Inadvertent flashpacking in la la land (8 February 2010)

How come, when I should be snuggled up on a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong, I am instead waking up in a “Third generation Heavenly Bed” in the Westin, Los Angeles? All to do with flight delays due to a technical problem yesterday meaning I am now on the flight to Hong Kong 24 hours later. Fine except here I am in the most stylish of cities with no clothes apart from what I am wearing and the meagre contents of my carry on bags - which as you know in today’s airline climate is not a lot! My bag is somewhere in the system unable to be retrieved. Not sure Posh would be in this city of stars in a pair of cargo pants and a hoodie...

No longer curious about Curacao (1 - 7 February 2010)

So my Caribbean time comes to an end as I finish my week in Curacao before I leave the West for the mysterious East. I have enjoyed it but not sure I would rush back. It’s a beautiful place, with clear turquoise seas and small beaches dotted around. The people seem to be friendly and nice and there is certainly no feeling of threat that you can find sometimes in other Caribbean Islands – but perhaps this is the problem – it seems to have much less character about it. As far as I can tell all the hotels seem to be Hilton like – I have seen no signs of any small communities or areas outside the capital where you can find restaurants. You end up a bit of a hostage to fortune (and the interminable buffets of “international fare”) as there is no obvious local transport and the hotels are a bit isolated. But don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place to be if you want the beach life, and the Hilton is a comfortable place in a great setting with beaches and pools galore – I’m glad I came and it gave me the excuse (as if I need one!) just to enjoy the beautiful sunsets and veg out for the week.

But there were some “lounge lizards” about – no, not lounging around the casino that’s attached to the hotel (even with my free gambling tickets, I chose not to try it out......), but frightening the life out of me at the pool and beach bar and restaurant. Now I’m a seasoned traveller and even though I’m not keen on local wildlife, I have got used to gecko’s and small lizards. As you walk down the paths to the various beaches, lots of small lizards dart about – how sweet, I thought! But nothing quite prepared me for the huge pair of lizards that have made their home by the pool bar. Sitting quietly with my grouper and chips I was startled to see the man and wife pair wandering about. She of course was quite plain and he was the peacock of the duo flashing his frilled neck..... I hope you like the National Geographic pictures I took! I do think the one of the lizard looking over into the pool looks just like the Dyl when he is being curious too....

I am sitting in the lounge at Miami Airport for several hours waiting for connecting flights that don’t quite connect and have just spotted Denziel Washington – I wonder if he wants to play Ant in the Hollywood film version of this blog - Julia Roberts plays me by the way.... The airport is busy today – it was the Superbowl last night and it was played here in Miami – so that’s why the Superbowl stalls selling merchandise at the airport were so busy today. I must say, I got an “old fashioned look” when talking to some people in the lounge and I asked where the Superbowl took place.... they couldn’t understand quite how I wasn’t aware! There are quite a few “saddo’s “ wandering around all togged up in the team outfits – but I guess it’s no different to the FA Cup final – I don’t understand all that either! But hey ho – they are no good on our geography either. Was talking to another lady who lives in New York – she has relations in London that she has visited lots. When I asked where in London they lived, she said “Nottingham”! They sure must think London’s a hell of a big place.


It’s funny being here – again! Am sitting where Ant and I sat all those weeks ago – ten I think, just before we boarded our flight to Guatemala – how nice it would be if we could go back in time and do it all over again....

Tulips in old Amsterdam.... (Wednesday 3 February 2010)

...or at least that was what I felt like singing today as I went into the capital, Willemstad. On the surface it is a picture perfect small Dutch town, with all the signs in Dutch and tall blonde people everywhere. It’s the Caribbean but not as I know it as to date I have (except for Margarita not too far away on another Hilton freebie) only visited islands with an old British connection. On the surface the Dutch seem to have made a better job of it than we did with a better infrastructure and water out of the taps distilled from seawater that you can actually drink. They are so civilised that I even managed to find the Dutch version of liquorice allsorts “Engelse Dops” and very nice they are too!

The town, a UNESCO World Heritage site is situated on an inlet and separated like Buda and Pest by the water into Punda and Otrobanda... The hotel collectivo – sorry, I mean minibus, drops you off on the Otrobanda side. To cross over they have a rather alarming looking “floating bridge” which is moved (dragged by a tug boat) out of the way when the large container ships go into the port. A huge container ship pulled by tugs went though as I was there and it made the beautiful coloured Dutch architecture look like toytown. But today the water was really rough so not sure it would have been walkable anyway. So I take the alternative, the short free ferry trip. Now I don’t know what it is about me and boats but it seems every time I go near one it’s rough water – no change today then. But it did give me the excuse to have a glass of wine for “Dutch” courage for the way back – oh dear, my puns get worse...

The houses are all painted in pretty pastel colours, a hangover from one man in charge who said that the glare of white houses gave him headaches and banned them – the tradition stuck and they do look very nice. But behind the Dutch facade is a thriving muticultural island of which they are justifiably proud. Apparently a lot of the 50 or so nationalities that settled here came because of the religious freedom it offered – well the Dutch do have a reputation for being liberal, free and easy.... The cultural mix is evident in the shops, Spanish, Indian, Chinese and even Fatima’s Fashions selling Arabian garments and hookahs (and by this I mean the pipes that you smoke rather than the women who sit in windows in the real Amsterdam...). But the shops and streets behind the Dutch frontage are less pretty. There are a couple of streets with the usual Watches of Switzerland and Tommy Hilfiger type shops to service the duty free needs of the cruise ships that visit here regularly. The one called Little Holland selling clogs and Delft ware confused me somewhat as most of the tourists who come here are from Holland, but the rest look like a smaller version of 

Folkestone! The currency here, apart of course from the US dollar which is accepted here, is the NAF – the Netherland Antilles Florin. But when you see the price tickets attached to the local fashion in NAF’s it seems strangely appropriate! I did make one purchase however, Ant was telling me to buy a long cotton dress for those tropical evenings so I did – but I think I can hear him pressing the mutton button from here!

It's all double dutch to me.... (1 - 2 February 2010)

Or should that be quadruple dutch? I arrive in Curacao to find my language skills challenged. It is part of the Netherlands Antilles here and the Papiamentu language (an eclectic mix of loads of other languages) is common, with Dutch as the official language, then Spanish, then English. Talking of language the Americans have one all of their own. Flying into Miami we were told they were having a “rain event” - all that meant is that it was p***ing down – all day – I was at the airport for four hours and it pelted down non stop – now if that had been Heathrow there would have been delays all over the place. But it was an interesting journey as it took me two flights via Miami of almost three hours each to travel from Grenada to here – and they less than 500 miles apart. But that was one reason for coming here – the ticket allowed it, and that together with it being a shiny new pin for me and there was a Hilton where I could use up the last of my Hilton points for a free luxe week made it an easy decision! Oh and of course the fact that they produce that bright blue liqueur, Curacao so the cocktails should be good... The flight was made even longer by a rather alarming “go around” just as we were coming in to land – the pilot told us later that there was a small plane identified on the runway so we had to accelerate back up rather quickly... But I made it.
Curacao looks a little different to the other islands I have visited. It’s much further south just off the coast of Venezuela and below the hurricane belt. It gets much less rain than further north in the Caribbean so it looks much less lush and has quite a few rocky, sparsely wooded outcrops that almost look like a Greek island in places.

But the hotel is lovely – the grounds are enormous and there are beaches everywhere, three nice pools and lots of palm trees and little thatched sun umbrellas. It’s even got its own bit of old fort with cannons – useful if too many Americans want to come in. The menu though does feature rather a lot of odd Dutch food except of course for the ubiquitous Caribbean theme nights complete with steel bands or the seafood on the beach night complete with the cultural show. I have managed to avoid these.... so far. All the usual fripperies that go with a Hilton too, things I would have given a lot for in Guatemala, sea view, loads of smellies in the bathroom, turndown with chocs on the pillow and even hot water in the shower! The downside is that as I sit outside on my balcony writing this the strains of the hotel trio playing at dinner waft up – but I suppose you can’t have everything! But it’s windy – locals think this is great as it dilutes the effect of the strong sun but sitting on the exposed beach this morning ended up with me looking like a sand statue as the flying sand particles stuck to the suncream – I repaired to the pool where it is much more sheltered – now if only those kids would stick to the kids pool a hundred metres away where they should, it would be perfect.... ok call me a grumpy old woman!

Heaven, I'm in heaven..... (30 January 2010)

It’s a Sat night in here in Grenada and am happy. One of Ant and my many food fantasies over the last couple of months (and there have been many as we faced yet another plate of mashed beans.....) has been Liquorice Allsorts. It was a happy day in the Spiceland Mall supermarket on Saturday when I spotted a rather dusty pack hanging from the empty shelves (shelves are empty here for a while prior to the introduction of VAT which is happening on 1st Feb – the shelves are stripped bare as if a hurricane was approaching and are not being restocked....). So I grabbed the bag before anyone else and settled down for a night in front of the telly. I caught up through the miracle of Slingbox with the four episodes of the X Factor which happened after I had left. I had managed to avoid hearing the result so far so this Sat saw me happily watching Joe win, munching liquorice allsorts and washing them all down with a local rum punch. Perfect!
Now I can look forward to another tropical night where I can catch up with “Strictly” – just hope I can find licorice allsorts wherever that may be.....

Antless in Grenada (26 - 31 January 2010)

A sad farewell this morning as I leave Ant at the Miami hotel to go to the Airport – he to go home later (after shopping.....) and me off on my solo travels. I had to take a flight to Antigua to pick up a BA flight to get to Grenada. Long story short, the immigration procedures took so long, even though I was just in transit, that they were calling my name urgently – I had to be escorted through security and then bundled into a golf cart for my solo trip across the tarmac. I felt like a celeb and I guess not too many people get an almost full British Airways 777 held up for them to waft into their 1D seat.....

Grenada seems a sleepy but relaxed place and Grand Anse beach, said to be the best on the island, is just a few minutes’ walk from the Siesta Hotel where I am staying. It’s a nice little hotel with a pool and the rooms set up the hillside with a view of the sea in the distance. A few walks along the beach which is a crescent of pale sand and blue sea about three miles long with St George’s at the far end. But the beach seems really empty – this should be the high season here but it seems they are suffering from the lack of tourists too.

St Georges’, the capital, is a charming ramshackle and workaday place built on the steep hillsides that rise up from the series of deep blue safe harbours. Pastel coloured houses sit higgledepiggledy on the slopes and make a nice picture. The harbours are deep enough to take the huge cruise ships that dock here regularly sometimes five at a time disgorging up to 12000 passengers - no idea where they all fit – the day I was there the narrow streets were clogged with traffic and stalls and markets and people and there wasn’t a cruise ship to be seen.

But when they are in and you see them from the beach as you look towards St George’s they make the small town look like Legoland, It’s Independence Day here next week so the whole town is festooned with flags and bunting in red, yellow and green, the national flag colours and looks really “en fete”. There was also a selection of all sorts of clothes in the same bright colours but I felt that that may be taking nationalism a step too far, and they never were my colours anyway!

I have met some great people here, Liz and Gary who run a grass (just to be clear that's grass for horse feeding and bedding, not ganja that you get offered here....!) business near Stratford. They were taking part in the prestigious SIBT Billfishing tournament here and Liz, even though a first timer, managed to carry off the first prize for best lady angler. And Sue and Taffy who run the hotel restaurant, “Taffy’s”. They run it together with their 16 year old locally adopted son Leslie, who they adopted when he was four years old. He is now a grown up lad of 16. It’s good to meet people who do such good things and really interesting to hear about hurricane Ivan in 2004 which left 90% of the island’s houses in a shambles and devastated the nutmeg and spice business. If you’re reading this Leslie, good luck with the Royal Navy application. We all spent a few evenings together over beers and rum punches and the excellent food that came out of Taffy’s kitchen. If you’re in Grenada, it’s worth a visit!

There’s money here – the billfish tournament has brought flash fishing boats in from all over the world, and sitting on the harbour yesterday I saw even more flash yachts arriving for the regatta that’s due to start here soon. As a person who’s not that keen on boats, perhaps I am in the wrong place!

I haven’t quite yet managed to get away from the collectivo’s that we used all over the place in central America. The same system works here and for about 50p you can get most places on the island – the only thing different is that the door boy is shouting “St Georges” rather than “Dulce”. Oh and they can’t quite pack as many people in here although they try! The average Grenadian is obviously much better fed – each one is probably equivalent to two of the little Guatemalan’s on the collectivo’s there!

But apart from the collectivo’s, Grenada is all very familiar – solid British plugs and sockets that don’t spark alarmingly when you put them in the wall and of course Liz on the banknotes and coins. And driving on the right, i.e. the correct, i.e. the left side of the road! But it does have a very un UK laid back vibe – the most alarming of which is the driving – and the fact that there are no drink driving laws so to go out at night (which I don’t) you need to take great care on the narrow strips of “pavement” on the roads.....

The Central America "Hot and Cold" List (December 2009 - January 2010)

OK it doesn’t have quite the same cachet as the Conde Nast Hotlist, but you never know it could just start a trend! Here are some of our top and bottom picks from our Central America travels:


Favourite country ranking


Guatemala

Belize
Mexico
US



Cheapest hotels


Paraiso Tropical – Rio Dulce

Finca Ixobel – Poptun
Casa de Don David – El Remate






Best Festivals


Local Saint - San Juan de Chamula

Black Christ Festival – Flores

Diablo Festival – Antigua de Guatemala

San Thomas – Chichicastanengo






Best Meals


Hannah’s – San Ignacio
Rose y Chocolate – Merida
9 One 5 – Key West
Fran’s Beach – Caye Caulker

Syd’s – Caye Caulker






Worst meals


Gill – queso releno – Piste (perhaps it would have tasted better if I was...)

Ant – Havana Cafe Merida, Xmas night






Worst Pizza’s (and we did eat quite a few...)


Greedy Too’s – San Ignacio

Panajachel Pizza’s






Worst bathrooms


Finca Ixobel, Poptun (probably the bare electric wires coming out of the shower rose that swung this one...)
Gite del Sol, San Cristobal de Las Casas
Belcove Hotel, Belize






Best Place to stay – a hard one, we stayed in so many unusual places!


Gill – Hotel de la Luz – Merida – quirky and a good bathroom!

Ant – Casa del Mundo, Lake Aititlan, purely for the spectacular setting






Best days – another tough one, every day was fab!


Ant – ATM cave, Tikal, Agua Caliente, day with Juni and the rays

Gill – Day on Lake Aititlan, Tikal, Chichicastanengo






Best Journeys


Rio Dulce to Livingston – an amazing river trip
Panajachel to San Cristobal de Las Casa’s – across the border through a mad market with our backpacks and a really long journey in two minibuses – but fun!
Belize City to Caye Caulker – riding the waves in a fast, open, motorboat clutching our lifejackets
Chetumal to Belize City – crossing yet another land border and then roaring along country roads in the pitch dark on a dubious bus
Antigua to Chichicastanengo to Panajachel - for the spectacular scenery along winding hillside roads


And Ant’s favourite, the overnight bumpy bus ride from Palenque to Merida that he slept through completely!






And the best traveller’s tip of all – make sure you take lots of “Icebreaker” clothes, pure merino wool, they keep you warm, they keep you cool and all you need to do to “launder “ them is to let them freshen up on a hanger overnight!