Unusually Pleasant Days in Wales

We've been having some unusually sunny days in Aberystwyth. These are the few days when the photographers for the Welsh Tourism Board grab their tripods and shoot as much as possible for promotional publications. I was beginning to believe that the scenes advertised in the glossy covers of Welsh holiday brochures only existed in the digitized dreams of Photoshop experts, but have been proven wrong. The near 60 degree (F) temps are enough to get the Welsh & Brits to shed their coats and bare pale pink skin to the sea and sky. Even the Royal Regiment of Wales's goat has been out on parade.

Malham Cove

On our trip back from Glasgow, we stopped off in Malham in the Yorkshire Dales. The weather was threatening snow and when we discovered the tiny roads that lead to Malham, we thought we might be spending longer than just the night. The little roads lined with stone walls and the glacially formed landscape are scenes from times past. Malham is a small village with many trails that lead into the countryside and is on the Pennine Way. We stayed at the River House Hotel run by a really friendly couple and ate at the Lister Arms which has the best food I've had in a pub yet and a good selection of beers. We went out walking from the village the next day but the wind beat us. After a walk to the limestone pavement formed by a glacial outburst flood from a lake upstream at the end of the last glacial maximum. We also went to see the Gordale Scar which is a small limestone canyon containing 2 waterfalls. I wish the weather had been more cooperative, but we had fun anyway. One thing about walking in Great Britain: there is usually a pub with a fire going at the end of the trail. It snowed overnight when we got back to Aberystwyth and the light dusting closed down the country for 3 days. We were glad to be back even though our boiler at the Dairy Cottage failed us again.

What's for Breakfast

I should begin this post with a few notes about my own breakfast preferences. My usual morning fare is coffee and plain quick oatmeal cooked, or yogurt and some kind of bran cereal, and berries or bananas. When I’m in a hurry, I fold a slice of wheat bread around spoonful of peanut butter and a banana. On the weekends, I make migas, omelets, quiches, breakfast burritos, etc. I love eggs and don’t restrict them to morning meals. I never skip breakfast, especially the coffee.

Traditional “cooked breakfast” is hugely popular in Britain, and they’ve exported it to most of the colonies. In most cases, you will be offered tea and coffee, a variety of cold cereals, yogurt, and fruit and then the cooked breakfast: eggs, bacon (more like US ham, nice and thick, but not smoked), British sausages (under-spiced pork link sausages), sautéed small button mushrooms, half a tomato set on a griddle until it is soggy, bland baked beans straight from the starch laden can, and brown or white toast slathered in margarine. In northern England and Scotland you can expect blood sausage to show up as well. Often you can opt for porridge. While many accommodations boast breakfast awards, I’ve found little variation in content and quality in my travel in the UK, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. This breakfast is available at B & B’s throughout the UK for an additional cost charged to your room of about £7-10. If it is a larger hotel, you might also find yogurt, cold cereal, and fruit. Breakfast is like most food in Britain, bland. It’s as if the predisposition to apathy has taken over the taste buds.

In a recent trip back home to the States, I found quite different fare. I stayed in a Courtyard by Marriot, in a relatively small town, at a cost of about $90 per night. A buffet breakfast was an optional charge of $8. A buffet is when food is all laid out and you take just whatever portion suits you. In this breakfast were scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage (slices of ground spiced meat—not links), bacon (streaky bacon to the Brits), American biscuits and gravy (American biscuits are essentially the same as English buttermilk scones. Brit's "biscuits" are America’s "cookies"), pancakes, waffles you can make on the spot, fruit, yogurt, cold cereal, oatmeal (porridge to the Brits), toast, bagels, and so on. A lot of options, and potentially a lot of waste: it’s the American way. In these situations, I usually have breakfast and pack a bagel with cream cheese and a few pieces of fruit so I don’t have to buy lunch. If you are staying at a lesser hotel the way I usually do, they will serve “free continental breakfast.” This is usually instant coffee (Nescafe to some of you) along with packaged pastries and Tang (instant orange juice). If you are lucky, you might get a banana and toast.

A real continental breakfast, meaning in continental Europe, is different. I’ve travelled only in Germany, Austria, Italy, and France, so these observations are limited. Nonetheless, breakfast in all of those places is generally the same. There are espresso types of coffee, tea, and a selection of juices. Cold cereal, yogurt, fruit, toast, a selection of cold cuts and cheeses, boiled eggs, and a selection of pastries—of course croissants!

In Chile, there is only instant coffee—Nescafe. In a grocery store, I saw coffee from Haiti, but decided to pass. I’ve only travelled north of Santiago, mostly in the Atacama. Breakfast there was usually something like thin cold cut slices of chopped and formed ham, bland white cheese, toast and jam. The best bet is to head to the open market and buy avocados, fresh goat cheese, and bread (photo below). I’ll have to do some more legwork in South America to find out if this is consistent with other locales.

My favorite breakfast is the rooster bullet at the Gilbert General Store after a long weekend of canoeing and camping on the Buffalo River in Arkansas. The best homemade buttermilk biscuits split open and topped with breakfast sausage or bacon, eggs over easy, and then smothered in sausage gravy. Followed by coffee and a spell in a rocking chair on the porch, it can't be beat.

Glasgow

In Glasgow, Konah and I stayed near the Kelvingrove Park in the West End. It is a nice area near Glasgow University with lots of restaurants and cafes. We stayed at The Kelvingrove located just around the corner from the Kelvingrove Museum. They offer ensuite rooms and standard British cooked breakfast for about 70 GBP. The location is ideal for visiting the museums and university, and downtown shopping is a short 20 minute walk away. After some research online, we decided to go to Two Fat Ladies at 88 Dumbarton. Two Fats (named for the Bingo call, not the cooking show) has several locations in Glasgow. The Dumbarton dining room is small and cozy and the food is fantastic. We had a few of their fish specialties. The scallops with pancetta and in a buttery cream sauce were fantastic! The highlight of our short Glasgow trip was a tour of the Glasgow School of Art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Reservations for the tour are recommended, especially on the weekends, and are easily arranged with a phone call or email to the school. We finished off our Mackintosh tour of Glasgow with a trip to the Willow Tea Room for lunch before heading back south.

Hadrian's Wall

Because I had a meeting at Glasgow University, Konah and I took the opportunity to see a little more of the UK. We rented a small fuel efficient Nissan Micra from Europcar for about 100 quid and drove through western and northwestern Wales to Chester, then on the M6 north toward Glasgow. The roads in Wales are small, curvy, and lined with hedgerows. The motorway skirts the Wales-England border, only entering the country around Cardiff, increasing the relative isolation of the country from the rest of the UK.

We stopped at Hadrian’s Wall on the way to Glasgow. Hadrian’s Wall, begun in AD 122 was one of three walls used by the Romans to guard against the Scottish tribes and to establish the northern frontier of the Roman Empire in Great Britain. The wall extends 80 miles from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne to Carlisle and is followed by the Hadrian’s Wall Path. Much of the wall still exists and ruins of the milecastles, forts, and other sites are preserved. We visited the west end of the wall near Gilsland. With the short winter days, we turned off the main road onto the B619 a bit late. It was getting dark as we got to Housesteads Fort. We drove back to Gilsland, but our room wouldn’t be ready until after 6:00, so we set out in search for a pub. We walked into the Bridge Inn, but they wouldn’t be open until 7:00. We were informed that the only place to get a pint before 6:00 was the Gilsland Spa Hotel. The place was completely empty, but the bartender was friendly and wanted to ask us questions about the States and our new president and the state of the economy. We heard almost polka-esque music coming from another room and were informed that the residents were having their dance time before dinner. We were a bit skeptical, but the food was as tolerable as any other pub food. After dinner and a pint we went to Tantallon House B&B, owned and operated by Ann and Alex Roe. They acquired the house two years ago and are still going through a series of upgrades, but should be finished before spring. We were the rare winter visitor; most people visit the area in summer and on holiday. Tantallon is also home to Hoot the Owl who came with the house. We learned from Alex that in Britain, B&B’s can only host 6 people at a time, if more, it is classified as a guest house or hotel/inn. Hotels are a bit more formal and there is less interaction among guests while guest houses often have some common areas. We had a great night’s sleep in a an ensuite room (has private bathroom) with fantastic new comfy beds. The sunrise was spectacular and we ate breakfast with a view overlooking the wall. We walked around the wall in the village and visited Poltross Burn Milecastle, which is accessible from a parking lot near the school, before heading on to Glasgow.

My Trip to ZA: Part 2

This is part 2 of my travel in South Africa posts.

My travel to ZA was mostly for work. I am working on several rivers and wetlands there for a research project through a university in Wales. Travelling for vacation or holiday is really unlike other types of travel. Vacation travel gives you a different sense of place than travel for other reasons. On vacation travel the objective is enjoyment. Most other types of travel involve some other kind of purpose and require that more specific objectives be met and tasks be accomplished.

My objective was to collect wetland sediment (really sticky mud) and rock samples from my study rivers: The Klip, Schoonspruit, Mooi, Blood, Pienaars, and Vaal and mail them back to the UK to analyze at labs there. I also hoped to make some new contacts to work with in the future. I met several people working in the fantastic geology department at The University of the Witswatersrand (Wits, pronounced “vits,” for short). Through connections with a colleague from the UK who was traveling and working with me, we were able to borrow tools to use in the field and rent a research vehicle at little expense. The Toyota had a straight front axle and leaf springs that combined with miles of bumpy dirt roads would be the source of a lot of back aches during the four weeks of research.

Getting access to the private property along rivers is a challenge in a lot of places. In ZA, many landowners don’t live on-site and have resident operators that don’t always feel comfortable giving permission to trespass. Many are Afrikaans and don’t speak English well. Fortunately, I gained access to most the sites I needed with a little friendly conversation. One site I failed to get access to involved dealing with a local chief, Moratele. Gaining access to the site would involve going through his gate. The advice given by colleagues at Wits was to buy scotch, tea, and cigarettes and tell him how wonderful he would be for granting my group access through his gate. I was looking forward to this cultural experience more than some others in my group and we decided to drive some extra distance to go around the gate.

Sampling in wetlands is never ideal, but particular environmental challenges were burned reed swamps and high winds. At the Blood River site, I sank up past my knees in mud while trying to avoid being stabbed by sharp burned reed ends and keep my equipment in the dry. We augured at least 20 feet down before giving up on reaching bedrock below the wetland. At the Mooi River we stayed at a farm adjacent to the Kamberg KZN wildlife nature reserve. A fire at an adjacent farm spread to the one where we stayed and obscured the valley in smoke, making us wait to perform some measurements. Extremely high winds kept us in another day. All in all, we were lucky not to have more setbacks due to Mother Nature. Another setback was a flat tire that occurred on a Saturday afternoon in the rural town of Vrede. Nothing is open on the weekends in Vrede (and most other rural towns). We took the opportunity to watch South Africa play rugby on television and relax on Sunday. We got the flat fixed relatively quickly on Monday morning.

The final feat was mailing the samples back to the UK. It took about half a day to organize shipment through a courier (I’ve been advised not to use the South African postal service). The forms were numerous and lengthy and I was still charged VAT in the UK for my rocks and dirt. Shipping from ZA is quite expensive, but all arrived on time and intact. The key to being successful and happy working in international locations is to remember that things don’t operate on the same schedule or in the same way as in the States. Patience and a laid back attitude are your best defense against aggravation. Scheduling some extra time for mishaps and uncooperative weather helps too. I plan to post more detailed physiographic and geologic information on my research blog and will link to this post when I do. Click here for more photos from field work.

My Trip to ZA: Part 1

Stepping out of Johannesburg International Airport (recently renamed O.R. Tambo), it's not hard to know what is on the minds of Guatangers and South Africans everywhere. The World Cup in 2010 is bringing new roads and a sense of international recognition to the country. I was there for four weeks of field work and for a nine-day holiday to Krueger Park afterwards. My next few posts will be about my trip to ZA. If you are headed off to the World Cup, be sure to do some research about South Africa before you go. Most things are inexpensive, especially outside of Johannesburg. In my experience, few places outside of the cities accepted American credit cards. ATM machines are available, but often don't have any money in them, so take advantage and get cash when you can. There is often a 2,000 Rand limit, but you can swipe your card more than once. Don't expect speedy service anywhere. At restaurants, if you use a card to pay, you must indicate your tip amount before they run the card. Tips are not requisite, but remember that most folks in the service industry are supporting several others—so don’t be stingy like the Brits; tip like you would in the U.S. Negotiating prices is commonplace in South Africa, so don’t be afraid to ask for lower prices on arts and crafts in the markets. I didn’t try to negotiate too much because the initial cost is not high and the wages in South Africa are low for many artisans. Part of the philosophy of bargaining is that by participating in the discussion the buyer gives time and therefore importance to the seller, rather than throwing down some cash and walking away with the goods. Instead of negotiating price, I prefer to talk to the artisan or seller about their life and take their picture. Usually, people are more than happy to talk about themselves and accept full price. There are several outdoor markets and you will see many of the same kinds of things at most of them, so be sure to look around before settling on the quality and price at the first stall. Common arts and crafts are beaded wire animals, batik, bamboo leaf art, embroidery, wood carvings and metal arts.

I managed to get a rental car without a reservation, but don't recommend it. Try to get a rate that gives you lots of mileage per day. Don't forget that even though they refer to "mileage," distance is measured in kilometers. Two hundred kilometers doesn't stretch too far outside of the city. Rental cars will be manual unless you specify automatic transmission and reserve well in advance. Not one gas station I used in five weeks accepted cards other than “garage cards,” a gas card for that particular company. Even if you have a BP card from the U.S. and it is a BP station, American cards are not accepted. Driving is a bit chaotic. I learned how to drive on the wrong side of the road amidst droves of pedestrians and speeding bus taxis packed past capacity. Drivers pass where there is any opening in oncoming traffic, obscuring hills and curves or not. The N4 outside of Krueger is marked as a two lane road but turns into four lanes with use of the shoulders and passing in the middle. Breath deeply and avoid pedestrians.

Cellular phone coverage is fantastic and fairly inexpensive. The few places I visited that had no service were very remote. Getting a SIM card in ZA is easy. Ensure that your phone can use a SIM card; some U.S. phones do not. Another option is to buy an inexpensive phone there. There are several companies that supply cellular phone service. You can buy extra time to top up your phone at several outlets in gas stations and service centers.

Buy an up-to-date map. Several place names are being reassigned to a new non-imperialistic name e.g.: What was Warm Baths in English or Warmbad in Afrikaans is now Bela-Bela to all. Also, be aware that even though some locations have been renamed, there is still signage with the old name. The renaming makes online booking a bit challenging. Places may have both an English and Afrikaans name as well as a new name. Guides such as Lonely Planet are helpful, but many businesses change hands frequently, so be sure to ask for the correct phone number and name of the place if you call and get an unexpected connection. Each province has a Tourism Authority Information Office and these are fantastic sources of information. Just ring up and ask for recommendations.

Just like anywhere else in the world, the differences between the city and rural areas are vast. Dining out in Johannesburg, there are several options in variety and price. In rural areas, it is quite limited. Many places allow you to self-cater and the most popular way to do that is to braai. A braai is an outdoor bbq of any of several designs, but most have an open fire area and a grill that can swing over the coals. I got to have a proper braai with a few colleagues from The Witswatersrand University while doing field work on the Blood River (Bloed Rivier). Like the US, a lot of corn is grown in South Africa and it is a staple. Grits, cooked until just a bit dry, covered in a canned tomato sauce is essential to the braai menu. Of course in ZA you would ask for mealy pap with sheshebo. Other essentials on the braai menu are lamb chops and boervors. Vors means sausage. Boers are the Dutch farmers who settled the region after the East India Company figured out that they couldn’t trade with the Africans and needed people to supply ships coming into port. Boervors is farmers’ sausage. It is very popular and found in most stores and butchers’ shops (slaghouis). It is beef sausage with a distinct hint of coriander and other seasonings. Be choosy when buying meat from stores in rural areas. The slaghouis is often your best bet, but be sure to ask someone where the best meat is found. Other treats to try out on the road are biltong and droevors. Biltong is dried sliced meat, similar to jerky and is made of several different game meats and beef. Droevors is dried sausage, similar to summer sausage, but softer. It is basically dried boervors. Another outdoor cooking treat is a potjie. It is a large cast iron pot with a lid and legs that stands over an open fire simmering a stew of meat and vegetables inside and similar to what we call Dutch Oven cooking in the U.S. We were treated to a poitjie by the lovely folks at Otters' Haunt at the Vaal River in the Vredefort Dome. Graeme and Karen are long time whitewater and outdoor enthusiasts and we had a great time rafting, kayaking, hiking, and talking about river conservation. You can book whitewater, biking and walking tours of the Vredefort Dome through Graeme's Riverman website or just hang out at the Otters' Haunt for fly fishing, birdwatching and a stay in a bush camp for the authentic African experience. It was a highlight of the trip.

Despite the lack of convenience, bad air quality, and risk of theft, traveling in ZA is a great experience. The people are some of the friendliest anywhere and they like Americans. There are several parks operated by the government that are home to the best in scenery and wildlife. If traveling there, or anywhere, just relax, don’t be in a hurry, and talk to people with a smile. Most things are negotiable in South Africa. The next posts will be about field work in ZA and saving the best for last, Krueger National Park. Until then, a few of my favorite Afrikaans/ZA words:

Lekker: pronounced similar to “liquor” or "like-ah", means really, really good. A lekker jol is a great party.

Gutvol: pronounced like "hut full" but with a guttural h, means fed up, literally a gut full. As in I’m gutvol of the UK.

Yebo: “yeah bo” means hi, what’s up?!!

Dankie: “donkey” means thanks.

For all the lack of convenience Traveling in ZA If you're headed to ZA for the World Cup or anything else

P.S. I’ve been asked why I abbreviate South Africa “ZA.” South Africa was settled by the Dutch who spell it Zuid-Afrika so the official postal abbreviation and domain ending is ZA. Also, SA is the abbreviation for Saudi Arabia. I don't know why Australia is called OZ. Their postal abbreviation and domain is AU and OZ doesn't make any sense at all. I think it is just word play.