Whilst Alice was back in England preparing for her teacher training interview,which led her to get a place at teacher training in Wandsworth, Ross was settling into life in Fiji.
The time in Fiji has been a complete contrast to the previous 6 months travelling in almost every possible way. Working in a local NGO as the only non-fijian has afforded me a great insight not only into a very different kind of working environment but also a real glimpse of rural village life on visits to project sites, which would have been impossible to gain as a tourist. At times the pace of work and the impact of 'Fiji time' caused frustration but it was really rewarding to work with people who really cared about making a difference to the communities in which they were working and also to see the impact of this work in the fundamentals of community life, such as food and water supply,transport and education.
Through the projects I have been able to see the huge variety that makes up Fiji ranging from coral farming on a desert island paradise to ensuring a school has a reliable water supply in the old colonial capital Levuka, to visiting a fijian community in the interior, which required a 5 hour journey in the back of a truck, followed by a two hour walk just to reach it.
Fijians are also the friendliest and happiest people I have met all year. Everywhere I have been I have been greeted by cheerful cries of 'bula' and welcomed around the kava bowl as guest of honour. This traditional fijian drink, known to locals as grog, is made from a pepper plant, is mildly narcotic, looks like muddy water and makes your tongue go furry though unlike alcohol significant quantities are needed for any real effect.
'Home life' too has been different. I have been living in a guesthouse with a few other volunteers, most significantly younger than me, and while at first this took a bit of getting used to, by the end I was enjoying alternate nights of partying and playing poker, reflecting (when I had the chance) with some amusement that while I was happily regressing to my university lifestyle, yet more of my friends at home were getting married and having babies.
Alice arrived in Fiji 3 weeks ago, via a whistlestop tour of Hong Kong and Sydney. En route to Hong Kong, she experienced the modern day silk route, travelling from Zurich with a plane full of fashion and material traders. This was further emphasized by a forced emergency landing in Urumqi (China), itself a former Silk Road city. This stop carried with it a deep sense of irony, as this would have been our first destination in China, had we been able to get the visa in Bishkek. At least one of us now has a Chinese immigration stamp.
We had an amazing Christmas with an indian family on a sugar cane farm in northwest Fiji. Christmas dinner was goat curry, freshly slaughtered on Christmas morning. We are now heading off to Tokyo to meet Rowland, Yoshi and Milly to celebrate New Years. We are just hoping we will be able to adjust to the cold weather!
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Good country, bad government!
Well amazingly, 6 months of our trip is nearly up, and the travelling phase, which has taken us through 10 countries, is drawing to a close. We are seeing it out on the beautiful Thai island of Koh Tao, getting some well earned rest, and a decent amount of sun, despite it being the rainy season here.
The previous 3 weeks we spent in Myanmar (Burma), which turned out to be a perfect substitute for Tibet - a land with half a million Buddhist monks, very few tourists, and one of the friendliest peoples we have ever experienced. Sadly the other thing it shares with Tibet is the suppression of the local people by its government.
Historical highlights included Bagan, a massive temple site with 4000 stupas built at the height of the Bamar empire (11th - 14th centuries), fantastically rundown British colonial buildings in Yangon (Rangoon), and the old capital Mandalay with its myriad temples, monks and monasteries.
But, as ever in places which see few tourists, the highlight was the people. From the town of Hsipaw in the mountainous Shan state, we made a 4 day motorbike expedition into the surrounding country with a local man, driving along narrow, muddy, almost impassable dirt tracks and staying with local families in the hillside villages. In these places, white faces are such a rarity that crowds of children would swarm into the streets to stare at us as we passed. Alice's blonde hair in particular was amazing to them. The hospitality was incredible, and the experience one of the best of our travels to date.
Even in cities, as we walked through the streets, everyone waved and shouted hello. Many were keen to know what we thought of their country and share with us their frustrations about their government. We were not expecting to find such openness somewhere so repressed, and the fact that we did is testament to the spirit of the people.
But at times it was frustrating. From hilltops you can look down on mansions, golf courses and airfields, reserved for the sole use of the military, and many told us good jobs can only be obtained by family connections or large bribes. But the political corruption is the hardest to bear: the leader of the opposition party was put under house arrest in 2007 for the third time since her party won a landslide election victory in 1990. Of course they have never been handed power. We met a lady whose husband has been put in prison for 10 years on made up charges because he is viewed as a political threat. Even to get our tourist visa, we had to sign a document stating that we would not interfere with the country's internal affairs! Perhaps most frustrating of all is that despite all that this government has done to its people, the Chinese and Indians continue to keep it afloat with huge amounts of trade (nullifying the effect of sanctions imposed by western governments), and the international community at large seems largely disinterested in applying any pressure to change the situation. It is remarkable that under the circumstances the people remain so friendly and happy on the surface.
From here, we now go our separate ways, Alice back to England for her PGCE interview and Ross on to Sydney, and then Fiji to begin 2 months of voluntary work.
The previous 3 weeks we spent in Myanmar (Burma), which turned out to be a perfect substitute for Tibet - a land with half a million Buddhist monks, very few tourists, and one of the friendliest peoples we have ever experienced. Sadly the other thing it shares with Tibet is the suppression of the local people by its government.
Historical highlights included Bagan, a massive temple site with 4000 stupas built at the height of the Bamar empire (11th - 14th centuries), fantastically rundown British colonial buildings in Yangon (Rangoon), and the old capital Mandalay with its myriad temples, monks and monasteries.
But, as ever in places which see few tourists, the highlight was the people. From the town of Hsipaw in the mountainous Shan state, we made a 4 day motorbike expedition into the surrounding country with a local man, driving along narrow, muddy, almost impassable dirt tracks and staying with local families in the hillside villages. In these places, white faces are such a rarity that crowds of children would swarm into the streets to stare at us as we passed. Alice's blonde hair in particular was amazing to them. The hospitality was incredible, and the experience one of the best of our travels to date.
Even in cities, as we walked through the streets, everyone waved and shouted hello. Many were keen to know what we thought of their country and share with us their frustrations about their government. We were not expecting to find such openness somewhere so repressed, and the fact that we did is testament to the spirit of the people.
But at times it was frustrating. From hilltops you can look down on mansions, golf courses and airfields, reserved for the sole use of the military, and many told us good jobs can only be obtained by family connections or large bribes. But the political corruption is the hardest to bear: the leader of the opposition party was put under house arrest in 2007 for the third time since her party won a landslide election victory in 1990. Of course they have never been handed power. We met a lady whose husband has been put in prison for 10 years on made up charges because he is viewed as a political threat. Even to get our tourist visa, we had to sign a document stating that we would not interfere with the country's internal affairs! Perhaps most frustrating of all is that despite all that this government has done to its people, the Chinese and Indians continue to keep it afloat with huge amounts of trade (nullifying the effect of sanctions imposed by western governments), and the international community at large seems largely disinterested in applying any pressure to change the situation. It is remarkable that under the circumstances the people remain so friendly and happy on the surface.
From here, we now go our separate ways, Alice back to England for her PGCE interview and Ross on to Sydney, and then Fiji to begin 2 months of voluntary work.
Saturday, 4 October 2008
A Tale of Three Visas
We have little of interest to report from the last two weeks! Since our last update, we spent 2 days in the small Kyrgyz village of Tamga, on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, after Titicaca the second largest alpine lake in the world. The setting was stunning, with a backdrop of snowcapped mountains, and the weather was even warm enough for us to spend a day on the beach (in our clothes!), and swim in the lake. We also visited a fascinating yurt factory, where a very talented and enterprising man provided the only employment in the area, as well as producing yurts which are sold all over the world.
Following that, we spent a rather frustrating week in Bishkek. After several phone calls to China, much trekking backwards and forwards to the embassy, and despite assurances that everything would be ok and a valid letter of invitation being flown in to Bishkek from Urumqi for us, the consul turned round after a week and said no anyway!
This forced an abrupt change of plan, or in fact two changes of plan. First the Indian embassy told us that processing our visa would take over a week, which kicked plan B into touch. So, two days after being refused the Chinese visa, we were on a plane to Bangkok, where we have been for the last 3 days, relaxing, reorientating and making new plans. Tomorrow, having finally made a successful visa application, we leave for Yangon and 2 weeks in Burma, before what will be a well earnd rest on Thailand's beaches.
Following that, we spent a rather frustrating week in Bishkek. After several phone calls to China, much trekking backwards and forwards to the embassy, and despite assurances that everything would be ok and a valid letter of invitation being flown in to Bishkek from Urumqi for us, the consul turned round after a week and said no anyway!
This forced an abrupt change of plan, or in fact two changes of plan. First the Indian embassy told us that processing our visa would take over a week, which kicked plan B into touch. So, two days after being refused the Chinese visa, we were on a plane to Bangkok, where we have been for the last 3 days, relaxing, reorientating and making new plans. Tomorrow, having finally made a successful visa application, we leave for Yangon and 2 weeks in Burma, before what will be a well earnd rest on Thailand's beaches.
Saturday, 20 September 2008
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan
From Dushanbe it was a bone-shaking 17 hour drive along the worst road we have so far encountered, we eventually reached Khorog at 2 o'clock in the morning. From here we spent three days hiking in the Geisev valley, a lush green oasis only accessible by foot, containing three tiny villages, one of which consisted only of one family. Remarkably even here there was someone who spoke english.
We then took a three day road trip through the remote and beautiful Wakhan Valley, which is shared with the Afghanistan enabling us to peer across the valley at the afghan farmers going about their business.
As we continued along the Pamir Highway to Murghab the scenery changed abruptly from lush green valleys to dusty barren desert-like landscape. Once in Murghab we trekked over a pass to our first yurtstay conveniently situated by some hot springs. On our return to Murghab we managed to meet up with Andy Davis, which was wonderfully random given the fact that there was no internet or phone reception.
From here it was a gruelling but spectacular 14 hour jeep ride over the Ak-baital pass (4,655m) into Kyrgyzstan. We were particularly pleased with ourselves as this time we stood firm at the border crossing and refused to pay the bribe. In Bishkek we celebrated Ross' birthday in style, splashing out on a mid-range hotel (which even had a swimming pool!) and a gourmet italian meal (they even had italian wine!).
Since then we have spent our time in the mountains and lakes both horse riding from yurt to yurt across the wonderful green jailoos and trekking in the alpine valleys around Karakol. The one black cloud that remains is the issue of our chinese visa. Will we get it or won't we......who knows! We'll update you on our next blog.
We then took a three day road trip through the remote and beautiful Wakhan Valley, which is shared with the Afghanistan enabling us to peer across the valley at the afghan farmers going about their business.
As we continued along the Pamir Highway to Murghab the scenery changed abruptly from lush green valleys to dusty barren desert-like landscape. Once in Murghab we trekked over a pass to our first yurtstay conveniently situated by some hot springs. On our return to Murghab we managed to meet up with Andy Davis, which was wonderfully random given the fact that there was no internet or phone reception.
From here it was a gruelling but spectacular 14 hour jeep ride over the Ak-baital pass (4,655m) into Kyrgyzstan. We were particularly pleased with ourselves as this time we stood firm at the border crossing and refused to pay the bribe. In Bishkek we celebrated Ross' birthday in style, splashing out on a mid-range hotel (which even had a swimming pool!) and a gourmet italian meal (they even had italian wine!).
Since then we have spent our time in the mountains and lakes both horse riding from yurt to yurt across the wonderful green jailoos and trekking in the alpine valleys around Karakol. The one black cloud that remains is the issue of our chinese visa. Will we get it or won't we......who knows! We'll update you on our next blog.
Friday, 29 August 2008
Uzbekistan
Since our last update we have travelled eastwards through Uzbekistan's Kyzylkum Desert, stopping at the famous Silk Road cities of Khiv, Bukhara and Samarkand to admire the turquoise tiled domes and towering minarets of Timurid and Shaybandid mosques and medrassas.
The staggering number of French, Italian and Spanish tour groups swamping these small sites made us feel rather les adventurous than we might have hoped in Central Asia's 'bad boy' republic, but we did manage to hitch a ride in the back of a transit van from Nukus to Khiva to slightly make up for this!
Our stay in Samarkand was prolongued by a nasty attack of food poisoning which had both of us out for a few days, but we are now happily on the road again, having spent the last week in Tajikistan.
Our introduction to this poorest, most remote part of the 'Stans' was not good. We had to bribe the border guard to let us into the country (because he chose to fabricate a problem with Ross' visa) and then later we were charged a huge premium (because we were foreigners) and put on a bus which stopped 10km short of the destination we had paid for.
However, since then things have improved dramatically. We were rescued from the roadside by a friendly local who found us a bus going the last 10 km then another villager on the bus invited us to have dinner and stay at his house. We spent the next 4 days trekking in the beautiful Fan Mountains, with a donkey to carry our bags, surrounded by snow capped peaks and turquoise lakes. In every village we passed, locals waved a friendly welcome and invited us to stop for a cup of tea or even lunch with them. Camping higher up cooking was by collecting wood and making a camp fire, a first for us! We met a lovely man from Duschanbe who invited us to travel back with him and stay in his home. In fact we have been in Tajikistan for a week and have not yet paid for a nights accommodation.
From here we begin our adventure to the Pamirs, which will take us along the highest road in the world and to the remotest part of the country. No internet access here, so when we write next, we will (hopefully) be in Kyrgystan.
The staggering number of French, Italian and Spanish tour groups swamping these small sites made us feel rather les adventurous than we might have hoped in Central Asia's 'bad boy' republic, but we did manage to hitch a ride in the back of a transit van from Nukus to Khiva to slightly make up for this!
Our stay in Samarkand was prolongued by a nasty attack of food poisoning which had both of us out for a few days, but we are now happily on the road again, having spent the last week in Tajikistan.
Our introduction to this poorest, most remote part of the 'Stans' was not good. We had to bribe the border guard to let us into the country (because he chose to fabricate a problem with Ross' visa) and then later we were charged a huge premium (because we were foreigners) and put on a bus which stopped 10km short of the destination we had paid for.
However, since then things have improved dramatically. We were rescued from the roadside by a friendly local who found us a bus going the last 10 km then another villager on the bus invited us to have dinner and stay at his house. We spent the next 4 days trekking in the beautiful Fan Mountains, with a donkey to carry our bags, surrounded by snow capped peaks and turquoise lakes. In every village we passed, locals waved a friendly welcome and invited us to stop for a cup of tea or even lunch with them. Camping higher up cooking was by collecting wood and making a camp fire, a first for us! We met a lovely man from Duschanbe who invited us to travel back with him and stay in his home. In fact we have been in Tajikistan for a week and have not yet paid for a nights accommodation.
From here we begin our adventure to the Pamirs, which will take us along the highest road in the world and to the remotest part of the country. No internet access here, so when we write next, we will (hopefully) be in Kyrgystan.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Turkmenistan
Our introduction into Central Asian bureaucracy was swift in coming. It took us 2.5 hrs to cross the border into Turkmenistan without any problems. We have spent the last week travelling with a guide, which is a condition of being granted a visa in Turkmenistan. This is a way of travelling we are not used to but the air-conditioned 4x4 came in handy as the average daytime temperature was between 40 and 45 degrees, the hottest day in the desert was pushing 50.
Our whistle stop tour included several ancient sites, one of which dated back to 3,000 BC this was in start contrast to our time in the capital, which is all about bling! Most of the significant revenue from oil and gas sales seem to have gone on an astounding building project, which has transformed Ashgabat to a city of white marble buildings, mostly housing government departments. The piece de resistance is the gold statue of the ex-president on top of an arch, which rotates to ensure that it is always facing the sun. This combined with the deserted streets gave the feel of a model town or film set, all be it a very impressive one.
After Ashgabat we headed off into the desert and spent the night camping next to the Davarsa gas crater. Noone knows how it was set on fire, burning enough gas to fill to supply a town of 30,000 every day. Although not great for the environment this was truly spectacular, you feel you are standing at the gates of hell.
We are now in Uzbekistan and have decided to take a trip to Moynac, which used to be a thriving fishing port, but now stands in a desert 150 km from the sea. The sea has dried up due to the soviet initiative to divert the river water which supplied it into canals, which continues to irrigate coton fields in Turkmenistan's desert.
After a few more days of this heat we will head to the cooler climates in the mountains.
Our whistle stop tour included several ancient sites, one of which dated back to 3,000 BC this was in start contrast to our time in the capital, which is all about bling! Most of the significant revenue from oil and gas sales seem to have gone on an astounding building project, which has transformed Ashgabat to a city of white marble buildings, mostly housing government departments. The piece de resistance is the gold statue of the ex-president on top of an arch, which rotates to ensure that it is always facing the sun. This combined with the deserted streets gave the feel of a model town or film set, all be it a very impressive one.
After Ashgabat we headed off into the desert and spent the night camping next to the Davarsa gas crater. Noone knows how it was set on fire, burning enough gas to fill to supply a town of 30,000 every day. Although not great for the environment this was truly spectacular, you feel you are standing at the gates of hell.
We are now in Uzbekistan and have decided to take a trip to Moynac, which used to be a thriving fishing port, but now stands in a desert 150 km from the sea. The sea has dried up due to the soviet initiative to divert the river water which supplied it into canals, which continues to irrigate coton fields in Turkmenistan's desert.
After a few more days of this heat we will head to the cooler climates in the mountains.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Iran - Heat, Politics and unbelievable kindness
The two weeks in Iran flew by, we have so many stories that we can't possibly tell them all but the overwhelming memories will be of unbelievable generosity and kindness of everyone we met. For the first four days of our trip we did not take our wallet out of our pocket as Iranians saw us as guests in their country and refused to let us pay for anything while we were with them - even one of the shop keepers in the bazaar let us have something for free when he found out we were from London.
Every five minutes we were asked whether we were married and if we had children, if not why not and when will we have them. Answering all of these questions is both amusing and hard as we haven't even discussed them ourselves yet..... we just made it up as we went along, depending on who we were speaking to!
In any discussion the serious questions of religion and politics are never far away, especially with young Iranian men, who are concerned about the future of their country and the image of it that is portrayed in the world media. We found nothing but kindness, generosity and tolerance of others. We felt more welcome and safer there than most other countries we have travelled in.
There is also a fun light hearted side of Iran. Every evening on the train to Iran the restaurant car was full of people singing and dancing and the girls that we met prefer to talk about boys and fashion rather than politics. One amusing incident involved one of our friends running down the street away from the 'fashion police' as she was walking in a brightly coloured coat and loads of make-up. When we met up the next evening she was looking a lot more conservative!
While meeting the people was the highlight there was no shortage of cultural and historical sights to see, so rich and mixed has been the history of Persia and then Iran. Visiting these places is made more poignant by the fact that the history impacts so emotionally on the present.
We wish we had been able to spend more time there but visa restrictions mean that we needed to be in Turkmenistan sooner than we would have liked.
Every five minutes we were asked whether we were married and if we had children, if not why not and when will we have them. Answering all of these questions is both amusing and hard as we haven't even discussed them ourselves yet..... we just made it up as we went along, depending on who we were speaking to!
In any discussion the serious questions of religion and politics are never far away, especially with young Iranian men, who are concerned about the future of their country and the image of it that is portrayed in the world media. We found nothing but kindness, generosity and tolerance of others. We felt more welcome and safer there than most other countries we have travelled in.
There is also a fun light hearted side of Iran. Every evening on the train to Iran the restaurant car was full of people singing and dancing and the girls that we met prefer to talk about boys and fashion rather than politics. One amusing incident involved one of our friends running down the street away from the 'fashion police' as she was walking in a brightly coloured coat and loads of make-up. When we met up the next evening she was looking a lot more conservative!
While meeting the people was the highlight there was no shortage of cultural and historical sights to see, so rich and mixed has been the history of Persia and then Iran. Visiting these places is made more poignant by the fact that the history impacts so emotionally on the present.
We wish we had been able to spend more time there but visa restrictions mean that we needed to be in Turkmenistan sooner than we would have liked.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Turkey
We arrived in Ankara overnight on the back of no sleep but nevertheless managed to set something of a record by picking up two central asian visas in a day,mainly due to the helpful kindnes of the local commuters, bus drivers and the consul in the tajikistan embassy, who not only waited past her opening hours for us to return but also processed our visa in half an hour!
After a manic day in Ankara, we headed down to the coast, in Kusadasi, where we have primarily spent our time lazing on the beach soaking up the sun! We have managed a trip to Ephesus, best preserved roman site in Turkey, conveniently located 10 km up the road and visited a beautiful mountain village, Sirince, where w hadlunch overlooking a valley of olive groves.
We now feel fully rested for the next part of our adventure through central asia. First stop 10 hour overnight bus ride to Ankara, where we connect to the trans-asia express train for the three day journey to Tehran! To get an idea of the journey check out the following link: http://www.seat61.com./Iran.htm
After a manic day in Ankara, we headed down to the coast, in Kusadasi, where we have primarily spent our time lazing on the beach soaking up the sun! We have managed a trip to Ephesus, best preserved roman site in Turkey, conveniently located 10 km up the road and visited a beautiful mountain village, Sirince, where w hadlunch overlooking a valley of olive groves.
We now feel fully rested for the next part of our adventure through central asia. First stop 10 hour overnight bus ride to Ankara, where we connect to the trans-asia express train for the three day journey to Tehran! To get an idea of the journey check out the following link: http://www.seat61.com./Iran.htm
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Arctic Circle Trail
After the icebergs of Ilulissat, we headed to the mountainous island of Uummannaq, which was a complete contrast as we were the only tourists there apart from a cruise ship which visited on Sunday. Here we were really able to feel part of the community as we stayed with a local family and got to understand what it might be like to live in a remote part of Greenland. This time, rather than just looking on at the drunk people in the pub, we began to understand some of the reasons why this situtaion might occur.
In Uummannaq we also visited a friend of the family we were staying with, who allowed us to try on their traditional clothes - we don´t know who had more fun , us or her! To finish off the traditional evening we stayed the night in a turf hut that the inuit people used to live in before the Danish introduced modern houses. Our hosts also took us to a retreating glacier tongue, where we were able to appreciate the impact of global warming as we also saw a home video of a family trip to the same glacier tongue in 1993. From the same position, rather than looking up to a wall of ice we were looking down on a river.
We then got on our last helicopter ride and headed off to Kangerlussuaq, where summer temperatures can reach 25 degrees. We took a jeep tour to the inland ice, where we were fortunate enough to see a 20m high sheet of ice break off from the glacier and crash into the river below. Even our guide was impressed and told us how lucky we were to see this. We have spent 7 weeks hearing icebergs move and crack but have never seen anything and now it was all happening in front of us.
This was just a bonus as the main reason for coming to Kangerlussuaq was that it was the starting point of our 10 day walk to Sisimiut. We needed to prepare ourselves and stock up on food, which proved harder than expected as there was only one shop in town and it was waiting to receive its second delivery of the year! To say the least the selection was limited and much of it was out of date. Under the circumstances we did well but our packs ended up weighing a bit more than we had hoped.
We write to you now from Sisimiut with a great sense of achievement, having completed the 150 km walk after 11 tiring days in the wilderness. We haven't see anyone since we left Kangerlussuaq but did see 4 reindeer, one of which was very intrigued by us and came quite close. We have been treated to some stunning scenery through mountains, lakes and finally the Fjord, accompanied by sunny weather. We were able to punctuate the long days of walking with a couple of rest days and the experience was made a little more civilised by the small hunters´cabins dotted alog the route that we slept in most nights.
Sisimiut will be our last port of call in Greenland. We can´t believe how quickly the last 7 weeks have gone adn have a feeling the rest of the year is going to whizz by. Next stop is Turkey for some R&R.
In Uummannaq we also visited a friend of the family we were staying with, who allowed us to try on their traditional clothes - we don´t know who had more fun , us or her! To finish off the traditional evening we stayed the night in a turf hut that the inuit people used to live in before the Danish introduced modern houses. Our hosts also took us to a retreating glacier tongue, where we were able to appreciate the impact of global warming as we also saw a home video of a family trip to the same glacier tongue in 1993. From the same position, rather than looking up to a wall of ice we were looking down on a river.
We then got on our last helicopter ride and headed off to Kangerlussuaq, where summer temperatures can reach 25 degrees. We took a jeep tour to the inland ice, where we were fortunate enough to see a 20m high sheet of ice break off from the glacier and crash into the river below. Even our guide was impressed and told us how lucky we were to see this. We have spent 7 weeks hearing icebergs move and crack but have never seen anything and now it was all happening in front of us.
This was just a bonus as the main reason for coming to Kangerlussuaq was that it was the starting point of our 10 day walk to Sisimiut. We needed to prepare ourselves and stock up on food, which proved harder than expected as there was only one shop in town and it was waiting to receive its second delivery of the year! To say the least the selection was limited and much of it was out of date. Under the circumstances we did well but our packs ended up weighing a bit more than we had hoped.
We write to you now from Sisimiut with a great sense of achievement, having completed the 150 km walk after 11 tiring days in the wilderness. We haven't see anyone since we left Kangerlussuaq but did see 4 reindeer, one of which was very intrigued by us and came quite close. We have been treated to some stunning scenery through mountains, lakes and finally the Fjord, accompanied by sunny weather. We were able to punctuate the long days of walking with a couple of rest days and the experience was made a little more civilised by the small hunters´cabins dotted alog the route that we slept in most nights.
Sisimiut will be our last port of call in Greenland. We can´t believe how quickly the last 7 weeks have gone adn have a feeling the rest of the year is going to whizz by. Next stop is Turkey for some R&R.
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Sled dogs and big bergs!
Despite the heavy snow, we only had a day in Nuuk and we were determined to see the capital. Nuuk is the only place in Greenland that feels like a city – they even have traffic lights, about 4 of them! Though there is little to attract tourists, many Greenlanders come here to work. One of the jobs on offer is answering Santa’s mail, as all mail addressed to Santa Claus, Greenland is delivered here. One of the consequences of the mass migration to the city is the solution to the housing problem, rows of drab looking 60s-style apartment blocks, one of which houses over 1% of Greenland’s population.
By the following morning the clouds has cleared and the sun was out again so we spent the next day on the ferry sunning ourselves on the deckchairs, admiring the landscape of what is Greenland’s most attractive area of coastline. After 41 hours on the boat we arrived at Disko Island, where we spent 5 relaxing days. The highlight was our dogsledding trip. We hiked up to the glacier, including a stretch on snow shoes and were greeted by 50 howling sled dogs, who were hoping we were going to feed them. To say they were making a huge noise would be an understatement. For the trip there were 9 dogs pulling three of us (including the driver) but they still managed to get up quite a speed. That night we had reindeer stew for dinner and stayed on a hut on the glacier, which had a great view of Disko Bay with icebergs floating in the sea. We also visited an arctic research station on the island, which had an amazing library, which included expedition diaries and incomplete maps from early polar expeditions. Unfortunately the researchers were unable (or unwilling) to answer our question as to whether global warming is due to human activity or a natural climactic cycle.
We have spent the last few days in Ilulissat, which is the tourist capital of Greenland due to it’s incredible icefjord. Where the inland ice meets the sea, chunks of ice break off – these chunks can be up to 120 metres high and 2 miles long. It is one of these chunks of ice that sank the titanic. We have been enjoying the amazing scenes that these create from various viewpoints - one was from a hotel balcony sipping the most expensive beer that we have ever drunk (8GBP per pint!) and the other from a hunter’s hut, where we stayed overnight, which we trekked to yesterday.
Tomorrow we head to Uummannaq, at 600 km above the arctic circle our furthest north destination.
By the following morning the clouds has cleared and the sun was out again so we spent the next day on the ferry sunning ourselves on the deckchairs, admiring the landscape of what is Greenland’s most attractive area of coastline. After 41 hours on the boat we arrived at Disko Island, where we spent 5 relaxing days. The highlight was our dogsledding trip. We hiked up to the glacier, including a stretch on snow shoes and were greeted by 50 howling sled dogs, who were hoping we were going to feed them. To say they were making a huge noise would be an understatement. For the trip there were 9 dogs pulling three of us (including the driver) but they still managed to get up quite a speed. That night we had reindeer stew for dinner and stayed on a hut on the glacier, which had a great view of Disko Bay with icebergs floating in the sea. We also visited an arctic research station on the island, which had an amazing library, which included expedition diaries and incomplete maps from early polar expeditions. Unfortunately the researchers were unable (or unwilling) to answer our question as to whether global warming is due to human activity or a natural climactic cycle.
We have spent the last few days in Ilulissat, which is the tourist capital of Greenland due to it’s incredible icefjord. Where the inland ice meets the sea, chunks of ice break off – these chunks can be up to 120 metres high and 2 miles long. It is one of these chunks of ice that sank the titanic. We have been enjoying the amazing scenes that these create from various viewpoints - one was from a hotel balcony sipping the most expensive beer that we have ever drunk (8GBP per pint!) and the other from a hunter’s hut, where we stayed overnight, which we trekked to yesterday.
Tomorrow we head to Uummannaq, at 600 km above the arctic circle our furthest north destination.
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Immaqa
Immaqa is the Greenlandic word meaning maybe and is a common response to any specific questions to locals about travel plans. Changes in the weather here are notoriously dramatic and unpredictable. Part of the experience of travelling is remembering that the weather will also have the final say.
After ten glorious days of sunshine, once we reached Narsaq, the day after our last update, the weather took a turn for the worse with strong winds and snow in the high mountains, meaning the route of our four day treck was no longer safe. The silver lining was the fact that we got to stay anotehr day in Narsac and watch a greenlandic fashion show of clothes made from sealskin and reycled rubber.
We were also fortunate that our stay in Narsaq coincided with the regional fire brigade contest where teams from the surrounding area came to compete for the most bizarrly large cup we had ever seen. Goven some of the skills on display, we were glad we weren´t caught in a fire, particularly on that day as all of the fire brigades were in this competition.
Once the wind had dies down we took a boat half way up the peninsula and spent the next three days trecking in the lower regions, whihc would have made up the second part of our walk. It did rain, quite a lot, but it was amazingly liberating finding our way through the middle of nowhere with no paths and nothing but our map and compass. One of the highlights was lunch on the second day, when we arrived at a remote farmhouse, dripping wet. we knocked on the door and the farmer invited us in for lunch with his niece and nephew, who had walked an hour from the next farm to deliver him an invitation to their confirmation.
The following day we arrived at Qassiarsuk, a small sheep station that was the site of the first viking settlement in Greenland back in 982 . While we spent the afternoon visiting the reconstructed longhouse, another storm was brewing up outside, making it impossible to cross the fjord to Narsarsuaq, where we were due to catch our ferry at 08.00 the following morning. In any event this did not matter as we then discovered that the ferry was stuck some 500 km up the coast and could´t travel further south due to heavy pack ice. We sailed across the fjord the next day and were put on a replacement flight to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, where we met the ferry. We slept on the boat that night and work up in the morning to find that it was snowing.
We are now in Illulissat, the land of the midnight sun, sled dogs and huge icebergs, but more on that later...........
Thanks for all of you who are sening messages - we love reading them.
After ten glorious days of sunshine, once we reached Narsaq, the day after our last update, the weather took a turn for the worse with strong winds and snow in the high mountains, meaning the route of our four day treck was no longer safe. The silver lining was the fact that we got to stay anotehr day in Narsac and watch a greenlandic fashion show of clothes made from sealskin and reycled rubber.
We were also fortunate that our stay in Narsaq coincided with the regional fire brigade contest where teams from the surrounding area came to compete for the most bizarrly large cup we had ever seen. Goven some of the skills on display, we were glad we weren´t caught in a fire, particularly on that day as all of the fire brigades were in this competition.
Once the wind had dies down we took a boat half way up the peninsula and spent the next three days trecking in the lower regions, whihc would have made up the second part of our walk. It did rain, quite a lot, but it was amazingly liberating finding our way through the middle of nowhere with no paths and nothing but our map and compass. One of the highlights was lunch on the second day, when we arrived at a remote farmhouse, dripping wet. we knocked on the door and the farmer invited us in for lunch with his niece and nephew, who had walked an hour from the next farm to deliver him an invitation to their confirmation.
The following day we arrived at Qassiarsuk, a small sheep station that was the site of the first viking settlement in Greenland back in 982 . While we spent the afternoon visiting the reconstructed longhouse, another storm was brewing up outside, making it impossible to cross the fjord to Narsarsuaq, where we were due to catch our ferry at 08.00 the following morning. In any event this did not matter as we then discovered that the ferry was stuck some 500 km up the coast and could´t travel further south due to heavy pack ice. We sailed across the fjord the next day and were put on a replacement flight to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, where we met the ferry. We slept on the boat that night and work up in the morning to find that it was snowing.
We are now in Illulissat, the land of the midnight sun, sled dogs and huge icebergs, but more on that later...........
Thanks for all of you who are sening messages - we love reading them.
Saturday, 24 May 2008
The Southern most tip of Greenland
After our last update we headed off to the local bar, which proved to be one of the most cultutally enlightening experiences so far. It was only 10 pm and as soon as we walked through the door someon walked into us and it quickly became apparent that everybody in the bar was completely paralytic. Witin 5 mins. of sitting down we were joined by two Greenlanders who didn't speak any English one of whom proceeded to remove his prosthetic hand and put it on the table. Meanwhile the barman stepped in to prevent a fight from kicking off on the other side of the bar. This is the negative side effect of the recent Europeanisation of Greenland which has devalued the traditional inuit skills of hunting and fishing to the point where some Greenlanders feel that they have lost their value and place in society and turned to alcohol as an escape.
The following day we flew east to Nanortalik the first trip in a helicopter for both of us though a week on we have now made 4 flights. ( It is the only way to travel around here as the pack ice makes the sea impassable. The youth hostel that we stayed in was a beautiful 1915 cottage perched on the end of the headland overlooking a bay full of icebergs and being the first tourists that had visited this year we had the place to ourselves.
From here we flew on to Aappilattoq, a settlement of about 160 inhabitants which subsists on hunting and fishing. We stayed with a local family, where our Greenlandic phrasebook proved a wise investment and on the second day we went out with one of the hunters to see the magnificent fjords where thousand metre mountains drop away to the water in sheer sea cliffs and glacier noses meet the sea, breaking off into icebergs. Even to get out of the harbour and into the fjords we had to get through a maze of constantly moving sea ice, which occasionaly involved moving the icebergs by ramming them with the boat. On our last night we ate seal, which in these parts comes on its own - no veg, salad or even rice. This was a real glimpse or rural Greenland, a place and people rarely visited but very welcoming and we were sad to leave them behind as we headed back to the relative civilisation of Qaqortoq.
Tomorrow we fly to Narsaq from where we set off on a four day trek back to Narsarsuaq. From there we will begin our 72 hr boat odyssey to Disko Bay, 75 km north of the Arctic Circle, technology permitting you will hear from us there.
The following day we flew east to Nanortalik the first trip in a helicopter for both of us though a week on we have now made 4 flights. ( It is the only way to travel around here as the pack ice makes the sea impassable. The youth hostel that we stayed in was a beautiful 1915 cottage perched on the end of the headland overlooking a bay full of icebergs and being the first tourists that had visited this year we had the place to ourselves.
From here we flew on to Aappilattoq, a settlement of about 160 inhabitants which subsists on hunting and fishing. We stayed with a local family, where our Greenlandic phrasebook proved a wise investment and on the second day we went out with one of the hunters to see the magnificent fjords where thousand metre mountains drop away to the water in sheer sea cliffs and glacier noses meet the sea, breaking off into icebergs. Even to get out of the harbour and into the fjords we had to get through a maze of constantly moving sea ice, which occasionaly involved moving the icebergs by ramming them with the boat. On our last night we ate seal, which in these parts comes on its own - no veg, salad or even rice. This was a real glimpse or rural Greenland, a place and people rarely visited but very welcoming and we were sad to leave them behind as we headed back to the relative civilisation of Qaqortoq.
Tomorrow we fly to Narsaq from where we set off on a four day trek back to Narsarsuaq. From there we will begin our 72 hr boat odyssey to Disko Bay, 75 km north of the Arctic Circle, technology permitting you will hear from us there.
Saturday, 17 May 2008
Alive and well in Greenland
Well, we made it! Just in case any of you were missing us yet....!
It's only day 3, but we have already seen more icebergs than you could imagine. We would take ages to write you a really imaginative, descriptive, and eloquent diatribe on the incredible geological sites we have already seen and the fascinating culture of the Greenlandic people and the dilemma of their identity and how they view the Danish influence, but, like many other things in this country, the internet price is extortionate (though clearly that's not imported), so thought we would settle for letting you know we are still alive! For those with a map (or detailed knowledge of Greenland), we flew into Narsarsuaq, and are now in Qaqortoq, having taken the coastal ferry here yesterday. Tomorrow we head onto Nanortalik by helicopter, alledgedly one of the most picturesque parts of the country.
Miss you all heaps, lots of love, Ross and Alice
It's only day 3, but we have already seen more icebergs than you could imagine. We would take ages to write you a really imaginative, descriptive, and eloquent diatribe on the incredible geological sites we have already seen and the fascinating culture of the Greenlandic people and the dilemma of their identity and how they view the Danish influence, but, like many other things in this country, the internet price is extortionate (though clearly that's not imported), so thought we would settle for letting you know we are still alive! For those with a map (or detailed knowledge of Greenland), we flew into Narsarsuaq, and are now in Qaqortoq, having taken the coastal ferry here yesterday. Tomorrow we head onto Nanortalik by helicopter, alledgedly one of the most picturesque parts of the country.
Miss you all heaps, lots of love, Ross and Alice
Monday, 5 May 2008
Welcome to our blog!
Hello!!
We are about to embark on our travels, and, so that you can all see where we are and what we are up to, we decided to create a blog. First of all, here is a rough itinerary of where we will be, if anyone fancies joining us for any part of it, you will be very welcome, just let us know:
May 13th - July 5th : Greenland
July 6th - July 18th : Turkey (chilling out!)
July 18th - July 30th : Iran
July 30th - September 18th - Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan)
September 18th - October 31st - China and Tibet
November/December - South Pacific
New Year - Japan
January 6th - April 15th - Whistler, Canada
That's all for now, nothing interesting to report now, other than we have just spent the whole bank holiday weekend packing the contents of our flat into a room the size of a phone box (literally, not joking, well maybe a large phone box).
Do stay in touch with us, and let us know your news from blighty. You can contact us at
alice.barran@googlemail.com
rossavery@waitrose.com
Bye for now!
Ross and Alice
We are about to embark on our travels, and, so that you can all see where we are and what we are up to, we decided to create a blog. First of all, here is a rough itinerary of where we will be, if anyone fancies joining us for any part of it, you will be very welcome, just let us know:
May 13th - July 5th : Greenland
July 6th - July 18th : Turkey (chilling out!)
July 18th - July 30th : Iran
July 30th - September 18th - Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan)
September 18th - October 31st - China and Tibet
November/December - South Pacific
New Year - Japan
January 6th - April 15th - Whistler, Canada
That's all for now, nothing interesting to report now, other than we have just spent the whole bank holiday weekend packing the contents of our flat into a room the size of a phone box (literally, not joking, well maybe a large phone box).
Do stay in touch with us, and let us know your news from blighty. You can contact us at
alice.barran@googlemail.com
rossavery@waitrose.com
Bye for now!
Ross and Alice
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