Of Hamsters and Men...

Life can sometimes get in the way. As evidenced by the fact that neither of us has posted here at all in a million years. My other blog is lacking some love as well..

If you've been living on the moon in a maximum security moon-mansion, supping champagne and eating moon caviar for the past year then I've got a newsflash for you: there's a recession on. As a result of this my esteemed companion, the doctor, has found herself somewhat employmently-challenged. Don't stress; it's nothing serious and she's landed on her feet as you might expect. It just means that there's a good deal of uncertainty regarding money and the likelihood of it being 'totally cool' to take a month + off work at a smallish company that she'll only have been working at for 6 months. I myself have holiday booked and some job uncertainty myself which has made us question the wisdom of an extended trip across an entire continent.

Also one of us, I won't say which, is bangin' this hot mexican chick so is far too distracted to spend the necessary time intricately planning an intra-continental trip to South America. And I'm too lazy to do it all myself.

Another reason why South America is on permanent hiatus is we've both woken up to the ridiculousness of trying to pack a medium-large sized continent into a single month. It's a thing that people take gap years to do for pete's sake!

Don't get me wrong, I'm still up for the South America. And I'll certainly go there at some point, with or without the doctor. Perhaps in less ambitious, country by country visits. It's just not happening at this moment in our lives. I think we both pretty much saw all the above reasons a few months ago but have only recently admitted it to each other. We were both, I think, pleased to discover that we had been privately in complete agreement for that time.
It's a shame, it's sad but it's not the end of the story...

We may need a new banner for this blog.

JAPAN
We both love the Japan.
It's still an extravagent trip that we'd both love to do but would probably never want to do alone. I for one have struggled to persuade other people in the past to take that flight & expense, but when I pitched Japan to Dr Webb you should have seen the way her eyes lit up! It's the land of the future - of course we'd both wanna go.
So the pros:
- It's the land of the future. They've got phones there that make my iphone look like a pocket calculator
- Tokyo & general Japan can be 'done' in a fortnight, comfortably. Without 'rushin about' Therefore it's a reasonable holiday
- Flights are not as expensive as you may think. And actually cheaper than any of the returns we saw to South America
- It will be hella easier to organise we'll just need to book flights and accomodation
- Drastically reduced chance of kidnapping and other nastiness such as diseases & killer bees
- Japan has a rich and fascinating culture. The similarities of an island nation make it particularly interesting as it's kind of a Bizarro-Britain
- Technology

The Cons
- Money wasted on South America guide books. Actually they were interesting reading anyway... Still, I wonder if I can do a trade-in...

So yeah, I'm trying (again) to learn a bit of Hiragana as a start to getting some basic conversational Japanese down. The departure date is going to be late November, probably.

I know what you're thinking: "fickle. This is evidence that Edd can't acheive anything travel related, nor can he make up his mind. This Japan trip is as doomed as South America". My answer to that is: possibly! But you can't blame me for dreaming.

Onwards, Clare!

London - The Idea Behind the Trip

Starting a new post is a nightmare. I've been putting this off for about 2 months.  Let me explain. Whilst planning my Miami/Caribbean trip I got infected by a bug; a travel bug. I told my buddy Edd about this during a particularly heated discussion on Chavez and Venezuela and he said - "Look, lets just go to South America then dick head." - hahahaha, yeah, imagine.

I then go on a merry holiday, come back and Edd says "So, about that trip then..." Oh f**k it lets just go then ok, will that shut you up? Cool. So we're going, next year, next October. 

And so these next blog entries are all about the plans to go to South America and 'probably' get kidnapped, 'definitely' get ill, and 'quite likely' have a mad time.  Yikes - I am completely excited, can't you tell?

Onward Edd, Onward.

Providenciales - Friday 11th July - Saturday 12th July

Well that's pretty much the end of my blog. I have 20 hours of travelling ahead of me. 1 taxi, 2 planes, 3 trains, 1 bus and lots of waiting about. Sigh. If only Star Trek transporters actually existed. I have planned my sleeping times to try and reduce jet-lag so fingers crossed I am alive and well to go to work on Monday :-(

But I've loved writing the blog - something I suggest you all do when you next have a holiday alone. What? You don't holiday alone? Must be just me then.

Thanks for reading it, See ya. x

P.S. If you're interested I will add my holiday photos in picassa albums to this blog over the next week (get a life!)

Providenciales - Wildlife in Turks & Caicos

I was surprised at quite how much wildlife I saw on my holiday. I've tried to compile a list of the Fish, Birds, Butterflies & Lizards and Plants I saw, but many I will have missed from this list. Suffice to say it is a great spot for seeing wildlife if that's what you're into.
 

Fish

Barracuda	Blue Parrot fish	Butterfly fish	Blue Tang (Mum, I saw Dorie from 'Finding Nemo'!)
Dark Parrot fish	Green Parrot fish	Grouper (Oh and I ate some of one of these too!)	Mullet
Sergant major fish	Surgeon fish

Birds - There is a list of birds on the island on Wikipedia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_the_Turks_and_Caicos_Islands

Common Ground Dove	Great Egret	Kiskadee	Mourning Dove (Pink Pigeon)
Osprey (Fish Hawk)	Rock Pigeon (Don't we have these in Trafalgar Square?)

Butterflies & Lizards - Here's a good article on butterflies of the islands - http://www.timespub.tc/index.php?id=39

Caribbean Buckeye Butterfly (I think this is what it was. It was darker than the ones on Wiki though and had 2 ocelli and not 3...)

Curly tailed lizards (These were dead cute - I even found one in my trousers - No, before I wore them)

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

Swallowtail Butterfly

Plants - Here is an article on the plant life of Turks & Caicos -http://environment.tc/environment/plantsanimals/plants.htm

Palmetto Cactus	Prickly Pear Cactus	Saguaro Cactus	Sea Purslane
Spiney Cactus	Strong Back

What I didn't spot

JoJo the Dolphin (This guy is famous and one of the other guests in my hotel said she'd seen him early one morning. D'oh!)

Moray Eel (Again, thank God I didn't)

Nurse Shark (Ken did - crazy fool)

Turks Head Cactus

Providenciales - Thursday 10th July

Today Ken and I explore some of the Island - in his Jeep (Oh yeah).

Here's a map and route (in red) of our travels. We head up to North West Point and then down and over to Malcolms Beach. Later, we go down to the south side of the island and visit South Dock.

1) North West Point
This was amazing; completely deserted and very beautiful. On the way there we drive via Blue Hills beach which has lots of local restaurants and bars (sheds) on the side of the road.

We vow to hang out here next time and go to the Conch Shack which looks like an old shed but has a worldwide reputation for being 'the' place to eat conch (here's the menu) in a perfect setting.

We're very glad we have the Jeep as the majority of the way is a stone road or dirt/sand track. There trees and low-bush all the way, which means lots of butterflies and birds. We see a "Mourning dove", which is apparently very rare and lots of "Kiskadee" which may not be the right spelling (sorry Ken!)

When we get nearly to the tip of North West Point we stop and walk out onto the beach.

It is completely empty with amazing dark blue and turquiose water. We drive slightly further to the actual point and at the tip are two navigational posts.

On one of them two Fish Hawks (Osprey) have made a nest. They are both just sitting there 20 feet above us. They are huge and it is amazing to see such big birds up close. One of them swoops over my head so I know it's boss.

Then we walk over the tip of the point to the west side. This is much more dramatic with dried coral reef up to the side of the beach where the sea has receded. It is very hot so we risk a swim and have to walk over the coral to get out to sea.

It is then that Kens' sandle gets stuck between two pieces of coral and he falls cutting his hands, leg and foot. It's very sharp stuff and also bits of coral get stuck in his hands. It is not the weather or location to be injured.

Luckly, after a beer and a sit down in the air-conditioning of the car, he feels ok to go somewhere where we can have a swim without killing ourselves. We head off to Malcolms Beach next.

2) Malcolms Beach (at Amanyara Resort)
The Amanyara resort is an exclusive low-level hotel for uber-rich camera shy types as it is near nothing and is completely secluded and gorgeous. There are sandy beaches and coral reef all around it. It has some of the best diving in Turks & Caicos (TCI) and we saw several dive boats moored up just on the edge of the reef.

After finding the place we stop for packed lunch and then head into the water to cool down. As it's low season in TCI there is no-one on the resort beach so we swim just to the side of it for ages. I am loathed to leave after a few hours but we decide to hunt down one more location before the day is done.

3) South Dock Bay
The area called Five Cays which is to the right of where we drive south has many more local residents and schools. The area after Five Cays, a thin strip of land with bays on both sides, is an expensive area with private detached houses.

The water on either side of this strip, South Dock Road, is the most turquoise water I have ever seen. There are no obvious beaches, or public routes down to the water, but from the road it is beyond pituresque.

There are small islands dotted throughout the water which add to the view. It reminds me a bit of the view from Croagh Patrick (St Patricks Mountain) on the West coast of Ireland with the islands dotted about the bay below.

After such a fresh-air-filled day of beautiful sights, amazing wildlife and injuries we are both pretty tired. We have dinner and discuss South American politics and the state of the British Government before calling it a night.

I say goodbye to Ken and take a final look over the beach and sea before heading back to the hotel to pack.

I am off home tomorrow and although I am loathed to leave my holiday I am also very excited to be going home.

Providenciales - Wednesday 9th July

It's Snorkeling Day! They are due at 12.45 so plenty of time to do the blog and then hit the beach for an hour or so.


It is wondrous down there, very nice. There are a few horrid development type buildings but as it's low season they are, thankfully, empty, and so is the beach.


The 'Big Blue Bus' (which is white) arrives and I am on my way. I'm very excited as I've not done this in the open sea before, only by the beach. I'm a bit nervous about all the non-human things in the water. This isn't helped by the photos of Sharks and Barracuda Ken showed me last night from his dive the day before. Great, was excited, now petrified - thanks Ken!

There are two staff: Donny and Jacky (both Canadian) and 6 other snorkelers. An Italian couple who ask lots of good questions which means I learn loads about the area, the fish, etc. and a family from upstate New York (I think).

The Mum and daughters are like Russian Dolls they look so alike I keep staring at them and wondering if they are the same person in 3 ages. I get on with the Mum particularly well as she decides to make me her third daughter and mother me all the way.

Anyway, I digress. After moseying out of the harbour gently Jacky calls out: "Everyone ready?" For what? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! That'll be a boat suddenly moving very fast and I'll be the only one sitting right at the front then? It's great, I have a grin from ear to ear (It's hard not to at this speed, my face is stuck this way for 10 minutes). Speed baby - oh yeah.

We get where we're going, drop anchor and Donny adorns mask and jumps straight in the sea. "Come on in everyone." What no instructions? No "The exits are behind you" spiel? No, just get on your fins, your mask and get in with the sharks. Ok, fins on, mask, sort of on.

Now they are all queuing to go down the stairs: stairs or off the side? Off the side you idiot! Superheroes don't use stairs. I sit on the edge. Deep breath, ok Clare you're a swimming Bruce Lee got it? 'HaYarr!!!' I leap off the side doing a little kung-fu fin-kick for good measure. If there were any sharks at that moment I'm sure I scared them off as I don't get eaten in the first 5 minutes.

What I do at this point is try, whilst treading water, to master the art of snorkeling. Which is surprisingly hard. Your brain has to tell your nose not to try and breath in. Rather difficult actually and I swallow at least half the ocean before I master this. Once I do I am overwhelmed with the view. It's like peaking into a secret world, so clear, so many fish - wow.

The next two sites are equally brilliant, more so because I came face to face with 2 Barracudas. The great and petrifying thing about these guys is they just stop and look at you. They're not afraid of you. You obviously can hardly swim comparatively and they are the speed demons of the ocean. They also have lots of teeth and are about 6 feet long - longer than me - great.

The first one is silver and I see it on the second stop. Fight or flight Donny tells me later: I apparently chose flight. I am swimming about thinking "wow, I hope I see a Barracuda", turn around and literally 3 feet from me is a silver one, about 2 feet long. He just looks at me, he's not swimming away, he's looking. I move slowing to my left, he moves slowly to his right. It is at this point apparently that a great splashing was seen heading towards the boat - which would be me panicking. Great, that's attractive and not very Bruce Lee.

After I recover and Donny laughs at me rather a lot I decide to jump back into the water in an "I'll show you" kind of way. I do this but the silver-back is nowhere to be seen.

At the next stop this is the real test. I am near the boat and the Italian couple who have been waxing lyrically about wishing they'd seen 'Silver-back' experience this flight fear as I see them in the distance moving to the boat quickly.

As I look there is a huge black Barracuda right by the boat, around 4 foot I think and just hanging out. I look at him for ages before he moves off and I also head into the boat. I am extremely frightened which is silly as they never attack people but I stay in, and I'm pleased with myself for not missing it.

Sharks anyone? No thanks think I've had quite enough of big fish with teeth. I see tonnes of other fish and have compiled a list of all the wildlife I can remember seeing in my entry 'Wildlife on Turks & Caicos'.

After a hectic day of swimming I meet Ken back at the boat house with tails of Moby Dick. We have dinner and then drink most of a bottle of Rum. It turns out that if you drink a lot of Rum and juice you get decidedly drunk. Who knew?

Providenciales - Tuesday 8th July

Let's explore!

Suffice to say I feel much better today. Breakfast is good, I talk to some North Americans here and potter about for 15mins before ordering a cab to the launderette. It's not far but as I'm new here I don't want to get lost. $12! Man, taxis are expensive - think I'll walk from now on.

The launderette is brill, very nice people and very lovely and clean clothes. An hour later I walk back before deciding I will buy supplies for the rest of the week.

I am doing this because my room is like a flat, oh and I have a fridge. To be specific: in my room I have 2 beds, a sideboard, a flat screen TV with 66 channels. A dining room table, a sofa, a coffee table, a fridge, an air-conditioning unit, and an iron and ironing board (breath). Wow, it's like a Condo. So I shall buy supplies which I can keep in the fridge and then hangout on my porch (I have a little patio area too) instead of eating out.

When I ask someone where the supermarket is and that I intend to walk there I get a look of utter madness and told not to walk, it is too far. How far? 3 miles. 3 miles - that's nothing. (Mad dogs and Englishmen right?) It's hotter that Tom Jones' pants out there so I decide I'll adorn a hat and play 'Justice' as loud as possible on the old faithful Jukebox. I get there but I'm a dripping sodden person when I do. And when I do, oh my. It's like a palace of food. Vegetables and fruit are greener and bigger than I've ever seen; the shelves are shining; the floor is shining; the peoples' smiles are shining - either I'm food deprived or this is one sparkling supermarket.

Unfortunately after this wondrous experience I then have to wait an hour for a taxi. The security guard 'Alvin' keeps me company. "My friends call me 'Big Man'" he coos, I resolutely call him 'Alvin'. After the 5th time he says he wishes he had a car as he'd take a break and whisk me home; oh and he's single right now actually... Harvey comes to my rescue.

Harvey "Is a man you can trust". I know this because it says so on his business card. I also know this because he takes me and my shopping home, charges me very little and cheers me up with his driving banter and all-round good chat. He's also rescued me from the "Big Man": so I love him.

As I've wasted most of the day washing clothes and shopping I have a quick lunch and hit the beach. It's totally different to Miami here.

First of all there's hardly anyone here, the water is cool, and there's a breeze which means the sea moves and is fun to swim in. It's not like swimming in a bath. I find a sun-lounger and relax. This is more like it. Homesickness is well and truly gone and I couldn't give a fig about work or any of those worries as I feel great. Peace and quiet and solitude on my own personal beach....

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!" - Christ, why didn't I leave the damn phone in the room?

I look down: "Beer?"

It's Kenny boy! Wahoo! Socialising! Screw solitude - I want a drink with a mate. I take a last look at the beach and dash back to the hotel to change. When I meet Ken coming up the drive I nearly break his neck off with my hug.

"Alright girl, you ok?"
"Ken! I'm so happy to see you - lets get drunk buddy and talk nonsense and politics!"

A few drinks (not too many as we're diving/snorkeling tomorrow), dinner, the beach, walking about and general merriment and good company. I am one happy bunny.