So my final post summing up my six months of the most amazing travelling experience (for me anyway)!
After 27 flights, 17 boat trips, 7 trams, 6 push bikes, 5 train journeys, 4 cable cars, two motorbike taxis, two hire cars and far too many buses to mention my travels have finally come to a close. After reading 8books (not all of which were about the countries I was travelling in though the majority were), consuming 7 tubes of toothpaste, 6 bottles of suntan lotion, 5 insect repellants, and 1 packet of malaria tablets how can I answer the questions I posed to myself in my last post?
Firstly I don't feel that I have changed dramatically from when I set off on 7 April, nervous and excited. I think I'm old enough to pretty much know my own mind and personality unlike some of the younger travellers I've encountered fresh out of school or university. I'm sure it has altered me in many ways, made me more confident and outgoing, hopefully made me a better person in others but ultimately I didn't go travelling to 'find myself' in a cheesy 'Eat, Pray, Love' sense. For me it was about taking a break from work, perhaps figuring out what I want to do next and having an incredible experience that I would never forget. Box ticked, mission accomplished in that sense. Well, apart from maybe the 'what to do next bit'. Earn some money is the main priority now!
As for the highlight of my trip, that is harder to nail down. The country that stands out is undoubtedly China as the most fascinating, culturally challenging and memorable. I didn't love everything about it and the people are probably the most unfriendly that I encountered but I find the past and future of China incredibly interesting. I would love to return and see more, perhaps even live and work somewhere like Shanghai and immerse myself in the culture even more. In terms of activities, despite all the thrilling things I've done (Sydney harbour bridge climb, black water rafting, jet boating, snow shoeing, flying in a small plane over Fraser Island, sea kayaking, tubing, lugeing, scuba diving) the one that stands out the most is definitely walking the Great Wall. Fulfilling a childhood dream of seeing such an impressive structure and spending six days doing so was really a highlight for me. I thought the Galapagos would be right up there and although it was a fantastic experience, I met some great people and felt privileged to be part of the conservation work there I think I was at the beginning a little disappointed at how normal life on the islands seemed. The wildlife is unique but maybe if I'd gone at the beginning of the trip or spent more time exploring it would have eclipsed all else and sneaked into the number one spot.
In terms of meeting great people and making great friends though the Galapagos would be up there with the cyclling trip across Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I know many of my fellow cyclists have met up in London since the holiday so I hope to catch up with them soon. And the fact that I caught up with the ladies in Hong Kong and stayed with Ruth and Andrew in Christchurch was testament to what great friendships I made. New Zealand would probably come third on the list as I've kept in touch with a fair few of my bus buddies. I may have future trips to Sweden, Italy, Germany and other foreign destinations to look forward to, who knows! I'm lucky enough to have made a few (hopefully) lifelong friends on the China trip too. There's already a date in the diary to catch up.
What did I learn about myself? Well I guess I'm not as big a homebody who hates change as I thought I was. I really didn't struggle as much as I thought I would to be away from home and family and friends. It's not that I didn't miss you all but I was perfectly happy living in the moment, experiencing new people and places on a daily basis. Perhaps I need to inject a lot more of that into my life at home to keep on an even keel from now on.
But careerwise where I had doubts about the direction that I was going in, being away from work made me realise that I did enjoy what I did before, working in communications, that I'm good at it and would be quite happy to return to a similar role though perhaps for an different type of organisation. Something I'm more interested in and that perhaps fulfils my continuing passion for travel or wilflife/conservation. But I guess the current climate for finding jobs means I may have to take what I can get for the time being.
If I had my time again and could do thing differently I would, not that I regret the way things worked out but the places that I felt most in tune or at home were in the developing countries, with like-minded travellers. Australia and New Zealand were great for many reasons and it was great to catch up with friends and family. But I felt much more out of place visiting friends with lives similar to back home, working and socialising with friends when mine was wholeheartedly different. And also the type of traveller I encountered in hostels did make me feel I should have done that sort of thing about ten years ago! They were lovely but I didn't always feel like I had that much in common and didn't always want to go to some sh*tty Irish bar for a cheap pint like a university student.
My biggest regret though is that I didn't have enough money left to do South America justice. It was the continent that I was most looking forward to and saw the least of really. But it's always good have something to go back for, a travelling goal to work towards. It did scare me somewhat when I arrived (perhaps after the whole near-miss mugging experience in Buenos Aires) the thought of travelling around on my own with so little Spanish and the safety issues you hear so much about from fellow travellers. It was hard to know how bad it really was in Quito but at times you did feel a bit of a caged animal, fearing going out on your own or taking any possessions with you. But I felt much more at one with the kind of travellers there, a more mature kind of person even if they weren't actually any older than travellers elsewhere. You've got to have a certain amount of savvy about you to travel there I think. I definitely have a lot more places in mind that I want to explore.
Finally, what wisdom do I have to impart on travelling? Well, don't go to Australia at the moment unless you have a small fortune to spend! Asian people (apart from the Chinese) are by far the friendliest I encountered. You really do need to understand even the most basic Spanish to feel comfortable travelling around South America. You really don't need guide books in Australia and New Zealand as the volume of information you can pick up in information centres is pretty fantastic and all free. And cycling is just an amazing way to experience a country.
My best buys for travelling were a Platypus foldaway water bottle, my Osprey rucksack with detachable daypack, a USB charger and plug adaptor in one, three Eagle Creek compression bags, and a waterproof bag for my best friend - my SLR camera which allowed me to take some pretty fantastic photos with very little skill of my own. My iPhone was incredibly useful in places with free wifi but I do wish that I'd bought and taken a netbook with me to back up photos, music and tv programmes. It was also often cheaper to get online with your own laptop than using a hostel computer in the long term. But mostly I'm glad that I learnt to live with a lot less and have come back slightly ashamed of the volume of material possessions I have stashed away in my parents' loft at the moment. Which was part of the reason for going. Curb those shopaholic tendencies of mine!
A huge thanks goes to all of you who have read my blogs with interest and posted comments or got in touch as a result. I've probably ruined all chances of having a conversation if and when we do catch up with all my ramblings but there should still be plenty of nuggets, observations and experiences that I haven't included. I checked my stats the other day and was pretty chuffed that I'm nearly up to 2,000 page visits in the whole six months that I've been away. Experience tells me that they aren't all from my friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances but even half that amount would have sufficed.
Enough of my ramblings anyway. You'll have to text, email, facebook, tweet or call me from now on to find out what's going on in my life. Or ask my parents! And if you'd like to give me a job writing, editing, travelling more of the world etc that would be pretty damn fantastic... End of an era it feels... over and out. Speak or see you soon I hope.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Remains of the day(s)
After our sojourn in the 'city' as we liked to call it (really only the size of a big village or small town) it was time to go back to work, back to simple living and back to the mosquitoes. But it was a good week overall, settling into life at the station. On the Monday we set to work in the kitchen garden, digging shallow trenches to plant lettuce and broccoli, weeding the rows of carrots and other edible flora. It was a tough and knackering full day's work and I hadn't realised how much the mosquitoes were attacking me until I noticed all the blood spots on my hands where I'd removed my gloves to pull up some more delicate plants. Thank goodness I'd been wearing my head net otherwise they would have gone to town on me. By far the hardest part about being at the station was keeping the mozzies at bay. Luckily the temperature was moderate so it was easy to remain covered up most of the time but occasionally working up a huge sweat underneath all those layers was a hindrance.
But there wasn't too much to complain about as we set about attacking some of the mora bushes in a local farmer's field the next day. Again, tough work but rather therapeutic to hack a whole load of thorned, overgrown bushes with a machete. I'm convinced I had the toughest corner of the field with about seven small trees to negotiate where the blackberries had grown up, over and around the branches so not only did I have to cut from the bottom but above my head to disentangle the masses. It's a wonder I didn't take a chunk out of myself once my arms got tired! A job well done but we left plenty more to attack at a later date. I think I will view blackberries in a whole different light from now on.
With the rest of the afternoon off, we just chilled in the hammocks and snoozed or read books for the remainder of the day. A well earned rest. That evening was Sheil's last night so a few of us headed off to the bar down the road for drinking games, pool and a spot of salsa. It turned out to be a bit of a drunken one with an inebriated Sheil returning to the station on the back of the local farmer's horse and slumping to the floor after the bumpy ride back. I had the misfortune of being on breakfast duty the following morning nursing my cheap rum hangover and squeezing about 30 oranges for the fresh juice, a staple at every meal.
Then followed coffee picking in the local farmer's field and an education in how to prepare, roast and grind the beans throughout the day. The picking itself wasn't so much fun but the previous night's drinking might have had a lot to do with it. I made the mistake of trying to climb up and over a log in muddy boots and found myself lying flat on my back as fast as my coffee beans could fly off into the brown sludge around me. So then I had to pick them all over again, up out of the mud and back into my bucket! The rest of the process that afternoon was pretty enjoyable though as Shannon and I made a good fire-starting and roasting team. Fascinating to see the process through from start to finish and would have been even better if I actually liked to drink the final product. The fresh stuff smelt pretty good though.
The next day we were back at the national park digging holes and planting trees but there wasn't too much for us to do so after another visit to the giant tortoise sanctuary it was another afternoon of chilling out in the hammocks, snoozing and chatting amongst ourselves. On Friday we revisited the national park but this time the nursery to replant seedlings for an hour or two. An easy morning and I had to laugh when the rest of the group were showered with a fine spray of water as Jefferson turned on the wrong sprinklers while I was in the safety of a dry section of the nursery.
We walked to the nearby Puerto Chino beach for a barbecue lunch, a spot of surf jumping in the cold sea and more insights into the local wildlife. A great way to kick off the weekend. It was good to all be back in town and treat ourselves to a nice meal, a few cocktails and some more salsa at the local nightclub that evening. Then it was up early the following morning with Brenda and Shannon to get another seasickness-inducing ride, this time to Santa Cruz for a few days. It was good to see another island, busier and a bit more touristy but still pretty quaint and small. It was a quiet day as we were all feeling a bit sleep-deprived and delicate.
The next day was packed with visiting the stunning locale of Tortuga Bay to soak up the sun, sea and sand as well as marine iguanas lining the beach. They were pretty prehistoric-looking creatures and a couple of them reminded me of a mean-looking 80s punk. I think it was the spikes that did it. You'll hopefully see what I mean by the photos.
Then ensued a tour of the highlands to see two huge volcanic craters, lava tunnels and more giant tortoises. I felt happier to have seen a bit more of island life, having wondered if I was missing out by being stationed in one place. I accept that I probably saw a lot less than those who've travelled around on a cruise but overall I did really appreciate that the volunteering was a rich experience in many ways. I saw a different side to the islands and although I'm not sure how much I really contributed in such a short space of time I'm glad that I have made even a small mark on the conservation of such a wonderful environment that should endure for generations to come.
All that remained to do after we returned to the station was pack up and have a last night celebrating with my fellow volunteers at the bar. I resisted drinking any more dodgy, cheap rum especially as some of the others were playing drinking games again but still managed a fun, late night playing pool, dancing and saying a final farewell to my new-found friends.
Before I knew it I was back in Quito planning a trip to Cotopaxi, the highest volcanic peak in Ecuador, to round off my travels before returning home. It was a great way to spend my last few days away, chiling out in the jacuzzi, finishing off my latest book curled up in front of the fire and playing cards with my hostel companions. It was a beautiful place and as I hiked up to the glacier partway up the peak (about 4,100m above sea level) I got a good view of the surrounding terrain once the clouds cleared. It was only a short hike but pretty hard work at that altitude without much acclimatisation. But the fun was to be had in mountain biking our way down until it started tipping it down and we got covered in mud and grit.
I was a bit subdued with thoughts of returning home but caught up with Ian, a guy I'd met in Quito a few weeks before who had been waiting to head off to the Galapagos. Think he may be heading to the same place that I was at but he wasn't sure what it was called so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. I ended up staying an extra night at the hostel as it was difficult to head back without enough people to fill private transport, it really was in the middle of nowhere. But I returned to Quito in time to have a final supper and head off to the airport to catch my flight home.
So now that I've returned to English soil there might be some burning questions to answer. Have I changed? What was the highlight of my trip? What did I learn about myself? What wisdom do I have to impart on travelling? How would I do things differently knowing what I know now? Well I think I've got one more post in me to answer all these and wrap things up apart from a million and one photos still to share. But I'll save that for tomorrow when I'm a little less jet lagged and have had a little more time to pull together my thoughts.
But there wasn't too much to complain about as we set about attacking some of the mora bushes in a local farmer's field the next day. Again, tough work but rather therapeutic to hack a whole load of thorned, overgrown bushes with a machete. I'm convinced I had the toughest corner of the field with about seven small trees to negotiate where the blackberries had grown up, over and around the branches so not only did I have to cut from the bottom but above my head to disentangle the masses. It's a wonder I didn't take a chunk out of myself once my arms got tired! A job well done but we left plenty more to attack at a later date. I think I will view blackberries in a whole different light from now on.
With the rest of the afternoon off, we just chilled in the hammocks and snoozed or read books for the remainder of the day. A well earned rest. That evening was Sheil's last night so a few of us headed off to the bar down the road for drinking games, pool and a spot of salsa. It turned out to be a bit of a drunken one with an inebriated Sheil returning to the station on the back of the local farmer's horse and slumping to the floor after the bumpy ride back. I had the misfortune of being on breakfast duty the following morning nursing my cheap rum hangover and squeezing about 30 oranges for the fresh juice, a staple at every meal.
Then followed coffee picking in the local farmer's field and an education in how to prepare, roast and grind the beans throughout the day. The picking itself wasn't so much fun but the previous night's drinking might have had a lot to do with it. I made the mistake of trying to climb up and over a log in muddy boots and found myself lying flat on my back as fast as my coffee beans could fly off into the brown sludge around me. So then I had to pick them all over again, up out of the mud and back into my bucket! The rest of the process that afternoon was pretty enjoyable though as Shannon and I made a good fire-starting and roasting team. Fascinating to see the process through from start to finish and would have been even better if I actually liked to drink the final product. The fresh stuff smelt pretty good though.
The next day we were back at the national park digging holes and planting trees but there wasn't too much for us to do so after another visit to the giant tortoise sanctuary it was another afternoon of chilling out in the hammocks, snoozing and chatting amongst ourselves. On Friday we revisited the national park but this time the nursery to replant seedlings for an hour or two. An easy morning and I had to laugh when the rest of the group were showered with a fine spray of water as Jefferson turned on the wrong sprinklers while I was in the safety of a dry section of the nursery.
We walked to the nearby Puerto Chino beach for a barbecue lunch, a spot of surf jumping in the cold sea and more insights into the local wildlife. A great way to kick off the weekend. It was good to all be back in town and treat ourselves to a nice meal, a few cocktails and some more salsa at the local nightclub that evening. Then it was up early the following morning with Brenda and Shannon to get another seasickness-inducing ride, this time to Santa Cruz for a few days. It was good to see another island, busier and a bit more touristy but still pretty quaint and small. It was a quiet day as we were all feeling a bit sleep-deprived and delicate.
The next day was packed with visiting the stunning locale of Tortuga Bay to soak up the sun, sea and sand as well as marine iguanas lining the beach. They were pretty prehistoric-looking creatures and a couple of them reminded me of a mean-looking 80s punk. I think it was the spikes that did it. You'll hopefully see what I mean by the photos.
Then ensued a tour of the highlands to see two huge volcanic craters, lava tunnels and more giant tortoises. I felt happier to have seen a bit more of island life, having wondered if I was missing out by being stationed in one place. I accept that I probably saw a lot less than those who've travelled around on a cruise but overall I did really appreciate that the volunteering was a rich experience in many ways. I saw a different side to the islands and although I'm not sure how much I really contributed in such a short space of time I'm glad that I have made even a small mark on the conservation of such a wonderful environment that should endure for generations to come.
All that remained to do after we returned to the station was pack up and have a last night celebrating with my fellow volunteers at the bar. I resisted drinking any more dodgy, cheap rum especially as some of the others were playing drinking games again but still managed a fun, late night playing pool, dancing and saying a final farewell to my new-found friends.
Before I knew it I was back in Quito planning a trip to Cotopaxi, the highest volcanic peak in Ecuador, to round off my travels before returning home. It was a great way to spend my last few days away, chiling out in the jacuzzi, finishing off my latest book curled up in front of the fire and playing cards with my hostel companions. It was a beautiful place and as I hiked up to the glacier partway up the peak (about 4,100m above sea level) I got a good view of the surrounding terrain once the clouds cleared. It was only a short hike but pretty hard work at that altitude without much acclimatisation. But the fun was to be had in mountain biking our way down until it started tipping it down and we got covered in mud and grit.
I was a bit subdued with thoughts of returning home but caught up with Ian, a guy I'd met in Quito a few weeks before who had been waiting to head off to the Galapagos. Think he may be heading to the same place that I was at but he wasn't sure what it was called so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. I ended up staying an extra night at the hostel as it was difficult to head back without enough people to fill private transport, it really was in the middle of nowhere. But I returned to Quito in time to have a final supper and head off to the airport to catch my flight home.
So now that I've returned to English soil there might be some burning questions to answer. Have I changed? What was the highlight of my trip? What did I learn about myself? What wisdom do I have to impart on travelling? How would I do things differently knowing what I know now? Well I think I've got one more post in me to answer all these and wrap things up apart from a million and one photos still to share. But I'll save that for tomorrow when I'm a little less jet lagged and have had a little more time to pull together my thoughts.
Friday, 7 October 2011
Homeward bound
I'm sitting at the airport waiting for the long flight home as I write. It will be weird but I'll have to finish off my stories when I return home. Still got a fair bit to fill you in on but it will be so odd to write it from home instead of some Internet cafe or hostel computer. I'll save my insights and impressions of travelling for the final post. But for now this is to say Hasta luego until I reach English soil.
As an aside, had a random experience at the airport of being carted off to some little room by plain-clothed narcotics policemen to be tested for drugs on a little machine. Like a little conveyor belt. One of those moments where you imagine something totally dodgy happening but then remind yourself you're in a high security place and they're probably just bored!
As an aside, had a random experience at the airport of being carted off to some little room by plain-clothed narcotics policemen to be tested for drugs on a little machine. Like a little conveyor belt. One of those moments where you imagine something totally dodgy happening but then remind yourself you're in a high security place and they're probably just bored!
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Island explorer
It's been a while since my last post but with no internet at the station and lots of exploring to do on the islands when not there, there hasn't been a lot of time to devote to writing to all of you about what I've been doing. My time in the Galapagos has now come to an end so I'm back in Quito briefly before heading off later today to Cotopaxi to the sister hostel of the one I've stayed at in the city. There's walking, waterfalls and volcanoes to squeeze in before I fly home this weekend. Yes, that's right my flight is booked (thanks Mum and Dad) and I'll be home before you know it. I have mixed feelings about coming home. After living a basic life for a few weeks and not having all the mod cons in South America I'm looking forward to some home comforts and seeing all my friends and family. But I'll definitely miss the excitement of travelling, meeting new people and having such amazing experiences on a daily basis.
But first there's the last week and a half to cover. I'll only get so far and then I'll have to come back and tell you more. Got some packing to do (an almost daily occurrence). So the weekend before last, when we were staying in town on San Cristobal island, we booked a day tour around the island on a boat. The first boat trip in a long time that didn't make me feel horrendously seasick so that was a bonus. We went snorkelling on Islas Lobos and saw lots of fish, sea turtles, rays, sealions (but they're everywhere here anyway). I however bottled the second snorkel as I still can't bring myself to swim in shark-infested waters. This was by Kicker Rock, further out at sea in very dark, deep waters. I was pretty cold on the boat by this point as we didn't have any towels with us, not having realised that snorkelling was included in the trip. So some of us stayed on the boat while the others went diving and swimming. Gave me an opportunity for a bit of a sunbathe though and also to get my first sight of some of those blue-footed boobies that are so famous in these parts.
There were some really interesting people on the boat too, mostly guys. Two pilots from Las Vegas who work for a casino owner and fly round the world at their boss's whim. A crazy Brazilian guy who only really wanted to talk to one of the pilots he took a liking to but would quiz anyone who had been to interesting places on their travels or had an interest in diving. And a couple of really nice Israelis, one of whom had a phobia of sharks and kept telling us where his insurance papers were, his phone and how much he loved his mum before diving into the water. After the snorkelling we headed to Manglecito beach for a little wander and to check out Darwin's finches, which are so tame they come and land on you while you're lying on the sand or just hop around you checking out whether you have any food.
Then it was back to the station later that day, back to the cold showers, mosquitoes, spiders and cockroaches. But the week went quickly and some more volunteers arrived so we kept ourselves busy and had fun going to the bar down the road for Sheil's last night. I'll tell you more in the next post about what we got up to and our island hopping over last weekend.
But first there's the last week and a half to cover. I'll only get so far and then I'll have to come back and tell you more. Got some packing to do (an almost daily occurrence). So the weekend before last, when we were staying in town on San Cristobal island, we booked a day tour around the island on a boat. The first boat trip in a long time that didn't make me feel horrendously seasick so that was a bonus. We went snorkelling on Islas Lobos and saw lots of fish, sea turtles, rays, sealions (but they're everywhere here anyway). I however bottled the second snorkel as I still can't bring myself to swim in shark-infested waters. This was by Kicker Rock, further out at sea in very dark, deep waters. I was pretty cold on the boat by this point as we didn't have any towels with us, not having realised that snorkelling was included in the trip. So some of us stayed on the boat while the others went diving and swimming. Gave me an opportunity for a bit of a sunbathe though and also to get my first sight of some of those blue-footed boobies that are so famous in these parts.
There were some really interesting people on the boat too, mostly guys. Two pilots from Las Vegas who work for a casino owner and fly round the world at their boss's whim. A crazy Brazilian guy who only really wanted to talk to one of the pilots he took a liking to but would quiz anyone who had been to interesting places on their travels or had an interest in diving. And a couple of really nice Israelis, one of whom had a phobia of sharks and kept telling us where his insurance papers were, his phone and how much he loved his mum before diving into the water. After the snorkelling we headed to Manglecito beach for a little wander and to check out Darwin's finches, which are so tame they come and land on you while you're lying on the sand or just hop around you checking out whether you have any food.
Then it was back to the station later that day, back to the cold showers, mosquitoes, spiders and cockroaches. But the week went quickly and some more volunteers arrived so we kept ourselves busy and had fun going to the bar down the road for Sheil's last night. I'll tell you more in the next post about what we got up to and our island hopping over last weekend.
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