Vertiginous descent

 Ecuador is dominated by its mountainous topography interspersed with steep river valleys. So travelling is a challenge , more so before the Spanish arrived with their horses. Llamas and Alpacas only carry the lightest of loads and so kept for their wool . The meat is almost inedible ; guinea pig was then the delicacy . It is of no surprise that the Andean natives are short and study of leg ; they had to be , to walk the steep hills carrying their loads .  A head for heights a must . 

Perched atop a horse only accentuates those heights . At one side there was always that ravine . Sure footedness an essential for man and beast, with a half kilometre drop awaiting those who slip. Our hacienda offered horse riding as part of the overnight package . Not to be outdone by grandchildren , I mounted my steed ; holding firmly to the saddle . Subsequent lessons came without a pommel and instruction that you just had to balance . I tried , the horse promptly stopped ; and I reverted to a tight hold . Horse riding is four times more dangerous than motorcycling . My life as ‘caballero’ came to an end . 

A snow capped summit poked through the clouds . We were fortunate to gain a view of the  6,268.2 m (20,565 ft) equatorial summit of Mount Chimborazo; it is also the closest point to the sun on earth. When measured from the centre of the earth, instead of sea level, it is the highest mountain on the planet; I am still trying to work that one out !! Ascending requires fitness, not climbing skills ; but altitude acclimatisation is essential . Not expensive , the ascent itself costs just $600 , guide obligatory. We tried a 4 km walk at 3500m , and suffered from altitude sickness.   Last year four died in an avalanche on the mountain . We are now retired alpinists!  All this elevation in dangerous .

No more so than to the workers , brought in from abroad, to construct the railways .  Up until 1908 , the only way of moving goods from the main port in Guayaquil to Quito ( at 2800 metres)  was by donkey and horse, across the treacherous landscape . Presidential vision, a considerable investment , engineering skill , and the lives of several thousand of those foreign workers resulted in the completion of the rail route . I can’t help feeling that the locals knew what was in store , hence foreign constructors .

The most challenging , and dangerous , leg was round what is now called the Devils Nose ; so named because the high death rate ( one report of 2000 ) . Here the rail descends half a kilometre in just 12. To achieve that on this mountain side , the rail has to literally zig zag down. A spectacular view , and achievement ( if you ignore the resulting  bodies ).  As there are an odd number of changes in direction , at the bottom is an additional “zag” so the train ends up pointing the the right direction . 

Rail remained supreme , and only started to decay after the construction of the first paved road from Quito to Cuenca , in the south; completed as late as the 1960’s. Last week we took that route which ascended the opposite side of the valley to the famous ( notorious ) rail route . All rail travel in Ecuador has been suspended after El Nineo induced damaged , and the political reluctance to pour a never ending sum into track maintenance . 

The view from our car window should have been spectacular but for  low cloud ..ah actually normal cloud levels .. it is us who is high !! The steep and unstable mountain side means that there are frequent small slips onto the road, but for us a large one  closed the road, and necessitated  a diversion through a conveniently situated village . On the return , however , reconstruction required a  diversion of some 5 km on single rough track, requiring alternate direction. We were fortunate that even this existed; and that we just missed a rock fall with boulders house sized. 

Our destination of Cuenca was worth all this excitement ; in being a beautifully preserved UNESCO sight. Our guide on the first morning was a fount of local knowledge , enhancing our enjoyment . He  clearly however was not a geological expert,  reassuring us we were well clear of volcanoes and earthquakes . The day after we left , an earthquake destroyed a building close to our hotel . Descending rubble proving fatal . 

We will look forward to returning home, closer to sea level ; though with global warming , not too close!

      

A natural horseman ?

Beware falling rocks, one of four!

…and earthquakes!!

Meanwhile Cuenca’s finest, Not damaged 

View from Above

 A crystal clear sunny day , and the view from our flight south from San Francisco was a lesson in geography . We followed the edge of California’s Central Valley where man’s impact was so evident . The valley is totally farmed , and ALL the fields were rectangular running in a NW-SE direction . There were virtually no natural features . Here was agriculture and its’ irrigation at its most efficient ; no wonder they can underprice virtually anyone else in the world .  The main water source was from a canal which runs 444 miles down the valley , and clearly visible from  the air . Not visible were another 1600 miles of other pipes and Aqueducts taking water from  the Sierra Nevada to Californian cities; and the ground water abstraction that is busily draining the main aquifers. That and climate change is making the whole enterprise unviable in the medium term . This is serious , the valley provides 25% of USA agricultural produce . 

Skirting the mountains , we headed South east , crossing the deserts of Arizona , New Mexico thence into Texas . The principal change from arid nothingness was small plots of cleared scrub , some kilometre apart; stretching as far as  this eye could see from 38,000 feet. There appeared no buildings on these ;  no clue as to their purpose . Subsequent investigation using Google Earth revealed that they were all oil derricks ; a principal source of USA’s energy security . 

Now to get a truly magnificent view of earth , something more serious than a commercial aeroplane is required . On the ground in front  of us was  just the thing ; a Saturn 5 rocket. It was actually three rockets on top of each other , designed to boost the lunar module  out of earth’s orbit . There was also a small rocket thing on top of the capsule which contained the astronauts, which was a sort of ejector seat to clear them in case of catastrophic launch failure . The whole rocket stood 360 feet tall , but the one in front was on its side in a giant barn to protect it from  the elements . Each launch cost over $1 billion in todays money , so having achieved a lunar landing , and some more ; the final launches in the series  were cancelled,   leaving these bits which were now housed in the Space Centre Museum in Houston Texas . 

“ This is one small step….” ; Neil Armstrong’s words echoed around the actual lunar command centre . We were 50 years too late for the spoken words , which were now replayed to us tourists  as we watched those final steps played out as it actually happened , the control screens full of the technical  information . The Space centre is a huge tourist location , we had broken our journey on route to Quito , just to visit it . Now it’s prime purpose seems to be to convince the American tax payer to fund a trip to Mars , via a Moon based launched centre . Given that Elon Musk also wants to go there , he has ( or perhaps, after Twitter ,had ) the money,  and affordable technology ; perhaps it will happen . Just to prove the point , one of his reusable rockets , which had returned to earth intact , was parked out front . Not sure how all this is going to save all , but those few on Mars , from the effects of Global warming.

Houston we have a problem …where are you all !

A seriously big rocket

A Space Shuttle parked on top of a 747, an odd sight indeed

Houston airport : if you allow dogs to travel by plane …then they need the appropriate facilities!

Ferry Across..

 It’s not Gerry Marsdon’s ( and his Pacemakers ) Mersey , but one half a world away , physically and economically : Frisco Bay . We were staying across the Bay from San Francisco proper, just a ferry ride away . This area is effectively the  north end of Silicon Valley , and our suburb, Sausalito, very genteel. This was indeed monied, although in a restrained way. The local traffic wardens were equipped with three wheeler scooter things . Policing with refinement and politeness . 

It wasn’t always so . The gold rush kicked off development,  no doubt  in a very raw way . This spawned San Francisco , which remained desirable , despite the earthquake and subsequent fire. Sausalito developed into a place for week end cabins , and a commute , initially by ferry , then bridge. The Second World War invoked a revolution . US Army Corps decided that it was a perfect  location for a ship yard . Starting with a swamp and hillside , a shipyard exploded into the locale ; producing it’s first ship in an incredible 6 months . Frenetic activity continued , and the yard produced 120 ships , most heavily armoured petrol tankers , before the war’s end . 

Then suddenly the yard closed , with corresponding unemployment . Desperate for accommodation , redundant material was converted in homemade houses on stilts and boats ; avoiding the need to prove land ownership.  There then ensured a twenty year battle between the well healed permanent residents , and the hippy commune that grew up on the waters edge . Growing  affluence determined the outcome . The stilts and house  boats now command nearly 7 figure sums ; and the sea around is filled with yacht marinas . The yard itself is now the locale for consumer support for that affluence , principally yacht maintenance. 

The ferry commuters now spend their time on pre-office  work , although surprisingly the ferry does not provide wifi. I suppose it is always in range of phone towers. On our way we pass close to Alcatraz , after a ferry change , our tourist destination . The prison island was indeed as bleak as expected. The cells were stacked three high in four long rows . The ‘ doors ‘ were grills offering no privacy. At the end of the rows was a gallery , barred off , not for minstrels, but gun toting wardens .  The only cells with doors were for those in solitary, these excluded all light ; indeed a hell hole. The prison was closed not long after three inmates dug their way out with spoons , and escaped the island in an  inflatable boat built from macs. They were never seen again. A developer proposed a hotel and shopping mall for the redundant island . However a group of Indians invoked a treaty clause that said redundant federal land should  revert to them . The government , not renowned for honouring Indian treaties , declared the prison a tourist location ; thus denying the  Indians ownership.

Our ‘tourisma ‘ continued on a Big Bus circular route , where we passed the Google bus transporting  those few remaining employees actually commuting . Another local IT company couldn’t get out of its office lease , so the MD instructed all employees to return from home  to avoid a white elephant syndrome. A third resigned ; the MD was fired. The bus crossed the Golden Gate Bridge , those of us stupid enough to remain on the open top upper deck had a suitably scary ride , and with the immediate return crossing  , totally frozen . We alighted to seek warmth in a very upmarket city centre mall . Wondering why each shop had an armed guard? ; the answer : the homeless had also decided it was a place of warmth. The returning cable car traversed the switch back roads , whilst we wondered if the driver was really fit enough to pull the enormous brake and clutch levers , and what would happen if he collapsed . Perhaps the second man at the rear has an emergency brake .

Man , or American man , has fundamentally changed the nature of the Bay , its offshoots and the  two main river deltas. Soil from hydraulic mining for gold has substantially  silted the bay , despite its size ; the deltas drained  for farming , and substantial land reclaimed for development . In the 1960’s a monster of a proposal was to virtually enclose vast areas from the sea. Congress approved , as a first step , the construction of an hydraulic model to verify feasibility. It wasn’t. Computerisation has replaced this model , which covers an acre inside its own giant shed. It is now open as a visitor centre for tourists . An eventual fate for all redundancies ?. 

Our time  concluded with a visit to the last remaining giant redwood glade ( its not big enough to call it a forest ) . These 250 feet monsters are the tallest living thing on our planet . They have survived the dinosaur extinction climatic event  , and then were saved by Presidential decree.  It is to be seen if they survive man’s cataclysmic impact .

Gateway to the promised land 

 …or hell for others!

Genteel policing 

A generational change in transportation.

Will the sun continue to rise on these giants of nature ?

RIMPAC

Rim of the Pacific Exercises ( now for all !)

 The red had changed to white, and suddenly the crossing was filled with scantily clad surf boards . This is Waikiki after all , the surf capital of Hawaii. Bikes, cars and scooters all seemed to be sprouting surf boards , heading for that next big wave . It is true , there is continuous surf here as there is nothing between here and the Antarctic ; thats a lot of ocean . I was 50/60 years too late join in this brigade without looking distinctly out of place ( and shape ) . We were still feeling sore after effectively been indicated to leave from a yuppy bar in Sydney . The waitress had given us the bill before we had finished our first drink ! The rest of the clientele looked good in their Lycra. 

But back to that surf .  Now wait , that surfer is running parallel to the wave , with his board above the water and no gliding sail. Not possible you may say , but there it was . Some seemed to be jumping up and down , while others stood still on their board . Further investigation revealed that these boards had 1 metre long hydrofoils under , which miraculously would raise the board up , and then with drag reduced,  would speed up , and with energetic jumping would retaining elevation and momentum. Whilst sun bathing , one of these boards emerged to reveal both hydrofoil and battery powered propellor . It would seem that the surf itself was now redundant !

The climate is one of paradise , all year round warmth and showers . No doubt it was just that , until that is they decided to become the 50th state . Northern Americans developed with enthusiasm a holiday location for which they didn’t need a passport. This island , of which Honolulu is the capital , has a 6 lane motorway the full length , and development to match . The capital represents Manhattan by the sea. If you get a sea view from your expensive hotel , its a bonus . Somehow 300 acre of green in the middle has escaped the voracious constructors . Our hotel is at one end giving us an open view of this , and an extinct( hopefully ) volcano . A sea view exists between adjacent tower blocks . This hotel ( ( Lotus Honolulu ) has just been voted number one in Waikiki, not bad for one which offer no breakfast any day ,or bar only for 5 days. It’s the staff that has won this accolade !

As a non- surfer , then a visit here must include a trip to Pearl Harbour . ‘Let’s take the bus to see more of Honolulu’ . Well indeed we did . I keep forgetting that although USA may be one of the richest places on earth , it has a widely disparate sharing of that wealth . Some of our fellow passengers exhibited that , the driver had long ago realised that the agro from restricting these passengers was just not worth it . One particular ‘ bag lady ‘ was trying convince herself ( others were studious trying to ignore her ) , that she was an airline pilot with an MBA in business studies on her way to Guam . This particular pilot did de-bus at the airport , but perhaps it was the 2 litre bottle of vodka which shattered that illusion . …We took a taxi back !

Leaving numerous rough sleepers behind in a commercial area , we entered the manicured headquarters of the Pacific fleet  and thence to the memorial site . Beneath these ‘waves ‘ is the USS Arizona where 1177 died ,1102  of whom are buried along with the ship. The attack brought USA into the war , thus determining its outcome . Winston Churchill slept soundly that night,  now knowing he was not alone . We visited the USS Missouri,  the last ever battleship , parked behind the Arizona. 

With its 9 , 16 inch guns it is a fearsome sight . These can fire 1 tonne shells at the rate of 2 per minute PER gun . These have a range of 23 miles , so the second salvo is on the way before the first arrives . The Mighty Mo , as it was nick named ,  was launched at the end of the war seeing active service throughout until its decommissioning and mothballing in 1955. However perhaps its most famous role was as the venue for the formal Japanese surrender to General MacArthur . For me its the sight of Cher sitting astride one of those big guns belting out “ if I could turn back time “ 

The ship was refurbished and recommissioned in 1968, mainly now as a platform for Tomahawk missiles .; which it fired in Dessert Storm . The important addition was AC ; just think before , those sailors had to endure tropical heat inside a tin can whilst all around were trying to confine them to a watery grave . I always wondered how these warships could still function when the most exposed part , the bridge had been destroyed . Our ship’s  tour was a fount of knowledge. So inside the bridge on this ship , was a sort of ‘pill box ‘ with 500mm thick steel sides in which the ‘ fire control ‘ could still function. The other insight was that guns had to be fired broad side , to avoid incinerating the ship from the explosive flames . . They were also fitted with some clever gas  absorption to stop the ship being blown over by  the recoil .

Our exercise on this bit of the Pacific is drawing to a close , as we sit on the balcony watching enthusiastic junior soccer squads , bigger beach volleyball, expectant surfers and a passing sailing fleet . Our gin bottle is empty , so we depart tomorrow for ‘Frisco bay ‘ 

All mod cons for US sailors

Now that’s impressive , see why they fire broad side .

Is this really a surf board ? , for which you now need a safety helmet and a battery!

1st world war memorial…Hawaii style … a sea swimming pool …sensible

 Where else?

Incredible, cockerel and family lived wild next door

Botany Bay

 Thursday( 26th January for late blog readers ) was Australia Day , celebrating  253 years ago when Captain Cook arrived . Ok!  not all the current inhabitants are celebrating , but they are now in a minority . Their community in Alice Springs has even less to rejoice, as alcohol has just  been severely restricted ; following exceptional violence . It took the Captain two years to arrive , albeit via New Zealand . We now know how it feels to go to extraordinary lengths to get here; and we were only travelling across a bit of  the continent,  from Melbourne !

“Let’s take the train , it will be an experience “; and it was , but for reasons we were not expecting . We knew the Intercity to Sydney stopped at 19 stations and scheduled to take 11 hours; not our concept of intercity  . Ours however was 4 hours late in arriving into Sydney; the story unfolds . 

Firstly there was the ludicrous step of having to check in our large cases. I had read this on the ticket , but assumed it applied to outsized items . It also said the check in closed half hour before departure . This was becoming more like air travel , but without any of the efficiency. The other restriction , now rigorously enforced ,was that weight was limited to 20 KG per case . The baggage handlers were clearly not of the same breed as sheep shearers. Our cases were 22kg; so it was out with our standby folding case. As a  final insult , it seemed that these baggage rules had only been applied to us,  and anyway  there was plenty of spare storage capacity in each carriage .

Tannoy…” The train leaving from  platform 1 ( ours ) will be late due to the late arrival of the inbound train “ A frequent passenger commented that it is always late . Quick maths deduced that as there were two trains per day , each scheduled for 11hours ; so without spare trains , any delays would be cumulative.  Ours left 1.5 hours late due to the theft of signalling wire and the need to expel runaway children ; now how did they get on in the first place ? Our fellow passenger commented that that was just the current excuse from their standby list . 

We alighted at Wangarratta , ( love the name ! ) , to spend a few days with the rellies . We rejoined , and yes this was also 1.5 hours late . Clearly in the intervening days it hadn’t managed to catch up . The excuse this was time was , as to the high temperature , speed restrictions were in force. As a reminder , this bit of Australia was  unseasonably COLD . I suppose in a normal summer the train never arrives . Still we set of full of optimism that they would try to makeup time. Australia is a federation of states who’s cooperation does not extend to train crews . They all changed, including the contents of the buffet car ,  at the state boundary ; which fortunately was also a station . There seemed little urgency in this arcane practice . 

The original railway engineer clearly had an aversion to tunnels and bridges , there was only one of each on the whole 866km. The landscape was undulating , visually attractive , but requiring continuous bends to navigate by train . No chance in making up time here. .

One hour to go and the train made an unscheduled stop , yes they were originally going to by -pass this last remaining station . Tannoy announcement “ Due to the presence of a self-harmer on the bridge  ahead,  this train  will remain at the platform “.  Passengers with nearby support , made a rapid exit along with any available taxis . Rumours swirled, apparently we were to be bused the remaining hour .  The 300 or so passengers mostly alighted ; along with cases… thats a bit of a misnomer ! Generally milling ensued , not sure whether to abandon the safety of our train . Further advice from harassed train staff “ this train will NOT be going to Sydney “ . With no other activity however we generally drifted back on board. Train announcement   “ body has been cleared from  the line we will be shortly resuming journey” . Just as well , we had to go with the flow as there was no alternative as our mobiles were both nearly flat . We arrived  at midnight , those 4 hours late . The advertising phrase came to mind “ let the train take the strain “ ! We will drive next time .

Should I stay or should I go ? ( The Clash. )

Virtual Reality

 

“In physics, the Coriolis force is an inertial or fictitious force that acts on objects in motion within a frame of reference that rotates with respect to an inertial frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the force acts to the left of the motion of the object.“

Phew , So now you know ! In simple terms the water goes down the plug hole in a different direction depending on whether it is  north or south of the equator . ( anticlockwise in the south…I just checked ! ) . We had crossed the equator , so the direction had changed . Each time we do, the plane judders ..” seat belts on “ . So perhaps it affects planes also? A change in reality !

The stewardess replied to my comment on the relative cold in Melbourne , after all it was the height of summer , with “ it is 18C “ Blimey, we only had summer clothes  packed . “ No problem mate “; that well known Aussie phrase ; “it will be 37C tomorrow “ . I was ; but the day after 17C . This can’t be real , it seems Melbourne has weather , but no climate .

The reality change continued with the language : Medibank was not a bank , but a health insurer; Metro was not the underground , but a shop; Pokies not a house of carnal sin , but slot machines ; ‘Give-way to peds ‘ …pedestrians not pedophiles .” its the perfect time to secure the perfect place “ . “Limited positions available “ 

Not a job advert , but envisioning a longer ( indefinite stay ) …read the small print !

In this strange world , even “ The King “ is supposed to reside somewhere other than he does …maybe??

The ultimate in customer care continues !!

This terracotta soldier had apparently escaped his resting place and joined the Italian immigrants 

A different approach to procreation ? 

This facility was permanently unavailable , as it had been filed in , leaving just the sign and fence …well I hope that , and it is not still functioning but basic !!

 Now this was not a bricklayers convention , but as it turned out the ultimate escape  from reality 

Not Paris , but a strange likeness to Notre Dame ( minus scaffolding )

Now this is the closest we will get to reality . The actual Royal Exhibition Building . Constructed in 1888; when all around it was still bush . The aboriginals must have wondered what was reality . 

But inside : The ultimate in Lego ..

This star ship took two MEN ….this stuff is not for children…14 months to build 

This enormous L gauge ( lego not light )  railway set had it’s own permanent club !

Even the pictures were constructed in Lego . ..and dresses

So we escaped back into the “ real “ world where the sex of the chefs could not be determined by their hair ; and they served eggplant chips . 

Tomorrow we will flee this strange world to the interior of this country/continent . Perhaps a different reality ? 

 

Memories

 

Our two month stay in Kula Lumpur is coming to an end , far too quickly. But we will take with us an eclectic range of memories

Hotel afternoon tea with family

Christmas decorations replaced overnight by Preparations for Chinese New Year

Infinite number of the latest in coffee bars

Yes , the local advice is  that pork is good for you, assuming you are not Muslim. Strange I remember my French doctor saying the same about ( French) wine

Some of the plumbing a bit worryingly, water pipes laid in sewers 

Chinese were the first ‘ visitors ‘ They married off a princess to the local Sultan , which started yet another  food varient . Fortunately the power of the admiral was feared by the Emperor, and the fleet decommissioned , saving Europe…..that time !

A dying skill, key cutting by hand 

Cut price laundry facilities 

An incredible skyline

Ancient tea factory 

A grandiose front gate 

Imperial splendour

An infinite variety of food . we did our best but barely scratched the surface . 

We will return!!!!!