Trying to get lost on Islay

I have no sense of direction. Seriously, plonk me down anywhere in the world without a map or compass and I will walk around in circles for an eternity until I find somebody helpful. I don't always exactly enjoy being lost, but it has come to be an expected part of my daily existence. Even after three years of living in Southampton, I still only knew very certain routes from place to place.... I find it hard to navigate my way around shopping centres, forget what way I came in a door and head back out in the opposite direction and sometimes even get a little bit lost when swimming underwater in a swimming-pool.*

You would imagine that all of this is a bit of a handicap while I'm travelling alone (and sometimes it is awful), but recently I have developed a game. It's very simple...

1. In a new city wander down whichever roads/alleyways take your fancy (the windier the better).
2. Keep on doing so for half an hour, maybe an hour if you're feeling brave/very bored.
3. Now simply try and find your way back.

I started off playing this game in places I supposedly knew very well (Dorchester, Southampton, driving around the single lanes near my old village in Dorset...), but soon became cocky enough to try it abroad. In Marrakesh there was no chance of me finding my way anywhere, so that wasn't a good beginning, but the small blue-tinged town of Chefchaouen was ideal. Ten minutes of walking in random directions and it took two hours to find my way back to the hostel. Since then I've explored Seville, Lisbon and Porto in the same way and am keen to have another go the next time I'm alone in a big town.

Whenever that might be...

The Dower House- dilapidated home of my parents and my current abode.

For now that isn't very easy to organise on the small island of Islay in Scotland. Instead, I tried the same thing in our little car and drove inland along all the roads I didn't recognise. Unfortunately I couldn't get lost, there aren't enough roads, but at least now I know where they all lead.

Here are a few photos from my afternoon's exploration... 

This is the little car that my parents are letting me use while I'm living up here- it's not exactly cut out for the pot-holes and mud swamps we try to get through sometimes.

A village I'd never noticed before- Ballygrant apparently.

Thanks for reading- if you're lucky I'll write you a slightly more informative post next time. :)

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*As my university lifesaving friends would testify after I once managed to swim into a wall during a competition.

Ten photos that remind me why I have to go back to Portugal...

I hadn't even intended to visit Portugal, but after bumbling up through Morocco and along the South of Spain, that was where I ended up. I only had a few days and never made it out of the cities, Faro, Lisbon and Porto, but that was enough to convince me that I need to return- and soon!

Lisbon particularly has some incredible (and enormous) street art, partly thanks to the Crono project, which encourages artists to turn the walls of abandoned buildings into masterpieces.

The artists-
Above- Gêmeos (to the left) and BLU
Below- Sam3 (to the left) and Ericailcane

If you're interested you can read more about the Crono project- http://cargocollective.com/Crono 

As much as I approve of this relatively new street art, nobody could ever have accused Portugal's cities of needing to brighten up. These tiles, known as Azulejo, have been keeping the streets colourful since the 15th century (according to Wikipedia). 

These tiles seem to adorn even the dingiest of corners, making the backstreets beautiful with a quirky charm that had me wandering aimlessly for hours.

The buildings themselves are pretty impressive too. 

  

Above- Rossio Railway Station, Lisbon                                                           Above- Porto                            

Below- Commerce Square, Lisbon        

Finally, this is the view from the river bank in Porto at night- I think it speaks for itself. 

Have you ever been to Portugal? Where would you recommend I try next?

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The time a frog got stuck on my face...

Restrained to a small Scottish island for the time-being, I've been having a think back to some of my most ridiculous travel experiences. This is certainly one of them...

It was 2008- aged sixteen and out of Europe for the first time in my life, it was understandable that an expedition into the Honduran rainforest was pretty exciting for me. I'd been saving for over a year and couldn't sleep for weeks before we left, so by the time we had actually arrived in the jungle, I was practically uncontainable.

Look how excited I was by these creatures...

"Oh wow! So many bees! Fascinating! I'll just let them buzz all around me as I take this photo!"

Every new bug was photographed, long, sweaty treks were greeted with boundless enthusiasm and (to my regret) this frog was so interesting that I just had to have a closer look....

...and then it looked at me...

The next thing I knew, it was flying through the air and landing with a splat onto my cheek! I tried to prize it off but its little feet were clinging onto my skin- two of his toes were poking into my mouth. 

"Don't hurt it!" cried the sympathetic, but slightly hysterical researchers we were supposed to be 'assisting'.

I was stumbling around, bent in two with a combination of laughter and panic, until I eventually managed to wiggle my two fingers under the frog's slimy belly and un-stick him. Maybe I imagined the slurping sound as he reluctantly gave up his sticky grasp?

Anyway, that was the last time I looked an amphibian in the eyes.

Honduras is beautiful though- you should go!

How to beg, borrow and steal* your way around Australia when all you have in your pocket is a collection of receipts and an old toothpick...

*Just to clarify- I don’t condone pick-pocketing, it’s just a good phrase.

Watch out for these cheeky chappys...

1. Hitchhike- in case you hadn’t guessed I’m quite a fan… Tips for hitchhiking in Australia
2. Make use of free campsites- you could pay $30 to stay in a crowded caravan park with a load of screaming kids OR you could pitch up in a nice, quiet spot by the beach for free. Admittedly some of the places we camped weren’t exactly designated spots, but if you are organised you could locate the legitimate ones on the internet, by asking in tourist offices or download the app ‘wiki camps’.
3. So that’s your travel and accommodation sorted, what else do you need? I’m afraid I haven’t found a way of getting free food on the road yet (although you could probably get quite a bit of meat off that dead wombat we saw), but the cheapest food we found in Australia came from Aldi. $2.50 for a bottle of wine?! You can't go wrong.
4. Don’t buy water! Even small towns often have a tap somewhere or just ask in a café if you haven’t got that many bottles to fill up.      NOTE: If you can only find a stupid vertical drinking fountain it’s best to fill up a larger container/cup and decant, rather than go through the frustration we did trying to aim the jet towards a tiny bottle entrance without getting soaked.
5. Beach towns have showers- they are cold, but it's better than smelling like a tramp when you get in someone's car. If you can’t find an outside shower then it’s probably worth paying to use a swimming pool (maybe shower before you get in…).
6. There are free BBQs everywhere in public parks. If you don’t have your own stove, then these are a great way to get a hot meal.
7. Minimise your time in the big cities. It’s very hard to camp, get a lift and they generally gobble up your budget much faster than when you're out in the sticks.
   
8. Don’t pay to see koalas, kangarooos etc. It’s kind of cheating and if you spend enough time outside you’ll come across them naturally. NOTE: For guaranteed sightings-kangaroos and koala
9. Don’t smoke, or if you must then buy your cigarettes abroad. One packet costs around the same as a night in a hostel!
10. If you have an early flight, just sleep in the airport! ...unless you're leaving from Avignon as apparently they throw you out.  Check if it's possible to sleep in your airport here -http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

Sorry, I just couldn't resist another koala photo.

AND some other things you could try if you had a little more time than we did...

1. Couch surfing
2. Working- possibly picking fruit. We heard it pays quite well.
3. Volunteering- have a look on the website 'workaway' for opportunities with free food and lodging. 

You might also like... 

Beg, Borrow and Steal your way out of Athens during a riot.

or...

Hitchhiking Sydney to Melbourne.

or maybe even...

Hitchhiking in Australia- some Feathery tips.

'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' -London

Where: Natural History Museum, London

When: 18 October 2013 - 23 March 2014
10.00-17.50 (last admission 17.15)
The photos will then do a tour of various cities (I once saw them in Sydney instead).

How much: Adult £12, child and concessions £6 (including 10% optional extra donation)

Buy tickets: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/exhibition/

Amazingly, this year was the forth in a row I've managed to see the winners of the 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' awards and this latest collection certainly did nothing to dislodge its position as my favorite exhibition of all time. Not only are the photos themselves incredible, but the set-up of the exhibition in the Natural History Museum creates a peaceful, soothing environment in which to view them. Beautifully back-lit in a darkened, but spacious side wing, strange but soothing music emanates from the walls, making you feel as if you're wandering around inside a whale's womb.*

It's almost impossible to discus these photos without being able to include the images themselves, so I've taken a little photo of the postcards of my favorites I brought home with me. Hopefully this wont anger any copyright police too much if I reference each photo below...

'Freeze frame'-Etienne Francey

'Eye of a toad'-Łukasz Bożycki

'The greeting'-Richard Packwood

'Lionfish Bait'- Alex Tattersall

'Sharing a shower'-Michael 'Nick' Nichols

'Tiger untrapped'-Toshiji Fukuda

'Travelling companions'-Douglas Seifert

In the adult competition, there are different categories for animal portraits and behavior, urban wildlife, plants (or rather more poetically described- 'Botanical Realms'), endangered and threatened wildlife, landscapes, 'Creative Visions' and those taken in black and white, but due to a lifelong obsession with oceans and their various creatures, my particular favorite is always 'Underwater Worlds'.

I'm not sure I agree with the winner of the underwater category this year- Feast of the Ancient Mariner by Brian Skerry. Although this photo captures the unusual sight of a Leatherback Turtle chomping away on a revolting looking pyrosome**, I was much more inspired by the fantastically composed runner up- Lionfish Bait by Alex Tattersall (see middle postcard). This photograph juxtaposes the glistening mass of silversides against a dark background, with the strikingly orange lionfish forming a focal point in the top right hand corner. According to the caption, Alex found around 20 common lionfish in just one of the holds of  the wrecked SS Thistlegorm, which has lain in the Red Sea at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt since 1941. 'Lionfish bait' then obviously wasn't one of those photos where the photographer had to wait for 27 years in the same mosquito infested treehouse for the one perfect shot they needed, but I'm still beyond impressed at how he has managed to capture all that detail and light without getting annoying reflections back from bubbles and particles in the water. My own attempts at underwater photography look gritty and dull in comparison.

On the other hand, Tiger Untrapped (bottom left), taken in Lazovsky Nature Reserve, Eastern Russia,  is just one of those miraculous, but well deserved shots which took an inhuman amount of patience and resilience to achieve... To achieve this photo, Gerrald Durrell carved out a hole in the snow on the slope of a mountain into which he built himself a hut. He then sat here for the seventy-four days it took him to spot just one of these endangered Siberian tigers. Aged 12, if you'd asked me what my ideal job was I would have told you I'd love to be a wildlife photographer and although this is still true to some extent, I'm not sure in this situation, I could have dealt with the possibility of it all being for nothing while I slowly lost my toes to frostbite.

There's generally nothing more depressing than the young photographers categories (how can a ten year old be so talented???), but we found Freeze frame (top right) too comical to be resentful of. Etienne Francey's leaping white stoat was caught at just the right moment to create this fantastic playful image. Etienne had managed to get two of his photos into the competition, so I'm sure we can expect fantastic things from him in the future.

Whether or not I agree with the actual winners, I'd give my left ear to have the talent and camera to be able to take any one of these photos and left the exhibition with a feeling that is somewhere between admiration and being demoralised.

You can see some of the winners here... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24534109
And here... http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/10/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2013/

Some other useless, but interesting things I learnt through the exhibition...

• There is such a thing as a 'Fogbow'- this is light reflected on water droplets. The drops are too small to refract light making the bow white rather than the colours of a rainbow.
• The Juvenile Golden Trevally fish (bottom left postcard) rides the pressure wave created by this dugong and feeds on tiny crustaceans it dislodges with it's mouth as it's feeding.
• In Deadvlei, Nambia the Tsauchab river was cut off by migrating sand dunes nine-hundred years ago. This area has been left so dry that the trees haven't rotted and still stand spookily in the desert today.
• The 'bokeh effect' is a Japenese word for the aesthetic quality of out of focus points of light.

Have you been to 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' before? What did you think?

 *Thank you Bryony for this one from the collection of your famous analogies.
**Apparently this is 'A free-floating colony of hundreds of thousands of tiny tunicates (filter-feeding zooids) wrapped in a gelatinous ‘tunic’'

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