Tomar

The longer I spend in Portugal, the more places I see, I had hoped that the number of "must-see's" would decrease down to a nice compact top 10 (then I could start a business touring you round them all). But instead I've gone from top 5 to top 10 and am currently working my way up to 20. Tomar is a must see. There is no question about that. The reason? The Convento do Christo built in the 12th Century by the Knights Templar on land granted to them after defeating the Moors. A very smart move by the young Portuguese nation still trying to establish itself as an independent state - at that time no-one f*ked with the Knights Templar.
The church was built in the circular style used by the Templars (based on churches in the Holy Land) and the interior is truly spectacular. Since there is no photography allowed I have to borrow a photo from the tourism site (is that more or less ethical than scanning a postcard??!!)
In the 15th Century Dom Henrique (or Henry the Navigator) used the castle as the base for his many expeditions around the world meaning Tomar was central to Portugal's Age of Discovery. He also began enlarged the Convent by adding a nave in the intricate Manueline style of the time. The window of the Chapter House at the start of this post is regarded as a classic example of this style (along with the Moisteros dos Jeronimos in Lisbon.Most towns would be content with one landmark but Tomar also has a 16th Century Manueline church in the town square and a Renaissance church built on a hilltop (originally intended as King Joao III's tomb). The town mostly gets in the news in winter when the lower parts of the old town flood after every downpour. The area around the river also gets flooded with tourists who prefer lunch with this view of the castle and the town centre (leaving the town square empty except for pigeons and me looking for lunch since I can't get a table by the river).

Almourol Castle in the middle of the Tejo. For Bry and anyone else who thought Scotland and Ireland had the monopoly on romantic waterfront castles. According to GoLisbon "several bad events (deaths and tragic love stories) have taken place there and the castle is supposed to be haunted by a princess". As would be expected in a castle :)

Stoked

For once I have something nice to say about Blogger! As you know I've been looking for a way to share more photos without having to post them all and make this blog image-heavy. Now because of this I can put more of my photos up for all to see (which is GOOD) instead of clogging your computer or your LJ friends page. Expect a lot more links in posts across to my Picasa album (permalink in the sidebar).

They're fairly low-res image since I shrink photos to blog them but I think they come up OK - please let me know if you have dramas or any other comments. I'll try and keep it organised and in kind of reverse chronology, but check back on the older ones from time to time as I'm waiting to see how many of my old blogged photos get migrated before uploading any more (and how much free space remains). I will keep the Lisbon/Montemor/Evora/Costa Azul photos on Flickr since I actually like Flickr better (and may end up going pro one day).

For those who have a blog on blogger/blogspot too you have an account too - click on the Picasa/Picasa Web Albums link on the Buzz post. By default your album isn't public and just be warned that if you delete a photo off Picasa you remove it from your blog too......

The other side

In every email I've written to people about South Africa I think I've said something like "Its really beautiful, really cheap but....". This is the but:

South Africa has its problems which have been publicised worldwide. While we didn't see or become victims of crime you feel its presence: security guards and patrols (bike and car), electric fences around every house, large "Protected by .... Alarms" signs on every wall, the habit you get into of locking your car doors every time you go for a drive. Yet I also felt safe pretty much everywhere, except for a couple of times in town, which is really not that different to any big city anywhere. Whether the crime problem in CT is actually different to other cities I can't comment on, but the fact your awareness of your personal safety is raised isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The other problem that has been well documented is poverty. It starts to appear on the drive in from the airport, kilometre after kilometre of shanty towns, people crossing the freeway or walking alongside the road, even sitting on the concrete barrier between the lanes watching the cars go by. At every traffic lights a crowd of hawkers descend on the cars with everything from souvenirs to phone chargers/covers, selling photocopied jokes on A4 pages or offering to take your garbage. All for a couple of rand (20 euro cents or 40c Aussie). Joerg and I were thinking of going on a township tour but in the end couldn't find the time. I also didn't take any photos of the townships, it seemed wrong to, to intrude on people's struggles or exhibit something that didn't belong to me. This is the best I did:

What I wasn't prepared for was the level of people dependent on you for their living. When you park your car there is always one or two parking attendants/security guards, and it's expected that you tip them (since they get paid a pittance for standing around watching your car). This also means you get some slightly farcical assistance to "help" you park in a dead-easy space. When you fuel up your car you do nothing but sit in the car, and pay the attendant (plus tip) through the window. In a restaraunt tipping 10% is essential because a high proportion of the waiters wages are based on tips (and in some restaraunts that is ALL they get).

One time I got annoyed with someone stressing that we were 10 rand short of the 10%, especially since it was a half decent bar so likely to treat its workers OK, but it proves that people are trying to do the right thing. Which is one thing I found constant in South Africa - the haves try to help the have-nots, whether its through tips or helping the families of the people they employ domestically or work in in their businesses (in a slight reversal domestic jobs like maids/gardeners can be better since the average worker isn't exactly well paid). Again its like the school kids we saw dancing at the game lodge - its great that one family gets employment, their kids get helped through school, and you know that there is a ripple effect as their extended family/neighbours will also benefit. But theres so many people out there that need that help and you hope that with time the country will grow so theres opportunities for everyone.

That sounds like false hope but everyone I met in South Africa had that hope, that there was too much in this country to be lost and that it would grow out of these turbulent times into something better. And it does seem like growing pains - some of the corruption and the scandals that I read about while I was there seemed so immature: people in "responsible" positions crashing cars drunk then trying to conceal/deny it, sexual harassment by executives which in addition to being offensive/abusive seemed to be stupid, pathetic and blatant (not the more sinister and subtle kind unfortunately occuring in the Western world). It seems the lesson is yet to be learnt that power is not to be used blindly but with care, and that power brings responsbility in how you act and are seen to act instead of immunity from criticism/analysis.

This is Greenmarket Square, the place the guidebooks tell you to buy your African souvenirs, filled with stalls with wooden carvings, beadwork, wire works, placemats, shirts, cushion covers. Most of the opportunities that are being taken now are based around tourists sothe prices have doubled since Joerg bought his first bead necklace here 4 years ago and I heard several locals astounded at the good deal they were being offered. While it isn't the best feeling haggling when you have money and the salesman probably doesnt I reckon some of these guys are doing better than they should. These stalls are everywhere in the region - in Stellenbosch, on the beach, outside the Cape - but where does the money go? And how traditional is what you're buying? A lot of it comes in from Zimbabwe, Mali, Kenya, or further north. Others are inferior copies made locally but not indigenous to the region. You have more confidence you're getting the genuine article in stores on the Waterfront or in shopping centres (though some stores just buy from the streets) but you pay the price and know the markup doesnt flow back to the people who need it.

So what do you do? Well do your research - any money helps people survive and the economy grow but the more you know the harder you can try to make sure your money goes somewhere its needed, like Fancy Stitch products. If you're out of the city your money will go further and what you're buying is more likely to be genuine and locally made. One place I would urge you to visit and buy some souvenirs in CT or online is Monkeybiz in the Bo Kaap (follow the link for the address or look it up in Lonely Planet, their stuff is in some other shops too). Not only is it a good cause but the intricate beadwork is more traditional to the area. Here is my new desk ornament to replace the gloopy thing.

This weeks recipe

Massa do Cherne:

• 1 medium-sized fish/couple of fillets
• 6-8 prawns (can use other shellfish like clams)
• 1 can peeled/chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion
• couple of cloves of garlic (don't hold back)
• handful of coriander
• bay leaf, cracked black pepper, chillies (either real ones or flakes/powder/sauce)
• 150-200g of pasta (approx- couple of handfuls per person). The pasta used here is C-shaped and tubular, about 1cm long, but any small shaped/tubular pasta will do.

1. Boil fish in salted water. Remove the fish and flake/cube. Reserve the water
2. Fry diced onions, garlic and coriander in olive oil
3. When golden add in the tomatoes. Let them fry for a couple of minutes and reduce the heat a little before adding spices - cracked pepper, bay leaf, chilli powder/sauce to taste (if using real chillies add them before the tomatoes).
4. Leave for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then fold the fish pieces through the sauce
5. After a couple of minutes when the pieces are coated in the tomato sauce add enough cooking water to cover everything (and some extra to allow for the pasta) then bring up to a simmer.
6. Add in the pasta and stir well. Add more water if needed
7. Place the prawns on top so they're half-submerged. Cover and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.
8. If the dish starts to become dry add more water. It should end up pretty sloppy like a laksa or other noodle soup.

A day in the life?!

5.30am. Sms from my boss "Why don't you come up to London today". Pack. Phone Bry. Frantically print out plans in office. Airport. Plane. Heathrow. Train. Hotel bar, meeting with boss. Pub. Dinner, meeting with new boss. Hotel room. Sleep. Heathrow Express. Plane again. Lisbon. Office. Million and one things to do. Why am I so tired?

I think I was in London Monday night, I really could've been anywhere but I did see Marble Arch at the end of a street. I rang a mate almost to prove I was in another country, I don't think I expected him to head up for a beer or wanted to head out for another beer but calling just made the trip seem more normal. He's in Ikea buying shelves, baby due in 3 days. Proof "normal" is different?! (Best of luck Marty and Jo by the way!)

Oh and watch out if I choose which pubs we drink in. In saying "That's a pub, want to see what it's like?" I managed to pick one of the most famous gay bars for a pre-dinner drink with my not-very-tolerant boss. Previous successes with that sentence have included a strip club and a bar so full of damp you can almost eat the spores you're breathing in. Go me.

corporate manoeuvres in the dark

This week my company announced that it was merging. It wasn't a major surprise to me but does mean an interesting time ahead. Mergers and takeovers are part of the normal cycle of my industry and it can be a little hard to explain that normality to others. Yes they bring uncertainty but our business is always uncertain. The next drillhole might not bring good results, or the vein thickens unexpectedly. The commodity price can halve overnight (or double. Please double!). A cyclone can flood your mine. The price of fuel rises making your project uneconomic. You're ready to drill/mine but can't buy a excavator or find a drill rig. Someone quits and all of a sudden you're doing two peoples jobs and can't fly home because there's no-one else. All of these you control as best you can by planning to the last detail but the further you look ahead the greater the uncertainty. This week in Australia the share market crashed 5% because the Shanghai market dropped 9% (amid suspicions it was an orchestrated manoeuvre to test the influence of the Chinese economy). How do you predict that?!

A lot of this uncertainty stems from the fact that our industry is results-oriented: a successful drill programme can mean immediate and intense follow-up, poor results mean moving to a new area (which may be a new region or new country) and even selling/dropping the project. Plus the timeframe is a lot shorter - drill campaigns are measured in months, mines can be started and rehabbed in a year.

My solution has been to know/plan the next step workwise, then plan my life around that. Or get in early so they plan around me. That seems passive but in return for the uncertainty I've been able to take advantage of flexible hours and days in lieu and there have been other rewards both financial and career-wise. Planning next month, next year becomes something that you avoid until you have all the facts for fear of having to unravel it all and plan again. It's like the person loses their wallet/purse once and vows never to lose it again, for fear of having to cancel all the cards etc. etc. You can play what-if scenarios all you like but there are so many variables you end up exhausting yourself thinking them all through, depressing yourself or having unrealistic expectations and being crushed. Something always seems to come from left field anyway.

It sounds like no way to live a life, but then spare a thought for Bry having to deal with this. On my own all I did was never commit to a concert or footy game for fear of my roster changing. As long as I got a weekend off a lot of times it didn't matter which weekend although I have missed far too many "occasions" as well as a lot of great gigs (Faithless on a Tuesday night in Perth is burnt into my mind). My friends got used to an email a few days before I got back or a call the night I was back, and occasionally an sms saying "Onsite, had to fly back early, sorry" and having to share their lives with me through email. But when you involve someone else in your life and they have a career, holidays they want to go on, things they want to do or just to lead a normal life only planning the next step is tough to deal with. Of course its give and take on both sides - Im getting used to planning ahead more, and am lucky that this job hasn't thrown up too many surprises. I am also lucky that Bry has been so patient and understanding with this strange life I lead, and done her best to learn what factors mean we can plan, and which mean changes are afoot.

In this case it's relatively quiet - its a friendly merger so no stopping of funds or lengthy review periods post-acquisition. In contrast the first merger I went through involved both of those along with new rumours every week - after 2-3 months of thinking you might be unemployed or moved here, there and everywhere it gets really, really tiring! We're still exploring and my contract will be honoured, I don't know what I'll be doing after that but then I didn't know that before this week and I'm pretty sure I won't for a little while yet. You see we still have to plan the next step ;) there's options out there both with this company and others plus I'm sure there'll be more opportunities coming so all we can do is find out the details and then choose which is best.

Rounding the Hope

I'm still working my way through the Cape Town retrospective although finding it hard to seperate into post-size bites - life is a journey and separating beginnings from ends is hard at the best of times but this holiday felt so much like a continuous thread it's doing in my head. Solution: blog the journeys within the journey instead of trying to collate, compile and contrast. So this is the day we drove round the Cape........

We start at Kalk Bay - a fishing port where you're supposed to get great fresh fish but since we were at the wrong end of the day we had brunch at the Olympia Cafe and some of the best breakfasts/pastries I've tasted. Although I live in Portugal which also has some of the best pastries I've ever tasted...... life is tough ain't it?!First stop on the tourist trail is Boulders Beach where the penguins try to live their lives on the beach under the glare of the paparazzi (or play up to the crowds to get their cut of the tourist rand). A few years ago you were free to share the beaches with the penguins but be warned that nowadays you will pay and end up packed like sardines onto a wooden deck with a multitude of other tourists - it's a fine line here between conservation and profiting. Luckily there were a few penguins taking a break from the main stage (or were they trying to lure us into the queue and out of our R25?!) so we could photo them and get on the road again before a 6 year old jumped the wall and went to 'play' with them.

False Bay taken from Cape Point

Don't feed the baboons. Seriously. They half-killed an 8 year old while we were in CT and thats kinda normal for that time of the year when tourists decide to ignore the warnings. Mind you we also got half killed here when all the tourists decided to hit the brakes to take some photos. The view for Cape Point. Next stop: Antartica (or the end of the world if you still believe it's flat). For some reason while there were German and British tourists packing the steps up to the point, the point itself was held by a French family who had prime position and weren't moving. I'm sure thats not a metaphor for European relations?!I always get a little buzz when going to famous places, iconic places, places you've read about in books and seen in movies a hundred times. The buzz is greater when it's a place you've read about but never seen. So this is the actual, real life Cape of Good Hope which I grew up reading about in "adventure" novels with sailing ships having to round the Cape on their way to shipwreck themselves somewhere exotic - but I didn't actually realise it's a seperate point from Cape Point itself? Arrrr, back to the treasure map me hearties......To round the cape we headed up the west or Atlantic side of Cape Point through the less affluent side of beachside living. Also since this side has a slightly higher energy depostional environment (i.e. the waves are stronger) the road is a little closer to the water, or built on the side of a cliff. Since Nature usually doesnt like doing things like defying gravity the Chapman Peak road was closed for a couple of years after some rockfalls. Luckily we have engineers in the world who can design roads to cope with unstable slopes.........and the view over Hout Bay from Chapmans Peak is worth all the engineering (and the toll):Journey end: fish and chips (and ice-cream) on the beach in Hout Bay. This day was one of those days where the scenery speaks louder than any words I can write, so much so that it's an effort to only show a few photos and instead feels like I'm telling only half the story.

Progress

Some days I get the feeling I'm more like the guy with the pointy hair than I would like to be...

But while the storms keep us inside and insane at least they make for interesting skylines:

The Big Five (and other animals)

Following New Years we headed out east of Cape Town to the Garden Route Malaria Free^TM Game Lodge to see the Big Five in a Malaria Free^TM environment. The Big Five are:
Leopard - no photos. "Oh you never see them" said our ever helpful guide, completely contradicting all the marketing.


Buffaloes - no photos either. We drove through the bushland/long grass where they usually are but apparently they're very difficult to see. I would have thought they aren't hard to miss but I wouldn't know since I've never seen a buffalo. Anyway - since we didn't get a full set I'll round out with some photos of other cute animals we saw, which didn't make The Big Five
(I don't know what it is with titlecase in SA, but it's important).

I love this photo of the kudus against the skyline - like an puzzle it takes a second to work out how many shapes are ears and how many are trees... As you can tell a Malaria Free^TM environment isn't actually a very natural environment - it's a farm converted into a reserve where the antelope, bontebok, springbok and kudu roam and the elephants push over the telephone poles because it's fun. You might be able to tell from the size of the eles and the giraffes that the farm doesn't have much capacity for large animals and so is restricted to a pair of young adults of the smallest breed/type. The lack of trees means the giraffes spend most of their time head down munching through the bushes to get enough food.
Getting enough food wasn't such a problem for the humans - as you can see above we were able to eat our way through half the contents of the reserve. We were also treated to a traditional dance from the local school children - the payments from these concerts and donations from tourists have helped this school buy a new bus along with other resources. I wonder what sort of resources the other schools get left with who haven't got the opportunity to raise funds. There are plenty of people in South Africa trying to help break the poverty cycle but while every little bit helps isolated actions can only achieve so much.


While I'm on my soapbox: the Garden Route Game Lodge and other reserves in South Africa help by rescuing lions (and other animals) from canned hunting and other types of cruelty. Canned hunting is a vile practise where animals are raised in captivity to be targets for "hunters", normally in confined areas, and often their dependence on humans is abused to make them easier prey. The lions here are unable to fend for themselves - they will kill an animal but have no comprehension that they need to kill for food. So more game reserves like this are needed to resettle animals at risk and ensure they are cared for and have a happy life (and they are happy here - the fact that they've bred attests to that). As much as busfuls of tourist may seem repellent they can bring much good for the ecology as well as both for the community.

Morning chill, afternoon sun

Since some people think that smog-filled sunrises near high-rises are pretty it's only fair to point out that nothing beats the sun rising on a clear morning behind the olive trees.........except for the fact that it's about 5 degrees and the only place I felt like watching this from was inside my office next to the heater. It's been cold enough that even the cars need blankets at night:
OK I know 5 isn't that cold. Even though it dropped to -1 the other morning (and the ground was white with frost so while driving past the cork oaks I lost track of where I was and thought I was passing through snow-covered forests in Germany but then I drove over the hill back into the olive groves and there was no way I could be anywhere but Mediterranean Europe) I know some of you are living in -30 and will tell me I have it good. But as you can see below I've come from sun and beaches and waterfront bars (and girl but thats another topic) so for me it's cold here and I'm over it. Those in Perth who are sick of 40 degree days are welcome to swap.Low tide, the beach at Hermanus. The people are digging for white mussels/clams (conservationists don't stress its licensed/quota-controlled), the collie is just having fun.
Working here can be dangerous. One of the guys here couldn't come to work today because he was cooking a sausage on the grill and some fat squirted in his eye. Don't stress he's fine. But at times like this I wish I still worked for Rio and could do an incident investigation and email it to lots of people. Somebody do a hazard report for me. Please.

Spot the lion

There is a lion somewhere in this photo. If you think you know where place an X and submit your entry to Praca Miguel Bombarda 14. First correct entry wins a prize.....
And why aren't the lions front, centre and posing for the camera? Well the fence in the background divides the game park from the neighbouring farm. The lions prefer to sit and watch the sheep go by rather than wait for tourists.

Iconic

If there is one landmark that defines Cape Town, one image which appears in people's minds when you mention the city it is Table Mountain. Out of the 650 photos I took there I can safely say one third are of the mountain - from morning through to sunset, from the front, back, side and even on top. It is a constant backdrop to everything else you're doing or seeing in CT, and when the light and the weather change it's appearance it seems to reflect the mood of the city below. So if I'm going to show you CT it's best we go round the mountain first.

Devils Peak and the "Table" from Newlands cricket ground

Poking up behind the grape vines at Groot Constantia - for some reason mountains and vineyards combine in almost half my photo's this trip.....

The classic Table Mountain view

This photo is taken by every visitor to CT - the mountain behind the V&A Waterfront where the docks have been redeveloped into a shopping/eating/tourism precinct. Locals will have you believe it's just for tourists but we seemed to end up there meeting people plenty of times! not that I ever complain about drinking by the water ;)

Castle Rock (or Nursery Buttress) taken from Kirstenbosch Gardens

Joerg and I were planning to climb the mountain at some stage but unfortunately the weather and other commitments (including laziness brought on by alcohol and over-eating!) combined to frustrate us. Which route we should take provided dinner-time debate for several of our hosts though for us names like Skeleton Gorge or Nursery Ravine tended to raise some different issues.

Looking across Hout Bay from Chapmans Peak to the "back" of the table.

Another tourist shot - and a cute couply photo in case you're not tired of them - the view from the cable-car station up the cableway to the top.

The green side of the mountain as it's enfulged by cloud - the southern slope with the University of Cape Town and the Rhodes Memorial.

The "tablecloth" creeping over the mountain

The tablecloth is supposed to come in from the sea during the afternoon and cover the mountain but it seemed to like defying the script - present in the morning and then dissipating as if whisked away to get ready for the evening serving or, as on this occasion, covering part of the mountain then stopping. On the day we went up the mountain it did both - we raced to the cableway after lunch when we realised the cloud was gone but when we got to the top the cloud was lurking to the south, threatening to blanket us. However the only thing rolling in was tour busses as we left, racing to herd their charges into the cablecar before the cloud returned.

Sunset over the mountain from the comfort of the stoep

RIP

For every bit of happy news it seems there must also be some sad. No words for a mate departed: even if they reach you you must've had your reasons, theres still the disbelief that someone who enjoyed experiencing as much as he could would stop before he experienced it all, someone who enjoyed meeting people so much would prefer to stay alone. Thoughts are more with those there today, those who remain, searching for clues from a look in a photo, words once spoken or written, wondering why and what now. What now should be to live life the way he did not the way he passed - happy, taking every opportunity, no regrets, letting his memory live in what we do with our lives.

Times like these you wonder whether it's so great being so far away.

Whats going on here?!

Am back from South Africa but there's only going to be one bit of news anyone's interested in: last weekend Bry and I got engaged (and through good planning the moment was recorded for you!). There's a lot of emotion especially now we're apart again but all I'll say here is I'm very happy; I kept getting told in CT that Bry was the nicest person they knew and how lucky I was but no-one needed to tell me that! I'm going to say even less on when/where the wedding will be as we might work on being in the same country before planning that!!! but we will give everyone overseas plenty of warning. And the ring?!

Not bad eh?!