The Silk Route Motorcaravan Club.Bulletin 82 (in part).Edited for publication by Les Brook |
|
EDITORIAL "Never telephone me when I'm having a nap!" That's how my editorial concluded last month. But was this line - the most significant one in the article - deleted by my computer? Please do not misunderstand me. If you like our little bulletin, say so. Each one of your letters gives me great pleasure, even if it means I have to reply. A day without anything but an American Express offer through the letterbox is a day without sun! The computer screen displaying "no new messages", does me no good at all, but I often rail against those (not belonging to the Club) who ask me questions about anything and everything. (I rail - but I answer! It is a matter of one's education). It's made worse when there isn't even a thank you, not even a simple acknowledgement that the reply has been received, to compensate for the few minutes considering the answer. Let's change the subject. By chance, and just for once, I paid attention to the words of a song by Hugues Auffray, Debout les gars. "You go to the end of the world!" These words seem to me to be very relevant to our ambitions. I therefore propose, unless you can seen any disadvantages, to make it our anthem. I ask forgiveness of our British friends on whom we will impose this new holiday homework! I promise that we shall sing God Save the Queen to them! The first verse at least. It's not too much to ask! |
A PRIVATE DESERT! |
|
"We had planned to leave for Libya with the Peltier family, but the rules have been changed! Now, a full-time guide is required (650 francs per day or 300 if you provide 'board and lodging'). No question of leaving…" Is Libya closed again? Are they following the example of China? It's a pity if, once again and just for money, the door is closed… Maybe they have been told of the tourist invasion of Morocco and have decided to restrict the number of visitors? Or is it for political reasons? But it is a fact, confirmed by a letter from Michel Petit (to follow). Pierre Larcher |
CHANGE OF PROGRAMME |
|
The AGM is deferred to 10/11 (12/13?) November? Why? How? Where? For several (good) reasons:
OK? Tell me if you disagree. |
CANADA (continued from Bulletins 74 and 81). |
|
We went on towards Anchorage. Weather conditions were good, so we had the opportunity to admire Mount MacKinley, the highest peak in North America, covered in white. Stop at Dénali Park. It is skirted by a river that runs slowly between the walls of snow-covered mountains. Anchorage is the most American of the towns of Alaska, but, unlike Fairbank, it offers little of interest. We continued weswards. Our first alaskan glacier, Baring, and, a few kilometres from there, a lake on which icebergs float. We get to Whittier, a small fishing village at the edge of the gulf, ringed by white peaks, via a single-track tunnel that is also used by trains. This tunnel is a leftover from the second world war. The American army dug it to create a secret base. It was returned to civilian use at the end of the Cold War. In 1966, an earthquake accompanied by tidal waves engulfed the village, but those who escaped, tough and courageous, rebuilt it and live there today making a living from fishing and tourism. Homer, a small port located in the extreme north-west, is special, being built at the end of a 9km spit of land, at most 150m wide. A multitude of fishing vessels of every kind occupy the harbour. A little further south, Valdez is built on a bay and is also encircled by mountains. It's the starting point for many excursions to the fjords and glaciers. Among these, we selected the most significant: Colombia, 1144 sq km and 80m thick. It increases by 6m per day and pours tons of ice into the Pacific. The boat took us along this monster and, benefiting from the sunshine and clear blue sky, we watched the spectacle of the ice blocks descending the slopes and crashing into one another before splitting off. All this was watched placidly by the lizard-like seals from their icy viewpoint. On the return leg, we saw underwater caves, seabirds and sea mammals. We intended to get to Whitehorse and Skagway by the ferry from Juneau, the state capital. Unfortunately it would have taken too long and so we once more took the road to Yukon and the northern part of British Columbia. We left Alaska with an immense desire to return, so enchanting were the diverse landscapes, the great spaces, the rivers with calm or turbulent water and their inhabitants, the salmon, that brave contrary currents to find love! Animals are well represented: wolves, bears (great show on the Fishereek river where a dozen grizzlies were fishing), caribou, set amongst snow-covered and sunny mountains. British Columbia. Around Prince Rupert, some american indian villages display their totems carved in the 19th century by native artists. Vancouver, the capital, is the most American of the Canadian cities. Buildings of metal and glass are there to remind you of this fact. The climate is moderated by the presence of hot marine currents and the protection offered by the mountains that encircle it. There's a very good aquarium with four white belugas and an anthropological museum with beautiful creations made of wood - furniture and totems. Vancouver Island was discovered by Cook but it was George Vancouver who took possession and gave it his name. The capital, Victoria, has some beautiful monuments and the Butchart garden created in 1905 on old lime quarries. There are immense magnolias (300 years old, 70 meters in height, and 3m in diameter) in the Pacific National Park. The rain and the fog prevented us from enjoying the aquatic activities of Long Beach. Returning to the mainland, we visited the superb Okanagan valley, the orchard of Canada, with its innumerable fruit trees and rows of vines. The wine is good. Our visit to the Canadian Rockies started in Lake Louise and brought us to Jasper. Throughout there were lakes, canyons, waterfalls and glaciers illuminated by the sun and amplified by the snowy peaks. We were filled with wonder. Should we return in the snow? In Alberta, after Calgary, we visit Drumheller, the largest palaeontological museum of the world, with a score of life-size dinosaur skeletons, made from resin and based on the bones found at Jurassic Park. This site is located about a hundred kilometres away, in a lunar desert with no vegetation. Only a few Virginia poplars survive thanks to the waters of the river Red Deer. Crossing Alberta allows us to see the great North American prairie (oil wells) but Saskatchewan offers us many herds of bison. This animal, noble beast par excellence, made it possible for many generations of natives to survive, but it was almost completely decimated by the end of the 19th century and was only saved by an initiative of the Canadian government which decided, about 50 years ago, to reintroduce it into this area. To be continued... Jackie Baronio |
INDIA-NEPAL (continued from Bulletins 79, 80, 81). |
|
Fax dated March 2 2001. A week spent in the province of Goa, from the 4 to 12 February, allowed us all to replenish supplies but was also eventful. Firstly a bit of idleness on D'Agunda beach where we play Robinson Crusoe, take the sun and get a suntan, collect coconuts, and eat at fish restaurants. But there's also the drudgery of collecting water. For the men, this means, bringing it up with the aid of a rope and bucket and transporting it to the motorhomes, thus allowing the women to have sufficient to do the laundry. It was in this paradise that the Auffray family joined us for too short at time (see n° 81). As envisaged, on Sunday 11, the Herviou family joined us for the journey to Agra and New Delhi. 29kms into the journey, our oil indicator came on. We were towed back to Patasi where a local mechanic did the business and on the 13th we re-started, on a road stuffed with lorries. It was impossible to make more than 30kms per day. The 16th, visit the Elo-Ra caves, temples dug in the rock the most remarkable of which is that cut out of a single huge block and those at Ajanta whose fame comes from the murals which seemed to us to have lasted well. To Agra on the 20th. We give ourselves a day's rest. We meet the Leclerc family on our arrival at New Delhi on the 22nd. Jean-Claude Griffoin |
TAFRAOUT (MOROCCO) |
|
In Bulletin18 (May 1995) Josy Gastaud wrote: There is not enough time. We will return, it is very beautiful. Lucette and I have very good memories of this small town and its tiny camp site (wood fire lit under the boiler for the shower). And our President Chirac is a privileged host, not of the campsite but of the luxury hotel! JM 25 kilometers from Tiznit, there's a very beautiful palm plantation surrounded a circle of mountains, spectacular, a little apocalyptic, made of a reddish chaos of rocks in more or less unstable balance. One could believe nothing would be enough to make them fall. You can park in the palm plantation in the day, and return for the evening to the campsite, or in front of the gendarmerie. Not very far to walk. It is a large village with craftsmen, and many very good tradesmen. You can find all you need here. One breathes the softness of living here, serenity, and one does not get so tired when there is so much calm. The most spectacular memory was of the visit to the palm plantation of Ait Mansour. It requires climbing to reach 2000 meters, sometimes in rubble like a quasi-desert. The road is narrow but is tarred for 30kms. When you look around you will discover variations of soft colors, from dark ochre to yellow straw and mauve turning to violet with the shadows following the sun. A wonder of nature! On the descent, the road is narrow, winding and very steep (not for those with a weak heart!) emerging into an immense canyon, imposing and fantastic because of its height. A site to take your breath away, the wild beauty of this place is intense and rare. And, at the bottom of the canyon, we finally arrived at a luxuriant oasis whose palm trees, fed by a water system, must be at least 4 or 500 years. It is a true virgin forest of these beautiful trees, a special sight for all. Many of them are close together and form a solid mass. Women, children and old men, all with extreme kindness, inhabit three small villages built into the cliffside. The men go to earn their living in the large cities. It is a remarkable place especially if you like walking. One almost hesitates to reveal the secrets of this place, one of infinite softness. Do not tell anybody! The palm plantation has 5 or 6 sites for vans. Andre and Francine Helmbacher |
MORE ON MOROCCO. |
|
We had not been for over 20 years and, although the landscapes are always so beautiful, the mentality has changed for the worse. Obviously, due to "mass tourism" arriving here. It now seems completely impossible to get involved with the inhabitants, even in the small villages! It's well damaged. Catherine Kuga It's true, and our friend Francine is right to recommend care! For authenticity, whether going N, S, E or W, one should not be afraid to drive far from the beaten track! |
STRANGE MEETINGS. |
|
On our return from a long tour (5 months) in Iran, Pakistan, India and Nepal, I want to say how grateful I am to all the people on the voyage. I want to thank Michel Godard whose book helped for part of the way. I would also like to help those motorcaravanners who are interested in getting rid of their prejudices. The disadvantages of the controls in the east of India, for instance, are compensated in particular, when one meets other travellers. Such as an Argentinian-Andorran couple who went to Australia by bus and train via stops in India, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc. Or some young Europeans who carried out the same tour BY BICYCLE and alone. We even met a French walker in Pakistan, pushing a CHILD'S PUSHCHAIR which contained all his gear! We met a Slovak, completely "skint", who slept in a wood close to the camp-site in Islamabad: he had been robbed in Lahore. The gold medal is allotted to a young German-British couple who spent a year in an antique 1962 Mercedes truck. They had conceived a child in Italy, decided to travel the world, had the baby in India, adopted a dog en route, and then waited in Islamabad for a visa to go back to Berlin via Iran. Difficult step for the British father as he was put in a camp for undesirables. So, in addition to traditional tourism, monuments, sites, etc, these meetings remain memorable occasions. On a purely basic level there was also an exceptional reception at the Korean temple of Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha, in Nepal. They not only accommodated but also fed us. One could not always say that of many religious representatives closer to home, but that's another story! Armand Pourteau |
E-MAIL FROM PORTUGAL. |
|
Dear Mr. Mahaut Thank you for your quick answer. I now remember your e-mail. It should be said that I am 66 years old and I did not start to work with a computer till recently after combating a very strong depression following my retirement and having had 2 heart attacks. During my voyages by motorhome, I have met many friends, especially French. They all wanted information and I answered by e-mail. Following this I began to organise the facts I had collected after some 30 years of caravanning, and in my third year of motorcaravanning. This information was mentioned in 5 lines of Camping-Cars Magazine, and I had hundreds of requests from France. The translations in Spanish, French, English, Italian and German will follow, but as I speak the languages better than I write, it is easier and more pleasant for me to put it in good French. For the motorcaravanner who spends their holidays in July/Aug, one can find campsites, especially near the sea, in this over-populated part of the world. Campsites are a real problem: with vehicles or tents placed a few inches from each other, and with barbecues with an open hearth, I wish you good luck in the event of fire! But, Portugal has many very pretty things to see inland, in the plains in the south and in the mountains of the north, especially with regard to the craft industry, food and home-made jams, cheeses and wines, and especially with prices being so much lower and travel being so safe. I have a lot of information on sports like fishing, mountain biking, canoeing, rafting, parascending, ballooning etc. I have now a rather large waiting list for the new edition which, for speed, will be will be put on a web site (not valid) making it available to all. You are obviously aware that our second language in school is French, and that our first king was the Duke of Burgundy as was the Princess of Castille. I am a descendant of a Frenchman who during the second Napoleonic invasion, was badly wounded near Amarante (Oporto-Bragança Road). His name was Albert Brochado. This evening I will visit your web site. If you want I can send to you copy of the past year's guide. Alberto Brochado |
Home - This page last changed on 2002-01-13.