The walled city of M'dina

On the drive out to M'dina today I noticed many homes, as I saw in Jordan last summer, with solar water heaters on their roofs.

There were also a significant number with solar panels as well. Today it was 10 degrees with brilliant sunshine, perfect conditions for solar energy collectors. It is also a great climate and conditions for passive solar heating. On our way through the outskirts of Valletta we drove past a stone aquaduct that stretched for a considerable distance, with most of it in a fairly good state of repair. It really makes me realise that uou ancestors were much smarter than we are as they survived and prospered well with much less knowledge and technology than we have.

To find our future we must look to our past.

Once again once we were out of the city there are many small farms, with the same very stone filled fields, certainly going by the number of low loose stone walls dividing them. And, as I noticed in Sicily, not particularly healthy looking soil.

So much of the architecture reminds me of old Bermuda, buildings built from quarried stone blocks, narrow streets very reminiscent of St. Georges. And the fortifications, as I mentioned previously, I can only imagine the British used similar designs in all their important colonies. This one got a head start having had a head start dating back to the crusaders. And certainly around Valletta there are fortifications everywhere you look. Of course it is one of, if not the best harbour in the Mediterranean.

Sundays here are a day of church services with many businesses closed, and the nights, certainly in the part of Valletta where I am staying are amazingly quiet at night.

I have emailed a contact at the university here trying to find someone to meet with to discuss water security. I am told that the only way they provide enough fresh water is through the use of reverse osmosis plants. Historically they used to practice water harvesting but that died away with the introduction of city water. From the time Crusaders water harvesting was practiced.

Tomorrow I am going out to the Tarxien Temples (Maltese pronunciation: [ˈtarʃi.ɛn]) are an archaeological complex in Tarxien, Malta. And when one look at their methods of construction and the size and weight of the stones they were working with one can only be impressed.

 

Pozzallo to Valletta

After setting two alarms on my iPhone and iPad for 6:30 AM I still did not sleep soundly, worried that I would not hear the alarm and miss my ride to the port.

Port of Pozzallo

Needless to say I was awake early and, my driver arrived early so I checked in 70 minutes before departure.

The ferry, MV Jean de Vallette, is quote sizable and besides passengers and cars also carries SUV's (some towing trailers, tractor trailer rigs and even a few motorcycles.

We departed on time and are now approximately a mile offshore heading South-West in a slight swell. It is a beautiful day and we will be in Malta in one and a half hours.

I was able to test my new Bad Elf GPS in conjunction with my iPad and it worked like a charm. It was as if I was on the bridge and looking at their navigation display. The ferry moved at a good pace, 26.7 knots or 30 Miles per Hour.

Bad Elf GPS Pro

I discovered this morning on the way to the port that most of the employment in Pozzallo is provided by the local government and many men, as it used to be in the Cayman Islands, go to sea serving on ships around the world. I was also informed by the owner of the B & B that he normally spends his winters in Barbados.

Disembarkation in Malta was quick and painless. No formalities, walk down the gangplank, collect your suitcase and walk out and get a taki.

Osborne Hotel

The hotel that I chose, the Osborne is very nice, very centrally located in an old building. My room is overlooking the street in front of the hotel, which is all decorated for New Year. I strolled around briefly before sunset and took a few pictures as well as bought myself a pre-paid data SIM so I can get online while I am here, my only complaint is the hotel does not have free WiFi. With internet service today being so inexpensive I feel that it is shortsighted not to supply it free to guests. I understand why they do it; it is cheaper and less trouble to contract the whole thing out to a third party, but from a customer service perspective it is not the right approach.

Tomorrow I will go off and start exploring. Velletta on first impression looks extremly interesting. There are so many old fortifications, in fact so much of the construction is very familiar to me from Bermuda and the numerous fortifications the british build there.

I also want to go and see the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni and The Tarxien Temples. There will be lots to do over the next week.

 

 

Siracusa to Pozzallo

Interesting drive over here this morning. Driving through farm land, olives, oranges, some crops under plastic.

Farm Land

The ground is very stony, many low stone walls, presumably made from rocks removed from the fields. It is also very dry looking. There is a lot of scope for Permaculture here. The soil I could see also looked as if is could use a lot of good nutrition from compost.

Mediterranean Fishing

There appear to be a lot of small farming and I would have to guess much of it is a struggle. There is a certain amount of fishing here going by what I saw in Siracuse. Although I would have expected to see a greater quantity of fishing vessels there. However, it could be that Siracusa is not a fishing port. When I walk around Pozzallo I might learn more. Having said that I have to question how fishing is in the Mediterranean at this point in time? and a quick search turned up this site. Apparently fishing is only good where there are good conservation programs.

Pozzallo is a small somewhat sleepy town, or certainly at this time of year is is. There again I keep forgetting it is the Christmas holidays, I wonder what the availability of work is like here? There is what looks a large port just to the west, this is where my ferry shall be leaving from in the morning.

Oranges

There are orange trees planted along the main drag which I find a nice touch and across the street is a wide paved area where many of the town's mature citizens stroll and walk their dogs in the evenings.

My dinner this evening was a kebab burger, quite tasty and filling. It needs to be filling as I probaly will not get anything in the morning. The place I am staying in, which calls itself a B & B is missing the second B. Apparently the only provide it during he summer!

Kebab Burger

 

 

There is a marina shown on the map to the west of the port, perhaps the do some yacht charters from there, for there is some beautiful sailing offshore, there has been a lovely breeze from the south all day, with temperatures hovering around 18 degrees

 

 

 

 

Rome and Points South

Christmas Day

In future I will research the distance and direction to my hotel from the station. Last night I got a taxi which cost me ten euros for what I discovered was a five minute walk. It seems we went round in circles to get there.

Leaving Rome the thing that struck me were the ancient aqueducts leading out of the city, obviously these were along the railroad tracks, and much of their length in ruins, stone probably taken for other newer buildings. It would however be interesting to see how many were necessary to supply the city in at its ancient heyday. Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture of the aqueducts.

Southern Italy and Sicily

Lots of agriculture, small holdings, vineyards, crops being grown under plastic. The land here looks quite dry, rocky hillsides without much soil. Perhaps is has washed down to the valleys. Plains interspersed with low hills, hills which show no sign of ever being terraced.

The landscape grown more tropical, palms interspersed with more sub-tropical species. It is nice to see that some of this area is quite wooded. I can just see the ocean, we are going south on the west side of the country. Small towns, built up the sides of hills in some places, and not very developed, which perhaps is good. I am sure though that there has been a outflow of the younger generation to the cities. However there may be a way to attract the retiring generation back to the countryside and re-establish an agricultural workforce. Al that would be needed is a training cadre. There is a very old penchant for building towns also solely on hill tops, a good defensive posture through history.

Peaceful Mediterranean

Compared to flying train travel is so much more relaxing. One can walk to the station is the city centre, one sees the countryside which gives you an understanding of the history, culture and challenges ahead. It allows your mind to keep pace with your body.

 

14:11 Leaving Napoli.

The train seems to have filled up here. We are heading east and are taking the route down west coast. Now south-west through a really long tunnel. Now out of the tunnel and at Salerno. We are going through tunnels like a needle through cloth, in and out, in and out.

Rocky Hillsides Abound

Lots of what appears to be low income housing. I suppose in a catholic country this is to be expected. I wonder what the birth rate is, and is it at this point rising or falling?

Further south small traditional hilltop villages all the houses crowded together on the top of the tallest rock overlooking the ocean. Certainly an old security tradition, but I wonder if it is also a forgotten memory of tsunamis?

The sunset here this evening is something like a painting of a sunset, muted pastel colours that don't look real.

Siracusa

So now we are about to take the boat-train across the Straights of Messina. With very little fuss we rolled onto the ferry, with another train alongside of us on the deck and off we went. I am sure this is a much practiced and every day occurrence to crew but it was my first time. I believe that coaches one through four head for Siracusa when we land and the other section heads else where on Sicily.

Later this morning I will drive to Pozzallo from where I take the ferry to Malta on the 28th. I will spend a day and a half there doing some writing and staying stationary for a time. Since I left London on the 22 December 2012 I have travelled 1,673.5 miles. After the cold of Venezia and as much as I enjoyed it the temperature here in Siracusa is a pleasant 16c.

 

Venice

Venice is a town I could live in. I really enjoyed my short time there.

This morning I walked over to the Piazza Roma and got the water bus down the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco. This was a great way to see something of the city and take some pictures for the blog.

My hotel, the Palazzo Odoni was very nice, quite small, very friendly and included a Continental breakfast that was excellent.

Given my interest in climate change, and during my excursion along the Grand Canal I looked with interest at the height of the ground floor above sea level, and this must be extremely worrying to the inhabitants, the city of Venice and the country. With only a few inches of sea level rise some of the ground floors will be flooded, and this is not thinking of any unusually high tides or storm surges. I must do some research and see what options the city is considering.

The wake from boats could even be worrying. Unlike in the movies speed limits are strictly controlled to, I would guess seven knots. And as normal under most Rules of the Road for marine navigation powered vessels give way to human powered boats, so the bus stops for the gondola's.

I had a cappuccino at Cafe Florian, Piazza San Marco, 56, Venice established in 1720 and is a contender for the title of the oldest coffee house in continuous operation. The cappuccino was very good and the service first class. I was the only one sitting outside where the temperature was 1 degree Celsius, as you can tell from the picture. I could not have smiled if I had wanted too, my face was practically frozen.

Hemingway's Hangouts

Having been to the El Floridita bar in Habana where Ernest Hemingway used as his favourite watering hole in Cuba, as well as having visited his home, now a museum outside of Habana, and having briefly known his brother Leicester in Jamaica many years ago, I had to visit Harry's Bar in Venezia and I have the picture to prove it!

Leicester was a very pleasant man, as was his wife, whose name escapes me.

We had them on a ship that I worked on, the Motor Vessel Delaware, he was trying to build his own independant island in the Caribbean. We [the ship] had been chartered to transport a large metal framework out to Formigas Banks, which were 90 miles north-east of the island of Jamaica. We also took tons of rocks along to be dumped into the framework. The idea being that eventually the construction would would trap sand causing the area to silt up and eventually create an island. The MV Delaware on which I worked never took him back there and I never heard of anybody else going back there with him.

According to Wikipedia 'Hemingway created the micronation of New Atlantis on a raft in the Caribbean, intended to serve as a marine research headquarters. The project was cut short when New Atlantis was destroyed in a hurricane after only a few years'. this however is not quite true as I was there, or should I say, certainly for the first attempt.

Here is a picture I found of Florian's which I do like, apparently taken some time ago, and its had a new paint job in recent years. The furniture on which I sat looks identical!

Venice to Rome

The Italian trains are very nice, modern, fast and excellent service. No WiFi unfortunately, but electrical connections at every seat (in first), and in an easy to find location. I was therefore able to charge both my phones that had been depleted by taking too many pictures and some navigation.

Tomorrow it is heading south once more to Siracusa. I wonder what the trail will be like today? I leaves Rome at 11:30 AM and arrives at Siracusa at 10:30 PM.

This night in Rome was interesting and I realised that the city is quiet at night, I have not heard one siren or one car with a blaring stereo. And this was in the centre of the city. In Washington a few weeks ago there were, or in New York there is noise all night long.

I must admit that when I got out of the taxi from the railroad station and I looked at the hotel I had to ask myself and the taxi driver if this was the right place. It almost looked like a hotel that rented rooms by the hour. However, the hotel once I got inside and on the correct floor was very nice, very new and very welcoming. Apparently they are renovating the exterior of the building and the ground floor. I will take a picture of the front of the building as I leave and post later.

 

 

 

The Journey Continues

St. Pancras - 22 December 2012 14:05 Hrs.

We departed St. Pancras dead on time at 14.05. The accommodation is better than an aircraft, but not a lot. The seats are wider and one has a table shared with the person across the table, and this was in first class (did the weekend upgrade). I can't find any electrical outlets and my iPhone is down to 23%. I looked for outlets but never did find them. Later on in speaking to another passenger he told me the outlets were under the top of the table. Next time I will know better, however I took out my trusty NewTrent IMP 120D backup battery, it got me up to 23% but obviously was not fully charged.

Coach 95: The Couchette

Train for Venice left on time. Next time I must book earlier so I do not end up in a six person couchette. It is rather crowded to say the least. And then you get a man with a suitcase into which he could easily hide a small adult, This he proceeds to place on an upper hand luggage rack taking up his and two other people's rack space. I am in the top bunk, and this reminds me of fourteen hours on a luggage rack from Mumbai to Belgaum in India many years age. The only difference was then I had to share the space with the largest backpack on the market at that time, which did not leave much room for me. As it was last night I ended up using my backpack as a pillow as there was no place else to put it. At some point during the night we came to a stop, perhaps in Switzerland, we were there for quite sometime, there was snow on the ground and I wondered if perhaps they were changing carriages to send some to another location.

So now in am at my hotel, not in my room yet, it will not be ready for two more hours, but I am happy to be sitting in a stationary chair. The Palazzo Odoni is just as advertised, an old building on a canal and furnished with what look like antiques. I managed to get a cappachino and some toast, cheese, butter, jam and salami as they had stopped serving breakfast. It is 1 degree C here and very high humidity. However, being built in a lake it is hardly surprising.

Once I get settled in I will see if I can do a quick tour before the sun sets.

I wondered around near the hotel and found a nice restaurant and had a very nice piece of grilled salmon with grilled vegetables.

Apart from the uncomfortable train ride, it was a great day.

 

 

 

 

Letter of Complaint to British Airways

I feel that I must bring to your attention the desperate lack of service and terrible delay on the British Airways flight BA 252 on 4 December 2012.

BA check In Cayman 17:00 hrs

On arriving at Owen Roberts International Airport yesterday evening I discovered to my horror, that all British Airways computer systems were down and staff were doing a manual check in, which were taking 10 minutes per passenger, and there was a great deal of frantic writing taking place behind the counter. On top of all this the air conditioner was really not cooling.

On the morning of December 5th, having just got through to British Airways on an 800 number I am told that we will be departing this evening at 9.55 PM.

In speaking to the Captain prior to departure I was informed that the Exhaust Gas Temperature Monitor was giving incorrect reading, and no spare in Nassau, and had to be flown on from Miami and specialized brought tool from UK.

To compound the engineering problems the lack of computers caused many more hours of delay on the ramp both in Grand Cayman and in Nassau as ground staff struggled to reconcile the hand made passenger manifest with the actual numbers on the aircraft. It was not resolved in Grand Cayman until a passenger reminded the ground staff that some passengers that were listed as being on the original BA 252 (from the 4/12/2012) had in fact left on the BA 252 (of 5/12/2012) that did in fact leave on time.

This type of service for a major airline in the year 2012 is utterly inexcusable. Having a computer system fail in Grand Cayman and Nassau, with no back up system available for emergency use is unbelievable.

I shall do everything possible not to travel on British Airways in future. I shall also be lobbying for a suitable competitor airline to replace British Airways on the London to Grand Cayman route.

 

Tickets!

 

 

The Plan: Stage 1

As of today I have finally had some time to actually make reservations for my train journey across Europe. As I said previously this part of the trip in not so much about places as it is about the journey.

Major European Rail Routes

 

Therefore, I will leave Yorkshire on a morning train on the 22nd of December heading for London, where I pick up the Eurostar, the first leg of the journey which takes me to Paris. Paris is only to change from the station where the Eurostar arrives, Paris Nord, to the Gare Lyon to catch the train heading for Venezia.

This will be an overnight trip arriving in Venezia Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. This gives me a day and a half to see something of Venice, Perhaps go and see Harry's Bar where Ernest used to hang out, having already seen his Cuban hangout in Habana, and take in some of the other points of interest.

 

Monday afternoon I head for Roma, and I am not spending much time here, just overnighting before catching my ride to Syracusa in the late evening. From Syracusa the Journey continues by sea. I must remember to make the reservations for the ferry tomorrow! From Syracusa I will have to find a local train heading to Pozallo from whence the ferry leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving and Not

After bringing all passengers from the hotel to the airport at 2:30 PM we had to wait for an hour in the check in line, plus 20 minutes when we first arrived when there were no staff in sight. Getting to the Departure lounge at 3:45 PM I have been waiting ever since. It is now 7:20 and the British Airways flight is still not here. BA has taken out todays passengers, and theoretically there is a second aircraft coming to pick up the passengers who never got out yesterday. Rumor has it however, that the second aircraft is estimating here at 8:20 PM. We shall see.....

Not surprisingly the wait turned out to be a very long one, and with very little communications from the British Airways staff the rumors we coming fast and furious every fifteen minutes. Finally we heard that there were two aircraft coming, the missing one from yesterday and todays scheduled flight. Hopes were raised that we may leave at 7:15 PM but that flight was for those scheduled for the flight scheduled for the 5th, with the exception of a lucky few who managed to talk their way on board. However. It did not register at the time but the early flight seemed to take an extremely long time before taking off.

The rumor mill went into overdrive at this point with passengers phoning British Airways (BA) in London for information and snippets being doled out by the BA staff only added to the confusion. Finally on of the frantic calls to London paid off and we learned that the would not be departing until 11:40 PM. WE did board at approximately that time, BUT, given that the BA computer system was non functional we sat on the ramp until 1:46 AM while the BA ground stall tried to reconcile those passengers on the plane with those on the manifest. This almost caused a mutiny by disgruntled passengers and crew, the crew were almost out of hours, and had their hours expired we would not have been able to leave.

Having departed and landed in Nassau it was deja-vu all over again. The aircraft was cleaned as usual and new passengers boarded AND again the interminable wait began while Nassau ground staff tried to reconcile the manifest. Apparently we were missing passengers. It was only resolved when a passenger from Cayman remembered the few Cayman passengers who had got on the earlier flight. We finally got airborne and landed at Heathrow at 6:20 PM. I as never so glad to get off an aircraft.

The original breakdown was caused by a faulty Exhaust Gas Temperature monitor, a replacement was not available in Nassau and had to be flown in from Miami, while the specialized tool to install the EGT monitor had to be flown in from London. As for the IT problem, with the entire computer system being inoperable both in Cayman and Nassau I really cannot understand why a backup system consisting of laptop computers preloaded with the necessary software were not available and ready to be utilized. I will not be traveling on British Airways again and will lobby for the Cayman Islands Goverment to break this virtual monopoly and attract another carrier.

 

Unexpected Delays and Risks of Computer Failure

On arriving at Owen Roberts International Airport yesterday evening I discovered to my horror, that all British Airways computer systems were down and staff were doing a manual checks which were taking 10 minutes per passenger, and there was a great deal of (slow) writing taking place behind the counter. On top of all this the air conditioner was really not cooling. What fun!

I spent two hours in the check in line, this was like going back to the Iron Age. My WorldMate App kept advised me of later and later departure times and finally we were told that the flight was cancelled. and all passengers were bussed to the Marriott Hotel. I am glad I made no appointments for tomorrow in London. Apparently British Airways never made it out of Nassau, they did a test flight and landed again and cancelled the flight.

This morning, December 5th, having just got through to British Airways on an 800 number I am told that we will be departing this evening at 9.55 PM. This is obviously going to be an trip, and this is supposedly the easy part, after all it is only a trans-atlantic flight. To be continued.

 

Planning

I have never taken a long train journey in Europe. I have done so on the Indian sub-continent many years ago, which was certainly an adventure. And so, in the best tradition of railway travel and thinking of Paul Theroux and The Great Railway Bazar, I have started planning.

This blog will document my wonderings, by train, through Europe and ultimatly, on the first stage, to Sicily. I envision departing London and travelling through Europe and passing through the Alps and down into Italy, ending up in Sicily. I shall stop for a day or two at interesting cities enroute, but this section of my wonderings will be more about the journey than the cities.

I will document my nomadic travels with photographs and commentary in chapters as I progress thereby enabling my friends and family to track my travels. I am looking for an App that will enable me to insert a map that will show the progress on a map. So far I have only been able to manually put my position on Facebook using a navigation app named MotionX GPS HD.

Departing from St. Pancras station in London and across the English Channel [what to the French call it?] for points east.

 

 

The Cayman Islands to London

Tonight I leave the sunny shores of Grand Cayman for the somewhat colder temperatures of the England.

Smith's Cove, Grand Cayman

I will have to spend a few days in London, work that must be done, and then hop on a north bound train to Leeds and spend a few days catching up on mail and making reservations for my European train journeys.

Precipitation in England today

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England looks quite dry today and hopefully will stay this way for the next few days. The cooler temperatures will be a nice change however.