Falklands – Small Island in the middle of no-where (1/2)

29th September 201913th June 2020 admin Falkland Islands 1 Leave a comment

When I was 13, Britain was at war with Argentina over control of the Falkland Islands (which the Argentines call the Malvinas).

Every day when I got home from school and turned on the TV, there would be reports of bombing raids, interviews with soldiers and stuff like that.

I don’t glorify war, but it was a key moment in my “growing up”. When I found out the cruise I was on, would visit the Falklands, I was was excited about seeing some of locations I’d seen on the 6 oclock news all those years previously.

Additionally, about 2 years after the war, was a drama over 2 evenings called Tumbledown.

It told the story of the Scots guards and their attack on mount Tumbledown (which once taken would secure a victory for Britain)

So, with 1 day in the Falklands, I decided to split my day with the morning exploring Tumbledown and battle sites with a local guide, and in the afternoon, seeing a bit of the town and finding out what life is like on an isolated Island.

The boat arrived at the Islands (we were visiting East Falkland, though its possible to visit West Falkland as well) around 6am in the morning.

The Falklands are really difficult to get to. The only other route I know, is on a military transport stopping at Ascension Island, and for civilians, it costs about £2000 return.

With 18 decks, our ship was to big to fit in the harbour. So we were transported ashore by tender.

At the main landing point, loads of poeple were milling around (tourism is a major industry in the Falklands and lots of people had booked day trips to see Penguins and the like).

Considering the war was 37 years previous, you would think it was last year.

There are signs everywhere defiantly protesting the independence of the Falklands.

People of the Falklands are called Kelpers (after the seaweed), have their own defence force (very well equipped the the Stayer AUG) and are governed by a council elected from the islanders (Britain maintains a massive military force on the Island but they largely run their own affairs).

For parity, I’ve included this sign which is on show at the harbour of Tiera del Fuego in Argentina (you can see that someone had tried to damage it).

Many of the people on our cruise ship were Argentinian as well as British. Both call the Islands by a different name and using the “wrong” name in front of the “wrong” person can call grave offens. I was very impressed by the cruise staff who refereed to our destination as Stanley (Port Stanley is the capital of the Islands) a compromise that doesn’t offend anyone.

Most of the cruise organised, battle site tours had been booked so I got in touch with a local guy Tony from Discovery Falklands.

I explained the things I wanted to see in an en email a few weeks before our arrival and he was able to assist.

He picked us up and we drove off towards the hills (and since he had a 4×4, we drove a fair way into the hills as well).

We head off and start seeing the area around Tumbledown Mountain (It overlooks Port Stanley)

We saw some Argentine mobile kitchens, left over from the war.

You can see from this picture how bleak the terrain is.

If the weather turns bad here, there is literally no cover. In freezing wind and rain, it mus have been awful.

Tony showed us some ammunition left over from the war.

Some of the improvised “caves” used by the Argentine soldiers who were dug in to defend the mountain.

Technology has moved on. Modern armed forces would use encrypted short wave radio, but back then they used field telephones to communicate between their positions and the wire is still there.

We were showing the route 42 Commando took, along with other area’s like wireless ridge.

It was incredible to be standing in the places I’d seen on tv almost 40 years previously

Falklands – Small Island in the middle of no-where (2/2).

29th September 201916th June 2022 John Sunter Falkland Islands 2 Leave a comment

The terrain was really rocky it must have been very difficult to attacking soldiers to cross in the dark, when it was wet.

Combatants from both sides of the conflict are frequent visitors to the Island.

On some occasions, Argentine conscripts who arrived in the dark had hired our Tony to show them where they had been (at the time, they’d had no map, and were just left there with no food and told where to point their rifles).

During the attack, there was a sniper on top of these rocks. Our guide had given a tour with the Scots guards one of them had climbed up with a bayonet on the the night of the attack.

When he returned he’d said simply we won’t have any more trouble from him. The stark reality of war, this isn’t John Wayne.

Nearby, this grassy area is where a helicopter made 5 trips ferrying injured men back to the field hospital (including Robert Lawrence featured in the BBC Drama Tumbledown).

The pilot had no night vision equipment. At one point, the helicopter skids became tangled on a fence and the pilot had to fly backwards, 5 feet from the ground in the pitch black, to free the helicopter.

As the Scotts guards reached the top, the sun was rising and they could sea Port Stanley.

At that point the war was effectively over and Margaret Thatcher would announce “White flags flying over Stanley” in the house of commons.

It was the last time British forces used fixed bayonets in combat and the Tumbledown assault itself cost the lives of 9 Scotts Guards.

These men were made of Iron. Around the cross that marks the top of tumbledown, they’ve left pictures, small bottles of whisky and such like to fallen friends.

But that’s not all. I found out, that most military crosses setup by the ministry of defence, face north. The Scots Guards had asked for it to be moved to face Port Stanley.

Admin and bureaucracy had taken too long, so the Guards took leave, flew over and with picks and shovels, re-cemented the cross to face Stanley (and nobody seems to have complained or attempted to put it back).

Back from our sobering adventure, we wander around the town. The graveyard.

Christ Church Cathedral. On the right is the whalebone arch, built in 1933.

Historic Dockyard Museum.

Inside, a re-creation of a small general store.

There were loads of interesting things in the museum. Too many to show here, so just for fun, I’ve included a commode.

What could be more British than a red double decker bus.

These, days, its used for day trips. Basically, there are 2 sorts of journeys in the Falklands trips around Stanley where you can walk and travelling around the Island which can take up-to 8 hours !.

The red telephone box. Not for show, these actually contain working telephones.

The Mizzen Mast from SS Great Britain.

The Falkland Islands Police station and HM Prison Stanley.

A day earlier on the cruise, we’d been given a talk on the Island. It was joked that the prison can only hold 17 people, so if you’re the 18th person theyl just send you home 🙂

Interestingly, the police run an exchange program with the UK, and its quite common to run into a scouse, brummy or cockney bobby on the beat in the South Atlantic.

On the right is the 1982 Liberation memorial. Behind it, is the Secretariat Government building and the top floor on the right is where the Argentine surrender was signed.

Well, the only thing I didn’t get to do, was eat fish and chips and drink a pint of beer in a “British” pub in the Falklands. All the pubs were full with diners, so we had some coffee and a nice cake instead.

One special thing for me was this monument.

Only a while after Margaret Thatchers death, when poeple in Manchester and Liverpool were hosting street parties and “ding dong the wicked witch is dead” reached number one in the UK…

I see this. A monument to Margaret Thatcher, on a road called Thatcher drive. She is a hero to the people of the Falklands. When she visited the Islands for the first time (she visited twice, the only UK prime minister to do so) security had to close-in around her. Not for her safety, but because the Islanders wanted to carry her down the road shoulder high !.

As our guide said. Some people might not like her but when we needed her she helped when nobody else would.

An amazing experience. I’m not sure what I’d find to do if I was there for 2 weeks, but the Falklands are a must see sight for any serious traveller.

Sorry this update has taken so long, loads on at work. Near and Far the search for adventure continues…

Northern Ireland 1 – Troubles, Game of Thrones & Ulster fry (1/2).

3rd May 201929th June 2020 admin Belfast 1, Uncategorised Leave a comment

Although its nearby, I’d never been to Northern Ireland.

This is a picture of me in front of the Salmon of knowledge.

It is made up of pictures and symbols from Northern Ireland, contains a time capsule, and symbolises the cleaning of the river Lagan.

Although Northern Ireland is transformed from the days before the Good Friday agreement, I couldn’t help being nervous.

After all, my youth was filled with TV images of the troubles.

But if you only did things that made you feel comfortable, you’d never do anything.

We’d decided to travel by ferry, and the best part, the port it leaves from is near the Liver Building where I work.

So, I finished work on Friday evening, picked up my bag and set off.

I wasn’t sure what to expect on the ferry. Was it going to be filled with stag do’s and the like.

Nothing of the sort, they had a really nice bar/cafeteria, free Wi-Fi throughout and a small cinema for Children.

The surprise was when it was time to retire for the evening, we headed to our room, but lots of people produced sleeping bags and proceeded to “bed down” on the lounge floor.

Our on-suit room was very comfortable. It was actually a 4 birth, but we pushed the 2 additional beds up.

The shower was piping hot, loads of room for our bags and lots of charging ports for our phones and tablets.

Now the bad news, it docks in Belfast at 6am, so no lie in bed.

I had done some research but for some reason I thought we’d arrive in the city centre. Not so, it took 90 minutes to walk into town, but the walk helped us to wake up.

We wander around the town, which was pretty quiet at that time of the morning. This is City Hall, a very famous building in Belfast.

Straight away, I start hearing people speaking Ulster/Scotts, the local dialect.

Speaking of Ulster, I was really hungry.

My guidebook said you mustn’t leave Belfast without trying an Ulster Fry.

It was quite delicious. One thing I notice when I travel is how people react to tipping. We put £2 into the tips jar in the cafe we visited and they looked delighted.

Our first activity is a visit to Crumlin road Gaol.

The trip involves a tour of the prison, some lunch and a tour around the peace wall, one half given by a loyalist former prisoner and the 2nd half given by a republican former prisoner.

But first, were shown a short documentary outlining the history of Ireland, the troubles , the Good Friday agreement and the constitution.

We were told we could take as many pictures as we wanted but no video and no voice recording.

We were introduced to our first tour guide. Asked if he had been a UVA supported, he explained that he had actually been a combatant and regularly went out in the evenings armed, usually to provide security.

He said that we should ask him any question, he was keen to tell the story. I found him very open minded and well educated.

She showed us the upper and lower Shankhill road where the UVA, the UVF and the Red Hand Commando were roughly based.

There were murals everywhere and lots of tours run by Black Taxi.

One surprisingly ironic moment was while waking near the peace wall, he told us to slow down, because it was “dangerous”.

It turned out the road had a blind bend and he was concerned about road accidents.

The peace wall, is there to protect the communities (so in reality its not really about peace) we’d been given pens to write message on the wall.

I was amazed to see how close the houses from the different communities were to each other.

Our guide explained that in his youth, some older family members had convinced him to join the UVA. At that age he said, many young men are more easily influenced. I thought of my own youth and I had to agree.

There is a door in the wall we visited. He said the last person to walk through this door was the Dalhi Lama (he wont be doing it again soon, on close inspection, it’s now welded shut).

The Gates are closed remotely every night just before dark.

I asked him what would it have been like if he’d been on the “wrong” side of the wall after dark. He said simply, that never would have happened.

They would have recognised me simply because they didn’t recognise me and then bad things would have happened…

We were introduced to our republican guide. I was surprised when both guides shook hands.

When I asked, the UVA chap said: We are both former combatants, we’ve been shot at and injured. We’ve both lost family, so we know what’s at stake!.

It has to be said that the 2nd guide, was not as open minded but he did tell his story eloquently and there was a genuine manner about him that I warmed to.

He wasn’t a catholic and had been out on a peaceful human rights march when the “army” had broken his jaw with a rifle. “That’s when I joined the IRA” he said.

He explained that Catholics had been persecuted by the police and the army, and struggled to find work and proper housing due to prejudice.

He said he felt that many of the problems had been resolved, but the IRA had disarmed and disbanded and the Red Hand Commando were still active.

We saw this Mural to Bobby Sands who we’d hear more about later in the Crumlin Prison tour.

Interesting sticker.

There are still strong feeling about the local people and the police.

We walk past the Clonard Monastry where the original peace talks were held before the Good Friday agreement.

I’ve stood on the Great Wall of China, and I’ve watched the sun set over the Pyramids at Giza, but I honestly never thought I would stand on the Falls road.

I had read of so many terrible things happening on the Falls road. Over 3600 people died in the troubles, a quarter of them in a small area around where I’m standing.

Yet, it felt like any other street, people were walking to the pub and carrying shopping home.

With the outdoor part of the tour complete, we head back to Crumlin road gaol and the Cuffs restaurant there.

Lunch was no suprise. Irish stew, and actually really good. We got a free drink, but I declined Guinness and instead had lager.

We met our tour guide, a charming lady who walked us all around the prison and exercise yard telling us stories of things that had happened.

We even got to see the Governors office. She said that Bobby Sands was married there, with only a few sandwiches and a prison guards for witnesses.

Across the road, rather run down, was the courthouse. So many people were arrested at the time, that an underground tunnel underneath the road, connected the 2 buildings.

Our tour finishes and our excellent guide asks if we’d like to sign the visitors book. She had been slightly nervous throughout, and it was only then that we found out.

For 14 years she’d been one of a handful female guards to work at the Prison. She had retired and a few years later (a week earlier) had taken a job there as a tour guide.

Perhaps some skills are transferable.

Northern Ireland 2 – Troubles, Game of Thrones & Ulster fry (2/2).

3rd May 201922nd June 2020 admin Belfast 2 Leave a comment

The next day, our trip moves onto a completely different track.

Game of Thrones (one of my favourite TV programes) is produced mostly in Northern Ireland and there’s a chance to see some of the significant places from the series.

It would also enable us to see the Antrim coast and some of the amazing countryside there.

On our way to the starting point, we pass the Europa hotel. At one time, the most bombed hotel in Europe.

We board the coach, and head off.

Our first stop, is the cave where Melisandre gives birth to the Shadow assassin.

The tour continues and we see the beautiful scenery of the Antrim coast.

Dunluce Castle, 17th century ruins used as the exterior of the House of Greyjoy.

Mull of Kintyre, only 12 miles away.

Although its not featured in Game of Thrones, the The Giants Causeway is a must see sight and we spent almost 2 hours here.

Further along, the Carrick-a- rede rope-bridge and a chance to stretch out legs.

Dark Hedge, known to every fan of GOT as the The Kings Road.

Not as romantic as it seems in the series, hundreds of people there, so many people visit it now, that they won’t allow you to drive down it now.

Back to Belfast and a quick wander around the city before dinner.

The Green/Black statue of Dr Henry Cook.

Described as an “Anti libertarian” (I don’t know what that means) is featured in front of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.

With a whole day left, we wander over to the docks and the Titanic quarter.

One of the 2 large cranes (named Samson and Goliath) at one time, the largest cranes in the world.

H & W stands for Harland and Wolf, but the folk of Belfast say it means hello & welcome.

The dry dock they stand next to, is the largest in the world.

Titanic studios.

Located in a building which was the original paint shed, where the Titanic was painted.

This is where all the indoor scenes from game of thrones are shot.

If you enjoyed a scene in a cave or a palace, they were probably in here.

The back lot outside had an entire Wildling village.

The ugliest boat in the world

Titanic museum.

We had wanted to go and see it, but it was 20 quid.

Nikki wanted to see a museum of Naval ships and I had found a Game of Thrones exhibition, so we took leave of each other and went to these instead.

The Game of Thrones touring exhibition is set to show around the world.

Since most of the items come straight from the Belfast studio, it made sense that the TEC exhibition hall in the Titanic quarter would be its first stop.

Luckily I’m there at just the right time.

Jamie Lanister’s costume.

A re-creation of the crypt at Winterfell.

The original Hall of Faces.

A modern visual representation of the many faced god.

Recognise the guy on the top row, 2nd from the right.

The leader of the the white walkers.

On the right Arya Stark’s sword, Needle.

After such an amazing trip, we head for some food and another really friendly bar then back to the port, to get our overnight ferry back to Liverpool and straight into work for 7:30am

I can’t talk about what’s gone in Northern Ireland before, as I just don’t know enough about it.

But as a travel destination today, its one of the friendliest, most interesting and easily accessed places I can think off.

Meteora Greece, monoliths and James Bond

20th January 20196th July 2019 admin Meteora Leave a comment

I’d wanted to visit Meteora, but could never justify an entire trip, just to see it.

Since I was spending Christmas in Athens and it was a short train journey from there, the Meteora starting pistol was fired.

Meteora is unique, as it has large round rock monoliths located right next to the village.

So close that you can literally walk out of your hotel and your at the foot of one.

A world heritage site, they contain a number of monastery’s on top.

My main interest came when I watched a James Bond film – For your eyes only (if your my sort of age, you may remember the theme song, by Shena Easton).

A significant part of the plot and ending are featured in Metora.

But first, we’ve got to get there.

We leave our hotel, and as we walked towards Athens railway station, it looked derelict and I wondered if it had closed down.

I remember reading on BBC News in 2008 that Greece was in such financial difficulty that it would be cheaper to close down the train network and transport all the passengers by Taxi.

Luckily, that hadn’t happened, and we arrived to find hundreds of people with the same idea as us, to visit Meteora for Christmas.

It looked like chaos from the platform, but once the doors opened we found our seats.

Extremely comfortable, large windows to enjoy the the view and plenty of space to store our bags.

After a relaxing 5 hours we arrive Meteora.

Kalamata Railway station in Kalampaka.

We take a moment to orientate ourselves, then walk to hotel Galaxy.

The receptionist is very helpful and the hotel clean and bright (a lot better than I’d expected for the money we’d paid).

In reception, they have a bus timetable and I was surprised they had so many regular services, considering it was Christmas & New Year.

But were here in search of adventure. We dump our bags and head out.

We wander around the town looking for some lunch (I had burger and chips, I was on holiday after all).

There were views like this one right from the centre of town. It wasn’t very warm, but the sky was completely clear.

As we relax, we review a map of the area. Not exactly to UK OS map standard, but gives us a rough idea of how to see the things we want the following day.

Back into the centre of town for an evening of nice wine and delicious Greek food.

They had a nativity thing set up in the main square.

Our evening over, we walk back to our hotel.

I was delighted to see that they light up the monoliths at night in this spectacular fashion.

In the morning, we head out early towards the village of Kastraki

It’s so cold, that this map, is frozen, and I have to use a tesco clubcard to clear away the section we want to visit.

We continue up a path from the village.

The are is clear and fresh and there are tree’s on each side of the road.

We leave the road, had into the foothills, along a path.

The sun is up now and the views spectacular.

We find an old military vehicle is abandoned next to a vineyard.

Branching off, we follow a path between Great Meteoron and Varlam.

The views on either side are spectacular.

Some parts of the path need some tlc, this bench on the trail certainly wasn’t in a state to be sat on.

As we arrive at the monastery of Great Meteoron (the view is looking back to the monastery of Varlam) we find loads of tourists who’ve travelled up by bus).

The ask us how we’ve got there. We point back down the trail and tell them where it comes out on the road. We have 2 maps, so we give one to a friendly couple who are wearing Dr Martens.

Inside the monastery (its a few Euros to look around), the paintings are superb. After a short while, we walk to the monastery of Varlam, and the views all around are incredible.

But instead of going back, we head deeper into the mountains. Our intention is to loop back around Doupiani and take a circular route back to Kastraki and onto Kalampaka.

On the way, we see a statue and flag to Papathymios Vlachava who famously led the fight agains Ali Pashi of the Ottoman empire.

It was strange really, as it was literally in the middle of nowhere.

We pass another monastery. This time, its not actually on top of the monolith, but carved into the side.

Well off the beaten track, it was unfortunately closed.

Back down through the mountains and forests, looking back up the trail.

Back down through Kastraki, its just turning 6pm.

We stop on the way home at a family run restaurant – chips and red wine.

The next morning, we choose a different route entirely.

Leading straight from Kalampaka, the paths are much better maintained.

Were heading for the monastery of the Holly Trinity.

Which in the James Bond film, looks like this, and is called St Cyrils.

A spectacular scene in the film involved Bond climbing up a shear face of the monolith.

We’ve no such ambitions, and use the normal path up through the rocks.

Inside St Stephens monastery, an enormous series of buildings.

The are outside St Stephens has amazingly clear air, spectacular views of Kalampaka and Kastraki, and a superb spot to relax (and the place where the ATAC system was destroyed at the end of For your eyes only.

Our adventure ends a bit more serenely.

With 2 hours before our train home, we relax with some snacks, and a cold beer, back in Kalamapaka.

Return to Athens

17th January 20196th July 2019 admin Athens (xmas 18), Europe Leave a comment

I originally visited Athens in 2005 (you can read about it here and here)

I like to go away for Christmas. We visited 2 destinations in Greece, and it gave me a chance to go back to Athens.

Straight out of the airport, we buy a metro tickets and head for the centre of Athens.

It wasn’t particularly warm, but we had a fab time.

We arrive at Kubik Athens Smart Hotel. It was a budget affair, and I wasn’t sure what it would be like.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. It had a friendly bar, exemplary customer service and a hotel room out of tomorrows world.

It was so modern in fact, that the curtains, lights, tv and everything were controlled from a tablet.

But were no Rock Stars and we don’t travel to hang out in hotels.

Out exploring. Its a few years since I was in Athens (the recession happened in between times). The people were still very friendly but some of the streets were really dirty.

We start off by wandering around the Monastiraki flee market.

The Agora museum entrance is super for taking pictures as it really leads the eye.

On my first visit to the Agora museum, I completely missed this fascinating Spartan shield.

From the battle of Sphacteria in 425 BC. A priceless artefact, it’s the only one of its kind in the world.

In practical terms, its hard to imagine someone running around the battle field with this heavy thing, but its said that the Spartans were “a special kind” of men.

I decided to pick out a few places I didn’t visit last time – Hadrian’s Arch.

The stunning Panatheniac stadium.

Finishing point for the modern Athens marathon, the site has been used countless times for sporting events and the first Olympic games were held here.

Presidential palace.

The guard on the front gate is a member of an elite group of commando’s, but unfortunately has to wear ridiculous clothes out of tradition.

Back to our hotel, quick clean up then drinks in the hotel bar.

Some idiot Japanese students order take out Pizza’s and stank the place out. Shame, were were enjoying ourselves.

Never mind, we decided to head out for the evening.

An enchanting restaurant, done out like a general store with cans and supplies everywhere.

Next morning and we head for the Acropolis to see the Parthenon.

Last time I was here, the Parthenon marbles were stored in this small building.

The Greeks have always argued for the return of the other half of the marbles, (referred to in Britain, as the Elgin marbles), presently housed in the British Museum.

The British museum had argued that the Athenian museum was not appropriate for such significant artefacts and that was their bases for keeping hold of them.

The Greek government had countered, by constructing an incredible new museum to host the collection. So, this building was now empty (it would have made a superb cafe, and there didn’t seem to be anywhere else to get coffee !).

A view from the Acropolis, showing the new Acropolis museum bellow.

It was only half built, the last time I was here, and I was disappointed not to be able to see it.

The museum is literally built on top of an archaeological site, which we see as we walk towards the entrance.

Excavation of the site bellow the museum continues.

Opened in 2009, I wandered around, and I really was impressed with its informative displays, overall quality of the building and the professionalism of the staff.

Lunch in the cafe delicious and the service superb.

A re-creation of the Parthenon, with the marbles displayed in relative position. The ones that are missing have an ostentatious sign that says AWAITING RETURN FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

the walls around the museum are glass so the marbles can be viewed in daylight, as they would be if you were wandering around the outside of the Parthenon.

A design feature of the museum is this viewing gallery, which allows the Parthenon view to interact with the viewing of the marbles.

We head back to our hotel in a reflective mood. A few drinks and dinner near out hotel, then off to bed to prepare for our trip to Meteora.

Arriving back in the evening, its dark and some of the streets we walk down aren’t particularly inviting

No matter, we get to our hotel without problems and go out for dinner (its New Years Eve and my thoughts are off the amazing possibilities of the coming year).

Back at our hotel (360 degree pop art hotel if your ever near there).

A drink on the rooftop terrace has views of the acropolis.

As its New Year, they have a fireworks display.

In the morning, standing in the same spot.

We had breakfast, but decided to eat indoors as the weather wasn’t very nice.

Our first top on New Years day, is the National Archaeological museum.

The place was massive and it took me 2 hours to see all of it.

But were on holiday, so after lots of exploring, they have a nice garden in the middle, so we stop to relax in the cafe.

A pigeon had somehow got inside the cafe.

Nobody seemed to mind, and the pigeon just seemed to wander around (and why not, he wasn’t doing any harm).

We continue on our way and decide to visit another place I missed last time – Lycabettus hill.

I wanted to take the cable car, but Nikki insisted we walk.

Has spectacular views of the city, and there were hundreds of people at the top.

The 360 degree views of Athens were incredible.

Strangely, there didn’t appear to be many skyscrapers, which for an international capital, was a surprise.

Back into town, the Metropolitan cathedral, a modern building that contrasts with all the ancient stuff I’ve been seeing over the past few days.

A few drinks, then back on the metro to the airport.

At the Airport, about to go home.

A machine allows me to vote: Should the Elgin Marbles be returned to Athens ?

I visit the British Museum frequently. They’ve got enough artefacts to spare.

Travel Emergency Repair Kit

15th January 201928th January 2019 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

In just a few weeks I’ll be embarking on the most ambitious trip of my life, to Easter Island, the Antarctic Peninsula, Patagonia, The Falkland Islands, Argentina and Chile.

The trip is to celebrate my 50th birthday, it will eclipse anything that I’ve done before and will be my first
adventure on a cruise ship.

Obviously I have an established/proven system for packing which has already begun in earnest (packing sheet shown above, ready to be filled in).

This is also the time of your when I review all of my gear and equipment.

Ripped clothes off to the menders, broken or damaged things to be repaired, replace things that are just worn out, change battery’s in torches, sharpen penknives etc.

It’s also important to open things like first aid kits and check all of the equipment inside is still functioning and in date.

On that subject, this weeks blog is about my emergency repair kit (or ERK as I call it).

As I go through the contents, I hope to inspire other people to pack one of their own, for future trips.

Some years ago, I did a few courses in Alpine mountaineering and the Alpine style of going light.

Although I decided not to continue with it as a hobby, I learned lots of usefull things, and one of them was the philosophy of travelling ultra light.

Traditionally, outdoor people take things like a spare torch, a spare waterproof and such like.

In the Alpine style, everything is kept to the bare minimum of essentials (to the point sometimes off sawing the handles off tooth brushes and drilling holes in spoon handles).

A minimal first aid kit and an emergency repair kit are carried to put you and your equipment back together if something goes wrong.

Although designed for the high mountains miles from anywhere, I’ve applied mine so it can be used in lots of different environments and provides peace of mind wherever I go.

The whole kit laid out on my work table.

On the bottom left, is the plastic box I carry it in (from the £ shop, you can guess what it cost :).

I’ll go through the items in order. Their inclusion should be self explanatory, but I’ll add notes where necessary.

1. Rubber bands
I wrap them around the outside of the box to make it extra secure.

2. Replacement rucksack clip and spare webbing

A bit difficult to see in this picture, but the thing on the left, is a replaceable main rucksack clip. It has a screw across the middle so it can be re-attached.

The webbing on the right is the old fashioned way this used to be done, buy tying a tape know (and useful in its own right).

3. Superglue
Always store in small plastic bags. that way if they burst, they won’t destroy other contents in the box.

Ever wonder why nobody had heard of superglue before the Vietnam war ?. It was used for in-field emergency trauma care.

4. Safety pins
They have numerous uses (they can even be used as fish hooks). I’ve used them in the past, with an airline blanket to make a serviceable sleeping bag.

5. Stainless steel wire

6. Small stubby pen, wrapped with gaffa/duck tape

Something simple like a pen, is easily forgotten.

Watching the A team in my youth, and they used with some aluminium poles, a polythene sheet and a lawnmower to make a microlight, after being locked in a shed. I’ve never built anything so ambitious, but this stuff has too many practically uses to even list here.

7. Cable ties of various sizes

8. Lighter with electrical tape

Ability to light a fire may be useful. Electrical tape can be used for jobs too fine for the duck tape.

This single use lighter was bought from the £ shop and featured a small torch, adding additional functionality to the kit.

9. Lightweight Para-cord

Bought from Cotswold outdoors, 2 metres packs much smaller than normal “green” para-cord, but can hold body weight (mine, which is quite a lot).

10. Small piece of candle shaved square

I borrowed this from the tobacco tin survival kit in the SAS survival handbook.

With a coke can, can make a simple lantern during a power failure or used on its own to assist in fire-lighting.

11. Sewing kit in a plastic container

Has a few different colours of thread, 4 standard needles, some really thick thread and a sale makers needle
for bigger jobs.

12. Small Multi-tool

Features a knife, bottle/can opener, pliers, nail-file and multiple screwdrivers.

13. Collapsible corkscrew

A pure luxury, but it would be awful to be in a situation where you have a bottle of wine and no means to open it !.

14. Spectacle repair kit

Some small screws, 2 small screwdrivers and a simple magnifying glass. £1.50 from Tesco.

15. 3 AAA batteries

Spares for my head-torch.

16. Plastic bags

Can be used to carry/purify water, waterproof important objects and even make a window for a survival shelter.

17. Tenacious tape

Tape for repairing clothing like sleeping bags, waterproof jackets and stuff like that. Expensive, but it performs near permanent repairs, wherever you are.

Finally, the empty box with a 50p coin to show its size.

I hope you found some of this interesting, next week I’ll be talking adventure first aid kits.

Thanks once again for reading, the search for adventure continues…

Christmas 2018 and thoughts for 2019

22nd December 201822nd December 2018 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

As 2018 comes to an end and my house is set up for Christmas, I’m sat watching James Bond.

Above is the model Aston Martin DB10 from Spectre, which completes my collection of Matchbox James Bond cars.

10 years ago, Christmas 2008 was a really difficult time for me (to be followed by 2009, the darkest time in my life). As I sit here, I’m in a reflective mood. How much better things are and how content I feel at the moment (although never complacent).

In the last few months, I’ve not kept this blog up to date. I was out with some friends the other evening, who I’ve not worked with in around 18 months. They said they frequently read through my blog entries as a constant source of inspiration. So, as well as the many exciting projects I have planned for next year, I commit to update this blog, every 2 weeks.

Its not like I’ll just update it for the sake of it. The reality is, something pretty interesting or exciting happens at least once a week, so its just a matter or writing it down in an interesting format.

As well as 7 amazing trips this year I’ve also been able to treat myself to some nice things, including the new Call of Duty and several Rohan jumpers.

One of my favourites, is this watch I bought in March. The Suunto Core All Black watch, that features a compass and a host of other features. Used by Special Forces all over the world, and John Sunter.

I was watching a film the other evening (The Equalizer with Denzil Washington) I was surprised to see, that the hero was wearing one, and whenever he does hand to hand combat, he times how long it took him to defeat his opponents (mine is usualy used to see how late my train home is 🙂

I began this weeks blog, with references to James Bond (a series of films I’ve enjoyed since I was a boy, and if I’m honest, the original inspiration for my love of travel).

My last trip of 2018 will be to Greece when we fly out on Boxing Day. We’ll visit the old sites of Athens, a day trip to the Corinth canal and the one I’m looking forward too most, Meteora.

I love the mountains anyway, but Meteora featured in an amazing climbing scene, in For your eyes only, one of my favourites.

Well, I’ll get going now, near and far the search for adventure continue’s and please keep coming back to read johnsunter.com – the adventures of an ordinary person.

Vilnius – across the old Iron curtain 1

7th September 20183rd November 2018 admin Uncategorised, Vilnius 1 Leave a comment

I grew up during the cold war. when I was 15 “those people” on the other side of the wall would murder us in our beds if they got the chance…

Whatever, but perhaps why I find Eastern European and former Soviet union country’s so interesting.

I’d had a fab time in Tallinn in Estonia, so Vilnius in Lithuania seemed a like next venture.

I always travel in style.

As we arrived to board our Ryanair plane, I noticed some “revellers” had been forced to make a quick exit and left their drinks behind.

We arrived in Vilnius, and got a cab to our accommodation.

Interestingly, it was in a forecourt, with a central door.

The accommodation was superb, but we never got to meet the owner, he just sent us these instructions by text.

We had en-suit as expected, but also a kitchen and a washing machine (latter 2 were not needed, but nice to have).

Our room was spacious, but for good measure featured this cupboard, brilliantly designed so all our gear could be unpacked and stored and didn’t clutter up the room.

I’m thinking seriously about construction one for my spare room.

We have a wander around, and some of the places look a bit boring and dull.

Further along there was this interesting street with Cafe’s and bars.

We found out afterwards that (quite literally) all the businesses on the right hand side thrive and all the ones on the left, struggle and close.

We’d read about a free tour each day, run in different languages.

It’s a bit daft really (the premise, not the tour). It isn’t actually free, at the end you are asked to make a donation.

Some people gave Raminita (who was knowledgable, charismatic and spoke perfect English) half a Euro !.

We gave her 15 between us. There were a lot of Americans on our tour, and as it was a week before the Royal wedding, the girl in the middle was sporting a “Megan Markle” look.

The George Bush plaque at city hall.

It was here, that he famously said, anyone who makes an enemy of Lithuania makes an enemy of the United States.

Everyone was really proud, until they found out he visited 3 other countries and said exactly the same thing 🙂

We got to visit the famous republic of Uzupis.

The main entrance is this small bridge crossing the Vilnia river.

In reality, Uzupis is a small bohemian neighbourhood.

Although its not recognised by any country or the UN, it has its own constituation, printed in many languages.

It also has an army of 11 men and you can get your passport stamped there.

Overall, I really like it there. The way the people of the area and come together and really formed a community.

Before we left Uzupis, I saw this mural.

I don’t completely agree with everything it says about Cannabis, but its certainly food for thought.

We visit the writers wall, featuring plaques for famous Lithuanian writers.

One in particular is Antanas Skema. He wrote The White Shroud, banned during soviet times, it’s considered Lithuania’s first contemporary novel.

We arrive at Cathedral square.

Statue of Grand Duke Gediminas.

Born in 1275 he was responsible for the creation of Vilnius as the capital of Lithuania.

In the background, cathedral tower.

In the middle of the picture, one of the massive rocks, used to block roads so tanks couldn’t pass during the fight for independence.

The actual cathedral itself is pretty spectacular.

I decided to wander around inside.

It’s been rebuilt and extended several times.

So this alcove for example is much older than the main hall.

But we’ve wandered around now for hours and are in need of some refreshments.

We find this “authentic” place, where all the staff wore medieval costumes and there was a video showing a Knights pageant.

Of the 2 traditional meals I wanted to try, soup served in a bowl made of bread.

The further into the soup you went, the more bread became available.

We wandered along the Gedimino high street.

There was a festival to celebrate the anniversary of Lithuania joining the European Union.

Just as my countrymen are marching towards Brexit, the daftest thing I think the UK’s ever done.

Interesting to see the contrast.

On the stage some children were singing. Time to keep walking.

Vilnius – across the old Iron curtain 2

7th September 20187th September 2018 admin Uncategorised, Vilnius 2 Leave a comment

We chose entertainment of a different kind.

The Tesla Pub, celebrates the life and work of Nikola Tesla, inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist and futurist he invented alternating current.

It had a really cool steam punk theme, some really good beer and an extensive wine selection.

A more serious cultural site, the Museum of occupation.

Like many other countries, Lithuania was occupied by the Nazi’s, then “liberated” by the Soviets, who decided to stay.

The result, decades of misery for the people who lived there.

This corridor shows rooms where people were imprisoned for political “crimes” like writing poetry.

This room with a raised glass floor, was the execution room.

Outside, the names of all the people who died there are inscribed on the wall.

A running video showing Nazi’s at an event in black and white had some interesting background sound.

Then I realised. It was the Darth Vader music from star wars !.

Further along, this exhibit shows the classic weapon of the freedom fighter, the Molotov cocktail.

A section of the original Wall of Vilnius, built in 1522.

And a slightly more modern “tidy” version of the wall.

Early evening and we wander around Kalnai park (an amazing park with miles of hills and forests to explore).

At the top, is the hill of 3 crosses.

The hill was famous for 7 friars being beheaded there.

The view across Vilnius was pretty spectacular, although this photo (taken badly) doesn’t reflect that.

Gediminis tower.

The first castle built overlooking the city, and an internation symbol of Lithuania.

Unfortunately, it was closed for repairs, so we had to take this picture from Cathedral square.

The following day, we decide to head out of town.

Passing through the Gate of dawn, we head for the bus/coach station.

The bus was cheap and pretty comfortable, to take us to…

Trakai.

A nice place with lots of countryside and a castle to explore.

There were loads of places to eat and drink, the place is massively popular with local people from Vilnius.

We decide to have a drink and something to eat. Kibinai is a sort of Lithuanian Cornish pasty.

I’d read about them while researching the trip and it was just as nice as I’d expected.

We wander around the lake. The weather was fantastic throughout the trip.

There was a half marathon being run and at one point we found ourselves in the middle of this bridge (which connects a number of Island on the lake) with about 100 people running towards us.

We resisted the urge to jump in the water.

Trakai Island castle.

It’s been built and rebuilt and then modernised.

You can tell by the different ages of the bricks in this picture.

You have to pay to get in, but its only a few Euros.

Inside this sort of market square, children were being shown how to fight with plastic swords and fire toy bows and arrows.

Inside, it the typical stately home thing with tables and plates and expensive chairs.

There are maps and books, many dating back hundreds of years, but some created during soviet times.

We wander around the moat.

Exploring inside the old castle, with its spiral staircase.

I even found out that the staircases were designed to run clockwise-downwards.

The reason ?

The average knight is right handed.

The defending knight will be coming down the stairs so his sword will be in the optimum place.

The attacking knight will be travelling up the stairs, his sword will be flush to the wall, making attacks much more difficult.

Some of the bricks used to build and repair the castle.

Inside the castle, this spectacular 3 story arrangement with balcony’s and battlements.

With our castle adventure complete, its time to head home.

So Vilnius isn’t really a “see the Eiffel tower” sort of place, it was more about soaking up the atmosphere.

Once again, thanks for reading.

The search for adventure continues.