The Taga Blowholes are formed by the intense power of the ocean, and the volcanic lava tubes created during previous eruptions of Mt Matavanu.

The Taga Blowholes Are Best Viewed at High Tide

The raging ocean swell pushes its way up the tube under immense pressure, where it is then forced out an opening above ground. This creates the blowhole effect, with water spewing tens of meters into the air. I’ve seen quite a few blowholes around the world, including a couple in my home country of Australia, but I was quite impressed with the Taga Blowhole.

There is also another attraction at the site, and that is one very industrious old fella, who (for a slight cost of course) will throw coconuts into the blowhole at exactly right moment. The pressure blasts them quite high into the sky, well over 100 feet was my guess. Check out the video Liza captured below, and you’ll see what I mean.

The coconut man has no doubt been preforming this act for quite some time, and it was impressive to watch him count through each set of waves as they pounded the jagged volcanic shore. It seemed like every seven or eighth wave would have the greatest swell and pressure, and therefore give the best spectacle.

How To Get To Samoa’s Taga Blowholes

The Taga Blowholes are located on Samoa’s Island of Savai’i, and are only a short 30 minute drive from the town of Salelologa. This is the largest village on the Island of Savai’i, and is also the location where the Samoan inter island ferry docks. If your on a tight budget then you could arive at the blowholes via one of Samoa’s eradic bus services, or even take a taxi (approx 80-100 Tala return).

Considering the cost of hire cars in Samoa are so afordable (approx 100-160 Tala per day), then I feel this is the best option, and also allows you the freedom to spend the day visiting other sites as well. If your not up to driving, many of the Beach Fales, Guest Houses and Resorts can also organize day tours that also include a vist to the Taga Blowholes at varying prices. (conversion rate at the time of this post is $1 US = 2.25 Samoan Tala)

As a long suffering Dromomaniac, I feel the beloved guidebook (or in days gone by often referred to as just, ‘The Book’) has played a big part in my life.

Our bookshelves at home are literally filled to the brim with old guide and phrasebooks of the Lonely Planet brand. At times I feel Liza and I have a larger travel section than many small bookstores.

Whilst writing this article I though I may as well do a count on just how many Lonely Planet titles we actually posses at this current time. I was staggered to find that Liza and I currently have 54 Lonely Planet guidebooks gathering dust on our bookshelf.

A Personal Library of Lonely Planets Guide Books

The cost of these guidebooks (a few of which photographed above) have cost us a total of $1,324.00, and if you take into account inflation (some are nearing 20 years old), and also add in the books that we have either leant out, or ditched along the way due to weight constraints. We’ve probably donated somewhere in the vicinity of $2,000, to Tony and Maureen’s retirement fund.

Over the years I’ve almost always traveled with the Lonely Planet brand, but on occasions have also used couple of other different publishers. From the 1990 edition of the ‘Lets Go USA’, (the Let’s Go guidebooks were the original travel guide. Yes even before our beloved Lonely Planet), to the ‘India Handbook’ that Liza and I used during our trip through India many years ago.

However it’s always been Lonely Planet that I’ve felt most comfortable with, and is always the first book I’ve picked before heading to a new destination. As the Lonely Planet empire grows, I’ve seen the brand change dramatically over the last couple of decades. What used to be purely for the grungy backpacker or overlander, the books have now inevitably become mainstream and cover all facets of travel.

Some Lonely Planet Editions Will Be Forever Remembered

Over the years there have been many Lonely Planet editions that have their own unique history. From the South East Asian edition that has been blamed by some for the so called ‘Banana Pancake Trail’ throughout region, to the Africa on a Shoestring edition that was banned in the country of Malawi, after writer Geoff Crowther gave a bit of a spray to the incumbent President Banda.

A picture of Tony and Maureen Wheeler taken in 2008. Image credited to Rico Shen

Since the Wheelers sold their initial 75% stake in the company back in 2007, the BBC has taken Lonely Planet down a new road, and has began to bring the company into the digital era.

This change was definitely warranted, with the Internet covering many far reaching places on the globe, with its free flowing and easily accessible information.

Sooner or later the old fashioned paper guidebook will become instantly outdated (to be quite honest we’re nearly at that point now), and therefore less and less relevant to the modern traveler.

I do wonder where the company is now headed with their downloadable PDF versions, and of course their mobile applications. Lonely Planet seemed to come out of the blocks early with these new technologies, but in my view have now somewhat stalled with their development.

Where To From Here For Lonely Planet?

Things are moving so fast, that in the not to distant future Lonely Planet may loose control of the lion’s share of this new technology based guide book market. As the many small start-ups producing very specific online or application style guidebooks begin to gain in popularity.

Some are of the believe that the control Lonely Planet has had over the industry is akin to Microsoft in the early to mid nineties, but as we’ve seen with Microsoft. Monopolies in the world of technology don’t stay on top forever, and if your not moving forward, then you’re going backwards. Microsoft is now seen to be playing catch up with the likes of Google, Apple and Facebook.

My personal view is that over the coming years, Lonely Planet will loose a great deal of its influence and domination over the guide book industry. This will come about due to the vast number of smaller startups, that will fracture this market into specialty publications in the form of applications on smart phones and iPad like devices, that will be tailored to the individual travelers need. Last but not least, we can’t forget about the humble travel blog having a bit to say about the future of guide books. With many people following blogs on destinations they are soon to visit.

Your Thoughts and Comments?

As the Wheelers leave the industry (very wealthy I might add), I say thank you for the service you have provided over the years. To others reading this post, what do you believe will be the outcome of the industry? Do you have a small library of guidebooks gathering dust such as ours? Or do you think I’m wrong, and that Lonely Planet will continue its domination of the market?

People that know me well would agree, I’m definitely not the type who likes to take tours, but every now and then a tour is put before you, that is somewhat unique and impossible to refuse. Whilst gallivanting throughout Finland back in April of 2007, we took a day tour that was cool in every sense of the word. The trip was aboard the Sampo, an operational icebreaker. The sweeping views of the frozen Gulf of Bothnia, whilst perched high upon the bow, were a memorable experience. Even though the Sampo is now quite old, the sheer power of this vessel, as it crashed and crunched it’s way through mile after mile of thick slab ice, was a site (and sound) to behold.

What Happens Aboard The Sampo on The Tour

The tour starts with the usual safety spiel and then they crank up that 6000kW motor and your off and racing. After leaving port, the Sampo cruises along the main shipping channel. The channel is abound in small clumps of ice, that have already be churned up by the Sampo and other ice breakers in the region.

Liza at the rear of the Sampo as we made our way along the shipping channel

After 15 to 20 minutes of cruising the shipping channel, the captain makes a quick turn, and you begin to push your way through the virgin slab ice. The outside temperature (not to mention the wind chill) was bitterly cold, but I wanted to make sure I was front and center of the bow as she began the push through the virgin ice pack. The sound’s that are made as the large slabs of ice are slowly broken away, and scrape along the armour like hull are quite intense.

You can also watch the cracks begin to form for many meters ahead, as the weight of the Sampo’s hull bears down on the ice. This is how an ‘Icebreaker‘ actually splits the ice. It uses it powerful engines to climbs upon the ice, before using it’s sheer mass to bear down and fracture the ice. As the momentum drops away and her motor can’t propel the hardened steel hull any further, the Sampo will come to a complete standstill.

The Sampo Icebreaker wedged upon the ice. After the ship comes to a complete stop on the ice you can disembarked and go for a walk on the ocean.

The motors are then cranked into reverse as she begins to back up a little, before building up some more forward momentum. Once again propelling her self forward and into the awaiting ice pack. This is the normal process of a working icebreaker, back and forward, back and forward. It’s tediously tough and hard work on the ship’s motor, and it’s thickened steel hull.

After a generous and warm bowl of reindeer soup for lunch (sorry Rudolf but you were quite tasty). The ship takes quite a large run up and slams itself into the ice, coming to a complete stop, wedged tightly upon the ice.

If you so wish (and I highly recommend it) you can disembark the icebreaker and go for a walk upon the frozen Gulf of Bothnia. It’s quite a weird feeling to be walking upon a frozen sea, with nothing but a few inches of ice between you and the icy depths below.

Not a good look.

For those that are feeling a bit adventurous, I highly recommend the activity of donning one of the ships survival suits. Once zipped tightly into this somewhat over-sized, but very thick wetsuit. You can then hop into the black and freezing waters of the gulf at the rear of the ship (it’s intriguing how black the water is, due to minimal light getting through the thick ice crust).

My first impression was that with the help of the suit, it wasn’t that cold. The survival suits does do a pretty terrific job at keeping the cold out (I suppose that’s why they call it a survival suit stupid!). All the same, you wouldn’t want to be floating out there for any great length of time. The suit only offers so much protection from the elements, and your body will start to slowly freeze.

Some History and Technical Details on the Sampo Icebreaker

The Sampo is a class 1A Super Icebreaker built in 1961 in Helsinki, and lives at the home port of Kemi, Finland. From it’s maiden voyage, the Sampo would pave the way for all of Finland’s shipping ports to remain open throughout the winter months. She continued at this task for over a quarter of a century, until retirement in 1987.

For a ship to be classified as an icebreaker, it requires three traits that most normal ships lack, and these three traits are:

• A strengthened hull,
• An ice-clearing shape
• The power to push through ice-covered waters.

The hull of the Sampo (and all icebreakers) are constructed from extremely thick steel. The sheer weight of the vessel and it's shape is what breaks the ice. (not to mention the powerful engines)

The Sampo has a top speed of 16 knots, and the capacity to maintain a speed of 8 knots while she crashes her way through ice approximately 50cm thick. She has also been known to break her way through ice as thick as 120cm, although you wouldn’t want to be in a hurry, as it could take several hours to cover a distance of 100m or so in these conditions

After retirement from her official her ice breaking duties, the Finish Maritime Administration acquired the vessel and put her to work in the field of tourism. The Sampo still to this day being the only operational Icebreaker ferrying tourists (although you can book cruises to Antarctica aboard an ice breaker, but you’ll be up for some serious coin).

Sampo Tours – When to Go and How much Does it Cost

Tours on the Sampo operate out of Kemi Finland, between the months of December to April (weather and ice pack permitting), and it regularly ferries around 10,000 people annually on it’s memorable day excursion.

Weather conditions in the north of the Gulf of Bothnia, are particularly variable, and nature is very unpredictable at these latitudes. Raging blizzard’s can be experienced at a moment’s notice, where temperatures in mid–winter may fall to nearly –40°C.

The best time to take the tour according to the operators is in March, where the ice is at it’s thickest, and the weather conditions are a little more favourable.

Floating in the freezing waters of the Gulf of Bothnia in one of the Sampo's survival suits.

Although it is quite an expensive excursion, it’s certainly a day to remember. This tour is quite unique, and for many will be the only opportunity they will get to experience something such as this. The Sampo Icebreaker Tour lasts about 4 hours and cost’s around €200 per person.

The operators of the Sampo also has a website, but it is really quite poor once you get around the pretty pictures. If you make it to Scandinavia during the winter months, I highly recommend a day excursion aboard the Sampo, but remember to book in advance if the weather is fine, as this tour is heavily sought after.

Your Thoughts and Comments

Have you been to Finland in winter and taken the Sampo Icebreaker tour? Was your experience comparable to mine? Is there anywhere else in the world outside of Antarctica, where you can experience something such as this? Maybe I’ve just added another item to your personal bucket list.

Were the Hippies of the 60′s and 70′s The Original Backpackers?

Whilst researching another post for my ‘Dromomaniacs – Worlds Most Traveled Series’, I stumbled upon a traveler whom very few would have read about. The reasoning behind this statement, is because he lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. A man who was completely frustrated with his chosen profession of law, and decided to put his life on hold to travel the world. A decision not unlike those made by today’s modern backpacker, or independent budget traveler. The name of this individual was ‘Gemelli Careri’.

‘Could Gemelli Careri be the original backpacker?’ This is a question that has been put forward by a few others over the years. After a small amount of research I tend to agree with this line of thought, and believe that if Gemelli Careri wasn’t the first independent traveler (or backpacker), then he was most certainly the first person documented to travel akin to the modern day backpacker.

A sketch of Gemelli Careri

Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri was born in Taurianova Italy, in 1651. Between the years of 1693 and 1698, he completed a 5 year ‘around the world tour’ unlike any other of it’s kind, at this point in time. His journey started with visits to Constantinople, Egypt and also stopping in the Holy Land.

Even so many years ago, a voyage to these parts of the world was still not considered to be adventurous, or out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until Gemelli left the Middle East, that the Italian backpacker would then take the path less traveled, to the far away and mystical lands few had seen before him.

Heading first to Persia, before sailing on to Southern India and overland into China. It was during this segment of his travels that Gemelli Careri realized that he could finance his trip by carefully selecting and purchasing the right goods at each stage on route. These goods would then have an increased in value at his next destination, where he would on sell them for a handy profit.

He noted in his journal that whilst in Bandar-Abbas on the Persian Gulf, “the traveler should pick up dates, wine, spirits, and all the fruits of Persia, which one carries to India either dried or pickled in vinegar, on which one makes a good profit”.

Gemelli Careri Would Trade Goods on Route To Fund His Travels

It was this activity that highlighted the fact to me, that Gemelli Careri was unlke anyone other traveler of his time. He didn’t travel for profit (as most people who ventured from their homelands during this time did) or under the flag of a nation looking to extend it’s riches, but purely for the experience and adventure. He also documented his journey in great detail within his journal, from which he would write a book upon returning home.

A page from Gemelli Cerari's book 'Tour du Mondo'

Whilst in China Gemelli was granted a visit with the emperor in Beijing, attended the ‘lantern festival’ and toured the great wall. After leaving Macau, Gemelli sailed for the Philippines where he would wait for two months before boarding a Manila Galleon, heading for Acapulco Mexico. He documented this portion of his journey, as one of his most difficult. With large storms, bad food, and various epidemic outbreaks along the way. He also documented that this portion of his trip was also funded by trading quicksilver for a 300% profit.

After visiting several mining towns and the ancient ruins of Teotihuacan in Mexico, his five year around the world odyssey came to an end, and Gemelli headed back to Europe. For many years after his return, many European scholars and experts did not consider Gemelli Careri’s voyage as being authentic. Over time and many years after his death, the detailed descriptions of his writings were continually studied, and it was realized that they couldn’t have been obtained in any other way, other than experiencing the surroundings in person.

Was This Italian The Original Backpacker? – Maybe, Maybe Not?

Although his travels took place over three centuries ago, Gemelli’s reasoning for taking his round the world adventure, is not that uncommon from the circumstances of many backpackers today. Fed up with his profession of law, where he eventually decided to suspend his career for that elusive around the world trip. 

The wonderful people of Google have scanned and digitized every single page of his book ‘Giro del Mondo‘ (written in italian of course – 1699). Gemelli Caseri was a true adventurer in every sense, and maybe, he just might be, ‘The Original Backpacker!”

These wanderings almost always come with bouts of amnesia, and people can often take on new identities in the process. Dissociative Fugue is another term for this condition, and it’s also been described as ‘Mad Travelers’ disease.

During my time in India many years ago, I came across my fair share of ‘Mad Travelers’, but these individuals were not suffering from Dromomania, but the direct result of one acid trip to many.

Dromomania – Sometimes Referred To As Mad Travelers Disease

Generally speaking, the term is sometimes used to describe people who have a strong emotional or sometimes even physical need to be constantly traveling and experiencing new places. It becomes a form of addiction and often at the expense of others around them, including both friends and family. I was starting to wonder a little about myself, and if I suffer from a slight case of Dromomania. I can definitely remember my last adventure, so there’s definitely no amnesia there, but I do have an uncontrollable urge to visit new places, and I rarely visit the same place twice.

During my early travels throughout twenties, I had an uncontrollable urge to keep moving, never spending to long in the one place, and to see as much as possible.

I’ve always had an urge to see what’s over the next hill, or around the next bend. I get a real buzz out of being somewhere different, a place that I have not yet seen and with endless possibilities to explore. The thrill of hitting the streets in a new city or town, always encapsulates me. It was the unknown that was driving me, and if I did make a return visit to a place, it almost always coincides with travel to some other destination I have yet to explore.

A Travel Addiction – An Uncontrollable Urge To Wander

Don’t get me wrong though, when I do return to places I’ve been before, it’s quite comforting to know how the system works. The best place to change money, how the local transport system works (if there is one). Things are a whole lot easier when returning to a place you are familiar with, and I suppose that’s why we all (or most of us anyway) enjoy coming home, to those all familiar surroundings.

After reading the description of Dromomania and thinking about it’s meaning, I then began to wonder about the hardcore travelers that Ive been writing about in my Travel Legends posts.

If I believe I may have a slight case of Dromomania, then people such as Peter & Kay Forward and Heinz Stücke are seriously affected by this phenomenon. That is why I’ve decided from this point on, to aptly rename the series from the ‘Travel Legends’ to the ‘Dromomaniac Society’. I will continue scowl the Internet for auspicious characters that fit my reckoning of a true Dromomaniac, and will induct people via a post on their wanderings. Who knows, in 10-20 years time, I may even induct myself?

A generation later, John has achieved 109 of his original 127 goals, and in many cases’s he was not just satisfied with achieving his goal, but he actually excelled at the task.

John was the first man in history to explore the Nile River (1951) in it’s entirety, and then backed up this achievement with an ever greater one by becoming the first man to explore the entire length of the Congo River (1956). It was this journey that claimed the life of one of John’s best friends. John has also scaled many high mountains around the world, including the Matterhorn, where he refused to turn around, even when his professional guides decided it was to dangerous to go on.

Throughout his adventures, he has been bitten by a rattlesnake, charged by elephants and trapped in quicksand. He has crashed planes, and almost drowned twice in pursuit of his dreams.

John is also noted for his honesty where in his book ‘The Survivor – 21 Spine-Chilling Adventures on The Edge of Death‘ he admits his own recklessness in many of his adventures, and gives gratitude to the supreme force that miraculously allowed him to survive some of his great adventures.

A couple of Johns listed items were pushing the envelope a little, even by his lofty standards. Item 125 gets a bit of a laugh from myself, where he states he wants to go to the moon. I suppose you can forgive him as he was only 15, but I shouldn’t laugh to hard, as John is still alive (he’s now in his eighties) and if any could make it happen, he could.

John Goddard is one of the worlds true adventurers, a real life Indiana Jones, and I think he deserves his self proclaimed title as ‘The Worlds Greatest Goal Achiever’.

I’d like to know if anyone else out there has complied their own list? I’ve never actually had a ‘Life List’ or ‘Bucket List’ as there now called, but maybe I should sit down and pen one of my own. Anyway here’s John’s ‘Life List’, listed below.

My Life List, By John Goddard (* marks accomplished goals)

EXPLORE:

1. * Nile River
2. * Amazon River
3. * Congo River
4. * Colorado River
5. Yangtze River, China
6. Niger River
7. Orinoco River, Venezuela
8. * Rio Coco, Nicaragua

STUDY PRIMITIVE CULTURES IN:

9. * The Congo
10. * New Guinea
11. * Brazil
12. * Borneo
13. * The Sudan (nearly buried alive in a sandstorm)
14. * Australia
15. * Kenya
16. * The Philippines
17. * Tanganyika (Now Tanzania)
18. * Ethiopia
19. * Nigeria
20. * Alaska

CLIMB:

21. Mt. Everest
22. Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina
23. Mt. McKinley
24. * Mt. Hauscaran, Peru
25. * Mt. Kilimanjaro
26. * Mt. Ararat, Turkey
27. * Mt. Kenya
28. Mt. Cook, New Zealand
29. * Mt. Popocatepetl, Mexico
30. * The Matterhorn
31. * Mt. Rainier
32. * Mt. Fuji
33. * Mt. Vesuvius
34. * Mt. Bromo, Java
35. * Grand Tetons
36. * Mt. Baldy, California
37.Carry out careers in medicine and exploration
38. Visit every country in the world (30 to go)
39. * Study Navaho and Hopi Indians
40. * Learn to fly a plane
41. * Ride horse in Rose Parade

PHOTOGRAPH:

42. * Iguacu Falls, Brazil
43. * Victoria Falls, Rhodesia (Chased by a warthog in the process)
44. * Sutherland Falls, New Zealand
45. * Yosemite Falls
46. * Niagara Falls
47. * Retrace travels of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great

EXPLORE UNDERWATER:

48. * Coral reefs of Florida
49. * Great Barrier Reef, Australia (photographed a 300-pound clam)
50. * Red Sea
51. * Fiji Islands
52. * The Bahamas
53. * Explore Okefenokee Swamp and the Everglades

VISIT:

54. North and South Poles
55. * Great Wall of China
56. * Panama and Suez Canals
57. * Easter Island
58. * The Galapagos Islands
59. * Vatican City (saw the Pope)
60. * The Taj Mahal
61. * The Eiffel Tower
62. * The Blue Grotto
63. * The Tower of London
64. * The Leaning Tower of Pisa
65. * The Sacred Well of Chichen-Itza, Mexico
66. * Climb Ayers Rock in Australia
67. Follow River Jordan from Sea of Galilee to Dead Sea

SWIM IN:

68. * Lake Victoria
69. * Lake Superior
70. * Lake Tanganyika
71. * Lake Titicaca, S. America
72. * Lake Nicaragua

ACCOMPLISH:

73. * Become an Eagle Scout
74. * Dive in a submarine
75. * Land on and take of from an aircraft carrier
76. * Fly in a blimp, balloon and glider
77. * Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco
78. * Skin dive to 40 feet and hold breath two and a half minutes underwater.
79. * Catch a ten-pound lobster and a ten-inch abalone
80. * Play flute and violin
81. * Type 50 words a minute
82. * Make a parachute jump
83. * Learn water and snow skiing
84. * Go on a church mission
85. * Follow the John Muir trail
86. * Study native medicines and bring back useful ones
87. * Bag camera trophies of elephant, lion, rhino, cheetah, buffalo and whale
88. * Learn to fence
89. * Learn jujitsu
90. * Teach a college course
91. * Watch a cremation ceremony in Bali
92. * Explore depths of the sea
93. Appear in a Tarzan movie (he now considers this an irrelevant boyhood dream)
94. Own a horse, chimpanzee, cheetah, ocelot, and coyote (yet to own a chimp or cheetah)
95. Become a ham radio operator
96. * Build own telescope
97. * Write a book (On Nile trip)
98. * Publish an article in National Geographic Magazine
99. * High jump five feet
100. * Broad jump 15 feet
101. * Run mile in five minutes
102. * Weigh 175 pounds stripped (still does)
103. * Perform 200 sit-ups and 20 pull-ups
104. * Learn French, Spanish and Arabic
105. Study dragon lizards on Komodo Island (Boat broke down within 20 miles of island)
106. * Visit birthplace of Grandfather Sorenson in Denmark
107. * Visit birthplace of Grandfather Goddard in England
108 * Ship aboard a freighter as a seaman
109. Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica (has read extensive parts in each volume)
110. * Read the Bible from cover to cover
111.* Read the works of Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle, Dickens, Thoreau, Rousseau, Conrad, Hemingway, Twain, Burroughs, Talmage, Tolstoi, Longfellow, Keats, Poe, Bacon, Whittier, and Emerson (not every work of each)
112.* Become familiar with the compositions of Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Ibert, Mendelssohn, Lalo, Liszt, Rimski-Korsakov, Respighi, Rachmaninoff, Paganini, Stravinsky, Toch, Tschaikosvsky, Verdi
113.* Become proficient in the use of a plane, motorcycle, tractor, surfboard, rifle, pistol, canoe, microscope, football, basketball, bow and arrow, lariat and boomerang
114. * Compose music
115. * Play Clair de Lune on the piano
116. * Watch fire-walking ceremony (In Bali and Surinam)
117. * Milk a poisonous snake (bitten by diamondback during photo session)
118. * Light a match with .22 rifle
119. * Visit a movie studio
120. * Climb Cheops’ pyramid
121. * Become a member of the Explorer’s Club and the Adventure’s Club
122. * Learn to play polo
123. * Travel through the Grand Canyon on foot and by boat
124. * Circumnavigate the globe (four times)
125. Visit the moon (“Someday, if God wills”)
126. * Marry and have children (has five children)
127. * Live to see the 21st century

The Jigger (a Chigoe flea to the educated, or a Tunga Penetrans to those who are that way inclined) starts out quite small, with an adult female measuring only about 1mm in length, but it grows and grows as it continues to feed, with its abdomen filling with eggs. The abdomen of the flea ends up approximatly 5-10mm in width (the size of a small pea). At which point it begins to drop the eggs onto the ground through the small orifice (black dot as described above). These eggs will then hatch, and the cycle starts all over again.

After landing in Reunion Island we went back to our hotel, and I began the search on my feet. The hands are a rare place to have a jigger burrow in, and they are more common in the feet or lower limbs. After all my searching, to my delight I only found one more Madagascan stow away, on the bottom of one of my toe’s. I grabbed a pin and pricked the little bugger out. This one was a little more mature, and left a decent open wound on the bottom of my toe.

It’s been many years since my body has played host to these little parasites, with my last encounter in the Democratic Republic of Congo, way back in 1994. On this occasion, my feet were littered with them, and it took me many painful days to remove them.

Sorry about the image, but you get the picture. This small white lump is the abdomen full of eggs.

For those people who’ve had the pleasure of picking these little monsters out of there bodies, they will know it’s not to much fun. Depending on their size, they can be quite painful, and the small open wounds left by the exiting flea can become infected and ulcerated, if you’re not careful. This is especially so on the soles of your feet.

After returning home, I began to do a little research on the Chigoe Flea, and it seems these little monsters have been causing quite a bit of damage to people lives in many parts of the world, but especially in sub-saharan Africa. There are many villages that have been completely infested with them, and mass infections have rendered people unable to walk, and in more serious cases people are dying from these little monsters.

A recent article in the Washington Post pointed out the missery that the Chigoe Flea is causing to the people of Uganda, with 20 dead and 20,000 seriously infected. There is also a great web page run by Ahadi Kenya Trust, that has all sorts of details on the Jigger and how you can help by donating to there program to eradicate Jiggers in Kenya.

[Update] – A new online charity organisation called ‘See The Difference’ has a program that you can donate to. They state that for 1 Pound you can remove the Jiggers from a childs feet. You can donate here.

This short youtube video, show’s just how menacing the Jigger can be, and the pain that many African families are suffering, due to the Chigoe Flea.

Every time I flick through my old passports and stumble on the full page Zairian Visa, always kick starts memories of the time I was trying to cross into Zaire from Burundi. The immigration official noticed that a fellow traveler and I, had the same number on our visa’s. He then simply insisted we travel the 1,650 kilometres back to Nairobi to have a new one issued. There was no way this was going to happen, so we sat and played cards at the border for 8 hours until a shift change, and tried our luck again, and this time were admitted.

I was stuck with this photo for 10 years. A classic mug shot!

Liza has been trying to make me get rid of my current passport, basically since the day it was issued, nearly 10 years ago. The reason being, that the photo is so bad I look like a criminal. The dilemma is that if your stuck with a bad photo, you’ve got 10 years of looking forward to customs officials staring you down and thinking, ‘what is this fella up to?’ There is no doubt in my mind that I have been profiled because of my dodgy photo, and pulled aside for some extra questioning when entering various countries.

You see, the day I had my last passport photo taken, I was in a bit of disarray. To say I look terrible is an understatement, to be quite frank I look like a crack addict. I was on no sleep, unshaven and in a hurry. Let’s just say, on the day the photo was taken, if I’d made my way into town and sat on a street corner with a cardboard sign, I would have made a few bucks.

Still not the best looking bloke in town, but respectable.

We have just booked an up and coming trip to Madagascar, and I looked at the date when my passport expires, and it only had a few more months of validity. Some countries will not allow you to enter on a passport with less than three months remaining, so I needed to get a new one. It appears that Liza has finally gotten her wish, as I was now forced to have a new one issued.

This time around I made sure I put a little more effort into my photo, and as you can see I’m clean shaven and look just like your average Joe, still not too flattering but at least I look somewhat normal. Has anyone else out there had a similar dilemma to mine, and been stuck with a passport photo that they simply hate. I know most passport photo’s are a little ugly, and with all the restrictions they put on you, like no facial expressions and mouth closed, but have you been issued one that just simply makes you look like a criminal?

It’s this constant connection via the use of cellular/mobile phones that intrigues me most. I remember vividly, heading back to East Africa with Liza in 2003, and couldn’t believe how many locals and travellers alike, were using mobile phones in cities such as Kampala and Nairobi. It was exactly 10 years since my first visit in 1993, and back then it was hard enough to find a phone that worked, let alone a cellular. At the pace at which things are constantly changing, I can’t imagine what its like today. Cellular networks are alot easier and more cost effective to install than cabled networks, so cellular networks are being rolled out at a very rapid pace in many third world countries. This is a great thing for the local population, but does this have some effect on the travellers state of mind, as they cannot completely let go from where they have come from, and in turn fully immerse themselves in the surrounds of their destination.

With email, you’re in contact with people maybe once or twice a week, but with mobile communications this link can become an hourly occurrence.

From my early years of travel there were only two words that I associated with communication to the world beyond, and they were ‘Poste Restante’. To many young travellers today, these two words have little or no meaning, but to those who are a little older, they will bring back great memories (or in some cases, some not so great ones). Poste Restante, a French word, literally translates to ‘Post Which Remains’, and was for many years the travellers sole lifeline back to your friends and family at home. Although still in use today, it has no where near the impact on the Gen Y traveller, as it did on travellers from my own and previous generations.

Whilst on the road for months and sometimes more than a year at a time, Poste Restante was the only form of communication I would have with home, other than the odd tuning into the BBC World Service on my shortwave radio. Of course there was always the telephone, but at the ridiculous expense of $10 per minute in some countries, and very bad lines, the telephone was only used on special occasions or emergencies.

I have strong memories of walking into the post office in many African or South American capital cities, and receiving a ‘Poste Restante’ from my father.

Within the post office there was always a man or woman, who was in complete control of the ‘Poste Restanate’ boxes. You would need to show your passport, and in turn he or she would, often without saying a word, slowly scan the boxes for your name, and hand over your letters. People would sporadically send me letter’s, as well as clippings from the local paper, regarding general news or sporting results from back home. To make sure I received these letters or packages I would need to let people know what cities I was going to be in, and a rough time frame on when I would be visiting (the timing was important as most post offices will only hold the mail for no more than a month or two before it was returned to sender).

I suppose these transformation of the travellers communication methods are just another one of those aspects of travel that are slowly changing with the times. I’ll be the first one to admit ‘nothing stays the same forever’. In fact you’ll probably catch me tweeting from some far away destination at some time in the future, but I did enjoy that feeling of being lost in the world for months on end, sometimes without any knowledge of what was happening in the world around me. For anyone who’s taken the time to read this post, I’d be interested to know the amount of time you spend checking your tweets, status or emails whilst on the road. Can you go for a few days or a week, or if you have an available connection can you not put your phone away, or stay out of the internet cafe around the corner?

For a furher insight into this topic, it may be worth your while reading Lisa’s  post ‘Travel in the Dark Ages’ over at ChickyBus. It brings up other related topics that the traveler is now excluded from in the modern world, and a good read as well.

• Blue points on the map are pictures taken by locals (people who have taken pictures in this city dated over a range of a month or more).

• Red points are pictures taken by tourists (people who seem to be a local of a different city and who took pictures in this city for less than a month).

• Yellow points are pictures where it can’t be determined whether or not the photographer was a tourist (because they haven’t taken pictures anywhere for over a month). They are probably tourists but might just not post many pictures at all.

The image above is of my hometown Melbourne, and as you can see the tourist’s don’t really get out of the city area that much, except for the trendy bayside suburb of St Kilda, to the South.

Erics full set of images for all cities can be found here

A clickable map to hopefully locate your city, can be found here