Blog Posts

Crossing the Andes - Into Chile

6/11/2010

Salt flats in the distance

We left Salta all too soon, taking an early morning bus to Chile (as you do!). We climbed from 2200 metres through rain and drizzle, to 4400 metres at the Jamos Pass. As we had already discovered, buses in South America are very comfortable with more leg room than normal and seats that recline 45 degrees, plus meals and drinks as you would get on a flight.

More pleasantly surprising than the bus was the road conditions. A very well maintained, tarmac road with wide parking bays to the sides. Just what you want for a bit of reassurance when crossing the Andes.

The road winds North of Salta and then West, tackling several mountain ranges before crossing amazing slat flats (at over 3000 metres) and then eventually crossing into Chile and dropping into the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth. Throughout the journey there were towering peaks of approximately 6000 metres in view, some dotted with snow and most showing their volcanic history.

We arrived in Calama, Chile, passing near the world’s biggest copper mine, and found a fairly normal town centre with more stray dogs then we have seen anywhere. We saw our first Chinese restaurant in ages, then another and another – apparently China buys all of the copper so I guess they have attracted businessmen and restaurateurs alike. We had Chinese for dinner and then the next day I tried to find out if the train still ran to Bolivia.

It doesn’t so we took a bus to the coast and visited Antofogasta, second largest city in Chile and ugly as hell on the west side of town but beautiful and modern along the Pacific Coast. We managed to find a TGI Fridays for some truly traditional Chilean fare and then took a night bus to the border with Peru.

Somewhere between Calama and Antofogasta we decided that Macchu Picchu was our must see and that a side trip to Bolivia was a nice to have – so we were heading to Cusco in Peru.

Through bus travel, a border crossing to Peru by taxi and then another bus to Arequipa, we were finding travel in South America to be fairly relaxed and easy to coordinate. We definitely didn’t see much of Chile and it’s people, and what we did see of the country was all desert, right up to the edge of the Pacific Ocean! But then we were about to see a little bit of desert in Peru…………..

The edge of the Atacama Desert - or the Moon, hard to tell which!?

Customs and immigration, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Outside the butchers in Calama at closing time - a popular place for some residents

Our first sunset over the Pacific!!

5 Comments

Argentina

6/11/2010

0 Comments

We left from Puerte Iguacu on a midday bus that would take us through the night across the North of Argentina to Salta.

Salta was a place on a map to us, in the right direction and on the right route for us to see some of Argentina and cross into Chile where there were some big attractions…….then we discovered that Salta is a huge attraction on it’s own!

Surrounded by mountains reaching to over 6,000 metres, and with spectacular desert, canyon and mountain scenery, Salta is a popular destination for national and international tourists. The town itself is very well preserved, with centuries old buildings in Spanish/European styling and with lots of cafes and bars around a central garden square. Of course we were to find out that the census next week is expected to reveal a population of nearly a million but the town centre had a feel of a typical country Australian regional town.

We took a tour – our third this year(!) – to a town called Cachi. The highlight was the terrain we traversed along the way, climbing out of mountainous valleys to a height of over 3,400 metres, and then dropping gradually again through cactus filled desert plains and hidden valleys of colourful mountainsides and desolate lunar landscapes. What we didn’t realise at the time was that desolate was an exaggeration compared with the coming days of travel!

Along the way we saw a Cliffside climbing to 4000 metres that the driver told us is named after the Condor as they can someimtes be seen here. Yeah, right! Like the Jaguars in the forests of the Rio da Plata – possible to be seen but not probable!

And then we saw them, 4 at first, then they disappeared, then 1 and then a little further along and as we had climbed closer to the top of the pass we saw 9 of the world’s largest flying creatures, the Condor, soaring not far above us!

Further along in our little VW Crossfire, a sort of 4WD hatchback, we ventured off the main dirt road and went to investigate a valley next to an old Uranium mine! The mine was out of view but the valley was spectacular, multi-coloured cliffs, eroded pinnacles also in multi-colours and true cacti, 15 feet high with little arms sticking out. Of course the detour wasn’t without drama – the little VW didn’t quite have the dust sealing properties that the designers had hoped for so we drove along in choking dust for 15 minutes before returning to the main road.

After a stop in the small town of Cachi, we headed back towards Salta. As seems to be the case 9 times out of 10, I noticed that having had an enjoyable, meat packed lunch and it being 1500 metres above his home town, our driver was a little tired. The will power he used to keep those little dark eyes open was impressive but not enough. I worried that my conversation may actually make him even drowsier (“so what languages do students study at school in Salta?”) and as it turned out it did so he pulled over. Phew!! Just to get some “tablets” out of the back of the car!! Yikes! Well, we got back safely without too many hair raising moments as we descended past drops of a thousand feet.

The only other thing we could say about Argentina is we didn’t give it enough time. It is like Australia (as is Brazil) with so much varied country to see you need I would guess at least 3 weeks to see the best of Argentina. We certainly liked what we saw, found it more relaxing then Brazil (and cheaper) and could have stayed longer just in the parts we had seen. But onward to higher and dryer destinations – across the Andes into Chile!

0 Comments

Foz de Iguazu

29/10/2010

2 Comments

Whilst not the highest waterfalls in the world, nor the widest or most powerful by water volume, the Iguacu Falls do have the reputation as being amongst the most spectacular, combining height, width and volume to create an amazing spectacle.

After a couple of days visiting them, from both the Argentine side and the Brazilian side, we were definitely in awe.

From our hostel in Foz de Iguacu, our landlady, Evelina, gave us very clear and detailed directions on how to get to the falls and what to do when you get there – “look to the right, look to the right, look to the right and all along you can see animals, wildlife, the river, the animals, the jungle and the falls – amazing!”. She has been running Pousada Evelina for we guessed over 20 years and had various photos and cards of thanks to prove it! She stated that the hostel was like a home and that she was now like our Mum – inclusive of a few house rules but generally just a concern for her guests to enjoy themselves.

So in addition to seeing the falls, we did our own churriscaria (Brazilian BBQ!), met some other travelers and just relaxed after 6 days on the road! We took a young guy from the UK (Kevin from Lamington Spa) with us to the Brazilian side of the falls and he was glad of some English speaking company after a week camping in Argentina. He was surprised that people didn’t just speak English (with an accent!) in South America so was struggling a little with Portuguese and Spanish. Yet he was in South America experiencing a different world whilst his mates wasted their money on the usual as he explained it.

We also met some newlyweds on a 4 month honeymoon – Tim and Vicki from London (via Buckinghamshire and Liverpool). When I returned our hire car to Curitiba, 8 hours away, they hitched a ride to keep me company, much appreciated at 3 in the morning! Tim is (almost?) famous as the lead singer and writer with The Sneer………..really good tunes and available at iTunes!

The most noticeable thing was that in the state of Parana, everything seemed better than what we saw in the North and East. Certainly wealthier than the Eastern towns we passed through but with no more (or less) charm than them. Little things in the small city of Foz de Iguazu stood out as more modern than places like Rio’s Copacabana – condominiums that were modern and livable, not old and caged, churches that were clean and proudly located in the town centre with lots of trees and gardens. When Tim and Vicki and I turned up in Curitiba to return the hire car we found that Curitiba is maybe the most modern, clean city in Brazil – certainly the most impressive city I saw and by all accounts I have read I saw it as it is – just like a modern city you might find in Australia. A nice part of Brazil to leave from – off to Argentina.

With Shelly on the Brazilian side

2 Comments

From One Rio to Another - Rio de Plata

28/10/2010

1 Comment

The Rio da Plata is an amazing river 1800km West of Rio de Janeiro, literally the Silver River, it has crystal clear waters, amazing fish and has been kept pristine through careful management. Molly has blogged about the trip out to Bonito and on to Iguazu Falls so this update is just photos. As we were told before going, no photo can do this place justice. Upon leaving I felt I had done one of the most amazing activities in the world - like a visit to a hidden world.

1 Comment

Rio de Janeiro

28/10/2010

0 Comments

Welcome to RIO!! In front of Christ the Redeemer, on top of the Corcavado

Corcavado the heighest point on the left, Sugar Loaf Mountain on the right - Rio!

We arrived into Rio early morning and went straight into the city centre for a couple of days to catch up on rest – relaxing on the cruise was surprisingly exhausting!

The city came with several warnings – don’t ride public transport after dark, don’t walk around the city after 6.00pm and be careful of places that don’t have crowds…..and of course be wary when in crowds!

We were fortunate enough to have our own baggage boy from the ship to escort us and our luggage to the hotel – thanks Gil! As Gil only had the day in Rio we just went for some morning tea with him and then carefully strolled around the city. To be honest the city is not particularly pretty although the main streets have a wide, open charm.

By the second day we were keen to explore a little further a field so we took the metro as far as it would take us and then went by bus to one of the satellite suburbs with modern shopping and a variety of restaurants and entertainment. The metro was good and the bus sytem very simple and easy to use.

Having stayed out a little long (and eating way too much at an Applebees Restaurant) we were told to get a taxi by the wait staff as it was now dark and not safe for tourists on buses………..so with the taxi queue going nowhere, we took the bus! And it was busy, and it was dark – but it was good. And safe.

Next day we were top meet with Shelly and Rhenda at Copacabana beach – as you do…….but first we wanted to get up to the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Of course we forgot one thing……it is a popular, international tourist attraction!

Like Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower and the Big Koala, Corcovado as the mountain is known locally, crowned with the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer, is very, very popular.

So having got ourselves to the base and having queued and purchased our train tickets, we realised the train was another 90 minutes away due to queues – so we took a refund and vowed to return. We didn’t want to be late to Copacabana where we knew Rhenda and Shelly would be waiting………

So after an hour past the agreed time, sat on Copacabana, dodging rain squalls, drowning our sorrows and watching people run of the beach in the rain and then return 10 minutes later when the sun returned, we spotted Shelly and Rhenda. In their defence, they are from Kansas…..ooops, I mean, they were tied into the plans of the family they were staying with, so transport was out of their control.

Over a drink Shelly and I started to work on a plan for traveling together to the Iguazu Falls on the Argentinian border. Over the next two days that took shape through emails and a road trip was planned!

Meanwhile, back in Rio, we moved to Copacabana, visited the beach again, marveled at the ease with which we could ude public transport but also moaned at how very expensive Rio is.

Overall we enjoyed the main attractions of Rio but to be honest, we couldn’t see what the attraction was as a place to stay longer than a few days……….might just be us but old buildings, claims of great danger from criminal activity and hugely exorbitant pricing (think London, Paris and in some cases add 20%) don’t equal a great destination. But certainly worth a visit!!

The Christ the Redeemer statue and lookout was excellent and is a great way to see the size of Rio. The trip up takes quite a while despite the fact that from the city the statue seems quite close.

Molly has added an update to describe our road trip out to Bonito – we loved every minute of it and found that rural Brazil was very relaxed, interesting and much more rewarding than it’s large cities.

On Copacabana beach between rain squalls

Back on Copacabana with a blue sky

On top of Corcavado

Our luggage boy from the ship - Gil. Quite useless but with a pleasant smile.

A small plateful (and mouthful) at Applebees

0 Comments

Ship Life!

28/10/2010

0 Comments

You need to dress accordingly for a 7 course dinner!

Music and Dancing with Gil, Shelly and Rhenda

So what is it like on a 60,000 ton ship with 1300 other passengers and 800 crew? Peaceful, tiring, relaxing, exhausting, fun, fun, fun and above all it is super fun!

We are no cruise experts, having only spent two nights on a cruise ship before, but we do know when we are enjoying ourselves and when we are getting good value. For 18 days from Venice to Rio de Janeiro, we enjoyed every minute of our cruise and would do it again tomorrow. In fact we are going to try and do it again next month, bound for the USA via Peru, Ecuador, Mexico and Costa Rica, completing a visit to 5 continents without flying – a shame no-one challenged us to that little feat!!

But back to the last cruise! What we liked was the service, the dancing, the games, the passengers (both the friendly and the curious) and the variety. Did I mention how relaxing I found it??!!!

We entered a five day quiz with a team of 8, including Shelly, Rhenda and Gil, as well as entering playing daily deck games, going to occasional dancing lessons and just generally getting involved with ship activities.

We had the same two waiters each night – Constantin from Romania and Luiz from Brazil. They were excellent both in their service skills and their social skills. Every dinner was amusing and we regularly chatted with people from tables around us – Klaus and Eva from Munich, George from Belgium, the sometimes stern, sometimes happy German couple whose names we didn’t get and a Canadian family of 4 travelling for a year also.

As well as the equator crossing already described, we also celebrated molly’s birthday in style. A late start for the party girl due to the usual late night on the 1st, then lunch with Shelly and Rhenda at the all you can eat buffet – excellent start!

In the afternoon Molly and Julia went shopping whilst Shelly, Rhenda and I set up a surprise party in one of the lounges. We managed to get Gil, Barbara, Doreen, Chris, Anne and Dave there before Molly walked in and wondered what was going on!! Pass the parcel went well and Shelly managed to win even though it was not a well known game in the U.S……………she was very impressed with her Hannah Montana Candy Make-Up Compact kit. Talk about just the thing to make a purdy mid-west girl even more snoggable! Take me to Jamaica, please, she said!!

Dinner also included a surprise, a huge chocolate birthday cake complete with singing waiters, and we were joined by 10 year old Elodie from Canada.

Then dancing to finish off – including a birthday call onto the stage for Molly!

Luiz, our Brazilian waiter, with an Eggplant Penguin

With Constantin, from Romania, our other star waiter!

0 Comments

Brazil - Recife and Salvador

24/10/2010

0 Comments

Grim faced in Salvador

Unfortunately, neither of these towns were the introduction we wanted to Brazil, Brazilian people or to South America.

At Recife we took a shuttle bus to the centre of the old part of the city. Old is an understatement – run down, dilapidated or dirty would be better descriptions. We really wondered how this country with considerable history, wealth, population and economic advantage in the region, could have as it’s third largest city a menacing, dirty and disorganized jumble with beautiful old buildings (including churches) going to ruin amongst temporary stalls and stores.

Some would say this is a little harsh but what you see is what you get and the Venice of South America is not what we saw, despite assurances to the contrary. Fortunately, friends on organized tours saw a very different side to Recife (beaches and panoramic views – better from a distance?) and were keen to see more so we figured the best option was to do a tour in Salvador and see the “best” of that city.

Not to be though – another day of menace and an overwhelming desire to be back on the ship. Something in these two cities wasn’t right. Apparently we were the first cruise ship of the summer season so perhaps there were more touts, salespeople and inexperienced guides out and about? There were certainly too many shifty looking kids and men hanging around waiting to take advantage of the unwary but worse was the fact that we seemed to stand out like sore thumbs, particularly on the Salvador tour – no more cruise tours for us, thanks!.

Despite the above description we still found the overly cautious warnings being delivered on the ship before arrival in Brazil quite amusing – apparently gangsters will cut your fingers off, take your rings and just hand you back your fingers!! Nothing like a 3rd hand, twice translated story to give a message a special air of ridiculousness.

Reading back over this it does seem a bit extreme but I think that is because I am finally posting this having been in western and southern Brazil where we found the towns and people much more interesting. Salvador does have some spectacular old architecture, an overall nice coastal outlook and minus the tour groups and touts an afternoon in the cafes along the town square would be pretty cool……………

And what of arriving into Rio de Janeiro by ship? Well, from Salvador to Rio took 36 hours so there was a day at sea that needs a mention……..

Our last full day at sea and for most of the day we were constantly treated to appearances by pods of migrating whales. Sitting on our balcony we only saw one side of the ship but there was rarely 20 minutes that weernt by that we diudn’t see whales. Spouts of water in the distance, tail slapping, babies, adults and then dolphins in our bow waves – a really amazing day at sea!!

Next morning was one of those special events as well – arriving into Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro!

Glimpses of Copacabana Beach are nothing compared to the dominating image of the Sugar Loaf mountain and behind that the statue of Jesus Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor). There are many mountains with spectacular peaks, mostly covered by forest and of course there are the districts of the city itself. A great last morning to finish a great cruise.

0 Comments

Trans-Atlantic Crossing

22/10/2010

0 Comments

Fernando de Noronha

We were scheduled for 5 days at sea, making for 6 nights without seeing land – or so we thought! It was actually 6 nights and 5 days before we would go ashore again but boy did we see some impressive land on the way!

Having left Tenerife, sailing South West we encountered some of the other Canary Islands at some distance.

The next day we sailed through the Cape Verde Islands, including an incredible volcanic mountain that rose straight out of the Atlantic. It is amazing that the view we had was no different to that of the explorers 400 years ago as they sailed South along the West African coast. It is also incredible to imagine the lifestyles of the inhabitants of these islands, so remote and seemingly pristine.

By the time we were into day 3 of the crossing I knew that Cruise Holidays were the way ahead for me – there is something very relaxing about not having to think any more than you want to….. and on a cruise it seems that you certainly don’t have to!

On Molly’s Birthday, 2 October, we crossed the equator. I tried to explain to Molly before hand that this would be a big event but she wasn’t so sure – she seemed to think it was about as fascinating as Trainspotting, Planespotting or reading the technical specifications of motorbikes - I just don’t get 10 year old girls!

Anyway, as a 10 year old, she was uncertain, but having turned 11 and joining the faithful few who volunteered to parade with King Neptune to gain the ship passage south of the equator, Molly soon realised that this would be a special occasion making for a very special birthday.

Firstly we were ushered away to the privacy of the ships top floor disco. Then we were painted in a way that made us a look a little ridiculous and a lot different to the rest of the passengers. Then those burley men amongst us were handed a flag to carry and off we went to parade with King Neptune, his maiden and a particularly ugly looking squid. The entire ship watched on as we escorted Neptune to the pool, were baptized with champagne, kissed the squid and then awaited the Captains offerings……………

Firstly Neptune felt the ship was not ready to cross, so the faithful were doused with milk. Still not ready, the Captain offered to cover us with flour, then vegetable shortening (think really smelly, greasy, fluffy cream). Then tomatoes, still not ready so time for cocoa powder and then raw eggs.…then we were ready. Not really the pool party you want to be a part of but fortunately the pools on the ship simply flush out and then refill from which ever sea or ocean we were sat in. By the evening there was a clean pool and mostly all clean passengers again.

Our first sight of Brazil was not the mainland but a series of 3 islands named the Fernando de Noronha, 345km from the mainland. The main island is reasonably substantial but still no more than a few kilometers long and less than a kilometer across. Clear traces of the volcanic origins exist in the from of vertical plugs of rock towering above the rest of the island, yet the golden beaches were obvious and I guess the absence of black sand shows how old the islands must be. The life on these islands, as with the Cape Verde Islands, must be both idyllic and maddening at the same time – for me they look to be the perfect place to visit on a 40 foot yacht.

Next stop, Northern Brazil!

Past Cape Verde Islands

0 Comments

Malaga, Funchal and Tenerife - Spain and Portugal!

14/10/2010

1 Comment

We left Tunisia and hit some side on swell of between 2.5-4 metres. At first it was a bit surprising, particularly as we were still in the Mediterranean and wondering what the Atlantic may have install for us. However it wasn’t long before the motion became part of life and to be honest it is like travelling in a giant rocking cradle – very relaxing and therapeutic.

Malaga is at the heart of the Costa del Sol – Spain’s Sun Coast. That said, the view coming into port is hardly postcard perfect. Some spectacular coastal mountains but otherwise a picture of dry, industrial nothingness. Of course arriving in any port can give the wrong impression and our short excursion into the town centre confirmed this. The town is an intriguing mix of small alley’s and wide malls with lots of restaurants and tapas bars. Actually I got the feeling that on any given Saturday in Malaga you would be hard pressed to find an empty restaurant or bar and given that there seemed to be 3 of them to every other shop, you get a bit of a picture of the lifestyle we encountered!

Again, cruise stops are short so barely scratching the surface. More importantly, now 5 days into our cruise, we were starting to get into all sorts of adventures onboard the ship.

The Capitan (el Commandante), Giuseppe, invited us for cocktails so we finally had an excuse to dress up. Charity shops from North England to Vienna had been chipping in to assist us in preparation for just such an evening so we looked the part! Giuseppe was a bit light on for conversation so we thought we would mix with other passengers – heck, we even spoke to some of the people from the lower decks!

We ended up sat with two ladies from Dodge City, Kansas. The mother and daughter combination of Rhenda and Shelly soon became a regular part of our social life on the ship. Like us Shelley had been traveling the world this year and was on the cruise as a means of getting to South America. Her Mum had joined her at various points around the world and was hitching a ride on this leg of the journey. As I am typing this from Western Brazil, I can say that these two ladies became a big part of our cruise and that we didn’t leave their company behind when we got off the ship!!

We also met several gentleman (retired most of them) from various parts of the UK, including Gill from Northern Ireland. He was nice enough to take me from rookie to amateur status at shuffle board and was great company for all of us, when he wasn’t dancing with young Brazilian ladies. We did our best to corrupt all of these people with drinks on our balcony, but found they were mostly already corrupted!

And then we met Barbara and Doreen……..or did we meet Doreen and Barbara? Two lovely ladies from England, via Milton Keynes, we recognized their star qualities early on when at the initial briefing to English speaking passengers they were the only two with beers in front of them. Oh, Barbara! You can take the girl out of Essex, but…………

With Molly looking forward to her birthday on board, Julia and I were secretly calculating how our new friends would boost the mystic of the pass the parcel.

After Malaga it was out through the Straits of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic. Plain sailing to Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira for a spectacular early morning arrival.

Funchal is a city sprawling up magnificent mountain peaks from a beautiful bay. The architecture in the city is typical old European styling so the town centre is certainly attractive but once again, it felt to us like somewhere that would be better enjoyed on a 5-7 day holiday.

Next day was Tenerife and our number one aim here was to secure final presents in preparation of Molly’s birthday. By now we had met other people from the cruise and unfortunately Dave, Anne and Chris from Derby (via Bournemouth) were very noticeable as we rejoined the ship as they had a lot of attention from the local police. Unfortunately anne had a purse stolen in town and Dave was deep into it trying to find someone from the ship who spoke both Spanish and English to assist him in filing a report! Why the ship doesn’t immediately serve this function I have no idea!?

Tenerife is similarly spectacular to Funchal, with less greenery, and it shares space in the Atlantic with several other spectacular islands that make up the Canary Islands. Leaving them behind was very exciting as we were about to cross the Atlantic, cross the equator and eventually arrive in South America.

1 Comment

Tunisia

10/10/2010

0 Comments

Roman Villa's, Carthage

Sailing from Croatia to Tunisia gave us our first full 24 hours at sea – a great chance to enjoy the “rhythm” of the ship. A Captains Cocktail party was a great chance to dress up and there was plenty of games on the pool deck and after dark on the dance floors. Julia and Molly both won some prizes whilst I sat around and read. By now we were discovering that the cruise holiday is a great way to have fun and relax – especially after 9 months of getting on and off trains, looking for hotels every couple of days and trying to work out where we were going to eat 3 times a day!

We only had half a day to explore the area around La Goullette and Tunis, plus we had a bit of a sleep in having spent the evening meeting other passengers and entertaining on our balcony! So we opted for a simple tour of Carthage, the ancient city once the 3rd most important city in the Roman Empire, and a quick visit to a small fishing village, very Greek in style with white washed buildings and blue features.

We avoided the taxi drivers at the port terminal and wandered into the local town, ignoring the various touts who were suggesting that we should take a taxi now as there was nothing to see locally. As it turned out, there was plenty of local attractions but we were charmed by a French speaking Tunisian guy with a beat up old Peugot and a very tattered map that he used to explain how he could show us beautiful sites!

Whilst visiting a large mosque I noticed a railing leaning up against a high stone wall and ran across to clamber up and see what was hidden behind. It looked to me to be part of one of the old Roman theatres so I snapped away perched 10 feet up on a piece of old steel fencing. I could tell the taxi driver was a little dis-pleased so eventually I turned round to see what he was yelling at and came down. Apparently I had been looking down into part of the Presidents estate so he suggested the Police would not be happy with me if I had been caught……probably not wise of me in Tunisia but we live and learn.

Heading back from our expedition we were complete with some new shoes for Julia who had really made a local shop-keeper realise just how frustrating it can be getting Julia to make a decision when shopping – and how difficult it can be to get a girl from Yorkshire to part with money. Stopped at an intersection I candidly snapped away at local signposts, taxis and the traffic policeman, complete with white gloves. Meanwhile, unbeknown to me but equally as harmless, Julia was in the back videoing the same. Then as we crossed the intersection the taxi driver was forced to pull over and had to run back to the policeman.

At this point, we had a feeling it may be related to our cameras but it seemed a bit over-dramatic………….then he approached and the taxi driver said no pictures. Wondering if the officer was after a bribe, we played dumb (not that hard for us to do!) whilst I started to think about the consequences of him looking through the camera’s play back and then found my recent snapshots of the Presidents private amphi-theatre! Perhaps we looked too poor or perhaps the taxi driver told him we were from a cruise ship and thus a shake down was considered inappropriate – either way, a few words from the taxi driver, a friendly hand on the policeman’s shoulder and we were waved off with a warning!

Once again we found the time in Tunisia too short to be able to really enjoy the experience, particularly the pace of events in the markets and the constant, although mostly polite, offers being thrust in your face by various touts.

We sailed off with a rather unusual completion of a circle once out of the port, and headed for Spain, a 36 hour sailing time meaning that we could relax back into our “at Sea” routines!