Xmas in Banff

I spend Xmas every year in Alberta, Canada. I first started going there after my brother moved there in 1988 (or there abouts) to visit my brother and get some good snowboarding in, and now all my immediate family live there (my parents, brothers, their wives and my sister, both my brothers wives sisters and their families, my brothers in-laws and soon to be my other brothers in-laws), it has become both a tradition and usually the only chance I get to see my family. Its also the only chance I get to go snowboarding since I moved to the big smoke.

This year my friend Yannick, who was born in Madagascar, he moved to Paris when he was 14 and to London when he was 23, came along with me - never thought I would live to see a Madagascan on skis! Isn't life whacky!? He was pretty good though, and after two or three days on snowblades he was onto full sized skis and ripping up the slopes!

The above picture is of my sister (Nonny) and Yannick acting the tit on a drive up the bow valley parkway on our way to Lake Louise in Banff National Park. The drive is known for its wildlife and I saw my first wild moose on this trip (I havent posted any images of the moose as I only had a wide angle zoom lens with me, meaning the only pics I have are of the moose as a dot in the distance).

The whole of the Canadian Rockies are picture postcard views which make for great backdrops for photos, summer or winter. For this photo the sun was streaming in from camera left and I had a flash on manual, to camera right (via a radio trigger). I like the way the exposure adjustment and the mix of sunlight and flash on the foreground makes the background look like a painted back drop. At -18C there wasnt much time to hang around, especially as my legs were soaking wet from wading through the snow chasing the moose a short while beforehand. You can see just how cold I was in the pic of me below, me begging my sister to hurry up and press the shutter so we can get back in the truck!

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¡Viva Mexico! Part 3

Buenos Noches de Puebla y Cholula!

Hello folks... hope the bones aren't too chilly in old London town and north of the border. I am now in Puebla south east of Mexico city freezing my weary bones too. Its a surprising thing for me that Mexico can be so cold... it was 0C last night and I froze my balls off... it was only when i got up in the morning that i remembered i was using my sleeping bag as a pillow. Mexican´s obviously like their pillows made out of brick, i am a softie and like my down filled pouch of luxury, even on a rough-it holiday.

Spanish lessons went well, if a bit intensive... thurs i had to go to bed straight afterwards. Who needs danger when you've got the Spanish teacher from hell... NO INGLES! But there has been a definite improvement in my spanish the last few weeks, so all power to the Spanish hardliners in Morelia :)



Didn't get much sleep on the Wednesday night, originally I thought it was just exhaustion, new surroundings or nerves for my first day at school, but Thursday night no sleep too and feeling odd... by Friday I was stricken will a nasty cold which confined me to bed outside of classes. Postponed my trip to Patzcuaro until Saturday in the hope I would feel better but Saturday was still hard work... so forced myself out of bed by 11am and staggered to the bus station. Got a little worried that my overconfident Spanish meant Id given the wrong instructions to the cab driver as we ended up on the freeway headed towards Patzcuaro... I only had 100 pesos (5 pounds) on me and I knew even in Mexico that couldn't take me to Patzcuaro... anyway, ended up in the right place-ish on a rickety old bus eating Mexican donuts as a reward for my hard work -for those that aren't up with the Mexican dulces, Mexican donuts are long and thin as opposed to round, they are very sugary and crispy, perfect for feeding a cold - no chocolate to dip them in unfortunately but the vendor was better than chocolate ;)



In Patzcuaro spent the day walking and walking, visiting church after church and found a church dedicated to drag queens and gay priests... Mexico has a thing about bad statues with odd costumes or Jesus with hideous wounds and even more hideous hair... this church topped the lot though. Still feeling rough it was time to grab some Mexican chicken soup to boost the immune system and clear the sinuses... that did the trick, so after some Leche Calor and my rather odd hotel room it was time to sleep, or so i thought. My hotel room had a very nice glass brick floor, but what was not apparent previously was that my neighbours downstairs were night owls, so I spent the night hiding under the sheets to avoid the sun like rays. The day I travelled to Patzcuaro was the first dull day since arriving in Mexico, so when I arrived in Patzcuaro I thought I was just unlucky with the weather. However by morning my bed and clothes were damp and uncomfortable... not good for a boy with a cold. Reminded me very much of Wales actually.



Sunday I headed to Titzutzlan (sp?) about 30mins north of Patzcuaro... Titzutzlan was once the centre of the religious and political culture of this part of Mesoamerica, pre-Spanish conquistadors. More churches, a walk around the semicircular pyramids on top of a traditional shaped platform - sent some positive thoughts back home, got sunburnt from forgetting my sunscreen and hat in Morelia and still getting through 100 tissues a day, I struggled on and battled with finding transport to get me back to civilisation. Not before meeting my share of locals who loved to talk to British\Canadians who didn't understand a word they said, maybe their husbands and wives weren't good listeners and my vacant sick as a dog face was just the therapy they needed, who knows, but my Spanish lessons didn't help there... think I did catch a swear word or two from the old fella though.

From Titzutzlan it was back to Morelia via Patzcuaro, but the cold still in full effect and me worn out and sun burnt from the day worshiping the sun gods at Titzultzlan all I could muster is a shower and heading out for dinner before bed. Got chatted up by jail bait that took at least an hour to shake off, then had a hot milk Mexican style and headed to bed. No tequila slammer party this week, confident the Spanish has improved enough to avoid paying this time but this old man is beat!

Yada Yada Yada, back at class on Monday, and finally found a coffee shop that sold tea anything like a good old British cuppa, more of the Spanish hardliners and more exploring... Mexican hambergers, Ouch! Soppie, Yum! Torta de guisado, YUM! and more walking. Met a 99 year old Mexican dude hanging out in front of a corner store with his cronies like teenagers up to no good, persuaded him to let me take his picture. Found myself in a not so desirable part of town and high tailed it back to civilisation. After class on Wednesday it was straight to the bus station and a 4 hour bus ride to Mexico DF then a dash across town to the bus station for Puebla... the subway is jam packed from dawn to dusk! After getting lost on my exit from the subway, battling with traffic to cross the road frogger style, finding myself somewhere dodgy, finding myself back to the land of vendors and buses I had time for a quick torta and dash for the next bus to Puebla.



A 2 hour bus ride took 4 hours because of traffic and roadworks and I arrive in Puebla at 23:30 looking for a hotel... lucked out with a 15 pounds a night hotel that's luxury compared to the past week and a half. Walked around town for a bit, but this town is deserted! So straight to bed and up bright and early this morning and headed off to Cholula to send more vibes from top of the largest pyramid in Mesoamerican (possibly the world - measuring 400m across - alas its not in great shape and looks more like a hill than a pyramid) - not before getting my hair chopped off haircut (get ready for a Huw with no hair!).

Cholula is the town where Cortez first arrived and travelled through the now colonial mexico... the local population planned a revolt against the invaders, but cortez found out through his local conspirators, so he massacred every last one of the male inhabitants (6,000) and vowed to build a church for every day of the year on the existing pyramids... he didn't quite make the church for every day of the year, but a catholic church sits on top of the largest pyramid in Mesoamerica, which is a spectacular site with the snow capped volcano in the distance. I did my homage looking for more drag queens and gay priests to worship, but the canned music blaring out from all around the pyramid up to the church was more than I could stand so after I reached the top and tested the cellphone signal it was straight back down again for some peace and quiet. The usual voyage of discovery finding transport, taking note of the at least 18 bed bases balanced on top of a pickup truck, a motorbike on a roofrack and children playing football on the back of a lorry and I am back in Puebla.



After a Mexican feast of Beef, Pork, Mole, Guacamole, Cactus/prickly pear etc and I am ready for another tame night.

Will hangout in Puebla until tomorrow night then back to Mexico city to take the flight home on Saturday... good job as my backpack is starting to imprint itself in my shoulders and my farmers tan is pretty much complete.

The most disturbing event of the holiday is my camera flash going haywire - was it the revenge of the pyramids or the curse of the drag queen church after I omitted to slip a few pesos into her bra!? who knows!

Adios gringos!

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¡Viva Mexico! Part 2

Buenas Noches de Morelia! siempre estoy escribir el correo electronico cuando cansado!?

This is proving to be a tame trip for sure... next time I must head to the Columbian mountains or the deputed border between Peru and Chile to get my fix of danger... that said, things are going well and I've had my share of fried nerves.

Last time I contacted the outside world I was somewhere in cuidad de mexico having gotten lost on my way back from a day of fun packed culture (read sarcasm). The walk home from wherever it was I was (is that correct grammar?) was a little nerve racking! There doesn't seem to be any street lamps in Mexico City... the best you get is light from shop signs and windows. So walking through a neighborhood that looked a bit like a war zone (read Beirut) with half destroyed buildings left over from the big earthquake in the 1980s was a little scary.


Appears I took what I though was the place de reforma only to be headed in completely the wrong direction! needless to say the camera was hidden in the bottom of my scruffy backpack. It’s not been a big photo trip so far, been more of a beer and tequila trip to date, hiccup!

Anyway, I did the touristy thing and paid homage to Frieda Kahlo and Leon Trotsky (who was in exile here in Mexico in the 1930 to 1940s if my mind serves me (my tequila spongyfied brain that is!). Again I seemed to walk for hours in the wrong direction before finally giving up and flagging down a cab... now, after reading every scare story there is about taking a cab in mexico city, and with my driver taking a completely different direction than I expected, while talking softly into his cell phone, I quickly stuffed as much money, memory cards and whatever else would fit up the crack of my ass down my underwear ready for the big event! 10 mins later and with sweat dripping down my forehead, back and ass crack (I pity the poor Mexicans that have to handle that money again!) we arrived safe and sound at Frieda Kahlo house, phew!!!



Walking, walking, walking, getting lost on paseos\collectivos, museums (museo de anthropolologica = Wowa!), tacos, tacos, tacos, tortas, tortas tortas, gordidas, tostadas, yada yada yada and its Friday already, and no muggings or other serious event, these Mexicans are too nice for their own good! The weekend coming up and seeing the prospect of a big night out on the cards I opted for two more nights in the Holiday Inn (extravagance is addictive) and some serious partying. I had already done the practice run on Wed and Thurs nights so Friday was the big one! What to say, Totty Totty Totty! Cervesas Mucho! Hangover from Hell! and plenty of explaining to do when I get home ;) so Friday to Sunday hasn't much to tell (or at least that story is staying in Mexico!).

Should mention a few things here... man are there a lot of guns in Mexico! on the street, in shops, on the subway... big guns, ugly guns! you know you're in the wild west when the subway entrance has police with semi automatic rifles, the buses have ´no gun´ signs and every shop with anything of value has their own ammunition store equal to most home guard platoons. Subway rides were quite an event, enough to fry the nerves of the weak and the weary... the subway looks very much like the Paris subway with more attitude and a lot more noise and vendors galore. Vendors are everywhere, no spare patch of thoroughfare with anything more than a few pedestrians has its sea of street vendors, including entrances to subways, middle and surround of roundabouts, parks (don't go to a park for peace and quiet in mexico city!) and the list goes on.

Sunday I bid farewell to the city of mexico and made tracks to Morelia west through the mountains. With the hangover in full effect I whimped out and went for a taxi to the bus station, which saves me the effort of working that one out.

On the way to Morelia the mountainous landscapes are more picturesque than expected, now I can see how mexico city was once built on an island in a lakebed and eventually grew and grew, which explains the sinking and the flood problems in some parts of the city... not sure this would be a good place to experience a ´sismo´. That’s another disturbing little reminder; everywhere in mexico city there are earthquake instructions... good time to be leaving me thinks, especially with me in a fragile state.



The bus was more like flying first class than taking an intercity bus. The seats became almost flat beds and the jammon y queso sandwich was most welcome... they know how to travel in mexico. Arrived in Morelia after a very restful trip... and looked around for a hotel... the hangover still in effect I opted for the rip-off hotel in the central plaza until the morning.

Went out for a stroll in the plaza, watched some mariachi bands, a clown show, got roped in as the funny foreigner and was married off to the gay clown with the bad hair (his own bad hair), I will keep the story brief but I think the crowd liked me better than the clowns ;) after some dinner I bumped into some friendly Mexicans and discovered the delights of an all you can drink bar for US$7 (about 3 pounds 50 pence), Ouch! After getting to know most of the people that were worth knowing (read Huw was a little drunk!) I found myself bankrolling a tequila slamming party in someone’s kitchen somewhere in the Morelia suburbs... driving around a dodgy neighborhood in a cab to talk to two dodgy characters sitting on plastic chairs on a deserted street at 3am in the morning, getting our fix of tequila, cigarettes and fresca (who ordered that!?) that’s mexico! Monday was spent looking for cheaper hotel and sleeping off the indulgence of the night before. Didn’t do too badly though, now I’m in an 8 pounds a night hotel which has more character and less roaches than the twatty hotel on the plaza :)

Being a bit worse for ware, everything is scaring the willies out of me today... the monarch butterflies are on their way, but it took two or three before they registered as butterflies not bats, I blame the bad light. Talking of flying things... the pigeons are very posh in Morelia, all clean and healthy, no deformities and pork rinds (sp?) for conditioner here.



Tuesday spent the day walking around trying to take pics... first my camera was set wrong... first lesson, then the difference between film and digital becomes apparent... my usual tricks aren’t working and lots of pics weren’t worth keeping :( Morelia being a large town the locals aren’t as open to getting their pics taken, even after some time trying to woo and bully. The pics I did get I am fairly happy with though. Shame the real characters aren’t up for it though :( My favorite US$7 bar is closed for the week so it’s an early night for me tonight. Not before eating the largest and most laden burger I have struggled with since good old Hardy’s in North Dakota, little Switzerland (that’s another story).

Today was meant to be moving on day, but the bones just won’t budge... after more of the Mexican food I have grown to love (some veg wouldn’t go a miss though! thank god for that Metamucil!) I drank coffee in a tree lined plaza and went for a walk in another neighborhood... not much in the photo department so headed to the shopping streets to poke around there instead. Now, I should mention that my Spanish has come on leaps and bounds since arriving (that’s not hard though, it was pretty crap!) but other than getting transport, loggings, food or just getting drunk, the communications are a little dull... walking down the main street I spot a Spanish school... something I said I would never do... "study while on vacation, what kind of girly swat would do that?” well now I know! I start tomorrow morning, 5 days (thurs, fri, mon, tue, wed) of one on one (5 hrs a day) for a grand total of 133 pounds, bargain! hopefully, with my future new Spanish skills I will be able to at least avoid paying for the tequila next time (even if it was only 3 or 4 pounds a bottle! I think! I was already loaded by then).

So here I am, beached in Morelia for the time being... will travel to Patzcuaro for Friday night and Saturday day...will return for another tequila slammer Saturday night, then back to school on Monday... will do the expat life thing and just absorb the local culture until Wed - trying out my new Spanish skills :) Wed eve will travel to Puebla for 2 days before headed back to Cuidad de Mexico for the flight home. My intended other destination Guanajuato wont happen now... talking to another traveler in my hotel, the October festival is on there and it is crazy busy and the only hotel offerings if you don't have reservations are hostels with dorms of 6 people unless you go for the western style hotels... yuck! So that will stay on the list for next time.

I've missed a lot of the detail out, either to protect the innocent, to save your virgin ears or to save you folks from having to read my drivel any longer than you have to... I’m off to get some dinner, probably tortas, taco, tostadas or who knows, something new that tastes the same as everything else - that’s not a bad thing though :) then bed! I've got my first day of school tomorrow and I have to iron my shorts, dust my ball cap... and what did I do with my satchel? (sp?)

Viva Mexico!

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¡Viva Mexico! Part 1

Here I am in Cuidad de Mexico sitting in an internet cafe after getting lost somewhere south of the Centro Histôrico.

Left work on Friday feeling like there was not enough preparation I could have done to prepare Neil for the unexpected number of projects and activity that has materialised over the past month or so. So needless to say I was a little stressed when leaving work, so I headed to the gym for my last de-stress before I go home and pack... I never fail to do my packing at the last minute!


Saturday woke up at a reasonable time and headed to the airport. After an uneventful 7hr flight I arrived in Toronto worked my way through customs and met up with John who had a north american pizza waiting for me :P We drove straight to my Ronnie´s cottage where we got drunk on the Pimms I couldnt resist buying after the 2 litres for 15 pounds promotion caught my eye at Heathrow duty free.

After a few days of destressing at the cottage it was back on the road. We drove to Toronto to have dinner with Eddie, Ronnie and I caught up on life and relationships during the 2hr drive. At this point Ive not managed to have a full nights sleep since leaving London, but I dont feel any the worse from it. After dinner, I got to bed just after midnight (starting to feel the lack of sleep by now and the jet lag probably doesnt help!) and woke up at 6am for Ronnie to drive me to the airport.

A weekend at the cottage with close friends on the Bay of Quince near Bellville Ontario was the perfect start to the holiday, now for the culture shock!

Arrive in Mexico city around 1pm after another uneventful 5hr flight, worked my way through customs and faced my first challenge, securing a taxi with a sea of operators peddling their services and then the drive to the Hotel. On the way I was stuck by the similarity with parts of Marrakech, the suburb architecture is very similar to that of suburbs in Marrakech, buildings piled ontop of one another, market traders and open faced shops selling everything from clothing, mobile phones, groceries and my favourite, a shop selling nothing but loofa sponges, rows and rows being washed, hung up to dry and traded in bunches... not what I expected in Mexico city! Im sure that wont be the only surprise of the trip. As we moved closer to the centre of the city I was entertained by the hustle and bustle of everyday life and a clown juggling fire! I felt a bit mean not giving him some money after a pretty talented display, but I only had MEX$200 notes on me :( (not sure it was that amazing, or am I just jaded?).

Arrived at my hotel, chilled out, caught a shower, went to VIPs´ restaurant for my first pig-out on fajitas con Carne and Tostadas Pollo w/Corona of course (I ate far too much and Im going to feel those chilli in the morning!) Walked around the Zona Rosa for a little while to get my bearings then crashed at the hotel by 9pm to catch up on some Zzzzzz. Holiday Inn, Zona Rosa is nice and central... close enough to the bars and seedy strip joints for a buzz, but just off the beating track enough to avoid the noise.

First morning in Cuidad de Mexico I had a Mexican omelette w/salsa (Wow! and I asked for the mild stuff! ouch!)... then out and about to walk the Centro Histôrico district... after getting lost I eventually found my way to the Zocolo (central square) and spent some time walking around the Cathedral (I think I could feel it sinking under my feet) and across the Zocalo to the Presidential Palace to see the Diego Rivera murals. Then headed for a Starbucks fix and made my way to the Torre Lainoamerica (tower), which is much smaller and much much cheaper version of the Empire State building. I wasnt sure if I wanted to venture up, it looked very tacky and like it would fall down any second, but it was only two pounds fifty pence so I took the plunge. Wow, was I glad I did that, the views were amazing (just as Ronnie has promised!), you really get a excellent view of what the city is like from up here. I was lucky the air quality is good today after some late night and early morning rain cleared the air...I could see the city going on for miles surrounded by mountains, some with slums built right up the mountain sides...quite spectacular!

Apart from now being lost somewhere south of the Centro Histôrico, its been a tame day. I havent got out of my English stand offish mentality yet, so havent approached anyone to photograph. I wanted to get a feel for the place before I flashed my camera about, considering all Ive read and heard about safety here I am being less bullish than usual. Im also mindfull that this is a big city where people can be more jaded and less curious and open than in small towns, so I have stuck to snapshots and a few architecture pics. I will get more bullish and more oportunites once I am on the road.

Walking around Im noticing the massive amounts of traffic in this city. London, New York, Toronto or anywhere else Ive been has nothing on the traffic in this city. Every street is packed with cars swarming the streets, with the most bizzare traffic systems in parts. I was nearly run over at one point this morning... it seems cars take no notice of traffic lights in parts and the animated walking man inviting you to cross the road is not to be trusted! ...it always takes an event in the first few days to kick the brain into gear, so thats my wakeup call to be more alert from now on!

Now its back to the hotel, grab a bite and take a disco nap before venturing out to a bar or two or three tonight.

I will be in Cuidad de Mexico until Friday before moving on, not sure where Im going next, will play it by ear. Prospective list includes Morelia, Guanajuato or Puebla so far, but I have to find the bus station first!

Until next time, Adios!

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48 Hr Film Project

In May 2007, out of pure curiosity, I got involved in a 48hr film project at Stratford Circus Arts Centre in Stratford, East London.

The project took place on a Saturday and Sunday, Saturday being the orientation with the filming equipment and logistics and the agreeing the film subject, defining the story and story boarding the shoot. Sunday was the actual shoot.

We settled on a rather surreal storyline of a guy with a million pounds in his briefcase, living in a public toilet. Inspired by stories in the press which alledged eastern european migrant workers were sleeping in public toilets in Knightsbridge for 20p a night because they couldnt afford accomodation elsewhere... 20p is not a bad deal for London!

The original brief was to have only 10 scenes, however our film concept had more than a little scope creep and we ended up with about 19 scenes overall. This presented a number of challenges, not least time for the shoot itself and the editing of the final film... a year later, I hear the editing is complete but the distribution and upload to youtube is still not complete. Thats quite an over-run for a 3 minute film!

What did I learn from all this? 1. we should have run the film project like I do my day job and been strict about the scope (Im an IT programme manager by day), and 2. keep it simple, stupid!

Anway, I got to meet some cool people and I had my camera with me as always, and I satisfied my appetite for taking photos by taking some interesting location shots. The shot above is of the actor in the film, his name is Kostas Katsikis, he is a full time actor here in London.

If the film ever sees daylight I will post a link, in the meantime, my movie career is over and done.

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