Stuck in Transit Limbo

Remember that Tom Hanks movie... "The Terminal"... well, I'm living it... or have been for the last 18 hours anyway...

I was completely floored, flabberghasted, shocked, when I arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador as per the usual, excited to see Martin after 3 months... and I was told I would not be allowed to pass immigration to enter Ecuador... huh???

When I left here in March (after a two month visit), they neglected to stamp my passport (either manually, or digitally), so when I arrived, I showed up in their system as having over-stayed my visa and never having left!!!

So all this hassle because of an error ON THEIR SYSTEM!

Post-Script:  I did get the immigration issue resolved, thankfully!

Kiss of the Komodo

An impromptu trip to Komodo turned out to be the highlight of my last month!  I had been to Komodo National Park before, but in a completely different situation... here are a few blogs from that trip... here.  This one ended on a much more positive note with no illnesses or medical evacuations!

Great people, great diving, great trip to Komodo on a liveaboard.... and I even got a few great pics (since my camera was repaired just in time to take with me)!  Here are some samples:

Temin Tui, Kaimana

I had the pleasure of a trip to Kaimana last week to help the CI team there build an Inclusive Communications and Education Strategy... we had a training with the team and CI stakeholders in the town of Kaimana, then an intensive internal CI workshop at the CI Field Station in Temin Tui... there was a lot of brain smoke, but we really got to the root of conservation issues in the region and built a comprehensive plan which, I hope*, the team will begin to implement in conjunction with their partners there.

I have been hoping to go to Kaimana and work a bit with the team there for over two years now, and am so happy to have finally had the opportunity! Of course, having been infected by stories of colleagues swimming with the whale sharks at our field station there, I was certainly hoping to get to do that in between workshop sessions, but alas, the current weather conditions mean that the sardine fishing platform where the whale sharks usually hang out has moved to seek shelter from waves, so we didn't have any whale shark time.  Hopefully next time!  But I still got to attend an World Environment Day Educational Event, and see a bit of the field, around Triton Bay, and appreciate the beauty and wonder of the area which has become a target for conservation.

Chilli Chocolat!?

Lindt, you're really crossing the line, now!  Mint chocolate, ok... but Chilli - uugh!  In fairness, I haven't actually tried it myself... but I also have absolutely no intention of wasting a good chocolate experience on this... sorry!

HOME SWEET HOME

It was so nice to be home again for an extended holiday over the Christmas season!  It was really great to see family and friends.  (Yes, this is a very belated posting - I'm on my way back home to see everyone again already, and found this in my drafts... so better late than never!)

And no matter what so many people say... I love Ontario winters!  While so many people complain about it, I really miss the skiing and the cold crisp sunny days in the snow.

Bench press the cookies away...

After consuming all the cookies in those two tins (over 3kgs of cookies!), you better be doing some extra bench-pressing...

Headstands on Haad Rin

When Gabby got back to Koh Phangan, I immediately broke my fast and we went to the night market...

We delved into tofu burgers, spirulina shakes, pad thai and lots of other goodness for the short few days we got to spend together... I couldn't be in Thailand without having some of the fabulous food!

We also did some touring and I got to have her as my own personal yoga tutor...  which led to a yoga photo session with headstand attempts on the beach in front of the centre!

What fun, good friend!

Spice Islands!

The Moluccas are known as the "Spice Islands" for very good reason.

We often found nutmeg, mace (actually the filigree surrounding the nutmeg pit), cloves and chocolate drying by the roadside, adding a lovely fragrant aroma to our travels.

Spices drying by the roadside

Chocolate beans

Nutmeg

Mace (the filigree around the nutmeg pit)

Nutmeg fruit (unripe)

Dried Nutmeg fruit candy

There was also ginger, galangal, tumeric, lemongrass and lots of other great herbs and spices found in the markets... and in the food!

Galangal with Market lady

No, it's not ginger... similar, but much more whitish (than yellow) inside

lovely little packages of seri (lemongrass) for sale for apount ten cents

We found Ambon not only rich in spices, but also all manner of fruit... which I think is the defining factor for their famous Rujak Natsepa (a special Indonesian spicy peanutty fruit salad)!

And of course, there's always that lone chicken with his beautiful pink wall...