In last week’s blog I ended up in Central America. It’s hot here, although when the plane came in over the green fields around Tocuman airport in Panama I wondered if I’d come to the right place. Everywhere was green. There were cows in the fields and it was raining. Normally in this part of the world it’s hot, and especially hot in public transport. In this part of the world there are many types of conveyance. You get the usual coaches between towns, buses within towns, and taxis. Travelling by long distance coach or plane can be difficult because so many people are on the move. When I wanted to get from Nicaragua back down to Panama I found all the coaches were booked, and the only way I could get there was to buy a first class ticket by plane.
In some of the West Indian islands you have minibuses called jitneys. These vehicles seem even hotter because the driver has a US channel blasting away on the heavy duty speakers all the time. That means you not only get absolutely frightful so-called music, but a bellyful of ads as well. One at least amused me somewhat. It was an ad for a laxative that apparently worked “even while you sleep”. Which seemed to me to be rather worrying.
In Nicaragua if you want to get from town to town the easiest and hottest way is by a sort of mega taxi, crammed in with half a dozen other sufferers.
I’ve been taking flying lessons while living in the Algarve. There is an airfield only a few miles from the house, and it’s fun to circle round the house and wave to Julie. But when I was in the Bahamas I flew down to another island to look at some property deals, and it was rather nice to be able to hire a plane and actually fly the machine most of the way myself, though my co-pilot wouldn’t let me take off and land the plane.
But the nicest way of travelling is by small boat.
If you go further south to Panama it’s best to think first about the temperatures. In Panama City the best place to live is in the northern suburbs up among the trees and the hills. Better still, there is the West Coast, and the Pacific Islands. I did think hard about moving there, but in the end I really did like Nicaragua. But that is very much a personal choice.
Of course, downtown Panama is slick and modern with a five lane highway right through the centre surrounded by high-rise. But just a comfortable walk to the west is the old city, which when I was there was what I called a ruin in waiting. It had a distinct pong of donkey piss, and to the south was a fishing area which added another distinctive pong, but I thought it was rather attractive in a past tense sort of way if you remembered to bring clothes pegs. There’s money to be made resurrecting this suburb, but the fish would have to be moved further away.
People talk about the politics, but I’m an expat, and I dont come to countries to get involved in politics. I dont bother them, and they dont care about me. That’s how it should be. But that is the trouble with the EU. I dont like Brussels autocrats, but I am not seeking to overthrow them. Despite that, they continue to dominate me, and one quickly gets fed up with the constant hassles and stupidities.
Anyway, back to Central America. I’ve settled in the town of Granada, which is right on Lake Nicaragua. I really like the place. It is relaxed, has charm and a certain amount of class, and the people are friendly and charming.
I particularly like eating in the street after dark. It’s cooler once the sun goes down, and life in the street is more relaxed and interesting. The dancers and musicians are out in force, together with acrobats and people juggling flaming torches.
Having lived in Cairo way back in the past I am used to life being lived in the streets, and this sort of thing appeals to me. I relax, sip my caipirinha while waiting for my main course to arrive, and watch the outdoor theatre.
At the end of the street is a small quai, and one day I decide to go for a short tour of the islands.
It’s cool out on the lake, and there are dozens of islands to choose from. Some are inhabited by troops of monkeys, others hide boutique hotels, but many are simply small outcrops of land sporting a few trees and little else.
One day I hired a boat of my own and did some exploring. I was overjoyed to find two small islands which were uninhabited but were for sale. I could build a footbridge between them. They were only a few feet apart. I thought it would be great fun to build two small cottages, one for Julie, one for me. We’ve always lived next door to each other, but living on next door islands seemed an intriguing upgrade.
Nicaragua is also host to part of what is called The Ring of Fire, which consists of a series of volcanoes, many of which are still active along the Pacific coast.
The trouble with my memories of so many places around the world is that I did most of my travelling many years ago, and the world has changed quite drastically during my lifetime. It is even ten years since I was last in central America, so life may well have changed there as well.
When I was twenty I was living in Cairo, and got a job lecturing at the Arab University there. I loved the city and lived right in the centre in Rameses Square, above a cafe right opposite the central station. At the end of one of the terms I took a trip up the Nile, stopping at various places on the way. I carried right up the Blue Nile to Lake Tana, and ended up living in Addis Ababa.
The surprising thing is that even after such a short time away Cairo appeared to have changed quite drastically while my back was turned, and upon my return I kept losing my way.
But the biggest change of all was what had once been the capital of Egypt, Tel el Amarna. During the reign of Aknaten three and a half thousand years ago it was a bustling city. When I descended from the train I walked towards a small oasis of trees and huts. There was nothing, nothing at all to show that once upon a time there had been the centre of government here.
Despite that, this was an important place for me. I was a great fan of the strange man who ruled Egypt all those years ago, and I was determined to find some remnants of his rule.
Tell you what. If you tune in again next week, I’ll let you follow me on a rather strange expedition across the Eastern edges of the Sahara desert into the hills on the horizon. Dont forget to pack some lunch and some bottled water.
Meet me in the Islands