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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Jun 05, 2008 02:00 PM Aboard "Bond" through the Iceberg's Alley
Yes, it is Bond. But not 007! "Sir Robert Bond" is a big ferry bult to sail through the ice areas... The ticket for 45- hours trip from Lewisporte to Goose Bay on Labrador cost about 150 CAD (Canada is very expensive) and you have a choice of chair, dormitory bed or the cabin.
We departed at 12.30 pm. The wather was sunny but due low temperature and strong wind I used gloves on the deck. There were nice landscapes of the bay and after two hours I saw the first iceberg.
Icebergs are sailing from Greenland along the Canadian cosast down to New Foundland. In the books they call this route "the Icebergs Alley" Soon we saw more of them sailing between rocky islands.
There were only 50 passengers or so on board. They offer onboard simple meals in the cafeteria, so if you want to pay 6 dollars for the hamburger you can go there. I took a good supply of food from the land, an the nice lady in the bar allow me to use boiled water from her pot. It is (by the way) old Polish custom to distribute boiled water to the budget travellers for free. Bon apetit! Tomorrow we will have first stop in the little settlement of Cartwright...
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Jun 04, 2008 02:00 PM New Foundland... one bus per day!
I stay in the cosy Downtown Hostel in Young Street paying 25 CAD per bed - Canada is expensive! St John's - the capital of NF/Labrador prowince has picturesque location in the long and narrow bay. Early in the morning I took a walk around the downtown with some victorian achchitecture and then it was already time to go to the bus departing to Lewisporte. There in only one bus per day along Tans Canada Highway! They charge 50 CAD per ticket and 7 dollars fuel surcharge (surprise!) for 5 hours/ 350 km trip. Canada is expensive! On the route I enjoyed nice landscapes of lakes, forests and marine coast... Few settlements only. Lewisporte is a little township with not much to do. But it is departure point for the famous Labrador ferry. Tomorrow will be the first departure in the 2008 season (there are summer sailings only due to the ice) and I plan to embark this ferry/icebreaker to sail to the north. It is much colder here. On the open sea it will be even colder!
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Jun 03, 2008 02:00 PM Stopover in Frankfurt...
If you use cheapest airlines flying from poin to poin you have to buy sepatare tickets and sometinmes wait few hour for the connection. I took a flight Gdansk to Frankfurt where I had 5 hours waiting for the low-cost Condor flight to Halifax/Canada.
It was a good chance to see Frankfurt after years...
There is storage room in Frankfurt airport for your luggage
at the arrival terminals and they charge like 3,50 euro for 7 hours. Then you have a train to downtown - it cost 3,60 euro each way. After 15 minutes I landed at Hauptwache station.
It was a nice walk along the oldest part of Franfurt.
Late in the afternoon I took a flight to Halifax. On arrival there is strict control regarding the food, so do not bring it from Europe. Then the third flight of Air Canada took me to St John's. It was dark when I landed: tired after busy day and 4,5 hours of time difference... Welcome to Canada!
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Jun 02, 2008 02:00 PM I am flying west tomorrow...
Yes, it will be new voyage... I always spend summer in Poland enjoying flowers and birds in my Wojtkówka but there are regions where the summer is practicaly the only season suitable for the visit. The great Polish-Canadian globetrotter - Remi Mielcarek recommended to me "The Icebergs Alley" - I want to see it and - by the way - also some landscapes of New Foundland and The Labrador. It will be also a good chance to find the remote French territory of St Pierre and Miquelon.
It is expensive region in comparison to Asia or Africa so it will not be a long voyage - I want to be back in Poland soon to enjoy our summer...
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Mar 11, 2008 07:00 PM Spring flowers in Wojtkowka...
I landed in Gdansk airport on time. It was cold evening... One more exciting voyage is completed! The output: 13 hours of video recording, 25 rolls of slides, more then 2000 digital pictures... Huge work awaits me now...
Often and often I think about my first book. So far travels had the priority, maybe it is the time to write about?... My friends encourage me since the long time...
I have been already in my Wojtkowka. It survived the winter, and everything is OK. There are already first, spring flowers. I hope the spring will come soon... It is time to put first seeds into the ground. Wojtkowka awaits you in the summer dear Friends!
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Mar 10, 2008 07:00 PM Arrivederci Roma!
On my way home I have a stopover in Rome. It was rainy when I was landing in the evening, but the morning awarded me by sunny weather. I took a long walk to the places I did see... 34 years ago. Not many changes: Rome is still charming and in March the tourist crowd is not so heavy... It is huge city so if you want to jump to the specific place subway is a good idea: the single 75-minutes ticket valid also for the transfer to the bus cost 1 euro, or if you want a one day pass it will cost you 4 euro...
I took new pictures of the old fountains, St Peter's, Colloseo.
In the aternoon I went by shuttle bus from Termini Station (6 euro) to the Ciampino Airport for my low-cost flight to Gdansk.
Arrivederci Roma!
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Mar 09, 2008 07:00 PM Flying hours and hours...
I made a choice of Qatar airlines because they offer competitive internet prices and allow you to make open jaw: to fly to Indonesia and to return from Philippines.
Our Airbus 330 was full departing just after midnight from Cebu. It is long - 10 hours flight to Doha/Qatar. They serve 2 meals - with beer and wine...
I landed in Doha at sunrise. Now it is 7 hours to wait for the onward flight to Rome. Then I will fly another 5 or 6 hours to Fumicino.
Go with your boarding pass to the transfer desk on 2nd floor - they will issue vouchers for the substantial meals in the cafeteria! I found also "silent room" to rest after a night on a plane. On the 2nd floor of the terminal there are two free internet stands - but the time of usage is limited automaticaly to 10 minutes. That's what I use...
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Mar 08, 2008 07:00 PM Chocolate Hills are green!
This is one of the best known tourist landmarks in the Philippines. In the central part of Bohol Island you will find more then 1200 little conical hills - hard to see in the other place...
It is 50 km from the capital of the island - Tagbillaran where I stay at Everglory Lodge - close to the jetty paying 500 peso for the fan room. Sure - you ca go there by taxi, but much cheaper is to get there by local junk bus heading to Carmen. After 2,5 hours you will disembark the bus before village Carmen. Then it is 15 min walk uphill or 20-peso motoptaxi ride.
From the top of the hill you will see the great panorama - 40 or more conical hills 40-120 m high. All of them are coral rock uplifts. Nice view - but they are not brown like a chocolate, but green! Maybe in the other months they change colors.
Sorry, today is my last day in The Philippines. The voyage to the paradise islands is coming to the end - so is my money. In the evening I will take the ferry back to Cebu and there will be midnight flight back to Europe. Do not forget to keep some pesos (550) for the intl airport tax - it is never included in the ticket price!
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Mar 07, 2008 07:00 PM Funny tarsiers on Bohol Island
Best wishes to all ladies on the occasion of International Woman's Day! It is today!
Hot and strong sun is shinning here again! My ferry reached crowded and polluted Cebu on 10 am - pier 4 - from the same pier I had at 12.01 pm fast ferry to Tagbillaran on Bohol Island. It was fast escape to the province!
Nice Bohol Island is famous for tarsiers - miniature monkeys - they say they are smallest primates in the world.
I found them 14 km from the capital of the island - they are in the little wildlife sanctuary in the jungle. They are like little rats... Very funny! In the day they sleep but from time to time they open huge eyes so I took some pictures for you...
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Mar 06, 2008 07:00 PM Guimaras - one more of thousand island
Cloudy Philippines... Just opposite the city of Iloilo lies another - little island of Guimaras. I decided to escape the pollution of the big town... Big pumpboat crossing the strait every half an hour cost only 12 peso. On the other side the life goes much quiter and slower. Jeepney took me to the north - to the village Navalas with little colonial church. Walking onward along the beach I reached nice colonial mansion built on the rock overlooking the sea. From this place you can easily see seven rocks in the sea - The Seven Sins...
Transport in the middle of the day is erratic on Guimaras - I took a moto-taxi to move to the Trapist Monastery. Guimaras is famous of its mango plantations - there were many of them on the route. The monks have also mango orchard - is the little, contemporary monastery they sell their products like jams and dried mango...
After crossing choppy strait back I decided to take overnight ferry to Cebu. I prefere to travel during daytime but - sorry - all ferries go at night - no choice... Cabin bunk costs me 800 pesos - I'll save on the hotel room...
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