Valparaiso Chile

Local housing Valparaiso
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

What a wonderful,colourful vibrant city, just a pity I didn't allow myself enough time to see it all. Certainly on the list for the return journey - I haven't ridden all the Ascensors yet, or taken the trolley bus somewhere or visited the house of Pablo Neruda - all things certainly worth doing. Hasta pronto For more photos visit www.flickr.com/photos/barbhagger

On Becoming Invisible

I think it's old age! It seems that unless I am driving a car in an unknown place(and getting lost), I seem to be invisible most of the time, and the older I get the less confidence I have to actually go out there and do things. Why is it I wonder?
There are days when I have to push myself out the door - to drive someone else's car, to navigate unknown Motorways and roads, to travel solo to an unknown city, to wander around as a tourist and yet I cannot sit around watching the box or just grow old indoors.
But honestly, some days I just wonder!

Trusted Out

Bodiam Castle
Originally uploaded by agypsy.

Just spent a week frantically checking out National Trust properties here in the "old country" and still find it hard to get my head around the ages of these buildings. Some of them have been around since the 1300s and what's more are still standing. Admittedly - there has been lots of renovations over the years, but they are still standing.
Thank goodness my house owners - Kathy and Mike are good citizens and have paid their annual family subs for membership of the Trust - otherwise - forget it - there's no way I could have visited the 10 or so properties. Things here in the UK certainly don't come in at the cheap end of the spending scale!

Anyway the reason I did it all in a week is that the end of October signals the end of the season and the properties close for the winter months. Here daylight saving also began last weekend, but it works the opposite way and means a little daylight at get up time in the morning, but dark at 4.30 in the pm - a little SAD to say the least. So I am completely "Trusted" out and need time to catch up with just sitting around, reading and generally chilling for a day or so before I head out on the next leg. I have loaded up some photos and they can be found on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/barbhagger

Meerkat Magic

A 3.00am start in Buffalo Bay, on a rather brisk morning,followed by a 2 hour drive over the mountain range to the town of Oudtshorn, central South Africa was worth every moment when that first little head popped out of the burrow and surveyed his surroundings. Grant Mc Illrath - the Meerkat Man promises a magical experience and that it certainly is. We were to meet him at 5.50 exactly - which we did, can't say the same for the tour operator and his group of 4,(he is that happy smiling face -not- in the centre of the group,) but finally we all got going out to the Meerkat's home turf. Grant never stops talking, LITERALLY to both his human audience, and in a language known only to him and these furry creatures, as he reassures them the whole time we are with them that we are just more objects in their territory and not likely to be a danger to them.
It was a cold morning, with ice on the chairs as we set up to watch these magical creatures, the Ungulungu Wild Meerkat at home. A very passionate Grant explains everything about the subjects of his 12 year research as we all wait patiently for the first to emerge from the burrow. As it is a cold morning, this takes a little longer and there are moments when I am sure we all doubt the possibility, but then suddenly there is Impi - the first out of bed. We had been asked to remain perfectly still as the first one emerges, but Grant continues to move around the burrow, making his "re-assuring" noises and hand gestures and talking all the time, and sure enough Impi seems to look straight through us as he checks the area for dangers. Once this is done and he has warmed himself 3 more of these wonderful animals emerge, warm themselves and then groom themselves ready for the day, then it's off foraging for breakfast and we get to go too!
Off they go, heads down and tails up at quite a pace and we follow along behind. That particular morning they did the rounds of the outer "bolt holes", safe havens from the predators and old burrows to check them out and scent mark everything as their are several other troups in the area. Impi was also on the lookout for other females and actually left the group that morning, don't know if he came back! We spent quite a few hours out there watching, and I really can't describe what a magical experience it was.

You can check out Grant's website at http://www.meerkatmagic.com these are his photos and there are lots more and so much information on the site. Sheer Magic!!

More Pics of the new home

La Casa Pequeña

For all those who thought it would be too small for living - well cop this!!! looks fantastic and with lots of room to spare. I guess when you have lived in a 4WD for 10 years anything is spacious.

More photos to come - but now I have water and power and will even get to sleep in my new "home when I'm home" tonight. I leave for my years wandering early Sunday morning.

The Land of the Long White Cloud

Nelson, New Zealand,the city with the most sun in all the country, and although it is winter I have enjoyed the sunshine on the verandah with my companions - purebred British Short Hair Mr Black and Mr Grey, and their moggie friend Kitti - the house owners. Their companions,Jo & David, with whom they graciously share the house and caterers to all their needs are travelling in Oz, so naturally we need another to take on that task - thus the house sitter! So here I am again.
Another most enjoyable month, catering to the needs of the "boys", spending on the beautiful Merino/Possum/Silk products - I can hear all those Aussie shudders at the use of Possum fur - but it is the 2nd warmest fur available and is so light and warm and when combined with the Merino makes superb products. Added to that the Possum is a pest here, and is destroying the native bush and wildlife, so I think they are making the best of it all - or at least that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!. I have also enjoyed the hospitality of the locals, wonderful folk who made sure I wasn't too bored or lonely. It's always the people you meet along the way that make the journey so wonderful!

Frustration!

I am finding this unbelievably frustrating and have wasted almost a whole day in attempting change. Why are these machines so very frustrating at times? All was working so well before - now!!!

The Next Step

Looks a little small doesn’t it? I wonder if there will be any room for me in there when everything goes in, but at least we are started now and as I write the frame is going in over an already completed concrete slab.

To Be Or Not To Be My New Home?

These is the view from what may or may not be my new home - when I am in Melbourne that is - until recently my sister’s garage which as you can see couldn’t have possibly house a car, but did house everything else that she, her family, our parents and I have ever owned - not even a tram ticket would have fitted in there prior to the empty out. My sister is a true Bower Bird. I am only sorry that we didn’t take photos before we started the clean out - but many black bags hit the dumper and a 6 meter skip came and went in just a few hours and there is still a lot to go! All I now have to do is get the works happening and that is proving interesting to say the least. I am beginning to wonder if it is meant to be, but we shall see on that one.
First one has to get the permits, cost involved naturally, then there are the contractors/tradesmen - just getting them to answer the phone, return the calls, come and give a quote etc is proving to be an exercise in patience. Then there are all those decisions I am going to have to make, and everything naturally involves a cost - it’s much easier to just take off on the next adventure or house sit - which is what is just about to happen. So wish me luck with the “house” or whatever comes next. My next entry should be from “The Alice”

Reflections Lemaire Channel

The evening was spectacular. After the BBQ on the deck it was impossible to venture inside as the night became more and more beautiful and we entered the Lemaire Channel. In the morning this same channel had been completely blocked by pack ice and un navigable, amazing the difference a day makes! If you look closely at the base of the cliff coming down on the right, the small black dot you can see in the water is another boat - that's how vast the distances are in Antarctica. We were meeting this boat - another of the Quark expedition boats to exchange some zodiac outboard motors. Two expedition staff disappeared into the vast pack ice in a tiny zodiac to deliver them - they don't even appear in the picture.The passage took several hours and was absolutely magnificent

Reflections Lemaire Channel

Pack Ice in the Drake

This was the first view of what was to come that night as we entered the ¨infamous Drake Passage¨.The view from the bridge was spectacular with many large icebergs sparkling in the setting sun, a great time for those last photos, just in case I didn't already have enough. It's that line of solid white ahead of the boat that suddenly had the crew a little concerned and the captain on the bridge. Which resulted in much smoking as all scanned the horizon for a clear passage.

As the sun set the pack ice became thicker and the passage changed regularly, with lots of stops and starts and plenty of chain smoking as all eyes searched for the hidden icebergs in the drifting pack ice.

Pack Ice

It was hours before finally we cleared this lot.

Antartic Journey

A Local Resident

I Really Am Crazy

Just to prove that I was one of 35 totally crazy people who did go swimming in Antartica! We were told??? silly us to believe such a thing! that the water in Pendulum Cove would be warm and during the visit to Whaler´s Bay on Deception Island that morning there was steam emanating from the sand and yes the water was warm to feel. Swimming there is not a good idea as there is a lot of rubble from the old station, so we patiently waited until the evening and the promised warm water. Unfortunately it was not to be; but when you are there you just have to do it! And I have swum in some other rather interesting and obscure places - so I was silly enough to be the first to take the running dive and probably the first out again. It was rather invorating, the worst part was that the ground underfoot is actually volcanic stone and is very difficult to walk on barefoot. The shower on the boat never looked or felt so good - and we had a lousy shower.

Antarctica

Imagine: Complete silence, peace, beauty, colour formed within thousands of years of ice, patterns and formations that take a form and change within minutes. It is impossible for me to find the words to describe the beauty of the trip between the iceburgs and to convey the feeling that they give, but a few pictures might help.

Antarctica

The Finis Terrae Family

My family here in Ushuaia, La Ciudad Del Fin Del Mundo.

Marie, who cooks delicious bread for breakfast, changes the towels almost before you are out of the shower and changes the bed either while you are in the shower or eating too much bread at breakfast! Amanda, the beautiful hostess of Finis Terrae, the Bed & Breakfast, principal of Finis Terrae the spanish school www.spanishpatagonia.com , my teacher and friend, fluent in Italian and French and believe it or not a grandmother! Ana, my other Spanish teacher and friend, who cracks the whip in class and speaks far more English than she will admit to in class and finally Exequiel, the VERY hard working host of Finis Terrae who never stops. I have finally learned to pronounce his name, but when he throws 3 sentences at me in rapid Spanish, with some English in there as well - I stand there with my mouth open and he just shakes his head. Exequiel is fanatical about customer service and as hosts he and Amanda are wonderful, I have always felt at home in their home and with all the people coming and going I don't know how they keep going, but they do and always with a smile.

An Antarctic Adventure

This one isn´t mine, thankfully, but does give one food for thought. A fellow Ozzie, also studying Spanish at the school just returned from a yacht trip to Antartic - and yes yacht is correct. A group of 12 including guides and crew headed south to do some climbing . First stop, first beach landing and a great chunk of iceburg decides to part company and hit the water. This created a wave which when funneled into the beach created a mini tsunami about 3 metres high, and yep you guessed it, they were washed out to sea. Most close enough to be quickly pulled out, one with a badly broken leg, but Mark was actually washed right out, wearing full climbing gear and was in the water for almost 10 minutes. Managed to grab a floating backpack and one of the others swam out with a rope - lucky guy. A touch of hypothermia and fingers still attempting to come back to full life, but other than the loss of all the gear, amazingly well and rather casual about the whole adventure.

Finally Found a Use For ........???

I finally found a use for the ever present Bidet. So far there has been one in just abou every bathroom I have visited since I have been here in Argentina, and as a not very well educated Aussie (in bidet terms anyway) I have never really been game to use one for the purpose it is intended. I do know the general idea, but - well I am sure you understand. And I haven´t found anyone else who admits to using/trying one either. Can´t put the toilet paper in the loo, but there is almost always a bidet.
Anyway enough of that - had some hand washing to do, and there just isn´t a sink big enough in the B&B - so what else would you use? Found a plug to the small handbasin - very small, in fact only large enough for very small smalls or small hands; discovered it fitted the bidet and there you go - handwashing done in next to no time. I did have to kneel on the floor, but other than that slight discomfort all worked very well. Warm water flowed, had to adjust the taps so the fountain didn´t work and all was washed and rinsed with ease. The washing is now hanging around the room hopefully drying to squash into the case to head further south next week.

NARICES FRIAS

I just loved this, it is the kindergarten at the end of my street and the name Narices Frias translates as cold noses - just perfect for the city at the end of the world.

FINIS TERRAE

My home here in Ushuaia, Finis Terrae, Spanish School and B&B, an absoultely delightful place just minutes from the centre of Ushuaia. Have at look at www.finisterraeushuaia.com.ar It is operated by a wonderful couple, Exequiel ( I still have trouble with the pronunciation) and Amanda and nothing is too much trouble for them, they are perfect hosts. Amanda is my Spanish teacher,( one of them, I actually have two,) and runs the school here. You can check it out at http://www.spanishpatagonia.com Amanda and Anna are pushing me hard in my Spanish - just what I need and I find my comprehension and conversation improve by the day, but I must admit there are times when I wonder why I am doing this. My class is from 4.00 to 8.00 in the afternoons and yesterday included a visit to a museum and coffee in the centre.

Ushuaia is a beautiful city and has more than doubled it´s size and population in the last 10 years. There is a concerted effort to attract tourists and the city gears itself more all the time for the tourist trade. The houses are beautiful and there is construction everywhere with new houses pushing the city out all the time. Although there are many poorer suburbs and certainly smaller houses, I am told that there usually is plenty of money and that it is the way that the owners choose to live. But more on that later.