Chile & Patagonia October 2009

My day by day account of this much awaited holiday is now live on CHILE & PATAGONIA.

This diary of the much awaited travel through Chile and Argentine Patagonia starts here. My experiences of this tour could be a reference point for you at a later date. Ask me if you have questions.

We just wanted to travel light through the extremes of the Atacama desert in the north to the glaciers of the south – clothes, camera, sun screen, books, hiking boots, laptop – what do we get rid of? Much thinking and creative packing later, we got down to probably the lightest luggage we have done in a decade! And we didn’t miss anything.It all started on our departure from London on the 2nd of October – 17 days to go!

CLICK HERE FOR ATACAMA PICTURES

CLICK HERE FOR TORRES DEL PAINE PICTURES

CLICK HERE FOR PERITO MORENO GLACIER PICTURES

Chile & Patagonia – A Travel Diary

It’s that time of the year when another holiday beckons – this one had been on the cards for a long time. Our 10 days in Argentina and Brazil in 2005 was just a taster of the real thing, as we realised how thinly we scrapped the surface with barely any time spent in both the countries.

Ever since, the desire to go further in the continent has been lurking, it needed a plan and some resource to make it a reality. And so it is, just another few days to go for that long awaited tour. Our final itinerary includes ‘top to toe’ of Chile and the Argentine Patagonia.

The Whole Length of It

However, this time I wish to share our experience in this diary on a day to day basis with a few pictures if possible, depending on the internet availability in wilderness. But I will surely catch up whenever base camp allows.

And so, inspired by the Motorcycle Diaries, this will be a humble attempt to journalise our experience in this exotic land, but ofcourse without using Ernesto’s and Alberto’s ‘magic formula‘ for a survival!

The itinerary roughly includes:

• 2 nights in Santiago de Chile
• 2 nights in San Pedro de Atacama ( Atacama desert)
• 1 Puerto Natales
• 2 nights Torres del Paine national park
• 2 nights Perito Morino glacier (Argentina)
• 1 nights El Calafate (Argentina)
• 2 nights Bariloche (Argentina)
• 2 nights Puerto Varas and Chiloe
• 2 nights Valparaiso

This day by day account will under Chile & Patagonia, and I look forward to your reactions and questions. The ultimate purpose is to entice you on a similar journey!

Remembering Johnny Castle – My Way

While the world and fans mourn the loss of a charismatic personality, flashes of vivid memory come back to me from my more than ‘chance’ encounters with Patrick Swazye. This was during his seven months stay in Calcutta (Kolkata), India in 1990, while filming for Dominic Lappierre’s ‘City of Joy’, directed by Roland Joffe. It was a full unit of more than 100 people that made Calcutta’s grand ole dame The Oberoi Grand, their home for more than seven months.

A Scene from 'The City of Joy'

A fresh graduate from the Oberoi School of Hotel Management, The Oberoi Grand was my first assignment in 1990 and one of my charges was the rather rudderless night-club ‘Pink Elephant’, the only one in the city for a long time. At that time there were 900 odd staff working for the hotel, so what makes my time so special?

My initial encounters with Patrick were at the night club. The whole unit would have Thursdays off, so Wednesday would be their night out! Those days he was known to wearing a torn off T with tattered jeans and pair of ‘Kolhapuri’ sandals which he had picked up from nearby New Market. Nights at the ‘Pink Elephant’ would roll on with many a Dry Martinis, and it is Patrick who taught me to make one ‘extra dry’, his way! In the course of seven months, we would have conversations about his childhood, how he would watch his mother choreograph shows, and how he picked up his interest in ballet. Today I remember his stories about graduation from high school in Houston, TX and his subsequent gymnastics scholarship to college. How he dropped off from college to tour Disney on Ice as ‘Prince Charming’. Then on were the stories about his knee injury from a football match in school, which stayed on with him and forced him out of gymnastics and ballet, his tryst with martial arts, riding etc etc.

This is where we met - The Oberoi Grand

It was my first exposure to an international personality and his humbleness won me over. Ever since, I have come across many a star but has never been ‘star struck’. Patrick did it for me – I was initially in awe of him but eventually he made me feel equal! He told me and a few others about his love for Lisa (his childhood sweetheart from the ballet days) and how she would still count his drinks and disliked his smoking. One Wednesday night Patrick wasn’t drinking much, just because Lisa would be arriving the next morning, he didn’t want to be ’shit faced’ to meet her at the airport! That was him! Infact, many may not know, that at that time the only person he trusted to be driven around by, was Lisa’s brother, and Alex was travelling with him in Calcutta as his chauffeur cum Jeeves.

City of Joy, Poster

There is a lot of memory coming back to me, but nothing to match the night when he asked me if the DJ could play ‘Time of My Life’ for Lisa and him – ‘ofcourse’ and there was nothing stopping it. The floor was theirs, no one dared to shake a leg while they romanced the floor – and Calcutta had a treat. For me, it was more than a treat – an experience difficult to replicate!

Rest In peace – Patrick Swayze.

Patrick Swazye Rest In Peace

A great performer, you will be missed.

The Norfolk Broads – August Bank Holiday

This was my third trip to the Broads…..and as usual the place still holds a lot of excitement for me.Chugging along in our own motor cruiser -the Malibu Light, miles and miles of gentle waterways glistening in the sunlight with the peaceful Norfolk countryside as far as the eye can see – it was sheer bliss for 3 days.

Our Shelter for Two Nights

Relaxing as we listened to the water lapping against the stern and looking out for moorhens stirring in the rushes, it was a welcome break. We visited the nature reserves and explored some pretty villages and medieval ruins on the way. The sumptuous barbecue at our mooring in Gayes Staithe one afternoon was an experience, and we did it so well for 14 people – pros.

Rest of teh time we literally whiled away the hours watching the serene countryside and settled down with a glass of wine as the sunlight slowly faded away…….it was then time for dinner and the kitchen on the cruiser served its purpose…..no complaints!

At Salhouse Broads

The Norfolk Broads is now the UK’s largest nationally protected wetland and an important area for wildlife. The Broads were formed when people dug for peat in Medieval times and then they were later flooded. The Victorians used them for transporting heavy loads but nowadays they are here purely for pleasure and passengers are the boats’ main cargo.

Sunset from our mooring

A holiday in the Norfolk Broads is like a whole new world. And it’s easy. No complicated locks to manoeuvre, just 125 miles of navigable waterways with plenty of places to moor up and hop out to explore pretty villages and market towns, or to stop at a welcoming pub to set up for the rest of the day.

This time it was with family and we had a ball.

Highly recommended.

Click here for my photostream of tthe Broads.

SIENA

CLICK HERE FOR SIENA PICTURES

Originally uploaded by Mohul

On a very sunny and warm Sunday in July we left Florence (Italy) early and drove around the Chianti countryside stopping over at interesting market towns of Greve in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti, just in time for lunch in the medieval town of Siena.

What you see here are things in my perspective – meanwhile, for all other touristic sights you could visit thousands of pages on the internet or buy a respectable travel guide that will prepare you for a visit.

Here I want to share glimpses of texture, colour, moods and the ambience of these places as I saw and loved!

FIRENZE (Florence) July 2009

Some kind of a rally talking about vegetarianism!

Originally uploaded by Mohul

Florence was our base for a tour of the Tuscan region this July. We stayed in a leafy northern suburb apartment amongst the Florentines.

Trips to the local grocers and fresh market componded the charm of the holiday with local wines atnig ht as part of our routine.

Walking through the arterial roads of the old city and absorbing the sites was not very difficult. The most difficult part was to capture the sights. The dilemma was ‘to click or not to click’. Th easiest way to see pictures of Florentine monumnets is once again a book or the internet – even flickr itself has a few hundred dedicated posts on the city.

I have tried to go off the beaten track and presented here a few glimpses of the city in its various moods as various times of the day.

Here you will see high noon, low light , the sun setting on Florence and a few night shots of the capital of Tuscany.

Florence, epicentre of the Rennaissance, the city that recognised the greats of Vinci, Michelangelo, Giotto, Machiavelli and Boticelli, banished Dante and housed the Medici family for centuries – I was there!!!

VENEZIA July 2009

A Hotel Transit Boat

Originally uploaded by Mohul

This was my second visit to Venice in 9 years but a rushed one again…….reached around midday and soaked in 7 hours of Venetian bliss….after a sumptuous lunch and a few beers the Gondola ride through the canals exposed me to the ‘backstreets’ of this 1700 year old floating paradise!

Once again, what you see here is through my eyes and through my craving for colour and texture.

I am as usual bessotted by the Venetian masks – something gorgeous and naughty about them!

The selected pictures can be seen by clicking the following link:
VENEZIA 2009
Enjoy and comment!!

Michael – You Are Not Alone – always in our hearts!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60nhFm9U4Iw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X6ry3BYInk

The Urge To Give Back……….

Last year I received an email from my friend in Bangalore with pictures of barren land, patches with thorny shrubs and a look of desolation on his face. The message read :

“Deepa and I have started a farm which has always been a dream. Don’t laugh at the snaps!!!! We bought some scrub land attached to a smaller parcel of cultivated land almost a year ago and since then have been bleeding trying to get it in shape! Currently have sown Groundnut and Sunflower which are suitable for the region (Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, two hours from Bangalore, the second most arid district in India after Jaisalmer in Rajasthan) Would be getting into intensive horticulture once I secure an agricultural loan, electricity etc etc .You should come down on a visit….”

The Farm

He also added……
“The final plan is to set up an NGO teaching Soft computer skill, life skills and maybe some vocational skills (though there is a college in Penukonda, there’s no real development because of linguistic problems) and also an agricultural input centre where the farmers can get a handle on progressive techniques. Till now however, I don’t spend the night there as there is no shelter: Would hopefully come up by the time of your visit ( If we get some decent returns from next year’s crops.)”

Road To Patharlepalle

Knowing Jeremy for so long, I knew this was a serious plan and therefore expressed my desire to be involved in the project. This got me thinking and I promised him a visit at the first possible opportunity I get to travel to India. And so in April I was in Bangalore catching up with family and a host of friends who I have known for decades….and he is one of them.

As one leaves the city limits of Bangalore the very fertile red soil of Karnataka with its lush vegetation soothes the eye and soul. The progress into Andhra Pradesh greets one with rocky terrain, semi arid lands and a sudden change in temperature…..one of dry heat. Turning off from the NH 7 behind the hills of Penukonda, we enter the road to Patharlepalle……and a few miles down the road arrive at Jeremy’s farm. Smiling faces welcome us to this very arid land that has to be seen to be believed -barren and rocky all over and a few acres that looked slightly different and tilled.

Welcome to Patharlepalle!!!

Two years’ toil, hard work and good thinking has slowly started yielding results. Last year it was Sunflower and Groundnut (the yield was not up to expectation as the rains washed away a lot of the crop) and this year its Chilli and Corn. When Jeremy and his wife Deepa got this land there was barely any tree or ground cover and the soil was almost dead. Every year the rains would wash away tons of unprotected soil. As all the water would also runoff there is barely any recharge of ground water and so the soil is always parched. In order to break this vicious cycle and begin restoration and healing activity, this runoff of soil and rainwater had to be stopped. They began by constructing three small earthen bunds (man made water body) on the farm. The idea is to reduce the run-off and finally to get the water to stay on the land. The best place to store water is under ground.

Ecorestoration - Water Body

It is now a matter of time and this land should yield better crops.

That brings us to the next part…… the people of Patharlepalle. How can they benefit?

Taking on from the initial idea, Deepa and Jeremy have already ear marked half an acre of their land for a ‘community centre’ where the plan is to involve the people of Patharlapalle starting with the children, a few times a week to interact and learn new skills, and then slowly extend it to the adults by holding various sessions on agriculture, horticulture and other means to cultivate their land and increase their earnings. The thought is to provide:
• Alternative education for children – life skills, soft skills etc
• Ecological restoration and natural resource management
• Awareness of farming techniques to make this land yield more
• Women’s empowerment through learning new skills
• Awareness building and leadership development among local youth, disadvantaged and the disabled for self betterment
• New ways of earning through pisciculture in the artificially created water bodies
• Capacity building for local self governance

The Handful

This plan may sound grandiose, but we are talking micro-level and with the desire and ambition to reach the world, it is a handful that we are targeting for the time being. With a little help from friends and well wishers, we could lay the foundation soon.

The kids I spent the day with, have the potential to make it in life but they need direction. Being at the mercy of the Government’s ‘populist schemes’ could at best make them literate to some extent but definitely not educate them to take life head on! It’s this handful that could make a change……
……And for me this is a chance to give back…..Thanks to Deepa and Jeremy!

Click Here for More Photos of The Farm