Monday, October 24, 2005

Pics from Guatemala




Here are some pics from Guatemala. One is where their used to stand a house... but which has been washed away by the flood. I also owe a special mention to Colleen who has got her mates together and raised money for lots of goats, chickens, wells, seed kits and other goodies!

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Friday night in El Salvador

8pm on a Friday night. In Aus it will be Saturday morning and you will all be waking up with a hangover. I am in a car on the way from the airport to the hotel in El Salvador. I’ve just returned from Guatemala. I’m working for both country offices so sort of hopping between the two, which I must say is hard work, trying to be in two places at once. I have been up working at 5am every day this week, and not sleeping til 12 or 1 am. A little sleep deprived but it’s the only way to get everything done. El Salvador is a little less mad than Guatemala so I’m taking the opportunity of my return here to not work for one night before I get back in to El Salvador work tomorrow, though don’t know how long I will last tonight before sleeping. Have been traveling and working since 5am this morning.

Anyway, what to tell you? Got here on the 8th which makes it 13 days ago. Feels like 13 weeks. 4 days after got to El Salvador where I was supposed to work for 2 weeks, had to got to Guatemala, as the situation there turned very very bad. Hurricane Stan had a worse impact in Guatemala than the famous Hurricane Mitch many years ago, but I think it just hasn’t made the press or got the worlds attention because of having the misfortune of coinciding with the far greater tragedy in Pakistan. Arriving hotel will write more later.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

El Salvador 5am

Have been in El Salvador since Saturday. too busy to write. am off to Guatemala this morning. will write more later.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

LAX

Ok, even i admit my life is kinda surreal sometimes. One minute I am hanging out at home in the suburbs of belco quietly planning a weekend of brunches and catchups with friends in Canberra, and next thing i know I find myself sitting in the house of a dear old friend I haven't seen for nearly 8 years, in central Los Angeles. and what's more bizarre is that there is a Mr Whippy van outside playing the soundtrack.... I'm on route to El Salvador where they are having some small problems with a volcano exploding and flooding and landslides etc etc. I expect I'll be there for a few weeks. On the way i have a 12 hour stopover in LA, so its a good chance to catch up with James, who was a buddy back when i lived in Spain. He has a cute little house which he bought not so long ago and is well. He reminded me of course that back when we lived in Spain, we girls treated him as the 'wise old Tio Jaime' because he was so much older than us, but in fact he was the very age that I am now. I think he's implying I'm getting old!

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Home with the fellas



Am now officially home, at least for the next few weeks. Rocky was so glad to have me home he jumped right in one my "shopping" luggage bag and said don't leave again without me! Carlos doesn't care so much....

Piccies of Beirut



Piccies of Syria


Beirut's defence

OK, having dished Beirut a little in my last blog I better tell you quickly how it redeemed itself... I gave up on the search for an ideal waterfront experience and decided instead to head for the centre of town to see what it had to offer, and my what a surprise! It was like stepping out of the Middle East and straight into France. First, it was the cleanest city centre I have ever seen in my life anywhere in the world. Second, the streets were filled with fantastic restaurants, bars and outdoor cafes. In between the shops and restaurants were beautiful churches and mosques side by side. Most fascinating of all were the buildings. Here and there as you approach the city centre you see buildings riddled with the marks of bullets and shellings still remaining from the war, along side brand new glizty constructions, but when you get to the city centre it is all these fabulous restored buildings which are clean and perfect but old, french colonial era in style. In the end Beirut did live up to its reputation of being a very liveable city.