Child of the Planet

Entry for September 19 2006: Back in the Port Almaria On leaving San Jose, a buzz worked it’s way though the crew. Something had been sighted out in the Mediterranean and it wasn’t dolphins. We soon drew up to an abandoned boat. A small aluminum dinghy. The sort that weekend fishermen use back home. As we approached the rolling tub, the scuttlebutt amongst the crew was that the boat could have been used by drug runners or refugees. The boat was empty but for a pile of orange life jackets. It’s hard to believe that people set out across the Mediterranean in craft that should be punting about on a quiet lake. Something must have caught someone’s eye cause the boat was hooked, and bought along side. Intrepid Carlos (the one whose snoring, I reckon has been scaring away anything with ears for a few hundred kilometres) leapt aboard the wildly pitching dingy and after working away with a wrench, retrieved a compass of surprisingly good quality. As we pulled aw...

Canadians and Australians are cousins so I knocked up this list. Feel free to add to it. Especially if you have no idea about either country (make something up, that would be funnier :-) These countries are similar in that they are both big places, with few people living in the middle. One is hot, the other cool :-) Both have bears, though Australian ones have a novel way of reproducing, and are unlikely to rip your head from your body. We have psychopaths cruising our dry interior in Land Cruisers to do that. Both are members of the Commonwealth Though you wouldn’t know it cause they have a cooler flag. Both have neighbors that they have a love/hate relationship with. We have New Zealand and they have THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Both have a fine appreciation of the ‘indi’ guitar band. We are a member of ANZUS and they are a member of G8. How the hell did they get into G8? We are as good as them… oppps sorry, this wasn’t supposed to be a competitive piece ...

Entry for September 18 2006: Port of San Jose   Our new mooring is stunning. The water is so clear, it’s like wobbly solidified air. The tiny town that hugs the port beautiful too. As soon as we docked yesterday afternoon, the captain disappeared to have a shower. We all de-boated and swarmed into a bar that sat right on the docks. Up till now, Ricardo had been grabbing a quick sluicing under a hose on the pier in the mornings, before for starting the engines. He reappeared next to our table freshly scrubbed and sporting pants that had been ironed. He disappeared off into the Spanish countryside with an American fisheries researcher who had been hitching a lift with us, to attend a meeting with some political big wigs.

Entry for September 16 2006: Aguadulce. Yesterday, we left Almirima at the crack of dawn. Our wake up call was the sound of the Toftevaag’s engines firing up. Our first day was spent getting to know the rhythm of life on the boat, as we sailed up the coast to this mooring in Aguadulce. Not allot of dolphin action yesterday. We were all a bit groggy today for a variety of reasons. This morning our wake up call was again the sounds of marine diesels coughing to life deep below decks. Most of us were kept awake last night by the disco music, rolling out over the marina from the clubs on shore. I would have slept well if not for Carlos (one of the regular crew who was sleeping on the other side of the deck from me) who snored so loudly that the ear plugs I inserted to block out the disco beat were rendered useless. His snoring resonated through the wooden deck, and travelling up into my head, thorough the thin pillow I was using.

Sydney is blessed with great natural beauty. Which can be a curse, cause very little effort is directed towards architecture or public sculpture. I know, I know, what about the Opera House. If you do a bit of research on its history, you’ll discover what a glorious accident it was. Any who, each year there is a free sculpture walk along the beaches and cliffs.

These are a few random shots from the Newtown street festival that was held last Sunday. Yes I know, there aren’t any streets in the photos. I call it that, cause it’s not really a proper ‘music festival,’ though this year a fence was erected around the site, and booze was dispensed by booth (in years past it was BYO.) I reckon someone is trying to mold what was, a nice relaxed cheap little community get-together, into Glastonbury.

Entry for September 16 2006: Waiting for the boat. The hotel managed to not wash the bag of clothes that I dropped off to 'housekeeping' yesterday, so I board the boat with a bag full of stinky clothes.   I exit the hotel and find the other volunteers out the front of the hotel, and we all meet Ricardo, our captain. We pile into a van, and were driven to the resort town and marina of Almirama. I’m spending the next two weeks on a dolphin research vessel which is a restored historic Norwegian fishing ship called the Toftevaag. Ricardo told us a story of when they were stripping the boat down. They pulled up some old flooring and found some old maritime charts. One of which had a swastika stamped in the corner (they reckon the fishing boat had been requisitioned.) Another had what looked like an annotation of an island that the crew had discovered. Our mission is a long term study of Mediterranean cetaceans which will hopefully crystallise into a network of...

Entry for September 15 2006: Still in Almaria. Was living in England for four years and never made it here. Spain is one of my favourite cultures. The food, the films, the art, the siestas, and Spanish girls are hot! I like to explore new places on foot so I’ve followed my nose, had to back track a couple of times, and asked directions twice. I’ve been out exploring the Moorish castle up on the hill. Really different from English or German fortifications. There are gardens all over the place and it reminds me of the Japanese castles I’ve visited.  

Entry for September 14, 2006: Almaria.  Hola, It’s something like eleven at night, and I’ve just been out walking the streets. The whole town seems to be full of cafés and bars, but there has been no loud duff duff´ music shaking the thousand year old buildings apart. I haven’t run into any drunken dickheads, and families are still out enjoying the night air (I’ve been told by a friend that the real partying happens around two in the morning.)   The vibe is all very sophisticated, and Euro. Oh yeah, and everyone is beautiful. Too beautiful! I was watching a bit of tele during siesta today and I saw advertisements for plastic surgery. Very weird! OK, you guys who live in Europe will wonder what the big deal is, but I come from the 'New World' and sophistication is a rare commodity out there. That’s not to say that it’s all good. These people think that fat old bearded guys singing rock and roll is cool, so we can laugh at them for that at least. ...