Author: thelasthurrahsite

Oh dear! Just a bit of a shock waking up to the US election news this morning. What does this say about the thoughts of so many Americans? Scary or what? So, taking positive action I have calculated that Adelaide in Oz is the furthest city away from Washington. So I am thinking of popping in there later in my trip and perhaps hiding for the next 4 years! But, in the meantime, every day life goes on.

Before I started exploring today, for safety, I put what valuables I have in the room safe. This took a while, though, as I searched for a red bottom!

I finally found one sticking out at the side of the door! So then it was time to go.

There has clearly been some attempt at modernising parts of Guayaquil and money has been spent on building a Malecon (embankment ) along the Guavas river. Whereas the Malecon in Havana is just a wide pavement, the one here is a pleasant, quite tranquil walkway full of little cafes, statues, children’s rides, a couple of restaurants plus a big sign in case you have forgotten where you are!

As you will see, the snow has come early in Guayaquil (not bad in a humid 33c!) so it’s time to build  the Christmas trees.

Further along they were preparing for some Boss promotion (the attention to Health & Safety should catch Steve Ashurst & Co’s attention!).

At the end of the Malecon  is Las Penas described as the ‘artists’ quarter’). But, of course, it had to built on the only hill for miles around, didn’t it!

So, discretion being the better part of valour so to speak (in other words it was hot, I was thirsty and knackered) I decided to leave this trek until tomorrow and head back to my base, stopping briefly to admire this beautiful sailing ship

which, I am told, takes tourists up and down the river. As said river is quite smelly, I’m not sure I will be tempted!

One or two of my (male) friends have criticised my blog for not including photos of the local lovelies. Sorry guys but I have been struggling to find many visions of loveliness

if you see what I mean!

Nearing my hotel I had to pass through the Iguana park I visited yesterday. So, just to make sure I hadn’t dreamt what I saw, I looked again and discovered it was feeding time.

One big Iggy, though, thought I was more interesting than the food on offer

but I told him I didn’t taste so good so he shuffled off.

My iPhone health thingy tells me that, today, I walked close to 9km and have taken 14,029 steps. Not bad for an Oldie in this temperature and humidity!

It must be nearly beer o’clock.

Phileas

 

I was most impressed with Panama – a country of just 4 million people, 25% of whom live in Panama City. I think most people have the impression (as probably I did) that Panama is all about the Canal, money laundering and hats but precious little else. Not true. Although I didn’t venture out of the city, people I talked to and things I read indicate there is beautiful countryside with great resorts, lush rain forests, great beaches, fishing, scuba diving, whale watching and the rest. As to Panama City, it’s vibrant, modern and sophisticated; full of good hotels, good shops, good bars and (I’m told!) a great night life. The only problem is the weather! The rainy season lasts from around April to the end of December. It doesn’t rain every day during this period. But when it does? Oh Boy! It rains. Irrespective of this, I would highly recommend Panama as a holiday destination worth considering. And for an investment of $300k (which could be buying property) you can become a Panamanian citizen with all the attendant tax advantages. ! I really must talk to my accountant about this!

So, onwards to Guayaquil where it is sunny. Yippee! It’s Ecuador’s largest city, founded in 1538,  with a population almost the same size as the whole of Panama! It’s clear even in the short time I’ve been here that this place is much less developed than Panama. No designer shops here, then; just a hotch potch of small retail outlets with less than attractive window displays, this one only selling haberdashery stuff.

And I even saw a mini Halfords!

Right at the back of my hotel is Guayaquil’s cathedral

which is not a particularly old building but is impressive enough with some beautiful stained glass windows.

Opposite the main entrance to this Cathedral is a small square complete with the inevitable statue of Simon Bolivar. In itself, it’s not such a spectacular place until you look down and see, in amongst all the people going about their daily business, Iguanas! Loads of them.Some of them digging,some climbing

and some just lazing about.

It’s extraordinary when you consider that just a few feet away, there is a cacophony of blaring horns, screeching brakes and the general hubbub of city life.

Tomorrow I will start sightseeing in earnest. In the meantime I’m off to sample the local ale.

Until we know the result

Philes.

 

 

 

 

Despite the international flavour of this city, English is not widely spoken. So I’m having to work hard at improving my Spanish. It must be improving because when I first saw these posters plastered all over the city,  I thought they were conveying the sort of message usually found in London phone boxes!

Silly me! Of course it means: ‘Master English in 9 months’.

Taxis here are pretty cheap but…… the drivers are completely insane. Not only have they no idea where they are going but also they drive like demons to (not) get there! Last night, in my best Spanish, I gave a driver both the name and full address of my hotel. Nodding in the affirmative, said driver put his foot down and we shot off on a journey which should have taken no more than 5-7 minutes (or 3 – 4 at the speed we were going). After whizzing along for a while, he slowed down and started shaking his head. He clearly had no clue as to our destination so I gave him a hotel card and pointed to the name and address. The same thing happened again. Off we sped, then slowed again but this time he took the initiative and asked a policeman – who seemed to have no idea either! After the constabulary had consulted with a petrol station attendant, much discussion took place between the three of them culminating in a curt nod of the head from my driver who was, by this time, very angry (not helped by the fact I had negotiated a fixed price fare). This time he really went for it. We overtook; we undertook; we jumped red lights; we blared our horn  and we screeched our brakes but we finally got there. At least it was only my nerves that were wrecked and not the car!

More threatening skies this morning, of course but, as it was my last day here, my visit to the Canal was essential. It was, after all, one of my bucket list priorities. Some may know that the canal building was first started by a titled Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps, way back in the late 19th century. He was the same man who built the Suez canal so thought he could apply the same construction principles in Panama. Wrong! The Suez canal was carved out of sand. The Panama canal had to be carved out of rock thus taking far longer than anticipated even though there were app 19,000 workers on the job, most of whom came from the West Indies.

Sadly, thousands of these guys died, mostly from  Malaria and Yellow Fever.  In it’s usual slow and ponderous way, it took the UK government about 100 years to recognise the contribution these men from the colonies made. So they erected a plaque!

With all these problems, the money ran out at the turn of the century. So, sad old Ferdinand had to give up the project and died shortly afterwards.

The Americans took over and the canal was finally opened  in 1914. It has been running more or less 24/7 since then with, to date, more than 1 million vessels passing through its 50 mile length , each one taking about 8-10 hours to complete the ‘crossing’. This includes  the time taken in the 3 locks.

Once in a lock, these large vessels are pulled along by 4 Thomas the Tank Engine type things which then wait while the water is drained and the ship has dropped to the bottom of the lock (if you can see with all the rain and mist).

The Thomas’ then pull the ship into the next lock where the whole process starts again

until, finally,  it (or more correctly, I suppose: ‘she’) exits and is on it’s /her way (but not into the sunset!)The Panama Canal would be the most extraordinary piece of engineering if it had only been built recently. But considering it is more than 100 years old and still going very strong, this construction achievement is quite staggering and certainly something that the builders of the tourists’ observation area should take note of as they can’t even get the rain water to drain away properly!

The obvious wealth that’s evident in this country owes a lot to those who built this marvel, many of whom gave their lives doing so.

So, that’s Panama almost done and another tick in the box. It’s Ecuador tomorrow from where, interestingly, Panama hats originated. Curiouser and curiouser!

Can I wake up when it’s all over, please?

Richard/Phileas

P.S. The Trump Hotel here is running at less than 20% occupancy. I can’t think why!

 

 

As it’s a Sunday, I thought a bit of religious sightseeing would be in order. Most of the historically important churches are in the old part of Panama City so back there I went.

To reduce the chance of pirate Henry Morgan nicking the gold on this altar piece,

the resident priest covered it with tar. This didn’t fool the Welshman who was, however, so impressed with this attempt at subterfuge that he not only left the artefact alone but also gave a donation to the church!

Being a seriously Catholic country, images of Christ and the Virgin Mary abound. There was one church I visited where some of the images were more reminiscent of a toy shop than a church

and another where the building had all but collapsed which was being used as a background to a modelling photo shoot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was all very interesting but hunger got the better of me so I snacked in the Red Lion pub in Independence Square

where a pretty little Panamanian girl looked after me.

Suitably fed and watered, I headed for the Metropolitan Park which is not a park as we would know it but a tropical rain forest somewhat unbelieveably within  Panama City itself.

It was stickily hot and humid but ever onwards and upwards I strode

fully expecting to see many of the 320+ animals and birds who inhabit this place. I saw one butterfly and two human animals taking a rest

but precious little else other than hordes of leaf cutter ants.

These little creatures (which you can hardly see under their heavy loads) carry leaves back to their nest and use them for a sort of compost fertiliser on which grows a fungus that they  eat. The weight they carry is equivalent to a human with a 270kg load. Impressive, although this little chap was really struggling!

Despite the sunshine

the ever increasing thunder rumblings told me it was time to head back to my residence. I got there just in time

and just in time to watch Liverpool’s thumping of Watford on Match of the Day, courtesy of Dodgyvision!

Tomorrow I visit the canal; the real reason I came here.

Siempre hacia adelante y hacia arriba.

Richard (aka Phileas)

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was waiting at Roatan airport yesterday I fell into conversation with a Talkative Texan. Happily, the conversation did not include any discussion about the upcoming election as his enthusiastic talk about how many guns he had left me in no doubt about who he would be voting for. However, our chat did include the ‘where are you heading?’ bit. When I said I was going to Panama City he went into raptures about what a great place it is; great party city, great marina, great restaurants and so on. In particular he mentioned Hunt’s Oyster Bar, his description of which sounded so mouth watering that I made a note of the name. His monologue, singing the praises of this city, lasted a good five minutes.So one of the first things I did when I arrived here (a place where there is brilliant Internet for a change) was to Google ‘Hunt’s Oyster Bar’ only to find that it is in  Panama City, Florida. Americans really need to get out more!

The real Panama City is a bit of a ‘Wow!’ of a place.

The centre is like Manhattan without the noise (I won’t say ‘without the Americans’ because there are a number of them here) or Hong Kong but with a lot more space. I am staying in the financial district where I am told there are 54 different banks and where some of the buildings are stunning.

It’s  Saturday and yesterday was a public holiday (Flag Day) celebrating independence

 although I’m not sure from whom – the Spanish in 1821 or the Colombians in 1903 and it’s so quiet. (Incidentally, when I typed ‘celebrating independence’, predictive text first came up with ‘celebrating indolence’ which probably refers more to Roatan than here!).

For such an apparently vibrant city, there is no hustle and bustle, few cars and not so many people although, of course, it may be different on a working day.

Most of the people I did see, however, were clearly enjoying themselves.

Very close to the high rise blocks is where the fishing boats unload their catches

which are then sold in the market. Both public and ‘trade’ can buy a vast range of pescados here.

The old part of Panama City is probably the biggest tourist attraction in this area although it’s definitely not teeming with either tourists or tacky gift shops. There are some, of course,

selling locally made handicrafts and, bizarrely, Panamanian car number plates !  And, inevitably, some selling  …

Most of the tourists I saw seemed  more interested in looking at the colonial architecture

some of which has been beautifully restored. (NB. Flags everywhere). This little oasis in an otherwise very modern city is by no means as powerfully stunning as Old Havana but there are some lovely renovated buildings here

juxtaposed with a number that are still waiting for some TLC unlike these local moggies who were not!

This is a fine place and I haven’t even got to the canal, yet! So, more exploring tomorrow.

Hasta entonces

Richard

My ‘hut’ in Roatan has an alarm system which is erratic to say the least. Following instructions that I should always activate said alarm when I was out, I did so on leaving to eat last night. On returning, I pressed the deactivate button but nothing happened. So I presumed that, maybe, I had forgotten to set the alarm on leaving earlier. Mistake! As soon as I opened the door, a deafening noise erupted and, some 10 minutes later, 2 heavily armed security guards arrived by which time the alarm was silent. After assuring these 2 fierce looking gentlemen that all was well I went to bed. On waking this morning, as soon as I walked out of my bedroom the alarm started again and shrieked for about ten minutes when two more macho looking security guys arrived waving guns. They seemed a little unconvinced about what had happened.

Roatan airport is, as you might expect on a small island, not on the grand scale. The business of leaving the country is, however, taken very seriously. Countless forms to be filled in and photos taken plus fingerprinting! Four fingers of one hand.  Then four fingers of the other. Then, separately, 2 thumbs. What happens to all this collected information is unclear although I suspect it isn’t much.  Not surprisingly, even such a tiny airport as this is a major employer in Roatan!

Anyway, off we flew to the mainland once again in a sweet little plane

but before we departed I had to change seats to help balance the plane. I can’t understand why!

A lasting memory of Roatan (apart from the weather)? Well, I’m thinking of suing Boots the Chemist. Their anti mozzie spray which works so well in Spain doesn’t seem to be so effective outside Europe! Despite ladling the stuff on, my Roatan leaving present is 17 very itchy mosquito bites!

So, now I’m in Panama City; another destination on my bucket list. And, wow! What a difference from the laid back, slow and peaceful pace of Roatan.

All I know so far is that it was founded way back in 1519 although the original place was burnt down by a naughty Welsh pirate, Henry Morgan. I have also seen not only in the airport but also on the way from it that the place is full of designer brand shops so it could be expensive here. We shall see!

Until the hat fits

Richard

After an excellent Creole Chicken dinner, I was happy that the water was running again when  I returned to my ‘hut’ BUT the electricity wasn’t. So, thanks to the iPhone torch  I stumbled and fumbled my way to bed. Happily, in the morning, the electricity was on again but the Internet wasn’t. Never mind; the sun was out. It was a gorgeous day. The first in 3 weeks of travelling! Sod’s law though that it was my last day on this island. What a transformation! Thunder and lightning (very, very frightening), leaden skies, torrential rain, soggy everything, had been instantly replaced by blue skies, aquamarine seas, smiling people  Perfect!

By 10.00 am, my rental car went back. So I had no transport and no internet. Shame! Nothing for it but swimming, reading and sunbathing , interrupted only by the occasional bit of bird watching.

And to cap it all, a fantastic sunset.

And then the Internet woke up!

Another travelling day tomorrow.

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

Living, as we do, in one of the more developed countries of the world we take so much for granted. We just assume there will be endless water, uninterrupted gas, oil and electricity, reliable and consistent Internet, reasonable quality roads and so on. And I can get a bit arsy when things go wrong. So, at first, when the electricity failed here I got cross. Then when there was no water for a while I became even grumpier. But, after a few days I got used to these small inconveniences. And, in the greater scheme of things, they are small. So I spent most of this morning calmly enduring an Internet connection that kept failing just as I was about to send some desperately important (?) messages and had to give up on a couple of Skype calls – one of which was to my daughter. Now when it’s approaching shower time prior to going out to eat, the water’s off again. Ah well! It doesn’t seem to phase the locals so I continue to learn from them.

i’m sure this Robinson Crusoe type lifestyle would not suit me forever but, for a while, it’s quite ‘cleansing’ as it puts life into the sort of perspective that our busy, terribly important and sophisticated lives so often fails to do. Actually, where I am staying is hardly basic ( if you can see it among the trees!)

but is in a very unspoilt and quiet part of this island. The road ( track) outside just merges into the beach so the vehicles just keep on going!

About 5 miles from my place is the town of West Emd which is THE happening place on the island – albeit at Roatan speed. It’s a sweet little community

and if you are into diving then this place must be heaven. There are dive shops and dive boats everywhere

plus even a few shops tempting visitors to spend their money in other ways

and with pride in the local content of what’s on offer.

There are a few half way decent restaurant/bars here also. So, after my shower, I will be off. Ah, but there’s no water. So?

Until the taps flow again

 

Richard

My anti rain dance was a complete failure. In fact I must have really upset the gods last night as they retaliated with a vengeance. Hour after hour of torrential rain cascaded from the sky, smashing onto the roof (it’s metal so it was noisy, believe me). And just when it was getting light

this happened

followed instantaneously by the biggest clap of thunder I’ve ever heard in my life. Scary or what?

The deluge finally  stopped at around 7.00 am leaving a trail of devastation. Branches and trees down, overflowing gullies, roads turned to rivers, everywhere sodden. The locals, though, seem to be going about their business as usual (albeit wearing wellies). This must be a regular occurrence, then. Wow!

Taking a positive view that, from now on until I leave, it’s going to be swimming and sunbathing weather (??), off I went again. This time to explore the capital of Roatan island.

Coxen Hole is aptly named. . John Coxen was a pirate who made this place his HQ along with 5,000 of me hearties. The population of Coxen Hole today is still around 5,000 but I saw no pieces of eight although I did see a parrot.  The ‘Hole’ bit? Well…. To be fair, Roatan is a very poor part of Honduras

There is no industry to speak of. Mass tourism is still in its infancy and the few cruise ships that do come here stop for only a few hours. So most of the locals just have to eke out a living as best they can. But, as this country is a mixture of white Spanish, dark Spanish and descendents of slaves, unlike other parts of the Caribbean, I have seen no apparent resentment towards foreigners. In fact, quite the opposite. Maybe, religion helps these people because, for sure, there are churches everywhere.

French Harbour is the next ‘town’ east of Coxen Hole. It’s a small place so I was surprised when I passedthis large and relatively modern church

But was even more surprised when I came across two more next to each other just a few hundred meters down the road.

In all I counted 5 churches in this small town-let of probably 2-3000 people and there were probably more!

Finally, the sun made a brief appearance so I took the opportunity to  catch up on some reading by the sea. Actually, my totally disturbed night caught up with me and I was very soon lulled by the gentle lapping of the waves and fell asleep for a while.

Hoping the sun will shine tomorrow

Richard

 

It’s amazing what you can get used to. Last night’s thunder and lightening, more rocks being hurled at the roof and this morning’s torrential wind and rain don’t seem to bother me so much now. In a funny way, the soggy days encourage you to do things although I wouldn’t mind a day in the sun once in a while. In the meantime, I caught up with a bit of domesticity this morning and did some washing using a local detergent.

I chose this brand solely because of the cute picture of the baby polar bear, you understand.

Sitting in my ‘hut’ in the gloom, staring at the leaden skies was not part of my plan. So, off I went. In places, the roads were a little challenging

and some of the signs were quite tempting.

Clearly, scant attention is paid to the drink and drive laws here – if there are any!

According to a couple of reports on Trip Advisor, West End Bay is ‘the most beautiful beach in the world’

although it was difficult to tell on such a gloomy Even the solitary trio of sunbathers (sorry; cloud bathers) gave up in the end.

As the encircling gloom was intensifying (it was, after all, 2.30pm) I paddled my way back to my abode not in the least bit tempted to do a bit of zip wiring on the way

although I could so easily have taken a free ride as there were no staff in evidence and the place was open to all and sundry! One more for Health & Safety, I think.

Thunder and lightening (very, very frightening) Re back with a vengeance so I will sign off as I suspect the Internet will go down at any moment.

I’m to an anti-rain dance

Richard