TravelStream™ news feed for member williampotter on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/williampotter en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 10 Jun 2007 17:16:37 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1173928140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1173928140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1173928140/tpod.html Sun, 10 Jun 2007 17:16:37 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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Nadi, Fiji

It feels too soon to leave Australia but my ticket urges me on to Fiji.I've few expectations of the place and nothing organised. Amiable agents are waiting for stragglers like me at the airport and I book a brief stay on the largest island, Viti Levu, before stranding myself on Mololo Island for five nights.Fiji is humid, noisy with mynahs (not native) and bothered by small, non-malarial and, thankfully, slow mosquitoes. I arrive at night and the main drag to my hotel in Nadi is barely lit. The road is pitted. Heavy rain descends soon after I'm checked in so I don't explore. The hotel is acceptable. The restaurant is decorated, oddly with large photos of Elvis, Charlie Chaplin and George Michael. The staff are dressed in traditional loud shirts and grey skirts and greet you with the local welcome, 'Bula!' I go Pacific and drink pineapple cocktails in my welcome shell necklace.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180475160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180475160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180475160/tpod.html Wed, 30 May 2007 18:01:40 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

Another overnight bus; this time I'm entertained by a documentary-cum-advertisement for the staple Argentine food - not steak, but ham-and-cheese sandwiches. They're all made by hand, you know!So, my final destination is Buenos Aires. After weeks of tramping round the wilds of Patagonia, to plant myself in the hubbub of a capital city again is a shock to the senses. The central streets are so crowded you need to pause to find a gap in the flow. Major roads (we're talking up to 18-lane highways here) split the blocks. Yet there is some beauty in the elegant 19th-century facades that merit a comparison with Paris. The Plaza de Mayo is dominated by the Casa Rosada at its northeastern end. The salmon-pink presidential palace is most known for a certain balcony from where Madonna sang 'Don't cry for me, Argentina'. Apparently someone called Eva Peron also took a bow here. The square is dusty and populated by the same pigeons that foul every major city square. There is more space to breathe at Puerto Madero, behind the Casa Rosada, though it's an effort to find a crossing from the Plaza de Mayo. Puerto Madero was opened in 1897 as a port close to the city but was insufficient for the demands of the 20th century and began closing with just 15 years. After 50 years of neglect, the dockside grainstores have been refurbished as pricey warehouse flats and polite restaurants (and T.G.I. Fridays) and it's a calm place to stroll. Now kayaks are the traffic on the brown canals and the dockside cranes provide nesting sites for green parrots.Beyond, and more surprising within the city's boundaries is the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, It is somewhat spoilt by litter and the burning smell from a dozen parrillas (grills) along the pavement beside it but behind the trees are preserved marshes and ponds, resting grounds for black-necked swans, geese, vicunas and kiskadees.So it is that I am walking through one of the world's most exciting cities photographing birds.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180561680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180561680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180561680/tpod.html Wed, 30 May 2007 17:58:07 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

The final full day of my round-the-world trip has arrived. Truth said, my mind has been back in the UK for much of the last few weeks and I'm ready to return to more useful activities.Still, I head out, to the pretty (and wealthy) borough of Recoleta where red phone booths and pillar boxes lead to a tidy park and a sparkling white 18th-century church and cloisters. Beside this is the Cementario de la Recoleta. This is no mere collection of headstones but a small town of tombs and chapels dedicated to wealthy and notable soldiers, mayors and bankers from the last century. Statues of weeping angels, stained-glass windows and art-nouveau doors abound. Some tombs are polished and protected from the elements by glass doors; others are cobwebbed, open to litter and dusk, the casks inside are open, revealing bones. The odd cross is missing - looted? - and the door barred with corrugated steel. So it is, that in one of the world's liveliest cities, I am amongst the dead.There are few flowers here, except for those threaded into the doorway of one black and unassuming crypt, that of Eva María Duarte de Perón. A line of tourists queue to photograph the plaques or add notes of 'Gracias'.I head downhill to visit the Museo Nacional de Belles Artes, where the usual suspects - Rembrandt, Goya and Degas share a building with Argentine art and a spooky collection of pre-Colombian work. Back in the Recoleta park, an old man is dancing the tango alone, seeking a partner for tips. My own dance is coming to an end, with no big bang, just city idling from shop window to shop window from café to restaurant - the stuff I've generally left out of this blog. One more dinner, one last glass, OK, bottle of wine. I'm waiting for my flight.I have been around the world and indeed it was round but now it's time for me to get off.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180734600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180734600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180734600/tpod.html Wed, 30 May 2007 17:51:05 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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London, United Kingdom

And so, this journey has ended. It seems over in a flash, though more for you, dear reader, than for me, I suspect. Having been asked the question at several points en route, here are my Top 10 highlights in chronological order: Sleeping under The Milky Way and shooting stars, Thar Desert, India. Crossing Thorung-La Pass (5,500m), Annapurna Circuit, Nepal. Overnight tapir watching from a hut in the Taman Negara, Peninsula Malaysia. Sunrise over Mount Kinabalu (4,000m), Malaysian Borneo. Laidback diving, wandering, dining and drinking, Gili Trabangan, Lombok, Indonesia. Crossing The Outback, Australia. Diving in a shark soup, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Tramping the Tongariro Circuit, North Island, New Zealand. Staring, petrified, at a 12,000ft parachute jump over Glenorchy, South Island, New Zealand. Interacting with juvenile sea lions, Punto Lomo, Puerto Madryn, Argentina. And nine lowlights also in chronological order: Looking for a lost restaurant through the worst of Delhi at night.Maoist extortion, Nepal.  Leeches, Taman Negara, Malaysia. Constant rain at sunset over Prambanan and Borobudur, Java, Indonesia. Deserted, scruffy, black-sand beaches, dodgy dive companies and impoverished hawkers on Bali's north coast. Noisy dorms in boring Brisbane, Australia. Absess and toothache on Fiji Island. Snow preventing a view of los Torres del Paine and the Fitz Roy ranges, Patagonia (Otherwise, great trekking!) And, overall, being a tourist with such a hectic itinerary, looking and not truly getting involved.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180301520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180301520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180301520/tpod.html Sun, 27 May 2007 17:42:57 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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Days 246-7: Bariloche, Argentina

Zigzagging across the country via another overnight bus (and turgid Steven Seagal movie) I'm back by the spine of the Andes in touristy Bariloche. Bariloche is Switzerland transported to the Andes. The setting is Alpine - snowy peaks (a huge draw for skiers in winter), choppy lakes, Tyrollean architecture, St Bernard dogs (your photo taken for a price) and shops full of chocolate wares. The effect is spoilt only by graffiti and monkey-puzzle (araucania) trees in the Centro Civico. There are several trekking and driving routes here, the ski-lift-assisted way up Cerro Catedral being most popular for the panoramic view. But, after months of trekking, I take an easy option. I've ridden elephants, camels, even sat on the back of a buffalo but, since being attacked by one in my youth, I've not tried riding a horse till today. I don't trust horses. Azzurro (Iron) is my mount for a three-hour ride. He is used to novice riders and doesn't threaten to rear up but not for a moment do I really believe I am in charge. Despite an insistence on helmets at the stable's gate, the gaucho-dressed guide assures me one isn't needed for the morning's gentle ride. It is a soft introduction through pine forest and around beautifully located Lake Moreno. Towards the end of the ride, a pair of riders ahead decide to take the trip beyond a trot and race back to the stables. Azzurro takes the hint and lets loose with me gripping tightly to the saddle and tugging ineffectually on the reins. I don't overcome my mistrust of horses.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180104600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180104600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180104600/tpod.html Sun, 27 May 2007 17:34:22 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Breakfast TV news announces the arrival of the whales in Puerto Pyramidés a week after everyone here knew.Today is a national holiday in Argentina, in commemoration of the revolution that led to independence from Spain, so the beach is busy with strollers, joggers and kayakers. I've a couple of dives booked, the highlight being the opportunity to interact with sea lions in the gulf. The weather's perfect again, not a cloud, just a little wind. It's my first dive in Atlantic waters and it's chilly in late autumn, even in a full, 7mm-thick wetsuit with jacket and hood. I take a reading of 15°C.Dive one is to the wreck of a fishing vessel, the Albatross, deliberately sunk off Puerto Madryn in 1998. In just nine years it's gathered a wealth of white anemones and mussels. Large Atlantic salmon and flounder find shelter from the currents here, all new fish to me. Me and my guide (It's just me and the divemaster on this trip) don't penetrate the wreck; entry points are tight. But several circuits of the wreck are interesting enough and I'm happy to surface after just 30 minutes from these cold waters.Dive two is in a sheltered cove, Punto Lomo, where sea lions bask and feed secure from predators. Before the boat weighs anchor, curious sea lions are barking and approaching us. We drop to a shallow depth of just five metres and settle on the bed of weed and wait for visitors. We don't have to wait long. About a dozen juveniles, perhaps five months old, in mottled silver and brown fur, the odd female and a small male come near, nip at our fins, stare into our masks than turn away suddenly. They get braver and cheekier. I feel nudges on my hood and at my elbow as one large pup comes close. I get to pat the odd individual. The pups are a delight to watch, curling in the water, picking up pebbles and tossing seaweed about, bumping into each other; I'd swear you could tell which were siblings. It's a magical experience, worth shivering over afterwards.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180018140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180018140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1180018140/tpod.html Fri, 25 May 2007 11:03:34 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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Peninsular Valdés, Argentina

I join a minibus tour of the Peninsular Valdés nature reserve east of Puerto Madryn. Yes, the whales have arrived, early; a camera is to be set in operation tomorrow to snap the first arrival! But, no, there is no guarantee of seeing any, and no boats to get the tour group close. Peninsular Valdés is about 100km away so we have an hour's drive past the aluminium factories and the putrid-smelling fishing garbage dumps to get there. The minibus windscreen is stone-pecked and cracked - a familiar sight on Patagonian transport. The reserve is shared with sheep farms; there are many guanaco, rhea and large rodents called mara here but everyone comes for the marine life. In season there are Magellanic penguins and fighting elephant seals. Southern right whales return to these waters every year not to feed but to mate in the gulf waters sheltered by the peninsular.At the reserve entrance we take a quick toilet break. I have been on whale-watching trips before but failed to sight any. I never thought my first glimpse of one would be through a window whilst peeing. Everyone raced outside to check the right whale breaching in the gulf's waters. I catch the 'classic' shot of the tail fins rising as the whale submerges.We move on to a bay where large female and pale-furred juvenile elephant seals are basking in today's unseasonal sun. The giant males do not arrive till August. The sand is marked with trails where the seals have dragged themselves about.Sheltered Puerto Pyramidés is the only place it is possible to stay on the peninsular but it is barely open. Here the group is meant to stop for lunch but we're glued to the beach. Not far out are a pair of whales rolling, leaping and bobbing in the water. At first, with their white spots, they are mistaken for orca, that also visit these parts. Further up the coast, at Las Cantanas, are several more, less showy couples but on the horizon (damn, the fact we're not able to race off in zodiacs!) are giants leaping out of the water. Despite the distance, we can hear the whales groan, the flush of waters and crash as they bellyflop on to the water's surface. And, finally, tonight I get my first taste of mate, the national drink, an infusion of boiled leaves, but I am offered it from a French couple, not via an Argentine invite. The drink is  not as bitter as I expected but a comfortable herbal experience with less liquid than pulp - not unpleasant.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179931560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179931560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179931560/tpod.html Fri, 25 May 2007 10:49:06 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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Puerto Madryn, Argentina

There is a direct road north from El Calafate to Bariloche but it is unpaved and no buses pass this way, nor any backpacker 4x4 trips off season. All overland trips north go via coastal Rio Gallegos to the southeast. I reckon on spending three nights of my last touring week on overnight buses. El Calafate to Rio Gallegos is four hours through nondescript flat land. After two more in the bus terminal, where I meet others from the Navimag boat, (few travellers bother going 3km further to investigate the town) It'son the coast so I'm aboard a second bus bound for Puerto Madryn. This is an 18-hour ride.I'm lured to Puerto Madryn by two reports that the migrating southern right whales have arrived a month early. When I get there I find there are no boat tours till June. If I see whales at all it will be from the coast.Puerto Madryn is a pleasant enough place to stay, even off season. It's sunny, the water clear and the grey, sandy beach is busy with joggers and dog-walkers. An Argentine naval gunboat is docked. It seems odd to be able to approach it when it's not so long since British ships were waging war with such. I'm staying at the Hostel Retorno, where I made to feel very welcome though I have not seen evidence of any other guests.With no boat tours, my options to get close to the marine life are a coastal bus tour (if the company can find at least two other passengers!), cycling to one of the viewpoints for whales or sea lions, or diving. I may be the only paying customer, the waters may be a chilly 16°C, but this is one I can confirm.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179755760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179755760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179755760/tpod.html Wed, 23 May 2007 14:11:25 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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El Chaltén, Argentina

I set off to see Mount Fitz Roy an hour before sunrise. The barkless white beech trunks that form steps over the hill are easy to see in the dim, blue light. A strong wind rips through the Rio de las Vueltas valley. It seems possible the weather will spoil my view. Mount Fitz Roy, clear as daylight yesterday (though out of sight on my Torres trek) is shrouded by cloud from the mirador. The mono view of snow and rock is interrupted only by the deep blue of Glacier Piednas Blancas (7th glacier and counting). I hope for clearer weather as I press on through forest towards a closer viewpoint.It is a wonder that the southern beech can recover from the deathly state it reaches in late autumn, with branches shed, peeling bark, split trunks and woodpecker punctures. This wind-bent winter tree is an icon of Patagonia.Following the climbers-only camp at Rio Blanco the path becomes steep and hidden beneath frozen snow. Despite the likelihood there is still no vista over the hill, I persevere. It's a tough ascent, digging boots into the snow to make purchase, scrambling over rocks and negotiating icy ledges but I make it to the top an hour ahead of predicted times. There is a blank space where Mount Fitz Roy should be. At its base another glacier falls (8!) and the frozen Lago de los Tres also appears to tilt. It's not an ideal place to pause but I stop for a celebratory snack as a light snow falls. Then, a violent thrust of wind knocks me back. I take the hint and struggle downhill. At the bottom I spot a pair of signs at Rio Blanco I'd failed to take in on the way up. One warns that only experienced mountain trekkers should go on. The next says, 'Trail Closed. Do not go ahead'. Having gone ahead I can understand the concern. So, thwarted for a third time by Patagonian mountain ranges too coy to reveal themselves, I am bussed back to El Calafate.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179669240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179669240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/williampotter/rtw_2006-7/1179669240/tpod.html Tue, 22 May 2007 10:20:23 -0400 Eastwards for eight months, to see if the world is round

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El Chaltén, Argentina

Days ago, on approaching El Calafate, the bus paused at a viewpoint over the Andes. I spied to the right of the ranges a distant, cathedral-like, more frighteningly steep arrangement of peaks. This unforgettable profile was the Fitz Roy range. I had to get closer. So, I am on another bus in the late sunrise over the bleached scrubland of Patagonia. El Chaltén is the gateway to the Fitz Roy range. This tiny town beside the Rio Fitz Roy is only 22 years old and still mid-construction. Today most of the hostels and few stores have curtains closed or newspaper in the windows. Within minutes of checking into my hostel, I'm checking out the mountain paths. The weather is crisp, the path tough with frost. It winds through gnarled and splintered mountain beech and around frozen pools. Snow-covered Cerro Solo and the spires of the Torres peaks are ahead but the Torres are part obscured by cloud. By the time I reach Lago Toro, only the bases are visible. Glacier Túnel (my 6th glacier and counting) pours into the lake and icebergs drift to its edges. I wait in the bitter wind for 15 minutes, hoping Cerro Torre (3102m) might make an appearance but the cloud refuses to part. I head back to town before sunset. Perhaps tomorrow I will get the view I seek.There are more locals than backpackers in the hostel tonight, drinking German beer and watching a Boca Juniors match on TV. The Bocas win and the place empties.
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