls immediately had the occasional argument about who wears what and whose is it, as often what they want to wear is either dirty or being washed... As good parents we try to ignore such discussions. In fact I think at times we could all do with different clothes, some that aren't with us, as despite some shopping we did both in Argentina, Chile, Australia and Mumbai, the clothes we have with us have started to get old and we are bored with them. Not to mention that the last few weeks it has been hot and one ends up having to wear the same t-shirt or shorts all too often. The soil here is red and dusty and it doesn't help staying clean, however we still try to have daily showers, even if using as little water as possible. As it seems to be always spring, my allergy is often bothering me and although I still have some pills left, they do not always have much of an effect, so the girls are constantly enduring my sneezing sessions; of course the city pollution contributes a lot to it.
We continue to struggle with internet as access is far from ideal and we have been unable to post pictures for a while, some times a simple email can take an hour! Since we've got the mobile the girls have received some calls which they really enjoyed receiving and we had one text -thanks Carlos!

Mumbai, Mauritius, Madagascar, a 3 day journey

2007-12-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

When we left Darwin little did we know how long it would take us to reach our destination in Madagascar. It all seemed to go well until we were ready to board the flight from Mumbai to Mauritius late at night when after some inquiries we realized our flight had been cancelled. Fortunately Air Mauritius had organized an hotel for us and after stopping a local cab outside the terminal, we were on our way to a 5 star hotel. The next day we took off early afternoon hoping to still make a connection in Maurice, however once we reached our first stop there were no more flights to Madagascar until the next day in the afternoon. Again AM had organised a hotel for us and this time even a proper transfer. As Mauritius is a "luxury" holiday place, we ended up in a Hilton on the beach resort where they greet guests with drinks and all the modern comforts one can imagine were at our disposal... no complaints there. Finally we got to Antananarivo on the 3rd day and were welcomed by Yamuna's Manolo at the airport. We have only been here a couple of days and it already feels we have been here a long time thanks to the extraordinary welcome we have received from everyone here.
By the way, as it will soon be Christmas and we will be here for a while we've got ourselves a local mobile number (+261325195728) in case anyone has the urge to call any of us...

Al marxar de Darwin sabiem que el viatge seria llarg pero mai varem inaginar que tant. Tot havia anat be fins a Mumbai, pero al anar a agafar el vol cap a les Maurici ja tard a la nit varem descobrir que l'havien anul.lat. Afortunadament Air Mauritus ens havia reservat un bon hotel i despres de trobar un taxi varem poder dormir comodament. L'endema el vol va sortir finalment a primera hora de la tarda pero al arribibar a les Maurici ja no hi havia vols cap a Madagascar. De nou AM s'havia ocuptat de buscar-nos hotel, aquest cop ens portaren a un Hilton a la platja on reben els hostes amb begudes i fent sonar el gong i posen totes les comoditats possibles al teu servei. Despres de disfrutar de l'estada i els serveis l'endema a mitja tarda varem marxar cap a Antananarivo, on ens esperava el Manolo de Yamuna a l'aeroport. Encara que nomes portem dos dies aqui, gracies a la benvinguda que ens estan donant sembla que ja faci molt mes que hi som.
Per cert, com que s'acosta Nadal i serem aqui un temps hem adauirit un mobil local (+261325195728) per si algu vol contactar amb nosaltres.

Salam Mumbai

2007-12-03T02:16:00.000-08:00

Pels que seguiu la nostra ruta, ahir a migdia varem marxar de Darwin cami de Madagascar. El primer vol en va portar a l'India, a Mumbai, on varem arribar ja tard al vespre. El viatge en taxi cap a l'hostal va ser al.lucinant, un paseig per barris molt diversos veient com vibrava la ciutat, focs d'articifi, claxons de cotxes i motos, olors ben variades i tantes altres sensacions ens varen rebre agradablement. Aquest mati hem descobert una mica d'aquesta metropolis superpoblada, i fins hem trobat un bon restaurant local on degustar les especialitats a l'hora del migdia a la vegada que ho feien els treballadors del barri. Aquest vespre seguim el nostra cami cap a Antananarivo, on esperem arribar a mig mati de dimecres. D'entrada ens costara marxar tan rapidament despres del primer contacte amb l'India, pero ens consola saber que a finals de Gener tornarem per passar-hi unes quantes setmanes...

For those of you who are following our route, yesterday we left Darwin en route for Madagascar. The first leg took us as far as Mumbai where we arrived last night. The journey to the hostel by taxi was incredible; a journey through various, different districts where we saw the city alive at night, fireworks, horns, motorbikes, many smells and other sensations .... This morning we've been discovering this metropolis a little more and we even found a great local restaurant to eat where the local workers were enjoying their lunch. Tonight we continue on to Madagascar where we arrive tomorrow mid-morning. It's a shame to be leaving here so quickly but we'll be back at the end of January and we'll be able to spend a few weeks here ....

Visiting Alice

2007-11-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

Very quickly, it seems, we are reaching the end of our stay in Australia. For the past week we have been spending time with Centralians in and around Alice Springs, a 'bonza town', as described by Neville Shute. We picked up another campervan for this leg of our tour and headed south into the desert. It was so hot on that first day that when we stopped to look at Mt Conner and some salt flats, my feet burnt in the sand we walked across. We were heading for Uluru, the spiritual home for many Aboriginal people of this country. It did not disappoint. The rock rises massively out of the landscape and as we first saw it at sunset it was the most beautiful magenta colour. The next morning, we woke early and entered the park at 5 o'clock to watch the sun rise and again enjoy the changing colours of the rock. We then walked the 10 km around it's base. The literature given to you by the National Park in English asks you to refrain from climbing the rock as it is a sacred place for Aboriginal people and indeed only some of them have the right to climb. It seems a reasonable request, however it was ignored by many and from first light a line of ant-like figures started for the top. When we returned from our base walk at about 9 a.m., access to the climb had already been shut because it was over 36 degrees centigrade (or more) and those that had started up so sprightly were returning with much less spring in their step. Another good reason, possibly, not to climb the rock.

Sembla que el final de la nostra estada a Australia s'acosta molt depressa. La darrera setmana l'hem passat amb els Centralians als voltants d'Alice Springs, un "bonza town" (lloc extraordinari) segons Neville Shute.
Vam llogar una altra caravana i varem anar cap al sud pel desert. El primer dia feia tanta calor que quan varem parar per admirar el mont Conner i un desert de salt, els meus peus cremaven nomes de caminar sobre la sorra. Anavem cap a Uluru, el centre espiritual per molts Aborigenes del pais. No ens va decepcionar. La roca s'aixeca majestuosament sobre el paissatge i la primera vegada que la varem veure va ser amb la posta de sol i era d'un bonic color magenta. Pel mati varem entrar al parc a les 5 en punt per poder disfrutar de la sortida del sol i veure els colors cambiants d'Uluru. Despres varem caminar els 10 quilometres al voltant de la roca.
La informacio que et donen al Parc Nacional en angles et demana que t'abstinguis de pujar sobre la roca ja que es un lloc sagrat pels Aborigenes i de fet nomes alguns d'ells tenen "dret" a pujar-hi. Sembla una demanda prou raonable, encara que molts turistes la ignoren i aixi que va sortir el sol, una fila de gent com si fos de formigues iniciava l'ascencio. Quan varem acabar la nostra caminada, a les 9 del mati, l'acces a la pujada era tancat ja que feia mes de 36 graus i aquells que abans havien inicat la pujada ara tornaven molt cansats i molt mes a poc a poc. Una altra bona rao per no pujar a la roca.

d'America a Australia / From America to Australia

2007-11-12T02:13:00.000-08:00

Despres de passar els darrers dies d'octubre a la illa de Pascua disfrutant de vistes extraordinaries sobre el pacific, moais i meravelloses postes de sol, varem tornar a Santiago a passar-hi el darrer dia de les "Ameriques", el mateix dia que la Sego Royal passejava per alla, encara que no ens varem trobar... Tal i com estava previst varem embarcar el dimecres 30 d'octubre al vespre per anar cap a Sydney via Auckland. Despres de 12 0 13 hores de vol, aterravem a Nova Zelanda a les 4 del mati del divendres 2 de Novembre hora local (les 2 a Australia) i despres d'un parell d'hores sortiem cap a Sydney, on varem arribar vora quarts de 8 del mati. Com estava previst, haviem aconseguit evitar el dia de tots sants! Potser per castigar la nostra gosadia el cel descarregava litres i mes litres d'aigua, despres de la sequera mes llarga patida a la regio en els darrers 100 anys!

Arribar a un pais del 1er mon, on parlen angles i condueixen per l'esquerra va ser un xoc cultural, a mida que veiem mes coses mes estrany s'ens feia, semblava una europa a l'antiga amb edificis del futur... tot tan net i endrecat, tothom respectant els semafors i les limitacions de velocitat... un canvi radical respecte a les darreres 10 setmanes!
Avui hem volat a Tasmania, on comencem uns dies de "tour" en autocaravana, una novetat per a nosaltres que esperem disfrutar... esperem sobreviure en el petit espai en que viurem els propers dies, dormint en una "habitacio" encara mes petita que les que hem compartit fins ara.
De moment, aquesta tarda feia molt de sol, un canvi que ens ve molt de gust ja que a Syney, en 11 dies nomes 3 no ha diluviat.

After spending the last days of October in Easter Island enjoying its great views over the Pacific, moais and sunsets, we returned to Santiago the same day Segolene Royal was visiting the city. As planned we departed on Wednesday Oct 30th for Sydney, with a technical stop in Auckland. After landing there at 2 in the morning local time (4am in Sydney) on Nov 2nd we continued to our final destination where we wrrived around 7:30AM. As we hoped, we missed Nov 1st -All Saints Day- and maybe our penance was the rain that poured for the next few days... after the longest Australian drought of the last 100 years.

Landing in a 1st world country, where they speak English and drive on the left was a cultural shock. As we saw a little more of the land it seemed we were in Europe 30 years ago with futuristic architecture... all neat and tidy, following all the traffic rules and stopping at red lights, what a change after the last 10 weeks!

Today we have flown to Tasmania, where we are starting a tour of the island in a motorhome, a novelty we hope to enjoy... and hope to survive sharing such a small space, sleeping altogether in an even smaller room than until now. This afternoon was sunny, a change from the last days in Sydney, where only 3 out of 11 days where nice and dry.

Picture to follo due to internet limitations at the hostel / Falta la foto pero la internet de l'hostal no ho permet...

Patagonian channels 1 Canals de la Patagonia

2007-10-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Bé, ja som a Temuco. Aquest matí hem desembarcat del "Evangelistas" (fins fa poc Magallanes) a Puerto Montt després de 4 dies en mig de gairebé silenci, boira, pluja i fins mars arrissats i tot.

El viatge ha estat extraordinàri encara que de vistes poques per les condicions climàtiques. Hem vist una foca nedant, un parell de "lobos de mar" en la distància i la cua d'uns dofins que ja no varen tornar a la superficie, i també hem trobat troços de gel surant pels canals i hem vist moltes aus marines. Hem navegat pel Golf de Penas amb vents entre 6 i 7 de l'escala Beaufort i no ens hem marejat - potser gràcies a una pindola que varem prendre prudencialment una hora abans de creuar-lo- i a més de dormir i descansar hem acabat llibres i endreçat retalls pendents.

La darrera nit fins varem participar en el bingo Patagònic i l'Ella gairebé hi guanya una ampolla de wiskey... però la dona mexicana que també havia cantat "bingo" va enthusiasmar més el públic -majoritariament de mitjana edat com ella- en el ball de desempat...

Avui hem intentat viatjar primer de P. Montt a Temuco en tren, per després seguir cap a Santiago en un altre tren, malhauradament el servei fa mesos que està suspès ja que -encara no és clar- o no hi ha màquines disponibles o n'hi ha una d'averiada a mig camí. Després de fer el trajecte en bus, hem tornat a intentar agafar el tren cap a Santiago a Temuco, on ens han tornat a confirmar que el servei fa mesos que està suspès - també en aquest tram- segons el taxista que ens ha portat de l'estació a la terminal de busos, per culpa del govern socialista que tenen i el d'Espanya que va vendre a l'anterior president - Lagos- trens que no funcionen... ves a saber... O sigui que hem reservat seients en el bus-cama de la nit per arribar Santiago demà ben aviat pel matí. Desgraciadament haurem d'esperar a un altre viatge per disfrutar dels trens chilens.

We have now arrived to Temuco. This morning we disembarked the Evangelistas (previously known as Magallanes) in Puerto Montt, after 4 days in very silent seas amongst fog, rain and even choppy waters. The journey was great even if we did not seen much due to the climatic conditions. We spotted a seal, two sea lions -in the distance- and some dolphins' tails going back into the sea, as well as some ice plaques floating down the channel and many sea birds. We sailed the Penas Gulf with winds up to level 6 0r 7 from the Beaufort scale and we weren't sick - thanks to great sea sickness pills we took- and as well as catching up with sleep, we have finished books and updated our scrap books. The last night we even participated in an organised bingo and Ella almost won a bottle of whiskey, although a middle aged Mexican lady snatched it from her in the dance-off, as her dancing pleased the also middle aged majority of the audience more.

Today we attemped to travel to Santiago by train from Puerto Montt, only to find out that the trains to Temuco have not been running for several months and then again once in Temuco we learned that the night service to Santiago has also been cancelled for a variety of reasons which we could not really confirm, so we've booked seats on a night "bed-bus". We will leave Chilean trains for our next visit.

La fi del mon / The end of the world

2007-10-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Som a Ushuaia, la ciutat mes meridional de l'Argentina o la fi del mon com en diuen aqui. Ahir varem esquiar, era el darrer dia de la temporada i no en en poguerem resistir... quin plaer, neu a partir de 400 metres, encara que partir de les 2 una mica mullada, pero a 1400 metres encara era neu pols, i amb la nevadeta que va fer a prtir de la una, varem poder disfrutar dels darrers centimetres de neu pols acabada de caure! Encara que deien que es podia veure el mar, la veritat es que les muntanyes i els nuvols ens ho van impedir.. pero no va restar excitacio a l'experiencia (per cert, els accents no funcionen en aquest ordinador/teclat).

Avui hem anat fins a la Estancia Haberton i despres en zodiac pel canal Beagle (amb aigua segurament a 2° de temperatura) en Zodiac fins a l'Illa Martillo a veure pinguins Magallins i Papues... una experiencia unica i totalment privilegiada. Eren deu persones caminant -amb compte- per l'illa, entre els primers pinguins de la temporada!
No ens acabem de creure el que estem vivint! Som nomes a tres mil quilometres del pol sud!
L'arribada a Ushuaia va ser espectacular... l'avio va sobrevolar la ciutat per seguir pel Beagle per girar entre cops de vent i muntanyes nevades (el final dels Andes) i tornar cap a la ciutat per aterrar... un altre aeroport unic! Tenim tanta sort de poder ser aqui!

Avui, finalmet, hem cuinat: corder patagonic a la cassola amb cebes caramelitzades en cervesa negra fueguina, acompanyat d'uns gnochi casolans - fets pels de la "Panaderia Eureka", que son molt bons- amb salsa de tomaquet i parmesa (argenti), acompanyat d'un Pinot Noir (Saurus) dels cellers Patagonics Schroeder... l'enveja dels altres estadants de l'hostal -modestia apart.

Dema tindrem un dia extra a Ushuaia, ja que ens ha fallat el bus que haviem d'agafar fins a Punta Arenas i no podrem marxar fins dijous. Un avantatge es que marxarem a les 8 del mati enlloc de les 5:30, l'inconvenient es que arribarem a Puerto Natles passades les nou del vespre i hi haviem de ser abans per embarcar al vaixell que ens portara fins a Puerto Montt, navegant pels canals patagonics... esperem que ens hi deixin embarcar malgrat arribar tard!

We are in Ushuaia, the most southerly city in Argentina or the end of the world as they call it here. Yesterday we did some skiing, it was the last day of the season and hard to resist the temptation... what a pleasure, snow starting at 400 metres and although a little slushy, it was pure powder at 1400 meters...topped up with some snow falling from midday... meant we enjoyed recent powder! Although we were told one could ski with views of the sea, the mountains and clouds didn't allow us to enjoy the view... however this didn't spoil the experience, which we all fully enjoyed!

Today, we went to the Haberton Estancia and navigated the Beagle Channel in a zodiac (in waters that must have been no warmer than 2° centigrades) to Isla Martillo (Hammer Island) to see Magellan and Papua (Gentoo) Penguins... a totally unique and priviledged experience. There we were only ten people walking amongst the first penguins to reach the island!

We can't believe what we are experiencing! We are only 3000km from the South Pole!

Arriving in Ushuaia was something else, landing amongst snow-capped mountains (the end of the Andes) whilst turning into the Beagle Channel in quite a windy morning, was another amazing arrival! We are so lucky to be able to be here!

Finally tonight we actually cooked our dinner: Patagonian lamb with caramelized onions and local dark beer, accompanied with home made gnochi - courtesy of the local deli "Panaderia Eureka"- with tomato sauce and Argentinian parmesan, washed down with the local Pinot Noir... the envy of all the other hostel guests - even if I say so myself!

Tomorrow we are enjoying an extra day in Ushuaia as the bus we should have taken was full. The upside is our bus will leave on Thursday at 8 instead of Wednesday at 5:30 a.m. The downside is we'll have a tight connection and arrive to Puerto Natales after 9 pm, when we should have already boarded our ship ... lets hope they still let us on, as we cannot miss the sail through the Channels of Patagonia we have planned!

Issues pending / Coses pendents

2007-10-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

(Gossos abandonats pel seu passejador a BA / Dogs abandoned by their walker in BA)

Sovint pensem a fer un blog i a explicar com vivim alguns llocs o experiències que passem, però massa sovint deixem coses fora, no les acabem d'explicar, i és clar, vosaltres no en sabeu res... A voltes pensem que hauriem d'escriure sobre les rutines i les quotidianitats que vivim... quantes hores en cada vol, quantes viatjant en total, els hostals on dormim, els llits, els matalassos, les dutxes que hem trobat fins ara, els taxis, la conducció a cada ciutat, els cinemes que hem visitat, les pel.licules que hem vist i on, els restaurants on menjem, les referències de les guies de viatge que funcionen i les que no, els blogs que mai farem però que hem pensat.. en definitiva una llarga llista de coses que volem compartir i que potser no acabarem de fer-vos saber mai.

Ahir varem dinar en un restaurant de Buenos Aires que sortia a la Lonely Planet "South America on a shoestring" del carrer Lavalle que no valia res -es diu Parrilla al Carbón, al numero 663- i s'hauria d'eliminar de la guia. La darrera nit, i aquesta, les passem a l'Hostel Lime, que és més brut del que indiquen a la mateixa guia i més car, i on la música que sona fins a les 2 del matí a tot volum, i fa que intentar tenir cap conversa sigui inútil, a més no netegen les habitacions més que entre estades... Ahir varem entrar a un cafè "italià" també al carrer Lavalle, que es diu Caravela i hauria de sortir a totes les guies com a autèntic cafè per prendre els millors "capucinos" i les pastes de "dulce de leche" més bones i dolces que hem provat mai i a força bon preu, i a més són molt amables i, a l'Ella que no volia cafè, li varen fer un "submarino" -vas de llet calenta amb una xocolatina fonent-se dins- ja que no tenien cacao...

Mentre les "noies" resposaven i socialitzaven a l'hostal sorollós, nosaltres hem intentat trobar traces de l'estada del besavi Utrillo a la ciutat. Hem començat pel MNBA (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes - si no m'equivoco) i malgrat que hi havia una vaga indefinida reclamant millors condicions laborals, hem pogut veure una exquisida col.lecció d'art modern Europeu que incloia obres de Gauguin, Degas, Monet, Picasso, Anglada-Camarasa, Zuloaga, Goya, Rusiñol i Rothko entre altres...

Ja que l'arxiu era tancat, hem anat a la Biblioteca Nacional Argentina - un edifici modern que no ens agrada gens i que questiona el gust d'alguns arquitectes- i després de diversos intents hem trobat una enthusiasta persona que ens ha ajudat en els primers passos - i s'ha emocionat al saber que era besnet de l'artista- encara que després de consultar sis o set llibres - el procés per demanar-los és força lent encara que eficáç- no hem trobat res a part de referències a societats o persones contemporànees... si podem seguirem amb l'intent i fins potser viatgem a Mar del Plata i tot per veure alguna pintura a l'esgésia...

Per cert, ara les noies estan arreglant-se - són gairebé les 11 del vespre- per sortir amb un grup d'anglesos/es que han conegut i anar "clubbing" per BA... mentre nosaltres ja estem a punt per anar a dormir.
Si no ho ha fet directament l'Ella volem confirmar que va rebre força missatges i alguna trucada i algun correu electrònic felicitant-la pel seu aniversari, gracies a tots, de debò li va agradar que us en recordessiu!

Al arribar aquí plovia i avui ho ha tornat a fer... de fet hem tingut força pluja en tot el viatge, ho dic per si algú pensava que hem tingut només estiu... sembla més aviat una primavera constant - i força bonica- amb les plujes associades. A Boipeba va ploure tres dies i va fer sol els dos darrers. Ens varem banyar a l'Atlàntic i ens varem cremar una mica amb el sol... però ja tocava. Allà les platges són d'anunci i hi haurem de tornar. Tant a Boipeba com a Sao Paulo, les flors, les fruites i la vegetació són extraordinàries: hi ha de tot i força. En Charles i en Maties (i en Mark, el germà d'en Charles) ens varen tractar massa bé, varem menjar com feia temps no ho feiem, varem llegir molt i varem reposar.

De fet la visita al Brasil era la primera a un món més proper al nostre, i ens va agradar, i tant que si. Al vol cap a Buenos Aires la BA ens va donar quatre seients separats ja que l'avió anava ple - venia de Londres- i al pujar varem tenir la sorpresa de trobar-lo ple de soldats argentins que tornaven a casa després de passar 6 mesos a Xipre... evidentment vaig dir que no veia clar que la Diana, l'Ella i la Blanche passessin més de dues hores entre la tropa i amablement BA ens va oferir seients entre business i turista on poder seure junts i sense soldats... Em va semblar un xic irònic que després de "Les Malvines" l'exèrcit argentí envii les tropes a casa en un vol de British Airways...

Diumenge, aviat - a les 6- volem cap a Tierra del Fuego! En tenim força ganes i esperem veure paisatges nous i potser fins alguna balena i tot. Diuen que encara hi fa fred (entre 0 i 9 graus) i amb sort podrem fer una esquiadeta el dilluns, el darrer dia de la temporada, potser fins en unes pistes amb vistes al mar... de fet les úniques on es pot esquiar amb vistes al mar... Després hem de fer cap a Puerto Natales d'on sortirem divendres 19 al matí, en vaixell, cap a Puerto Montt, on hem d'arribar el 22 - segons com estigui la mar. Després cap a Santiago abans de visitar l'Illa de Pasqua i deixar Amèrica del Sud.
Aquest mes d'octubre està sent una mica diferent de les altres setmanes de viatge, hem visitat amics i després al anar cap al sud, hem trobat un món més semblant al nostre. A mi m'ha desorientat una mica, encara que també he agraït tornar a trobar el comfort al que estem tant acostumats.
L'experiència de l'Amèrica del Sud ha estat molt bona i interessant, però sembla que s'acosta el moment de marxar cap a altres llocs, i tots estem a punt.

We often think about writing a blog explaining how we've been living in different places, or the experiences we've had but, more often than not, we leave things out, we never explain them and of course you don't get to know about these things ... At times we've considered writing about our routines and daily activities ... how many hours each flight has lasted, how many hours in total, the hostels we've stayed in, the beds, the matresses, the showers we've found so far, the taxis, driving in each city, the cinemas we've visited, which films we've seen and where, the restuarants we've eaten in, the guide-book references we've used which have been worthwhile and those that have not, blogs that we'll never write but which we've thought of ... indeed, a long list of things we'd like to share but probably never will.

Yesterday we ate lunch in Parrilla al Carbón, C/Lavalle 663, Buenos Aires, that we had found in the Lonely Planet guide "South America on a Shoestring" and it was dreadful. It shouldn't appear in the guide. Likewise we spent the night at the Hostel Lime which was not only unclean and more expensive than the guide indicated but also played loud music until 2 in the morning and so trying to have a conversation was impossible (as was sleep) and it turns out they only clean rooms between guests not every day. However, yesterday, by chance we found an Italian café, in the same street as the restaurant, which does not appear in any guides but which serves the most delicious capucinos and the nicest cakes filled with dulce de leche we've ever tried at a reasonable price and they were very friendly. Ella didn't want coffee and so was served a "submarino" - hot mik with a bar of chocolate melting into it!

Today,whilst the girls rested and socialised at the noisy hostel, we tried to find references to great-grandfather Utrillo in the city. We started at MNBA (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes) and, despite the museum workers' strike for better conditions, managed to see a beautiful collection including works by Gauguin, Degas, Monet, Picasso, Anglada-Camarasa, Zuloaga, Goya, Rusiñol and Rothko, amongst others.

As the archive was shut, we then went to the National Library - a modern building of questionable architectural taste in need of repair - and after several enquiries found a lovely, enthusiastic woman who helped us get started - she got quite emotional when she knew I was the artist's great-grandson. The process is quite long, although efficient, and after consulting 6 or 7 books we only managed to find references to various artistic circles and societies and contemporaries of his - if we are to continue the search we probably should go to Mar del Plata and visit the church there...

By the way, the girls are, as I write this, getting dressed up - it's 11 at night - to go clubbing with a group of Brits they've met - we are, of course, on our way to bed. If she hasn't contacted you already, Ella would like to say thank you to everyone who sent messages on her birthday. She loved the fact that people remembered.

It was raining when we arrived here and it rained again today .... indeed we've had quite a bit of rain on this trip so far, I tell you this so you don't think we've had only summer ... more accurately, constant spring with showers. At Boipeba it rained for three days and was sunny for two. We bathed in the Atlantic and burnt a little in the sun ... The beaches there are beautiful and we'll have to go back. Both in Boipeba and Sao Paulo the flowers, fruit and vegetation are extraordinary: there's lots of it! Charles, Matias and Mark (Charles' brother) accommodated us in style, we ate well, read loads and rested.

Brazil was the first place that was similar to our own and we liked it a lot, of course. On our flight from Sao Paulo to BA (the city) we were given 4 separate seats because the flight was full - it had come from London. When we boarded we found it full of Argentinian soldiers returning home after 6 months in Cyprus. I obviously pointed out that I wasn't happy that Diana, Ella and Blanche spent more than two hours sitting between the troops and BA (the airline) kindly upgraded us so we could sit together without soldiers ... It seemed a little ironic that post "Las Malvines" (the Falklands) the Argentinian army sends its troops home on British Airways ...

At 6 a.m. on Sunday we fly to Tierra del Fuego. We're looking forward to it and expect to see new landscapes and maybe even a whale. It's still cold there (between 0 and 9º) and hopefully we'll be able to ski on Monday (the last day of the season) possibly even with sea views ... indeed these are the only slopes in the world with sea views. Then we head for Puerto Natales, where we leave by ship on the 19th to Puerto Montt, where we arrive on the 22nd - depending on weather conditions. After that we visit Santiago before visiting Easter Island and then we leave south America for good. This month has been a little different to the previous ones. We've visited friends and discovered, as we've headed south, a world much more similar to our own. It's been a little disorientating although very nice to experience some comfort again. Our experience in south America has been good and really interesting , although now it does feel like we're all ready for new places.

Pingo de Ouro / Drop of Gold

2007-10-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

Després de dotze mesos d'espera, l'Ella finalment va fer 18 anys aquest dimecres. Inicialment haviem de passar la nit viatjant però la TAM va canviar el nostre vol i semblava que arribariem a Salvador abans de mitja nit... finalment van ser passades les 2 del matí quan aterravem, i després de dormir una mica al pis d'en Charles varem emprendre el camí cap a Boipeba: taxi fins al port, una hora de ferri per creuar la badia, dues hores de bus fins a Valença i finalment una hora de llanxa ràpida passant entre precisos manglars fins a l'illa. Un viatge extraordinari per arribar a una illa també extraoridaria. A l'Ella l'esperava un pastís (bolo) de xocolata amb crema de coco decorat amb extraordinaries flors de colors variats, i entre elles hi havia orquidies "Pingo de Ouro". Si bé varen faltar la familia i els seus amics a la celebració, segur que recordarà el lloc i el pastís tan especials que va tenir en el seu pas a la majoria d'edat. Felicitats Ella.

After 12 months of waiting, Ella finally clebrated her 18th birthday last Wednesday. We should have spent the night travelling, but TAM changed the flight and so it seemed we´d arrive in Salvador before midnight .... however we finally landed at just after 2 in the morning, and after a short sleep at Charles´ flat we set off for Boipeba – a taxi to the port, a ferry across the bay, a two hour bus journey to Valença and finally an hour by speed-boat through the mangrove to the island. An extraordinary journey to an extraordinary island. A chocolate cake filled with fresh coconut cream and decorated with beautiful tropical flowers, including some tiny yellow orchids called "Pingo de Ouro", was awaiting her arrival. Maybe her friends and family were missing from the celebration, but there´s no doubt that Ella will remember this lovely place and the special cake given to her for her coming of age. Happy Birthday, Ella.

Llac Titi”jaja” / Lake Titi”haha”

2007-09-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

Finalment varem visitar Puno i el famós llac Titicaca… del Cusco varem agafar el tren i en 10 horetes erem a Puno. Nit en un hostal de motxillers on les noies varen parlar amb uns nois Californians que havien vist al tren, i que com que viuen a Santiago, esperem tornar a veure aviat… i sortida ben aviat cap a algunes illes del Titicaca. Haviem agafat un “tour” del llac amb estada a Amantaní amb una familia local, per poder conèixer com viuen i amb guia inclòs. En cada explicació, el guia insistia, potser per tractar-se d’un grup mixte anglo hispànic, en anomenar el llac: Titijaja – enlloc de pel seu nom comú de Titicaca… Malgrat que la visita va començar de forma molt turística, amb parada en una illa flotant dels Uros, i seguidament en una altra on fins hi havia un cibercafè i tot – malgrat que ens estaven venent el lloc com el darrer paradís i els seus primitius habitants- l’arribada i estada a Amantaní va resultar molt més interessant: tornavem a compartir casa de fang i menjar amb gent del lloc. Al vespre ens varen deixar els seus vestits de gala tradicionals i vam anar a ballar junts… un “xou” muntat pels turistes, però on pots disfrutar de la companyia dels teus hostes i ballar a més de 4 mil metres sobre el nivell del mar, cosa força cansada quan cada cançó dura almenys 10 minuts! Pel matí visita a Taquile, una altra illa amb tradicions diferents i tornada a Puno en barca. Una barca amb motor de cotxe, que malhauradament va voler deixar de funcionar al bell mig del llac, amb vents creuats i onades que semblaven gegants; sobretot quan la cara del capità va canviar a un to molt més clar i va abandonar el timó per anar a arreglar el motor… Després del que va semblar una bona estona amb corregudes amunt i avall, llançar l’ancora per no anar a la deriva, i deixar-me a mi al timó intentant evitar que les onades ens embestissin pel costat – amb el risc d’omplir-nos d’aigua i acabar nedant en un llac força fred, una altra barca va arribar i després de molts esforços varen lligar un parell de cordes per remolcar-nos! Les cordes es varen trencar i les van tornar a lligar; ja fora de la zona de vents ens varen tornar a deixar sols; més tard dues barques més varen venir i ens varen remolcar una altra estona, una a cada costat durant una altra estona; finalment una quarta barca va arribar i després de lligar-la al nostre costat, varen fer passar tot el passatge a la nova barca per segui remolcant-nos, les cordes es varen tornar a trencar i a lligar de nou… finalment varem abandonar la nostra barca amb el seu capità proa del port i varem arribar a terra… Adéu al llac Titi”ja,ja?”

We finally visited Puno and the famous Lake Titicaca. From Cuzco we travelled by train for ten hours. Once in Puno we found our backpackers hostel, where the girls chatted to some Californian blokes – who had been on the train- who incidentally live in Santiago, so we may see them again… Early morning we sailed to some of the lake’s islands. We had “contracted” one of the lake’s tours which includes a stay with islanders at Amantani, so we could see how the inhabitants lived and share mutual experiences. The tour included a guide who insisted in calling the lake Titi”haha”, perhaps because he was mixing Spanish and English, trying to satisfy the mixed group needs… Despite a very touristic and disappointing start to the tour, visiting the too commercialized for our taste Uros islands - where one could even find an internet café-, once we reached Amantani everything started to be more interesting. We were sharing a mud hut again and eating with our hosts. That evening they provided us with local gala robes and invited us to join in traditional dances in the local hall. Obviously this was organised for the tourists, but spending that evening with our hosts was a nice experience and we all enjoyed it, although dancing 10 minute long songs at more than 4000 metres leaves you exhausted! Early morning we left Amantani to go to Taquile, another island with very different traditions, and were to return to Puno after lunch. The journey was in an old boat with a car engine installed, which decided to stop working when we where in the middle of the lake, enduring strong winds and waves that seemed enormous at the time, specially when the captain left the “wheel” to try to repair the engine… After what seemed like a very long time and many journeys across the boat, having dropped the anchor to stop us reaching the rocky coast, and leaving me trying to steer the boat, so the waves didn’t make us capsize into the freezing water, another boat arrived to our rescue… after what seemed like a struggle, the two boats continued together, not without many incidents, like the ropes breaking in the process… Once we were in a safe area, we were left alone again until another two boats continued the towing job… we only reached Puno after a 4th boat did the final stretch with us and all the passengers had been transfered to that last boat… Good bye Lake Titi”ha,ha?”

Cuba finally / Finalment Cuba

2007-09-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Vaig deixar passar uns dies per escriure sobre Cuba; primer perque encara hi havia els Morell allà i també per digerir un xic l'experiència. Ara ja fa dies que hi penso i vull explicar què em va semblar l'illa i la nostra visita.

Arribar a l'Havana va ser molt agradable, el taxi ens va portar fent un passeig cap a la casa particular on ens haviem d'allotjar, ens anava explicant què era cada fàbrica i com de bé anaven les coses amb en Fidel, ja fa més de 40 anys. Al arribar a la casa ens va cobrar tres vegades el que marcava el taximetre i quan li varem preguntar com era, va fer un silenci total. No hi havia discussió!
La casa on varem estar les primeres dues nits pertanyia a una familia d'origen Gallec que eren molt adeptes al règim. Un fins havia estat part del consell d'estat en algun moment. Varem tenir una llarga xerrada de política mundial i finalment, ja ben tard, vaig aconseguir parlar de política Cubana. Tot era una meravella, i els EEUU un dimòni mentider, sengons ells la història no és exactament com l'entenem els europeus, fins a un punt un xic surrealista.

Ja fora de la ciutat, visitant parts més o menys turístiques, sovint et semblava que eres una font d'ingressos i prou... els preus anaven creixent a mida que passava l'estona, qui era amable acabava demanant més diners dels acordats o sugerits en primer lloc; de sobte les normes per a les cases particulars canviaven i ens calia agafar una habitació extra per les noies, ja que ens deien a partir dels 15 anys es consideraven com adults i no es podia compartir cambra... Ens insistien en menjar a les cases però el que ens donaven era de molt poca qualitat i sempre el mateix: quants cops es pot menjar pollastre sec en pocs dies? De sobte et trobaves recollint un autoestopista (jinetero) a 80 km de la propera ciutat i sense saber com, acavaba portant-te a casa d'una sogra que no ho era, que ni el coneixia, i et llogava una habitació que no tenia res a veure amb la descripció que t'havia fet. Quan demanaves explicacions o questionaves alguna cosa, tornava el silenci que saben fer els Cubans. Mutis, cap resposta o com a molt canvi de tema. Mai s'embrancaven en una discussió.
Ens va semblar que volent sortir de les rutes "normals" es fa molt difícil viatjar, i que quan et penses que ho has aconseguit, un altre cop, t'estant fent servir, d'una manera o altra.
Els serveis i les infraestructures son molt bàsics si no estan deixats dels tot, però els Cubans - els que parlen- ho defensen i en donen la culpa a l'embargament. Sorpren que els més abandonats, son els que més ho defensen tot... Una vegada una noia que vivia sense electricitat i havia de traslladar-se més d'una hora sense transport públic, deia que tot anava bé... encara que potser desconeixia que a l'Havana i a les altres ciutats si n'hi havia d'electricitat i de transport públic, enacara que basic.

El país és molt interessant, però decepciona que tothom hi visqui a base d'"arreglos" i que han creat una societat de classes més extrema que en molts països capitalistes.
Els militars tenen més drets que ningú i condueixen cotxes en condicions, mentre que l'altra gent ha d'esperar una guagua que els portarà amuntegats a treballar, si es que tenen feina. Els que tenere "remesa" de familiars a Florida o en altres parts del món, poden comprar en CUCs i viure com a classe mitjana, i els que no tenen a ningú han de "buscar-se la vida" com poden.
Hi ha joves que no formen families perquè no volen que els seus fills visquin això, i com que no poden marxar es deprimeixen esperant una oportunitat d'escapar; encara que saben que no és la solució i que el que realment voldrien és un canvi per quedarse a la seva illa.

De tornada a l'Havana, abans de marxar, varem acabar en una casa particular d'una familia que havia estat rica però ara no ho era; els guardava la casa un noi i varem passar una nit desperts en una casa gegant, fantasmagòrica, amb matalassos de més de 40 anys i sense roba de llit, preocupats per si venia una inspecció ja que no havien fet els papers -i per tant era un lloguer il.legal-, o per si entrava algú altre. Pel matí varem marxar, deixant una propina però no pagant per la nit, ja que no era raonable... varem buscar un altre habitació per la darrera nit i varem trobar-ne a casa una dona extraordinària, un xic gran, que havia estat part de la revolució. Vivia aturada en el temps, parlant dels camarades com si fossin els anys 60 i de com ballaven amb les botes posades. Ens va acollir molt bé, varem conversar molt i fins ens va fer algun obsèqui i tot. Aquella nit varem dormir molt bé, encara que com que l'avió marxava aviat, a les 4 del matí ja preniem un cafè de despedida.

Per cert, la darrera nit varem anar al Copelia, la famosa geladeria simbol dels resultats de la revolució, creada als anys 60, , on els cubans encara fan llargues cues per menjar els seus gelats, encara per nosaltres, com a estrangers, no n'hi havia de cues. Varem disfrutar d'una plata de gelat per persona, entre molts cubans que també en menjaven; això si, aquell dia, tocava xocolata, i tots haviem de menjar el que tocava: cinc boles de gelat de xocolata per plata, centenars de persones menjant a la vegada plates amb cinc boles de gelat de xocolata!

I’ve waited some time to write about Cuba, firstly because the Morells were still there and secondly because I needed to digest the experience. I’ve been thinking about it for days and would like to explain what I thought about the island and our visit.
Our arrival in Havana was most pleasant. A taxi took us to the private house we were staying in and as we drove there the driver pointed out every factory and told us how well things were going after 40 years of Fidel.
When we arrived at the house, he charged us three times the amount on the meter and when we asked why, our question was met with silence. The house we stayed in for the first two nights was owned by a family of Galician origin who were very supportive of the system. One of them had been part of the ruling party at one time. I had a long chat with him about world politics and eventually, by this time it was late, about Cuban politics. According to him, everything is marvellous and the USA is a lying demon and that history is not exactly as Europeans have been led to believe it to be: all a little bit surreal.

Once we’d left the city visiting more or less tourist sights we came to feel we were only walking cash machines … prices rose as we were chatting to people..... friendliness always turned into asking for more money than originally agreed… all of a sudden the rules governing private houses changed as we were told anybody over 15 was considered an adult and so the girls couldn’t share a room with us ..... they insisted on us eating in but the food was always of a very poor quality and always the same .... how often can you eat dry chicken? ....more than once, having picked up a hitch-hiker, sometimes 80km from our destination, the hitcher (jinetero) would take us to a non-existent ‘mother-in-law’s’ house where they would offer very different services to the ones he’s promised e.g. smaller/fewer rooms or no bath. When we asked for an explanation or questioned something, we were met with a silence that all Cubans seemed able to create when necessary. Mute. No reply or they changed the subject, an art they have all mastered. They never engaged in any kind of real debate.
We wanted to avoid the more touristy routes, but travelling that way proved difficult and once we thought we’d mastered it we had a feeling we were being used again in one way or another. Services and infrastructures are really basic, if not totally abandoned. However, the few Cubans who were willing to talk about this claimed things were alright or that it was the fault of the embargo. Surprisingly, those with fewer services and little state support were the most defensive of the system. One of our hitchers, a young woman who lived in the north without electricity and who had to regularly travel for more than one hour without any public transport kept claiming that everything was going well.....unknowingly, perhaps, that Havana and other cities have had electricity for a long time and also a very basic public transport system.

The country is very interesting but it is disappointing that everyone has to live by breaking the rules and that they have created a class society, at times more extreme than in some capitalist countries. The military have more rights and drive better cars than anybody else, meanwhile most people have to wait for a ‘guagua’ (bus) to get to work packed in like sardines, if they’re lucky enough to have a job. Those that receive money from their relatives in Florida or anywhere else, can purchase in CUCs and live a middle-class lifestyle, whilst those without this outside support have to struggle to survive.

There are young people who are not starting families because they do not want their children to live this life, and because they cannot leave the island they get depressed waiting for an opportunity to escape, although they are very aware that that is not the best solution for their country and what they would really like to see is a change so they could have a better life in Cuba.

Before leaving, we returned to Havana and ended up staying in what was once a rich family’s home, now empty and looked after by a young man (guard). We were awake all night in this enormous, seemingly haunted house, lying on at least 40-year-old mattresses without any bedding, worrying if an inspector – this was an illegal stay, as they hadn’t declared it – or anyone else would come in. Early the next day, we left leaving a tip but of course not paying the full rate, as it was totally unacceptable – think Miss Haversham! We looked for another room for our last night and found one in an extraordinary woman’s flat. If only we’d found her on our arrival! Getting on now, she had lived the revolution and was still living in those times. She talked about her comrades, dancing in her combat boots, chatted a lot to us and even gave us a gift. That night we slept really well, although not for long as our plane was leaving very early in the morning, so at 4 in the morning we were having a coffee with her.

By the way, on our last night in Havana, we went to Copelia, the famous ice-cream palour opened in the 60s and a symbol of the revolution’s achievements, where Cubans still queue round the block to enjoy their ice-cream, although, as foreigners, we didn’t have to queue. We enjoyed a large ice-cream ‘ensalada’ along with all the other local customers; this comprised of chocolate ice-cream with chocolate ice-cream – 5 scoops of chocolate ice-cream, the only flavour available. Very nice if you really like chocolate ...

Machu Picchu

2007-09-14T20:34:00.001-07:00

Ahir, després de tres dies caminant per les valls de Lares, varem arribar al Machu Picchu! Varem fer una completa visita guiada a les runes i després varem pujar al Picchu Jove per contemplar la ciutat Inca des de sobre... Va ser realment bonic, tant la caminata dels dies anteriors, passant per un coll a 4350 metres, com la visita i la contemplació a vista d'ocell. Demà penjaré una de les fotos, ja que ara la camera s'ha quedat sense bateria i ja és tard... Anar a les runes a les 6 del matí va valer la pena i després disfrutar d'un bany d'aigues termals a la una, abans d'agafar el tren per tornar a Cuzco també va ser una bona idea. Ara ens queden dos dies més al Cuzco abans de marxar cap al llac Titicaca...

Yestreday, after three dyas trecking the Lares Valleys, we arrivesd to Machu Picchu! We enmjoyed a comprehensive guided visit to the site and the climb to the Young Picchu, from we coulsçd see the whole site. It was a great experience. Both, the treck, which included walking above 4350 m, and the view of MP from above. Tomorrow I will add some pictures... as now the camera's batteries are dead. Catching the early bus at 5:30 AM to get to the site was worth the effort, as it was climing to the top of Aguas Calientes on the way back from the site to enjoy an open air hot bath, before catching the train back to Cuzco. Now we have another two days here before we move on. Lake Titicaca is our next stop.

Finalment, el Cuzco, finally

2007-09-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Després d'aterrar a Lima i veure en Miguel a l'aeroport, cami de Barcelona, el seu cosí Oscar ens va guiar per la ciutat. Bé , primer ens va portar a casa seva o ens va oferir un bon suc de fruites i ens va deixar dutxar, després una passejada pel centre i el primer Ceviche autèntic. Al vespre ens va deixar a la parada de busos que van a Huancayo on només va marxar quan va estar ben segur que ningú ens atacaria i que no ens equivocariem de bus. Després de passar la nit en ruta, pujant fins a més de 4800 metres, varem arribar a Huancayo, a 3200 metres. Allà en Fernando, un germà del Miguel, ens esperava i ens va portar fins a casa els seus pares a Chupaca. Un altre esmorzar esplèndid i una dormideta abans d'explorar la zona... paissatges extraordinàris de les muntanyes voltant una vall que recorda una mica la Cerdanya, però molt més amunt. La mica de mal d'alçada la varem passar amb un brandy, aconsellats pels locals. Varem fer nit a l'acollidora casa dels Maraví-Poma i un altre dia de descoberta per la regió. Segon ceviche, aquest cop de truita de riu asalmonada, molt bo, i papas huancainas amb ají, entre altres delicateses. la hospitalitat que hem rebut la descrivien les noies com de reis (o presidents de la república, pel cas). Retorn a Lima en una altre bus nocturn, mal d'orelles per la baixada de nivell i altre cop dutxa i esmorzar a casa l'Oscar...ens havien adoptat!
Vol cap a Cuzco a migdia... això si és pilotar! Passejar un airbus entre les muntanyes andines i fer-lo girar entre els cims per aterrar en la pista més curta que hem trobat mai, entre les cases, ha sigut tota una experiència.
Avui hem visitat el centre d'acollida d'infants de les germanes Echevarria, on volem col.laborar... canalla ben petita, deixada allà, buscant un xic d'amor i algú que els vulgui "engreir" (mimar) com deia la Pilar. Demà tindrem la sort de passar el dia amb una colla d'aquests infants i potser fins pàssejar pel Cuzco amb ells i elles. Serem aquí els propers quinze dies, anant un xic més a poc a poc i disfrutant de la oportunitat que tenim, la gent i el lloc, i omplint el bolg de notes i fotos...

After landing in Lima we saw Miguel at the airport, en route to Barcelona, and his cousin Oscar, who took us back to his apartment for breakfast and showers before showing a little of Lima to us, authentic Ceviche included. That evening he left us at the bus station for Huancayo, once he was sure we would not be robbed or take the wrong bus. We travelled the whole night, reaching 4800 metres in altitude, to arrive in Huancayo, at 3200m early morning and be met by Fernando, Miguel's brother. He took us to Chupaca to his parents home and after another excellent breakfast and a sleep, we started to discover the area: amazing mountain landscapes around a wide valley which reminded us of La Cerdanya, only much higher. We cured any altitude sickness with brandy, following Fernando's advice. We spent the night at the Maraví-Poma's lovely home and continued our discovery of the area the next day. Second Ceviche, this time a trout one, delicious, and Huancayan potatoes (with aji included)were some of the delicacies we tried. We enjoyed great hospitality 'like kings' -said the girls. another night bus jourmey to Lima before another breakfast and shower at Oscar's where we have been treated like family. Midday flight to Cuzco, and what a flight. This was real flying, above the Andes, turning in between the high mountains to land on the shortest runway a large Airbus can land, in the middle of housing ... a skillful pilot!
Today we have visited the orphanage where we want to collaborate the next two weeks, run by the Echevearria sisters, housing very young boys and girls only asking for a bit of love and someone to cuddle them. Tomorrow we hope to be lucky enough to spend the day with some of them and maybe walk together around Cuzco. We will stay here for the next two weeks, slowing down a little and enjoying every bit of this opportunity we have, the people and the place and filling this blog with notes and pictures, we hope.

Back from Cuba = Retorn de Cuba

2007-08-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Ja som a DF! We are back in Mexico! Aquest es un post curt per confirmar que hem sobreviscut Cuba i els cubans el Dean i volar en un Yak 42! This is a short post to confirm we have survived Cuba, the cubans, a Yak42 and hurricane Dean. We cannot write about Cuba in 5 minutes and today we started at 3 thirty AM, cold shower and 30 minutes wait for a taxi that never arrived, for a moment we thought we werent leaving Havana! Avui hem comencat el dia a les 3 i mitja del mati esperant un taxi per anar a l.aeroport que mai ha vingut, per un moment ens pensavem que no sortiriem mai de l.Havana!En cinc minuts no ho podem explicar tot... i ara estem destrossats... arribant a DF hem anat cap al museu de la frida Kalho i despres el de Diego Rivera, i ara a l'hostal a dutxar-nos (amb aigua calenta) i descansar, dema o mes tard ja us en farem cinc centims mes. We have already done a couple of museums and are in desperate need of a hot shower and a rest before we can go on. So more to come soon. More pictures and lots to say about Cuba now. Petons a tots i records dels Morell que encara son a l'illa!

Tempestes tropicals a la vista / Tropical storms coming

2007-08-14T16:33:00.001-07:00

Sembla que la quarta tempesta tropical, que encara esta molt lluny, potser arribara a la costa de Mexic la setmana vinet, quan ja haurem marxat! Fins divendres no se sabra el recorregut possible,pero sembla que podria convertir-se en l'huraca Dean sobre la costa de Venezuela o sobre Puerto Rico.. massa prop de Cuba, on serem, pel nostre gust, pero millor que no pas aqui on som en cabanes de troncs mes que precaries, amb el sostre fet de fulles...

Potser haurioem de decidir no anar a Cuba i marxar cap a DF per evitar la pluja, pero hem esperat tant per anar-hi que ens hi arriscarem, i seguirem mirant els "partes" del servei de deteccio d'huracans.

as dad says, it seems the forecast has announced possible tropical storms and maybe hurricanes in the Caribbean. not good, although an experience never the less, I think. imagine: I survived hurricane Dean T-shirts... fantastic, a vintatge item...

anyway, lets hope the weather dosn't get too rough, it would spoil mum's tan and that would be a shame!

2007-08-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

We're currently living the Bounty advert in a palm-thatched shack on the beach near Tulum, Mexico. Sand (white), sea (turquoise), sky (blue and stormy) and fantastic wildlife (both inside and outside the shack). We saw some huge lizards this morning. This truly is paradise!

However, paradise comes at a cost. It seems we're in some sort of tourist loop that we can't get off. Of course, if anywhere is worth visiting, everybody wants to visit it. This means prices here are on a par with Europe ... accommodation, restaurants, taxis .... but what you get in return is, more often than not, not worth it.

We're about to head off to the San Francisco de Asisi Shopping Mall (I thought he was the patron saint of animals .... dead, frozen ones stuffed in the freezer section, it seems) to stock up for tonight's supper and tomorrow's breakfast.

Com diu la Diana això és el paradís però amb preus de supermercat de la costa Brava... Un petit xoc després de viatjar per Guatemala, El Salvador i el sud de Mèxic, on les coses tenen uns altres preus. Aquí el servei és el mateix però es paga per estar en zona turística al sud de Cancún...
El mar és extraordinari i ja hem fet més d'un bany al Mar del Carib! Fins a les sis del matí i tot! Fora la cabana hem vist un parell de llargandaixos molt grossos, un pelicà ens sobrevola constantment i els crancs s'amaguen al nostre pas... Avui hem fet un "brunch" al poble... jo he pres sopa de gambes... boníssima!

Les runes de la cultura Maia ens han sorprès i impressionat (Tikal, Palenque i ara a Tulum) i de moment l'Ella i la BLanche ho han tolerat!
L'aigua freda de les dutxes ja ni es nota, i fins un s'oblida d'obrir l'aixeta de la calenta quan n'hi ha i tot... fa molta calor i humitat i per tant un xic d'aigua sempre va bé.

Flores - leaving Guatemala tomorrow

2007-08-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

Gracies a en Lluis A. de BCN que va parlar be d'aquest lloc tant agradable... avui es el tercer dia que som aqui... hem visitat els monuments de Tikal, hem anat en barca pel llac i hem descansat molt i fins hem fet tota la bugada! Pujar a un dels temples de Tikal de matinada quan encara era negra nit i sentir despertar la jungla en silenci va ser impressionant. L'hostal de motxillers on som es ple de gent oberta i in teressant i l'Ella i la Blanche no paren... aixo ens ha donat a tots un xic d'espai, que sempre va be. Les dutxes fredes no semblen preocupar ningu i son forca mes refrescants que el llac, on l'aigua semblava una banyera. La gent es molt agradable i et fan sentir molt ben acollit... si ens haguessim de quedar a Guate, potser triariem Flores!
Dema marxem cap a Mexico (a les 5 del mati), cap a San Cristobal de las Casas, on esperem passar uns dies coneixent gent i zona abans d'anar cap a la platja a Tulum... i d'alla cap a l'Havana el dijous 16, on ens esperen els Morell i un cigar!
Thanks to LLuis A. from BCN who spoke so highly of this lovely place ... this is our third day here.... we've visited the Tikal Mayan ruins, been across the lake by boat (how else?) and relaxed ... we've even got laundry done! Climbing Temple V at Tikal in darkness and waiting for daylight whilst listening to the jungle wake up was extraordinary!
The backpackers hostel we're staying in is full of open, interesting people and Ella and Blanche haven't stopped ... and we've all enjoyed a bit of space. The cold showers are refreshing in this heat, much more so than the lake which was like swimming in a bath! The people are really friendly here and make you feel welcome ... if we had to stay in Guate this would be the place ...
Tomorrow we're off to Mexico(at 5am) to San Cristobal de las Casas where we'll spend a few days before heading off to Palenque, Tulum and the beach and then to Havana on the 16th where we meet the Morells to have a cigar!

Frijoles and tortillas

2007-08-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

We are back in San Salvador at Lluis and Irma's (from SABES, http://www.aguasabes.org/index.html, check them out!). Today we have had a great day, visiting the mountains near Perquin and swimming in a pool in a river on the Honduras border - we even got a stamp at the immigration office at the customs house! The water was cold but worth the effort. To get there we went in two cars, the six of us plus Valentin, a French youth the girls chatted to ( or up...) at the Posada, plus two "guards" with large machetes, ex combat people from the ERP, that fought the 1980-1992 war! It helped making all of us feel safe and it seems the normal thing to do here. Yesterday we attended several town's fair functions, including a japanese display (?*!) and a charity supper. We also visited El Mozote, a town where early Dec 1981 the government army massacred 1000 civilians including at least 460 young children... One of the few that escaped it -as she was away visiting relatives- guided us and told us the story... she lost 6 brothers and sisters and 17 nephews and nieces that day! A very educative and specially emotional visit. This was not the only atrocity the army commited during the war, and now, it seems the country is being cheated of real democracy...
The last four days have been very emotional -robbery included- and reminded me of all the things we thought we knew when demonstrating in spain in support to various "revolutions" and guerrillas in south america in the late 70s and early 80s... We could not even imagine how tough it really was for all the locals and the things they had to do - and still have to a great extend- to survive and feed their families.
Tomorow we return to Guatemala and head off to Flores, for a few days rest, a visit to Tikkal and lots of clothes washing.

Tornem a ser a San Salvador, a casa d'en Lluis i la Irma(de SABES, http://www.aguasabes.org/index.html, mireu-ho!). Avui hem passat un altre gran dia, visitant les muntanyes prop de Perquin i banyant-nos en un riuet prop de la frontera amb Honduras -fins ens han segellat els passaports a la duana! L'aigua era molt freda pero ha valgut la pena. Per arribar-hi hem fet un comboi amb dos cotxes per portar-nos a nosaltres sis i a en Valenti, un noi frances que han conegut les noies a la , i dos guardes armats amb "matxets", ex combatents del ERP, que varen participar en la guerra del 80 al 92! Sembla que aqui aixo es forca normal... Ahir vbarem anar a la fira al poble i varem disfrutar de les presentacions japoneses (?*!) i un sopar en suport dels nens i nenes. Tambe varem visitar EL Mozote, un poble on la'exercit del govern va massacrar mes de 1000 persones els primers dies de desembre del 81, entre les que hi havia almenys 460 infants. Una noia del poble, que va escapar la massacre ja que era visitant uns parents a prop, - a ella li varen matar 6 germans i germanes i 17 nebots i nebodes- ens ha guiat pel poble i explicat com va anar. Ha sigut un dia molt instructiu i emotiu! Aquesta no va ser la unica atrocitat que va cometre l'exercit durant la guerra, i ara, sembla que els han mig enganyat fent veure que tenen un estat democratic...
Els darres 4 dies han estat molt emotius - robatori inclos- i m'han fet pensar en tot el que pensavem que sabiem a finals dels 70 i durant els 80 quan ens manifestaven recolzant les diverses revoltes i guerrilles a sud america... No podiem ni imaginar el que estaven passant la gent d'alguns d'aquests paisos i el que havien de fer per sobreviure i mantenir les seves families.
Dema retornem a Guatemala per anar a Flores, on a mes de visitar Tikkal, esperem reposar un xic i fer molta bugada!

several kilos lighter / ja hem perdut pes

2007-08-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Abans d'ahir varem arribar a el salvador, ahir varem viatjar pel pais veient parts molt interessants, pero tambe molt pobres. En LLuis, d'Agua Sabes, ens va portar a veure l feina que estan fent portant aigua apoblets i establint les minimes mesures de salubrityat... i portant salut a força gent... despres varem anar cap a Perquin, on estan de festa... passant força aventures ja que el pick up es va espatllar i ens varem quedar sense gasoil... a l'hora de mes calor. Despres de dormir en un hostal molt simpatic pero molt basic, aquest mati la Diana i en Manel hem anat a fer un passeig encantador, dues hores pel bosc, a mil metres d'alçada, veient paisatges i animalons... e al tornar uns joves que ens ensenyaven una pistola i un matchete ens han alleujerat dels dolars que portavem, el rellotge, la camera i les ulleres de sol... per sort quan ens han demanat les botes han vist que començava a fer massa estona que ens estaven assaltant i han fugit... aixo si, despres de tornar-os la tarja de la camera i la documentacio... un ensurt! ara hem fet la denuncia a la policia nacional salvadoreña i esperem disfrutar de les festes del poble, sense haver de preocupar-nos mes per la camera ni les ulleres de sol....

Two days ago we arrived in El Salvador, where Lluis, from Agua Sabes, has shown us around the country and some of the projects they are working on bringing water to small villages, thus making their lives better and much healthier. Yesterday evening we finally arrived in Perquin, after breaking down and running out of petrol first.... This is a small moutain village at 1000m where they are celebrating the local fiestas... this morning Diana and Manel went out for a walk into the forest to enjoy butterflies and other animals as well as the amazing views. On the return journey we were held up by two youths, one with a gun and the other wielding a machete. They relieved us of our dollars - about 130- and Diana's camera and watch and Manel's sunglasses. We have now recovered from the ordeal and after making a police report with a laughing policeman, who was very concerned, we hope to enjoy the town's fiestas and even dance a little in the square...

Making Garcia smile

2007-07-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

First encounters with central America. Our arrival yesterday in Guatemala city at night, all four of us exhausted from the long journey from London. The ladies from the hostel came to pick us up at the airport and one of them took us on a kind of tour round the city. This morning, after a fab breakfast of scrambled eggs with tomato and onion, "frijoles" (mushed up beans), and fried bannanas, we went to discover some of the city, visiting the local market, an incredible place full of new kinds of food we had never seen. Everybody lovely and willing to help. Not one single tourist. Blanche and I felt like we were constantly being watched by the locals, either because we're outsiders or because of our large, ugly boots (we are now wearing flip-flops and feel much more at home).

After wandering round Guatemala, having stopped for a drink in a bag, something very original, we got a ride to Antigua, the "Sitges" of Guatemala (packed with tourists...but not by the sea). We were also given a tour around Antigua in her old pick-up - all the streets are cobbled. The hotel we're staying at is an old Lutheran convent. Very tranquil with the rooms going off a central courtyard. Had lunch in a small cheap bar, delicious.

The title of this entry is dedicated to the very unsmiling immigration officer who grudgingly, it seemed, let us into Miami, only smirking slightly when making a joke about my name, Ella.

Primera trobada amb América central. La nostra arribada ahir a Guatemala de nit, tots quatre cansadissims del llarg viatge des de Londres. Les dones de l'hostal ens van venir a buscar i una d'elles ens va portar en una mena de tour per la ciutat. Aquest matí, després d'un increïble esmorzar de ous estrellats amb toaquet i ceba, frijoles (mongetes aixefades), i platan fregit, hem anat a descobrir una mica la ciutat, visitant el mercat central, un lloc fascinant ple de menjars i coses que no haviem vist mai. Tothom encantador i disposat a ajudar. Ni un turista. La Blanche i jo ens sentiem observades pels locals, o perqué som de fora o per les nostres botes horribles (ara que portem xancletes ens sentim molt més a gust).

Després de la passejada per Guatemala, havent parat per pendre una beguda dins d'una bossa, algo molt original, ens han porat a Antigua, el "Sitges" de Guatemala, absolutament ple de turistes. També ens han fet un tour d'aquesta ciutat en el seu pick-up. L'hotel on ens quedem és un antic convent luterá. Molt tranquil amb les habitacions que surten d'un pati interior. Hem dinat a un bar barat i petit. Deliciós.

(perdoneu els accents del revés. no hi ha d'oberts)

el títol d'aquesta entrada la dedico al poc somrient oficial de immigració que amb poques ganes, semblava, ens va deixar entrar a Miami, només mostrant una mica d'alegria i simpatia al moment de fer una broma am el meu nom, Ella.

ella xxxxxx

Day One: the adventure begins / Primer Dia: comença l'aventura

2007-07-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

Finally made it to Pimlico, despite London Undeground's best efforts to stop us... This helped us realize we are carrying far too much. We have now two days to socialise with friends and regain the use of our shoulders... We must leave about 25 kg behind with someone (kind) before we leave for Guatemala.

The girls have already disappeared off into London's nightlife with Dagmar and Laura... as they have not seen each other for at least 3 days!

For the first time in weeks we feel we can stop without leaving anything urgent to be done, so we started this blog.

Finalment hem arribat a Pimlico, malgrat els esforços del metro de Londres per impedir-ho. Això però, ens ha fet veure que portem massa equipatge. Ara tenim dos dies per veure amics i recuperar l'ús de les espatlles... Hem de deixar almenys 25 kg amb algún amic (que ens estimi) abans de marxar cap a Guatemala.

Les nenes ja han desaparegut en la vida nocturna de Londres, amb la Laura i la Dagmar, ja que feia almenys 3 dies que no es veien!

Per primer cop en setmanes ens sembla que podem relaxar-nos sense deixar res urgent per fer, així que hem començat aquest blog.