When traveling between countries it begins to take on a sameness. Fill out the declaration form, pay a fee, answer a few questions, stand in line and wait. When going by bus, the waiting is the longest, watching as all the passports and documents are processed wondering if you managed to correctly fill out the form in its miniscule printing, and occasional vague wording.
These steps could be made easier I assume, but it is now a familiar thing to do, and if they made the whole process easier those who came beore would complain about how the new travelers have it so much easier. ;)
But it is that last line that really resonates with me. How much easier.
In the late 1800's an early 1900's travel had a definite glamour. There was no real fast way, the easy way was by ship and if your destination was not near an ocean, the infrastructure was not in place for easy transit.
People who did ravel did so for very strong reasons. Immigrating to a new country, exploring to find wealth, escape from oppression or prosecution. All very valid reasons to travel, but those who traveled for the sake of new horizons were few and far between. The sheer relative cost, the length of time away, plus the void you were stepping off into. We truly are in the information age. I can find out what the local language is, currency and exchange, political stability, disease, good maps, and the list goes on and on at the click of a mouse button.
I have had a few people say that they could not leap into a different culture and travel at whim like I am, but that is nothing to me when stacked up with how other, earlier travelers went about their trips. Travelogues, diaries and such give us a picture of the places but also the perspectives of the person writing. Your own cultural background, what you take for granted so colours how you write about the similarities and differences of those around you. And all of those early writings are awash in the prejudices and bias of the writer. I am blind to my own, for the most part, but at least I know that people from other places and times will have different views. I think I need to read a few of the travel tales to really be able to put things into place. I have not read any fully, just a few excerpts here and there, so I think that is going to be added to my reading list very soon.
Here in Central America I look at the steep jungle covered hills, and even in the dry season the frequent streams and rivers and think about how much different and slower the travel would be. And even that only scratches the surface of the problems. Money and the exchange of currencies are so much easier as well as access to international transfer of funds. Whip out your bank card and get local cash, verses travelng with either a very large amount of valuables and cash or letters of credit which would take months if not years to set up.
Taking companions along with, strong of will to help you out of any difficulties, and a few sober ones to keep all from starting trouble. The people you meet along the way real are the meat and bones of your experience and I always imagine that in the times when getting from place to place was so much harder that the 'local flavour' was very much more felt and experience than now.
Things we take for granted as travelers like inns, hotels and hostels etc. are not easy to find and pulling over to the side if you got tired was not an option. Chances were if you liked your creature comforts they would be few and far between in most of Central America and packing a tent etc would be de riguer. After a few weeks of backpacking with tent etc as a youth I can well remember the welcome hot shower found in civilization after the trek was over. How then for the traveler, struggling through jungle and making their way on rough road for weeks on end to come upon a place to rest and relax, put up your weary bones, wash the clothes have a bath and not have to deal with taking down the camp yet again.
By putting myself in that place, stretching my mind to fill in the weariness and draining effort, but also seeing new vistas and animals and plants I begin to know the travelers whose footsteps I walk in and who give me pause at their determination to stretch their own horizons and all of those that they came in contact with, both on the road and when finally back at home.
In terms of how we humans get along, from country to country I think that the travel experience and how much easier it is, is a good thing. The world as a whole is becoming more blended, with most borders being easier to cross, shrinking not the miles but the antagonistic differences between countries. The next major step needs to be taken by the so called first world, and ending the economic exploitation of the third. We in the first have a hunger for cheaper and cheaper goods, which is natural, but we need to force the corporations supplying those cheap goods into ensuring a decent living wage for the employees.
The above ramble brought to you by limited sleep and a long bus ride.
Tuesday 30 December 2014
Tuesday 9 December 2014
Religon and Fireworks
The great use of firecrackers and fireworks in conjunction with Christian religious services is so different from what I grew up with.
It is hard to step back and accept what these people obviously see as a significant part of their worship. The amount of firecrackers drowned out the sound of the church bells, and the fireworks were well done, seeming to draw attention to the celebration rather than detract from it.
But as I said, it was jarringly different from what I am used to. The number of christmas lights and small electronic devices playing christmas carols made for an annoying background noise. The use of icons and statuary has always been something that jars against the Anglican themes I was raised in. Once the procession started, taking a statue of Mary for a slow journey round the centre of town, there was a constant barrage of noise from both fireworks and firecrackers. The casual use of fireworks was also something quite different, with random people setting off fireworks in spaces barely large enough for safety. Most times there were people within five meters of the steel tubes used for launching the larger ones. The immediacy of this meant it added to the whole scene, tying the whole crowd into the experience of the visual display. My western eyes found the whole thing to be gaudy and over done on the one hand, but on the other hand I could see both the sincerity of the participants and going by the size of the crowd it meant that a large slice of the town joined in.
I did not stay for the whole procession, choosing to slink away when it was less than half over, and I could hear the noise echoing off the walls behind me as I went down to the lake. I have avoided religion for the most part on this trip of mine. I long ago accepted that different people worship god in different ways and it is not something that I choose to do.
It is too easy to mock or look down on what others do as part of their belief, and disregard the emotions and sincerity of the worshipers, forgetting that their upbringing was so different from mine and their expressions and outward display of ceremony are thus far removed from what I experienced as part of my cultural norm. It does enhance my travel and bring me farther along the road to understanding these people and how they contrast as well as mirror those who I grew up with.
Because it was night, and personally I find flashes to be intrusive, I dd not take any photos. I may wander up to the church in the next day or two and take a few, just to round out this article.
It is hard to step back and accept what these people obviously see as a significant part of their worship. The amount of firecrackers drowned out the sound of the church bells, and the fireworks were well done, seeming to draw attention to the celebration rather than detract from it.
But as I said, it was jarringly different from what I am used to. The number of christmas lights and small electronic devices playing christmas carols made for an annoying background noise. The use of icons and statuary has always been something that jars against the Anglican themes I was raised in. Once the procession started, taking a statue of Mary for a slow journey round the centre of town, there was a constant barrage of noise from both fireworks and firecrackers. The casual use of fireworks was also something quite different, with random people setting off fireworks in spaces barely large enough for safety. Most times there were people within five meters of the steel tubes used for launching the larger ones. The immediacy of this meant it added to the whole scene, tying the whole crowd into the experience of the visual display. My western eyes found the whole thing to be gaudy and over done on the one hand, but on the other hand I could see both the sincerity of the participants and going by the size of the crowd it meant that a large slice of the town joined in.
I did not stay for the whole procession, choosing to slink away when it was less than half over, and I could hear the noise echoing off the walls behind me as I went down to the lake. I have avoided religion for the most part on this trip of mine. I long ago accepted that different people worship god in different ways and it is not something that I choose to do.
It is too easy to mock or look down on what others do as part of their belief, and disregard the emotions and sincerity of the worshipers, forgetting that their upbringing was so different from mine and their expressions and outward display of ceremony are thus far removed from what I experienced as part of my cultural norm. It does enhance my travel and bring me farther along the road to understanding these people and how they contrast as well as mirror those who I grew up with.
Because it was night, and personally I find flashes to be intrusive, I dd not take any photos. I may wander up to the church in the next day or two and take a few, just to round out this article.
Thursday 27 November 2014
Eco consumerism
This is going to be bit of a rant.
I have mostly turned a blind eye to any corporation that claims to be green. I think that when the Norwegian government refused to endorse any cars as being green, they were on solid ethical ground. The car in and of itself cannot be green. It uses far too many resources, pollutes far too much and encourages waste. Even electric cars.
As a traveler I have accepted the fact that I am not green and my travel is harming the ecology of this planet. I am getting annoyed at the travel agencies that do 'eco' tours. The travel part of doing eco tours destroys any green aspect of this. Some are using decent methods for minimizing the impact of damage, using horses, mules, donkeys, buses and other methods of transport to the tour site which have a lower environmental impact. But. Their company model is based on tourists getting to them. And tourists, including travelers like me use a lot of high negative impact methods to travel. Airplanes, private vehicles, mutli-passenger vans, buses, trains, boats etc all use fossil fuels and have a high impact on the CO2 count.
I have a tough time with this personally. I love to see new places, to wander through towns and villages, take a trail through a forest and gaze upon a horizon new to me. I struggle with taking a plane, weighing the time/cost/pollution factors and bearing it all with me in terms of my carbon footprint.
But.
I do all this while not calling myself an eco warrior or environmental advocate. The two are irreconcilable with traveling.
Couch surfing, getting around by motorcycle, living in a tent, minimizing the meat and dairy I eat, all help to lighten my impact. But all that does is lighten it a little, not eliminate it. And I am far from perfect in all of the things I mentioned.
So I have a real big problem with slapping an eco label on anything to do with tourists and consumers in general.
I read an article today on the difference between two companies, North Face and Patagonia. They both target their sales at people in the outdoor active set, and North face is by far the winner in consumer dollars, and Patagonia is okay with that. They are okay with that because they are not driven to make more and more money. They are driven to make better and better products so the consumers need to consume less and less. The current marketing stance of Patagonia is please do not buy anything unless you _really_ need it. And if you really need it consider buying from us. Virtually every other company out there shouts to the consumer 'you need this product we sell'.
The sad truth is in our modern dollar driven world, no we do not need more.
We want more.
Do I want a better laptop? Yes. Do I need one? No.
Do I want to buy....... the list is endless, but as a consumer group, what we really need is to consume far less. Period. The urge to buy and buy fills an emotional need, but it does not need to exist. If you are driven to buy, it means that there is something that is missing in your life and you need to find what is missing and replace that urge before you end up on an episode of Hoarders.
Walking through a third world market I see endless amounts of low cost items. The small trashy toys, disposable goods and items that scream planned obsolescence to me. I also see a fair amount of used goods from the first world. This is a disturbing trend as it is either showing how little use we make of an item, or it shows that the first world is shoving its trash on the third.
We as consumers need better products that we can use up entirely, ones that last multiple generations and have a life cycle in the decades, not days or months. I have seen kids toys that have lasted generations, and cookware that has as well. The few who consider this a great thing needs to get bigger and the people who demand quality goods that will stand the test of time to allow us to get off the endless buy cycle needs to turn into the majority.
The 2nd hand market is strong, and I applaud that. Re-cycling is great, giving away things to people who will use them is terrific. Buying a smaller home is even better. Buying a car with great fuel economy is good. Making the most of your current vehicle before investing in a different one is better. Not having one at all is best.
There is a lot more to say on this topic, but I will leave that for now, and just condense my message. If you consume anything that has required the use of fossil fuels to make or distribute do not make the error of calling it green. At best it is green-ish. There is a growing chunk of society that says consuming less is okay. Join it. There are ways to replace the urge to buy new stuff to fill an emotional hole in your life. Find them. Make the most of the things you have, buy quality items to last a long time. Do not confuse want with need.
Next time you feel the obsession to impulse shop, maybe make a small item and give it to a friend. Go for a walk. Write a letter.
Heck, even post something on your blog.
I have mostly turned a blind eye to any corporation that claims to be green. I think that when the Norwegian government refused to endorse any cars as being green, they were on solid ethical ground. The car in and of itself cannot be green. It uses far too many resources, pollutes far too much and encourages waste. Even electric cars.
As a traveler I have accepted the fact that I am not green and my travel is harming the ecology of this planet. I am getting annoyed at the travel agencies that do 'eco' tours. The travel part of doing eco tours destroys any green aspect of this. Some are using decent methods for minimizing the impact of damage, using horses, mules, donkeys, buses and other methods of transport to the tour site which have a lower environmental impact. But. Their company model is based on tourists getting to them. And tourists, including travelers like me use a lot of high negative impact methods to travel. Airplanes, private vehicles, mutli-passenger vans, buses, trains, boats etc all use fossil fuels and have a high impact on the CO2 count.
I have a tough time with this personally. I love to see new places, to wander through towns and villages, take a trail through a forest and gaze upon a horizon new to me. I struggle with taking a plane, weighing the time/cost/pollution factors and bearing it all with me in terms of my carbon footprint.
But.
I do all this while not calling myself an eco warrior or environmental advocate. The two are irreconcilable with traveling.
Couch surfing, getting around by motorcycle, living in a tent, minimizing the meat and dairy I eat, all help to lighten my impact. But all that does is lighten it a little, not eliminate it. And I am far from perfect in all of the things I mentioned.
So I have a real big problem with slapping an eco label on anything to do with tourists and consumers in general.
I read an article today on the difference between two companies, North Face and Patagonia. They both target their sales at people in the outdoor active set, and North face is by far the winner in consumer dollars, and Patagonia is okay with that. They are okay with that because they are not driven to make more and more money. They are driven to make better and better products so the consumers need to consume less and less. The current marketing stance of Patagonia is please do not buy anything unless you _really_ need it. And if you really need it consider buying from us. Virtually every other company out there shouts to the consumer 'you need this product we sell'.
The sad truth is in our modern dollar driven world, no we do not need more.
We want more.
Do I want a better laptop? Yes. Do I need one? No.
Do I want to buy....... the list is endless, but as a consumer group, what we really need is to consume far less. Period. The urge to buy and buy fills an emotional need, but it does not need to exist. If you are driven to buy, it means that there is something that is missing in your life and you need to find what is missing and replace that urge before you end up on an episode of Hoarders.
Walking through a third world market I see endless amounts of low cost items. The small trashy toys, disposable goods and items that scream planned obsolescence to me. I also see a fair amount of used goods from the first world. This is a disturbing trend as it is either showing how little use we make of an item, or it shows that the first world is shoving its trash on the third.
We as consumers need better products that we can use up entirely, ones that last multiple generations and have a life cycle in the decades, not days or months. I have seen kids toys that have lasted generations, and cookware that has as well. The few who consider this a great thing needs to get bigger and the people who demand quality goods that will stand the test of time to allow us to get off the endless buy cycle needs to turn into the majority.
The 2nd hand market is strong, and I applaud that. Re-cycling is great, giving away things to people who will use them is terrific. Buying a smaller home is even better. Buying a car with great fuel economy is good. Making the most of your current vehicle before investing in a different one is better. Not having one at all is best.
There is a lot more to say on this topic, but I will leave that for now, and just condense my message. If you consume anything that has required the use of fossil fuels to make or distribute do not make the error of calling it green. At best it is green-ish. There is a growing chunk of society that says consuming less is okay. Join it. There are ways to replace the urge to buy new stuff to fill an emotional hole in your life. Find them. Make the most of the things you have, buy quality items to last a long time. Do not confuse want with need.
Next time you feel the obsession to impulse shop, maybe make a small item and give it to a friend. Go for a walk. Write a letter.
Heck, even post something on your blog.
Friday 21 November 2014
Stuck in San Pedro
Okay, not so much stuck as just too lazy to move on.
I spent two weeks raising my Spanish fluency level from horrid to really bad.
And then I dropped my laptop about six inches onto a cement floor.
Dead hard drive, had Win7 installed on the new hard drive and went off in quest of drivers to run everything on the damn machine. Three days later, I have full functionality back. It is no fun tracking down drivers for NIC and wireless. Once I got the wired connection working, it was only about another four hours to get the wireless running.
Next step is to see if there is any way of recovering the data from the dead drive. If not I see a lot of downloading in my near future. The old drive was 750 GB and was well over half full.......
In other tempting news, there are a number of businesses for sale around this area. Three hostels and one resort hotel.
A brief look at the hotel scratched it off the buy list. Lake Atitlan is slowly rising, there is no surface exit for the water, it makes its way out through fissures in the rock and the lake is now approaching levels last seen in 1974, the last time there was a major earthquake in the region. The level of the lake fell fifteen meters in under 6 months but has since slowly crept back up. The Hotel has several of it's buildings right on the water's current edge.
If the lake continues to rise at its current rate, one of the other hostels will lose it's cafe/bar in under 3 years.
That leaves two viable hostels to look closer at. Both of them are doing solid business, the owners are selling for personal reasons, not financial . It would be fun to run one for a while, but I can see myself getting tired of it in under five years and it turning into a giant drag. It is very hard to backpack with a full hostel in your pack.
On the other hand if anybody reading this blog want to own their own business, having a steady proven income and live in a Spanish speaking country with a thriving tourist trade, send me a note.
All for now, back to filling the new hard drive.
I spent two weeks raising my Spanish fluency level from horrid to really bad.
And then I dropped my laptop about six inches onto a cement floor.
Dead hard drive, had Win7 installed on the new hard drive and went off in quest of drivers to run everything on the damn machine. Three days later, I have full functionality back. It is no fun tracking down drivers for NIC and wireless. Once I got the wired connection working, it was only about another four hours to get the wireless running.
Next step is to see if there is any way of recovering the data from the dead drive. If not I see a lot of downloading in my near future. The old drive was 750 GB and was well over half full.......
In other tempting news, there are a number of businesses for sale around this area. Three hostels and one resort hotel.
A brief look at the hotel scratched it off the buy list. Lake Atitlan is slowly rising, there is no surface exit for the water, it makes its way out through fissures in the rock and the lake is now approaching levels last seen in 1974, the last time there was a major earthquake in the region. The level of the lake fell fifteen meters in under 6 months but has since slowly crept back up. The Hotel has several of it's buildings right on the water's current edge.
If the lake continues to rise at its current rate, one of the other hostels will lose it's cafe/bar in under 3 years.
That leaves two viable hostels to look closer at. Both of them are doing solid business, the owners are selling for personal reasons, not financial . It would be fun to run one for a while, but I can see myself getting tired of it in under five years and it turning into a giant drag. It is very hard to backpack with a full hostel in your pack.
On the other hand if anybody reading this blog want to own their own business, having a steady proven income and live in a Spanish speaking country with a thriving tourist trade, send me a note.
All for now, back to filling the new hard drive.
Tuesday 11 November 2014
Remembrance Day
Sometimes I think about the differences between Canada and the USA, and for the most part they are not great, but once in a while things strike me.
When Remembrance Day (it was originally Armistice Day) was first brought forward in Canada, the veterans decided that the day would be dedicated to remembering the war veterans from all wars. There were to be no flags attached directly to the Day, as it was to honour the deeds from all sides of every conflict.
Unit flags are welcome, and items such as those, but veterans of WWII from Germany, Italy, France, England etc, have all been equally honoured here.
We are proud of our efforts as a nation in WWI, II etc, but the day is not to honour our efforts as a nation or people, but to recall that on both sides of every conflict are people, and many of those people deserve their efforts to be recognized just as much as those from 'our' side.
Who won, who was right, which side we believe deserved to win, which side we support is irrelevant on this day for me. That you served with honour, pride and determination is what matters.
Different from what is celebrated in the USA, as there, their own county's veterans are who take centre stage.
This may seem like I disapprove of what they do, and it is not, really. But it does highlight a difference between the cultures.
When Remembrance Day (it was originally Armistice Day) was first brought forward in Canada, the veterans decided that the day would be dedicated to remembering the war veterans from all wars. There were to be no flags attached directly to the Day, as it was to honour the deeds from all sides of every conflict.
Unit flags are welcome, and items such as those, but veterans of WWII from Germany, Italy, France, England etc, have all been equally honoured here.
We are proud of our efforts as a nation in WWI, II etc, but the day is not to honour our efforts as a nation or people, but to recall that on both sides of every conflict are people, and many of those people deserve their efforts to be recognized just as much as those from 'our' side.
Who won, who was right, which side we believe deserved to win, which side we support is irrelevant on this day for me. That you served with honour, pride and determination is what matters.
Different from what is celebrated in the USA, as there, their own county's veterans are who take centre stage.
This may seem like I disapprove of what they do, and it is not, really. But it does highlight a difference between the cultures.
Friday 17 October 2014
Getting on
As a re-cap, over 7 years ago I was in an industrial accident. The recovery period was over a year, and I focussed a lot of my energy in fighting against the results of the accident.
When you are in a physio program this is very helpful in keeping you motivated and centered on a target. The closer you get to recovery, the more you focus on being as strong, flexible and pain free as you were before the accident. I succeeded in being pain free, but not in being as strong or a flexible, and this has become a bit of a challenge. I have long accepted the new limitaions in terms of what I should not do, running and jumping result in pain. But I recently came to a realization that fighting against my injury is no longer what I am doing. I am now fighting against the changes in my body and the weaknesses brought on, instead of finding the strengths that remain.
The accident re-set my priorities in a big way, and I began to see that traveling was a direction I wanted to go in. The people in my life have allowed me to go in this direction, and I am grateful to them all because of it.
I think the next step is to get stronger within the body I am stuck with and also find a way to generate a little income at the same time.
This is just a few random thought for now, and a few pictures from San Pedro will be posted soon-ish.
When you are in a physio program this is very helpful in keeping you motivated and centered on a target. The closer you get to recovery, the more you focus on being as strong, flexible and pain free as you were before the accident. I succeeded in being pain free, but not in being as strong or a flexible, and this has become a bit of a challenge. I have long accepted the new limitaions in terms of what I should not do, running and jumping result in pain. But I recently came to a realization that fighting against my injury is no longer what I am doing. I am now fighting against the changes in my body and the weaknesses brought on, instead of finding the strengths that remain.
The accident re-set my priorities in a big way, and I began to see that traveling was a direction I wanted to go in. The people in my life have allowed me to go in this direction, and I am grateful to them all because of it.
I think the next step is to get stronger within the body I am stuck with and also find a way to generate a little income at the same time.
This is just a few random thought for now, and a few pictures from San Pedro will be posted soon-ish.
Tuesday 7 October 2014
Caye Caulker
I went on a snorkeling tour yesterday, and here are a few of the pics I took.
It was a fine day, and even the brief rain squall did not dampen our fun.
The sad note however was in talking to the owner of the tour, Steve about the state of the reef. He has been doing the tours for over 15 years, and the changes in the reef disturb him. There has been a gradual decline in the size and type of fish on the reef. The delicate balance of ecology has been tipped, and he thinks it is past the point of no return. The changes had been gradual until the introduction of Lionfish in the area. They are a predatory spieces who prey upon the young of virtual all the other types. The lack of diversification will mean the death of the ecology of the reef. The difference in the vibrance of the reef, the startling demarcations between living and dead coral show how this is a very dire situation for the reef.
The other disappointing thing I noted was the amount of plastic trash found in the area. It is so sad we humans callously discard so much of it into the environment, with not enough of us caring about the long term effects on the place we all live.
The number of tourists visiting the area is also rising, and the north side of the island has recently received power which will accelerate the development of the tourism, and I do not fault the tourists for wanting to see and visit the area, but a part of me gets down on large scale tourism, wanting the rustic out of the way places to stay waiting for the dedicated wanderer to find.
It was a fine day, and even the brief rain squall did not dampen our fun.
The sad note however was in talking to the owner of the tour, Steve about the state of the reef. He has been doing the tours for over 15 years, and the changes in the reef disturb him. There has been a gradual decline in the size and type of fish on the reef. The delicate balance of ecology has been tipped, and he thinks it is past the point of no return. The changes had been gradual until the introduction of Lionfish in the area. They are a predatory spieces who prey upon the young of virtual all the other types. The lack of diversification will mean the death of the ecology of the reef. The difference in the vibrance of the reef, the startling demarcations between living and dead coral show how this is a very dire situation for the reef.
The other disappointing thing I noted was the amount of plastic trash found in the area. It is so sad we humans callously discard so much of it into the environment, with not enough of us caring about the long term effects on the place we all live.
The number of tourists visiting the area is also rising, and the north side of the island has recently received power which will accelerate the development of the tourism, and I do not fault the tourists for wanting to see and visit the area, but a part of me gets down on large scale tourism, wanting the rustic out of the way places to stay waiting for the dedicated wanderer to find.
Sunday 5 October 2014
Cancun, Mexico
Did not do much in terms of the 'real' Mexico in Cancun. I was treated to 3 nights at an all inclusive resort in Cancun, and although it was nice, the over-all experience was over-rated to me.
I felt too distanced from the real people who live in the area, and it would have been very difficult to break out of the tourist zone while staying at the resort. The resort itself was nice, and very relaxing, but seemed a bit on the expensive side for what you get.
From Cancun, we took a bus south for Chetumal, on the border with Belize, stayed for one night in a hostel, Paakal's, took a walk to a local restaurant, and gorged on a grill special for two. Way too much meat, great sauces, nice tortillas, terrific atmosphere. There were a lot of locals celebrating graduating from college/tech school, and it seemed like every 5 minutes a table was getting a song and celebration from the waiters, along with their name splashed on the tv screens scattered around.
Next day we were off for Caye Caulker in Belize. If the bus had not stopped to have a tire changed, we would have made the 4:30 water taxi, ended up waiting with the friendly staff until 5:30 for the last ride to the island, but Jana really enjoyed the boat ride.
We are set for canoeing this afternoon, and snorkeling tomorrow, and may post some pics afterward.
I felt too distanced from the real people who live in the area, and it would have been very difficult to break out of the tourist zone while staying at the resort. The resort itself was nice, and very relaxing, but seemed a bit on the expensive side for what you get.
From Cancun, we took a bus south for Chetumal, on the border with Belize, stayed for one night in a hostel, Paakal's, took a walk to a local restaurant, and gorged on a grill special for two. Way too much meat, great sauces, nice tortillas, terrific atmosphere. There were a lot of locals celebrating graduating from college/tech school, and it seemed like every 5 minutes a table was getting a song and celebration from the waiters, along with their name splashed on the tv screens scattered around.
Next day we were off for Caye Caulker in Belize. If the bus had not stopped to have a tire changed, we would have made the 4:30 water taxi, ended up waiting with the friendly staff until 5:30 for the last ride to the island, but Jana really enjoyed the boat ride.
We are set for canoeing this afternoon, and snorkeling tomorrow, and may post some pics afterward.
Tuesday 23 September 2014
Slow Summer
Time this summer has gone slow. Not slow as in dragging by, but slow as in the pace of things being done was slow. Looked at in a list, the things I got done for my parents ends up being a long list.
Replace garage door opener
repair garage floor
install roll up shade on patio
lay cement blocks for sidewalk
paint all exterior trim
paint garage door
paint patio deck
make and install door for storage area
install ceiling tiles
finish and install stair handrails
trouble shoot air conditioner
change taps in bathroom
install proper exterior vent covers for bathrooms
make and install shelves in bathroom
make shelves in cold room
re-do venting for dryer
and more.
But really most of my time has been doing little stuff and just making sure they are both doing okay. Helping mom cook a few times, over half the stuff on the above list dad helped out with, and we had time to take a trip to Calgary to visit with my brother and his family. They appreciated how much of the 14 hours of driving I did, I liked getting to play with the grand nieces and grand nephew.
Visiting with the neighbours, helping a few of them with projects. Picking berries and tilling the garden. Mowing the lawn.
All that boring stuff that makes up living, but now I have the time to pace it out, and do it without a rush. It makes for a slow summer, one I will treasure for the lack of pressure to get a lot done in a short period of time.
It was a cool spring on the prairies this year, the farmers got off to a long slow start, and there was way too much rain. Once it was in, however the crops did fine, and the harvest has been behind average because of the late start, but better than average in quantity and quality.
Last year was better, but last year broke all records, and the infrastructure could not handle the amount of grain to be moved. There is still some of last year's crop waiting to be sold and shipped.
A picture taken of a field on the edge of town, pretty much sums up the area and time of year in one shot.
Next up a lovely shot of the falls colours beginning to make a difference in the look of the street.
Replace garage door opener
repair garage floor
install roll up shade on patio
lay cement blocks for sidewalk
paint all exterior trim
paint garage door
paint patio deck
make and install door for storage area
install ceiling tiles
finish and install stair handrails
trouble shoot air conditioner
change taps in bathroom
install proper exterior vent covers for bathrooms
make and install shelves in bathroom
make shelves in cold room
re-do venting for dryer
and more.
But really most of my time has been doing little stuff and just making sure they are both doing okay. Helping mom cook a few times, over half the stuff on the above list dad helped out with, and we had time to take a trip to Calgary to visit with my brother and his family. They appreciated how much of the 14 hours of driving I did, I liked getting to play with the grand nieces and grand nephew.
Visiting with the neighbours, helping a few of them with projects. Picking berries and tilling the garden. Mowing the lawn.
All that boring stuff that makes up living, but now I have the time to pace it out, and do it without a rush. It makes for a slow summer, one I will treasure for the lack of pressure to get a lot done in a short period of time.
It was a cool spring on the prairies this year, the farmers got off to a long slow start, and there was way too much rain. Once it was in, however the crops did fine, and the harvest has been behind average because of the late start, but better than average in quantity and quality.
Last year was better, but last year broke all records, and the infrastructure could not handle the amount of grain to be moved. There is still some of last year's crop waiting to be sold and shipped.
A picture taken of a field on the edge of town, pretty much sums up the area and time of year in one shot.
Next up a lovely shot of the falls colours beginning to make a difference in the look of the street.
Next up for me is heading into Saskatoon, and boarding a plane for Cancun. The weather this last week has been remarkably fine, but those colours on the above leaves are a clear warning to me that it is time to flee.
Saturday 12 July 2014
Summertime
Although I do know a few people who's favourite season is winter, for the most part, the ones I know love summer. It is part of the reason I named my blog as I did, the idea for most Canadians of dodging the cold dark months is deeply appealing.
Even those who truly love the winter sports usually find at some point longing for the warm long days of summer.
I did not talk to many of the locals from Central America, and thus did not get their point of view on it, but the thing I find truly special about the summer days in Canada, especially northern Canada is the long long days when the sun seems so reluctant to go down and dusk hangs in the air for hours after the last bit of the sun slid below the horizon.
It is the time of camp fires, laughing with friends, toasting wieners and marshmallows, watching for fireflies, and listening to the wildlife.
Spending time in the tropics, where the sun sets and the dusk lasts for maybe twenty minutes, makes me treasure the long slow light of the early summer evenings even more.
From May until now, I have been bust catching up with friends, giving a hand here and there as I am capable. Introducing those who love garlic to the devine deep fried garlic chip. Helping paint a place, helping move. Going over my pictures with many people.
Now I am at my parent's place in the small town of Kinistino SK, getting minor things done, stuff they had built up for me to do knowing I would be glad to help them with it.
I have not posted anything in the past couple months mostly due to the fact I do not feel like I am traveling, mere moving amongst friends and family. This is after all the country where I grew up and spent my first 50 years. I mostly feel there is nothing special about most of it, until you start to experience it.
Saskatchewan is a big province, most usually noted for the flat boring plains of the south-central area. But it is the very nature of those boring flat plains that help give you a feeling of just how big Canada is, and it is not until you have spent hours driving through the prairies with no significant changes in scenery, no cities, no lakes, just fields stretching from horizon to horizon that you get down deep in your bones that Canada is truly a huge place of great agricultural production. Once you get north of Saskatoon, the topography slowly changes to rolling hills and poplar trees, with birch and pine mixing in as you go farther north. Once you get into the north, the fields all but disappear and the lakes become innumerable and the skeeters on the wet years (like this one) become unbearable when around areas with grass and shrubs.
But more than the views from the seat of my motorbike, it is the people that make the province, and they do make it worth the visit. From the friends of my parents, to the families of the people I went to school with to the new met and chance met strangers, it is the people that bring me back here.
Sometimes I think that it is strange that as someone who is mostly an introvert, that meeting new people is what has prompted me to travel more than anything else.
But just as meeting new people in Central America shows me different aspects of what it is to be human, so does meeting new and old friends here remind me that we are not so different after all.
And if anyone wants a few pictures of life in small town Canada, post a comment and I will see what I can do.
Even those who truly love the winter sports usually find at some point longing for the warm long days of summer.
I did not talk to many of the locals from Central America, and thus did not get their point of view on it, but the thing I find truly special about the summer days in Canada, especially northern Canada is the long long days when the sun seems so reluctant to go down and dusk hangs in the air for hours after the last bit of the sun slid below the horizon.
It is the time of camp fires, laughing with friends, toasting wieners and marshmallows, watching for fireflies, and listening to the wildlife.
Spending time in the tropics, where the sun sets and the dusk lasts for maybe twenty minutes, makes me treasure the long slow light of the early summer evenings even more.
From May until now, I have been bust catching up with friends, giving a hand here and there as I am capable. Introducing those who love garlic to the devine deep fried garlic chip. Helping paint a place, helping move. Going over my pictures with many people.
Now I am at my parent's place in the small town of Kinistino SK, getting minor things done, stuff they had built up for me to do knowing I would be glad to help them with it.
I have not posted anything in the past couple months mostly due to the fact I do not feel like I am traveling, mere moving amongst friends and family. This is after all the country where I grew up and spent my first 50 years. I mostly feel there is nothing special about most of it, until you start to experience it.
Saskatchewan is a big province, most usually noted for the flat boring plains of the south-central area. But it is the very nature of those boring flat plains that help give you a feeling of just how big Canada is, and it is not until you have spent hours driving through the prairies with no significant changes in scenery, no cities, no lakes, just fields stretching from horizon to horizon that you get down deep in your bones that Canada is truly a huge place of great agricultural production. Once you get north of Saskatoon, the topography slowly changes to rolling hills and poplar trees, with birch and pine mixing in as you go farther north. Once you get into the north, the fields all but disappear and the lakes become innumerable and the skeeters on the wet years (like this one) become unbearable when around areas with grass and shrubs.
But more than the views from the seat of my motorbike, it is the people that make the province, and they do make it worth the visit. From the friends of my parents, to the families of the people I went to school with to the new met and chance met strangers, it is the people that bring me back here.
Sometimes I think that it is strange that as someone who is mostly an introvert, that meeting new people is what has prompted me to travel more than anything else.
But just as meeting new people in Central America shows me different aspects of what it is to be human, so does meeting new and old friends here remind me that we are not so different after all.
And if anyone wants a few pictures of life in small town Canada, post a comment and I will see what I can do.
Monday 19 May 2014
1 year
It has been one year now.
I have done a lot in that year, but not too much. My limited budget means I have paced myself, spending time where I can live inexpensively, and moving on through places where the cost of living is high.
My major goal for the previous twelve months was to see a lot of Central America, and that has been accomplished. All the countries I visited had both positive and negative things about them, and going through my blog will give you an over sight of them. I did spend a lot of time at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. It featured a nice combination of cost, climate, food and people. The climate was very kind to this Canadian, never too hot, and at times verging on cool. With the number of villages and towns around the lake, it is easy to find a place you like and style of accommodation that fits your budget.
I cannot say I have become addicted to travel, but it is something I still enjoy, and am eager to see even more. I am slowly getting rid of more items, things I have found I do not use, and trying to get rid of enough so that a chair will fit into my trailer. I have almost made this goal, but the closer I get to it, the more I ask myself if I really need a chair along with.
The next travel goal outside of Canada is South America. This means improving my very bad Spanish, and deciding where to start. So far the winner is Bogata, but Lima is running close second.
I have done a lot in that year, but not too much. My limited budget means I have paced myself, spending time where I can live inexpensively, and moving on through places where the cost of living is high.
My major goal for the previous twelve months was to see a lot of Central America, and that has been accomplished. All the countries I visited had both positive and negative things about them, and going through my blog will give you an over sight of them. I did spend a lot of time at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. It featured a nice combination of cost, climate, food and people. The climate was very kind to this Canadian, never too hot, and at times verging on cool. With the number of villages and towns around the lake, it is easy to find a place you like and style of accommodation that fits your budget.
I cannot say I have become addicted to travel, but it is something I still enjoy, and am eager to see even more. I am slowly getting rid of more items, things I have found I do not use, and trying to get rid of enough so that a chair will fit into my trailer. I have almost made this goal, but the closer I get to it, the more I ask myself if I really need a chair along with.
The next travel goal outside of Canada is South America. This means improving my very bad Spanish, and deciding where to start. So far the winner is Bogata, but Lima is running close second.
Wednesday 14 May 2014
Back in Canada
I am sure anyone who has traveled has had the feeling of - at last, home soil - when they cross the border back into the country they call home. I had been away approximately nine months when I finally crossed the border back into Canada. I must admit the feeling was not as intense as anticipated, but it was there.
Part of the mitigation I think was the amount of time I spent in the USA, which is very close in culture and style to Canada, but sometimes that closeness also highlights the differences. Walking into the store attached to a gas station, I noticed the things that are not available in the states. A large number of the chocolate bars are simply not available south of the border, and although in the large scheme of things not being able to buy a Jersey Milk is minor, when added to other things it is something that is missed.
I am not a traveler who insists that things be like home. The reason I have traveled is to experience other cultures and what they consider normal, but that does not mean I do not miss the comfort foods that I grew up with. I imagine that folks from the south east USA are disappointed when finding out that deep fried dill pickles are a regional thing, and no, they don't make those in Canada/Oregon/Peru. I am the type that when I miss a particular type of food a lot, I will set out to make it. Thus I made cabbage rolls in Guatemala.
- I mean really they make use of a lot of rice, tomato and cabbage, but the idea of a cabbage roll was totally, well foreign, and when I walked past the raw ingredients in the market on a daily basis it got to craving I knew I could feed-
So, I eased into a junk food binge once I was back on home soil. A Caramilk bar. Hawkins Cheezies. Pepsi ( the difference between US/Canada in most soda is corn syrup vrs cane sugar ). But all of that is not what I really missed.
People are people wherever you go, and all nations have their share of nice ones and rude ones, but the ones I have had as friends the longest are those I grew up and matured beside. Those friends, and my family are really what I missed the most, and it is sharing food and snacks and drinks and stories and laughter and solemn moments with them that keeps me moving, because they live to damn far apart to cram all into one room.
And even if they fit, it would take days to catch up with everyone.
And, ain't nobody got time for dat!
Even in the next six months, traveling from couch to couch, I still will not have time to visit them all, but I will try.
Part of the mitigation I think was the amount of time I spent in the USA, which is very close in culture and style to Canada, but sometimes that closeness also highlights the differences. Walking into the store attached to a gas station, I noticed the things that are not available in the states. A large number of the chocolate bars are simply not available south of the border, and although in the large scheme of things not being able to buy a Jersey Milk is minor, when added to other things it is something that is missed.
I am not a traveler who insists that things be like home. The reason I have traveled is to experience other cultures and what they consider normal, but that does not mean I do not miss the comfort foods that I grew up with. I imagine that folks from the south east USA are disappointed when finding out that deep fried dill pickles are a regional thing, and no, they don't make those in Canada/Oregon/Peru. I am the type that when I miss a particular type of food a lot, I will set out to make it. Thus I made cabbage rolls in Guatemala.
- I mean really they make use of a lot of rice, tomato and cabbage, but the idea of a cabbage roll was totally, well foreign, and when I walked past the raw ingredients in the market on a daily basis it got to craving I knew I could feed-
So, I eased into a junk food binge once I was back on home soil. A Caramilk bar. Hawkins Cheezies. Pepsi ( the difference between US/Canada in most soda is corn syrup vrs cane sugar ). But all of that is not what I really missed.
People are people wherever you go, and all nations have their share of nice ones and rude ones, but the ones I have had as friends the longest are those I grew up and matured beside. Those friends, and my family are really what I missed the most, and it is sharing food and snacks and drinks and stories and laughter and solemn moments with them that keeps me moving, because they live to damn far apart to cram all into one room.
And even if they fit, it would take days to catch up with everyone.
And, ain't nobody got time for dat!
Even in the next six months, traveling from couch to couch, I still will not have time to visit them all, but I will try.
Monday 12 May 2014
Riding
Over the last two months, I have done a lot of riding. I think I have put about 10,000km, or 6,000 miles on my bike.
The miles rolled past in long and short stretches, some warm some cold and some just right. It has given me a certain amount of insight into what makes for good bike clothing, and what makes for bad riding.
The jacket I am using is showing wear, the venting zippers were glued in place, not sewn and the glue has let go. The collar is getting worn, but other than that, it has been nice.
The pants are annoying in that chaps are more comfy as long as it is not raining, but when it does rain, the pants are sooooo much better.
In the stretch from Manitou Springs, Colorado to Salt Lake, Utah I went over some high windy passes. I am sure that one was approaching 11,000 feet high, and the signs on two others were over 9,000. With headwinds for virtually all this section of over 30mph it was no surprise my gas mileage sucked, but I was pleasantly surprised that although I was cool, I was never really chilled.
Then I hit the road from Salt Lake through to Boise. I had thought that with the lower elevations, the ride would be warmer.
Silly me.
It was the coldest riding of the trip. The humidity may have had something to do with it, as the headwind was about the same, the road was about 3,000 feet lower and although it never rained, it threatened to for most of the day.
I have seen bikers with thermometers, and I am now tempted to mount one just so I can keep track to see how much the temperature varies on the passes. This time of year, it was easy to see the effect of elevation on the plant life around me. In the valley, there would be trees almost fully leafed out, and at the top of the passes the trees were barely into the budding phase, and in Colorado, there were plenty of places where the budding had not even started.
It also gave in a shorter distance the transition I had seen going from East to West. Starting in Florida, the trees had fully leafed out but as I drove West and North, the leaves pulled in, the trees becoming more bare and the green lighter and more tentative. By the time I got to Colorado, over half of the trees I was seeing had not budded, and most were just nicely breaking out in green. The lower elevation of Salt Lake really showed with the fully leafed out trees even though the temperature felt much the same. By the time I rolled into the West Coast
rain forest I felt I had repeatedly done the transition from early spring to full summer four or five times.
At last it is time for a pause from riding, visit friends and family and see what all of them have been up to while I have been gallivanting in southern climes.
The miles rolled past in long and short stretches, some warm some cold and some just right. It has given me a certain amount of insight into what makes for good bike clothing, and what makes for bad riding.
The jacket I am using is showing wear, the venting zippers were glued in place, not sewn and the glue has let go. The collar is getting worn, but other than that, it has been nice.
The pants are annoying in that chaps are more comfy as long as it is not raining, but when it does rain, the pants are sooooo much better.
In the stretch from Manitou Springs, Colorado to Salt Lake, Utah I went over some high windy passes. I am sure that one was approaching 11,000 feet high, and the signs on two others were over 9,000. With headwinds for virtually all this section of over 30mph it was no surprise my gas mileage sucked, but I was pleasantly surprised that although I was cool, I was never really chilled.
Then I hit the road from Salt Lake through to Boise. I had thought that with the lower elevations, the ride would be warmer.
Silly me.
It was the coldest riding of the trip. The humidity may have had something to do with it, as the headwind was about the same, the road was about 3,000 feet lower and although it never rained, it threatened to for most of the day.
I have seen bikers with thermometers, and I am now tempted to mount one just so I can keep track to see how much the temperature varies on the passes. This time of year, it was easy to see the effect of elevation on the plant life around me. In the valley, there would be trees almost fully leafed out, and at the top of the passes the trees were barely into the budding phase, and in Colorado, there were plenty of places where the budding had not even started.
It also gave in a shorter distance the transition I had seen going from East to West. Starting in Florida, the trees had fully leafed out but as I drove West and North, the leaves pulled in, the trees becoming more bare and the green lighter and more tentative. By the time I got to Colorado, over half of the trees I was seeing had not budded, and most were just nicely breaking out in green. The lower elevation of Salt Lake really showed with the fully leafed out trees even though the temperature felt much the same. By the time I rolled into the West Coast
rain forest I felt I had repeatedly done the transition from early spring to full summer four or five times.
At last it is time for a pause from riding, visit friends and family and see what all of them have been up to while I have been gallivanting in southern climes.
Sunday 11 May 2014
Colorado to Utah.
It is now my opinion that Colorado bikers are like those in Alaska and northern BC, as soon as the roads are dry and likely to stay that way, it is time to ride, no matter how much snow is piled up on the sides.
Some parts of the ride were a lot of fun. It would be great to take the road a little later in the year and without towing a trailer. The twisty sections were nice, not too many long straight boring parts and lots of nice views. Gas stations were scattered nicely, and as always the ones tucked out of the way were the priciest. I did not take many pictures this time around. It always seemed the wrong time to pull over for most of the view points. At least the roads were not busy. I think during the summer it would be a popular place for campers, and going by the number of ski resorts, during ski season it would also be humming with traffic.
There seemed to be a large number of roadkill animals along the route, but that could be a result of a lack of removal of the remains. I saw a few the had obviously been there quite some time. I only saw one muledeer, and he was going away from the road, but it did reinforce the need to be aware of animals and their chance of entering traffic.
But, at the very beginning of the day, I went to the Manitou Cliff Dwelling Site. This partially undid the disappointment from not getting to see the Gila Cliff site in some ways, but also put in the itch to see the Gila site just to compare....
Anyway, here are a few pictures from the Manitou site, and following is a picture of the snow covered pass I traversed later the same day.
Sunday 4 May 2014
To Kansas and Beyond!
The road west from Missouri through Kansas and into Colorado was full of slow transitions. the hills of Missouri slowly gentled and became stretched out and rolling. The time of year, early spring also meant the tress were mostly just starting to leaf out. In some places there were almost no leaves, just the yellowish colouration from the buds swelling efore breaking.
In Kansas, the farm fields and pastures were mostly lushly green, with a few till having the stubble not worked in, and some with freshly tilled soil. I did not hop off the bike for a close look, but it seemed there was very little stone in the fields, and the few places where the road was cut through hillsides, the bedrock appeared to be sandstone.
Ever so slowly the landscape changed, flattening out and drying out. At first the flattening was more apparent with long views of shallow valleys and the rivers and streams showing their path with lines of trees. The farther west I went, the fewer the watercourses and trees became few indeed. For the most part the tree were obvious transplants surrounding a farmhouse or the remains of one.
One of the contrasts from western Canada I noticed was the population density and road infrastructure. The one obviously lends itself to the other, but the number of small towns quietly busy with agriculture as well as the interlocking of paved roads was far more dense than what you see in Canada.
Nearing the western end of Kansas, I hit another transition as the land continued to dry out. Slowly the fields gave way to pastures filled with low scrubby grass. At one point it was amusing, for on my left were untold acres of pasture, the fences obscured by tumbleweeds, while on the right field after field of planted crop were green and growing strong, a sharp contrast to the weak colours of mostly browns and beige in the pastures across the road from them.
It was not long before this difference faded out and the only green seen was that of irrigated fields.
The road lead ever west, and rose ever higher. Drying out yet more until the grass became sparse and lost even the hints of green found to the east.
As the mountains rose into view, it became slightly more green, and ranches dotted the landscape.
In Kansas, the farm fields and pastures were mostly lushly green, with a few till having the stubble not worked in, and some with freshly tilled soil. I did not hop off the bike for a close look, but it seemed there was very little stone in the fields, and the few places where the road was cut through hillsides, the bedrock appeared to be sandstone.
Ever so slowly the landscape changed, flattening out and drying out. At first the flattening was more apparent with long views of shallow valleys and the rivers and streams showing their path with lines of trees. The farther west I went, the fewer the watercourses and trees became few indeed. For the most part the tree were obvious transplants surrounding a farmhouse or the remains of one.
One of the contrasts from western Canada I noticed was the population density and road infrastructure. The one obviously lends itself to the other, but the number of small towns quietly busy with agriculture as well as the interlocking of paved roads was far more dense than what you see in Canada.
Nearing the western end of Kansas, I hit another transition as the land continued to dry out. Slowly the fields gave way to pastures filled with low scrubby grass. At one point it was amusing, for on my left were untold acres of pasture, the fences obscured by tumbleweeds, while on the right field after field of planted crop were green and growing strong, a sharp contrast to the weak colours of mostly browns and beige in the pastures across the road from them.
It was not long before this difference faded out and the only green seen was that of irrigated fields.
The road lead ever west, and rose ever higher. Drying out yet more until the grass became sparse and lost even the hints of green found to the east.
As the mountains rose into view, it became slightly more green, and ranches dotted the landscape.
Wednesday 30 April 2014
Dawdling
I spent a lot of time dawdling in the Memphis area. The SCA kingdom of Gleann Abhinn was having a Beltane event, and I decided to go. Travel to the event from Shreveport should have taken about 6 hours.
Note the should.
It was not easy to locate a place to mount bike tire in Shreveport, and the charge was steep, $90. By the time it was mounted, and I brought it back to the trailer it was too late in the day for them to mount the other one as they closed early that day.
So, putting the trailer back on two wheels, I headed off for Millington (just north of Memphis). I so wanted to make it in one day, and had a late start, so I pushed my speed a little. When I got to Little Rock, there was smoke coming from behind me. Investigation showed that I had over tightened the axle nut, because it locked the bearing in place ruining the new tire.
Sigh. After checking into a hotel, I found I was too late to get any work done that day, but managed to find a place Saturday that mounted the new tire for me at a cost of $90, including a new bearing.
Then off to the event. I got there too late for a lot of the fun stuff, but made new friends, and watched a fun court. At the court it was very nice to see about 25 people be presented in court for attending their first event. The attendance numbers were under 300, which made for a rather high percentage of new comers, and I talked with a few of them.
Once the event was over the weather closed in for rain and cold. I stayed in the area to save wear on the one tire left to change, and found the Yamaha dealership in Millington quite nice to deal with. They ordered a tire in, and mounted it for $80, the best price yet in my quest to keep the trailer rolling smoothly.
I felt like I was dawdling. I had met a lot of people and made some very nice new friends but it is time to move along.
The weather now is still stubbornly refusing to co-operate, and I could have a very cold and rainy time. I had hoped the weather would be nicer but with a little luck I will make it through to Salt Lake soon, to visit an old friend and meet 2 of her kids for the first time.
I will finish with posting a few pictures from the Beltane event.
Note the should.
It was not easy to locate a place to mount bike tire in Shreveport, and the charge was steep, $90. By the time it was mounted, and I brought it back to the trailer it was too late in the day for them to mount the other one as they closed early that day.
So, putting the trailer back on two wheels, I headed off for Millington (just north of Memphis). I so wanted to make it in one day, and had a late start, so I pushed my speed a little. When I got to Little Rock, there was smoke coming from behind me. Investigation showed that I had over tightened the axle nut, because it locked the bearing in place ruining the new tire.
Sigh. After checking into a hotel, I found I was too late to get any work done that day, but managed to find a place Saturday that mounted the new tire for me at a cost of $90, including a new bearing.
Then off to the event. I got there too late for a lot of the fun stuff, but made new friends, and watched a fun court. At the court it was very nice to see about 25 people be presented in court for attending their first event. The attendance numbers were under 300, which made for a rather high percentage of new comers, and I talked with a few of them.
Once the event was over the weather closed in for rain and cold. I stayed in the area to save wear on the one tire left to change, and found the Yamaha dealership in Millington quite nice to deal with. They ordered a tire in, and mounted it for $80, the best price yet in my quest to keep the trailer rolling smoothly.
I felt like I was dawdling. I had met a lot of people and made some very nice new friends but it is time to move along.
The weather now is still stubbornly refusing to co-operate, and I could have a very cold and rainy time. I had hoped the weather would be nicer but with a little luck I will make it through to Salt Lake soon, to visit an old friend and meet 2 of her kids for the first time.
I will finish with posting a few pictures from the Beltane event.
Monday 21 April 2014
Noise
I am currently in Shreveport LA, being hosted by an SCA couple. They have an empty suite in their house, and have been wonderful hosts.
The differences between here and Central America are many, but the ones that stand out the most are density and noise. The modern suburb was mostly missing on my journey through CA. There were a few gated communities which could have been from anywhere in Canada or the States, but for the most part, the towns were a tumble of cramped spaces. Roads hardly wide enough for one car, let alone two. No room between houses, or perhaps a slip, a walk way barely big enough for me to walk down, small spaces that seem to wind their way through in shadow and dim light, hemmed in by concrete and cinder brick.
And the noise. Bouncing off the hard surfaces of the houses and road, songs played at full volume, with the speakers brought out front so the whole town could hear. Firecrackers, people practicing musical instruments ( from bad to great and all the places in between, but mostly on the bad side ) voices singing along to the radio and on Sundays, hymns sung way too loud and very off key. Bits of song would travel with you as you walk along the streets. Radios and sound systems in the shops would play, usually just loud enough to be heard from the street, but sometimes so loud as to be annoying from a block away. The music would fade away as the night came in, to be replaced by the thumping of the music from the bars and clubs. Those sounds would die a natural death at around 11pm (1am on weekends), but the random bangs and whistles of fireworks never had a cerfew. They would be set off for any reason, or next to no reason. Birthdays, saint's day, anniversary, death, wedding, graduation, solstice, and on and on.
After being in San Pedro La Laguna for a while, I never got used to it, but perhaps inured is a better term.
Then, near the end of my stay at the lake, I met a fellow from the USA, one who had combat related PTSD. It seemed truly weird to me that someone who had the syndrome would choose to live in a place where truly loud firecrackers would be set off anywhere at anytime. He talked briefly with me about it though, and his therapist had recommended it to him as a remedial therapy, and it was working.
I certainly believe that it would not work for everyone, but for him, the random nature of the noise began to re-set the part of his brain that automaticly associated loud bangs with combat and violence to one that said it was only noise. How long he had been in the town, I did not know, but he expressed his opinion that it worked for him. He was much calmer over all, and the sound of a startlingly loud bang no longer triggered episodes for him.
But me on the other hand, in a lot of ways, I am glad I have had time in a quiet place, with only mild traffic noise and muted sounds from a basketball court half a block away. Even that gets a little much sometimes, which is weird. At times the quieter it is, the quieter I want it to be, the only sounds I want to intrude are the ones I choose to play on my sound system.
Which I want to then play loudly.
Humans are odd creatures, and the older I get the more I realize I am as odd as most of those around me.
Likely odder.
The differences between here and Central America are many, but the ones that stand out the most are density and noise. The modern suburb was mostly missing on my journey through CA. There were a few gated communities which could have been from anywhere in Canada or the States, but for the most part, the towns were a tumble of cramped spaces. Roads hardly wide enough for one car, let alone two. No room between houses, or perhaps a slip, a walk way barely big enough for me to walk down, small spaces that seem to wind their way through in shadow and dim light, hemmed in by concrete and cinder brick.
And the noise. Bouncing off the hard surfaces of the houses and road, songs played at full volume, with the speakers brought out front so the whole town could hear. Firecrackers, people practicing musical instruments ( from bad to great and all the places in between, but mostly on the bad side ) voices singing along to the radio and on Sundays, hymns sung way too loud and very off key. Bits of song would travel with you as you walk along the streets. Radios and sound systems in the shops would play, usually just loud enough to be heard from the street, but sometimes so loud as to be annoying from a block away. The music would fade away as the night came in, to be replaced by the thumping of the music from the bars and clubs. Those sounds would die a natural death at around 11pm (1am on weekends), but the random bangs and whistles of fireworks never had a cerfew. They would be set off for any reason, or next to no reason. Birthdays, saint's day, anniversary, death, wedding, graduation, solstice, and on and on.
After being in San Pedro La Laguna for a while, I never got used to it, but perhaps inured is a better term.
Then, near the end of my stay at the lake, I met a fellow from the USA, one who had combat related PTSD. It seemed truly weird to me that someone who had the syndrome would choose to live in a place where truly loud firecrackers would be set off anywhere at anytime. He talked briefly with me about it though, and his therapist had recommended it to him as a remedial therapy, and it was working.
I certainly believe that it would not work for everyone, but for him, the random nature of the noise began to re-set the part of his brain that automaticly associated loud bangs with combat and violence to one that said it was only noise. How long he had been in the town, I did not know, but he expressed his opinion that it worked for him. He was much calmer over all, and the sound of a startlingly loud bang no longer triggered episodes for him.
But me on the other hand, in a lot of ways, I am glad I have had time in a quiet place, with only mild traffic noise and muted sounds from a basketball court half a block away. Even that gets a little much sometimes, which is weird. At times the quieter it is, the quieter I want it to be, the only sounds I want to intrude are the ones I choose to play on my sound system.
Which I want to then play loudly.
Humans are odd creatures, and the older I get the more I realize I am as odd as most of those around me.
Likely odder.
Monday 14 April 2014
Natchez Trace Trail
The Natchez Trace was an important road in the early development of the USA. It allowed for improved communication between the north east and southern parts of what has come to be the USA. Some parts of that history involve the civil war, but for the most part it involved who the area was settle by Europeans, and the displacement and treaties for the natives woven around that displacement.
In the modern day, most of the Trace has been either swallowed by development, allowed to revert back to nature, or simply fade. Parts of it have been incorporated into the Historic Natchez Trace Trail, some as part of the modern roadway, and other parts much as they were when the Trace was first developed.
The spring has come to the Trace, but the canopy is not quite in full leaf yet. I think later in the year when it is not quite as wet, and the leaves are darker it would have a very wild feel to it, even though the park is limited in size. The bottom picture shows a part of the embankment has slid into the trail. It was quite rainy the night before I took this picture, and I could tell the slide had happened very recently.
There was a very irksome bird at the campground I was staying at. A nice redheaded woodpecker was flitting from area to area. Every time I pulled out my camera, he disappeared. In stead, here are a few pictures of a few of the flowers and other wildlife from the area.
In the modern day, most of the Trace has been either swallowed by development, allowed to revert back to nature, or simply fade. Parts of it have been incorporated into the Historic Natchez Trace Trail, some as part of the modern roadway, and other parts much as they were when the Trace was first developed.
There was a very irksome bird at the campground I was staying at. A nice redheaded woodpecker was flitting from area to area. Every time I pulled out my camera, he disappeared. In stead, here are a few pictures of a few of the flowers and other wildlife from the area.
Tuesday 8 April 2014
Sunday 6 April 2014
Coronation, Gleann Abhann
Part of my interest in attending SCA events outside of An Tir and Tir Righ, is to note the differences. The major differences I noticed for the coronation were as follows.
The new king placed the crown on his own head, then took the oath of office from an officer (I do not know the posotion of the officer receiving the oath). He then stood aside as his consort did the same action and oath. In both cases the previous King and Queen were not on stage, a very different scene from what I am used to with the sitting royals placing the crown first on the head of the Heir who won the tourney, and that person crowning their Inspiration.
The swearing of fealty oaths within An Tir that I recall went along the lines of Champions, Knights, Laurels, Pelicans, Landed barons/baronnesses, household/retinue, genereal populace. The order done there was Skald, Royal Peers, Entourage, Landed barons/baronnesses, Knights, Laurels, and Pelicans.
I did not go to their second court which was held shortly after in a different building, and I believe the general populace was invited to swear fealty at that time.
The words of the oaths were different, but the meaning was the same, and the emotions of those involved were nice to see, smiling faces approaching the thrones, serious demeanor during the oath, and smiling faces upon completion.
One of the other differences in style I noted was during the Champion Tourney, when a number of the fighters as well as saluting Crown, Inspiration, and Opponent added in Populace as well. A nice touch I thought.
All in all a very nice event, held on the same site as Gulf Wars with far far fewer attendees.
The new king placed the crown on his own head, then took the oath of office from an officer (I do not know the posotion of the officer receiving the oath). He then stood aside as his consort did the same action and oath. In both cases the previous King and Queen were not on stage, a very different scene from what I am used to with the sitting royals placing the crown first on the head of the Heir who won the tourney, and that person crowning their Inspiration.
The swearing of fealty oaths within An Tir that I recall went along the lines of Champions, Knights, Laurels, Pelicans, Landed barons/baronnesses, household/retinue, genereal populace. The order done there was Skald, Royal Peers, Entourage, Landed barons/baronnesses, Knights, Laurels, and Pelicans.
I did not go to their second court which was held shortly after in a different building, and I believe the general populace was invited to swear fealty at that time.
The words of the oaths were different, but the meaning was the same, and the emotions of those involved were nice to see, smiling faces approaching the thrones, serious demeanor during the oath, and smiling faces upon completion.
One of the other differences in style I noted was during the Champion Tourney, when a number of the fighters as well as saluting Crown, Inspiration, and Opponent added in Populace as well. A nice touch I thought.
All in all a very nice event, held on the same site as Gulf Wars with far far fewer attendees.
Wednesday 2 April 2014
Florida - 2014
Ah. All good things must come to an end. I have greatly enjoyed my stay with Marina and Francis, but the time has come to roll along. They have put up with my presence for nearly a month, allowing me to wait for the weather to heat up so that driving and camping my way back to Canada will be more pleasant.
Very little was asked of me during the stay, but I did do a nice supper for them and Francis' bowling friends, warm brie, white lasagna, tabuli, fresh fruit with warm caramel.
While here I did not do very much, I attended a couple of the events for Daytona Bike Week, which were packed with bikers, and I even noticed a few others from Canada. The guy I talked to from Red Deer AB, like me had driven down in the fall. There were a lot of bikers from the northern states who trailered their bikes down, not having the time to do it when the weather was warm.
I also went to the SCA event, Gulf Wars, which was on at the same time as Bike Week. And, although Bike Week was nice, Gulf Wars was far more fun. I found it easier to break the ice with the SCA people than with the bikers, as well as there being a far better female to male ratio.
My trailer allowed a small amount of water in, and mold was on a lot of my stuff. Cleaning it and washing everything down took the better part of two days, and luckily one item was damaged beyond recovery, a sleeping bag.
Now the road calls once again, and I am off to see what a SCA event, Coronation in Gleann Abhann is like. I have attended many in Tir Righ ans Antir, time to spot the differences.
Pictures of the event to follow.
Very little was asked of me during the stay, but I did do a nice supper for them and Francis' bowling friends, warm brie, white lasagna, tabuli, fresh fruit with warm caramel.
While here I did not do very much, I attended a couple of the events for Daytona Bike Week, which were packed with bikers, and I even noticed a few others from Canada. The guy I talked to from Red Deer AB, like me had driven down in the fall. There were a lot of bikers from the northern states who trailered their bikes down, not having the time to do it when the weather was warm.
I also went to the SCA event, Gulf Wars, which was on at the same time as Bike Week. And, although Bike Week was nice, Gulf Wars was far more fun. I found it easier to break the ice with the SCA people than with the bikers, as well as there being a far better female to male ratio.
My trailer allowed a small amount of water in, and mold was on a lot of my stuff. Cleaning it and washing everything down took the better part of two days, and luckily one item was damaged beyond recovery, a sleeping bag.
Now the road calls once again, and I am off to see what a SCA event, Coronation in Gleann Abhann is like. I have attended many in Tir Righ ans Antir, time to spot the differences.
Pictures of the event to follow.
Tuesday 4 March 2014
The Joys of the Dorm.
So, I am currently in a 16 bed dorm at a hostel. The staff are great. The other guests last night? Not so much.
There are other dorm rooms available, this is the only one with air conditioning (an extra charge). Of the 15 others over 8 complained that it was too cold, even though they could get blankets from the front desk, they strenuously objected to the AC being set as low as it was. To the point I was afraid some one was going to throw a punch at me.
The AC had been set at 77F, and ended up going up to 80 ( one of the guys wanted it set to 85). Outside temp at the time was 78.
After successfully throwing a hissy fit, getting the temp raised, they promptly left to go out for the evening.
Returned drunk and noisy, cracking jokes and talking loudly in German at 2AM, ignoring a repeated requests to be quiet. Then left for the early ferry at 7AM, leaving behind a nice collection of garbage strewn across the floor.
So to re-cap they were willing to pay for an air conditioned room, but strongly objected to the use of AC, and were in the room for less than 5 hours, and were generally a pain in the ass to be around.
Ah well, at least there was no noisy sex happening.
As opposed to the previous group of Germans who had the AC lowered to 74F which I found slightly cool (from 76), were quiet when they came in after midnight, and did their best to not disturb anyone, took care of their trash etc.
The Hostel is called Dirty McNasty's on Caye Caulker in Belize, and I do recommend them. A slightly higher price that came with nice staff and included extras such as breakfast, bikes and canoes.
There are other dorm rooms available, this is the only one with air conditioning (an extra charge). Of the 15 others over 8 complained that it was too cold, even though they could get blankets from the front desk, they strenuously objected to the AC being set as low as it was. To the point I was afraid some one was going to throw a punch at me.
The AC had been set at 77F, and ended up going up to 80 ( one of the guys wanted it set to 85). Outside temp at the time was 78.
After successfully throwing a hissy fit, getting the temp raised, they promptly left to go out for the evening.
Returned drunk and noisy, cracking jokes and talking loudly in German at 2AM, ignoring a repeated requests to be quiet. Then left for the early ferry at 7AM, leaving behind a nice collection of garbage strewn across the floor.
So to re-cap they were willing to pay for an air conditioned room, but strongly objected to the use of AC, and were in the room for less than 5 hours, and were generally a pain in the ass to be around.
Ah well, at least there was no noisy sex happening.
As opposed to the previous group of Germans who had the AC lowered to 74F which I found slightly cool (from 76), were quiet when they came in after midnight, and did their best to not disturb anyone, took care of their trash etc.
The Hostel is called Dirty McNasty's on Caye Caulker in Belize, and I do recommend them. A slightly higher price that came with nice staff and included extras such as breakfast, bikes and canoes.
Monday 24 February 2014
Food highlights, Central America Oct 2013 to Feb 2014
I can only remember some of the restaurant names. When I can, I will mention them.
Terry's Grill, Caye Caulker. The lobster was on the small side, but well prepared. It was missing a drawnbutter sauce, but otherwise nice. Their Red Snapper was very nice, caught less than two hours before being served, in the open air, feet from the Caribbean. I had stewed chicken at about 4 different places on Caye Caulker, and it was all good.
San Igancio, Lilia's Kitchen, the local meals are very nice, with a modest price. Fuego Grill serves up very nice fare, but prices are higher than anywhere else in town. Apple turnover from the New French Bakery was a nice afternoon treat.
Flores, Guatemala. Los Amigos Hostel, first time I tried nachos in Central America, and was not impressed. I am too used to the chips used in Canada/USA, and the thicker harder style used kept throwing me off, as well as the cheese. The guacamole was devine though.
Antigua, Guatemala. Tried the local fast food fried chicken in two different chains. It was not as salty as KFC, and the chicken itself was nicer, the meat had a deeper flavour than in Canada/USA, I believe the chicken was free range as well as being more mature when harvested. Ate at La Hacienda, had a Brazilian style steak, and found it very nice. They served a cup of chicken broth as a starter, but I found it too salty. The sauces served with the steak were nice and understated. The salsa was too mild on my first impression, but it did allow the flavour of the range fed beef to come through.
San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala. I spent the longest time there, and thus can give the most detail. Pequenos Pecados was my favourite cafe, the cook is Italian/Argentine and really knows what to do with both beef and pasta. I ate there, sampling a lot of the dishes, and was never disappointed. The BBQ at the Deep End on Saturdays was fun to attend, and the ribs were a knockdown fave of mine, but bring an empty belly, because they serve the ribs on 2 plates, one for the ribs and one for the side dishes. It can easily feed two.
Jakuu, large portions well prepared with a wide variety of local dishes.
Shanti Shanti, great view of the lake, nice spot for lunch with fresh tasty sandwiches.
Idea Connection, the best place to have breakfast, a wide variety of eggs, omlettes, pancakes, for breakky, plus nice sandwiches and pastries. They also have the fastest internet connection in the area.
Naked Sushi, nice fun evening atmosphere and great sushi.
Granada Nicaragua, entertaining tourist area with a wide range of places to eat to chose from. Mostly either on the street seating or courtyard, open and airy. A little slow during the afternoon, the whole area comes to life when the sun sets. I have forgotten the name of the place that I had pizza at but remember being disappointed by the pepperoni on the pizza. The rest of the ingredients were fresh and tasty, but the meat lacked zip.
Ometempe Island. No real stand outs for food either way. A lot of the places were disappointing in their selection available. Just because it was printed on the menu, did not mean it was in stock.
Boquete Panama, tried my first parilla, Argentine style wood fired grilled steak. Was very nice, but triple the cost of the local cafes.
Panama City, many nice places to eat. Wait for the sun to set and follow the crowd. In the Casco Viejo area, the good places set up tables outside because they run out of room inside and the weather is wonderful for eating in the open air. Prices were high, but the food was good. I indulged in too much beef, and for once had beer with it. Balboa beer was very nice with the tenderloin, a light beer that enhanced the steak and did not overwhelm the palate.
Terry's Grill, Caye Caulker. The lobster was on the small side, but well prepared. It was missing a drawnbutter sauce, but otherwise nice. Their Red Snapper was very nice, caught less than two hours before being served, in the open air, feet from the Caribbean. I had stewed chicken at about 4 different places on Caye Caulker, and it was all good.
San Igancio, Lilia's Kitchen, the local meals are very nice, with a modest price. Fuego Grill serves up very nice fare, but prices are higher than anywhere else in town. Apple turnover from the New French Bakery was a nice afternoon treat.
Flores, Guatemala. Los Amigos Hostel, first time I tried nachos in Central America, and was not impressed. I am too used to the chips used in Canada/USA, and the thicker harder style used kept throwing me off, as well as the cheese. The guacamole was devine though.
Antigua, Guatemala. Tried the local fast food fried chicken in two different chains. It was not as salty as KFC, and the chicken itself was nicer, the meat had a deeper flavour than in Canada/USA, I believe the chicken was free range as well as being more mature when harvested. Ate at La Hacienda, had a Brazilian style steak, and found it very nice. They served a cup of chicken broth as a starter, but I found it too salty. The sauces served with the steak were nice and understated. The salsa was too mild on my first impression, but it did allow the flavour of the range fed beef to come through.
San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala. I spent the longest time there, and thus can give the most detail. Pequenos Pecados was my favourite cafe, the cook is Italian/Argentine and really knows what to do with both beef and pasta. I ate there, sampling a lot of the dishes, and was never disappointed. The BBQ at the Deep End on Saturdays was fun to attend, and the ribs were a knockdown fave of mine, but bring an empty belly, because they serve the ribs on 2 plates, one for the ribs and one for the side dishes. It can easily feed two.
Jakuu, large portions well prepared with a wide variety of local dishes.
Shanti Shanti, great view of the lake, nice spot for lunch with fresh tasty sandwiches.
Idea Connection, the best place to have breakfast, a wide variety of eggs, omlettes, pancakes, for breakky, plus nice sandwiches and pastries. They also have the fastest internet connection in the area.
Naked Sushi, nice fun evening atmosphere and great sushi.
Granada Nicaragua, entertaining tourist area with a wide range of places to eat to chose from. Mostly either on the street seating or courtyard, open and airy. A little slow during the afternoon, the whole area comes to life when the sun sets. I have forgotten the name of the place that I had pizza at but remember being disappointed by the pepperoni on the pizza. The rest of the ingredients were fresh and tasty, but the meat lacked zip.
Ometempe Island. No real stand outs for food either way. A lot of the places were disappointing in their selection available. Just because it was printed on the menu, did not mean it was in stock.
Boquete Panama, tried my first parilla, Argentine style wood fired grilled steak. Was very nice, but triple the cost of the local cafes.
Panama City, many nice places to eat. Wait for the sun to set and follow the crowd. In the Casco Viejo area, the good places set up tables outside because they run out of room inside and the weather is wonderful for eating in the open air. Prices were high, but the food was good. I indulged in too much beef, and for once had beer with it. Balboa beer was very nice with the tenderloin, a light beer that enhanced the steak and did not overwhelm the palate.
Sunday 16 February 2014
Panama Canal
The Canal is truly one on the wonders of the modern world. Though it was completed in 1914, to many this does not make it very modern, yet it was on the cusp of modern times, and the machinery and approach to building it did herald a new era in mankind.
The first attempt by the French was not well thought out and suffered greatly as a result. The difference in mortality between it and the American attempt is vast, with the French losing over 20,000 people due to accident and disease while moving 30,000,000 cubic yards of material, while the Americans, lost 5,600 lives while moving 170,000,000 cubic yards.
The difference can also be attributed to lessons learned in review. The American team looked at what had happened within the French workforce, and before the digging started, started on infrastructure for the towns and work camps along the way. Water, sewer, roads and improved railroads were all integral to the American plan, and the discovery of mosquitoes being the carrier of malaria and yellow fever made significant impacts.
The item that tends to stick in my mind is the volume of material moved. The original plan was to simply build a canal without locks, and the amount of material moved would have been considerably higher than the total of 200 million cu ft. The shifted material ended up in three main places, two breakwaters were built, one on either end to help prevent silting of the canal entrances as well as linking small islands to the mainland. The third place was in the huge earthen dam for Gatun Lake. The size of the dam is not readily discerned from the canal today. Most of it has bee covered by grass and trees, anchoring the material and making it blend into the surroundings. The resulting lake means that although the ships need to be lifted higher (85 feet) than a sea level canal, it also meant far less digging. The lake also provides the water for the lock system and a small amount for electric generation.
Each full passage of the Panama Canal uses roughly 26,000,000 gallons of water.
There is far more about the canal available elsewhere, as well as http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html where you can follow the links to live camera feeds of the locks and new construction.
Now, on to the pictures.
We did not get a good view of the new construction, but here you can see a portion of the new terracing and the dike which will separate the new larger lane from the old channel. The new lane will be a one lane canal with traffic taking approx 24 hours to make a transit.
Last shot, the new lock gates awaiting installation.
The first attempt by the French was not well thought out and suffered greatly as a result. The difference in mortality between it and the American attempt is vast, with the French losing over 20,000 people due to accident and disease while moving 30,000,000 cubic yards of material, while the Americans, lost 5,600 lives while moving 170,000,000 cubic yards.
The difference can also be attributed to lessons learned in review. The American team looked at what had happened within the French workforce, and before the digging started, started on infrastructure for the towns and work camps along the way. Water, sewer, roads and improved railroads were all integral to the American plan, and the discovery of mosquitoes being the carrier of malaria and yellow fever made significant impacts.
The item that tends to stick in my mind is the volume of material moved. The original plan was to simply build a canal without locks, and the amount of material moved would have been considerably higher than the total of 200 million cu ft. The shifted material ended up in three main places, two breakwaters were built, one on either end to help prevent silting of the canal entrances as well as linking small islands to the mainland. The third place was in the huge earthen dam for Gatun Lake. The size of the dam is not readily discerned from the canal today. Most of it has bee covered by grass and trees, anchoring the material and making it blend into the surroundings. The resulting lake means that although the ships need to be lifted higher (85 feet) than a sea level canal, it also meant far less digging. The lake also provides the water for the lock system and a small amount for electric generation.
Each full passage of the Panama Canal uses roughly 26,000,000 gallons of water.
There is far more about the canal available elsewhere, as well as http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html where you can follow the links to live camera feeds of the locks and new construction.
Now, on to the pictures.
 |
| The Pacific breakwater |
 |
| Panamerican Bridge |
 | ||
| The width of the lock is 110 feet, max width of ship is 108 feet |
 | |
| With such a close fit, the ships move very slowly in the locks. |
 |
| The gates and cement walls are original. |
 |
| The electric Mules, which are used for steering and stablizing the ships. |
Friday 14 February 2014
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