The End of the Trip

Home - and cold!

Apologies to all of you who have been desperately waiting for the final instalment of the Blumsom Saga, but arriving home jet-lagged and dealing with all our possessions in the attic had to take priority.

Our journey across Mexico and the USA, leaving a trail of swine flu cases in our wake, only confirms our belief that we have been responsible for most of the disasters on the planet during the past 7 months. But once again we seem to have got out just in time.

We managed visits to four sets of friends in the USA - in San Diego, Buffallo, Portland (Maine) and Boston. Catching up with old friends, and staying just ahead of the flu, was everything we could have hoped for. We have to thank Joe and Rosa, Dan and Bonnie, Henry and Barbara and Shirley and Jack for this. American hospitality is always outstanding in our experience.

We had chosen to make our way across the states by rail. The Amtrak routes were really good and rather better quality than any of our previous rail journeys.

The Observation Car

Meals taken in the restaurant car were included in our tickets and we enjoyed meeting fellow travellers across the meal table. A couple of times the conversation started with “... and have you come far?” which was a tough one to answer.

The first journey from Los Angeles to Chicago took us through the mountains just south of the Grand Canyon. There were spectacular views from the observation car (which we failed to capture).





Going through the mountains

The train stopped in Albuquerque for an hour or so and we managed a walk through the town – sufficient to tell us that we didn't really need any longer.




















Albuquerque

A shorter stop in Kansas City left us feeling that it would be interesting to spend more time there. The Union Station is quite magnificent and very much the station of the old Hollywood films.























Union Station in Kansas City






















Crossing the Missouri River

We had a 5-hour wait in Chicago which was long enough to go up to the top of the Sears Building and walk to the lake. Chicago is very impressive. Seeing it all laid out before you from the top of the Sears Building – in glorious sunshine – is a remarkable experience.






















View from the Sears Tower (1)



























View from the Sears Tower (2)


We broke our journey in Buffallo, picking up the same train the next day. This gave us a chance to meet up with old friends. They took us to the Darwin Martin house which is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs – well worth seeing.




















The Darwin Martin House, Buffallo

Our final Amtrak destination was Boston where we had booked a hotel for the night prior to picking up a hire car the next morning. We have always liked Boston. It has a slightly English feel to it. There is no longer any evidence of the 'Big Dig' in which they appeared to be digging road tunnels all over the city. It was coming to an end (after about 10 years) when we last visited about 6 years ago, and the city is so much better for the lack of building work.

The next morning we set off up the highway to Portland to see more old friends. Maine is simply beautiful and we had the benefit of glorious spring weather. During our two-day stay we talked for hours, visited the theatre, walked, and finally visited a store selling GPS equipment (Delorme) where they have a three-story model of the Earth. This is in the foyer of their store and the surface is made up from satellite pictures. I'm not sure how many times we pointed and exclaimed “we were there!” but it was enough.




















The Giant Globe

Our final stop was in Westborough with Meg's cousin. Such very nice people and a wonderful way to end our journey.

The flight home was the low point of the whole 7 months. The de-humanising effect of passing through US security screening, the long wait for the flight, and then the discomfort of flying cattle-class over night is all something we would have preferred to have avoided. It was just unfortunate that our container ship from Montreal fell through.

Tom met us at the airport and delivered us to our house – which had been festooned with bunting and balloons. We were very touched.

























Welcome Home

And now we have been home for just over a week and begun to acclimatise to the low temperatures.

It would be nice to be able to tell you what we have gained from it all but ideas are still evolving and settling. And don't ask us what the highlight of the trip was – the question is unanswerable!

We are certainly not the same people that left England on the 2nd of October. We are also aware that we have been very privileged to have been able to do what we have done (but know that it was no big deal in comparison with some of the adventures we have heard of). In seven months hardly a day passed without us seeing something remarkable although very few experiences can beat the glorious 'green' of Cirencester Park in spring.




















Cirencester Park

The trip has reinforced our long-held view that people throughout the world are pretty nice, with decent values. The minority that don't fit this description is very, very small.

I think it might have got rid of the travel bug for a while – although Meg is off to Amsterdam and then Turkey in a couple of weeks for some work ...

For those of you who have managed to get this far, you might be interested in the sequel – “Meg and Jeff go to the Moon”.

Melbourne to Mexico

A life on the Ocean Waves ...

Sunset over the pacific

A 23-day voyage across the Pacific Ocean on a container ship is a little out of the ordinary. It isn't a 'cruise'. Our ship, the Hansa Flensburg, an 18000 ton vessel with a capacity of about 1500 containers, plies the route from North America to the Australian ports of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, calling in at Vancouver, Oakland, Long beach, Ensenada (Mexico), Papete (Tahiti) and New Zealand. It takes about two months to complete a tour, our leg from Melbourne to Ensenada taking 24 days. Stops in ports are mostly less than 24 hours so there is limited opportunity to explore and you are often quite a long way from the town without easy transport in to the town proper.

Accommodation is excellent situated on F-Deck just below the bridge. Our cabin consisted of a large lounge, a bedroom and a bathroom.

Our lounge

The lounge contained a VCR/DVD player as well as a desk, fridge, kettle and two sofas. - rather better than you usually get in a 3-star hotel. There were also a couple of small communal decks where we could sit in the sunshine (or shade) and read.

Sunshine on F-deck

We had more or less complete freedom to go where we wanted, although for'ard amongst the containers was dependent on good weather as this you could get washed off the deck in rough seas.

Life on board is regulated by meal times; breakfast at 0800, lunch (the main meal of the day) at 1200 and evening meal at 1800. Like Pavlov's dogs, you rapidly become conditioned and begin to salivate at the appropriate times. Food is pretty reasonable considering the variety of tastes, although there is not a great deal of choice. It would not suit vegetarians as many of the main meals consisted of meat balls in various guises. The calorie intake is potentially huge and we soon began to miss out the cooked breakfast. Even so, with the limited exercise we both put on weight. Our main exercise was the stairs – 84 – down (and up) to the dining room . This is hardly enough to burn off the calories consumed in the meal.

The Officers Dining Room

Our trip consisted of 2 days from Melbourne to Adelaide, 6 days on to Auckland, then 7 days to Tahiti and finally 9 days to Ensenarda. This allowed us to gradually get used to long spells at sea. We had taken a lot of books and other activities to provide our entertainment, and there was a large stock of books, videotapes and dvd's that we could borrow.

We began the voyage as the only passengers but picked up one at Adelaide and then another couple at Auckland. We met together for meals (along with the Captain and Chief Engineer) and at other times – just for a chat. Life on board begins to fall into a routine governed by meal times, mainly consisting of reading, watching films, chatting, sun bathing, visits to the bow and for Meg learning Spanish from a teach yourself CD, while for Jeff daily visits to the gym (or the grym, as he began to refer to it).

The 'grym'

What is remarkable is the way that life slows down. There are few demands, little enternainment, little to see (except sea). Meg described it as like an old peoples home with lots of stairs.

An evening barbecue on deck

It probably sounds very dull from the outside but in fact we were hardly ever bored and really reveled in the lack of feeling that we 'really should be getting on with (whatever)...' Leading busy lives, leisure without the underlying feeling of having to pay for it later is a rarity in our experience. We read extensively – both novels and 'serious' stuff, often falling into a guilt-free sleep in the process. We were allowed on the bridge at any time and we made visits several times each day (just to check that we were going in the right direction etc !)

On the Bridge

We could look at charts, radar screens, computer navigation tools etc and the crew were happy to explain things to us. The view from the bridge is wonderful, and the navigating into and out of ports – with a pilot on board – were some of the highlights of the voyage.

On Monday 6^th April we crossed the international dateline and had to repeat the day again! This was a most strange experience. A notice appeared on the Poop Deck notice board

"Tomorrow will also be Monday"

It takes a bit of working through this to come to terms with it but we finally caught up all the hours that we lost crossing Europe, Asia and Australia, and we went from 12 hours ahead of UK time to 12 hours behind. We wondered if we should do the washing again or perhaps repeat the same conversations over breakfast. Airline pilots who fly USA to Australia routes must be very confused people.

One of our great treats was a daily visit to the bow. You could lean on the rails right at the 'pointy bit' with the warm wind rushing through your hair and flying fish jumping in the water in front of you.

The Main Deck

Meg playing 'Titanic' at the Bow

This experience is truly amazing! We would often spend an hour or so simply watching the ship cut its way through the ocean. The flying fish are remarkable. Up to about 6 inches long, they leap out of the water – sometimes in large groups - disturbed by the ship's shadow (which we assume they must percieve as some enormous predator).

They use their adapted fins as wings and glide above the water, occasionally appearing to run across the surface. Sometimes they are aloft for 30 seconds or so.

Both the Captain and the Chief Engineer were from New Zealand and we were grateful to the way in which they treated us as equals and talked freely about their times on ships. There were lots of humerous stories and much speculation on the pirates off the coast of Africa. We learned a lot about what it is like to be a ship's officer through our discussions over meals. Things have changed dramatically over the last forty years or so. For example, crews of 40 have dwindled to perhaps 13, and much of the art of navigating and controlling a ship has been 'eroded' by GPS systems and computers. It is easy to see the attractions of a life at sea, although also easy to see the negatives.

The remaining crew were a mixture of Ukranian, Kiribati and Phillipino – all very friendly and approachable although sometimes communication was a little difficult.

We all looked forward to arriving in port. The pilot arrives by launch when you appproach the prot and clambers up a rope ladder.

The PIlot Arriving

Being able to go on the bridge and watch the pilot direct the helmsman into or out of port was a real privilege. You see everything, and soon realise what a monster the ship is (and it is only a tenth of the tonnage of some large cruise ships). There are no emergency stops or three-point turns, and even at low speed and error could destroy half the dock as well as sink the ship. Tugs (and bow thrusters) are used to turn the ship around and gently nudge it towards the dock.

In Papete

In Aukland

Once the ship is in port customs officers arrive and check the paperwork and, sometimes, search the ship. After that we are free to leave and 'explore the town' while the monster cranes and 'straddlers' unload and reload the containers. This is so fast. The cranes is already moving well before the container is off the deck and the container is rapidly dropped onto a platform. Within seconds a straddler has drawn up above it and is driving off to drop the container in its designated slot in the port.

Unloading in the port

Would we do it again? The answer is a qualified yes but this may be the wrong time to ask us. It has been an enjoyable way to travel and to learn a lot, but we both fear that after three and a half weeks where the most difficult decision is how you want your eggs cooked for breakfast, we might not be able to function in the real world ever again. It is certainly travel on a much more 'human scale'. You really get the feeling for how far you go, how huge the ocean is and how enormous the planet is – something that is easily missed when travelling by plane. But it is not something you could sensibly include in an annual vacation while working full time.

Our last meal

So, next stop San Diego, but first we have to get over the border into US (always a challenge). Then it is overland by train to Boston (via Buffallo) ready for the final leg of this amazing journey.

Goodbye to Australia

Our Car Dies

Hiring an 18-year-old car was always going to be a risk and perhaps we should be pleased that we managed nearly 5000km of trouble-free motoring. We had grown fond of the car – and of Michael, the car's owner.

Our journey had taken us through many places that would have been far worse to break down in than Bermagui – a beautiful small seaside town with a lovely little harbour, safe swimming and great walks.

The coast near Bermagui

Our radiator sprang a leak on the way into town from our campsite about 4km away. We had come in for the Summer Seaside Festival which consisted of a parade and a large number of stalls on the town's oval (playing field for Aussie Rules football).

Tense anticipation of the parade

We bought some stuff to try to fix up the leak and went off to watch the parade while it set. There is something wonderful about small town Australia. The Australian 'can-do' spirit is always very evident. This event had all the hallmarks of a village fête but done Aussie style. In contrast to the Sydney Mardi Gras the previous week, this parade was opened by a group of pupils from the aboriginal pre-school and included the local fire brigade, and the Soldiers Club Pipers (kilts and bagpipes and all).

The 'Scottish' Pipers

In fact it was hardly a parade – more an amble along the main street by a disparate set of organisations, but drawing warm appreciation from the crowd.

Unfortunately for the car, the adhesive didn't work so we searched the town for a garage / workshop - there was only one, but closed on Saturday. So we enjoyed the rest of the day and eventually returned to our camp cabin. Since nothing could be done until Monday we went for some walks near the camp, enjoyed the sunshine and made use of the camp pool.

The coastline near Wallaga Lake

Camel Rock

A phone call to Michael revealed that he was off on holiday and he suggested that we do our best to get the car repaired ...

Oh well, we did our best. We managed to get Conrad, the local mechanic, to come and check out the car. He confirmed that the car's condition was terminal – the cylinder head gasket had blown. We had the car towed to the local garage where Conrad performed the last rites (removal of the tax document and number plates).

We bid farewell

As with the best undertakers this was all done with great sensitivity for the feelings of the bereaved. After a short period of mourning we set about sorting out how to get out of Bermagui.

The recent morning temperatures and shorter days had suggested that our tenting days were numbered and that this was a good time to give away all our camping gear.

Deciding what we can carry (on the left)

A local resident in the camp site offered to take it all, with the promise that it would be of use to a scout group in Nowra. So,with baggage suitably down-sized (although still including 32 books) we felt able to carry it, and relocated to town. We discovered that there was a daily bus connecting with a train to Melbourne (amazing!) but it left at 6:20 a.m. from a town 20 km away. The early morning taxi cost nearly as much as the bus ticket but we made it, although the taxi driver had no idea where the bus stopped. It was somewhat surreal standing in the dark in a completely empty town wondering where to wait.

But it did arrive, and on time, and after a 6-hour bus journey and 4 hours on the train we finally arrived in Melbourne in wonderful sunshine. It was good to be back.

Wednesday 18th March - Jeff's Birthday – and, after a night in a pretty awful motel in Footscray, both of us felt somewhat in need of a 'comfort blanket'. The hire company's replacement car was not really what we wanted and we decided to hire a real car from Budget. This had comfortable seats, everything worked and you could hold a conversation while the engine was running. With spirits lifted, we headed for the Mornington Peninsula towards Portsea. The sun came out and the temperature soared, and we decided that a 'nice hotel' with a bath would be just the ticket. We booked somewhere through the local tourist information office and arrived to find the place really luxurious with spa bath, a large room with satellite t.v., and internet in the room – all the luxuries of life! You may not think this to be a big deal but we haven't seen a real bath for months – only showers.

Nepean Poinr. Just another wonderful beach

... and another

... and another.

After three days of pampering ourselves, we returned to our 'familiar' hotel in Melbourne, the George Powlett Apartments. Situated only about 10 minutes walk from the city centre, it provides all that we need at a very reasonable price. It's our fourth stay here. It was lovely to wander the Melbourne streets and take in the atmosphere. It was the Greek festival weekend and some of the streets had been closed to traffic, stalls set out and Greek restaurants overspilling into the road. Apparently Melbourne's Greek population is second in number only to Athens. Eating souvlaki in the street amongst crowds of Greeks you could indeed feel you were in a Greek town.

Our last few days were somewhat tense – cargo ship trouble again. The ship had originally been due to depart on 20th March, but over the months in Australia we learned that it was running more and more behind schedule. We checked in regularly to be sure we would be in the right place at the right time, and the 26th March kept being confirmed as departure day. Everything was arranged around that. Until on 24th we heard that it would be the 27th March. After these months of travelling, that should have been an easy problem for the Blumsoms to resolve – simply book a room for another night. But 26th March also sees the start of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, with 90,000 people expected to visit the city, all of whom have pre-booked all the available accommodation months ago. Luckily Meg's negotiation skills came in handy. There is a very long tale about how the shipping agent got hold of the captain in the middle of the night, but the outcome of the story is that we were allowed to board on 26th March. The alternative was to have slept in the Seafarers Refuge, which might have been an interesting experience.

We hired bikes, and cycled the wonderful Yarra Valley, noting how summer in Australia was turning to autumn, just in time for Easter. We planned our activities for the cargo ship. Twenty three days out of contact with no television/radio; we figured we needed plenty of books and visited loads of secondhand book shops (including the University bookshops for Jeff to buy maths books); we bought sketching pads and paints (Meg) and a kind friend had sent a tapestry set to keep her occupied. And as a luxury – a key board for our lap top; the luxury not being the cost, but how much we could carry.

We will be out of email contact until 19th April, when we land in Ensenada Mexico. So Happy Easter

PS Megs plan to buy Easter Eggs was fooled, we are not allowed to take food on board the ship with us!

PPS – we are sending this blog on 25th March – and just in case ... we still haven't cancelled our bedspaces (one single bed and a mattress on the floor) at the Seafarers refuge.

Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the South Coast

We returned to Sydney on Tuesday 3rd March. On our arrival we discovered that our cargo ship from Montreal to Liverpool had fallen through. This meant a significant change of plans as Meg had now committed herself to being back for mid-May (she is going to Turkey for three weeks to help set up a Probation Service). The news came like a bomb shell and we spent a lot of time trying to sort out what options we had. We could not find an alternative cargo ship – it had been difficult to find a ship for this leg of the journey - and so our choices were either the Queen Mary or flying across the Atlantic.

The Queen Mary looked possible. There is a voyage leaving at the right time and it's actually cheaper than a cargo ship. We would need some clothes as our current wardrobe could hardly be described as 'formal'. The prospect of Jeff having to wear a tie and jacket just to be allowed to eat his dinner was almost the worst aspect of the trip. It would accomplish something that thirty years of head teachers had failed to do. However, after some searching on the internet we discovered that the carbon footprint for a passenger on a cruise ship is about twice that for the equivalent flight – as well as having many other detrimental effects on the environment.
This really only leaves the option of flying – something that we are not at all happy with. The carbon footprint for a transatlantic flight would still leave us within budget (carbon that is) but only just. And it really goes against the grain. But with no other options we have decided to fly. It just shows how difficult low carbon travel is.

The purpose for our return to Sydney was to take in a performance of the Magic Flute at the Opera House. We used the excuse of my birthday to justify the costs. We have now bought each other Christmas and birthday presents for the next few years and this was mine for 2010. it was quite magical to stand on the terrace of the Opera House with our interval drinks, looking across the water at all the lights. There is surely no lovelier concert venue anywhere in the world.
We also did some walking along the coast from Coogie Beach to Bondi Beach.

Coogie Beach, Sydney

Bondi Beach, Sydney

Our visit to Sydney also coincided with the Mardi Gras parade – the biggest gay and lesbian 'show' in the world. This was quite a spectacle, starting with the 'dikes on bikes' ...

'Dikes on Bikes'

and then an extraordinary number of floats and marchers from the ordinary to the most outrageous. An event with a huge number of scantily clad men (note from Jeff – there were scantily clad women as well) could never have taken place on an evening in autumn in London.

The Parade

It was great fun to see so many people exuberantly enjoying themselves. It is a tribute to the city to hold such an event which appeared to pass of with good humour and no trouble. We didn't go on to the "Sleaze Ball" afterwards – we had nothing suitable to wear.
And then off to the Blue Mountains for some more hiking. Three days, each with a most spectacular walk. Each walk involved a climb down into the canyon and then through the rain forest before ascending to the plateau again. The mountains are a plateau about 1200 m above sea level. So the walk down to the valley involved a lot of steps. We did not count them on the way down, but counted 1239 steps on the way up.

The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains

The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains (2)

View over Blue Mountains, Nr Echo Point

Wentworth Falls

Nr Wentworth Falls

We have seen some remarkable places but the views here are in a class of their own. This must be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. If you ever visit Sydney don't leave without a trip to this area, only 90 minutes form the centre of the City.

We left the Blue Mountains on a wet, misty morning which made us feel th we had made a good decision. The rain stopped and day brightened as we hit the coast and headed south to ovenight at Shoalhaven Heads. From there to Hyams Bay where we stayed with a couple of kayakers we had met further up the coast. We decided long ago that we would always try to say 'yes' to any opportunities that came our way and so we readily accepted their offer of a place to stay. It turned out to be a really rewarding experience and when we left the next morning we felt we had made new friends.

Remarkable trees, Jervis Bay

The weather over these past few days has been very good for walking – not too sunny but quite warm – and the threatened rain did not materialise. We walked up Pigeon House mountain. Pigeon House is classified as a 'hard' walk as the last part is a matter of climbing about 50 metres of metal ladders, so we did feel a sense of achievement.

View from Pigeon House Mountain

However, when we arrived at the top we met up with 65 ten-year old kids, most of whom seemed to be bouncing around as though they had arrived at a playgound (that should provide some sense of perspective)

The kids at the top ...

Depot Beach

We then retraced our steps down the coast, via Moruya where, amazingly, we ran into Rudi who we had stayed with on the way up the coast. He mentioned that there was a festival at Bermagui so we decided to head off there for the weekend.

And there the car's radiator sprang a leak. This problem still has to be resolved - so in the meantime we are stranded in Bermagui ...

Brisbane back to Sydney

Anxious to get some good walks under our belt we set off for Mount Warning – a hike we missed out on the way north because of the rain. Mt. Warning is the remains of the central plug of a 20 million year old volcano, surrounded by an enormous caldera, reputedly one of the finest examples in the world. The drive through this area was one of the best of our trip.

The climb is described as 'strenuous'. We have found that tourist guides generally exaggerate the level of difficulty – but not this time. It is a relentless 2-3 hour climb followed by about 70m of almost vertical rock which (for the likes of us) can only be managed with the aid of a chain attached to the rocks. Arriving at the top, totally exhausted, it was a bit disconcerting to be greeted by a bush turkey.

Bush Turkey

These are all over the mountain and are no doubt a good source of protein for the largish pythons that live in the forested mountain slopes. We didn't see any pythons but just this grey-black one (about 60cm) on the track.

This was about 2 ft long

The view was initially obscured by cloud, but these rose and eventually we had a fantastic 360 degree view. Mt Warning is reputedly the first place that the sun strikes each day in Australia.

View from Mount Warning

A second great hike was to the Minyon Falls.

View from the top of the Minyon Falls

Much improved weather meant that we could camp our way south – 8 nights without rain and good night-time temperatures. The only downside was the mosquitoes that flourished in the wet weather of a week (or so) ago.

Kookaburras can be over-friendly and snatch food from your hand

Camp sites are invariably good – sometimes remarkably so. Some campsites have a huge mossie-free camp kitchen equipped with fridge, freezer, toasters, microwaves, cooker, boiling water on tap and several gas BBQs.

The day we lost the camera - and found it again

It is hardly what Meg remembers from her days as a Girl Guide. Our air mattresses are 'state of the art' and as comfortable as a bed and we have invested in pillows (10A$) which make all the difference. And it is warm enough to sleep most of the night on top of sleeping bags.

From Mount Warning we worked our way down the coast via Brunswick Heads, Evan's Head, Urunga, North Haven, Hawk's Nest and Nelson's Bay – all delightful small towns off the main highway with warm bays to swim in and usually with good hikes (although these are getting shorter!)

Mud crabs (?) at Uranga

The night skies are so clear and sharp – and of course the stars are very different from what we are used to. We have taken to going to bed early – it is dark by 8:30 p.m. and if there is nowhere to sit we just turn in. But we have also taken to getting up at 5:30 a.m. and finding somewhere to watch the sun rise over the sea.

View of Port Stephens from Mt. Tomaree

Before we set off on this phase of our travels (around South-East Australia) we wondered how our stamina would hold out. There is something about travelling as a 'tourist' rather than as a 'traveller' – a change of role and much less well-defined objectives. In the rain we found it more difficult to maintain a sense of purpose but now, with such lovely weather, everything has changed. A day can be as simple as “find somewhere for a coffee, go on a walk for a few miles, find a camp site and organise the evening meal”. This usually involves driving somewhere but on Australian roads driving is not stressful. We usually find people to talk to and this can make for a pleasant evening, exchanging views, ideas and sometimes addresses.