Homeward Bound

New York City

Well, this is it. My final post. I'm sitting at JFK airport in New York, waiting for my flight (which appears to be on time; fingers crossed), wondering why in the world I decided to go back to London in the middle of January - I should have stayed in sunny, warm Australia!

I've been back in the US for almost two weeks now. Naturally it feels very familiar, and even though I was a tourist in Miami, somehow it felt different than the other places I've been. Nonetheless, some thoughts and impressions:

I was actually expecting rather more from Miami. Downtown Miami has long had the reputation of being a "no-go" zone, but in recent years it seems to have been experiencing something of a revival. South Beach, of course, is well-known for its restaurants and night life. Maybe things were quieter because of when I was there (although I would have thought New Year's would have been a lively time), or maybe it was a factor of the weather (it was very cold by Miami standards, although the first couple of days were fine), or maybe it's a function of the economy (Florida has been hit pretty badly by the recession), but I found the place rather quiet and even a bit dull. To be fair, I didn't search out the "trendy" places, and I only ventured to downtown as part of a tour on a Sunday, but even South Beach wasn't terribly busy. It might have been better if I had rented a car as I would have had the ability to go further afield, but a car can be a mixed blessing - parking, especially in South Beach, is expensive and the traffic can also be a challenge. On the other hand, if the weather isn't suitable for sitting on the beach or at the pool, it does open up many more options.

All that being said, there were a few memorable things on my visit. The hotel I stayed in the first few nights - the Biltmore, in Coral Gables - is a National Historic Landmark, and it really is a grand place (see photos). I was there for New Year's Eve, and since no one took me up on my offer to join me in Miami (a wise decision, in hindsight!), I thought I would end up on my own. In fact, a very nice Dutch couple invited me to join them, and they even bought the champagne! We had a lovely time, enhanced by the 25 minute fireworks display mounted by the hotel.

Another memorable thing was the incredible rainbow, and absolutely spectacular sunset, on my first night staying in South Beach. The photos really don't do them justice, but they give at least a hint.

I did take a tour of Miami. I don't know that it was particularly memorable, but at least I can say I've been to some of the more famous places in the area, such as Calle Ocho (8th Street), the main street in the Little Havana neighborhood and Fisher Island (well, I wasn't there, but went by it on a boat), which is so exclusive that non-residents have to have a written invitation to get onto the island and to do so must take a ferry or a helicopter as there is no road access.

One thing about the chilly weather in Miami was that it served as a useful transition from the tropical weather in South America to the Arctic weather in New York. As most of you know, the entire US (and most of Europe, I believe), is suffering unusually cold weather, although at least in New York there hasn't been all that much snow, at least while I've been here. My time in New York has been spent catching up with friends and family, as well as eating and shopping (all fine New York pastimes!). As always, the time has gone by too fast, leaving me with no opportunity to enjoy the cultural offerings (I always promise myself a trip to the theater or a museum, and seldom actually go). And as always, I say, next time!

So, that's about it. No profound final thoughts. Just the hope that you've enjoyed my blog. I've enjoyed writing it, technical issues notwithstanding. If and when I do this again, I will endeavor to find a hosting service that is more user friendly, both for me the writer and for you the readers. If anyone has any thoughts they haven't already sent (or just wants to say hi!) you can reach me at scargotuk@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!

Jennifer

Terra Cognita

Miami

Well, I'm back on familiar turf, or at least relatively familiar. Interestingly, although I've been to Florida many times, I've only stayed in Miami once before. At the moment, I'm staying at an historic hotel, the Biltmore, in Coral Gables. It's on the US National Register of Historic Places, and is truly a grand hotel. However, as usual, I'm getting ahead of myself. I will report on this part of the world in a few days, once I've had a chance to get out and about and actually see it.

Notwithstanding the title, today's post is actually about Brazil, and more specifically Rio de Janeiro, which was unfamiliar territory (though the first two pictures are of Paraty, which I wrote about last time; it's such a pretty place I thought you might like to see it). My basic impression of Rio is that it is very hot and sticky. That may seem rather obvious, and not very insightful, but as in so many places, the weather actually has a significant impact on many things: the culture; people's attitudes; how you, the visitor, react to the place. I will say that the weather made it difficult for me to summon up the energy to do very much. It also doesn't help that the city is reasonably spread out, and getting from one place to another isn't always easy, especially given the topography (some pretty significant hills). I did see the highlights, though, as evidenced by some of the photos. Most of you will no doubt be familiar with many of the sites as they are emblematic of Rio - Christ the Redeemer (which really does tower over the city), Sugarloaf Mountain and the two famous beaches, Copacabana and Ipanema. Interestingly, I found it was actually too hot to go to the beach (it didn't help that there is no shade whatsoever). I wasn't too disappointed though, as the free day I had was a Sunday, which meant the beach was completely packed, not to mention that the received wisdom is not to leave anything unguarded on the beach, which is a bit of a problem if you're by yourself. Moreover, the water is a funny sort of green color; not sure if that's just its normal shade, but it certainly wasn't inviting. I consoled myself with a visit to the hotel's pool, conveniently located on the roof where there was a bit of breeze, but basically I just lived with the heat.

The modern building in the photo is actually the cathedral. I was surprised to see such a modern cathedral in a city that has been around for as long as Rio has. One might think that there was an older building (or more than one) that was destroyed, but the tour guide seemed to be saying that the relevant people just couldn't agree on an appropriate location. I find that hard to believe, but stranger things have happened (and if true, it leads to some interesting speculation on the character of the local decision makers).

It's worth mentioning one of the meals I had. It was at a churrascaria rodizio. That is a Brazilian barbecue restaurant, where the waiters present the meat in large hunks, on skewers. They slice off portions directly onto your plate, and they keep bringing more until you say Stop! (and even then, if they think you haven't eaten enough, they give you a hard time). At this place (and presumably at most others as well), there was also a very large salad bar which went way past the usual lettuce and vegetables to include various seafood salads, sushi, fruit, etc. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't expecting to go to such a place, and wasn't nearly able to take full advantage of it (also another negative about the heat: I find it hard to eat large quantities of food when it's hot). Now that I know what's involved, though, I may try again at the churrascaria down the road from my flat, which I've never tried before (be assured I'll make certain not to eat anything else that day, and if anyone cares to join me, you're very welcome!).

One of the most interesting encounters I had in Rio turned out to be with the taxi driver who took me to the airport. There was a bit of a mix-up on my transfer (one of the very few travel issues I've had on this entire journey), and when no driver had shown up after half an hour, I decided I'd better get into a taxi as time was getting short and it was pouring rain. I was therefore a bit distracted (not to mention damp) as the journey started, and as a result was rather taken aback when the driver spoke to me in fluent English. This reaction may perhaps be better understood if you know that elsewhere in Rio I encountered remarkably few people who spoke decent English, and surprisingly many who spoke no English whatsoever. (Before you get huffy about American tourists who insist that people in other countries ought to speak English, let me assure you, I don't expect that at all, but given the number of English speakers who visit Rio, and the fact that I was in a highly touristic part of the city - Copacabana - I was simply surprised at how little English I encountered, especially in places where it would seem to be to their advantage to be accommodating, like restaurants, and even at my hotel, where only one desk staffer at any given time appeared to speak any English). But I digress. Turns out this man had lived more than half his life in the US, having originally come for 6 months when he was 21 to learn English and not really left more than 23 years later (I didn't quite understand whether he was back in Rio temporarily or he had moved back permanently; he did say it was his brother's taxi and he'd only been driving it for a week to have something to do and earn some extra money). We ended up having a very wide-ranging conversation about the comparative cultures of Rio and New York (he lived in New Jersey for much of his time in the US), language study, corruption, crime, sports, etc. He had some interesting insights into Rio and its prospects going forward, especially in light of the place it will take on the world stage as host of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. I must say, it was a very positive way to end my time in Brazil, and left me thinking it would be interesting to return to Rio in a few years' time to see if anything much has changed.

More of South America

Paraty, Brasil

First of all, a belated Merry Christmas to all for whom those sentiments are relevant.

Right. Another day, another country. Well, actually I've been in Brazil (or Brasil, as it's known locally) for several days now, including a back and forth day between Brazil and Argentina. But I'm getting ahead of myself. When last we met, I was just leaving Peru.

My return to Buenos Aires was very enjoyable, if you ignore the raging thunderstorm when we landed (my plane was hit by lightning during the approach) and the confusion regarding my hotel (always exciting when arriving in a foreign country when you and your driver don't speak the same language to realize he's been instructed to take you to a different place than you though you were going). However, it all worked out in the end, and I was able to see more of the city than on my first visit. I went back to one of the neighborhoods I'd previously visited (San Telmo), in order to see the big antiques market that goes on on Sundays. I combined that with walking around the main plaza, and indulging in some Argentinian ice cream. You may not know this, but Argentina does ice cream very well indeed, no doubt as a result of the lovely cows they raise that give extra creamy milk (not to mention the incredible steaks), and the fact that there is a very strong Italian heritage in the city - a very significant proportion of Portenos, as residents of the city are known, have some Italian ancestry. I tried a flavor that was quite possibly the most decadent thing I've ever eaten - dulce de leche with brownie. Dulce de leche is kind of like caramel, but that analogy does it rather a disservice as it's much more intense, and sweeter, than what we all think of as caramel. This version added very large chunks of chewy brownies . . . truly wonderful. I did try some ice cream at other places recommended by the guide on my current tour, who is Argentinian, which was very good indeed, but somehow didn't quite reach the heights that this one did.

I joined up with my tour group last Sunday. I don't normally like to do group tours - they don't allow as much flexibilty as travelling on your own - but sometimes (like South America where I don't speak the languages and where travel can be a bit challenging), it makes sense. There are 16 of us: 6 Brits, 3 Aussies, 3 Kiwis (from New Zealand), 2 Germans, 1 Irish lady and me. As mentioned above, our tour leader is Argentinian. One of the first things we did was a city tour of BA, which unfortunately didn't really show me anything different from the one I had done the previous week (other than the inside of the stadium of one of the main soccer teams in BA, Boca Juniors), but then I had more time to walk around. I had read that the best way to see BA is to get out and walk, and I did my best to cover as much as I could. It is, however, rather a large city, so trying to see it all, or evern most of it, in the time I had available simply wasn't possible. However, as I've told myself many times on this trip, it's important to leave some things undone, so you have a reason to come back.

Our next stop was Iguassu Falls, which straddle Argentina and Brazil, and also abut Paraguay. It is a remarkable system of waterfalls that currently is running very high as there has been quite a bit of rain in the last few weeks. I've not seen Niagara Falls, or any of the other truly remarkable waterfalls of the world, but I must say these were absolutely magnificent. The pictures can't really do it justice, but I hope they do give you at least a feel for the power and beauty of the place. On the first day, we viewed them from the Brazilian side. As they're mostly in Argentina, this side allows you to view them with a bit more perspective - you get something of a sense of how big they are. The second day, we crossed back into Argentina, and got a much closer view of a number of the falls. Indeed, we manged to get very close indeed, during a boat ride that takes you right up to the bottom of several of the falls. Needless to say, we were all completely soaked, but it was good fun and actually rather refreshing on a hot day. One other thing I must mention about the area is the butterflies. They are numerous and varied and absolutely gorgeous. The pictures really can only give a sample of the variety as many of them simply wouldn't stop to have their pictures taken!

The last two days have been in Paraty, a coastal town between Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. It was built in colonial times, by slaves, but then kind of got lost in time until about the 1960s. I believe that at one point it was the second or third largest port in Brazil, but when the shipping moved on, the town lost in main reason for being. Thankfully, the buildings were left alone, and while they needed some restoration, by and large, the old town is as it was. I understand that the place recently was granted UNESCO World Heritage status, and it is indeed a charming place that is very evocative of the time when it was built (the streets still have the orignal, very uneven, cobblestones). Today, of course, the place is full of tourists (many of whom are Brazilian), but sometimes that's what it takes to maintain a site.

I won't spend too much time explaining that we spent Christmas Day on the beach and at a waterfall you can slide down (it flows over a rock that isn't too steep, and at only a couple of inches of depth) for fear of making the majority (if not unanimity) of you who are in cold, northern hemisphere countries unduly jealous. (If it makes you feel any better, it did pour rain for a time this afternoon.) We also had dinner at the home of the day's tour guide (or rather, at his parents' home, or so I was lead to believe). I'm not entirely sure what the purpose was, other than to give us a glimpse inside a home in this lovely town - unfortunately the parents don't speak any English, and the guide was busy helping with the serving, so we didn't have a chance to talk to any of them. Nonetheless, it was nice to see inside one of the houses, and the food was very good (barbecued meats and various accompaniments).

Tomorrow we're off to my last stop in Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. I will confess to somewhat mixed feelings. I know it's a lively, interesting city that many people are very enamored of, but it's not a place I was desperate to see. I'm perfectly happy to be going there, but have been a bit remiss in terms of figuring out what to see and do, so perhaps am not in the best position to make use of my limited time. Perhaps the reality will surprise and impress me, or perhaps not. Tune in next time to find out!

Machu Picchu

Lima

As promised, my report on Machu Picchu. However, this time, I think I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, as words really can't get across the grandeur of the place. I will say that it absolutely lived up to expectations, helped in no small part by good luck with the weather (sunny the first day until my lunch break, when it poured rain, finishing just in time for me to return and see rainbows; similar the second day, though no sun (no bad thing as I climbed up a long ways to the see the Sun Gate - see the fifth picture from the bottom, with the view from up there in the fourth picture from the bottom)). I will say that the engineering and astonomical skills the Incas had are truly astonishing. I'm sure we could learn quite a bit from their ability to construct buildings that have withstood the many earthquakes the area has suffered. And there's one area in the complex which for many years archeologists thought was a drainage channel as it's a space about a meter wide running from the top to the bottom where they didn't put any buildings. Recently, though, scientists have discovered it's a fault line - how did the Incas know that when we, with all our "modern technology" only recently discovered it??? It is intriguing though the things they didn't have, like the wheel or a written language.

A couple of comments on some of the pictures. First of all, the llamas. They're owned by the government, but they're not there just to add atmosphere (though they certainly do that!). You might say they're actually government employees, as they perform a very useful job - helping to keep the grass and other plants under control. Unfortunately, there aren't enough of them to do the whole job, which leads to the interesting juxtoposition of weed control methods demonstrated in the last picture.

There's another picture with a creature in it. It looks kind of like a cross between a rabbit and a rat. In fact, it is a South American chinchilla. Just thought you'd like to know.

The creature in the third picture is, of course, me. As most of you know, I don't normally like to include myself in pictures, but I figured I ought to have a couple with me at such an amazing place, and this one actually turned out reasonably ok (well, I think so anyway, and it's proof I haven't been making up this trip).

Anyway, enjoy the pictures. If anyone is interested, I have many more I can share. Tomorrow, it's off back to Argentina.

The Longest Day

Cusco, Peru

It's been some time (and some distance!) since my last post, so lots to catch up on.

My Australian sojourn came to a good end with a few days in Sydney (see first, stock picture - view of opera house and bridge - and second, more unusual view of bridge; and no, my camera wasn't acting up - the first one was taken on Thursday which was gray and showery, the second on Friday which was probably the most glorious day weatherwise of my whole stay in Australia) . I seem to have an ever improving relationship with the city. On my first visit there, in 1995, I actually didn't like it very much. It didn't help that I was there at the beginning of September (i.e., end of winter) and it was chilly, gray and drizzly. I also didn't know anyone there. My second visit, in 2001, was in early November, and I must say the city definitely looks much better in the sunshine! I also was able to contact some friends of friends who gave me more of an insider's view of the place. This time, I had the advantage of familiarity - there's a level of comfort in coming back to a place you kind of know. Also, I was able to meet with a friend (or rather cousin) of a friend, who introduced me to some neighborhoods I hadn't been to before, and get together with old friends from London whom I hadn't seen in many years, who most graciously invited me over to their house and treated me to a genuine Australian barbecue. I had time to do some museuming (not something I've been doing much of on this trip) as well as some good shopping. All that being said, I really had to stop and think a bit when one of my friends asked me if I preferred Sydney or Melbourne. There was an article in one of the Australian papers making the argument that Sydney had kind of lost its way, resting on its laurels a bit while Melbourne was the place that really was doing everything right (and Brisbane was the up and coming place). I must say there are certain things about Melbourne that are more appealing (the restaurant scene for one thing, and the sense that the CBD really is a more happening place), but you can't deny Sydney has a magnificent setting and the opportunity for a great lifestyle, especially if you like the outdoors and the water. I think if I absolutely had to choose one over the other, I'd pick Melbourne, but not without some real regrets.

I had some real regrets leaving Australia, but also real excitement at heading to South America which is somewhere I really haven't travelled much. I'm not quite sure why that is - it's a place that's always interested me (most of you won't know this, but in university (or college for you Americans!), I studied quite a bit of Latin American history and politics). I managed to survive the almost interminable (12+ hour) flight from Sydney to Buenos Aires, which has the unusual distinction of arriving before it leaves (departure at 11 am, arrival at 10 am the same day). The nature of the flight and the time change meant that for me, December 12 was 38 hours long (too bad it wasn't my birthday - would have allowed for very extended celebrations!).

I decided the only way to fight the jet lag was to get out and do something, so I arranged to do an afternoon tour of Buenos Aires. This also had the advantage of giving me an overview of the city so that when I go back there this weekend, I have a good idea of what I want to see and do. The tour involved driving around a number of neighborhoods, but also getting out and walking in four principal areas. The first was the main square of the city, Plaza de Mayo. The pink building in picture number three (which is actually called The Pink House, or La Casa Rosa to give it its Spanish name) is the presidential palace, which overlooks the square. For you Evita fans, the balcony in the middle is the one she used to come out on to address the people (though I'm given to understand that Madonna used the covered balcony to the right in the film). We next went to an area called San Telmo, which is where the rich people used to live before an outbreak of yellow fever in 1871 drove them to the northern part of the city, allowing successive waves of immigrants to move in and take over the abandonned houses. These days the neighborhood hosts a number of antique shops and a well-known Sunday antiques market (which I intend to check out next week!). The third neighborhood we visited is La Boca, which was another area that immigrants settled. It was (and largely remains) very much a poor neighborhood. Its attraction for tourists is an area of houses originally built by immigrants from whatever materials they could find, including corrogated tin strips. A number of those houses have been well preserved and are painted in bright and cheerful colors (see picture number 4), though I don't think anyone would call them luxurious. For anyone who follows football (soccer, that is), the neighborhood is also home to one of the best known Argentinian teams, Boca Juniors. An interesting (and to me amusing) fact is that the team's colors (blue and gold) were selected in an unusual way - various groups of supporters couldn't agree on what the colors should be, so the decision was made to go down to the river (La Boca, meaning mouth, refers to the mouth of a tributary of the River Plate) and use the colors of the flag of the first ship that passed. Apparently the first one that came along was a Swedish ship (I know, seems odd to me too that a Swedish ship would be in Argentina, but that's the story), and the rest is history. The last stop was a neighborhood called Recoleta, which has a lovely park but seems to be best known for its cemetery, which is where Eva Peron is buried. Another interesting story there - apparently at some point during Argentina's political turmoil in the 1950s, her body went missing. It ended up in Italy, and wasn't brought back until Juan Peron became president again in 1973. His third wife arranged for a crypt to be built for the Duarte family (Eva Peron's family, that is) and for her and other family members to be buried there. Needless to say, it's become a bit of a shrine, and overshadows the rest of the cemetery, which has some magnificent monuments. I finished my brief first visit to Buenos Aires in classic fashion - by eating a steak for dinner. I was in a very casual, neighborhood-y place near my hotel, but the steak was fantastic. I can't wait to go back and try one of the really well known places!

In case you're finding this a bit long, don't worry. The rest of my catch-up will be short(er) and sweet. That's because there isn't much to talk about re my couple of days and Lima, and also because it's getting quite late and I need to be up quite early tomorrow. First, Lima. I stayed in an area near the ocean, called Miraflores, rather than downtown. It's a lovely area, with a number of parks and clearly quite wealthy. Its main advantage as far as I was concerned, though, was that it was walking distance to the so-called Indian markets, which are a number of complexes of stalls selling local arts and crafts. I will confess to having done a bit of shopping, though not as much as I might have (have to carry it all with me after all!). I planned to do a bit of sightseeing in central Lima, but the travel must have caught up with me because I simply couldn't raise the energy to do so. All things considered, if there's a place to miss out on sightseeing, Lima is probably the right one to choose. The sad truth is that for all it's a very historic city, and was the center of Spanish colonial administration, there isn't actually all that much to see. Partially that's because the city (indeed much of the country) is rather seismically active and suffers regular serious earthquakes which destroy buildings (though the Incas were awfully good at building earthquake resistant structures; sadly they weren't conquistador resistant), and partially because there doesn't seem to have been much effort devoted over the years to restoring or maintaining the old buildings. So, instead I wandered over to the next neighborhood from Miraflores, called Barranco, which has a very good reputation as an artistic center and a wonderful place to visit and escape the hustle and bustle of the rest of Lima. There was one section that was full of charming houses and thankfully traffic free (I'm afraid I find that the whole of Lima smells of exhaust fumes), but overall, it didn't seem to merit the rave reviews I saw and heard. Maybe I just didn't wander far enough.

However, I have now left Lima behind and am in the clear (thin) air of Cusco, up in the mountains (around 3300 meters/11,300 feet). I had a tour of the city and surrounds today, including the cathedral and some Inca ruins (including Inca ruins that were incorporated into a Dominican monestary). It's a lovely city, and I hope to have a bit more time to wander around before I leave. And in case you're wondering, that last picture is a bit of a trick. It's not actually in the cathedral, which is absolutely dripping with gold and silver - really quite magnificent, but which doesn't allow photos. Rather, it's the chapel in the hotel where I'm staying, which is called Hotel Monestario as it was, in fact, a monestary in an earlier life. It's really a magnificent place, and they've managed to really retain the feel of the monestary even while changing it into a luxury hotel.

Well, time for me to go and enjoy some of the comforts of this hotel (not least of all the bed!) as tomorrow it's off very early to Machu Picchu. As many of you know, that is a place I have been wanting to visit for a long time, so I'm quite excited. I'll try very hard to give you a report on it in just a couple of days, rather than the long wait you had to endure this time!

Life's a Beach

Top to bottom:

They grow things big out here!

Second row left, Noosa Main Beach, right, Noosa River

Bottom row left, Along the river - burn effect, right Along the river - reflections

Noosa Heads

Not much to report today, but figured I'd take advantage of the free Wifi at the hotel - never know when that offer will come around again.

My soujourn at Noosa Heads has been exactly what I wanted - a bit of a pause in the longer trip. There's been a lot of sitting by the pool, walking on the beach (although the appearance of jellyfish the other day meant ocean swimming was limited) and general relaxation. Even my sightseeing, such as it has been, has been relaxed.

On Saturday, I deciphered the local transporatation system in order to go to the inland town of Eumundi. This town is famous for its extensive market, which operates on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It really was quite animpressive set up, with stalls selling all sorts of things from fruit and vegetables to prepared foods to crafts to multiple types of massages. And as the guidebook mentioned, when you get tired of that, everyone adjourns to the numerous cafes on the main street of the town.

For all that Noosa Heads is a pretty fancy resort town, it seems that the local council has been pretty good over the years at limiting development, meaning that the surrounding area isn't nearly as built up as many other areas along the Queensland Coast (the area south of Brisbane, known as the Gold Coast, is often pointed to as an example of the horrors of overdevelopment as large areas are lined with high rise buildings). Indeed, the oceanside bank of the Noosa River, is hardly developed at all, with what is developed accessible only by a ferry, and the land turning into a national park on both sides not very far out of the town. The river apparently has the privilege of being the only river in Queensland to have its entire upper catchment area in a national park, which means it should be safe from any damming or other development. You can travel by boat up the river, but only so far, as at some point, motorised vehicles are prohibited (you can kayak or canoe further up if you're so inclined!). I did a trip up to the so-called Everglades (they seem to think the term is generic rather than referring to the specific area in Southern Florida; I'm not so sure). Whatever you want to call it, it is a very beautiful area. For better or for worse, there had been a very bad bush fire in the area only three weeks ago (you can see the results in one of the pictures), which burned out about half of the 20,000 or so acres that make up the Everglades. Fires are a natural and essential part of the evolution of bush land, but they can, of course, be very dangerous if they get out of control. It's also very bad when they don't occur naturally, as was the case with this one (apparently some idiotic campers set up a fire in a zone where all fires were prohibited, and compounded the problem by not extinguishing it when they left). All that being said, the effect of the fire (which we could still smell) was both positive and negative in terms of what we saw. The colors left behind (the reds and browns) made for an interesting contrast with the green of the surviving flora (and the black of the water in certain parts - not dirty, just its natural color). Even so short a time after the fire, things were coming back to life, especially those plants that need a fire to clear away the canopy and the undergrowth in order to have a chance at the sun. We didn't see as many birds as I'm told are normally around, but we had our fair share (no, not the big pelican, though we did see real pelicans, among other things including a number of eagles). And in some ways, the absence of bird calls made for an interesting experience as well (the guide/captain said that when he'd first been up the river after the fire it had been quite eerie as there was basically no noise at all; we at least had endless cicadas). All in all, a very interesting and informative experience.

Well, that's about it (I did say I haven't been doing very much!). Tomorrow it's off to Sydney, the last stop on the Australian leg of my adventure.

GOR

Above: Loch Ard gorge (sorry - this one ought to be down below but when I insert new photos, they seem to appear at the top!), Lorne beach, seal at Lorne Pier, view from Teddy's Lookout, GOR

Below: various views of the 12 Apostles and nearby coastline

Noosa Heads

As promised, a few pictures this time. Not from where I am now, but from where I've been. These are from the Great Ocean Road (GOR), a truly spectacular road along the southern coast of Victoria. It's a bit hard to do justice to the place in words - hopefully the pictures will help give you an idea of what it's like. The road was originally built by servicemen returned from WWI. Before then, most of the coast was really accesible only by boat, and it's not an easy coastline to navigate (there have been quite a number of shipwrecks). Driving along today's modern, paved road you end up with a massive amount of respect for the people who originally built the thing (not to mention the people who originally surveyed the route, before any building commenced) - in many places, the cliff face is nearly vertical, and even now, it's reasonably remote.

I did the trip over two days (I decided I didn't want to drive myself, as then it would be difficult to admire the scenery). It is possible to do it as a day trip, which takes just under 12 hours. Oddly, for the two day version, you get dropped off after only just under 3 hours, meaning the second day is still quite long. The drop-off place is a town called Lorne, which is a classic sea-side town. It has a beautiful beach (the picture doesn't really give you a good sense of it) and some nice walks. I walked along the beach and out to the town pier (where I found that lovely fur seal sunning itself on the rocks). I then walked a track that followed the route of an old tramway line, which was used to move timber out of the inland forest to the coast. It was one of many tramways used for that purpose before the road was built (and before the inland area was made into a national park, meaning there's no more timber cutting allowed). I then went up (and I mean up!) and over the ridge in order to get back to town - the photo from Teddy's Lookout shows the place where I started my climb (the side bit off the main road). Thankfully, it wasn't a very warm day, and there was a fairly stiff breeze to keep things cool.

The next day was absolutely glorious, weather-wise. Sunny, warm and very clear. In fact, various people along the way commented on how lucky we were in that the weather doesn't really get any better for viewing the spectacular scenery. The area where I took the pictures is around Port Campbell National Park (for anyone who's following along on a map!). There are a number of natural rock formations along the coast, the best known of which are the so-called 12 Apostles. That is something of a misnomer, as there are currently only 8 of them (the other 4 have collapsed into the sea), and they haven't always been called that (another example of the marketing people getting hold of something!). Other formations have also had their names changed as time and tide have had their effect (e.g., London Bridge, a natural rock bridge, has collapsed, so it can't really be called a bridge anymore). Names notwithstanding, they are truly spectacular, especially on such a glorious day. One place a bit further along the coast that hasn't had its name changed (at least not recently!) is Loch Ard Gorge. It has a slightly tragic story: It's named after a ship (the Loch Ard), which had sailed from England and was only one day out from Melbourne. Sadly, it encountered bad weather and was wrecked. There were only two surivors, a ship's apprentice and one of the passengers, a young woman, and they were washed into the gorge.

Now, the sharp-eyed among you will have realized that some of the photos have a rather unusual perspective. That's because they were taken from the air! Notwithstanding my native scepticism when tour guides tout add-ons, I decided that this time I'd give it a go and took the short helicopter flight the driver suggested. It was very well worth it (the helicopter pilot was one of the people who commented on how fortunate we were with the weather and the clear water), and certainly gave a view of the coastline and the rock formations you simply can't get from the shore.

Fortunately, this area was pretty much the last stop on the tour, as anything else would have been an anticlimax. Unfortunately, it's also the point on the tour that's about the farthest away from Melbourne! Thankfully, there's a highway to get you back faster than you came out, but it's still a long haul back to the city. However, I would certainly say the GOR is one of those comparatively few places in the world that really does live up to its hype. When I was planning this trip, everyone I spoke to who was familiar with the area said the GOR was a must-do. In my experience, hardly anywhere that comes with that sort of advance billing meets expectations, but this place did. (If anyone's interested, I do have many more photos - happy to share separately.)

I have now moved on, to Queensland, and more specifically, Noosa Heads. This is a resort town on a glorious beach, about 2 hours north of Brisbane. It's another place that seems to inspire great enthusiasm, as whenever I mentioned I was coming here to people who know the place, they were quite envious. My intention was to build in some down time, and this certainly seems like a good place to be doing it (somewhat to my surprise, I've not had nearly as much time on this trip, which is now exactly one month old(!), as I had expected/hoped to simply sit and relax; that shouldn't be a problem here!). That being said, I won't just be sitting on the beach for the next few days, so look out for my next report!