phew, after a very brief period of notdrinkingnotsmoking verging on purity it has all been chucked out the window for a last ditched attempt at hedonism. and boy, they know how to do that round here!
welcomed
back up the front
with my reddtich crew.
and the family has expanded....
loads of new faces, old faces, slightly wiser faces.
it has been a little crazy to be back somewhere that i'd never thought i'd be but crazy mad lovely all at the same time. aiie.
so, quite predictably, i'm making this a rather quick entry 'cos i'm off out, down the pub....
xxx
b
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
draw this
as we were out walking the other day we passed a window without anything for sale that still managed to catch our eye. the window was filled with portraits: sketched printed glued in pencil in ink in coal. as part of the nation wide thingo (campaign?) 'the big draw' various schools and community colleges around the place are opening up and holding free workshops. so pascal and i passed an interesting afternoon covering ourselves and various bits of paper with charcoal ink glue and arrived at the end with some very interesting portraits of one another and the conclusion that we are very different. pascal preferred to use very simple but in fact very elaborate techniques: single lines, very suggestive. a minimalist. me (and i don't think you'll be surprised at this), i wanted a go at everything. mixing up the medias; not at all suggestive, totally apparent, but a tiny bit secretive at the same time. lets face it, you all knew it: a maximist.
anyway, we were allowed to keep everything we made bar one portrait. the portrait we left behind will be displayed in an exhibition next week (so if you're anywhere round georges rd on the way between elephant and castle and blackfriars, london, look out for the morley gallery).
it was kinda nice to see how everyone sees everybody completely differently despite the fact we've all got 2 eyes.
xxxx
b
anyway, we were allowed to keep everything we made bar one portrait. the portrait we left behind will be displayed in an exhibition next week (so if you're anywhere round georges rd on the way between elephant and castle and blackfriars, london, look out for the morley gallery).
it was kinda nice to see how everyone sees everybody completely differently despite the fact we've all got 2 eyes.
xxxx
b
nitecar
i know this picture is already in the collage but i like it so much i thought it deserved a biggerbetterfaster go at it. 
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
paris/london
so, one minute we're in paris the next we're in london.
not quite next minute (try24hrs later). bizarre.
the weekend past we wandered into the city to do a little shopping. absolute chaos: full tilt consumerism with wall to wall people grabbing things to buy like it was the end of the world. crazy. after all that we needed to escape to a park to try and capture the last of autumn's sweet sunshine. we headed to le jardin du luxembourg where we found the non-shopping half of paris doing the same thing: enjoying the subtlety of autumn. there were people playing chess, people playing cards, kids on ponies, a science fair, people playing pétanque. it was just like one of manet's paintings (but his was at les tuileries, and everyone was wearing tophats)..... we kicked leaves, looked over shoulders at games of chess and cards and tried to guess which people has recently left the science fair.
zip, cross country, cross former battle-fields, past wargraves and mining towns. onto a ferry and plonk, old blighty. we parked up road-side to sleep the rest of the night before driving north to london in the morning, stopping briefly in canterbury for an english breakfast enroute.
and london; big, busy, double-decker buses, tubish underground, not a sign of the wombles.
popped into the kiwi embassy for a quick kiaora and passport exchange (surpirsingly bloke there didn't comment on appauling photos), sampled some delicacies from home like buzzbars and peanut slabs (mmmmmmm) before wandering off to do almost exactly the same thing, but in london. look in on shop windows (carnaby st, regent st, oxford circus)- monopoly anyone?
but then we saw the national gallery was holding a quick exhibition: 'from manet to picasso' and there's nothing like being impressed by impressionism while you're already being overwhelmed.
london, eh? showing us scenes of paris. which is busy sampling bits of london.
not quite next minute (try24hrs later). bizarre.
the weekend past we wandered into the city to do a little shopping. absolute chaos: full tilt consumerism with wall to wall people grabbing things to buy like it was the end of the world. crazy. after all that we needed to escape to a park to try and capture the last of autumn's sweet sunshine. we headed to le jardin du luxembourg where we found the non-shopping half of paris doing the same thing: enjoying the subtlety of autumn. there were people playing chess, people playing cards, kids on ponies, a science fair, people playing pétanque. it was just like one of manet's paintings (but his was at les tuileries, and everyone was wearing tophats)..... we kicked leaves, looked over shoulders at games of chess and cards and tried to guess which people has recently left the science fair.
zip, cross country, cross former battle-fields, past wargraves and mining towns. onto a ferry and plonk, old blighty. we parked up road-side to sleep the rest of the night before driving north to london in the morning, stopping briefly in canterbury for an english breakfast enroute.
and london; big, busy, double-decker buses, tubish underground, not a sign of the wombles.
popped into the kiwi embassy for a quick kiaora and passport exchange (surpirsingly bloke there didn't comment on appauling photos), sampled some delicacies from home like buzzbars and peanut slabs (mmmmmmm) before wandering off to do almost exactly the same thing, but in london. look in on shop windows (carnaby st, regent st, oxford circus)- monopoly anyone?
but then we saw the national gallery was holding a quick exhibition: 'from manet to picasso' and there's nothing like being impressed by impressionism while you're already being overwhelmed.
london, eh? showing us scenes of paris. which is busy sampling bits of london.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
paris par nuit
tuesday night, on the town, zooming round.and even that it was midnight, even that it was a tuesday they were all still at it. sipping coffees, leaning on posts, cycling somewhere, driving somewhere, consuming, being consumed by the fantastic city.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
paris, non smoking
2 weeks into the city of couture, culture and cuisine and i think that we've managed to sample a little of everything.
thanks to the generosity of the french government and our status of being 'poor' (and a piece of paper to prove it) we are able to visit many galleries, museums and swimming pools (amongst other things) for free. very nice. although at the centre pompidou i'm sure the patrons spent as much time looking at one another as at the exhibition itself!
we were very lucky to visit the french president's latest gift to the republic: the branly. the design of the building is rather controversial (for those who are the conservative/bourgeoise type): incredibly modern earthy coloured 'boxes' stacked, interspersed with glass walls (which are shaded by what i imagine would be sun-reactive metal venetian-like blinds) and a wall clothed in a great moist plant-carpet. the landscape design is rich, again providing contrasts between texture, colour and the sculptural aspects of both the hard and soft materials. the branly is plopped right smack in the middle of 7th arrondisement: to me and you that means the eiffel tower is right behind it and the rather affluent art-nouveau neighbourhood en-route to invalides is on the other side.
and all that before you get inside the museum!!
the museum houses a vast collection of indigenous art from around the world. most of the art was collected during the period of collonisation, which provokes a thought or two; but mostly i just appreciated the simple and equally elaborate beauty of everything there from musical instruments to rich tapestries, carvings, jewellery and beautifully embroidered clothes. monuments to gods and talismen for men.
and then we went shopping. or at least window shopping (the french call it lecher les vitrines which means window licking!!). my lord. it's a jolly good thing that the government are sponsoring us!!!
however, we need something to ocupy us as we're now up to day 5 in the non-smoking marathon. (although i think i am somewhat more occupied than pascal in the shopping bonanza).
yes, i am a non- smoker!!!!!
this is how much of a non-smoker i am: today we went for a drive around paris (on the perepherique: mental ring road; up the champs elysees: mental shopping district (no window licking from the driving seat, damn!!); round the arch de triomphe: super mental roundabout where there are no rules other than don't hit anyone, which i only just managed to not break!!!) without once fancying a cigarette!!! or killing anyone (nearly killing people doesn't count).
so, the cuisine bit. i guess that ties in with the non- smoking bit as i am currently eating a rather large and varied selection of almost everything (except animals). i hope to have that in check before things get out of hand (thanks again, monsieur le president for the free visits to the swimming pool). i can now thoroughly recommend at least 200 types of cheese, especially the goatish varieties (vegan? abandoned that planet as soon as i became french!!), which can always be appreciated with a glass of wine. :)
la vie est belle, n'est-ce pas?
i'm more than happy. even though the sun drags itself across the sky now in a sulkish fashion indicating that autumn is here; the trees flashing red warning us that winter is on its way. i'm a little scared of winter, but i can't wait till spring!!! loving the french people, life and culture.
xxxxxxxx
b
oh, ps, about to hit the road again in a coupla days, heading towards ol' blighty.
thanks to the generosity of the french government and our status of being 'poor' (and a piece of paper to prove it) we are able to visit many galleries, museums and swimming pools (amongst other things) for free. very nice. although at the centre pompidou i'm sure the patrons spent as much time looking at one another as at the exhibition itself!
we were very lucky to visit the french president's latest gift to the republic: the branly. the design of the building is rather controversial (for those who are the conservative/bourgeoise type): incredibly modern earthy coloured 'boxes' stacked, interspersed with glass walls (which are shaded by what i imagine would be sun-reactive metal venetian-like blinds) and a wall clothed in a great moist plant-carpet. the landscape design is rich, again providing contrasts between texture, colour and the sculptural aspects of both the hard and soft materials. the branly is plopped right smack in the middle of 7th arrondisement: to me and you that means the eiffel tower is right behind it and the rather affluent art-nouveau neighbourhood en-route to invalides is on the other side.
and all that before you get inside the museum!!
the museum houses a vast collection of indigenous art from around the world. most of the art was collected during the period of collonisation, which provokes a thought or two; but mostly i just appreciated the simple and equally elaborate beauty of everything there from musical instruments to rich tapestries, carvings, jewellery and beautifully embroidered clothes. monuments to gods and talismen for men.
and then we went shopping. or at least window shopping (the french call it lecher les vitrines which means window licking!!). my lord. it's a jolly good thing that the government are sponsoring us!!!
however, we need something to ocupy us as we're now up to day 5 in the non-smoking marathon. (although i think i am somewhat more occupied than pascal in the shopping bonanza).
yes, i am a non- smoker!!!!!
this is how much of a non-smoker i am: today we went for a drive around paris (on the perepherique: mental ring road; up the champs elysees: mental shopping district (no window licking from the driving seat, damn!!); round the arch de triomphe: super mental roundabout where there are no rules other than don't hit anyone, which i only just managed to not break!!!) without once fancying a cigarette!!! or killing anyone (nearly killing people doesn't count).
so, the cuisine bit. i guess that ties in with the non- smoking bit as i am currently eating a rather large and varied selection of almost everything (except animals). i hope to have that in check before things get out of hand (thanks again, monsieur le president for the free visits to the swimming pool). i can now thoroughly recommend at least 200 types of cheese, especially the goatish varieties (vegan? abandoned that planet as soon as i became french!!), which can always be appreciated with a glass of wine. :)
la vie est belle, n'est-ce pas?
i'm more than happy. even though the sun drags itself across the sky now in a sulkish fashion indicating that autumn is here; the trees flashing red warning us that winter is on its way. i'm a little scared of winter, but i can't wait till spring!!! loving the french people, life and culture.
xxxxxxxx
b
oh, ps, about to hit the road again in a coupla days, heading towards ol' blighty.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
tour de france, suite
bonjour a tous,
je pense que vous aurez tous compris, petits et grands, francophones, francophiles et autres, le billet que rebecca vient d ecrire (si vous n avez pas tout saisi, relisez avec un accent neozelandais et vous comprendrez tout par magie). je note juste a l attention des pointilleux qu il fallait remplacer "trompes" par "erreurs", "ray" par "re", "marron" par "marrant", "freimont" par "fouesnant".
nous sommes donc finalement arrives a paris par la porte de st cloud apres une saison de travail au cap ferret et un joli petit tour de la cote ouest de notre charmant pays. merci encore a tous ceux qui ont pris le temps de nous recevoir, d ecouter nos histoires, de nous servir copieusement de boissons alcoolisees aperitives, accompagnatives et digestives, et surtout de regarder (avec un interet parfois etonnant) les moultes photos que nous avons prises au cours de l annee de voyage (heureusement pour vous, on avait pas mal trie...).
ici a paris, on s installe quelque peu, histoire de recharger les batteries et de visiter quelques musees, prendre des expressos sur les terrasses abritees, s inscrire aux assedics et autres demarchages administratifs pour la forme et pourquoi pas faire un peu de sport, apres tout on aura le temps d aller a la piscine, il parait que celle de la butte aux cailles est sympa.
pour ceusses qui sont dans le coin et qui lisent ce blog attentivement, n hesitez pas a nous appeler!!!
p
je pense que vous aurez tous compris, petits et grands, francophones, francophiles et autres, le billet que rebecca vient d ecrire (si vous n avez pas tout saisi, relisez avec un accent neozelandais et vous comprendrez tout par magie). je note juste a l attention des pointilleux qu il fallait remplacer "trompes" par "erreurs", "ray" par "re", "marron" par "marrant", "freimont" par "fouesnant".
nous sommes donc finalement arrives a paris par la porte de st cloud apres une saison de travail au cap ferret et un joli petit tour de la cote ouest de notre charmant pays. merci encore a tous ceux qui ont pris le temps de nous recevoir, d ecouter nos histoires, de nous servir copieusement de boissons alcoolisees aperitives, accompagnatives et digestives, et surtout de regarder (avec un interet parfois etonnant) les moultes photos que nous avons prises au cours de l annee de voyage (heureusement pour vous, on avait pas mal trie...).
ici a paris, on s installe quelque peu, histoire de recharger les batteries et de visiter quelques musees, prendre des expressos sur les terrasses abritees, s inscrire aux assedics et autres demarchages administratifs pour la forme et pourquoi pas faire un peu de sport, apres tout on aura le temps d aller a la piscine, il parait que celle de la butte aux cailles est sympa.
pour ceusses qui sont dans le coin et qui lisent ce blog attentivement, n hesitez pas a nous appeler!!!
p
tour de france
bon jour tout le monde!!!
je vais essayer ecrire mon premiere 'blog' en francais.... svp m'excuser pour toutes les trompes....
bon.
on a partie de le cap le 1 septembre pour l'ile de ray ( pres de la rochelle) ou on a fait le camping; l'ile, apres le cap, etait tres marron. septembre est le mois de retrete (du monde qui a fini travailler) donc etait plein des campingcars et cheveaux gris..... les trucs modes nullepart.
on a continue par la rochelle ou on a reste qq jours chez maurice et collette. ils ont un tres jolie maison et jardin la bas avec beaucoup des oeseaux et une piscine du ciel. (le debut de septembre etait presque comme juillet ici, il faut que on prends les siestes chaque jour!)
j'ai decide apres ca que je voudrais etre un retrete aussi (meme que j'ai travailler soulement 2 mois cette annee!!). merci beaucoup a maurice et collette pour tous!!
au nord (un peu) on a reste a cote de le venice vert ou on a loue un canoe (presque un petit disastre.... on ne sera pas dans le prochain equipe olypique) avant reste chez famille bouffandeau (salut!! et merci encore xx) au pommerie (pres du cholet).
encore, plus de famille, la grandemere de pascal, denise (bon jour) et la tante et l'oncle et famille au cholet et apres tous les repas delicieux je ne peut pas imaginer pourquoi je ne suis pas enorme maintenant. oh la la!!! la vie francaise!!! je l'aime beaucoup!!!
on a passe par nantes (je crois que on est presque a bretagne maintenant?) ou on a visite sandrine, julian et petit ewan (un fan des all blacks, meme que il a seulement 1 ans ;) ). merci beaucoup, meme que j'avais mal au cheveaux prochaine jour...
finalement, a britagne ou on a trouve les menhirs, megolithes et toutes les choses prehistorique et du cidre et crepes aussie. les bretones sont fous (j'ai lu asterix quand j'etais petite!!). c'est tres jolie labas, et je crois (a ce moment) que c'est le region plus belle du pay. un autre tante et oncle de pascal habitent a freimont (je sais que ce n'est pas ecrit comme ca, mais si tu as besoin le trouver c'est a cote de quimper) quand on etait labas c'etait l'anniversaire de carole et on a eu la chance a celebrer avec la reste de la famille.
(merci beaucoup jeanpaul et carole xxxx)
on a reste chez jeanpaul et carole (ils ont un apartement a quimper) pour qq jours pendant on a fait les petits tour de britagne par voiture (le temp, meme que il a fait beau, on avait du vent aussi).... les petit villes du moyenages, fortifie avec les eglise enormes et les chateaux du les histoires des fees. magnifique.
et avant tu peut dire 'bon jour, ca va?' on etait sur le perefirique (??? la route ronde environ paris) dans la pluie avec du monde. bien venue a paris!!!
wow, that was really hard...
don't think i;ve ever written anything so long in french ever.
i was going to translate it but i don't think the language i use is that complicated, so if the google translation thingo doesn't work (and i'm sure it will) you'll have to use your imagination and i promise i'll write more, in english, next time.
xxxxxx
b
je vais essayer ecrire mon premiere 'blog' en francais.... svp m'excuser pour toutes les trompes....
bon.
on a partie de le cap le 1 septembre pour l'ile de ray ( pres de la rochelle) ou on a fait le camping; l'ile, apres le cap, etait tres marron. septembre est le mois de retrete (du monde qui a fini travailler) donc etait plein des campingcars et cheveaux gris..... les trucs modes nullepart.
on a continue par la rochelle ou on a reste qq jours chez maurice et collette. ils ont un tres jolie maison et jardin la bas avec beaucoup des oeseaux et une piscine du ciel. (le debut de septembre etait presque comme juillet ici, il faut que on prends les siestes chaque jour!)
j'ai decide apres ca que je voudrais etre un retrete aussi (meme que j'ai travailler soulement 2 mois cette annee!!). merci beaucoup a maurice et collette pour tous!!
au nord (un peu) on a reste a cote de le venice vert ou on a loue un canoe (presque un petit disastre.... on ne sera pas dans le prochain equipe olypique) avant reste chez famille bouffandeau (salut!! et merci encore xx) au pommerie (pres du cholet).
encore, plus de famille, la grandemere de pascal, denise (bon jour) et la tante et l'oncle et famille au cholet et apres tous les repas delicieux je ne peut pas imaginer pourquoi je ne suis pas enorme maintenant. oh la la!!! la vie francaise!!! je l'aime beaucoup!!!
on a passe par nantes (je crois que on est presque a bretagne maintenant?) ou on a visite sandrine, julian et petit ewan (un fan des all blacks, meme que il a seulement 1 ans ;) ). merci beaucoup, meme que j'avais mal au cheveaux prochaine jour...
finalement, a britagne ou on a trouve les menhirs, megolithes et toutes les choses prehistorique et du cidre et crepes aussie. les bretones sont fous (j'ai lu asterix quand j'etais petite!!). c'est tres jolie labas, et je crois (a ce moment) que c'est le region plus belle du pay. un autre tante et oncle de pascal habitent a freimont (je sais que ce n'est pas ecrit comme ca, mais si tu as besoin le trouver c'est a cote de quimper) quand on etait labas c'etait l'anniversaire de carole et on a eu la chance a celebrer avec la reste de la famille.
(merci beaucoup jeanpaul et carole xxxx)
on a reste chez jeanpaul et carole (ils ont un apartement a quimper) pour qq jours pendant on a fait les petits tour de britagne par voiture (le temp, meme que il a fait beau, on avait du vent aussi).... les petit villes du moyenages, fortifie avec les eglise enormes et les chateaux du les histoires des fees. magnifique.
et avant tu peut dire 'bon jour, ca va?' on etait sur le perefirique (??? la route ronde environ paris) dans la pluie avec du monde. bien venue a paris!!!
wow, that was really hard...
don't think i;ve ever written anything so long in french ever.
i was going to translate it but i don't think the language i use is that complicated, so if the google translation thingo doesn't work (and i'm sure it will) you'll have to use your imagination and i promise i'll write more, in english, next time.
xxxxxx
b
Saturday, August 26, 2006
allez les blacks!!!!
blimey, it's been about 10 years since i last wrote and i can't even remember what i wrote or where i was so it's kinda difficult to comment on the inbetween.... so i'll go in reverse order:
i've just finished watching the all blacks totally cream south africa in a very scrappy match (t'was the springboks, messy bastards). i watched it with pascal and an audience of french gentlemen; the game was commentated by two french blokes which was a source of constant amusement for me listening to them pronounce the names of the kiwi players. it's always nice to watch the home team, even better when they kick arse!!
the weeks previous to that has seen us both working like slaves in a town called crap ferret on the atlantic coast in the south of france. while the location itself is stunning working every day for 2 months and sharing a house with the people you work with isn't ideal. n'er mind. it's nearly the end of the season and time again for us to hit the road.
the pair of us work for 'emma photo', pascal works fulltime as a photographer and i teeter between being lab assistant (developing films) and surf photographer (standing almost waist deep in the sea trying to take pictures of kids having surf lessons). while neither of us will become millionaires doing it we've earnt enough to buy a car (maggy, peugoet 205, extraodinaire) and to keep us in food, petrol and wine before the next job.
we started taking some surf lessons last week. i should have done it earlier then i would have appreciated the sometimes dire expressions on the kids faces i try to photograph.... let's just say that i don't think pascal and i will be entering in the surf competition at the end of the week.
oh, right, i just looked at the blog and noticed last entry was from the other hemisphere. oops. don't know where the others went.
so. we're in france.
we spent a very brief 3 months hopping, bumping, walking and wobbling our way through south america. the original plan was to hitchike to colombia to catch a cheap plan to europe but you know how we are about plans. we nearly made it but at the last minute chickened out of going to colombia for fear of being kidnapped/blown-up (or both). and i'm not even exagerating. colombia has a very long history of guerilla warfare and not too long ago foreigners became the target, kidnapped and held to ransom (or simply escorted to the cashmachine). about 2 years ago they entered the guiness book of world records for the amount of kidnappings in one year (5000+). fortunately for colombian tourism, they've recently returned to the traditional methods of funding guerilla activity by cultivating/selling coca. however, there's still a few living out in the sticks who haven't got wind of the new trend and every so often snatch someone...
i am serious.
the day before we were going to go there colombia experienced its most peaceful, troublefree elcetions in more than 10 years with only 12 people being murdered during the polls.
right, so we didn't go.
we hung our in ecuador (which was surprisingly cold and rainy) for a bit. trekked a wee bit in peru. looked at llamas in bolivia and drunk far too much coffee and wine in argentina. as you do.
we hit the road again friday (hoping) on our little tour de france. obviously we shall be visiting the region's vinyards en route and camping like peasants. i shall try to give you an honest review (of both) more frequently.
xxxxxxxxx
b
oh, ps, i'm nearly french!!! got a work contract listing my nationality as french and am currently 'signing on' as well!!! never mind being able to order myself a coffee!!
x
i've just finished watching the all blacks totally cream south africa in a very scrappy match (t'was the springboks, messy bastards). i watched it with pascal and an audience of french gentlemen; the game was commentated by two french blokes which was a source of constant amusement for me listening to them pronounce the names of the kiwi players. it's always nice to watch the home team, even better when they kick arse!!
the weeks previous to that has seen us both working like slaves in a town called crap ferret on the atlantic coast in the south of france. while the location itself is stunning working every day for 2 months and sharing a house with the people you work with isn't ideal. n'er mind. it's nearly the end of the season and time again for us to hit the road.
the pair of us work for 'emma photo', pascal works fulltime as a photographer and i teeter between being lab assistant (developing films) and surf photographer (standing almost waist deep in the sea trying to take pictures of kids having surf lessons). while neither of us will become millionaires doing it we've earnt enough to buy a car (maggy, peugoet 205, extraodinaire) and to keep us in food, petrol and wine before the next job.
we started taking some surf lessons last week. i should have done it earlier then i would have appreciated the sometimes dire expressions on the kids faces i try to photograph.... let's just say that i don't think pascal and i will be entering in the surf competition at the end of the week.
oh, right, i just looked at the blog and noticed last entry was from the other hemisphere. oops. don't know where the others went.
so. we're in france.
we spent a very brief 3 months hopping, bumping, walking and wobbling our way through south america. the original plan was to hitchike to colombia to catch a cheap plan to europe but you know how we are about plans. we nearly made it but at the last minute chickened out of going to colombia for fear of being kidnapped/blown-up (or both). and i'm not even exagerating. colombia has a very long history of guerilla warfare and not too long ago foreigners became the target, kidnapped and held to ransom (or simply escorted to the cashmachine). about 2 years ago they entered the guiness book of world records for the amount of kidnappings in one year (5000+). fortunately for colombian tourism, they've recently returned to the traditional methods of funding guerilla activity by cultivating/selling coca. however, there's still a few living out in the sticks who haven't got wind of the new trend and every so often snatch someone...
i am serious.
the day before we were going to go there colombia experienced its most peaceful, troublefree elcetions in more than 10 years with only 12 people being murdered during the polls.
right, so we didn't go.
we hung our in ecuador (which was surprisingly cold and rainy) for a bit. trekked a wee bit in peru. looked at llamas in bolivia and drunk far too much coffee and wine in argentina. as you do.
we hit the road again friday (hoping) on our little tour de france. obviously we shall be visiting the region's vinyards en route and camping like peasants. i shall try to give you an honest review (of both) more frequently.
xxxxxxxxx
b
oh, ps, i'm nearly french!!! got a work contract listing my nationality as french and am currently 'signing on' as well!!! never mind being able to order myself a coffee!!
x
Monday, June 05, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
heureuse et heureux
pascal et moi au salar uyuni, bolivie
. altitude: 4800m et trop tot le matin..... 
. altitude: 4800m et trop tot le matin.....
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
ché chavez
he's the man of the moment, the man to watch: hugo chavez, venezuelan presidente and all round south american hero....
this man seems to be achieving in these early parts of the 21st century what bolivar and guevara tried before and failed in. the man's got oil money, the man's got balls. he's sticking his finger square up the US nostril, advising fellow south america nations how to recaim their precious oil fields and thus keep the profits and power. he's buying arms off the russians.he's having cups of tea with the libyans. he's selling subsidised oil to poor neighbourhoods in the US and making similar offers round loondon...
he's all over the news, signing trade agreements with bolivia, oil agreements with ecuador, buying argentina's foreign debt...
of course, the united states has "branded the man a demagogue and is trying to destablise the region"
and as with all good leaders, the man spent 2 years in prison (before being pardoned) and has fought off numerous protests and an attempted coup...
keep your eyes peeled. i'm kinda hoping he's going to continue to be the thorn in the bush administration's side, the bad smell that won't go away and maybe might be able to change something, something big, in america.
this man seems to be achieving in these early parts of the 21st century what bolivar and guevara tried before and failed in. the man's got oil money, the man's got balls. he's sticking his finger square up the US nostril, advising fellow south america nations how to recaim their precious oil fields and thus keep the profits and power. he's buying arms off the russians.he's having cups of tea with the libyans. he's selling subsidised oil to poor neighbourhoods in the US and making similar offers round loondon...
he's all over the news, signing trade agreements with bolivia, oil agreements with ecuador, buying argentina's foreign debt...
of course, the united states has "branded the man a demagogue and is trying to destablise the region"
and as with all good leaders, the man spent 2 years in prison (before being pardoned) and has fought off numerous protests and an attempted coup...
keep your eyes peeled. i'm kinda hoping he's going to continue to be the thorn in the bush administration's side, the bad smell that won't go away and maybe might be able to change something, something big, in america.
arriba y bajo
hola amigos,
it's been an age since i wrote last; the road has slid past with remarkable ease....
not long after i wrote last we arrived in Cusco, Peru: Incan empire capital city and tourist hub. Not surprisingly, the town itself is beautiful, nestled in a basin beneath the hills. Nearby treats include the Sacred Valley, Machu Pichu and Choquequeroa: ancient Incan ruins. machu pichu, of course, is the big draw card. but with nearly 1000 visitors daily it is no longer the Inca trail shrouded in mysticism and ancient wisdom, it is the gringo trail, stamped squarely with dollar signs.
so, being as we fancy ourselves as explorers we decided to head to the lesser known Choquequeroa. more recently rediscovered and restored (seriously funded by the french government: merci beaucoup!) and substantially more difficult to get to.... we bused from cusco to a small (3 house) town and caught a collectivo (shared taxi) down to cachora. 'civilisation' as we know and love it, is fast approaching: the dust road is being improved and concreted in places and the trail out the other side of town, towards the valley and ruins, is being widened into a road.
we opted against hiring a horse, deciding to carry our food and shelter on the trail that went: 32km, 1400m down, 1500m up.... very steep. very. hot and dry. mad insects that bit every bit of you... bleeding incas!!
all moaning aside, the effort was well rewarded by one of the most amazing historical sites i have ever visited. on top of a 3100m hill overlooking a steep, green and well cultivated valley, cheered on by snow capped mountains. all to ourselves.
after the punishment of the previous coupla days arriba y bajo (up and down) we knew when to draw the line and get ourselves a horse. the journey back to cachora was easy by comparison!
and back on the road again, from the relatively isolated and unpopulated mountainside to the hustle and bustle of lima, capital city... diesel stink and bouncing colonial vibrancy. movies, bars, cafes. caught between a rock and a hard place me, i love them both!!
nothing else terribly memorable to report about peru; we zipped up the coast on a series of overnight buses and crossed the border into steamy ecuador, banana capital of the world and producer of panama hats....
as always, photos to follow!
xxxxx
b
it's been an age since i wrote last; the road has slid past with remarkable ease....
not long after i wrote last we arrived in Cusco, Peru: Incan empire capital city and tourist hub. Not surprisingly, the town itself is beautiful, nestled in a basin beneath the hills. Nearby treats include the Sacred Valley, Machu Pichu and Choquequeroa: ancient Incan ruins. machu pichu, of course, is the big draw card. but with nearly 1000 visitors daily it is no longer the Inca trail shrouded in mysticism and ancient wisdom, it is the gringo trail, stamped squarely with dollar signs.
so, being as we fancy ourselves as explorers we decided to head to the lesser known Choquequeroa. more recently rediscovered and restored (seriously funded by the french government: merci beaucoup!) and substantially more difficult to get to.... we bused from cusco to a small (3 house) town and caught a collectivo (shared taxi) down to cachora. 'civilisation' as we know and love it, is fast approaching: the dust road is being improved and concreted in places and the trail out the other side of town, towards the valley and ruins, is being widened into a road.
we opted against hiring a horse, deciding to carry our food and shelter on the trail that went: 32km, 1400m down, 1500m up.... very steep. very. hot and dry. mad insects that bit every bit of you... bleeding incas!!
all moaning aside, the effort was well rewarded by one of the most amazing historical sites i have ever visited. on top of a 3100m hill overlooking a steep, green and well cultivated valley, cheered on by snow capped mountains. all to ourselves.
after the punishment of the previous coupla days arriba y bajo (up and down) we knew when to draw the line and get ourselves a horse. the journey back to cachora was easy by comparison!
and back on the road again, from the relatively isolated and unpopulated mountainside to the hustle and bustle of lima, capital city... diesel stink and bouncing colonial vibrancy. movies, bars, cafes. caught between a rock and a hard place me, i love them both!!
nothing else terribly memorable to report about peru; we zipped up the coast on a series of overnight buses and crossed the border into steamy ecuador, banana capital of the world and producer of panama hats....
as always, photos to follow!
xxxxx
b
Thursday, May 04, 2006
titicaca? sans blague
ca faisait une paye que je ne vous avais pas donne de nouvelles, mes tres chers, excusez moi. je vous ecris de copacabana, en bolivie, pas au bresil. c est pres du lac titicaca, ce fameux lac qui nous a tant fait rigoler enfants (quoique j en vois, encore depasse la trentaine, qui se goncent...). le climat est pur, on est a 3800m d altitude, l eau est froide et les vieux sourient de leurs dents en or, ca fait belle lurette qu ils n ont plus de vraies, moi je m en suis cassee un bout en mangeant leur espece de noix dures comme l email diamant.
la bolivie, ca fait une dizaine de jours, peut etre meme une quinzaine, qu on y est, et on adore. avant ca, nous avons laisse l argentine. desillusion. notre projet de vivre au moins quelques mois a buenos aires a ete abandonne bien vite, faute de trouver un travail un poil plus qu alimentaire.alors on remonte vers le nord.
a humahuaca, nord ouest de l argentine, pour la premiere fois, on s est sentis en amerique du sud: avant c etait les villes a l air europeennes, les autobus luxueux et les gens qui vous demandent des renseignements dans la rue, incognitos on passait. des humahuaca, ca change: petites vieilles machouillant la feuille de coca, petits vieux ressemblant a guy roux qui serait reste trop longtemps a bronzer sur le banc de touche, les gamins crasseux et ebouriffes, les bebes suspendus dans le dos de leurs meres adolescentes.les routes boliviennes sont belles, grandioses; et chaque village ou on s arrete nous offre un sourire: ici, c est cette petite fille qui joue a cache cache avec nous, la, c est cette maman qui va fierement faire ses courses avec son landeau tout neuf en guise de chariot (le bebe toujours traditionnellement dans le dos).
a copacabana, c est repos (sauf aujourd hui ou on a loue un petit bateau a voile; a savoir pour la prochaine fois, le matin, ici, il n y a pas de vent ; pas loin de copacabana il y a la isla del sol, l ile ou apparemment le soleil est ne, d apres les incas ; sans vent on n a pas reussi a l atteindre , mais pour ma part je prefererais aller sur l ile ou le soleil a ete concu, c est surement plus excitant...). j ai degote un petit hotel avec vue imprenable sur le lac; de l autre cote, c est le perou. pour l instant, ca a l air nuageux par labas. on attend ici que les nuages degagent, et quand le ciel sera clair, on fera de meme.
la bolivie, ca fait une dizaine de jours, peut etre meme une quinzaine, qu on y est, et on adore. avant ca, nous avons laisse l argentine. desillusion. notre projet de vivre au moins quelques mois a buenos aires a ete abandonne bien vite, faute de trouver un travail un poil plus qu alimentaire.alors on remonte vers le nord.
a humahuaca, nord ouest de l argentine, pour la premiere fois, on s est sentis en amerique du sud: avant c etait les villes a l air europeennes, les autobus luxueux et les gens qui vous demandent des renseignements dans la rue, incognitos on passait. des humahuaca, ca change: petites vieilles machouillant la feuille de coca, petits vieux ressemblant a guy roux qui serait reste trop longtemps a bronzer sur le banc de touche, les gamins crasseux et ebouriffes, les bebes suspendus dans le dos de leurs meres adolescentes.les routes boliviennes sont belles, grandioses; et chaque village ou on s arrete nous offre un sourire: ici, c est cette petite fille qui joue a cache cache avec nous, la, c est cette maman qui va fierement faire ses courses avec son landeau tout neuf en guise de chariot (le bebe toujours traditionnellement dans le dos).
a copacabana, c est repos (sauf aujourd hui ou on a loue un petit bateau a voile; a savoir pour la prochaine fois, le matin, ici, il n y a pas de vent ; pas loin de copacabana il y a la isla del sol, l ile ou apparemment le soleil est ne, d apres les incas ; sans vent on n a pas reussi a l atteindre , mais pour ma part je prefererais aller sur l ile ou le soleil a ete concu, c est surement plus excitant...). j ai degote un petit hotel avec vue imprenable sur le lac; de l autre cote, c est le perou. pour l instant, ca a l air nuageux par labas. on attend ici que les nuages degagent, et quand le ciel sera clair, on fera de meme.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
¿como se llama este llama?
bolivia:
brown hills, red hills, yellow hills, hills on top of hills: mountians; snow capped, volcanic, smoking, non-smoking, steaming high altitude. planes: simple, blinding white salt, dusty, crusty, beige and carpeted green wet and swampy...lagos of red, lagos of green, white lagos, blue. phallic cacti standing proud above the scrub, offering green, red and pink fruits to the herder of llamas or sheep or goats. cacti hudling together, sharing the secrets of the herders, of the hills, of the planes. llamas, llamas, llamas, all called bob. villages moulded carefully from mud bricks, knocked up, knocked down, biodegrading, steel reinforced and thatched with desert fluffiness.
mineral rich with borax, sulphur, zinc, silver ore.
or metal poor bumpy roads winding, curling, clinging serpentine to the hills and striping the planes. leading to the same place while braiding and weaving inbetween; the silver mine draws silver lines across the landscape, importing fancy electricity
while most villages look on in awe.
bolivia: altiplano: SPF15 days and 3 blanket nights.
brown hills, red hills, yellow hills, hills on top of hills: mountians; snow capped, volcanic, smoking, non-smoking, steaming high altitude. planes: simple, blinding white salt, dusty, crusty, beige and carpeted green wet and swampy...lagos of red, lagos of green, white lagos, blue. phallic cacti standing proud above the scrub, offering green, red and pink fruits to the herder of llamas or sheep or goats. cacti hudling together, sharing the secrets of the herders, of the hills, of the planes. llamas, llamas, llamas, all called bob. villages moulded carefully from mud bricks, knocked up, knocked down, biodegrading, steel reinforced and thatched with desert fluffiness.
mineral rich with borax, sulphur, zinc, silver ore.
or metal poor bumpy roads winding, curling, clinging serpentine to the hills and striping the planes. leading to the same place while braiding and weaving inbetween; the silver mine draws silver lines across the landscape, importing fancy electricity
while most villages look on in awe.
bolivia: altiplano: SPF15 days and 3 blanket nights.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
poverty line
so, we arrived in b'aires, smiling, pleased to have arrived at our new home after months in getting here. i found work almost immediately: teaching english, as predicted.
so, 3 times a week i traverse the city in a sweaty train, imitating a sardine to teach english to people with prospects.
the journey takes 2 hours either way, the class lasts 3 hours... i earn 9 pesos for each hour in the class and none for the hours on the train.
the train rumbles past the highrises; it rocks past suburban slums where people live in recycled housing and recycle cardboard and paper to earn their pesos; it passes fields where people play polo and slinks into landscaped stations eloquently named 'bella vista' or 'hurlinghman'....
the contrasts are vast.
i later return to the backpackers bubble that we're staying in: a place where kids who are travelling on their parents' money and stay out drinking all night and would never know poverty if it came up and pinched their scrawny bums. the inhabitants of this mini republic spend the debt of small nations on beer and pizza weekly and think it's great that buenos aires has such an active recycling scheme.
it's been ages since i last made an entry here.
and with luck my next one won't be so grim. i guess it's just city living, noise and bustle and traffic fumes and a 12peso hangover with sleepless nights chucked in for good measure.
xxxxxxx
b
so, 3 times a week i traverse the city in a sweaty train, imitating a sardine to teach english to people with prospects.
the journey takes 2 hours either way, the class lasts 3 hours... i earn 9 pesos for each hour in the class and none for the hours on the train.
the train rumbles past the highrises; it rocks past suburban slums where people live in recycled housing and recycle cardboard and paper to earn their pesos; it passes fields where people play polo and slinks into landscaped stations eloquently named 'bella vista' or 'hurlinghman'....
the contrasts are vast.
i later return to the backpackers bubble that we're staying in: a place where kids who are travelling on their parents' money and stay out drinking all night and would never know poverty if it came up and pinched their scrawny bums. the inhabitants of this mini republic spend the debt of small nations on beer and pizza weekly and think it's great that buenos aires has such an active recycling scheme.
it's been ages since i last made an entry here.
and with luck my next one won't be so grim. i guess it's just city living, noise and bustle and traffic fumes and a 12peso hangover with sleepless nights chucked in for good measure.
xxxxxxx
b
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
paradise in the polynesian triangle
i'm sat now in santiago, chile, colder than i expected....
the last few months have seen us sunning ourselves and swimming on all sorts of lovely beaches.
the last part of our journey in new zealand was beautiful, i guess as expected. we spent an amazing 6 days trekking on the queen charlotte track in marlborough sounds; one of the craziest tramps i've ever experienced. the track is serviced by water taxis which offer luggage delivery services for an extra $10. but being as we were camping, and are gluttens for punishment, we carried our own gear and stayed in the DOC camp areas. along the track there were several other options for accomodation, ranging from our luxury blue tent overlooking empty, golden sanded beaches, to the squalid but historic furneaux lodge (hope they don't read this blog, they might sue me... far from squalid) with all sorts in between... places to buy cappucino, sip on cider and watch the rugby. craziness. and as you might expect the track was busy. people of all sorts of ages and abilities walking. but we still managed to find some beautiful spots all to ourselves and the weka...(cheeky indigenous, flightless birds that nick off with your stuff when you're not looking, and even have a go when you are!)
so, a quick, easy hitch through the north island stopping briefly in wellington, hamilton and auckland and then on to tahiti.
tahiti was nothing like we expected. after 3 months in aotearoa, where we were greated everywhere with smiles and friendly faces we were more than a little suprised to find all these people living in a postcard paradise looking so miserable, despite the 'tahitian' welcome of singing, dancing and flowers. we didn't do much, sat on the beach, swam, tried hard not to sweat too much.
another wee hop across the pacific to the other edge of polynesia and we landed in rapa nui: isla de pascua, easter island. and here we were again, welcomed, but with genuine smiles. everyone there referred to nueva zelanda by its maori name aotearoa. the language of rapa nui (other than spanish) is incredibly similar to te reo maori and i was surprised by how many words used in conversation i could understand. crazy. on leaving the airport we met a chap named tuti who invited us to come and stay at his house. it was, in fact, his 2 nephews aged 7 and 8 who made one of the highlights of my stay there. not long after we arrived we were invited on a fishing trip and it was while we were being burnt to a crisp on the back of a ute, bouncing along the coastal roads that we discovered that the weather was proper scorchio and so our plans of walking around the mostly deforested island where there were few sources of water were immediately cancelled. we did manage one overnight camping expedition though to the site of some fallen moai. it was one of the most beautiful evenings i've ever had: the full moon lighting the stones made the whole landscape somewhat surreal.
another quick leap back in time (travelling backwards, totally crazy) deposited us into the funk and grime of santiago.
hooked up on the net, pascal has put a few photos on for you to enjoy, and here's a collage i've made of us, a few of the moai and a beautiful sunset we enjoyed and some piccies taken along the queen charlotte track in lovely te wai pounamu: south island , new zealand.
xxxxb
the last few months have seen us sunning ourselves and swimming on all sorts of lovely beaches.
the last part of our journey in new zealand was beautiful, i guess as expected. we spent an amazing 6 days trekking on the queen charlotte track in marlborough sounds; one of the craziest tramps i've ever experienced. the track is serviced by water taxis which offer luggage delivery services for an extra $10. but being as we were camping, and are gluttens for punishment, we carried our own gear and stayed in the DOC camp areas. along the track there were several other options for accomodation, ranging from our luxury blue tent overlooking empty, golden sanded beaches, to the squalid but historic furneaux lodge (hope they don't read this blog, they might sue me... far from squalid) with all sorts in between... places to buy cappucino, sip on cider and watch the rugby. craziness. and as you might expect the track was busy. people of all sorts of ages and abilities walking. but we still managed to find some beautiful spots all to ourselves and the weka...(cheeky indigenous, flightless birds that nick off with your stuff when you're not looking, and even have a go when you are!)
so, a quick, easy hitch through the north island stopping briefly in wellington, hamilton and auckland and then on to tahiti.
tahiti was nothing like we expected. after 3 months in aotearoa, where we were greated everywhere with smiles and friendly faces we were more than a little suprised to find all these people living in a postcard paradise looking so miserable, despite the 'tahitian' welcome of singing, dancing and flowers. we didn't do much, sat on the beach, swam, tried hard not to sweat too much.
another wee hop across the pacific to the other edge of polynesia and we landed in rapa nui: isla de pascua, easter island. and here we were again, welcomed, but with genuine smiles. everyone there referred to nueva zelanda by its maori name aotearoa. the language of rapa nui (other than spanish) is incredibly similar to te reo maori and i was surprised by how many words used in conversation i could understand. crazy. on leaving the airport we met a chap named tuti who invited us to come and stay at his house. it was, in fact, his 2 nephews aged 7 and 8 who made one of the highlights of my stay there. not long after we arrived we were invited on a fishing trip and it was while we were being burnt to a crisp on the back of a ute, bouncing along the coastal roads that we discovered that the weather was proper scorchio and so our plans of walking around the mostly deforested island where there were few sources of water were immediately cancelled. we did manage one overnight camping expedition though to the site of some fallen moai. it was one of the most beautiful evenings i've ever had: the full moon lighting the stones made the whole landscape somewhat surreal.
another quick leap back in time (travelling backwards, totally crazy) deposited us into the funk and grime of santiago.
hooked up on the net, pascal has put a few photos on for you to enjoy, and here's a collage i've made of us, a few of the moai and a beautiful sunset we enjoyed and some piccies taken along the queen charlotte track in lovely te wai pounamu: south island , new zealand.
xxxxb
tahiti ile de paques santiago
de nouvelle zelande, nous partimes pour tahiti. deception. c est fou comme on peut sentir, des l arrivee dans un nouvel endroit, de bonnes ou de mauvaises ondes. dans ce cas-la, direct, mauvaises: quand, a la sortie de l avion, on est accueillis par des joueurs de ukulele et des vahines qui vous offrent une fleur, ca parait bien, et puis on fait la queue, et un douanier vient chercher ses amis dans la file pour les faire passer devant tout le monde; ca le fait moyen. notre premiere intention etait de dormir sur une plage (on est arrives a 20h30): deconseille par la nana de l office de tourisme, "a cause des agressions", me dit elle a mots couverts. on file donc vers le plus proche hotel, et on rencontre un francais qui vit depuis 10 ans sur l ile et d emblee me parle de la violence quotidienne, de viols, d inceste. bonjour le paradis! on change d ile le lendemain, moorea. programme accompli: sea, sex and sun. de retour sur papeete 3 jours plus tard, un local nous dit ne pas nous promener dans les rues mal eclairees; on prend le bus local pour l aeroport, et pele-mele, on voit des gamins se battre sur un parking (genre fight club), un couple se bagarrer (au passage, l homme etait a poil), et enfin, au duty free de l aeroport, la blague du jour: une femme dit a une autre:"comment c etait la journee de la femme?" (ce jour la, c etait la journee de la femme a tahiti, peut etre en france aussi, je ne sais pas); l autre dit "bof"; la premiere repond "au moins aujourd hui tu t es pas fait tabasser", et rigole.en resume, tahiti, n y allez pas! il y a plein d autres endroits sur terre aussi beaux et ou les gens sont plus sympas.
changement de decor complet sur l ile de paques: muy tranquillo!dans le temps, l ile s appelait qqch comme tea te ara, qui veut dire "centre du monde"; ils ont du faire la tronche quand les premiers europeens ont debarque; du coup, ils ont change pour "rapanui", qui veut dire grande moule ou un truc dans le genre. des braves gens, en somme.on a un peu rate les lieux touristiques de l ile, car avec le decalage horaire, on se reveillait un peu tard. et puis il fait une chaleur d enfer pdt la journee, donc marcher 6 heures pour 3 jours entre les differents sites (comme c etait prevu) n est pas vraiment une option. finalement, on s est debrouilles pour camper pres d une plate forme de moais pour la pleine lune (la photo de moi jouant aux pois (prononcez po-i-ze) a ete prise de nuit, on voit les etoiles). magique, cette nuit la!!!
depuis hier, on est a santiago, mais on va pas trainer. encore 2 nuits ici, et on file a valparaiso. retour a santiago, et on file a mendoza.au passage, comme je suis deja venu a santiago par l est il y a 2 ans, je viens de boucler mon premier tour du monde. yoohoo!
changement de decor complet sur l ile de paques: muy tranquillo!dans le temps, l ile s appelait qqch comme tea te ara, qui veut dire "centre du monde"; ils ont du faire la tronche quand les premiers europeens ont debarque; du coup, ils ont change pour "rapanui", qui veut dire grande moule ou un truc dans le genre. des braves gens, en somme.on a un peu rate les lieux touristiques de l ile, car avec le decalage horaire, on se reveillait un peu tard. et puis il fait une chaleur d enfer pdt la journee, donc marcher 6 heures pour 3 jours entre les differents sites (comme c etait prevu) n est pas vraiment une option. finalement, on s est debrouilles pour camper pres d une plate forme de moais pour la pleine lune (la photo de moi jouant aux pois (prononcez po-i-ze) a ete prise de nuit, on voit les etoiles). magique, cette nuit la!!!
depuis hier, on est a santiago, mais on va pas trainer. encore 2 nuits ici, et on file a valparaiso. retour a santiago, et on file a mendoza.au passage, comme je suis deja venu a santiago par l est il y a 2 ans, je viens de boucler mon premier tour du monde. yoohoo!
Friday, March 03, 2006
auckland, veille du depart
et nous sommes bientot prets (dernier shopping, derniere lessive, empaquetez le tout, melangez) pour le depart vers tahiti. ile paradisiaque sans doute. non, non, je ne suis pas blase. mais on ne reste que 4 jours sur place, donc ca va etre que plage et plongee. ils annoncent un rafraichissement des temperatures labas, 29 degres au lieu des 32 habituels. heureusement, j ai toujours ma polaire avec moi. rien que de penser a l eau bleue turquoise a 25, ca fait des frissons.
je me demandais si j allais vous faire un resume rapide de nos trois mois en nouvelle zelande. c est simple: si pres du depart, j ai deja hate d y revenir. tout me plait ici, de l atmosphere si detendue qui y regne a l agitation jamais speed des villes, des paysages grandioses aux petites plages ou il n y a personne, de la montagne majestueuse a l ocean pas si fique que ca. j adore. oui, peut etre un jour j apprendrai le haka. mais je sens que la nouvelle zelande et moi seront une belle aventure, dans quelques mois ou quelques annees.
on arrivera le 14 mars a santiago chili, apres tahiti et l ile de paques. on aura surement pleins de choses a vous raconter, alors soyez prets!
je me demandais si j allais vous faire un resume rapide de nos trois mois en nouvelle zelande. c est simple: si pres du depart, j ai deja hate d y revenir. tout me plait ici, de l atmosphere si detendue qui y regne a l agitation jamais speed des villes, des paysages grandioses aux petites plages ou il n y a personne, de la montagne majestueuse a l ocean pas si fique que ca. j adore. oui, peut etre un jour j apprendrai le haka. mais je sens que la nouvelle zelande et moi seront une belle aventure, dans quelques mois ou quelques annees.
on arrivera le 14 mars a santiago chili, apres tahiti et l ile de paques. on aura surement pleins de choses a vous raconter, alors soyez prets!
Saturday, February 11, 2006
te wai pounamu
haere mai i aotearoa!here's some piccies we've taken while we've been on the road: 38 rides, 160km of tramping (bush walking kiwi style), 22 dehydrated meals and 127 dead sandflies. and almost every second of it we've been smiling (with the exception of some of those more muddier moments on stewart island and one or two sandfly fiestas on the coast). we've not once dismantled the tent in the rain, not to say rangi (sky father) hasn't shed any tears on us, quite the opposite! the sun's been more than plentiful.
it's been 100% pure nz: home, almost as i remembered it.
xx
b
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