October 2003 Archives
Following on from my praise for Simon Reeve's programme on The 'Stans, I spotted this BBCi article on Kazakhstan's plan to try to restore the northern part of the Aral Sea. It includes an amazing ESA satellite photo showing just how much the Aral Sea - once the world's fourth largest - has shrunk.
Santiago: 22C
Puerto Montt: 15C
Punta Arenas: 5C
Puerto Natales: 3C
Ushuaia: 7C
but a lovely one.
Friday night Phil and I went out for a thai meal with Phil's friends Paul and Kamjit, Sam and Toby. A very pleasant evening all round- if a little chilly coming home from Cockfosters.
On Saturday we caught the train to Herne Bay, where Helen Locke and Lisa Butcher were holding a private view of their Passport, Camera, Sketchbook exhibition at the Bay Art Gallery. The travel theme got me all excited about going to Chile, especially as Lisa has just come back from South America. Chips on the seafront were tasty too.
Back to dine London town, where we just managed to get a table at The Italian Kitchen on New Oxford Street and feasted on hearty italian fayre polished off with ultra rich chocolate torte, before making our way to Stef and Kay and Matt and Tom's party at Parkers on Parker Street. A fine fine evening all round. Lots of lovely people, lots of chat, two hoarse voices for Sunday.
After all that travelling around and being social, Sunday was a more static social day, spent watching LOTR:The Two Towers at Simon and Susa's, preceded by scrummy roast red pepper soup and pear crumble. Just the ticket for chilly (well, ish) Sunday in October.....
Watching BBC Four News... (still!) and there's a report on clashes in Bolivia - which have left 50 dead over recent days.
and guess where Hazel is.....
It coincided with her postcard from Potosi - nice timing!
23 days and counting...
Just a musing - watching BBC Four News and they've got a strategic analyst (or something) being interviewed about the international security (read "military") implications of the fact that today China sent a man into space - joining the US and the former soviet union as the only countries to have done so.
I found myself puzzling over the guy's name for a few minutes until I realised why - his name is Bates Gill. Not a million miles away from Bill Gates....
I was. A gripping film following 8 pre/early-teen finalists in the 1999 National Spelling Bee. Yes, I was sceptical too, but once you're watching it you can't help but pick the one you want to win. The film is made up of two parts - the first half introduces each of the finalists in turn, the second half is the competition itself.
Plus a great A4 2 info on the film courtesy of Islington's Screen on the Green.
Watched a fascinating travel documentary on BBC Four (late) last night, about "The 'Stans". It was the first of two 1 hour programmes about the former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, X and Y - X and Y being the ones covered in the second programme, which only started at 11:30 or thereabouts.... too late for me (yes, I surprise myself by saying that). I was banking on the second programme being repeated ..... not looking too likely.
Highlights of Kazakhstan included:
- the female guide, talking about her home town, created by sending opponents / victims / the educated there during the 1950s, including her parents. People from all over the USSR.
- ships in the desert: rusting hulks of fishing trawlers and ferries left high and dry (and dessicated) when the USSR re-routed two of the major arterial rivers which feed the Aral Sea. Once the third (?) largest inland sea in the world its now 50% of its former size, and the harbour village visited by the team is now 50miles from water ....
- ships of the desert: really hairy camels, with two humps! on the freezing steppes.....
- the amazing 2am impromptu performance by the Kazakhstan Beatles - a word perfect performance in an out of the way town which the filmakers only visited because their car got its umpteenth and final puncture (no more spare types). The group even dressed and looked like their heros.... and their dream was to visit, even perform, in Liverpool.... and guess what, just before the final title rolled, we got to see their dream coming true. Genuinely moving.
Highlights of Kyrgyzstan
- the open uranium mines: no security, no restricted access, no reason why a terrorist couldn't go and dig up some highly (1000x background levels) radioactive rocks.... and nothing to stop local people being exposed to that radiation on a permanent basis.
- (Illegal) Islamic fundamentailist flyers: In Russian. and the paranoia about getting caught with them.
- the US air base: support troops for the combined forces in Afghanistan. Where you can buy Harry Potter "Russian Dolls" (you know, the ones made out of wood, with smaller ones inside the next size up), and Lenin embossed hip flasks.
- the guide: chinese-looking, 22 year old, reminsicing about visiting Moscow, the centre of his nation (his universe) aged 10.
Busy busy day - Battersea Legal Advice Centre from 7-8 (lots of keen new trainees. nice ones though, which was a pleasant surprise), even though it did take an hour to get there. Ugh. fortunately we only had 9 clients! And then back - past the newly rebranded Allders (formerly Arding & Hobbs) - to host the flat management Co AGM and Board Meeting, both of which went remarkable smoothly. All done by 10pm!
Lovely relaxing weekend at Forty Acres, dining at Dinedor before heading on in dad's BMW to the cottage. Lots of sleeping and a positively mid-summer day on Saturday. We spent our daylight hours sitting out on the patio reading. Having packed for the chills of mid-October, I didn't have anything to light - and ended up stripping down to my underwear bikini.
Cuckoo busy. Sheeps baa-ing. Pheasants being dim (as usual). Admired dad's new paths, and the proposed line of the Forty Acres Railway.
Bootsnall - independent travellers tips: Puerto Natales - Puerto Montt
Go South America: Puerto Natales
Chile misc
Chile.com
www.chiletravel.com
www.ciudadnet.com%2Fnaviga.htm
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-563661-chile_transportation-i
*** http://www.visit-chile.org/patagonia/patagonia.phtml
FAQ About Travel in Chile From Tim's Point of View
http://www.adventure-life.com/chile/patagonia.html
Ferries
TRANSMARCHILAY
Navimag (english version)
Chile & Easter Island
Google: "Punta Arenas" + Bus - "san jose"
**excellent* CHIP travel - punta arenas services
Bus Sur (in english)
Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas !
Tourism Information Office
Santiago: 27C
Puerto Montt: 7C
Punta Arenas: 5C
Puerto Natales: 5C
Ushuaia: 1-2C snow!