busking is so much fun! Who would have thought it a valid way to spend your life!
I feel the same about meditation. All my life people have tried to tell me to stop sitting around doing fuck all and get on with whatever the hell it is that i ought to be doing. No no no... that will never do! Finally my one tallent (doing fuck all), all those years of practice, paying scroupulous attention to detail, are finally paying off.
I´d like to thank Goku for all he has taught me!
The more i find out about Buda, the more I want to be a Jedi.
Rock the Dragon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Hjf43k3Cs
21 Jul 2009
17 Jul 2009
Random memories of teh last few months that i may not have mentioned...
Giant marlin fish jumping vertically out of the water off the coast of Panama on the way to Colombia!
Helicopter landing on the beach in Jurado - 9 days with no contact of the outside world, stuck and then it appears. The whole village came out. I lent my binoculars to one of the kids who nearly died in orgasmic joy!!
1st jam session in a long time way back months ago in Boquette, Panama. Great stuff! Turns out I can play the violin after all!
Going to Cartagenga for 5 days and barely leaving the hostel! Hehehehe. Cheers guys! see ya around!
Meeting 2 artisanias on the street in Medellin and chatting with them in a park for an hour in spanish. I didn´t realise we were talking spanish till half way through. Just simple stuff of course... but still!
The word Chimba o la chimbita!! teeheeheeheeheeehehhehehehe
Busking the streets of Medellin. Got enough to have a good time! Gracias mi Corazón(Thanks) to the people of the streets of Medellin!
Parque Periodista (el periquista) y Tambian el parque Carlos E. Party time... all the time!!! ¿Ever been serenaded by 2 men in one night?
Arriving in Ecuador to the sight of a road side church service with more lights than can be healthy (you know how those catholics like to put on a show! It looked like something out of apocalype now!), everything amplified to 12, which suddenly turned into ecuadorian pop (too much fun to describe... I want MORE) and fireworks! What a sight to see as you leave immigration with a 4 month stamp!
and more....
p.s. Did I mention the fruit?? I treat myself to a brand NEW fruit every few days!!!
Helicopter landing on the beach in Jurado - 9 days with no contact of the outside world, stuck and then it appears. The whole village came out. I lent my binoculars to one of the kids who nearly died in orgasmic joy!!
1st jam session in a long time way back months ago in Boquette, Panama. Great stuff! Turns out I can play the violin after all!
Going to Cartagenga for 5 days and barely leaving the hostel! Hehehehe. Cheers guys! see ya around!
Meeting 2 artisanias on the street in Medellin and chatting with them in a park for an hour in spanish. I didn´t realise we were talking spanish till half way through. Just simple stuff of course... but still!
The word Chimba o la chimbita!! teeheeheeheeheeehehhehehehe
Busking the streets of Medellin. Got enough to have a good time! Gracias mi Corazón(Thanks) to the people of the streets of Medellin!
Parque Periodista (el periquista) y Tambian el parque Carlos E. Party time... all the time!!! ¿Ever been serenaded by 2 men in one night?
Arriving in Ecuador to the sight of a road side church service with more lights than can be healthy (you know how those catholics like to put on a show! It looked like something out of apocalype now!), everything amplified to 12, which suddenly turned into ecuadorian pop (too much fun to describe... I want MORE) and fireworks! What a sight to see as you leave immigration with a 4 month stamp!
and more....
p.s. Did I mention the fruit?? I treat myself to a brand NEW fruit every few days!!!
15 Jul 2009
p.s.
to vaguely translate it do what I have to do...
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/
All hail Douglas Adams!
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/
All hail Douglas Adams!
La Piña
LA Piña, La piña
Si Pienso en ti soy feliz
Tu eres dulce
que sabrroso
Siempre piña para mi
Guanabana blanca
mi encanto jugo de ti
Quire tomarte
hasta el fin
Guanabana para mi
Papaya,, Papaya
quiro trnerte en mi
Que rico
que suave
Que estoy comiendo de ti
Guitar solo
Mango........ Mango
***orgasmic screaming noises (nearly melodic)***
MAMASITA!!!
La mara, Zapote
el borojo y guayaba
granadina, melocoton
megusta mucha las fruitas aqui!
10 Jul 2009
Ok, so it´s in spanish, but you get the idea!
http://solarfasttrack.com/latest/images/water-disaster.pdf
ENTONCES QUE!!!
OHHH! IT´S IN ENGLISH!!!
BE WARNED... THERE IS A RANT ABREWING DEEP INSIDE ME.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I APOLOGISE IN ADVANCE FOR ALL THE SWEARING BUT IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO EXPRESS HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE SUBJECTS. OTHER WORDS HAVE BECOME LAME.
ENTONCES QUE!!!
OHHH! IT´S IN ENGLISH!!!
BE WARNED... THERE IS A RANT ABREWING DEEP INSIDE ME.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I APOLOGISE IN ADVANCE FOR ALL THE SWEARING BUT IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO EXPRESS HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE SUBJECTS. OTHER WORDS HAVE BECOME LAME.
8 Jul 2009
Random memories of teh last few months that i may not have mentioned...
Giant marlin fish jumping vertically out of the water off the coast of Panama on the way to Colombia!
Helicopter landing on the beach in Jurado - 9 days with no contact of the outside world, stuck and then it appears. The whole village came out. I lent my binoculars to one of the kids who nearly died in orgasmic joy!!
1st jam session in a long time way back months ago in Boquette, Panama. Great stuff! Turns out I can play the violin after all!
Going to Cartagenga for 5 days and barely leaving the hostel! Hehehehe. Cheers guys! see ya around!
Meeting 2 artisanias on the street in Medellin and chatting with them in a park for an hour in spanish. I didn´t realise we were talking spanish till half way through. Just simple stuff of course... but still!
The word Chimba o la chimbita!! teeheeheeheeheeehehhehehehe
Busking the streets of Medellin. Got enough to have a good time! Gracias mi Corazón(Thanks) to the people of the streets of Medellin!
Parque Periodista (el periquista) y Tambian el parque Carlos E. Party time... all the time!!! ¿Ever been serenaded by 2 men in one night?
Arriving in Ecuador to the sight of a road side church service with more lights than can be healthy (you know how those catholics like to put on a show! It looked like something out of apocalype now!), everything amplified to 12, which suddenly turned into ecuadorian pop (too much fun to describe... I want MORE) and fireworks! What a sight to see as you leave immigration with a 4 month stamp!
Did I mention the fruit?? I treat myself to a brand NEW fruit every few days!!!
Helicopter landing on the beach in Jurado - 9 days with no contact of the outside world, stuck and then it appears. The whole village came out. I lent my binoculars to one of the kids who nearly died in orgasmic joy!!
1st jam session in a long time way back months ago in Boquette, Panama. Great stuff! Turns out I can play the violin after all!
Going to Cartagenga for 5 days and barely leaving the hostel! Hehehehe. Cheers guys! see ya around!
Meeting 2 artisanias on the street in Medellin and chatting with them in a park for an hour in spanish. I didn´t realise we were talking spanish till half way through. Just simple stuff of course... but still!
The word Chimba o la chimbita!! teeheeheeheeheeehehhehehehe
Busking the streets of Medellin. Got enough to have a good time! Gracias mi Corazón(Thanks) to the people of the streets of Medellin!
Parque Periodista (el periquista) y Tambian el parque Carlos E. Party time... all the time!!! ¿Ever been serenaded by 2 men in one night?
Arriving in Ecuador to the sight of a road side church service with more lights than can be healthy (you know how those catholics like to put on a show! It looked like something out of apocalype now!), everything amplified to 12, which suddenly turned into ecuadorian pop (too much fun to describe... I want MORE) and fireworks! What a sight to see as you leave immigration with a 4 month stamp!
Did I mention the fruit?? I treat myself to a brand NEW fruit every few days!!!
24 Jun 2009
what happened next...
............... SO, where was I? Ah yes, Jurado.
Got to say that this plae was one of the most insane experiences of my life. We left from Haiken in a speed boat and sped over the colombian frontier in a fishing speed boat! It was great! As we approached Jurado the heavens opened. We couldn't see more than 5m, but the captain assured us that out launch would be here soon, and it was. So, we rushed off in a torrential downpour, eyes on fire thanks to the combined power of the wind, rain and 100hp engine. Over the sea we flew, through teh pounding surf and into the river mouth.
Upon later inspection the river mouth revealed itself to be a treacherous place. Sand banks, massive trunks of drift wood, kayuko's and christ knows what else made the memory of speeding up the river, on our 1st day in town, the captains eyes barely open, seem even more sureal. But hey, he knew this place like the back of his hand...
Anywho. We arrive at the riverbank in town and are shepparded straight to the police battallion. This ain't no village police station. This is a batallion fit to fight of gurillas, a task thay ain't had to do for 6 years... but still. In the hills surrounding there are 3 more outpost of specialist anti gurilla forces. So we arrive in the batellion and after the usual where have you come from, where are you going, passaporte etc they procede to tell us that becuase Jonney has been in Mexico and now had a bit of a couch [years of smoking what can only be described as incredible amounts of ciggarettes will do that to you!] we all had to be quarantined immediatly and could not leave. After some minutes of vague pleading it tuns out that were having a laugh and proceeded to produce a flaggon of the most stunning hot chocolate I have ever tasted [we were all soaked to the bone, it was like a little glimpse of heaven], and food!
When we enquired about a place to put up out hammocks and tents thay told us we could sleep on the beach, or there was a abandoned house next to the station that we could stay in if we liked! Yes, you heard it here 1st! The house was... great! It was grenaded that last time the gurillas attacked, about 6 yeras before and no one wantede to fix it. No windows or doors but a good enough roof [it only leaked a bit when it rained really hard, which it did evey now and again!] and plenty of room for the 4 of us to sleep! And so teh Jurodo saga began. We were planning to get a boat out of there in a day or so, there is a cargo boat a week, sometimes two, delivering supplies and taking back fish and wood.
There are no roads to Jurado, boat is the only way to get there. The only road for about 400km [on the colombian side of the boarder] links Bahir Solano and El Valle [spelling error]. However, when we arrived there was a srtike on the busses so nothing was being delivered to the boats so there were no boats coming or going! We decided to wait it out. So began a stunning 11 days of chatting with the locals, [this was where i decided to really learn spanish, it's going slow but getting there!] unsuccessful fishing, being given epic amounts of fish by the incredibly friendly and frankly amazing villagers, playing loads of music with the kids in the village [I currently have me violin, a melodia [blow piano], recorder and calmiba[which Jonney showed me how to make out of bamboo, outside the house!!! And Jonney's Djembe]], learning how to make macrame jewlery [Jonney has been a traveling artisan for 7 years, adn Veronica was pretty good too!] and generally having a great time!
The house had the privaleged location of being about 70m from the beach, a stunning milliom mile long streach of pure sand and a clean blue pacific ocean. "Fancy a swim mate?", "na i've just had two, see ya later!". Lifes a bitch, eh?
I could talk all day about this place but briefly a bit about playing music with the kids. The kids hadn't seen many white people and us four in the red house were fascinating! All day long I would play various things with them. They loved the Melodia. Often there would be 8 or 10 of them playing it at the same time. Sounded terrible but great fun! A couple of them came back and started to get the basics down really well! And they loved the guitarita [aka violin!]. I tried to teach them the dance to "I want to be near you" but my spanish wasn't up to it and they danced much better without my foolish utterances anyhow!
Eventually the fuel started to run out and the already limited electicity [of which we had none in the house, cooking on fire, candles at night. electicity is rubbish anyhow] was only on in teh day for a coulple hours and a couple more at night. This also meant that that couldn't pump enough clean water down from the hills so we started drinking the well water. It didn't take long before epic amount of faecal like material, but much more watery, was spewing forth from any orafice avaiable. Jonney was fine aftera a day, Veronika too [i think her time in india helped]. Me and Spencer however had a rough few days. Evil times.
Eventually we decided to screw the cargo boat and get a launch to Bahir Solano and try our luck form there. VAMOS! I'm not gonna go through all that happened there, in short big props out to me home bois in el valle. Ya knows I loves ya, right?
Another week of paridise and another boat and we were finally in Colombian proper! Four boats, three weeks and a hell of a great time! Then a couple days in Cali, I wanna go back, kinda reminded me of Bristol. Here I left Spencer and Jonney headed off to Ecuador. Spence had been a bit ill again but seamed better so i headed off. Turns of the poor lad had Malaria. I feel kinda bad for abandoning him but i wanted to get out and speak some spanish and thats hard when english is around! He's fine now and i'm hoping to find him tomorrow in Medellin!
Anywho. I went to Medellin where I proceded to busk for the 1st time properly. Money is... shall we say... tight... It was great, and a great way to chat to people too! Medellin is stunning too. Set agaianst the backdrop of a fork in the valley in teh mountains, a cool climate at night and boiling in teh day [when its not raining], it almost reminded me of a dorset, green rolling hills, rain etc. In truth it is more like dorset on acid with amazing Colombians everywhere!
Then I couch surfed for the 1st time. Ended up staying a week with Andres, a vet and it was great! I say a cat get castrated!!! Have you evr held freshly cut balls in your hands? nor have i but I saw them and it was wrong. You can't just go about cutting animals balls out. it aint fair.
That is enough for now. Much more has happened but it is either unimportant or would require explanation. Ask me about it some day. So, hey luz, thanks to colombia!
I'm in Cartagenga now. Listening to Vallenato music. I love the music here [listen online at http://delicast.com/radio/Colombia/vallenato/Fundingue ] Heading back to Medellin tonight for 10 days of Meditation. Yes, you heard it right.
Oh, also, I saw Balf!!!
Love to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A couple pics!!!
The red house!!
The village Doctor having a fiddle! he was great!
Walker, Sarah, Jonney, Spence, Pacheko [spelling error]
Got to say that this plae was one of the most insane experiences of my life. We left from Haiken in a speed boat and sped over the colombian frontier in a fishing speed boat! It was great! As we approached Jurado the heavens opened. We couldn't see more than 5m, but the captain assured us that out launch would be here soon, and it was. So, we rushed off in a torrential downpour, eyes on fire thanks to the combined power of the wind, rain and 100hp engine. Over the sea we flew, through teh pounding surf and into the river mouth.
Upon later inspection the river mouth revealed itself to be a treacherous place. Sand banks, massive trunks of drift wood, kayuko's and christ knows what else made the memory of speeding up the river, on our 1st day in town, the captains eyes barely open, seem even more sureal. But hey, he knew this place like the back of his hand...
Anywho. We arrive at the riverbank in town and are shepparded straight to the police battallion. This ain't no village police station. This is a batallion fit to fight of gurillas, a task thay ain't had to do for 6 years... but still. In the hills surrounding there are 3 more outpost of specialist anti gurilla forces. So we arrive in the batellion and after the usual where have you come from, where are you going, passaporte etc they procede to tell us that becuase Jonney has been in Mexico and now had a bit of a couch [years of smoking what can only be described as incredible amounts of ciggarettes will do that to you!] we all had to be quarantined immediatly and could not leave. After some minutes of vague pleading it tuns out that were having a laugh and proceeded to produce a flaggon of the most stunning hot chocolate I have ever tasted [we were all soaked to the bone, it was like a little glimpse of heaven], and food!
When we enquired about a place to put up out hammocks and tents thay told us we could sleep on the beach, or there was a abandoned house next to the station that we could stay in if we liked! Yes, you heard it here 1st! The house was... great! It was grenaded that last time the gurillas attacked, about 6 yeras before and no one wantede to fix it. No windows or doors but a good enough roof [it only leaked a bit when it rained really hard, which it did evey now and again!] and plenty of room for the 4 of us to sleep! And so teh Jurodo saga began. We were planning to get a boat out of there in a day or so, there is a cargo boat a week, sometimes two, delivering supplies and taking back fish and wood.
There are no roads to Jurado, boat is the only way to get there. The only road for about 400km [on the colombian side of the boarder] links Bahir Solano and El Valle [spelling error]. However, when we arrived there was a srtike on the busses so nothing was being delivered to the boats so there were no boats coming or going! We decided to wait it out. So began a stunning 11 days of chatting with the locals, [this was where i decided to really learn spanish, it's going slow but getting there!] unsuccessful fishing, being given epic amounts of fish by the incredibly friendly and frankly amazing villagers, playing loads of music with the kids in the village [I currently have me violin, a melodia [blow piano], recorder and calmiba[which Jonney showed me how to make out of bamboo, outside the house!!! And Jonney's Djembe]], learning how to make macrame jewlery [Jonney has been a traveling artisan for 7 years, adn Veronica was pretty good too!] and generally having a great time!
The house had the privaleged location of being about 70m from the beach, a stunning milliom mile long streach of pure sand and a clean blue pacific ocean. "Fancy a swim mate?", "na i've just had two, see ya later!". Lifes a bitch, eh?
I could talk all day about this place but briefly a bit about playing music with the kids. The kids hadn't seen many white people and us four in the red house were fascinating! All day long I would play various things with them. They loved the Melodia. Often there would be 8 or 10 of them playing it at the same time. Sounded terrible but great fun! A couple of them came back and started to get the basics down really well! And they loved the guitarita [aka violin!]. I tried to teach them the dance to "I want to be near you" but my spanish wasn't up to it and they danced much better without my foolish utterances anyhow!
Eventually the fuel started to run out and the already limited electicity [of which we had none in the house, cooking on fire, candles at night. electicity is rubbish anyhow] was only on in teh day for a coulple hours and a couple more at night. This also meant that that couldn't pump enough clean water down from the hills so we started drinking the well water. It didn't take long before epic amount of faecal like material, but much more watery, was spewing forth from any orafice avaiable. Jonney was fine aftera a day, Veronika too [i think her time in india helped]. Me and Spencer however had a rough few days. Evil times.
Eventually we decided to screw the cargo boat and get a launch to Bahir Solano and try our luck form there. VAMOS! I'm not gonna go through all that happened there, in short big props out to me home bois in el valle. Ya knows I loves ya, right?
Another week of paridise and another boat and we were finally in Colombian proper! Four boats, three weeks and a hell of a great time! Then a couple days in Cali, I wanna go back, kinda reminded me of Bristol. Here I left Spencer and Jonney headed off to Ecuador. Spence had been a bit ill again but seamed better so i headed off. Turns of the poor lad had Malaria. I feel kinda bad for abandoning him but i wanted to get out and speak some spanish and thats hard when english is around! He's fine now and i'm hoping to find him tomorrow in Medellin!
Anywho. I went to Medellin where I proceded to busk for the 1st time properly. Money is... shall we say... tight... It was great, and a great way to chat to people too! Medellin is stunning too. Set agaianst the backdrop of a fork in the valley in teh mountains, a cool climate at night and boiling in teh day [when its not raining], it almost reminded me of a dorset, green rolling hills, rain etc. In truth it is more like dorset on acid with amazing Colombians everywhere!
Then I couch surfed for the 1st time. Ended up staying a week with Andres, a vet and it was great! I say a cat get castrated!!! Have you evr held freshly cut balls in your hands? nor have i but I saw them and it was wrong. You can't just go about cutting animals balls out. it aint fair.
That is enough for now. Much more has happened but it is either unimportant or would require explanation. Ask me about it some day. So, hey luz, thanks to colombia!
I'm in Cartagenga now. Listening to Vallenato music. I love the music here [listen online at http://delicast.com/radio/Colombia/vallenato/Fundingue ] Heading back to Medellin tonight for 10 days of Meditation. Yes, you heard it right.
Oh, also, I saw Balf!!!
Love to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A couple pics!!!
The monkey cleverst on monkey island. They live in a deserted research station. Something happened there. i don't know what but... [this was panama]
The red house!!
The village Doctor having a fiddle! he was great!
Walker, Sarah, Jonney, Spence, Pacheko [spelling error]sorry about the spelling typing errors but I can't be bothered to correct them now! Any questions? you know where to mail!
p.s in conclusion... Colombia es una Chimba! hehehe
p.s in conclusion... Colombia es una Chimba! hehehe
31 May 2009
Cause I ain´t written for a whilst...
Where to begin...
So, somewhere around the start of April I left Luna´s with the job unfinished and headed to Costa Rica for one last night in Franks insane company. We had a crazy night in San Jose and then he was gone. No more Batty Boy! Then off to Porto Viejo. They refer to this place as a backpacker reggae heaven so you can guess what i got up to there! Full of Americans who had got stuck there. One old guy had been coming back every summer for 17 years and had been looking for somewhere to buy for the last 6, but couldn´t quite find the right view of the sea.
After a week in yet another caribbeantropical paridise it was time to move on, but where to? What was the "plan".
As usual there wasn´t one. Life is so much simpler when you let it plan itself. You end up where you should be, which for me turned out to be Boquete, up in the Panamanian mountains and home to the highest point in Panama, Mount Baru.
And mount it we did. I met up with a couple of American brothers, Spencer and Walker. Walker had just been doing some kind of eco farm exploration of Central America. Then on a dark night, the day after we met, 0100 hrs, we set off up the Mountain. It wasn´t until about half way up that I realised it is a damn long way up a hill like that!
The reason we climbed at night was in order to reach the top as the sun rose, and what a sunrise it was! The sun coming up over the banks of cloud that streached all the way to the Atlantic and in the opposite direction the Pacific with the shadow of the Mountain streaching to the horizon. Stunning. This was combined with the most orgasmic pineapple i have ever put in my mouth. This thing was divine! So juicy and sweet! I´m sure the effects of the altitude made it even sweeter!!!
I´m sure I mentioned this before but as we´re on the subject of fruit, many months ago, in The Comonwealth of Dominica, I had a religious experiance with a mango.
Anyway. After the epic glories of Baru we headed back to Panama City. Walker to catch a flight, Spencer to decide where to go next, and I, to find a Yacht to New Zealand. I´d been chatting to a few skippers online and they were interested in meeting up for a drink to assess me. We hitched a lift with some other yanks, travelling writers in a big van callerd the Avacado. An ex-tour bus with ceiling lighting!
So back to Lunas! I met up with Melchior and Roman, two french guys I met in the Canaries. We ended up playing music for hours! It was great!
And then I changed my mind. Screw New Zealand, for now at least, I am off to Colombia and then the rest of South America! But how to get to Colombia? The san blas route is stunning, but done that bit. Fly? No! Through the Darien by land? Guerillas, malaria, some of the densest jungle and marsh land in the world? No. By boat down the pacific coast? Why yes!
15 dolla! thankyou! 3 or 4 days, Great! We leave tomorrow you say! Perfect, for that is my birthday! Sometimes things just go you way. Off to the shop for supplies! I think you can pretty much guess what we brought, but best by far, Papaya = sent direct from the tables of heaven to blow your mind with a taste and texture explosion. The fruit out here is so fucking great!
That night was spent on the bow of the Amparo, a beautiful old 80ft wooden motor boat, on an almost mirror like sea, outpacing a slight following swell and all strait into a scintillating full moon.
To top it all off I got chatting to this crazy french guy in his 50s, who was in the past something to do with the fench military. You seen Leon, right? For the last 13 years he had been living in the Darien, next to El Playa Del Muerte. The beach of death. Teh story goes something like this. An english priveteer ship had been chasing a group of pirates for 2 days. Eventually the brits caught up and ravaged the npirates. Not one was left alive. The beach was covered in blood. The Captain of the Privateer took 4 men into the jungle to bury the treasuse. He killed them all there and left for England. There he died. No one knows where the treasure is. But this guy is looking.
So we get to Haiken on in Panama but on the Colombian boarder, deep in the Darien. Stunning place. Then next day to Jurodo. Colombian Frontier town. Until 15 years ago a guerilla town, now a pretty much unmolested paradise. We arrived in a torrential downpour the likes of which England has never seen. As soon as we touched land we were shepperded to the police station.
"We", was now Spencer, Jonny (AKA Maloco, brasillian artisan, travelling the world from the age of 14. He speaks a kind of half spanish, half porugeese and to this day i barely understand what he says. we gat along great!!) and Veronica.
No internet time left!!!!!!
panic and fearª
more to come
dan
x
So, somewhere around the start of April I left Luna´s with the job unfinished and headed to Costa Rica for one last night in Franks insane company. We had a crazy night in San Jose and then he was gone. No more Batty Boy! Then off to Porto Viejo. They refer to this place as a backpacker reggae heaven so you can guess what i got up to there! Full of Americans who had got stuck there. One old guy had been coming back every summer for 17 years and had been looking for somewhere to buy for the last 6, but couldn´t quite find the right view of the sea.
After a week in yet another caribbeantropical paridise it was time to move on, but where to? What was the "plan".
As usual there wasn´t one. Life is so much simpler when you let it plan itself. You end up where you should be, which for me turned out to be Boquete, up in the Panamanian mountains and home to the highest point in Panama, Mount Baru.
And mount it we did. I met up with a couple of American brothers, Spencer and Walker. Walker had just been doing some kind of eco farm exploration of Central America. Then on a dark night, the day after we met, 0100 hrs, we set off up the Mountain. It wasn´t until about half way up that I realised it is a damn long way up a hill like that!
The reason we climbed at night was in order to reach the top as the sun rose, and what a sunrise it was! The sun coming up over the banks of cloud that streached all the way to the Atlantic and in the opposite direction the Pacific with the shadow of the Mountain streaching to the horizon. Stunning. This was combined with the most orgasmic pineapple i have ever put in my mouth. This thing was divine! So juicy and sweet! I´m sure the effects of the altitude made it even sweeter!!!
I´m sure I mentioned this before but as we´re on the subject of fruit, many months ago, in The Comonwealth of Dominica, I had a religious experiance with a mango.
Anyway. After the epic glories of Baru we headed back to Panama City. Walker to catch a flight, Spencer to decide where to go next, and I, to find a Yacht to New Zealand. I´d been chatting to a few skippers online and they were interested in meeting up for a drink to assess me. We hitched a lift with some other yanks, travelling writers in a big van callerd the Avacado. An ex-tour bus with ceiling lighting!
So back to Lunas! I met up with Melchior and Roman, two french guys I met in the Canaries. We ended up playing music for hours! It was great!
And then I changed my mind. Screw New Zealand, for now at least, I am off to Colombia and then the rest of South America! But how to get to Colombia? The san blas route is stunning, but done that bit. Fly? No! Through the Darien by land? Guerillas, malaria, some of the densest jungle and marsh land in the world? No. By boat down the pacific coast? Why yes!
15 dolla! thankyou! 3 or 4 days, Great! We leave tomorrow you say! Perfect, for that is my birthday! Sometimes things just go you way. Off to the shop for supplies! I think you can pretty much guess what we brought, but best by far, Papaya = sent direct from the tables of heaven to blow your mind with a taste and texture explosion. The fruit out here is so fucking great!
That night was spent on the bow of the Amparo, a beautiful old 80ft wooden motor boat, on an almost mirror like sea, outpacing a slight following swell and all strait into a scintillating full moon.
To top it all off I got chatting to this crazy french guy in his 50s, who was in the past something to do with the fench military. You seen Leon, right? For the last 13 years he had been living in the Darien, next to El Playa Del Muerte. The beach of death. Teh story goes something like this. An english priveteer ship had been chasing a group of pirates for 2 days. Eventually the brits caught up and ravaged the npirates. Not one was left alive. The beach was covered in blood. The Captain of the Privateer took 4 men into the jungle to bury the treasuse. He killed them all there and left for England. There he died. No one knows where the treasure is. But this guy is looking.
So we get to Haiken on in Panama but on the Colombian boarder, deep in the Darien. Stunning place. Then next day to Jurodo. Colombian Frontier town. Until 15 years ago a guerilla town, now a pretty much unmolested paradise. We arrived in a torrential downpour the likes of which England has never seen. As soon as we touched land we were shepperded to the police station.
"We", was now Spencer, Jonny (AKA Maloco, brasillian artisan, travelling the world from the age of 14. He speaks a kind of half spanish, half porugeese and to this day i barely understand what he says. we gat along great!!) and Veronica.
No internet time left!!!!!!
panic and fearª
more to come
dan
x
16 Apr 2009
Lunacy
Brief explanation. I've been sanding the crap out of all this wood and generally mashing stuff up in panama city, luna's castle (hostel) in Casco Viejo. Great part of town.
Anyway. here are sxome pics of what me and frank been up to. We finished today. I'm allowed to think again!!!!!!!!!!!
This is my favorite bit!!!!!
Anyway. here are sxome pics of what me and frank been up to. We finished today. I'm allowed to think again!!!!!!!!!!!
This is my favorite bit!!!!!
12 Apr 2009
Trabajo
SANDING SANDING
SANDING
SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING
SANDING
SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING
MASH HOLE IN CONCRETE FLOOR
SANDING SANDING
SANDING
SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING SANDING
16 Mar 2009
Colon, Bhuddists in recycled boats, Joshua and the Kuna Yala!
So.... Panama! Colon is rough. Don't go unless you have to. That's all I want to say about that!
Why am I here? Well... to find a yacht to sail to New Zealand, of course! The Panama Canal squeezes hundreds of boats into one place and many are looking for helpful (un) people just like me (i hope!). Where to start! Go to the yacht clubs and chat. The internet is a great thing also. With a day of looking I found a guy who wants to set up a floating zen buddhist ashram in a self built recycled catermaran named Absolute Absolution. Naturally I was excited to find out more.
I took some time to look at myself and at the boat and have started meditating. It's great. You get to sit around and do nothing and call it mindfulness. The boat was something else. In the end I doubted that it would survive on the ocean very long. That and the face that the boat needed a lot of work. No rudders (an even more technical job on a catameran), no engine mount and the fiberglass was falling off the bottom and a lot of the ply wood/beams were rotting. I thought long and hard about it. It could have been an amazing project, I would essentially have been captain, Poppa Nutrino (Incredibly interesting guy, half snake, half rabbit. Read more about him at http://www.floatingneutrinos.com/) and a polish guy names Lech was cook.
Then one day Poppa came back from town with 4 other people. 2 Sweeds and 2 Brits Viktor, Jungert, Rob and Charlotte who were looking to sail to Colombia. Poppa changed his plans and said we'd take them over if they helped fix the boat and pay. Thats was when i really started to think seriously about the ship. Would she make it? Did i want to take that risk? 6 peoples lives in your hands on a boat made of... I didn't sleep for 2 night (and you know how much I love to sleep!) and then when talking about the motor mount system one morning (many meetings were involved) I realised that it was just a littel bit too crazy for me and much more responsibility than I wanted right now. So, many thanks Poppa, but no. Good luck with everything. Sorry for leading you along.
Not all was lost though, the boat is anchored in Linton Bay, near Poerto Lindo. Stunningly beautiful place. We were right next to monkey island! The monkeys were great!
When I left Poppa I joined with the other 4 guys for a bit and we stayed in a great hostel in Portobello which boasted 2 monkeys of its very own! A small 'titi' that lived on the veranda and a bigger one which was best mates with the dog and ran free. We had an extreamly relaxing few days there.
The others were still looking for boats to get to Colombia (there are lots of them and one day I think I'll join in!) and eventually found a spot with a great guy named Freddy, a Colombian. I'd met him before as he is trying to sell a boat which he has gutted. I was tempted but it needs a lot of work and I think I need a bit more experience before I head out into the sea on my own boat... One day soon though (anyone got any good money making ideas?)! The trip down to Colombia takes 5ish days and you stop off in the Kuna Yala Islands (the spanish called them the San Blas). I decided to join them for a couple nights and see the tropical paradise. When I found out that Freddy's boat was a Joshua, one of the 15 made to the same design in the early 70's I knew I hadto sail on her. I won't go into too much detail but Joshua is Bernard Moitessier's ship. isa sailing legend. He took part in the 1st solo not stop circumnavigation of the world, got all the way around and then decided that he wouldn't finish the race and sailed back the way he came, still not going to land. So french. Knox-Johnson won the race but Moitessier won the ocean, if that is possible.
She sailed great. My only qualm is that her mizzen was not up so the helm was heavy. Then I was marooned. After 3 days sailing deep into the Kuna Yala I literally jumped ship after we had pulled up the anchor with my DM's around my neck! One of the local Kuna Indians had already taken my bag over to the island.
Staying on the island was great. just indescribeable.
there is much more to say but i ain't gonna. wrote this weeks ago and then started working.
to cut a long story short, it was great but I lost my DM's and got an mashed up infected tropical sore on my foot. A sad day indeed.
Staying on the island was great. just indescribeable.
there is much more to say but i ain't gonna. wrote this weeks ago and then started working.
to cut a long story short, it was great but I lost my DM's and got an mashed up infected tropical sore on my foot. A sad day indeed.
2 Mar 2009
Strike time in Martinique!!
Martinique is on strike, (Greve in french). MAybe i should have checked out the current political climate before i got there but hey, I´d probably still have gone! So I turn up, it´s sunday and everything is closed. I met some of the locals and ended up staying with them. The next day, i would have thought to be monday but in fact during Greve eveyday is sunday. Except the streets fill up with pissed off people. Things are too expensive and there is no money. That what comes of being an oversees department of france!
So... what did I do for 10 days during greve... Exactly what most of the young people were doing... PARTY! A great time was had by all!!!!
Then on to Panama. I cheated. I flew.
It was great! damn the planet!
So... what did I do for 10 days during greve... Exactly what most of the young people were doing... PARTY! A great time was had by all!!!!
Then on to Panama. I cheated. I flew.
It was great! damn the planet!
7 Feb 2009
The valley of desolation!?
Who would have thought it? The Valley of DESOLATION! Followed by the BOILING Lake!
WOW!!!!!!!!
From chatting to people in town they had said that the boiling lake is a must! Beautiful scenery, they said! A lake that really boils (and it actually is boiling!)! Watch out for the hot mud though, boiling sulphourous sludge spewing from the ground!
So off I went.
The people I had chatted to said that the path was fairly easy to follow so I forfitted the guide. Leave early they said, busses start at 7am. I left at 11. Not the best planning in the world but hey, I’ve never been very good at that (although I have started to realize that is can yield some impressive results.. more to come...)! Anyway.
Got a cab up with a German couple. Winding up into the hills on roads that were falling off the edge of the cliffs (literally) and then off on the trail I went! Straight into a muddy path, past the hydroelectric power station (40% of Dominica energy is hydroelectric) and into the forest!
The path started easy enough, logs on mud, and then the climbing started. Up and up for ages then over a ridge and down the other side, humming birds all around! Continuing on through the dense, lush forest and down to the valley floor, over the river then up again!! Repeat a few times and you are on a ridge stomping along the top of the forest, mountains topped with clouds looming through the trees.
At the highest point of the trail, you see forest all around and the sea in the distance, and more hummingbirds!!!!! Should really find out what they were (here a guide would have been handy). Another decent through the jungle and into a riverbed, follow it down, no mean feat, it had 4m falls to get down! The soil in a crumbly red mess, huge boulders scattering the floor. Then you get your first peak at the VALLEY OF DESOLATION (great name!).
Spurting mini geysers spew fresh (hot) water and gas into piles all around them. Yellow sulphorous deposits cover the river bed, there are pools of greys, blues, blacks, greens, yellows, browns and oranges all littering the landscape and flowing down the mountain. Again rotten eggs waft through the air (not at bad as Soufriere, sulphour spring a couple days ago!) Down into the valley, across another river and thought the desolate yellow water. Life clings on in the form of mosses and lichens, and scattered around are grasses, a smattering of lizards and the indomitable flies. Then up, through the valley and around a corner and you are there. A huge boiling lake!
A flooded fumarole, a crack through which gases escape from the molten lava below, a lake of water trapped in a crater being fed by the rainwater of the surrounding area by 2 small tributaries. Gas and vapor fill the air. The wind swirls in the crater, sometimes you can see the whole crater, walls an unknown distance high, the river continuing off down the hill and the boiling centre of the lake. The wind eddies and you can barely see 2 meters!
Beautiful, stunning.
They say it'll take three to four hours to get there. I think this is tourist speed and estimate. I did it in 2 and a quarter. Just time for lunch then off we go, back into the valley of desolation!!!!! I had a trusty stick and kept a close eye on how deep it went into the mud. I met a polish guy who badly burnt his foot on the mud. Massive nasty blister. Then back up the now forest river valley. A bit too far up in fact. Missed the turning and ended up half way up a 6m climb before I realized that there was nothing like this on the way down! Backtracked and the path was obvious.
The decent. I didn't realize on the way up that is really was the way up! A long old climb, so the way back was a lot easier!!!!
SO tired when I got back.
Good 5 hours of walking (plus lunch!)
I loved it up there!
In other news, I'm in Dominica. In St Martin I Took part in the classic yacht regatta on a buattiful old boat called Infante. Old school racer. I loved that too! Then a banana boat down here. Weird experience. The rum is great here.
Dominica is stunning. My 1st experience of propper rain forest? Stunning, amazing super happy fun times!!!! Waterfalls, natural hot springs! so much more! Off to the semi finals of the calypso crown now!!!
whodedoOOOOOooooOOOoO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(the echo is great over the valleys!!!!)
Tomorrow down to Martinique!
Pictures don't do it justice!
WOW!!!!!!!!
From chatting to people in town they had said that the boiling lake is a must! Beautiful scenery, they said! A lake that really boils (and it actually is boiling!)! Watch out for the hot mud though, boiling sulphourous sludge spewing from the ground!
So off I went.
The people I had chatted to said that the path was fairly easy to follow so I forfitted the guide. Leave early they said, busses start at 7am. I left at 11. Not the best planning in the world but hey, I’ve never been very good at that (although I have started to realize that is can yield some impressive results.. more to come...)! Anyway.
Got a cab up with a German couple. Winding up into the hills on roads that were falling off the edge of the cliffs (literally) and then off on the trail I went! Straight into a muddy path, past the hydroelectric power station (40% of Dominica energy is hydroelectric) and into the forest!
The path started easy enough, logs on mud, and then the climbing started. Up and up for ages then over a ridge and down the other side, humming birds all around! Continuing on through the dense, lush forest and down to the valley floor, over the river then up again!! Repeat a few times and you are on a ridge stomping along the top of the forest, mountains topped with clouds looming through the trees.
At the highest point of the trail, you see forest all around and the sea in the distance, and more hummingbirds!!!!! Should really find out what they were (here a guide would have been handy). Another decent through the jungle and into a riverbed, follow it down, no mean feat, it had 4m falls to get down! The soil in a crumbly red mess, huge boulders scattering the floor. Then you get your first peak at the VALLEY OF DESOLATION (great name!).
Spurting mini geysers spew fresh (hot) water and gas into piles all around them. Yellow sulphorous deposits cover the river bed, there are pools of greys, blues, blacks, greens, yellows, browns and oranges all littering the landscape and flowing down the mountain. Again rotten eggs waft through the air (not at bad as Soufriere, sulphour spring a couple days ago!) Down into the valley, across another river and thought the desolate yellow water. Life clings on in the form of mosses and lichens, and scattered around are grasses, a smattering of lizards and the indomitable flies. Then up, through the valley and around a corner and you are there. A huge boiling lake!
A flooded fumarole, a crack through which gases escape from the molten lava below, a lake of water trapped in a crater being fed by the rainwater of the surrounding area by 2 small tributaries. Gas and vapor fill the air. The wind swirls in the crater, sometimes you can see the whole crater, walls an unknown distance high, the river continuing off down the hill and the boiling centre of the lake. The wind eddies and you can barely see 2 meters!
Beautiful, stunning.
They say it'll take three to four hours to get there. I think this is tourist speed and estimate. I did it in 2 and a quarter. Just time for lunch then off we go, back into the valley of desolation!!!!! I had a trusty stick and kept a close eye on how deep it went into the mud. I met a polish guy who badly burnt his foot on the mud. Massive nasty blister. Then back up the now forest river valley. A bit too far up in fact. Missed the turning and ended up half way up a 6m climb before I realized that there was nothing like this on the way down! Backtracked and the path was obvious.
The decent. I didn't realize on the way up that is really was the way up! A long old climb, so the way back was a lot easier!!!!
SO tired when I got back.
Good 5 hours of walking (plus lunch!)
I loved it up there!
In other news, I'm in Dominica. In St Martin I Took part in the classic yacht regatta on a buattiful old boat called Infante. Old school racer. I loved that too! Then a banana boat down here. Weird experience. The rum is great here.
Dominica is stunning. My 1st experience of propper rain forest? Stunning, amazing super happy fun times!!!! Waterfalls, natural hot springs! so much more! Off to the semi finals of the calypso crown now!!!
whodedoOOOOOooooOOOoO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(the echo is great over the valleys!!!!)
Tomorrow down to Martinique!
Pictures don't do it justice!
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