Tony’s Blog : The Bury’ed Treasures

after another surprisingly good nights sleep amongst nature we arranged after some hassle, some loose translation, and the use of some local expertise we got in contact with a taxi, which took us to the airport.

On the way to the airport we stopped at a local supermarket to restock with the necessary resources that we would need for camping in the British Virgin Islands. Of course Tom was much more concerned with our supply of Beer and Rum!!

At The Airport we got talking to a couple of Doctors who were flying out to Haiti, and were going out on their week’s rotation! One of the lady’s we discovered that she had all her sons facebook log on details, and had changed it so that all his updates came to her blackberry!!! I was asconsed, and suggested that her son would not be too happy about this!!!

After a 2 hour flight we landed at Beef Island on the BVI, watching out on route for the ash clouds that had been thrown up by the recent Eruption at Montserrat. On clearing customs, the rather grumpy customs man found the arnicas that mum had left in my rucksack. He asked me what it was and I explained. He seemed unamused, and proceeded to carry out a drugs test in front of us, and the awaiting tourists!! I was a little worried, as you really never know!!!

From here we got a taxi to the camp ground at Brewers bay at dark!! We pitched our tent, and then famished went to the local burger bar, where we had what seemed like the best burger, although I am pretty sure that this was very much to do with our hunger!!

our last day in the Dom Rep was spent enjoying the views and tranquillity of the ecolodge. We just chilled out in the surroundings, and then ate a really good dinner at the lodge consisting of beef tenderloin, rice, and really good mashed potatoes with garlic!!

After a greasy breakfast we put on our most sturdy trainers, and then met in the bar area with a Dutch post grad student, who is doing her masters on the impact of ecotourism on local communities, Dave, who is living there helping build the economy’s of the local communities, along with Mike and Michele, friends of Dave, over from Florida to see what Dave is doing. Our destination was a beautiful series of waterfalls, about an hours walk away. The first 30 minutes of the walk was down the road, and then across local farmers fields, passing a number of local communities, where Dave explained about the local economy depending largely on the trees, which they burn for charcoal. It appears that this is very unsustainable, as the steep sided valleys, lose all their nutrients to run off, when the trees are decimated. As a geography graduate, I was understandably excited!!

After this we walked up a river, through the water, and over rocks for about 20 minutes, where we came to a series of waterfalls, which we could swim and jump into, and which were very picturesque! We lounged here for an hour or so, and then returned back through the river to the ecovillage, understandably completely drenched.

In the evening we went for a trip to the local town of Sosua, which is on the coast. Initially we had been told that if we walked down the road for 20 minutes we could pick up a taxi at the next village. Unfortunately that estimate had been by car and not by foot. This meant that we were a little footsore, and ended up jumping in a taxi with some French tourists, who were happy to accommodate us.

We got to Sosua, and my first action was to find the only professional hairdressers in the Town, where I tried to explain in broken Spanish that I wanted my hair shorter, but not too short, which you may imagine did not translate too well, and my hair got cut to what I assume is a one of only about 3 or 4 that is on offer. I imagine however that I actually did well not to get a complete shave!!

From here we went and had well needed big meal in one of the local restaurants, before heading to try and find a couple of local bars. We had not however banked on what would come next. We found a strip of bars just after our meal, and we stayed here to have a couple of beers, and rum and cokes. However as the night wore on, we rapidly realised that the strip of bars more resembled their name sakes, than the type of bar we were hoping for. This was emphasised, when myself and Ollie were constantly being approached by a number of local ladies of the night touting for business, to my severe unamusement. This is for me the least enjoyable part of the trip thus far. We wanted to make a night of it however so we stayed, tom Ollie, and Michele ignoring more than myself, the seedy old men, and their following harems of willing others……..

On the way back we witnessed another part of Dom Rep society that is still prevalent in more developed countries, but less on show. As we took the Taxi back to the Eco Village, having managed to impressively barter the price down to a lesser price than was going rate we pulled up to a lorry in front of us on the coast road. As we approached I noticed vaguely, being in the front seat, that the left backdoor of the lorry was wide open. What I did not expect was what was inside. Perched on the ledge of the van was a man, swaddled in a balaclava, wielding an Uzi (big gun). Looking beyond this I could see the silhouettes of a number of small persons, packed into the rear of the lorry. It hit me straight away what it could be, and as the taxi pulled back as a result of a nonchalant wave of the man’s gun I turned to our driver and asked. ‘Senor. Estan chicos de Haiti no?’ He turned back and nodded before placing a finger to his lips. They were children trafficked out of the stricken Port Au Prince, and were clearly not up for discussion. I did not press the matter further….

A little stunned by our experience and contemplating what we had seen we turned in for the night.

Checking out at 10 AM we left McDuffs to clear customs at Exuma international, the main island in the Exuma chain. It was real easy going, and after a quick refill, we headed to the Dominican Republic on a 3 hour flight. Low cloud on the approach meant we had to try and find a path through the mountains, which seemed not to be too much trouble for tom. As Ollie pointed out from the air it looked more like England than a Caribbean island!!

Our lodging for the next 3 days was to be Tabagua Ecovillage and plantation, which rested high in the mountains that make up the central area of the island. The mountain roads that led from Santiago, the airport to the ecovillage, were definitely what you could describe as dangerous. (For those of you that have seen top gears latest soire through the mountains of South America, our experiences were not that far detached!!).

Arriving late at night we could not see the view from the lodge, which we had been told was spectacular. Instead we were treated to some local cuisine consistent of fish rice beans, and to start homemade salsa and chips… mmmm…

The ecolodge was very well crafted, and hats of to Tim, the kind man who runs the place. He has moulded basic provision with home comforts to create a good mix of adventure and comfort, with a bed and pillow available overlooking the edge of the mountain, with no mosquito netting, and no walls, just sheets to guard from the jungles inhabitants!!

Having had probably the best night’s sleep we’ve had thus far (except Miche that is who tried to sleep outdoors under a mosquito net until rain came down and wind picked up!). We all woke up around 9, to the disappointing sound of heavy winds coming in from outside. A front had moved in overnight and caused the sea to become very choppy. Fortunately we were not flying today but Tom had read that this front was due. Miche, Oli and Dom decided that before breakfast to go for a run. We ran down to the end of the worn runway and found a track which led off through the mangroves towards the north of the island.

After around 2 miles, we found that our enthusiasm didn’t match our fitness and levels of dehydration! We found Carlos Lehder’s house from where he ran his multibillion dollar drugs trafficking business, quite intimidating when we thought of all the stories from the area. Had the famous MacDuffs burger at for breakfast/lunch, it definitely lived up to its name!

After this we decided to go fishing at the end of the runway, again to no avail. Sometimes the fish just don’t bite!!

We had sampled a few conch fritters at lunch, so we asked where the best place would be to find them, and were driven to ‘the pond’ where they lived. Conch for anyone who does not know are what live in those massive shells that were used in ‘the lord of the flies’.

We searched the shallows for them, and found 5 that were large enough to eat. While looking for the conch I was gliding along sifting the sand on the bottom, when suddenly a sting ray, concealed under the sand, sprung up in front of me. I was pretty scared, but more so when 10 minutes later, when swimming towards another stingray, a massive barracuda swam past, and as I was wearing a belt, and owing to their penchant to shiny things, thought it would be good to vacate the water as quickly as possible!!

For dinner we had rice and vegetables, and conch, with Ollie killing it and myself filleting it. As well as this we found a couple of Coconuts from a tree, broke them open, and used the milk to cook in.

Right now I am sat in the bar, having a couple of beers and talking to the other few guests….. real nice.

Possibly one of the finest days thus far in my life, and if it continues like this these blog entry’s may get substantially longer!!

We boarded their boat at 11am, and cruised along the island, anchoring off what is commonly known as Thunderball Grotto, an amazing anomaly in the geographical landscape. It is a massive cave in the middle of a small island, only accessible through small underwater vents. We snorkeled through these into a fish filled cavern, with the cave having holes in the ceiling, allowing rays of sun to pierce. We stayed here for about 30 mins before returning to the boat. From here we had a quite an incredible experience, with Jonathan taking us Bahamian spear fishing. With a long steel spear, and a bungee to pull it back, you dive down towards the fish about 10 feet or so, pull back your weapon, and then unleash it towards the unsuspecting prey. It is a hard art to master, proved by the fact that I, Miche, and Tom did not catch anything. Ollie however managed to catch 3 fish!!! Obviously a bit of luck was on his side, or he was a natural.

Spear fishing is dangerous but such a thrill, with your hunting instincts really coming to the fore. After this amazing activity the evening would be hard to beat, but Norman’s Cay came up trumps.

It is renowned as being the most beautiful island in the Exuma chain. It did not disappoint. To eulogise, mere words cannot express the beauty of this place. A small island, it is located on the northern tip of the Exuma’s, and the population consists of about 5 or 6 residents, who look after MacDuff’s Beach club, a resort with only beach huts and a bar. We have one of these huts to ourselves and it sits on the shoreline, with the waves pretty much lapping at the veranda’s feet. I would say it is probably the closest thing to paradise I have seen on earth. Perfect white sand beaches, set against brilliant blue seas, and the remoteness of the place, and the minuteness of the population compounding this.

We cooked an evening meal of macaroni cheese, which was ably prepared by Miche, Tom and Ollie. It was a good meal, and was very sufficient. After this we went night fishing for an hour or so in front of our beach hut, unfortunately failing to catch anything, although one of the lines did get caught by something big and broke off. Despite the brief excitement of this bite, we conceded that nothing was there for us to hook, and so left it. After that and the last couple of days and nights, we were too tired to head down to the bar, and so chilled out with a few beers on our veranda.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

From Bimini we flew for 50 minutes or so to Staniel Cay, our first and most expensive port of call. However Staniel Cay is utterly beautiful. We arrive on a short runway, with blue sea and a catamaran moored on our right. There was no airport; no-one took any notice of us what-so-ever, all very chilled out maaan. We caught a little golf cart to Staniel Cay Yacht Club where we were shown our gorgeous blue two storey house! It overlooked the marina and sea. It even had little fairy lights!

We spent the remainder of our day on the beach and exploring the island. None of the locals ever sit in their shop and you have to go find them on the island to get in. We met one lady who owned the boutique and asked her how she ever made any money if she was never in her shop. She laughed for ages and said “I don’t know maaan, I should stay there one day, (very loud laugh), I’m never there!” We loved the locals! Bought our first local coconut rum, and shop owner told us “maaan this stuff will mess you up” when Dom said he liked rum.

Watched the most beautiful sunset from the balcony of our house, drinking our rum and feeling very lucky. Spent the rest of the night in the yacht club bar eating and drinking. Miche then showed her massive skills, and got talking to these two guys who we were sat at the bar with, Jonathan and Angus. Jonathan was slightly older than us at 24, and is sailing around the Caribbean for 5 months, and his Uncle is there with him for 3 weeks. They invited us on board their 34 foot sailing boat, where we sat for a number of hours listening to music and debating Barak Obama’s impact upon America, and their staunch Republican views were really quite enlightening from an outsider’s perspective, and also rather compelling. They invited us out on their boat for the next day, which was very kind, and were thrilled at the idea, so agreed.

We woke at 4am, to see a sight I will probably never see firsthand again. That morning a shuttle bound for the International space station took off from Cape Canaveral.  We were about 40 or so miles from the launch site, but it still lit up the night sky fantastically well.

After this novel occurrence we returned for a couple of hours and got to the airport early, as we needed to be at Fort Lauderdale, in time to clear US airspace by 11.30. We were greeted in Miami by a rich man’s car park, with the airport jam packed with private jets, sandwiched in wherever possible. The reason for this was simple. The super bowl attracts the rich and famous, and they need somewhere to fly into. Before we arrived, Bill Gates and Chris Rock’s planes had taken off, to put some scale to the cast of stars that had assembled.

It is also important to note that we flew over the Everglades. Possibly one of my least favourite places to crash land.

Once we cleared American Airspace, we flew for a short distance to Biminis, where we had to clear customs for the Bahamas. We had arrived in the Caribbean!!!!!!

There is nothing much of Houston to report, it is a relatively drab city despite being the largest city in America it clearly has no culture, as I have observed before. From Houston we flew over Louisiana, dropping down into real Hillbilly country, and being greeted on our refuel at Houma airport by some very welcoming locals, who showed as all around their hanger, before getting out their prized possession they had got out for the Super Bowl.  A sculpture of a flying pig, which being New Orleans Saints fans was quite apt.

Following on from our refuel we travelled down to Orlando Florida across some more amazing scenery. We were greeted here by Ollie’s Aunty and Uncle, who were over here in the states for a few days checking on the development of the complex where their holiday home is situated. Owing unfortunately to the miscalculation of time zones on our behalf they arrived to pick us up 2 hours earlier than planned!!

Their house is very nicely done, and was a perfect reprieve from travelling for the last 2 days, and American fast food. There was at last some greenery on our plates. For the first time also we also got excited about the Super Bowl, supporting the saints was after all a worthy cause.

The Super Bowl was expected to be a one way affair, with the Indianapolis colts expected to trounce the saints. And the match started as if this would be the case, the colts 10-0 up after the first quarter. This was only to be a minor blip however with the saints storming to a 30-17 win.

Well fed and watered we hit the beds for 5 hours or so.

This morning was one we were not looking forward to as it could potentially determine the outcome of the next 3 or 4 days of our trip. If it was the alternator then the likelihood was that we would have to stay in El Paso until Tuesday due to them having to order a part, which despite the lure of the Hispanic populations fine cuisine, we would not appreciate. Meeting the mechanic at about 9.00 he took the airplane into the local maintenance hanger while we went back to the hotel.

One hour past by and the phone call came, that we had been dreading. Thank god the report was good, and our worst fears were alleviated. The electrical failure turned out to be the belt on the alternator, and not the alternator itself. This understandably was an immense relief.

Two hours later we took off, plane repaired, and rather apprehensive, heading for Houston International.

To put it lightly the scenery at 11 thousand feet flying across America is stunning. Starting with the mountains due west of San Diego, which were snow capped and a luscious green, the land dropped almost immediately into the lee of the rain shadow. From here we passed over a vast stretch of desert, which took us past El Paso, and on towards Houston.

As we flew towards Houston below us we could see the oil fields that Texas is so famous for, along with rather interestingly a large number of wind turbine farms, with turbines sprouting 100’s of meters out of the desert on rocky outcrops. As the sun began to set over the desert, we past Austin to our left and San Antonio to our right, both brilliantly lit up on our decent towards Houston.