First Full Day

Although we are still suffering from the effects of the long day(s) yesterday, we decided not to waste time and get with the touring. Before I forget the huge bats we saw last night, well, we saw huge bats cruising over the local traffic circle!
Today we headed off to the Gateway to India, built for a royal visit of Geo v in 1907, and, appropriately finished at independence in 1947. We did a driving tour of part of the city and saw where the washing for this huge city is done. Keeping everyone's laundry straight would have done Swiss Air proud.
More later.
Jim

I'm Back

Sorry, but it have been somewhat remiss in blog entries.
My memories of Mumbai surround how busy a port it is with major navy ships, including the former British navy aircraft carrier, Hermes, of Falkland Island fame, bulk carriers, oil tankers, fishing fleets, etc. really impressive. Also impressed by the home of the founders of Kingfisher beer, and also fond of their product and getting more fond as we head South.
The train trip was uneventful, but we did have a spacious 4 person compartment to ourselves. The country side seemed very barren and dry. Ended in Madgaon which is definitely not touristy, but nice. The traffic on the main road was worth the price of admission and also your life if you tried to cross. Joy got to see her first market and bought her first pashmina.
I had an adventure getting the tickets for our second leg to Ernakulam (Kochi). The India Rail site was closed down for the morning so I couldn't go through Cleartrip. I decided to try the station and lined up with a number of Indians in the line for Foreigners. The man in front of me said that I should "butt in" at the front of the line as I was a foreigner and also older than dirt. I explained that I was Canadian and we didn't do that. After about 30 minutes in line, during which time I was happily chatting with those around, an official came and dragged me, against my protestations, to the front. I felt so badly, that I left the station before getting service. Back to the internet with Cleartrip to find out that there was no space on trains for a few days. Back to the station (I had noticed that they re-opened at 2:15) and now I was second in line. I got to the window and said where I wanted to go and he immediately gave me confirmed tickets for the next day. Maybe part of the "foreign quota". It was a long day.
Jim

We Are In India

I never thought that I would say that. I think of all my ancesters who never can to India! It was a long day and you can see that I am not over "jet lag" as I am wide awake at 3 am.
The flight yesterday, and the day before, I think was long, but interesting. The short flight to Halifax was uneventful, but as soon as we landed and noticed that our flight from Toronto to Zurich was delayed about 3-4 hours, we knew that things would be interesting.
Eventually leaving TO and arriving in Zurich, knowing full well that we would miss our flight from there to Mumbai, was concerning. But Swiss Air was really on the ball. We were met at the top of the ramp with boarding cards for a flight to Muskat (via Dubai) with an onward flight to Mumbai. Amazingly efficient. To top everything, our luggage unexpectedly came with us and arrived in Mumbai with us! Talk about Swiss efficiency.
We are safely ensconced in the YWCA in Mumbai, which is living up to the guidebook recommendation. Rooms are simple, and the beds are hard, but breakfast and supper are included, as is morning tea in bed. We arrived yesterday morning just in time for tea. Yesterday, we slept and only got a short walk before supper.
On the big news front.....................there is a rum produced in India called "Old Fort" which is already my favourite.
Today we shop for a few things and take a tour of this part of Mumbai. We leave by train on Friday for Goa (at least I do because Joy is still on the standby list).
Jim

Problems Slowly Solved

I am now registered with India Rail, having received the "mobile OTP" via e-mail. Must confess that part of the problem was our difficulty in scanning my passport in a small enough attachment to get to India Rail.
We are also confirmed at the YWCA in Mumbai after a delightful phone call at 4am our time with someone at the "Y". If everyone in India is that pleasant, it should be a great trip. They had received our deposit, but it did take the phone call to confirm.

Off to India - Jan 11

In a week, Joy and I are off on the long plane trip to Mumbai, India, via Toronto and Zurich. To say that trying to make arrangements for accommodations and travel in India from Canada are complex, is a complete understatement.
The visa application took the work of both of us for 6 hours and 3 phone calls. To the credit of the private company who handles this, they did get them back to us in 2 weeks, and that was over Christmas. One hint for folks in future, use Purolater as any other options adds confusion. Oh, yes, they do not answer e-mails?
We have been working for 10 days so far to try to arrange a place to stay. As we are "budget" travellers, we planned/hoped to stay at the YWCA in Mumbai for a few days to get adjusted. Although we followed their payment process using Visa for the required deposit on Jan 2, we do still not have confirmation of a room.
And then there is the train! Having heard much of India's much heralded train system, it seemed like a good idea to get a reservation for our first leg. Not so quick! I found a recommended site called "clear trip"that helps us tourists make these reservations. But you have to be registered with India Rail first and there is a form to fill out on-line. You are required to fill out a mobile phone #, but the kind folk at "clear trip" say just to fill in any 10 digits. This is convenient because Joy and I don't use cel phones. After filling the form I received the first of 2 required passwords (my e-mail password) but was told that I wouldn't get the mobile one (still not sure how I was to get that one) until I had scanned and forwarded a copy of my passport. This is where our lack of tech savvy and a broken scanner, comes in and none of our three attempts to do so have been successful. And, every time I ask a question or send an e-mail, I seem to be given a new case #, even when I try to inform them of a new case #. I just hope that Via Rail is more user friendly to tourists.
Jim

April 6, 2013 Finally Off

We have been waiting for everything to get organized for our three weeks in Aucapata. The first few weeks hanging around our old stomping grounds at the Torino, a kind of dingy multi story colonial building, was great. The security situation was much calmer than last year with no riot police in evidence around the Plaza Murillo. Holy Friday had a spectacular procession with many hooded figures carrying various scenes. In general the environment around the plaza, can keep us enthralled for hours with the little children playing among the pigeons. La Paz was quite quiet (for La Paz) over Easter weekend and so were we as we got used to the move from sea level to 3800 meters.
On Tuesday we moved to the hostel Ecuador in Sopacachi a more up-scale and newer area of La Paz. We are much closer to the office of the Ivar Mendez International Foundation and the shopping expeditions for art supplies and groceries. We had a wonderful meeting with Mario Conde Cruz and Javier Fernandez, the two artists that are coming to Aucapata to paint with Joy and teach in one of the larger schools. They are very enthusiastic about seeing the area and the children. They are particularly excited about getting to Iskanwaya, the ruins of the Mollan culture, situated below Aucapata.  We are hoping that they will be providing advice and assistance for the art program in the future.
We leave for Aucapata at 4:30am with Cynthia, Ernesto, Paz (the best driver in Bolivia), Danilo, Joy and I. That means three weeks without Internet.

Lima

Hola All:
We left La Paz via Aerosur to Cuzco and because of the time change arrived before we left. Aerosur is probably the best option for flights around Peru, but for the one between Lima and Cuzco it prices itself out of the market. The cost is about double, so we switched to Star Peru for the second leg. We were able to get an earlier flight (although a little Bae 146) and were in the Hotel España by early afternoon. The 2 days we have in Lima are intented for relaxation, catching the band at the presidential palace at noon, and filling up on Churras and Cervaza. And it has worked out that way with Joy throwing in some shopping. If she gets it all back it will go down in aviation history with my taking 50 Quinoa bars back for Ivar Mendez to test (another story for later). The band performances here every noon at the changing of the guard are interesting and free. The music is great, but the riot police keep you away from the fence so the photos are ¨crap¨. Churras are pudding wrapped in a ¨beavertail¨for those familiar with the Ottawa treat. They are not good for you, but are very good!
Well, we have checked out and will be on our way out of SA in less than 12 hours. Sad to leave, and will try to be back.
Jim