Posted by Steve on November 30, 2009, at 4:48 am | Category: India, Photos | One comment
The awesome Virupaksha temple rearing up from the centre of Hampi town.
Having escaped the threat of a torrential ten days in Goa, we arrived late afternoon in Hampi, a famed area chockablock with ruins and history, as well as being a chilled out spot that allegedly some find very difficult to leave. I expected swathes of dry desert liberally sprinkled with boulders; we actually found grass, palm trees, great bushes of flowers, and of course rocks and sand although this wasn’t immediately obvious as we arrived to blackened clouds, torrential downpour and no power to the whole town. From the relative safety of a candle lit roof top restaurant, only the occasional fit of lightning reminded us that if the world was coming to an end, it still existed for now. Did the deluge of water stop? Would our successful run of no Delhi belly continue? Would I eat something that didn’t involve a curry?
On the basis that every time we ventured a bit further away we made the wrong fork decision, Señora Wayne was a worthwhile investment.
Introduction: Ecuador is one of only two countries in South America that doesn’t border Brazil, and thankfully is fairly easy to traverse due to its small size (80th in the world) – a welcome break after the marathon bus journeys of Columbia! Ecuador is famous for its geographical diversity with a huge variety of flora and fauna. We were on catch up after enjoying ourselves far too much in the previous countries and becoming a little behind schedule. Doesn’t sound like us. In total we spent sixteen days here, and it was yet another whirlwind tour with some amazing moments.
It’s Friday afternoon and I’m heading back to the ‘office’ after lunch; a wooden shack covered in chicken wire. As I approach, so does the unexpected and unwelcome sound of heavy machinery. When I’m less than ten metres from work, I see men with machetes hacking away indiscriminately at vegetation; these people not gardeners. Helplessly I watch a huge clanking and smoking digger snapping the enormous trees that normally surround my day like twigs, and a 15m recently decapitated log comes crashing down into my path. Article updated!
We’re nearly there, house virtually let, various assets almost sold, house mostly vacated, gear & gadgets mostly purchased. Our flight to Rio is only a fortnight away!
So, in further preparation we thought we’d take a visit to The Living Rainforest, an eco-greenhouse in Hampstead Norreys, just off Junction 13 on the M4. Yes… in the UK. Vastly smaller than the real thing, it was interesting to see some of the animals and plants in their non-native environment for a bit of comparison. A great visit, its £8.75 each for adults & £6.75 for children (family ticket available) for an annual pass. I can’t believe we’ve lived in Reading for four years and only recently found that this place existed!
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