Phyteas

Association de parrainage "Caméléon"

2010-03-07T10:56:00.076+01:00

Bonjour à tous,

J'ai connus l'existence de Caméléon en 1998, lorsque je cherchais des renseignements avant de me rendre sur l'île de Panay aux Philippines, dans le cadre du boulot. A l'époque j'avais trouvé le but de cette association très courageux et je n'ai pas oublié le nom de Caméléon. Ce n'est qu'en 2007 que je me suis de nouveau intéressé au devenir de Caméléon et j'ai vu les progrès réalisés. J'ai fait quelques dons ponctuels pour les soutenir et enfin en 2009 j'ai décidé de parrainer une enfant. Là et ailleurs les besoins sont immenses, quoi que l'on fasse est peu mais... c'est toujours "ça" de fait.

Le parrainage est plus qu'un soutient "anonyme", un des buts de la démarche est que les parrains/marraines échangent des courriers avec leur filleul(e). Dans mon cas l'association me fait parvenir les lettres scannées par E-mail, ainsi, où que je sois je peux rester en contact.

Tous les détails sur l'Association Caméléon créée par Laurence Ligier se trouvent sur le site de Caméléon. ici [Ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre]

Le reportage de France 2 (Envoyer Spécial "La Suite," 6-Mars-2010) offre un résumé rapide et complet de l'activité de Caméléon.

Merci et à bientôt,

Cassandra didn't make it to Hollywood...

2009-07-28T17:17:00.008+02:00

… because it didn't pay!

As part of the legends around the Trojan War… Cassandra the daughter of King Priam, had been given the gift of prophecy by the god Apollo. The gift came with the curse that no one would ever believe her. She nevertheless predicted the fall of Troy and… the city fell in the hands of the Greeks!

This to say that, harbingers of doom, usually don't do too well among their own people. We are only ready to listen to "nice" predictions!

So now, the predictions of natural resources getting all used up, overpopulation, global warming, etc, are “tough sales!”

On the population and environment subject, there is a detailed paper placed on the "Die Off" website: “How and Why Journalists Avoid the Population-Environment Connection” Link to article [All such Link will open in a new window]

Another way of denial—a very subtle and clever way—can be found in the works of the CATO Institute (Individual Liberties, Free Market and Peace.) Type “overpopulation,” “oil peak” or “environment degradation” in the search field of their website and you will be able to dig out from the various papers very reassuring statements such as:

- There is no population problem… The growth in human population has been more than met by increases in the production of food and other resources, including energy. Famine in the 20th century is a political rather than an ecological phenomenon. We are not running out of resources…
- Energy Alarmism: The Myths That Make Americans Worry about Oil… “Peak oil” predictions about the impending decline in global rates of oil production are based on scant evidence and dubious models of how the oil market responds to scarcity.
- The Institute strives to promote policies that would help protect the environment without sacrificing economic liberty, goals that Jerry Taylor, director of natural resource studies, believes are mutually supporting, not mutually exclusive…

I am under the impression that “economic liberty” is synonymous to “our way of life.” Are we, "we the Western developed world," are we ready to make sacrifices? Not really, let’s ask first the Chinese, Brazilians and Indians to slow down their growth!

During the 2009 election for the European Parliament there was a list presented in a few regions of France named “Europe Décroissance,” which could translate as “Europe De-growth.” The general idea of this new political group is that instead of enduring an inevitable recession we have to organize the slow down of consumption and a better usage of available resources. It would no longer be fashionable for a few to “live in style” but life would still continue for the many.
Their "statement of intent" has only been translated into Italian and German on their site, so I translated it the best I could here with some comments of mine.
By the way…the average score of the lists in the regions where they were presented was 0.04 % of the votes. It is a start! As their logo said, “today’s utopia is tomorrow’s reality!”

So in our present times, we do have several Cassandra available, mostly in the rank of the ecologists and scientists, (Jacques Cousteau, Al Gore… the list is long...)

When Wolfgang Petersen brought the Iliad epic to the screen as "Troy," Agamemnon was part of it, Paris, Hector, Hellen, Priam and the flamboyant Achilles of course, they all made it to Hollywood.
Poor over-pessimistic Cassandra didn't make it to Hollywood… she was right about the fall of Troy though!

The World of Tomorrow...

2008-03-28T12:20:00.058+01:00

...or humankind successful expansion came with a price!

Ecology, world climate, energy resources, population growth—these are subject we should not really care about or… should we?

Remember discussing Thomas Malthus theories at school a few decades ago? In which, the population growth was accelerating madly while the resources progress at much lower rate. Well…now we are living through it!
4 billion people in the 70ies, now more than 6 billion people living on Earth and some 9 billion announced for 2050.

I got curious about how big was the population in the Paleolithic, the great beginning of our specie. Information is rather hard to find but it seems that by 10,000 B.C. human population was anywhere between 1 to 3 million people. In the early Paleolithic the fist groups of humans must have been real small, about 100,000 but with population falling dangerously low in time of crisis due to climate change or other environmental pressure.
If we compare with chimpanzees, our remote cousins, they were some 2 millions at the beginning of the 20th century and now the poor bastards are down to 200,000 at best. I have a bad feeling regarding the future for chimps and apparently…humankind has won! Hurray!

Remember speculating about oil reserves, saying it would last 50 years, even more…Well, time flies, the “peak oil” is getting closer and closer, 2025-2035 is now a period commonly mentioned for the beginning of oil production decline. We are already in 2008!

It is the law of life—to grow and expand until a balance is reached with natural and renewable resources. However humans are no “ordinary livings,” humans got used to “bend the rules,” ever since they produced tools and mastered fire.
Long before coal and oil, the pre-industrial development was fuelled by the great European forest—now gone. Massive use of fossil fuel is in progress, it’s the talk of the time and…it goes on! Humans are “too smart” for this planet.

The character of “Agent Smith” says in the movie “The Matrix:”

“Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague. And we are... the cure.”

In our real world there must be a cure too, and the cure might be as bad as the problem! Eventually, population size will have to match available resources.

The shocking truth is not only that population will be “readjusted” but that the plunge will begin at the same time the peak energy will be reached—and—how soon and how fast it will happen. Studies highlight the 2030 period as when things will start to go wrong. Imagine the world population going from 9 billion to 3-5 billion by 2100 and 1-3 billion by 2200!

By comparison, global warming is a side dish! It is just an aggravating factor to a much bigger problem.

In the last few decades, access to oil has fuelled many wars on the way to world development. Diminishing recourses in energy, water and food will be the cause of more conflicts. The very reason of those wars will be the survival of one group to the expense of another group. In those conditions, I fear that whatever ethics and restrain people are still capable of today will change for the worst.

I hope to be still around by 2030 and a bit further if possible. Maybe by then only the richest will be able to afford cars—rather…armored cars!

Our children and grand-children will see more of what will follow. Hard to do anything about it, maybe the only possibility is to get prepared to do the best we can!

_______________________________________________________________________________
Various Sources

Global Warming and Energy

This website by Jean-Marc JANCOVICI, Consultant, is a wealth of articles on the subjects around energy peak, possibilities of renewable alternatives and on Global Warming. The French version of the site might be a bit more complete. Link to www.manicore.com

Climate change, energy, and a couple billion men... Link to head page of articles

World population

To get information on the subject, a good place to start might be on Wikipedia because of numerous links at the end of the article. Link to Wikipedia article on population

Another good source of information is the site of "Population Reference Bureau" Link

I found this graph on PRB site, it is a revealing description of the situation, of the imbalance between populations. For sure there is poverty in the said "More Developed Countries" but what to say about the mass of the "Less developed Countries?"

Migration Pressure

An article from the Herald Tribune.
This is also tomorrow, even today! It made me think of the movie “Children of Man” taking place in a near future in UK with ghettos of foreigners being expelled from the country.

Europe's leaders warned of big rise in migration
By Stephen Castle
Herald Tribune, Friday, March 7, 2008 Link to article

Peak Energy and Population Drop

Article hosted on the website of Financial Sense University (FSU,) treating of several other interesting questions. Link to FSU Website

Editorial: Global peak energy Implications for future human populations
by Chris Clugston 09-12-2007 Link to article

“…regarding the specific consequences associated with our current and projected energy consumption behavior—devastating reductions in human population levels and living standards.”

It is fairly easy to understand why the curve for population growth matches closely the curve for increase of energy produced and consumed.
It took me a while to accept that a drop in energy produced would have a direct influence on population—after all...can’t we live with a bit less energy? The truth is that, we can’t!
Less energy will mean less food production, fishing, agriculture and transport of food rely heavily on liquid fuels. A change for manual labor in the fields will probably have a negative impact on life expectancy. Industrial production will also be reduced, etc.

Another direct connection between energy, food and therefore population. The key to high agriculture yield is fertilizers and...fertilizers are mostly produced from fossil energy sources!

Shortage and price of fertilizer threatens to make more hungry
By Keith Bradsher and Andrew Martin
Herald Tribune, Thursday, May 1, 2008 Link to article

The article from FSU raises the problem. Those who will live through the crisis will need to find solutions—wish them luck, all of it!

“Humanity has never experienced a trip down the post-peak (decline) side of the Total Available Energy Curve—facing continuous and irreversible declines in the resource that serves as the basis for our very existence; we have only traveled up the pre-peak (growth) side. There has always been “more”, and an expectation of “more”—never “less”. The psychological implications associated with an “inverted expectation paradigm”, in which things always get worse instead of always getting better, are unprecedented.”

“The methods by which human populations react to these circumstances—especially populations in developed countries who will feel the impact of global peak energy most severely, and especially reactions as they relate to “forced” or “involuntary” population level reductions—will be pivotal in determining not only whether we survive as a species, but whether we survive as a civilized species.”

"DIE OFF Website"

"If a path to the better there be, it begins with a full look at the worst."
—Thomas Hardy

Article: The Peak of World Oil Production and the Road to the Olduvai Gorge
Richard C. Duncan, Ph.D.1
November 13, 2000 Link to article

The information is similar in nature to the article from Chris Clugston, except that it is a few years older. Actually it seems that several people are working on the same doomsday predictions. So far—not much impact on our “responsible leaders.” Ignorance is bliss!

A “funny” article by Yaj:

Report of the Dominant Animal Life on the Third Planet: Executive Summary, by Yaj, January 24, 1997 Link to article

The graph at the end of the article dated 1998 would probably need an update but is a very good presentation of the interaction between the different factors.

Dakar, Senegal, Another step in Africa…

2007-11-12T17:35:00.060+01:00

…and a place worth to go!

I finish this article some good 3 months after the visit!
I could have just posted a few lines and pictures as I usually did so far but I had a feeling I should do a bit more than “there I was, this I saw, that I did, etc.”

That wasn’t my first steps into Africa, not even into sub-Saharan Africa, but this is the first time that “open my eyes” on Africa, without preconception or prejudice.

Back in 1991, I spent a few days in Central African Republic, of which, I keep a “mitigated” memory and during the same year also a few weeks in Gambia. There was an easy-going attitude in Gambia and the stay was quite pleasant but in C.A.R. I felt more “tension,” especially toward France for having, first, colonized the place and then… decolonized it! What I disliked probably the most was the “post-colonials” attitude of some of the people who obviously would have a hard time to fit in today’s France and who clung to their “African” life routine with bitter comments on what it had become.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
A street “down town”
To have a good feeling about a country the capital is not always the best place to start but Dakar was a rather pleasant discovery. Colonization and decolonization have happened here too, but everyone “moved on!” Senegal is developing. Obviously development is not equally shared, some are terribly poor, but people have a positive attitude and are generally very nice.

A man crossing a street in Ties, 60 km from Dakar—"Horse power" in the town of Tivouane some 30 km further

Free advertising section!

“Taxi Sister” is a company sponsored by the “Ministry for Women, Family and Family Businesses.” Some 10 cars, all driven by women for the same price as a normal taxi fare in town. Other destination price can be negotiated, tipping is welcomed (and deserved.) The little car cannot take a lot of luggage but these are clean, reliable and with aircon. The drivers get an amused cooperation from the “male” taxi men and even from the police force. Taxi Sister are easy to find, since there are the only taxi allowed to park inside the main hotels. The taxi service has yet to get a central phone number for reservation but their most senior driver, Aïcha, can be contacted on a mobile phone if you need a pick-up service from the airport.

The Island of Goree is really interesting. The museum in the old fort makes a clear and fair description of slave trade history. The displays points out that the trade involved both whites and blacks as perpetrator, it gives an expensive description about the fate of millions of victims and a detailed history of the long process of abolition. Goree itself played a marginal role in the trade but the island serves well the memory of the tragedy.
The island has no cars, lives only from tourism, is has several place to eat and is a good place to relax.

Mauritania, a short ride in the desert

2007-10-21T00:00:00.029+02:00

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
The visit to Mauritania was a short one and was for work, the fun part being the 750 km drive up-north to visit the location of a potential mining project and consequently where the power plant would be.
Nouakchott, the capital, looks to be a quiet place, dusty and fairly clean. A new garbage colleting company is said to have started working on removing rubbish.

Departure for the trip was early morning. The car was quickly out of town, apparently there is still some rubbish removal to do but the overall neat appearance confirmed the first impression. After just a few km, sand shows up, accumulating on wall and house, a reminder that Mauritania is set in the Sahara desert. For the first 350 km the road is paved until the drive take a left in the bush. Since there is not any kind of road signal the navigator actually relies on its GPS.

There is not a single track to follow but rather a set of tracks left by other vehicle following more or less the same route. For the first two hours it is possible to follow a low ridge which on the right, “the Adrar,” going for thousand of km north all the way to Algeria. After that, there is no more clear land mark to follow. We cross a couple of villages with very simple houses, cubes of loose masonry with openings showing carpet on the floor.

The other unmistakable land mark is when our route crosses the railway track. This is the mine’s train, said to be the longest and heaviest train in the world. Iron mineral is heavy!
Further North the track is even more difficult to guess as it goes through a vast gravel plain. Here and there some eroded rock outcrops (“guelbs”) are like islands in waterless sea, maybe with a good map it could be possible to navigate by those.

Before arriving in the mine region the car has to cross the small end of a dune complex (“erg”.) No great sand dunes but sand with some grass shags named “camel grass.” This is a place where 4 WD is compulsory for a heavy car like ours.
The mine itself is actually several mining locations quite distant from one to the other. The town of Zouerate is more or less in the middle of the mining region on the North side of a mountain where the first mining site started to be operated in the 60ies. There was a numerous French expat population at the time, some 4000 families. Now it is a 40,000 people town wholly run by Mauritanian. The infrastructure is mostly preserved and maintained, there is a brand new runway but no regular flight to Nouakchott.

The desert has a beauty of its own. In summer the heat must be extreme but the cooler season is easy to manage. From what I’m told the Adrar is "the" place to visit, with tour operators flying direct to the town of Arar.

People in Mauritania seem to be generally nice, there is an “easygoing” and tolerant atmosphere. This is one of the few Arab countries having an Israeli representation, although the Israel embassy in Nouakchott is only symbolic and keeps a low profile. If I ever wanted to do some desert trekking with security concern and no hassle, I would definitely think of Mauritania. They have finally found oil in the north near the Algerian border, so this might push up the activity and prices—but there is still time.

Greece Sailing, Summer 2007

2007-09-03T02:10:00.050+02:00

Two weeks of family sailing in Northern Aegean Islands

Map of the Sailing Course
[Click on pictures will
enlarge in new windows]

Fr. 20/07/2007 Athens

00:30AM Arrival at ATH airport. The last train to Athens was at 11:30—the day before! Anyway I am here for the night since Heidi is not arriving before 02:30. I hang around at the luggage delivery area. When I finally doze off on a bench, security signifies me that laying and sleeping is not allowed. No sleep then! I watch security go round and round, waking up people, it’s quite a job!
At 03:30 Heidi arrives, also a bit delayed, no sweat, we won’t go anywhere before the first train at 06:30! It is not the first time I stay overnight in ATH, not a bad deal as airports go, cool, clean and most of the shops and eating places manage to stay open more or less through the night.

07:15 Arrival at the Neo Olympos hotel, near the Larissa train station. The room is not ready, it’s early morning so that doesn’t come as a big surprise.

We take the metro to Monasteraki and drop by the Cecil hotel. A call to Frédéric’s room and after some 10 rings he picks up. Oooops! Too early! We make appointment for lunch and leave for the Acropolis.

The sun is already high and the heat goes up quickly, what has happened to my adaptation to Mediterranean summer? I take to walk in the shade.
Even at this early hour the Acropolis is a blaze, it’s nice however to go around with relatively few people. The restoration works are still going on and will come again to see the result, but when?
This pagan pilgrimage being done we go back to Plaka through the Agora.

I “rediscovered” the Agora last November when I came for my second Athens Marathon. It’s an island of green in the sea of concrete that Athens is. What I remember of it, is the excellent display of the passage of time and civilization in a single place.

At lunch time, the crew is reunited, Audrey is limping badly from her knee injury but on the boat walking should be limited. Plans are made for the next day and the cruise, it will be a visit to Delos for Heidi and going up north to visit new islands and come back along Evia Island (Evvioa).

Sa. 21/07/2007 Athens-Sounion

Egiali Yachting has sent two taxis to pick us up from Cecil hotel. The driver speaks of his village in Northern Greece and of the Island of Chios which we should be able to visit. His wife is from Chios and he speaks of all the uses of mastic resin and its many preparations used for healing purposes including burns. He shows a feint scar on his wrist that was supposed to be an ancient severe burn.
I have seen too little from Northern continental Greece but I heard of it, all I need is more time to go there one day.

We arrive at the Kalamaki Marina. Not much change since my last visit in 1999. The crew then was different.

It’s still before noon, the boat is not yet ready. Heidi and Hellène go for provisions shopping. The children stay and the Egiali people suggest we should sit in the shade on the next boat. Things get organized, papers are processed by one of the co-owner of Egiali, Roula, and her associate, Apostoli, makes the inventory of the boat. Stelios Blue, a Bavaria 37 (11,3 m long) is almost brand new, this is nice in a way but this could mean also facing some trouble shooting to do on the way.
Heidi and Helène come back with a mountain of supplies. Some 160 l of mineral water! We will not go thirsty any time soon! The plan is to make only minimal shopping along the way which is a good idea.

14:20 Setting off from the marina, on engine. Along the Attica peninsula, the wind is very variable in direction and force but mostly lower than in the open Aegean Sea.
We set the sails for a while but have to finish the last nautical miles on engine again. The rolling main sail proves very easy to use. Since only Frederic and I are really trained in sailing, this will be of great help.
The arrival at cape Sounion is marking the actual beginning of the vacation!
"Postcard sunset!"
19:00 We are anchored in the bay of cape Sounion after some one or two tries to find the right distance from the neighboring boats.
We have covered some 23 nautical miles from Athens and that has been a nice "introduction" to sailing.

Su. 22/07/2007 Sounion-Kithnos

Visit of Poseidon Temple, the landing party will be just me and Heidi. It’s early in the day and only a couple of tourist buses have invaded the site. Well, I have visited so often Sounion that I bear with that easily. I have memories of visiting Sounion before and after hours and being able –year back- of walking between the columns and sitting on the warm marble after sunset, such "things"…

Once back to the beach the "dinghy pick-up" is somewhat delayed, the breeze has strengthened and the anchor doesn’t hold anymore. I watch the action from a far until the crew stabilizes the situation with the engine.
At 11:00 we pass the cape under sails en route for Kythnos. The wind doesn’t hold the whole way and the engine is put to use. Passage by the South cape of Kea Island, I was there “before,” more memories… Greece is a land of memories anyway!

17:15 We are anchored at Kythnos Island, by the village of Loutra at the end of Irini cove. We have also a line tying the boat to the shore, for sure the boat will not go anywhere tonight! There is only 20 cm between the keel and the sea bottom but since the tide in the Mediterranean is hardly noticeable I will sleep soundly.

I use the end of the day, to run across the island and back, maybe 20km or so, up and down and a pleasant visit. Although it is close to the mainland, like the islands of Kea and Sifnos, Kithnos seems to have been mostly spared by mass tourism.

Mo. 23/07/2007 Kithnos-Rinia

Leaving 10:30, arriving in Rinia 19:00 using alternatively engine and sails due to wind variable in force.
There is an alarm from the battery charger on the engine control panel, the engine is the first source of misery on sail boats!
The anchoring is a fairly long procedure, the wind is strong and it takes a while to set a line ashore and a stern anchor. There are already a couple of other boats in the best spots of the cove. Rinia is a desolate island but it as a beauty of its own.

Tu. 24/07/2007 Rinia-Mikonos

09:00 Departure from Rinia, passing the strait with Delos Island on engine against a strong wind. Any plan for anchoring there and visiting the site appears to be fairly uncomfortable and we decide to proceed to Mikonos under sails.
12:15 Arrival in Mikonos new marina at the north of the bay, it’s an ugly place some 5km away from Mikonos village but so much better than the ferry port for mooring small yachts like ours. Anyway access of the ferry port is no longer allowed for yachts.

Renting a scooter solves problem for commuting but traffic is dense and parking even for a motorbike is problematic. The visit of the local maritime museum is worthwhile.

The engine alternator alarm persists, but charging is still working fine. We call the base (Allo Houston, we have a problem), no action will change the situation, so we’ll carry on as it is.

We. 25/07/2007 Mikonos

Visit of Delos site using the “tourist ferry.”
The wind has died down in the night and a few yachts are at anchor in the strait.
Delos is a very interesting archaeological site, nothing spectacular but a few hours are enough to have a glimpse of the passage of history in this little place. From trade to religious center to decadence and almost complete destruction…
This is only my second visit but probably not the last, given time!

Back to Mykonos. Yes, the village of Mykonos looks like Greece redesigned by Disney, and merged with a fashion shopping mall for good measure, but it is small scale and pretty. Nevertheless, when cruises ships call in Mykonos it must be better to be somewhere else!

At the marina there is disappointment and loud complains! In the North part of the marina there is presumably a water outlet working with prepaid card but the area has been declared out-out-bound by the maritime police because an American frigate is using the North marina to bring her crew ashore. Since the bombing of their frigate in Aden our American friends are a bit on the defensive it seems! There is even some “secret agent” presence in the marina shower building, with their tie, dark glasses and communication equipment they look all set for the next Hollywood movie!

Mikonos is still an unfriendly place for yachts, as much as it was during my last visit in 99. If it wasn’t to go conveniently to Delos, I would actually recommend avoiding the island altogether.

We. 25/07/2007 Mikonos and night to Ikaria, Th. 26

17:20 Departure from Mikonos on engine with the last tank of water in use!
Water is always a great concern on these small boats. The water system is pressurized and high flow from the taps gives the illusion of plenty. Plenty could actually mean only a couple of days before stopping in a port for filling up and not all ports can supply water in Greece.
The wind is light and a good deal of the 52 nm crossing to Ikaria Island will be on engine.
The moon is out and bright, in the middle of the night we reach the South-West tip of Ikaria and from the land raises a strong and warm wind loaded with the sent from the dry vegetation.
04:00 Arrival at Agios Kiristos and mooring alongside a quay. We are quite exposed to short waves entering the harbor and the rest of night will be quite uncomfortable with the boat springing in its lines.
In the morning we can refill the water tank with the nice assistance from the harbor people.
I would have liked to be able to go through the island again after …what…30 years! My guess is that earthen roads are now paved and all bridges construction completed. Ikaria is a mountain in the sea, not really easy to reach although there are regular ferries and maybe even flight connections since there is an airstrip now across the north tip of the island. Ikaria, is another place to return to, one more!

Th. 26/07/2007 Ikaria-Fournoi

12:00 Departure from Ikaria. This will be a short crossing to the Island of Fournoi with strong gusts of wind at arrival.
The boat is firmly set on two anchors and 2 lines ashore but we are so close to the shore that wind will not really be a problem. The cove of Ormos Marmaro is beautiful, with clear water and a lot of sea life. The small beach is the summer home of a group of naturist, this would have been “unthinkable” some years back but the place is hard to reach on foot and the practice might be more accepted now than it was before.

Fr. 27/07/2007 Fournoi-Chios

I wish I could have stayed somewhat longer and go explore the island but we need to move on if we are to reach Chios Island.
10:00 Departure from Fournoi, with a few hours of sailing against the wind before the wind dies down at the approach of Chios.

19:30 Anchored in Ormos Kamari (Emporios) with a line ashore which will avoid the boat to rotate in the narrow cove in case of wind shifting.

Sa. 28/07/2007 Chios and night to Skiros, Su. 29
"Ormos Kamari (Emporios)"
I was in Chios in the late 60ies and have only a few memories from that first visit, so this second visit is basically a “discovery.” The South of the Island looks like Provence! I set myself for 2 hours of running, this will be all I would see of Chios but I saw it well! I didn’t carry water with me and the one I tasted from a tap in a village had a strange salty tang, probably due to the minerals. Just to play it safe I carried on without drinking, at the end the refreshing dip in the sea to reach the boat was welcomed!

15:30 In the afternoon we change to another mooring at the South-West tip of Chios and we set off in the night for crossing back the Aegean Sea.

21:30 Departure from Chios first on engine but at midnight the wind picks up and I am called on deck. The boat handles very well in the breeze and for the second time only in my sailing experience the sails balance allows the boat to steer by itself. I can even doze off now and then and wake up to find the boat still nicely on course.
The last hours of the 80 nm crossing are on engine and Skyros looks as nice in real as in the guide.
13:30 Anchored at the entrance of the port of Linaria with, again, a line ashore as a guaranty of a good sleep.

Mo. 30/07/2007 Skiros
"The high point of Skyros"
Another 15km "reconnaissance run" in the morning and later on, a visit to the “capital” at the top of the island.. Skyros is a small island but with an interesting agriculture and relaxed people.

"Cliffs from South Skyros"

After filling the water tanks and the fuel tank we move to another mooring in the South after motoring a few meters from the sea cliffs. Skyros may rate high among Greek Islands for one looking for a peaceful and interesting place.

Tu. 31/07/2007 Skiros-Evvoia
"Kalamos"
13:00 Departure from Skiros and crossing to Evvoia Island partly on sail, partly on engine. The target is Ormos Kalamos which is “the beach” of my younger years. At that time it could only been reached after an hour on a rocky road but now the road is of course paved and a few building have grown where the roads end. However, the site is rather well preserved.

The small reed huts that where rented to Athenian tourists during the summer are no longer used and have been replaced by ordinary camping tents.
Finally I go ashore to reset the lines and step on razor like shale rocks, I know these rocks, I remember, I am “home!”

The boat is anchored a bit exposed to the waves but just for one night is will do. Last time I was in Kalamos it was in 82 but it is always nice to return. No time to wander around, not this trip anyway!

We. 01/08/2007 Along Evvoia Island

09:30 Departure toward the South of Evvoia, we need to get in range for the return of the boat. The trip is mostly on sail along the island, there is almost no sheltered point until the south cape. Evvoia is very big, almost part of mainland since it is very close to the Attica.
18:45 Anchored in Ormos Kastri.

Th. 02/08/2007 Evvoia- Megalo Petali

Another run on the earthen road along the coast, the wind is strong in the Kafires strait between Evvoia and the island of Andros.
We are out of gas for the stove and we will need to stop over at Karistos.

14:30 Departure from Ormos Kastri, with a strong wind which progressively dies down.
"Karisto"
16:30 Stop over at Karisto to purchase a gas refill. All shops are still more or less closed.
In my younger years Karistos was synonymous of an adventure place which could only be reached by ferry or after a long and difficult road through Evvoia..It is still a bit “out of the way” and a very nice small city set against beautiful mountains. Wind generator have mushroomed on Greek mountains but these are rather “elegant machines.”

18:25 Departure from Karistos and arrival to the island of Megalo Petali, at 20:00.
The cove of Ormos Vasiliko is quite beautiful but the best spot is occupied and we set the anchor in a bit more exposed place. While setting a line ashore I notice nasty rock blades underwater. The anchor is clutched in rocks and the line is taut, however I will wake up from time to check that the boat is not shifting.

Fr. 03/08/2007 Megalo Petali-Lavrio
"Morning at Ormos Vasiliko"
First job in the morning is to free the anchor from the rock by guiding the boat around with the dinghy and a mask (procedure only good for the Mediterranean Sea in summer!)
Some time is spent on anchor in the bay for a swim before setting off for the last day of sailing.

12:00 Departure from Ormos Vasiliko, to arrive at the entrance of the bay of Porto Rafti at 14:10
I have visited Porto Rafti recently and it is not a surprise that the built area has spread quite a lot since the early 70ies, this is the consequence of being so close to Athens. Porto Rafti is not ugly but the town it is not charming either, if it ever was!

The bay itself is unchanged (it is the picture of the heading of this blog,) this is the place where I have learned the basics of sailing, so this is another “pilgrimage!” The island at the entrance of the bay is named Nisis Raftis on the chart but at that time it was only “the big island” and I have never set foot on it. The island officially named Vrak Raftopoula was of course for me“the 2nd island” and it was the further point I ever reached in my dingy under paddle propulsion.

"The small Island"
The cape of Akra Pounda which was “the cape” that I passed after long hour of tacking with my dinghy. Nisis Prasho or “the small island” was the closed to the house and was within swimming distance, I even camped there once.
16:30 Sailing out of Porto Rafti to arrive at 18:30 in the port of Lavrio.
That will be the last night on the boat with the noise of the port, the heat and some stray mosquitoes!

A word for the end

Too short! Way too short! I had not enough time to go ashore as much as I wanted to.
If I sum up the time I need in Greece to visit places again and time for those I still want to see, it comes up to several months! I heard only good things about the Northern Aegean islands; there is also Karpathos Island, etc…
I would also need my own boat for that but this, is another story...

67 hours in Lahore

2007-07-01T10:38:00.008+02:00

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
A second round of discussion motivated this trip. No at all "tourism" oriented!
All the meetings took place at another power plant that last time, but in the same neighborhood. We took the same road and I saw more or less the same things—so much for novelty!
As power plants go that one was very well kept, it looked neat outside and inside. Management and personnel proud of their work and right to be!
The plant is due for expansion on the Eastern boundary. It is a peaceful area and the armed guard on duty is—I imagine—just the standard way of doing things. I'm glad he was on the picture though, his "British" look is a true colonial legacy!

Actually I should have titled this article "One hour and two minutes in Lahore," because that was the time of my morning run on the second day. I was pretty well prepared to head for the park some 500 m from the hotel but alas, on the satellite picture I had identified another building to be the hotel and I went -100º azimuth! I carry no compass, no GPS and usually rely on "dead reckoning navigation"—meaning—that as long as I can back-track my step I ought to be fine. The sun was up already, temperature on the rise, I carried some water, I knew I was not on the right track but since traffic was light I let myself go on exploration.

I just had to remind myself constantly that Pakistan is left driving! Pedestrians are the probably next to the bottom of right-of-way priority list, just above dogs! This is one of the countries where drivers don't see you! If they would see you then they might have to brake, so, they just don't see you! Only once back at the hotel did I actually know where I went. My run took me toward the central station and some local bus station. I passed by a small park where probably a few hundred men had slept the previous night and it was obvious that this wasn't their first time! Bath room is in the street too. I saw a woman taking a drink from a stainless steel tank, it looked like the municipality is providing for those. I passed a few official buildings such as the state railways office with an engine displayed on the front, all those looking from another age. Pakistan has a lot of similarities with what I saw in India twenty years ago, how time flies!

Nobody really seemed to care for my passage, except a man in car with a hand radio who hailed me, maybe a plainclothes policeman but I waved back and went. That is one nice thing about running against traffic, it makes it difficult for a vehicle to keep alongside you. Soon I was at the hotel where it took another hour to cool down, welcome to the tropics!
The next day I found the park all right except that I was out even latter and the heat soon put me on slow motion.

Pakistan was never on my priority list of countries to visit, but since my work takes me there, I'll try to keep my eyes open. May be at the rate of one hour per trip, I will learn some more! Who knows?

24 hours in Lahore, Pakistan

2007-06-02T11:07:00.017+02:00

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
That trip already took place a few weeks back, and this is the first time ever I write about it. By the way... this is also the first time—ever—I intend to post anything here or anywhere else!

Since that was a business related trip I cannot say I chose to go there and since it came up at rather short notice I had no time really to gather much information about the place.
My information about Pakistan was, and still is, pretty superficial. Muslim country, long dispute with India over Kashmir and the farthest point reached by Alexander the Great... such things!
So I had no preconceived appreciation, no specific attraction but no aversion either.

Landing on the 1st of May 2007 at 6AM.
A few shots from the window of the taxi, Lahore appears to be a green city, there is water flowing in the canals. Incidentally, that water comes from the Himalayan mountain range… I have not seen the Himalaya but, somewhere, it’s there! That in itself is something to remember!

There are 2 big hotels in the city center. These are not the kind of hotel backpackers would go to, they are highly expensive and luckily near a big park. So, morning run it was and with the sun up, the temperature went up pretty quick too! The next day I was there earlier and there were a lot of people walking on the nice earthen road going through the park. A relaxed crowd, mixed gender and ages, in traditional dress or not, lady veiled or not. It looked pretty much easy going to me!

On the second day we visited a power plant some 50 km south of Lahore, and that was the extend of the ground I would cover in Pakistan!

Departure from Lahore to Bahrain on the 3rd of May at 6AM too!
That was a real short and localized trip, I call that a “spot trip” or a “sampling trip”. In itself it is not much, but I correlate my impression with those of longer trips to India some 20 years ago and with other traveling and that makes it more significant, at least to me.

The people I met were “OK”, the general feeling about that place also “OK!” I understand that this is not a very elaborate conclusion but I might go there again. Maybe I will not provoke the occasion but I will go along with it, even with a little bit more of appeal this time for, one day… I’d really like to see the Himalaya!

About the use of English

2007-06-01T09:13:00.000+02:00

French is my mother tongue, however I will mostly write in English.
I guess I am good at French too—but I moved too much around and most of my friends would be English speaking—so most of the time, English it will be ! I could try Spanish but then it would be "quite a struggle." I love Spanish language but I am yet to live long enough in a Spanish speaking country to get some kind of fluency.