Tag: March 2003

Next month on April 5^th 2003:

Ladakh: the last Shangri-la? “In the forbidding terrain of the
Himalayas, a robust people embellish their frugal lives with rich endowments
of faith” (Thomas J. Abercrombie, National Geographic). Experience
the beauty of this exotic land through a slide show by Kenneth Axen,
PhD, research scientist, graphic artist, and serious amateur photographer.

For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk
or register for email updates at click here
at our website.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher
Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness,
in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.

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Iris is a British lady of considerable character and pluck, on a 23 week
overland expedition from Quito in Ecuador to Caracas in Venezuela. After
this, she plans to do a 3-month voluntary placement in Ecuador, and then
visit Central America for another overland trip between Panama City and
Mexico City, ending up with perhaps another 2-month voluntary placement
somewhere in South America again. This amazing journey will take Iris
one year. Here is an extract from Iris’ journey notebook.

30^th November cont.: Cuenca

Onward, ever onward, to Cuenca. By the time it had reached 1845 and we
had been on the road for 11 hours we were all becoming increasingly impatient
to arrive. Darkness had descended, quite a lot of the time, after leaving
our lunchtime site, it was raining heavily, and for hours we had had to
make our own fun in the back of the truck, playing cards, some of the
lads giving us a selection of the music they had brought on mini discs
and mini disc players – most of it being quite presentable – Robbie Williams,
Abba, Kylie, to name a few, although when a Turkish member of our group
produced a CD of Turkish music, the reception was somewhat mixed, and
when someone produced a couple of CDs of Australian folk songs, there
were a lot of jeers, even from the Aussies amongst us, about songs like
“Tie my Kangaroo down sport!” or “Waltzing Matilda”
and others of that ilk.

One of our amusements, rather unkindly but not intended so, was our 68
yr old, Judith, my room-mate in Baños. Poor Judith, she had been very
jet-lagged when she had arrived in Quito, but she had had four nights
to recover, so everyone was very amused when she proceeded to fall asleep.
She was sitting with one of our younger men (Matt is about 33, I would
say, and he is a quiet man) and he had an inflated neck cushion and had
dozed off leaning against the window (the seats are like public bus seats,
there are no head rests and support ends at just below the shoulders)
so poor Judith was lolling back with mouth wide open, catching flies.

Kindly, our policeman, Paul, who was sitting sideways on behind Judith
decided she had to be given a cushion and so a sleeping bag, rolled up
in its sack was produced and placed strategically behind Judith’s head,
which seemed successful, but as the sleeping bag roll was in a large empty
cavity between Judith’s front-facing seat and Paul’s side-facing seat,
every movement of the bus sent it sliding away from Judith, or Judith
sliding away from it. Another sleeping bag roll was produced but then
Judith would gradually slip between the two rolls! Then it was decided
to wedge the sleeping rolls in place with a water bottle and this did
the trick but then Judith found Matt’s shoulder and snuggled up to him!
This just went on and on throughout the day. Both Matt and Judith would
wake up at intervals but gradually both (Judith more than Matt) would
drop off into slumberland once more and the whole pantomime would be played
out again, very much to everyone’s amusement!) We reckoned Judith slept
for at least seven of the 13 hours we were on the road!

Eventually, after many small disappointments as one large town vanished
into the darkness to our rear which had been mistakenly identified by
us as our destination, we arrived in Cuenca and got to our hotel. But
we had all to share 3 or 4-bedded rooms, although that is par for the
course when so many have to be accommodated in large city hotels. I shared
with three other ladies – Alison, Eren (our Turkish lady) and Judith,
and after we had all got settled we went off across the road to an Italian
restaurant for a meal (as our last meal had been some 8 hours previously
on the side of the road), however, at 2130 we were not too keen to eat
anything too much and Judith and Eren just had soup and a roll, and Alison
and I had pasta.

Today, the rain has vanished and it is quite sunny in Cuenca. We had
a light breakfast (rolls and jam and scrambled egg) and then I decided
to go my separate way. Judith and Alison and Eren wanted to go to an archaeological
museum out of town, but I wanted to wander around on my own. Unfortunately
Eren is ill today, being sick and feeling poorly so in the end we left
her in the hotel room bedded down. I don’t know what she had eaten and
neither did she, that had made her sick, but it is not diarrhoea, just
sickness, so hopefully, she will be recovered by tomorrow for our next
366 km journey to Punta Sal where we will be camping on the beach for
3 days.

I think this first week is being used to break us in gently to the rigours
ahead of us – the jungle trip and the Inca Trail – so some long journeys
have to be faced and some hotels are used so that we are not faced with
too much hard work putting up tents every time we arrive at a destination,
and camping to show us what we are in for when there are no hotels to
stay in. So think of me on 1 Dec 02 having to face putting up a tent after
a 12 hour journey!

Today in Cuenca I have just walked round the city centre, looking at
the local shops and populace. I got to a little square and realised there
was an art museum there so went in to have a look round. The young security
guard, who watches over everyone coming in, got me to sign the book and
put my passport number and name in the book and then was determined to
practice his rather limited English on me. Anyway, to cut a long story
short he ended up giving me a guided tour and I asked him if I could take
his photo, but although he agreed he was determined the photo was going
to have me in it as well, so I obliged him, when he produced a young friend
to do the honours! After the guided tour I told him that I was returning
to Ecuador next year for maybe two stints of 3 months and 2 months and
asked him for his address so that I could not only send him the photo
but also perhaps visit him when I return. He is a university student working
as a guard at the museum during the day and has another evening job as
well to bring in the money while he is studying. He is at Rio Bamba university
and hopes to travel round the world when he has finished his studying.
He is about 18, I would say, and demanded that we kiss each other on the
cheek before parting to show our new-found friendship and the hope of
it continuing in the future, so I obliged and insisted we do it the French
way of kissing on both cheeks! Then as I left, he ran after me “I
don’t know your name! What is your name?” And I said: “Francisco,
you have it in your book, remember, I signed in?!” And he was so
relieved!

If you’d like to contact Iris, whether to wish her luck with her
trip or to ask questions about her itinerary and places visited, I am
sure she would like to hear from you. She can be contacted on: irisej2002@yahoo.co.uk

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The March meeting of the Ontario Globetrotters was held on March 21st.
Jim Low presented “Chasing the Midnight Sun,” a slide documentary
and personal commentary of his recent motor trip up the Dempster Highway
through the Yukon and NWT to Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek:
shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca
or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September
and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton
Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

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PLEASE NOTE NEW LOCATION

We will meet at the VFW Hall on Peace Street instead of the library
on Common St.

The hall is across from the entrance to Cypress Bend Park where the April
2002 picnic was held.

Peace Street is between the library and the river off Common St. Turn
on Peace Street – the Fairgrounds are across the street so you can
only turn one way. There is a sign for the VFW hall on the corner. Go
to the dead end (cemeteries on both sides) and turn right into the parking
lot for the VFW hall.

Mark your calendars – Dates of future meetings: April 12th,

The VFW folks will open their bar so we will not go to the Hoity Toit
after the meeting. If you like, bring some nibbles to share for conversation
time following the meeting – since we will miss the peanuts from
the Toit.

For more information about the Texas Branch: please Contact texas@globetrotters.co.uk
or register for email updates at our website (click here)
or call Christina at 830-620-5482

If anybody would like to enquire about meetings or help Christina, please
contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk

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U. S. Soldiers Home Mac: during a century of travel (well 78 years!)
both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count
both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted
signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and now wonder
why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my anecdotes.

I stayed in Hotel Blue in Delhi (avoid it.) Actually OK but basic and
the police were constantly checking the place as so many of the clients
were young people travelling the world for years and didn’t have
any work (except temporary jobs). There was a young German travelling
around the world on a motorcycle. He was born after Hitler was dead.
He told me he was in Egypt and when an elderly Egyptian heard he was from
Germany said to him. “Hitler is a good man. How old is he now? This
broke up the young German. Some people never get the word. Indian police
came up to the hotel looking for illegal immigrants and the young German
disappeared.

While waiting for a room in New Delhi at the Hotel Ashok Yatri News $10
US a day (it seemed to be a budget hotel ran by the government and I liked
it) I went into the public toilet in the lobby and took all my luggage
into the stall with me. When I went to leave stall I had trouble getting
the door open as my luggage was in the way. As I struggled out, I saw
an Indian at the washbasin watching my antics. I told him. “I spent
the night in there – couldn’t get a room. Without batting an eye
he said “You did not have to do that”

Puri, India. Stayed at Z Hotel. That is the entire name of hotel or
as the British say zed for Z I think. Z hotel is on Chakraateertha Road.
A short name for hotel. Long name for road. It is on the beach next
to the ocean. The hotel was a palace of a very minor Maharaja of a very
minor state in West Bengal. I was offered a complimentary drink as I
signed in. All this for 480 rupees ($4.80 U.S. a night.) You can walk
to fishing villages with palm huts a short way from hotel. When I went
to see the fishermen bring in the fish at 4PM, a little boy ran ahead
of me to point out the faeces on the beach (the fishermen use the beach
as a toilet). He would point and say Toilet. He was constantly saying
Toilet, toilet, toilet so I would not step into the faeces.

At the Konark Temple in India where they have erotic carvings of men
and women doing things in almost impossible gymnastic positions a little
boy appointed himself as my guide. This ten year old guide solemnly informed
me. “There are sixty four approaches.”

Madras, India. Diana had read that the bicycle rickshaw drivers in front
of train station would often take you to a hotel where they got a commission
instead of the hotel you requested. She told me to give the address of
a landmark near the hotel you wished. Tell him you want to go to Star
Theater (which was near Broadlawn Hotel I wanted) I said Star Theater
please and he replied. “Oh the Broadlawn Hotel!” I moved from
there to Himalayan Hotel that Dianna kept calling the Everest.

The Fairlawn Hotel in Calcutta is a hoot. It is run by an Albanian lady
(I think) who had been married to a British Major, since died. She was
more British than the British and she ran the hotel like they did in the
days of the Raj. She had all the men servants wear colourful turbans
although they were not Sikhs (I at first thought when they said someone
was Sikh I thought they were saying they were sick.) When she was out
of sight they would pull them off. She would walk around with a little
poodle in her arms saying “And how are you my dear?’ Americans loved
this but some Indians from America revisiting India told me that their
daughter hated this.

I stayed in several hotels in New Delhi including YMCA and YWCA International
Hotel (took both men and women) food very good there. In an Indian brochure
I read “When our hearts are empty we collect things” (give me
your things and sin no more.) It is true that we sometimes become slaves
to our possessions. Give them away and travel!

Next month, Mac discusses animals. If you would like to contact Mac,
he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com

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