Friday night at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Tunis, Tunisia North Africa

That 12 hour layover in Frankfurt is just a killer. First thing I did was check out the bed room in the Lufthansa lounge and sure enough there was an empty one so I managed to sleep for 5 hours. I'd left Vancouver the previous evening and spent 10 hours being served delicious meals and drinks by the friendly Lufthansa in-flight staff. I love business class on Lufthansa. There's the little overnight kit containing a toothbrush and paste, clean socks, eyemask and ear plugs for the light sleepers, a dark chocolate treat and other various odds and ends. Last trip it came in a cool tin container but this time the usual grey zipped bag. I like to walk around the Frankfurt airport checking out the duty free and various restaurants though I always end up in the same gift shop with all the tacky Germany souvenirs. The one thing I'd like to buy is the huge beer stein that must hold about 5 pints and costs something like 150 euros. Its a serious piece of equipment and I can't imagine raising 5 pints plus the weight of the mug with one hand. We're definitely talkin' two hander! On the way home in September I'll make room in my bag for a German Beer Stein.

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The flight to Tunis takes about 2 1/2 hours and arrives at 11:30pm. My driver Nuceur always greets me with a smile and though he knows very little english and I know limited french we seem to communicate with hand motions and lots of laughter. Tunis is a very cool little city and I always wish I had time to explore the Roman ruins and especially the souk.The gift shop in the airport has some good souvenirs but expensive so the souk is the best choice for pottery and other local crafts. No giant beer steins though!

 I stay at the Golden Tulip Hotel which is in Carthage just to the northeast of Tunis. If you get the right room you have beautiful views of the Mediterranean and if you find yourself in the wrong room the barking dog and yapping goats will keep you awake till all hours. If you arrive on Friday night the music from the mosques just down the road will entertain you way past midnight and drown out the dogs and goats.    

The goats live down in those trees with the dogs and other unidentified screaming lifeforms.Its a nice contrast to the lovely rooms provided at the Tulip complete with beautiful wooden desk inlaid with the Mecca directional arrow. Price of a cab to the airport is $20US or 20Tunisian DT

Heres the beverage list from the Golden Tulip. French Champagne anybody?

Cyrene, Libya

took a day off and spent 12 hours in a van driving around northeast Libya to the World Heritage Site at Cyrene. Here are a few photos taken there. The last photo is taken in the Forum. Hafid is our driver and he wants to be a statue someday so here he is practicing. It was a very hot day so he only posed for a short time. We had a great day seeing the sights and meeting a few Libyans. We even had lunch in the 'Cave Restaurant' which is in Sahdhat. We visited the Wadi el Kauf bridge which was very impressive and a waterfall near Darnah. The Green Mountains reminded me of home. Theres a lot of interesting places in Libya and I hope to see more of this splendid country in the near future. The weather is starting to feel like summer and for the past week the temps have been in the low 40's C.

young Dutch boy survives air crash in Tripoli, Libya

Ruben van Assouw is the only survivor of the plane crash May 12, 2010 at Tripoli International Airport that killed 103 people including his brother, mother and father.

The tail section is the only intact piece of the plane. Everything else is in fragments. Its hard to believe anyone could survive this disaster. Rescuers found him still strapped in the seat. He suffered 2 broken legs which the good Libyan doctor's performed surgery on and numerous bruises. He's recovering in the hospital in Tripoli and has been visited by his relatives from Holland. My heart breaks for this young boy and wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.

Afriqiyah Airline flights to Europe and other countries in Africa.

the Pyramids at Cairo, Egypt

Starting the descent into Cairo. I had the perfect seat for viewing the Pyramids and managed to snap this photo through the plane window. Took a taxi from the airport to the pyramids and had the driver snap the photo of me sitting at the side of a very busy highway with the pyramids in the background. We drove up to the entrance and dodged camels and other assorted beasts of burden. Many tourists and mayhem around the shops and alleys. Was a fantastic sight to see the Nile River as well. Cairo is quite the city!

Pizza night in Benghazi, Libya!!

Spent Friday night walking the streets of Benghazi and ended up in the Souq. Checked out a bunch of jewellery shops filled with gold and silver bracelets, rings and such. All the shops start opening around 6pm on Friday and the souq is filled with shoppers. We ended up having a pizza at the shop on Pepsi Street.

always wanted to stand at the end of one of these....

I always think of that scene in the movie Easy Rider where the deal is going down at the end of the airport runway. I finally got my chance to stand at the end of a runway! It was great till the security vehicle arrived and wondered what we were doing.

 

'just happened to drive onto the end of the runways sir and thought we'd get out and admire the view'

Benghazi

Took a stroll down the seawall in Benghazi on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Didn't find the pizza shop on Pepsi Street but enjoyed walking around the city.

Russian Radio Truck at Benghazi

While driving around the Benina Airport Expansion Project we discovered this old Russian truck which was obviously used for communications. There was even the old manual written in Russian.

Bob in Benghazi Libya

Doesnt matter where you go in the world you'll find Bob. Here he is painted on a back alley wall in downtown Benghazi, Libya

String of Pearls

You heard it here first! the String of Pearls have recorded a wonderful collection of tunes. I was fortunate enough to be asked by the Pearls to turn a few knobs on the project. A special thanks to David & David for making it happen in such a relaxed and inspiring manner. I look forward to being involved in future projects that include so many talented people!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjYkETgiuiY

Barbados Prison...the cells

Recently someone asked me about the cells in the new Barbados prison. This is a typical 3 man cell with just enough room to turn around in. There's a stainless steel toilet and sink with a steel mirror attached to the wall.

note: no flatscreen tv's! just 2 other snoring, farting room mates to keep you company

this cell is in the female wing

Chester wondering what it'd be like. This is a cell for one lucky permanent resident. Yup, solitary confinement in maximum security. Can you imagine twenty or thirty years living between those 4 walls??At the end of the corridor in this cell block is the room with trap door and hangmans noose. And then out the back door is the cemetary!

this is maximum security recreation area and will have fencing on all four sides and roof plus asphalt pad making escape impossible. The blue door on the far left is where the deceased will be brought out to the cemetary for burial.

Not the kind of place I'd want to 'hang' around very long. To make matters worse, the sewage lagoon is up wind of the facility and theres a constant breeze!

Svetlana from Omsk

Svetlana worked on the Sakhalin 1 project with me and I have very fond memories of her. She likes to travel and has been to Thailand and Turkey. She lives in central Siberia in a city called Omsk and commutes to work on Sakhalin. I keep reminding her that Canada has some wonderful sights too and she needs to come for a visit. Plus, we don't have snowbanks like that where I live!

Jet off Starboard..somewhere over South Korea

Just because I like this photo! Starting the descent into Incheon after the 4 hour flight from Yuzhno Sakhalinsk. The sky was so beautiful and then the other plane appeared. Just a magical moment.

room full of mirror's

This scene never ceased to amaze me every time I rode the train on Sakhalin Island from Yuzhno to Nogliki.I suppose over the course of those 2 years travelling the route I spent about 250 hours on this train and several of those hours were spent gazing into the infinite mirrors.It was just such a weird scene but so very cool and mind bending. No need for drugs on this train... just stare into the mirror!

Banks Brewery

Well folks, the sign says it all. Banks, exactly! Now I may be way off on my calculations but I'm thinking between the 10 or so expats on this project we must have polished off one or more of these tanks! Its true that some of us drank the occasional Carib beer and of course Mt. Gay and Cockspur rums were also popular and CHEAP!!! Come to think of it you could very easily become an alcoholic in Barbados without trying very hard or spending a lot of money! Having a bad day at the office?? Mt Gay to the rescue! A few shots of sugarcane brandy and the world is a happy place again! Trust me, it works!

Hobbit Heaven

Richard G was my assistant on the Barbados Prison Project and we spent countless enjoyable hours together. One day we decided to check out the ravine where the monkeys lived and discovered this old bridge that was covered in vines and just seemed like the perfect hobbit house. Upon entering we could hear this peculiar clicking sound coming from the other end. I had visions of big spiders or snakes but Richard assured me there was nothing that would harm us so we carefully made our way through the tunnel towards the sound. On the floor we discovered these Soldier Crabs engaged in battle or love, not sure which. The crabs find these old shells to call home till they get too big and have to move out and find a different shell. 

ah, the life of a crab under the bridge where its cool and shaded

Soldier Crabs busy doing what Soldier Crabs do. Pinching and pulling each other around till somebody gets hungry and bored. What a life!

Fixer upper

This abandoned house is across the street from friends of mine in Bridgetown and I thought it would make a good fixer upper project.....until I peeked around the side and discovered the house had no roof.

So much for that idea.

so...back to the beach at Worthing for a snorkel and cold Banks beer.

2 terrorist attacks Aug24,2004 and I'm on a flight INTO Russia...oops

August 24,2004 was not a good day to be flying from Domodedova Airport, Moscow. Chechen suicide bombers brought down 2 planes that day. Flight 1303 was en route to Volgograd and Flight 1047 was headed to Sochi. I was also in the air that day and headed into Russia from Seoul, South Korea. Sometimes its best to not know all the details and just carry on with your travels. Days later on August 31 the Moscow subway was bombed and 1o people died. Then on September 1, 2004 we were notified of a hostage crisis in Beslan. Little information was provided and we had limited access to TV news coverage. The Russian military was surrounding our camp as this was the largest foreign investment project in Russia and rumour was that the Chechen rebels might try to attack the project. After several days the Russian military launched an assault on the school where the rebels were holding the hostages. I believe 335 people were killed and many of those were school children. I think we were all pretty nervous about what was happening especially when we considered the significance of the project we were working on and how it could be a target for political purposes. I was glad to have the Russian military patrolling the perimeter of the camp and security was tight at the gate. Even the unmanned blimp that seemed to be photographing us was welcomed. I do remember having the 'what if' discussion with several expats just so we would be prepared in case of a terrorist attack. Who had access to weapons? what container would provide the greatest protection? where was fuel stored? things of this nature. It was early in the project and we had no idea the Russian Mafia had such a presence onsite. Looking back on it now from the security of home there's little chance a group of rebels could have penetrated the camp. The landscape and presence of the FSB made infiltrating very difficult.

Entry into and out of Chayvo was controlled by security personal at this gate. It was annoying to have them rummaging through your luggage searching for alcohol and weapons but the staff were respectful and most of us appreciated their diligence in keeping trouble outside the gates.Security checkpoint at Chayvo.

my boot story

ok.... I have to tell my boot story! I bought these Red Wing boots in Nelson for the Sakhalin 1 project in Russia that I was assigned to during summer of 2004. They were the most comfortable boots I've ever owned and over the course of the first 6 week rotation in Chayvo those boots and I put on many miles. Upon returning home after the rotation I went to the shoe store where I'd bought them to purchase boot grease so they would be waterproof for the next rotation. The lady looked at me and then asked 'are you the fellow who bought those Red Wings a couple months ago?' My reply was 'yes, those are the most comfortable boots I have ever owned!' She started to laugh then replied 'did you find yourself stumbling alot?' I said no, the boots are excellent. She then said ' you better check your boots when you get back to camp to confirm the right boot isn't a size 13 and the left a size 9 1/2.' I laughed and said 'there's no way the right boot could be size 13! I'd be tripping and stubbing my toe if that was the case. I put on way too many miles in those boots to not notice such a size difference between them!'

to make a long story short: when I arrived back in Chayvo the first thing I did was check the boots. I nearly fell over when I compared the two and realized the right boot was a couple inches longer than the left! Then, of course, I had to work for 6 weeks in the odd sized boot! Now that I was aware of the size difference I seemed to be stumbling and tripping over everything! When I returned to Nelson I took the boots into the store and the lady howled when she saw them. She gave me the proper fitting right boot but now after 12 weeks of work the left boot was scuffed and worn so here I was with a brand new right boot and a scuffed up left boot! So she offered to polish up the left boot and she did such a good job I had almost matching boots. Of course by then it was winter in Chayvo so we were wearing snowboots! The Red Wings sat on the shelf till spring but provided endless chuckles throughout the winter for all of us. The boots survived Russia and then spent 2 years on the hard Marro ground in Barbados till the heels broke apart and I had to retire them. I left them for a Bajan to repair and I bet they are still being worn. So thats my Red Wing boot story!

Cohiba Cigars

the House of Cuban Cigar shop at the Careenage, Bridgetown

One of the many pleasures of living in Barbados was going down to my favorite cigar shop in Bridgetown on Saturday afternoon and picking up a pack of Cohiba mini cigars. The little Cuban lady who ran the shop was always so happy to see me. We'd chat about our respective nations and I'd always come away from her shop with a smile on my face. The little mini cigars were perfect for late night chat's on the deck with neighbour Phil. We'd listen to the frog's chirping and watch the firefly's dancing across the night sky while indulging in a cohiba or two.