I spent a good chunk of my day exploring the small town of Altagracia on the isle of Ometepe on my own as reported part way in last time.  I took a local bus out and got in some net time during the rain and wandering around the small town.  I eventually found a local cemetery, which is on my list of cool things - seeing the different burial practices and all.  Similar to Yucatan but not as colorful.   There were horses and a bull grazing in this one.  I didn´t realize about the bull until I was quite close but he seemed content to eat and really didn´t care.

Afterwards, I got a ¨quick¨ lunch in a little restaurant.  It was the slowest meal yet - over an hour to get food after ordering.  It really is slow time down here.  I missed several buses back to the hotel while waiting on lunch.  Finally got it and woofed it down and made a run for the central square to find a bus back.  Lucky me, the bus that should have left 15 minutes earlier was still sitting in the square, jam packed with people and boarding more and more.  I´ve been on a couple of ¨chicken buses¨in Mexico, but this was much more crowded.  Lots of kids, so maybe school was out.  Not sure, but crowded.  Standing room didn´t even really exist.  I was one step up from the exit on the stairs.  Oh, and it was an old Bluebird school bus made in Fort Valley, Georgia!  Surprise, right up the road from home!

The bus finally shoved off, and then stopped several more times to take on more passengers, never dropping any off.  I have no idea how they kept squeezing them in.  One mother got on the bus, handed her baby to the ticket collector, climbed over everybody and then had her baby passed back to her.  It was really a neat experience ONCE! 

After getting back, the group re-gathered and most of us went to a rodeo.  I won´t go again.  Seeing them get the bull riled up once was quite enough.  Several of us left early and waited outside for the rest.  I´ll try to be neutral and accept it as not my culture, but it was not fun.

Next morning, we made our way up to Granada!  Granada is a lot like Merida, Mexico.  And in January, it´s as hot as Merida was in May!  Whoa!  It´s a colonial spanish city like Merida, so that´s where a lot of the similarities come from.  In two days, I´ve wandered a lot of the streets and gotten some (I hope) great photos of old spanish architecture, peeling paint, and all. 

Yesterday was a tour of Massaya Volcano.  There have been several chances but all involved hours and hours of hiking.  This is a park and you can literally drive to the crater.  Perfect!  It was quite a site.  No lava visible in the day, but you could see and smell sulfur smoke rising from the crater.  Apparently no eruptions since 1772, but still active.  We walked around there a bit and then visited a nearby town market and a pottery shop/school.  There were some great bargains to be had, and now I just have to hope they can make it home in one piece!  Think good thoughts!

After we got back, I walked to the edge of the old city to a giant old cemetery I´d seen on the way in.  Fantastic!  A half hour walk, but totally worth it as I got there in the best afternoon light.  There´s really no way to describe it.  I think it may be similar to New Orleans.  Tons of mausoleums.  Crosses and statuary dotting the cemetery´s skyline.  I really could have spent a day there but it was late and I wanted to get back to the centro historico before dark.  There were tons of guards in the ecemetery but there were also people sleeping amongst the graves!  Not a full fledged city living in the cemetery like we saw in Egypt, but none the less they were there.

This morning, got up early and tried to re-pack everything.  We have a charter cessna to ride from Managua to Selentiname island this afternoon.  There are weight restrictions for both checked in bags and carry-on.  I´m worried about hitting the weight limit on my carry-on since that´s all my camera stuff.  So, I tried to re-distribute to the pack anything I wasn´t worried would break.  I may have to pay for overage in the checked bag… oh well.

Anyway, that´s it from Granada.  I could easily stay here a few more days.  Nice city, nice people, but just a taste of it on this trip.  Maybe back one day, maybe not.  You never know.

Anyway,  catching up as the title says, we left Liberia early in the morning of Dec 31st, bound for San Juan del Sur.  As a group, we decided to pass on the bus on both sides of the border and paid a little extra for a van.  Fast drive to the border and then a slow crawl to get through.  I truly would not have enjoyed crossing that border without a guide or at least someone who spoke spanish.  We had to go through several iterations of getting passports checked, paperwork checked, etc.  And then finally crossed into Nicaragua where it was just chaos, particularly not speaking the language.  Had no idea what was being said, just followed and loaded bags into cabs as we took three to San Juan del Sur.

Arrived before noon and different groups drifted into different directions.  The group I was with ended up walking along the beach.  Pretty nice little cove with tons of boats harbored there.  Still not a gulf beachbut pretty.

The town was pretty nice and fairly gringo.  Not hard to communicate even knowning no spanish and everything you could need.   We went and arranged our next days activities and had dinner.  And then onto the beach for New Years.  They had a beach party we all went to.  Was told it was crowded, but I have been in far more packed streets in Edinburgh and Rome on New Years.  To me, it was great, not pressed against everyone but a happy celebration.

Tried to get in early, though as we had a long day ahead. Well, it was another of those days where we went different directions.  I chose sailboat for most of the day.  The sailboat was owned by a retired American businessman, Ralph Hewitt.  He and his wife also own a hotel in town, Park Avenue Hotel.  He uses the sailboat as part of a sailing school deal for youth, teaching them to operate a sailboat and  help them out a bit, most are fairly underprivleged.  He had two aboard with us, nice young men.   And Ralph was a real hoot, had been a DJ in the past and sang songs from my parents day and quizzed on who sang them, etc.

This was my first time on a sailboat.  Other than losing a baseball cap I had for a decade to the sea, I had a great time.  We had some wonderful winds and went up the coast aways.  A couple of the group snorkled and I even plopped into the ocean and swam a bit.  I stayed close to the boat, though, because I am blind without my glasses.  First time swimming in the pacific and the water was perfect for it.  I floated for awhile too and somewhere in all this burned a bit.  I had three coatins of SPF 50, two before the water and another when I got out and still managed to get a few blisters.  Sigh!  I´ve had far worse, though!

We had lunch and sailed down the coast, hoping to see some sea turles, dolphins, or whales.  Only saw pelicans, but the sailing alone was great fun for someone who had never done it.

We were dropped off back at our hotel in early evening.  A group of us had italian, mostly those going to see the sea turtles hatching!  I have seen this on TV but never imagined I´d see it in person.  Sea turtles return to the beach they were born onto lay eggs.  They dig a hole and fill it with eggs and bury them.  When the nest hatches, as a team, they dig out and make a run for the sea.  We did this at a preserve.  They also capture nests that hatch in the day because they stand a better chance at night if released and they are endangered. So, we were got a chance to see those and help release them. 

Actually, although I wouldn´t trade the experience, I also wouldn´t repeat it. It was kind of nerve racking standing on the beach trying not to stomp baby turtles!  We only had these little red lights (and not enough of those for everyone).  I was constantly afraid I was about to crush them. After those made it in, we began to search for hatching nests. We split into two groups (about 10 each) and must have seen 5 nests just in our group.  Really an amazing experience to watch the sand thrust up and all these little turtles about an inch long pull themselves into the air and get their first real strong breath of air before flopping themselves into the surf. 

We then made our way back to the hotel and got back slightly before midnight.

Got to sleep in a bit the next morning. I got up and went and took some photos of the streets around the hotel as we had not sat still for long for me to do that until then.  Afterwards, we grabbed another three taxis and bid farewell to San Juan del Sur.

Next stop was Ometepe,  an Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, one of the larger fresh water lakes and I believe largest in central america.  We had to take a ferry to get here and then a van from the port city to Playa Santa Domingo.   There´s not much of a beach right now, though because the wet season just ended and the beach is flooded. 

A nice place if you want to just collpase or maybe to naturey things.  I´m kind of hitting my naturey overload point.  And possibly my group activity point.  Scrambling over rocks to see one of the Volcanos of the island (there´s an easier volcano later in the trip) or seeing a waterfall (more rocks to scramble over) just did not appeal to me.   So, I took a local bus to this little village today, Altogracia, about half an hour from the hotel.   It was gray and overcast when I got here and it started to rain lightly.  So, I found an internet cafe and decided here was my chance to catch up while it cleared up.  Supposedly this normally lasts an hour at most and sure enough it looks much nicer outside so I´m probably almost done.

I don´t know that I´ll ever make it this way again.  The people are incredibly friendly but unless I want to learn spanish, it´s not easy to make it around here. And in Nicaragua, hot water is a luxury.  When I get to another hot shower, I may stay in there an hour!  It´s amazing how the little things are what you miss most. The weather is warm, the water is not really that cold, but it feels like needles hitting me in the morning when all I want is hot water to bring me back to life.

Onward to a city stroll now!

Arrived in Liberia about 11am and made our way to the Hotel.  Actually quite nice.  Air conditioned room (personally barely need it) and the most gorgeous blue pool about 5 feet from my door.  The weather here is just perfect.  Warm, a bit of an ocean breeze even though about half an hour from the coast.  Really precisely what the doctor ordered after weeks of gray and/or damp weather. 

In the afternoon, we all took a van together to the beach.  Saw two but the best was unquestionably Playa Hermosa.  I still have to give the edge to the gulf coast beaches, but this was still very nice.  Pretty crowded but I had a good time wandering with the camera.  I love beaches, but not that concerned with swimming not laying and baking.  My skin has two modes, burned and not-burned.

In the evening, the last of our wayward travelers showed up with air line horror stories and we all went out for dinner.  The staple dishes here revolve around rice and beans.  After three days of rice and beans, I´m beginning to get a little desire for variety, so I had a chicken sandwich.  Nothing over chick-fil-a.  It was more like sloppy joe made with chicken.  Not what I expected but not awful.

This morning, the bulk of the crew got up to go to Palo Verde, a national park to take a boat trip.  A couple of others went hiking.  I figure there are plenty of chances to hike.  I had an awesome time on the boat.  We saw iquanas, a couple of different monkey species, and crocodiles.  The monkeys came on top of the boat and I hope, hope, hope that I got some cool photos of them.  They were just so cute. 

Afterwards, another authentic lunch of rice and beans with chicken.  There was a little pork this time just to throw me.  Very good, but hoping that I can find something else for dinner.  At least breakfast has been peanut butter sandwiches thanks to the supermercado down the street!

I went out and took sunset photos, gorgeous old decaying buildings here, truly what I was hoping for already in the trip. Hopefully much more to come!

Tomorrow morning, we leave Liberia bound for Nicaragua.  Apparently it takes awhile to cross the border, as we ren´t going very far but expect to take 4 hours to get there.  There for two days, including the ringing in of the new year.  Expecting to take a sailboat trip on new years day if things go according to plan.  I think the internet is less of a sure thing in Nicaragua so the blogs may be sparse or non-existent.  Even here it´s bloody slow!

Enjoying life, catch up as time permits!

Say Cheese in Avebury!

I finally had a tourist cheesey goodness moment in Avebury.  It was my second trip to the lesser known stone circle in Wiltshire. Four years prior on my first visit to London, I took a day trip out that included a morning stop at Avebury.  It’s a bit of a contrats to Stonehenge.  A much larger circle and surrounding ditch and mound still evident.  It lacks the horizontal stone lentils of Stonehenge, but if memory serves it is an older site.  There’s also a village plop in the middle of it that has in fact harvested some of the stone for its buildings and over the years removed some of the stones due to their pagan past.  All told, if you are in Wiltshire, it’s a must stop on your itinerary.

Reaching Back - Avebury Stone circle and Earth Works

Avebury Standing Stones In the Sun

Avebury - An Eternity of Sunlit Days

I just have to add to that last one that the British continually joke about their lack of sunny weather, but in some weird way it makes days like this one so special.  Bright blue sky filled with puffed white clouds and a green carpet on the ground - what more could one ask for?

There are also many more photos from the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, the city of Bath, and the wee village of Lacock to check out in my England September 2008 album.  You can pick up where I left off with my last blog right here.

And to see you off, one bit of photoshoppery from the village of Lacock.

Selective Color Image from the Village of Lacock, England

I spent the weekend cleaning up some old family photos.  I got a new and better scanner, which includes some adapters to hold film.  So, I’ve scanned in some more old photos and worked on the tears and nicks, etc.  I also tested out the film scanner with mixed results.  The negatives I chose were of photos I’d never seen before.  So, that was cool, but they were also not cared for so well and were probably more damaged than a lot of the photos I’ve restored.  Still worth it.  It’s a delicate line working on those old photos.  One of my great, great grandfather from near the turn of the century was badly damaged.  I cleaned it up for hours, and I finally hit a point that I had gotten the people as repaired as possible.  The background was still a bit worse for the wear but continuing would make the photo look way less vintage for lack of a better word.  As many old photos as I have, I’ll be a near expert when I finish this.

I’ve also had time to work on a few more photos from England.

The full album

or

jump to where I last posted an update

And here are a few of my favorites:

Newquay Beach - Surfing Zen

Dark Tor - Glastonbury

Dusk - Bath Abbey

Yesterday was day 1 with the arch supports and what a blessed difference it was.  My little arches felt massively better.  They still need a rest but that too shall come.  Every trip to London, I’ve taken several tours from a group called London Walks - in my opinion, the best walking tours of the city.  I’ve done a ton of them and have not nearly done them all.  This trip, I had not set foot on one.  Not sure what’s happening there!  Yesterday I saw they had an “explorer” tour - essentially a day out from the city with an afternoon and morning tour and they handle getting you there and back.  I’d done one to Leeds Castle and Canterbury a few years ago.  This one was to St. Albans, a wee city about 20 minutes by rail from London.  It was advertised as being quaint having started as a Roman Fort and having existed in one form or another every since.  It was dirt cheap as tours go, so I can’t complain.  The city didn’t quite fit my image of a quaint little place frozen in time as described but was sort of cool in that we saw a place where everyday folks live.  It’s sort of a bedroom community for the greater city.  It’s also the site of an ancient shrine to st. Alban.  He was a roman who was converted to Christianity and martyred for it.  I had never heard his name before as far as I can recall.  The interesting thing was that the tour guide’s accent sounded just like a lady back home who was an English war bride.  I should have asked but never got around to it.  It was uncanny familiar and took me a bit to place.  I kept thinking I’d heard it on TV somewhere.

Got back into the city and took the tube all the way to Aldgate, essentially now in the city’s business district and fair dead on a Sunday, but I have wanted for the longest time to get some photos of the “Gherkin” as it’s known - it’s this massive mod building in the heart of London - visible from the Thames near Tower Bridge.  I think it looks more like an elongated egg than a pickle, but it’s green colored glass earns its nickname.   I did get some photos.  The light wasn’t so great, so we’ll see what I got out of the expedition.  I was not surprised to encounter many other tourists at every vantage point trying their luck as well.

Afterwards, a quick meal and galloped off to bed.  I had high hopes of another early start today.  Today’s explorer day was to Cambridge.  I had almost written it off but several people on the St. Albans tour said it was a must.  And I noted it was being lead by the same guide from Canterbury in 2005.  So, I figured I could well rest on the plane ride back. 

I was off the tube at Kings Cross train station well before 9am this morning.  I had a quick breakfast and waited for the guide to show up.  Kings Cross could not be a much more busy place to try to meet a group.  I had almost decided that I was at the wrong place, though it didn’t seem possible.  The landmark is a luggage cart half through a wall with the sign 9 3/4 over it (the track # from the Harry Potter films (the scene with the cart in the wall I actually recall).  I got to watch SO MANY peple throw their bags in and get photos of themselves.  A large group of young asians must have been there for 20 minutes.  I even got roped into helping them with their photos.  But it was fun to watch. 

The group finally formed and we were off to Cambridge.  It’s a fascinating little city.  I think as much as anything it was interesting to hear how the English college/university system formed and how different it is in structure than our typical system in the states.  Tons of gorgeous old buildings but all kind of piled upon one another such that I would have had to have spent a lot more time than I had hunting out good angles.  We toured in the morning, had a quick lunch and then continued in the afternoon.  At the end a portion of us spent our free time punting (boating) down the Cam to our final meeting point as a group before going back to the train station.  The weather was kind of drab (overcast) by the time it came time to punt, but who knows when one will ever be in Cambridge again with the opportunity to lay back in a boat.  The guy providing the power to the pole (the actual act of punting) was a college student at St. Johns College and told us a lot about the things we saw along the riverside.   And he did much better at guiding the boat than some of the folks around us who just tried it on their own!  One group was doing what I would have, basically just propelling themselves into each opposite bank over and over!  Funny to watch, probably frustrating to do!

Trips end, we all piled back onto the train to London.  Chit-chatted about where we were all from (a mix of locals, Aussies, Germans, and several Americans aside from myself - all from out west).   Back at Kings Cross we quickly bid farewell.  There were some with shows tonight, and myself I wanted to get back here to pick up my gorilla pod and tripod head and try to get some dusk shots of SOMETHING before I went back.  I dragged that thing from the states for heavens sake and had yet to find time to use it. It’s been past dusk every night I thought of it.  I got here, and dashed back to the train.  I started looking at the clock and realized that I was not going to make it to either Tower Bridge nor St. Paul’s Cathedral in time.  I had to adjust my plans and instead got off at Westminster so I could see Big Ben and Parliament at dusk.  I think those shots came out pretty well.  I was one of MANY on the bridge taking photos.  Tons had full on tripods with them.  Either locals or far more dedicated travelers than I am.  I may yet break down and find a tripod that is both sturdy and not only light but compact enough.  But I’m not yet convinced I need it.  I generally only take night shots when I’ve been somewhere enough to know what to expect about where the light will set, etc.  Parliament qualified, as do several places in London now, as I’m on trip 4 to this city…  Scary, eh? 

Anyway, a bit of a wander there after and then a train to Picadilly Circus one more time.  Quick meal and some hand held quick night shots of the lights there (A LOT of light - London’s time’s square).  And finally back here.  I just finished arranging my bags.  Everything packed except what I’m wearing now, tonight, or in the morning. 

Everytime I come here, there are tons of mixed emotions at the end.  There’s definitely a side of me that will be so happ to snuggle into my own bed tomorrow evening, a side that will be happy to see familiar places and definitely a side that will be glad to be able to actually rest.  But it’s conflicted with a side that would happily remain here, not per se just London but here being the road, meeting new people, hearing new words and accents and voices.  London is so fantastic in part because it’s a microcosm of people and places.  The history, the native cuture and the imported culture will always hold a little sway over me, but it also feeds the wanderlust. 

Not sure where is next, but if tradition holds there’s a trip at year’s end.  Maybe Paris since I missed out.  Or maybe somewhere warm again.  Egypt, although cooler than I may have expected, was an awesome change.  And I’m well amazed how quickly I’ve adapted to the temps here.  I brought my hoodie with me, which has half the time been either left behind or tied around my waist.  I’ve dreaded every time I had to wear one of the two long sleeved shirts I brought!  I even though of wearing my one pair of shorts I brought along hopefully but finally decided to save them for the flight home.  I may roast at the Atlanta airport otherwise!  My body is not going to be prepared anymore.

Ah well, pictures to come at some point after I’ve had a slight relax - take care!

Once I was finally moving, I headed over to Earls Court, the exhibition center there has a Doctor Who Exhibit that was mad fun.  Aside from trips to Forbidden planet (the huge cult tv and comic book shop here), I’ve never done anything really geeky here.  I’m in shock to say that I’ve already visited Forbidden Planet this trip and got nothing for myself.  Truly shocking.  I just didn’t see anything worth the money and the dwindling space in my home.  Anyway, the Doctor Who exihibit was mainly geared towards the new show, of course, but included some highlights of the past Doctors.  It was truly cheesey fun getting to see so many props, stand in front of a blue screen and see yourself standing in the Tardis control room, and just in general see so many people geeking out over the same thing.  I guess this was my less crowded fanboy convention this year.  Afterwards, I wandered through the gift shop, literally over-flowing with all manner of Doctor Who stuff from classic to now.  I was tempted by a few items but talked myself out of them.  The only thing I really wanted was some sort of souvenir that actually showed I had been, but they only had t-shirts… no thanks…  I’ll just hang on to the ticket in my box of junk from my travels.

After a quick lunch (sort of brunch as I hadn’t had breakfast and it was cruising towards 1pm).  I decided that the afternoon was to go check out the Tate Modern art gallery, which has been on my list of things to do for several trips.  I overshot my tube choice just a smidge and wandered along the Thames path to the bridge at St. Paul’s.  Very proud that I was able to over directions to three people while I was on my way.  Oh, and I was able to point out Monument (the monument to the great fire of 1666).  I regret that it’s completely covered in tarps and scaffolding while being refurbished.  I overheard a son and his father looking for it standing literally 10 feet from it.  Their disappointment was palpable, and yet again I will not be climbing it.  Oh well.

Tate Modern was interesting.  i think most of my excitement was for the building, an old industrial power plant on the south bank of the Thames that was re-born as an art gallery.  I think it has been so far down my list for so long because I have mixed feelings about modern art.  It’s not that I don’t consider it art, it’s that often I don’t really see what others see in it.  While the museum is free, there are paid exhibits.  I ended up paying to see one by an artist called Cy Twombly, an American artist who did most of his work living in Italy.  This was a slight mistake.  I had seen him listed in the guide I got, but the adjacent description was actually for an exhibit on contemporary urban photography that had ended a couple of weeks ago.  I realized my mistake after I walked into the first room and re-checked the brochure.  This was modern art at it’s modernist…  undulating crayon lines, blobs of paint, and I could not  help the feeling that I was looking at one of those posters from a decade ago where you had to squint to see an image in the picture.  I read the descriptions in the guide and saw nothing that was supposed to be there.  I squinted.  I turned sideways, I looked at an angle, and all I ever saw looked like squibbles and lines.  He had a few sculptures and some later modern stuff that didn’t leave me wholly unhappy but by and large, I’ll consider that admission my donation to the arts…

From there, I wandered through a ton of art.  I’m not familiar with most of the artists.  I want credit for stopping at a couple of Picassos, at least they caught my eye.  There were also some very cool sculptures and even a smattering of photography along the way.  All told, I spent around 3 hours, getting in my quotient of the arts before my feet told me enough was enough.  I had blisters days ago that have finally healed, but now have managed to kill my arches.  I don’t know what I was thinking when I didn’t pick up the arch supports that were lying in my closet.  I know I have issues with them, so I should have.  And I’ve paid the price.  When I finally found a pair, they were the equivalent of nearly $40…  I felt a wave of wallet-robbing-nausea wash over me as I paid for them.  An expensive lesson. 

I meandered a bit more before finally wandering into Leicester Square hunting for a meal.  I found a Mexican Restaurant.  This is my second attempt at Mexican this trip.  The first was in Bath.  While it was a fine meal, it did not compare to home and wasn’t even served remotely in the same manner.  An enchilada that included the rice within it and was mammoth and was served with a salad!?  Of course, tonight was Saturday night, so the place was packed.  I was given a pager and told it was a 20 minute wait.  I wandered into the bar to wait… no seats… I stood for a few minutes.  My feet already felt better but not like standing, no sir.  Finally I notice this seat behind this black lady and went and asked if it was taken.  She wasn’t sure, but the seat beside her, which I assumed was taken, was not.  As I sat down, the couple across from me gave a look that combined sympathy with relief.  She turned out to be a talker, and I don’t  just mean a little conversation, I mean I feel like I know her life’s story now, at least the bits I could understand through the heavy Jamaican accent.  She apparently was going to see a movie, but needed a drink first or it would be “garbage.”  I sincerely hope that means she was meeting friends, otherwise it’s expensive garbage!  She had a brain tumor removed at some point in the past -she showed me the scar.  She told the doctor his other 9 patients with the same surgery would die, because it was their time, but not hers.  She lived because she “had a strength of purpose.”  I wasn’t really sure what she meant by that but at least followed her comment that it wasn’t science that saved her, it simply wasn’t her time yet.  She’s 67 and expects to live to be 105, because she knows that’s her time.  Really, there’s more to be told, but that should be enough for you to get an idea.  She was harmless and interesting, but I was still quite happy when the pager went off to get my table.

My table was, of course as close to the kitchen door as possible.  This is what happens to you when you dare defy society and eat at a sit down restaurant alone.  It doesn’t always happen, but it doesn’t surprise me either.  The meal was okay.  Closer but still not quite the Mexican I’m used to.  A touch bland, but almost all the parts were there this time.  Only missing the refried beans.  I’ll survive. 

Afterwards, I contemplated seeing a movie, sounded great since my tired feet could stit still.  I checked the prices… uhm… wow… they pay more for a movie in pounds than we pay in dollars.  I know that Leicester square is kind of a hub, so maybe at other theaters it’s not so bad, but it cost £13.50 to see a movie at nights or on weekend!  That would be around $26…  I could not justify that cost so just wandered a bit before hopping the train back to the hostel. 

No idea what’s on for tomorrow.  But my feet would appreciate a somewhat early to bed night.  Hopefully I’m not in a room of folks who are already out for the count.  Last night, two of the 4 total in the room had already called it a night at 10pm last night!  So, I ended up getting organized in the dark!  I was surprised as I’m usually one of the comparative early to bed folks.  And if I’m asleep when the others roll in, they have to be remarkably loud to bother me.  Oh well, wish me luck!

More than I expected to share, but it’s a bit of a catch up to yesterday, when we slipped back into London.  Amazingly little traffic, but made up for by a brief scare when the bus driver pulled off because the steering went out briefly.  It mysteriously started working again and they were told to bring it on in and it would be checked today.  I think this was a portent of things to come for me.

A few of us walked to Victoria train station together and said our final farewells.  They announced something about the Eurostar service being cancelled.  I didn’t think much of it because I was leaving from St. Pancras, not Victoria Station.  I got to Kings Cross / St. Pancras and arriving there heard more about the Eurostar service being down but little details.  I didn’t stick around, I wanted to put my bag down first.  I walked to my hotel for the night and noticed that every hotel I passed, including mine, had signs that there were no vacancies.  I got in and checked in and the desk clerk said that all the rooms were booked because no one was leaving St Pancras for Europe.  He said I was lucky I had a room as there were none to be found remotely near Kings Cross that night.  He didn’t know much more other than there was a fire at 2pm local time.

I went upstairs and watched the news.   The Channel Tunnel takes cars and trucks as well as passenger rail, but everything that goes through the tunnel is on a train.  A commercial train had a truck it was carrying catch fire and soon out of control.  No one killed, and no passenger trains in the tunnel at the time.  So some good news.  This happened before in 1996 and the tunnel was partially closed for 6 mos for repairs.  I didn’t have a good feeling as they said the fire was under control but still burning and this was like 7pm…

I went over to the station and managed to find someone to talk to.  I was told to watch the news and if they didn’t cancel service the next day to return at 4:30am (when they opened) to be assured of confirming my seat and not losing it.  I had dinner and wandered awhile before returning to the hotel.  The news that night was still the same, service cancelled, fire still burning…  I went to sleep and set an alarm.  When I got up in the morning, the fire was still going.  No point walking to the station.  I still need to get my refund since I obviously can’t reschedule this trip in the next 60 days.

I went back to sleep and slept as late as I could before leaving.  I came to the Ace Hotel, the hostel I was staying in here after getting back from Paris.  I was dead lucky, as they had one bed available tomorrow night.  I have to move tomorrow morning and again the next morning to the bed I originally booked.  Not fun but at least I have a place to sleep.

All in all, I put this in the lucky category.  Lucky no one was hurt, lucky I wasn’t in Paris already when this happened and having to try to arrange another way back to the US next week.  They may start limited service to Paris this weekend but gosh knows if I could get on that if I was over there.  I am lucky I wasn’t one of the people who had important things to get to Europe for this weekend (marriage, school, and a pile of others listed in the paper).  Thousands of peoples lives disrupted, I can handle a vacation going a bit awry.  On that same note, this morning when I watched the news, I soon found the tunnel fire was the second headline.  A major travel agency went bankrupt this morning.  Around 50k people are apparently stranded away from home with no immediate way to get back.  The government is sorting that one out.  There are also tons more who have yet to leave on vacations that no longer exist.

A very strange end of the week to say the least, but I’m here and I’ll make the best of it.  Today was just a long wander with the camera.  A nicy sunny day with some excellent cloudy but magnificent skies.  No idea what I’m going to do tomorrow.  My feet are telling me to chill.  We’ll see if I listen to them (or what they say in the morning).  I didn’t have plans for what to do with  myself when I got back to London to begin with, now I have more time than originally!  Oh well, it’s a city with an impressive number of options.

One day I’ll look back on all this with a smile.  I’m already able to see the silver lining, that’s a start.