4 hours in Rio Current mood: awake Category: Blogging
O.k., so we got into Rio De Janero late. Its usually hard to get off the ship early, & as this was a 'turnaround day' , meaning new passengers, it was going to be even more difficult. I signed up for the crew tour, thinking that I would at least get to see some of the highlights of this famous & cosmopolitan city. As we approached, I was up early (about 6 a.m.), excitedabout the day ahead, & already taking photos of the nearing Corcovada & city. We had two busses for the crew tour, I was on #2. We got off the ship around 11 a.m., & filed through the busy terminal & areas . There wasabout 55 of us on the one bus. Our guide was local , & talked through a mike turned up too loud. We made one stop at a trinket shop before taking the trolleything up to the top of the mountain to Corcovado & the amazing statue. The trinket shop took too long & everyone was writing postcards & buying stuff. It had been raining & cloudy apparently for three weeks straight. How lucky were we to have a beautifull sunny day ? I was impressed with the view, to say the least.There was a lot of condors or vultures of some type zooming around the cliff immediatlely beside ,below & around the stairs to the top. I would have liked to spend more time trying to get the perfect picture of them. I did get a couple good shotsof them, I think. As well , I took a lot of pictures of the view , & the statue itself. It was very hot up there , & there was not much shade. I was worn out by the time our time was up.Some local musicians were jamming away in the other trolley car back down. Too bad I was in the back one. Also , I should perhaps mention that our guide did a good job whisking us in front of all the other tourists!There was a lot of traffic in the city. We had zero time to stop at the beaches. We zoomed by some fabulous places of note, including Ipanema beach, & umm, cant remember the other famous spots. There are gorgeous young women in bikinis having showers & other sights hard to avoid not noticing. Suffice it to say the 4 hours had zoomed by very quickly. I took a lot of photos. Will try & upload a few here in my pics. As we passed the last beach , a storm was coming up with lightning & it was raining by the time we were on board. Everyone had a great day , & wished we had more time ashore ! We have now been back to Montevideo Uraguay , where I bought some trinkets from the few local vendors in a seemingly deserted big city. (Merry Christmas y'all)!( Beach trip was a no go as to a bit of hangover this morning)...
Friday, December 26, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Buenos Aires , Montevideo; first visits
Montevideo, Buenos Aires , Rio Current mood: quixotic Category: Blogging
So since my last post , we have been to Montevideo , Buenos Aires , ( both in the same area of Argentina) , then several days at sea before reaching Rio De Janero. Montevideo is a happening place. its a big city. Bobby Milton had a bike & rode for hours on the same drag & never left downtown. I went traipsing with the saxophonist from the orchestra (Wes), to find a drugstore he needed to go to. (Apparently he was to pick up some medecine for a friend who lives in the U.S.A. as well. It was medicine for a diabetic, & already paid for. We walked for way over an hour , maybe even two before finding it. Along the way there was some cool old architecture , shops, parks , neighborhoods etc. I took some photos of parrots & statues in a couple parks on route.
The fellow at the drugstore was named Nicholas, & he spoke english & was extremely friendly & helpfull. He gave us directions to some other places ( I wanted to find a health food store for example , as was out of aloe juice etc). So we walked some more before finding that ( the address in the phonebook was wrong). We also stopped for coffee in a outside place. It was here I bought a backpack for $10.oo (american $ or 240 pesos). I could see how handy they are, Wes had $2000.oo worth of drugs he was carrying around with no problem !
So it wasn't far to travel to get to Buenos Aires , I had IPM , or ship duties , so I was only able to get off for a couple hours. This is a huge city of over ten Million people. Its a bit overwhelming. I will check it out again on boxing day. I did buy a nice wallet for $5.oo, or 15 pesos. leather goods are very reasonable here.
So I will continue a bit later about Rio as I'm running out of time , & would like to include some new photos ! ... Merry Christmas all ! ! ! Its a sunny & warm day here at sea aboard the "Star Princess" !
So since my last post , we have been to Montevideo , Buenos Aires , ( both in the same area of Argentina) , then several days at sea before reaching Rio De Janero. Montevideo is a happening place. its a big city. Bobby Milton had a bike & rode for hours on the same drag & never left downtown. I went traipsing with the saxophonist from the orchestra (Wes), to find a drugstore he needed to go to. (Apparently he was to pick up some medecine for a friend who lives in the U.S.A. as well. It was medicine for a diabetic, & already paid for. We walked for way over an hour , maybe even two before finding it. Along the way there was some cool old architecture , shops, parks , neighborhoods etc. I took some photos of parrots & statues in a couple parks on route.
The fellow at the drugstore was named Nicholas, & he spoke english & was extremely friendly & helpfull. He gave us directions to some other places ( I wanted to find a health food store for example , as was out of aloe juice etc). So we walked some more before finding that ( the address in the phonebook was wrong). We also stopped for coffee in a outside place. It was here I bought a backpack for $10.oo (american $ or 240 pesos). I could see how handy they are, Wes had $2000.oo worth of drugs he was carrying around with no problem !
So it wasn't far to travel to get to Buenos Aires , I had IPM , or ship duties , so I was only able to get off for a couple hours. This is a huge city of over ten Million people. Its a bit overwhelming. I will check it out again on boxing day. I did buy a nice wallet for $5.oo, or 15 pesos. leather goods are very reasonable here.
So I will continue a bit later about Rio as I'm running out of time , & would like to include some new photos ! ... Merry Christmas all ! ! ! Its a sunny & warm day here at sea aboard the "Star Princess" !
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Falkland Island , Current mood: tired
Well , the Hoe Down in Explorers lounge was real good , afterwords we made our appearance in the Wheelhouse lounge , where the orch. cats were doing a jazz set. Sat in on a few tunes playing drums , mostly which featured Colin on the Bari sax. We also had a few different pianists with us , as well as trumpet, tenor & trombone.
Eventually played a few tunes on the trumpet , or rather took a few solos is more like it. That went pretty o.k., & I felt that I had earned the single malt scotch I drank before that set. We then sat with the wonderfull Irish couple who have been with us since Halloween. (They dance almost every song as well ) ! So I drank some Stellas , from the tap , which I always feel is unfortunate , but there it was .
It was now time to rush up to the crew bar , & check out the Brazilian group, (The drummer had been jamming with us in the wheelhouse, so they must just be starting , & he was playing like he was on fire) ! So I started playing percussion right away . The crew bar had just closed. Fortuneatly , the Brazilians had beer behind the makeshift stage , & offered me one right away. So now I am playing agogo bells , trumpet ,& eventually settled for a big medal shaker & tamborine together, & hung out by the drummer. They went full on into the whole Brazilian trip , & it was quite exhilherating ! Reminded me of the time I played the shaker with that african band in Yellowknife at the "Folk on the Rocks" fest. a number of years back. ( I was just sitting in there too , actually playing at the Cave with "The Blue Angels" , which was a band with Indio Saranjevo I was in for a summer.
So by the time I finally was relxing with the saxman in the smokers lounge & ready to call it a day , I have no idea what time it was. I finally dragged myself out of bed & onto a tender at the crack of noon . It seemed like not really the day to go penguin hunting. It was a very long tender ride , & I felt a coffee was in order. This took awhile to find. The Falkland Island is a small archipelago 300 miles off the coast of Argentina. You may remember there was a dust up there when Argentina attacked the small british forces back in 1982. There are two main islands , & 776 smaller ones. There are only 3000 people who live here , & ten times as many penguins. These islands are a paradise for bitd watchers, as there is more than 120 species of birds, half of which are residents. There are several species of penguins apparently, among them gentoo, rockhopper,king & jackass. Other birds common are upland geese,steamer ducks, oystercatchers gulls, terns, & there are some albotrosses & giant petrels nesting on some of the smaller islands. I was able to mail a significant amount of postcards from here ,which may take awhile to arrive, as apparently they go to Britain first ! I also picked up a first edition envelope from here for me & Tunies collection. It was just issued , & has six different penguin stamps on it , as well as a great shot on the envelope of some king penguins.
I'm now at sea again , of course , & still trying to get enough rest to feel somewhat whole again. Got up early this morning to try & photograph the sunrise again , & was finally succesfull after quite a wait. ( We went ANOTHER hour forward last night , so we are now SIX hours ahead of B.C. time) ! ( Now you know why I don't phone as often Ma) !
Well , the Hoe Down in Explorers lounge was real good , afterwords we made our appearance in the Wheelhouse lounge , where the orch. cats were doing a jazz set. Sat in on a few tunes playing drums , mostly which featured Colin on the Bari sax. We also had a few different pianists with us , as well as trumpet, tenor & trombone.
Eventually played a few tunes on the trumpet , or rather took a few solos is more like it. That went pretty o.k., & I felt that I had earned the single malt scotch I drank before that set. We then sat with the wonderfull Irish couple who have been with us since Halloween. (They dance almost every song as well ) ! So I drank some Stellas , from the tap , which I always feel is unfortunate , but there it was .
It was now time to rush up to the crew bar , & check out the Brazilian group, (The drummer had been jamming with us in the wheelhouse, so they must just be starting , & he was playing like he was on fire) ! So I started playing percussion right away . The crew bar had just closed. Fortuneatly , the Brazilians had beer behind the makeshift stage , & offered me one right away. So now I am playing agogo bells , trumpet ,& eventually settled for a big medal shaker & tamborine together, & hung out by the drummer. They went full on into the whole Brazilian trip , & it was quite exhilherating ! Reminded me of the time I played the shaker with that african band in Yellowknife at the "Folk on the Rocks" fest. a number of years back. ( I was just sitting in there too , actually playing at the Cave with "The Blue Angels" , which was a band with Indio Saranjevo I was in for a summer.
So by the time I finally was relxing with the saxman in the smokers lounge & ready to call it a day , I have no idea what time it was. I finally dragged myself out of bed & onto a tender at the crack of noon . It seemed like not really the day to go penguin hunting. It was a very long tender ride , & I felt a coffee was in order. This took awhile to find. The Falkland Island is a small archipelago 300 miles off the coast of Argentina. You may remember there was a dust up there when Argentina attacked the small british forces back in 1982. There are two main islands , & 776 smaller ones. There are only 3000 people who live here , & ten times as many penguins. These islands are a paradise for bitd watchers, as there is more than 120 species of birds, half of which are residents. There are several species of penguins apparently, among them gentoo, rockhopper,king & jackass. Other birds common are upland geese,steamer ducks, oystercatchers gulls, terns, & there are some albotrosses & giant petrels nesting on some of the smaller islands. I was able to mail a significant amount of postcards from here ,which may take awhile to arrive, as apparently they go to Britain first ! I also picked up a first edition envelope from here for me & Tunies collection. It was just issued , & has six different penguin stamps on it , as well as a great shot on the envelope of some king penguins.
I'm now at sea again , of course , & still trying to get enough rest to feel somewhat whole again. Got up early this morning to try & photograph the sunrise again , & was finally succesfull after quite a wait. ( We went ANOTHER hour forward last night , so we are now SIX hours ahead of B.C. time) ! ( Now you know why I don't phone as often Ma) !
Cape Horn ! Current mood: awake Category: Travel and Places
Well I tried to read my last blog & guess I'll have to start proof reading them as its so full of mistakes. Sorry ! Well I will forge ahead , even though I seem to be wasting a lot of time & energy trying to describe the sights here , rather unsuccsefully I feel. Will be nice to eventually get some photos happenning.
So to pick up where I left off last , We arrived in the town of Ushuaiau .( spelled something like that. If you check on a map at the VERY bottom of the cape , its there , so I'll assume you know where I mean). This is now Argentina , & the first time we have been in this country. So there was a submarine docked where we were supposed to , so we had to take the tenders in. There was some problems with that for us , but I won't go into any detail. Rob & I made it ashore for 3 or 4 hours before we had to play our gig. There was almost no-one at the gig as most people were still ashore.
Its quite a beuatifull area , again reminding me of the north country , in particular this small city (60,000 or so, I think) ; reminded me of Yellowknife. There is a bunch of artisans & craft places , as well as quite a few stores of an american type feel. We tried to find local feel places for cofee or whatever , but the few we nooticed weren't open till late eve.
It's was nice to see grass & dandelions & flowers here as it is summer. There were a lot of lupens , which are that long arctic flower with many buds forming a cone shape & very colorfull. The view from as little up as the second street up is spectacular really , & quite a steep climb. There were tours available to see penguins etc, but we did not have the time today for anything like that.
When we got back to the ship I took some really good sunset shots on our break , which was between 9:15 & 10:15. There is a really short window for pictures before the sun is gone, & I'm getting better at being in the right place on the ship at the right time for this. I bet I'm getting some better shots than the pros onboard with my second hand Fuji & occasionly the back-up camera I have, which is the Olympus.
Well , today we rounded the Cape. I missed the sunrise by a few minutes , but stayed up for the rounding of the Cape, & once again got some very cool shots. There are these cool sculptures created by the years of pounding waves. The sky was pretty intersesting , & there were sunspots radiating off the ocean at times, as well as the boobies , or gulls flying about. Some of them end up in my shots.
So now we are all at sea , with not much too look at at the moment , but anticipating an interesting visit to the Falklands tommorow. We will arrive at about 8 a.m., so I will now have to go move my drums around so the Brazil guys can use them, then set them up again for me to do the "country Hoedown" show , then make an appearance & sit in in another lounge for the jazz jam, & do the same in the crew bar where I'm supposed to sit in with the Brazilian grooup. All this & still have an early night so I can try & get up early enough to take a public bus to a place called "Gypsy Island", where I can maybe see some damn penguins !
Well I tried to read my last blog & guess I'll have to start proof reading them as its so full of mistakes. Sorry ! Well I will forge ahead , even though I seem to be wasting a lot of time & energy trying to describe the sights here , rather unsuccsefully I feel. Will be nice to eventually get some photos happenning.
So to pick up where I left off last , We arrived in the town of Ushuaiau .( spelled something like that. If you check on a map at the VERY bottom of the cape , its there , so I'll assume you know where I mean). This is now Argentina , & the first time we have been in this country. So there was a submarine docked where we were supposed to , so we had to take the tenders in. There was some problems with that for us , but I won't go into any detail. Rob & I made it ashore for 3 or 4 hours before we had to play our gig. There was almost no-one at the gig as most people were still ashore.
Its quite a beuatifull area , again reminding me of the north country , in particular this small city (60,000 or so, I think) ; reminded me of Yellowknife. There is a bunch of artisans & craft places , as well as quite a few stores of an american type feel. We tried to find local feel places for cofee or whatever , but the few we nooticed weren't open till late eve.
It's was nice to see grass & dandelions & flowers here as it is summer. There were a lot of lupens , which are that long arctic flower with many buds forming a cone shape & very colorfull. The view from as little up as the second street up is spectacular really , & quite a steep climb. There were tours available to see penguins etc, but we did not have the time today for anything like that.
When we got back to the ship I took some really good sunset shots on our break , which was between 9:15 & 10:15. There is a really short window for pictures before the sun is gone, & I'm getting better at being in the right place on the ship at the right time for this. I bet I'm getting some better shots than the pros onboard with my second hand Fuji & occasionly the back-up camera I have, which is the Olympus.
Well , today we rounded the Cape. I missed the sunrise by a few minutes , but stayed up for the rounding of the Cape, & once again got some very cool shots. There are these cool sculptures created by the years of pounding waves. The sky was pretty intersesting , & there were sunspots radiating off the ocean at times, as well as the boobies , or gulls flying about. Some of them end up in my shots.
So now we are all at sea , with not much too look at at the moment , but anticipating an interesting visit to the Falklands tommorow. We will arrive at about 8 a.m., so I will now have to go move my drums around so the Brazil guys can use them, then set them up again for me to do the "country Hoedown" show , then make an appearance & sit in in another lounge for the jazz jam, & do the same in the crew bar where I'm supposed to sit in with the Brazilian grooup. All this & still have an early night so I can try & get up early enough to take a public bus to a place called "Gypsy Island", where I can maybe see some damn penguins !
Lots’o’Chile Category: Travel and Places
Well we were at sea for a day before getting to a place called Valpraiso. Its aways down from our last stop in Chile. (Coquimbo). We were all crazy about coquimbo. Too bad we won't be back there again. Wasn't so crazy about Valpraiso. In the first place , you have to take a shuttle or bus pretty much across yhe town to enter the city. Then if you wan't to go to the interesting part of town, (which is the old part), you have to go all the way back to where the ship is. This would cost about $5 in a cab. I took a bus which was only 350 pesos. (My exchange here was 600 pesos for $1. ). Anyways , I took the trolley thing up the hill & the view was spectacular. Also the view was nice along the beach getting there , just not as pretty as Coquimbo , & the cityis kinda funkier. So , still no pictures unfortuneatly , but I have been taking great wacks of them , & doing random shots everywhere I go , so at some point I will open up some albums I guess , as I'm not sure how to put them in a blog anyhoo.
So enuff already. I missed a lot of cool old restaurants & buildings in Valpraiso apparently. I will be back though, & I did walk around a funky market area downtown where people are selling whatever right there between the streets.
We had three days at sea after Valpraiso.Chile is 4,300 km. in length , with an average of 175 km. width. Due to this , the country has a hugely varied climate, ranging from the worlds driest in the north ( the atacama, throught to a mediterranean climate in the centre & a snowy alpine climate in the south. Southern Chile is rich in forests & grazing lands & features a string of volcanoes & lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting penisulas, glACIERS, LAKES ,& islands. (this from the navigator). Yesterday we stopped by the Amalia glacier. This is a tidewater glacier originating in the Patagonian ice fields. It was similar to the Alaska type of glacier recently viewed while I was doing the Coral & Diamond cruises, but the land is much different, & so are the skies. To me it seems like a mixed bag of mountains, jungle, swamp, Icefield, & tundra. It just doesnt want to be any of these things I guess, or rather it wants to be all of them. I guess there aren't bears here, but there are cougar type critters, & am looking forward to some whales by the cape. Also Penguins are in great abundance I am told. & of various types.
This brings me to today , which was a stop in a very cool city called Punta Arenas. There are over 130,000 inhabitants , made up of many different cultures. It is the southernmost city in the world.It was settled Dec.18th, 1848 when the colonists of Fuerte Bulnes (under the command of Jose Santos Mardones arrived).
There was a great park similar to the one visited in Coquimbo , but much more active with locals & vendors & dogs. There are lots of wild type dogs & we donated to the needy s.p.c.a. Also Colin & I visited the local Naval museaum. ( I saw his name in the guestbook). I walked to the university as I was off early , & didn't stay long because I'm not a mall fan , & didn't really want to shop. Besides , none of the things I want were available here. Went back the ten km. or so in a cab & had coffee & wrote some postcards. I forgot addresses though , so they were limited. Stamps were 500 pesos, & my exchange was 650 for $1.oo here . Postcards were 300 pesos , till I found some free ones in a fancy hotel.
Looking forward to coming back here. Maybe I can meet someone to take me fly fishing at one of the nearby lakes ? Oh, I forgot to mention , another wierd thing about this place , is it totally reminds me of Dawson Creek B.C. , where I grew up (or rather, didn't), or maybe Whitehorse Yukon. I say D.C. (or Dodge as we call it), because of the low hills behind that totally look like the ones back home behind the city , & the few tall buildings look like the grain elevators. The ocean is a little incogrous to the image , but the resmblence couldn't help but strike me repeatedly. As well the local native population & streets have a certain "Dick Twang" type of publand I should take some photos of. Will be heading around the Cape soon now...
Well we were at sea for a day before getting to a place called Valpraiso. Its aways down from our last stop in Chile. (Coquimbo). We were all crazy about coquimbo. Too bad we won't be back there again. Wasn't so crazy about Valpraiso. In the first place , you have to take a shuttle or bus pretty much across yhe town to enter the city. Then if you wan't to go to the interesting part of town, (which is the old part), you have to go all the way back to where the ship is. This would cost about $5 in a cab. I took a bus which was only 350 pesos. (My exchange here was 600 pesos for $1. ). Anyways , I took the trolley thing up the hill & the view was spectacular. Also the view was nice along the beach getting there , just not as pretty as Coquimbo , & the cityis kinda funkier. So , still no pictures unfortuneatly , but I have been taking great wacks of them , & doing random shots everywhere I go , so at some point I will open up some albums I guess , as I'm not sure how to put them in a blog anyhoo.
So enuff already. I missed a lot of cool old restaurants & buildings in Valpraiso apparently. I will be back though, & I did walk around a funky market area downtown where people are selling whatever right there between the streets.
We had three days at sea after Valpraiso.Chile is 4,300 km. in length , with an average of 175 km. width. Due to this , the country has a hugely varied climate, ranging from the worlds driest in the north ( the atacama, throught to a mediterranean climate in the centre & a snowy alpine climate in the south. Southern Chile is rich in forests & grazing lands & features a string of volcanoes & lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting penisulas, glACIERS, LAKES ,& islands. (this from the navigator). Yesterday we stopped by the Amalia glacier. This is a tidewater glacier originating in the Patagonian ice fields. It was similar to the Alaska type of glacier recently viewed while I was doing the Coral & Diamond cruises, but the land is much different, & so are the skies. To me it seems like a mixed bag of mountains, jungle, swamp, Icefield, & tundra. It just doesnt want to be any of these things I guess, or rather it wants to be all of them. I guess there aren't bears here, but there are cougar type critters, & am looking forward to some whales by the cape. Also Penguins are in great abundance I am told. & of various types.
This brings me to today , which was a stop in a very cool city called Punta Arenas. There are over 130,000 inhabitants , made up of many different cultures. It is the southernmost city in the world.It was settled Dec.18th, 1848 when the colonists of Fuerte Bulnes (under the command of Jose Santos Mardones arrived).
There was a great park similar to the one visited in Coquimbo , but much more active with locals & vendors & dogs. There are lots of wild type dogs & we donated to the needy s.p.c.a. Also Colin & I visited the local Naval museaum. ( I saw his name in the guestbook). I walked to the university as I was off early , & didn't stay long because I'm not a mall fan , & didn't really want to shop. Besides , none of the things I want were available here. Went back the ten km. or so in a cab & had coffee & wrote some postcards. I forgot addresses though , so they were limited. Stamps were 500 pesos, & my exchange was 650 for $1.oo here . Postcards were 300 pesos , till I found some free ones in a fancy hotel.
Looking forward to coming back here. Maybe I can meet someone to take me fly fishing at one of the nearby lakes ? Oh, I forgot to mention , another wierd thing about this place , is it totally reminds me of Dawson Creek B.C. , where I grew up (or rather, didn't), or maybe Whitehorse Yukon. I say D.C. (or Dodge as we call it), because of the low hills behind that totally look like the ones back home behind the city , & the few tall buildings look like the grain elevators. The ocean is a little incogrous to the image , but the resmblence couldn't help but strike me repeatedly. As well the local native population & streets have a certain "Dick Twang" type of publand I should take some photos of. Will be heading around the Cape soon now...
Caaoa, Coquimbo Current mood: animated Category: Blogging
Well last night we totally rocked out the last two sets. Most passengers were busy packing to disembark , & only our regular listeners were there. This included Steve & Terry VanPelt , Arocker couple from Seattle -(one Keg who got up & Sang some Stones & Doors with us) & the great couple from Ireland who have been dancing all night ,every night since Halloween ! After that we needed to say farewell to Steve Lee , (our bandmaster) & wind down somewhat, so I never got back online. Now its morning & I'm trying to sort out how confused I am about which city was what the last few days ! Its 5 hours ahead of B.C. time here , & the days are long as its summertime ! ( Unlike T.O., where its 20 below , or Calgary where they got a dump of snow yesterday) !
So I will move on to Calloa Equador now from my last blog. This was a nicer city , actually , come to think of it , I got talked into taking a cab from Manta into the neighboring city of Quito. He spoke some english & said it was $20 for several hours of touring the city. Sounded like a heck of a deal , so off I went instead of the shuttle. It took about 45 minutes to get to the city. Was taking random photos from the cab , but my driver didn't like that much , & tried to keep closing my window as he says there are many bad men about. The most of are driving around was in tough neighborhoods , lots of traffic , construction , demolition , new buildings being erected, american signs , banks, casinos, mini-stores etc. Will try & upload some of my photos soon. There was some fantastic old buildings from hundreds of years ago once we got way downtown where the square was. This was sort of nice , in a mexican Europe kind of dichotomistic sort of way. Big doors , sculptures about, old & ornate architecture, potholes , scrappy little makeshift magazine & candy stands.
So I turned down the american buffet place my driver took me to, but did use the bano (bathroom) in the place we parked at the square. ( No seat or toilet paper, I had some cleenex , & didn't sit down)! We went to another joint away from the beach , & I bought us some lunch.( avacado & cheese for me , greasy meat for him). When we got back to the ship ,( I had to trADE off with colin as I actually had ship duty this day ), the cabbie says $80.00 ! Well , he certainly never said it was 20 an hour , & made it sound like the whole thing was 20, even after I questioned him repeatedly. So anyhoo , I had some of this equadorian cash , and $60 I gave him. He wasn't very happy as he probably thought he was going to get a big tip, but neither was I. It was raining a bit this day , & most of the pictures are through a window.
So we had two sea days then, and landed in Manta Chile. This is way nicer place. Tripped around the local area till noon , when we had to attend a meeting. ( This also after & between a drill & crew rounds). The area by the ship is full of bars , pubs etc. It is a holiday this weekend. Everyone was up partying till 5 am apparently. Its a roman catholic populace I hear. We found some papaya juice & nectar we like. ( Papaya has exelellent enzymes which aid digestion).
So afterwords , when we got off the ship again , we shuttled into the neighboring city of Serena. This was $5.00 each way. Rob missed the shuttle on the way back because they left early & paid ten to get back on another bus of some kind. (they wanted $15.00) . In general, you have to try & haggle for everything or you get burned. In this city , its 615 pesos or so for $1.00. So it gets confusing very fast.
The square we went is absolutly beautiful. We only had a couple hours , & I ran around taking pics like mad of sculptures & buildings. Lost the other fellows immediatly after the park. They saw a reggae band. I walked down San Fracisco drive ( Its twin city) & took photos. After this , I was famished. Didn't have much time left. No-one understood me , & I couldnt figure out how much food cost or what to order. Ended up going into a busy place anyways , with no air conditioning. Had completed eating a fabulous & succulent 1/2 chicken & fries with appetizer & orange fanta (in a bottle)! in about 20 minutes. Actually ended up with 3000 pesos change from a ten ! I have a photo of the meal will try to upload soon.
I lost a few blogs/ letters when my computer card runs out on me , so will cut this short & go visit Valpraiso !
Well last night we totally rocked out the last two sets. Most passengers were busy packing to disembark , & only our regular listeners were there. This included Steve & Terry VanPelt , Arocker couple from Seattle -(one Keg who got up & Sang some Stones & Doors with us) & the great couple from Ireland who have been dancing all night ,every night since Halloween ! After that we needed to say farewell to Steve Lee , (our bandmaster) & wind down somewhat, so I never got back online. Now its morning & I'm trying to sort out how confused I am about which city was what the last few days ! Its 5 hours ahead of B.C. time here , & the days are long as its summertime ! ( Unlike T.O., where its 20 below , or Calgary where they got a dump of snow yesterday) !
So I will move on to Calloa Equador now from my last blog. This was a nicer city , actually , come to think of it , I got talked into taking a cab from Manta into the neighboring city of Quito. He spoke some english & said it was $20 for several hours of touring the city. Sounded like a heck of a deal , so off I went instead of the shuttle. It took about 45 minutes to get to the city. Was taking random photos from the cab , but my driver didn't like that much , & tried to keep closing my window as he says there are many bad men about. The most of are driving around was in tough neighborhoods , lots of traffic , construction , demolition , new buildings being erected, american signs , banks, casinos, mini-stores etc. Will try & upload some of my photos soon. There was some fantastic old buildings from hundreds of years ago once we got way downtown where the square was. This was sort of nice , in a mexican Europe kind of dichotomistic sort of way. Big doors , sculptures about, old & ornate architecture, potholes , scrappy little makeshift magazine & candy stands.
So I turned down the american buffet place my driver took me to, but did use the bano (bathroom) in the place we parked at the square. ( No seat or toilet paper, I had some cleenex , & didn't sit down)! We went to another joint away from the beach , & I bought us some lunch.( avacado & cheese for me , greasy meat for him). When we got back to the ship ,( I had to trADE off with colin as I actually had ship duty this day ), the cabbie says $80.00 ! Well , he certainly never said it was 20 an hour , & made it sound like the whole thing was 20, even after I questioned him repeatedly. So anyhoo , I had some of this equadorian cash , and $60 I gave him. He wasn't very happy as he probably thought he was going to get a big tip, but neither was I. It was raining a bit this day , & most of the pictures are through a window.
So we had two sea days then, and landed in Manta Chile. This is way nicer place. Tripped around the local area till noon , when we had to attend a meeting. ( This also after & between a drill & crew rounds). The area by the ship is full of bars , pubs etc. It is a holiday this weekend. Everyone was up partying till 5 am apparently. Its a roman catholic populace I hear. We found some papaya juice & nectar we like. ( Papaya has exelellent enzymes which aid digestion).
So afterwords , when we got off the ship again , we shuttled into the neighboring city of Serena. This was $5.00 each way. Rob missed the shuttle on the way back because they left early & paid ten to get back on another bus of some kind. (they wanted $15.00) . In general, you have to try & haggle for everything or you get burned. In this city , its 615 pesos or so for $1.00. So it gets confusing very fast.
The square we went is absolutly beautiful. We only had a couple hours , & I ran around taking pics like mad of sculptures & buildings. Lost the other fellows immediatly after the park. They saw a reggae band. I walked down San Fracisco drive ( Its twin city) & took photos. After this , I was famished. Didn't have much time left. No-one understood me , & I couldnt figure out how much food cost or what to order. Ended up going into a busy place anyways , with no air conditioning. Had completed eating a fabulous & succulent 1/2 chicken & fries with appetizer & orange fanta (in a bottle)! in about 20 minutes. Actually ended up with 3000 pesos change from a ten ! I have a photo of the meal will try to upload soon.
I lost a few blogs/ letters when my computer card runs out on me , so will cut this short & go visit Valpraiso !
Peru,Equador,Chile. Current mood: imaginative Category: Blogging
Three countries this week ! After leaving Puerto Amator ,(which is basically the Panama Canal), we travelled for a day to the city of Manta Peru. This was not the most happening place, & it did not appear that the economy was in a great state of affairs. I think that they have changed there system of money to the U.S. dallar ,in fact. People were friendly , although the housing etc. seemed pretty scrappy compared to what I expected.
Another day at sea , and thurs. we arrived in Manta Equador. This was another place which didn't appear to have a totally thriving economy , & in fact Bobby Milton had arranged to rent a bike to cruise around the town on with some of the orchestra members , but they were not allowed. I was thought I would take the bus around & view the sites that way at the three stops mentioned. The first stop was within walking distance of the ship . I wasn't even sure if this was actually a stop. The guide on the bus didn't say anything, & hardly spoke english. Also she was talking to people in spanish.Nobody got off. There was a hotel there , & a supermarket within eyeshot , but the neihgborhood was kinda scrappy , & I got the feeling that people on the bus were aprehensive about walking around here. I didn't really think it would be a problem ,although my spanish is pretty much nil, but figured maybe the second stop would be more interesting. The second stop turned out to be a fenced in market. Just a bunch of cement in an enclosure (kind of like a prison), where some locals had hats & some shirts for sale , along with the odd trinket or fairly bad painting. Mostly hats. Couldn't wait to get out of there, but had to for the next shuttle.
The third stop turned out to be a mall. Nothing there for me , except I bought an extension cord fo I could use a different lighting fixture I have in my cabin. Had to wait in line for a shuttle for like 40 minutes. Oh, I also bought some beer, rice milk, & an avocado.
The best thing it seemed was the mail service right off the ship. Cool stamps here ! So I dashed off another letter , & sent it off to Winnipeg. (Jason Nowicki of the "Perps". While doing so, the band master & a guest entertainer were just getting off the ship. They wanted to know what they should do , where to go. I told them what I had done. They wanted me to come with them & try something else. We took a cab , to a place I saw that wasn't far away & looked interesting. It was a $5 cab fare to the museum, which turned out to be very cool. There was a history going back 9000 years B.C. ! Lots of ancient pottery & artifacts. I took some photos I hope to include here one of these days. The guest ent., (Jackie), was drawn to some raw emeralds that held & eminated a powerfull force. They were round & deep green like the water here. They had been found by shell divers , along with other artifacts of onyx ,silver & copper jewellry which no-one knows the date or history of presicely. (oops , bad spelling ! Also, have to go play a couple sets now). More on todays adventure in Coquimbo soon ! ( The ship was out of computer cards , so I have some catching up to do ) !!!
Three countries this week ! After leaving Puerto Amator ,(which is basically the Panama Canal), we travelled for a day to the city of Manta Peru. This was not the most happening place, & it did not appear that the economy was in a great state of affairs. I think that they have changed there system of money to the U.S. dallar ,in fact. People were friendly , although the housing etc. seemed pretty scrappy compared to what I expected.
Another day at sea , and thurs. we arrived in Manta Equador. This was another place which didn't appear to have a totally thriving economy , & in fact Bobby Milton had arranged to rent a bike to cruise around the town on with some of the orchestra members , but they were not allowed. I was thought I would take the bus around & view the sites that way at the three stops mentioned. The first stop was within walking distance of the ship . I wasn't even sure if this was actually a stop. The guide on the bus didn't say anything, & hardly spoke english. Also she was talking to people in spanish.Nobody got off. There was a hotel there , & a supermarket within eyeshot , but the neihgborhood was kinda scrappy , & I got the feeling that people on the bus were aprehensive about walking around here. I didn't really think it would be a problem ,although my spanish is pretty much nil, but figured maybe the second stop would be more interesting. The second stop turned out to be a fenced in market. Just a bunch of cement in an enclosure (kind of like a prison), where some locals had hats & some shirts for sale , along with the odd trinket or fairly bad painting. Mostly hats. Couldn't wait to get out of there, but had to for the next shuttle.
The third stop turned out to be a mall. Nothing there for me , except I bought an extension cord fo I could use a different lighting fixture I have in my cabin. Had to wait in line for a shuttle for like 40 minutes. Oh, I also bought some beer, rice milk, & an avocado.
The best thing it seemed was the mail service right off the ship. Cool stamps here ! So I dashed off another letter , & sent it off to Winnipeg. (Jason Nowicki of the "Perps". While doing so, the band master & a guest entertainer were just getting off the ship. They wanted to know what they should do , where to go. I told them what I had done. They wanted me to come with them & try something else. We took a cab , to a place I saw that wasn't far away & looked interesting. It was a $5 cab fare to the museum, which turned out to be very cool. There was a history going back 9000 years B.C. ! Lots of ancient pottery & artifacts. I took some photos I hope to include here one of these days. The guest ent., (Jackie), was drawn to some raw emeralds that held & eminated a powerfull force. They were round & deep green like the water here. They had been found by shell divers , along with other artifacts of onyx ,silver & copper jewellry which no-one knows the date or history of presicely. (oops , bad spelling ! Also, have to go play a couple sets now). More on todays adventure in Coquimbo soon ! ( The ship was out of computer cards , so I have some catching up to do ) !!!
Panama Current mood: tired Category: Blogging
Well its quite a sight. Amazing history round these parts. Didn't see a millionth of what is here. The skyline is quite immense. There are boats situated all around us here aboard the "Star Princess". We are anchored a mile or so from shore. I found a dollar store & bought a bunch of videos with spanish sub-titles. They were two for a buck & this way I can pause the frames & figure out some more words. Seems a good way to educate oneself somewhat , while being entertained my the usual hollywood trash. (Actually , some of the movies look pretty good , Gene Hackman , swimfan etc). (?).
There was only about 8 people for our first three sets last night , & then the place totally rocked for the last one. Hung out a bit with the guest ent/hypnotist from Vegas afterwords. She is originally from New Orleans LA., & we shared some stories , insights etc. . She had been in my old neighbor Ann Rice's house before. Turns out she also is friends with the singer from the group I used to go see wed. nights in Vegas at the Rinviera. ( where she works).
Apparently the Atlantic is very nearby , & I urinated on both sides of the peninsula ashore to come as close as I could to peeing in two oceans in one day. Will be heading out now , with another sea day , then will be in Ecuador. (I think, cant remember the city offhand). I'm trying to get some sticks sent to me , but don't even have an itinerary myself. Doh !!! ( Its difficult to findmusic stores , & when I have , they only have huge sticks).
I'll be writing in this blog more often these days , & will try & upload some pictures from Colin or Rob's computer when it is possible. All the best, RVG.
Well its quite a sight. Amazing history round these parts. Didn't see a millionth of what is here. The skyline is quite immense. There are boats situated all around us here aboard the "Star Princess". We are anchored a mile or so from shore. I found a dollar store & bought a bunch of videos with spanish sub-titles. They were two for a buck & this way I can pause the frames & figure out some more words. Seems a good way to educate oneself somewhat , while being entertained my the usual hollywood trash. (Actually , some of the movies look pretty good , Gene Hackman , swimfan etc). (?).
There was only about 8 people for our first three sets last night , & then the place totally rocked for the last one. Hung out a bit with the guest ent/hypnotist from Vegas afterwords. She is originally from New Orleans LA., & we shared some stories , insights etc. . She had been in my old neighbor Ann Rice's house before. Turns out she also is friends with the singer from the group I used to go see wed. nights in Vegas at the Rinviera. ( where she works).
Apparently the Atlantic is very nearby , & I urinated on both sides of the peninsula ashore to come as close as I could to peeing in two oceans in one day. Will be heading out now , with another sea day , then will be in Ecuador. (I think, cant remember the city offhand). I'm trying to get some sticks sent to me , but don't even have an itinerary myself. Doh !!! ( Its difficult to findmusic stores , & when I have , they only have huge sticks).
I'll be writing in this blog more often these days , & will try & upload some pictures from Colin or Rob's computer when it is possible. All the best, RVG.
Dodrums, Nicuarua ... Current mood: knighted Category: Blogging
Well am ebtering the doldrums , will be in Panama area tommorow , near the equatorial line. The captain has informed us that we are termed "tadpoles", or "polliwogs" until we have once crossed the equater for the first time, whereupon we become what is known as "shellbacks". Can't remember what the titles become after more than one crossing.
Am up to "the Fortunes of War" in the "Master & Commander series , so have learnt something of the doldrums in 17 & early 1800's when wind was the only form of momentum. It is indeed raining and thunder etc , with very little wind. Must have really been awfull when one was stuck in this longitude -(latitude)? back in the day.
Was in Nicuargua for a number of hours & did a bit of walking around . The oulying areas seem swampy jungly. No wonder it is repordedly a malaria hotbed. (I still don't want the flu shots , but am considering it more than previous , as I may not be able to go ashore in some ports without.
Was down onto the coastline with Bobby Milton in Mexico before being south of south of the border & taking shots of some amzing looking crabs he thought were spiders. Got the shot just before getting nailed with a big wave. Totally soaked. Camera wet. (but seemingly o.k.). Had to climb mexican ladders & cliffs carrying wet camera , as case was open & soaked !
Costa Rica was pretty cool , & purchased some goods as we were paid out yesterday. ( Got that done first thing in da mornin' ! Am now at sea , Looks like direcltly south of Havana looking at the atlas. ( Apparently, Panama is EAST of Florida . (Who knew ) ?!? ...
Well am ebtering the doldrums , will be in Panama area tommorow , near the equatorial line. The captain has informed us that we are termed "tadpoles", or "polliwogs" until we have once crossed the equater for the first time, whereupon we become what is known as "shellbacks". Can't remember what the titles become after more than one crossing.
Am up to "the Fortunes of War" in the "Master & Commander series , so have learnt something of the doldrums in 17 & early 1800's when wind was the only form of momentum. It is indeed raining and thunder etc , with very little wind. Must have really been awfull when one was stuck in this longitude -(latitude)? back in the day.
Was in Nicuargua for a number of hours & did a bit of walking around . The oulying areas seem swampy jungly. No wonder it is repordedly a malaria hotbed. (I still don't want the flu shots , but am considering it more than previous , as I may not be able to go ashore in some ports without.
Was down onto the coastline with Bobby Milton in Mexico before being south of south of the border & taking shots of some amzing looking crabs he thought were spiders. Got the shot just before getting nailed with a big wave. Totally soaked. Camera wet. (but seemingly o.k.). Had to climb mexican ladders & cliffs carrying wet camera , as case was open & soaked !
Costa Rica was pretty cool , & purchased some goods as we were paid out yesterday. ( Got that done first thing in da mornin' ! Am now at sea , Looks like direcltly south of Havana looking at the atlas. ( Apparently, Panama is EAST of Florida . (Who knew ) ?!? ...
song title needed Current mood: blustery Category: Blogging
O.k., so its pretty stupid song, but the topics are even stupider ! What would you call this ? Un-reel ? Get Real? Losers jig ? Anyways , You can win a free recording of it if your title is picked ! ( & I ever actually get drunk enough to try & record)... here 'tis :
( a leftist anthem ) Bob Loblaw 2008 The industralists who made the money from digging the ditches that killed the wetlands will be hunted down & made to pay ,for the 10,000 miles of holes to be filled. for if they cant be made to mend what they sack tell me who will pay but the ones who will lack? 8 bars instrumantal in2 the capitalists who brought in those beetles to kill all the weevils that ate the pine needles have made so much green they can no be seen, but now all the beetles have eaten the weevils (this below is chorus) No salmon, no logging No more get-ting drunk in Louisiana No salmon , no logging No get-ting drunk in New Orleans, when it has sunk. *( bars inst.) Theres a problem now for the fish in the west cuz of industralists theres less & theres less what big shots don't know will be fisherman's woe when the waters all bad tell me where will they go ? (chorus) , 8 bars inst The bailout for banks turned out to be thanks & for billionares woes the money all goes Now big CEO's who fly 'round in jets will get some more billions to pay off they're debts. (No salmon, no logging , no getting drunk in Louisiana No Salmon , no logging , no getting drunk in new Orleans when it has sunk) -(8 bars inst) & If we we cant be made to mend what we sack tell me who will afford it, the ones who will lack perhaps theres govenment agents in Hadeswho can make sure they're made to bring it all back (chorus out )
O.k., so its pretty stupid song, but the topics are even stupider ! What would you call this ? Un-reel ? Get Real? Losers jig ? Anyways , You can win a free recording of it if your title is picked ! ( & I ever actually get drunk enough to try & record)... here 'tis :
( a leftist anthem ) Bob Loblaw 2008 The industralists who made the money from digging the ditches that killed the wetlands will be hunted down & made to pay ,for the 10,000 miles of holes to be filled. for if they cant be made to mend what they sack tell me who will pay but the ones who will lack? 8 bars instrumantal in2 the capitalists who brought in those beetles to kill all the weevils that ate the pine needles have made so much green they can no be seen, but now all the beetles have eaten the weevils (this below is chorus) No salmon, no logging No more get-ting drunk in Louisiana No salmon , no logging No get-ting drunk in New Orleans, when it has sunk. *( bars inst.) Theres a problem now for the fish in the west cuz of industralists theres less & theres less what big shots don't know will be fisherman's woe when the waters all bad tell me where will they go ? (chorus) , 8 bars inst The bailout for banks turned out to be thanks & for billionares woes the money all goes Now big CEO's who fly 'round in jets will get some more billions to pay off they're debts. (No salmon, no logging , no getting drunk in Louisiana No Salmon , no logging , no getting drunk in new Orleans when it has sunk) -(8 bars inst) & If we we cant be made to mend what we sack tell me who will afford it, the ones who will lack perhaps theres govenment agents in Hadeswho can make sure they're made to bring it all back (chorus out )
Freaking the unconcious
freaking the unconscious mind Category: Blogging
Well , I wrote a huge blog earlier in the week , but somehow erased it before it was loaded .( how pissed off was I )? Anyways , it was all about this tiny tour I did with Mellissa Devost & Tony Wilson & how when we did a show in Van., we stayed at a friend of Mellissa's who had a huge Pink Floyd collection of c.d.s. He also had one of those players you can load right up , so when we got back from our gig late that eve- (Cafe Rhyme, 1 audient;my friend Sam Myers); we loaded up the player with ALL the pink floyd c.d.s & let 'em go while we crashed out all over the place.
In the middle of the night , I woke up in a strange enviroment, wondering where I was & hearing sounds from "Ummagumma" (Several species of small furry creatures , I think ). It was totally wacked to hear that when my mind was open & didn't know what was going on. Then I remembered all kinds of teen-age experiences listening to my brothers records on Aspen Dr. & Bear Mtn. in Dawson Creek B.C.. (Thanks I.G., for having some really cool albums).
Anyhoo, in the blog I lost I also mentioned how I scored a bunch of music in mexico for cheap. One Mp3 disc I bought for 25 pesos , has like ten Pink Floyd ALBUMS on it. All kinds of early songs I've never heard , & of course , Ummagumma, Meddle, Atom Heart Mother, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Dark side of the moon. (There are some other new ones I don't know , but not the wall). So , I explained this whole sleeping to Pink Floyd exprience thing to by cabin mate Colin , who was keeping vampire hours & could only seem to crash out during daytime hours. We put this one disc on , & both were passed out by about 2 a.m.
I woke up briefly to the strains of "Adam's psychedelic breakfast" I think, & once again drifted off into a state of amorphic euphoria. Slept fantastic & had all kinds of brilliant thoughts & conjectures for days & days. It kind of help make up for some of the stupid stuff going on we've also had to deal with , Like firing our room sterward.
So I highly recommend trying this sleeping to the Floyd thing as an experiment ! Make sure that you have lots of the early albums , as they seem the best by far. (When I woke up about 10a.m. & the latest album was on -"Obscured by music"?; I wondered why the Rovers were on our stereo) !
So , I'm finally blogging up what happenned some time ago ,more recently , last night we had the saxaphone & trombonist sit in with our band for two sets. Colin has been writing charts for them like mad since we tried this four days ago, & its great ! Lots of Blues Brothers, Mowtown etc. After those two sets , the orch. drummer came & sat in so I played Trumpet. This cruise is a long one, three weeks ! Will be in S. America in a few days following Alcupulco !
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Well , I wrote a huge blog earlier in the week , but somehow erased it before it was loaded .( how pissed off was I )? Anyways , it was all about this tiny tour I did with Mellissa Devost & Tony Wilson & how when we did a show in Van., we stayed at a friend of Mellissa's who had a huge Pink Floyd collection of c.d.s. He also had one of those players you can load right up , so when we got back from our gig late that eve- (Cafe Rhyme, 1 audient;my friend Sam Myers); we loaded up the player with ALL the pink floyd c.d.s & let 'em go while we crashed out all over the place.
In the middle of the night , I woke up in a strange enviroment, wondering where I was & hearing sounds from "Ummagumma" (Several species of small furry creatures , I think ). It was totally wacked to hear that when my mind was open & didn't know what was going on. Then I remembered all kinds of teen-age experiences listening to my brothers records on Aspen Dr. & Bear Mtn. in Dawson Creek B.C.. (Thanks I.G., for having some really cool albums).
Anyhoo, in the blog I lost I also mentioned how I scored a bunch of music in mexico for cheap. One Mp3 disc I bought for 25 pesos , has like ten Pink Floyd ALBUMS on it. All kinds of early songs I've never heard , & of course , Ummagumma, Meddle, Atom Heart Mother, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Dark side of the moon. (There are some other new ones I don't know , but not the wall). So , I explained this whole sleeping to Pink Floyd exprience thing to by cabin mate Colin , who was keeping vampire hours & could only seem to crash out during daytime hours. We put this one disc on , & both were passed out by about 2 a.m.
I woke up briefly to the strains of "Adam's psychedelic breakfast" I think, & once again drifted off into a state of amorphic euphoria. Slept fantastic & had all kinds of brilliant thoughts & conjectures for days & days. It kind of help make up for some of the stupid stuff going on we've also had to deal with , Like firing our room sterward.
So I highly recommend trying this sleeping to the Floyd thing as an experiment ! Make sure that you have lots of the early albums , as they seem the best by far. (When I woke up about 10a.m. & the latest album was on -"Obscured by music"?; I wondered why the Rovers were on our stereo) !
So , I'm finally blogging up what happenned some time ago ,more recently , last night we had the saxaphone & trombonist sit in with our band for two sets. Colin has been writing charts for them like mad since we tried this four days ago, & its great ! Lots of Blues Brothers, Mowtown etc. After those two sets , the orch. drummer came & sat in so I played Trumpet. This cruise is a long one, three weeks ! Will be in S. America in a few days following Alcupulco !
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