Borneo – Orang Utan in the wild / Orang Utan en la naturaleza

Borneo – Orang Utan in the wild / Orang Utan en la naturaleza

2015 December 5-18

(publicado en Inglés; versión español pronto) 

We were in Malaysia for two weeks of business and shortly beforehand the commitment for the first week was cancelled. So, we had a week to do something, however could not travel outside Malaysia since Marce’s visa was a single entry visa. We looked into options within the country and decided that we would go to Borneo to seek orang utan and whatever else we could find in the wild. 

 

After a weekend in Kuala Lumpur visiting the Bird Park for the first time, then catching the “Khatamiya tentmakers” exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum, we took a flight to Sandakan, in north-eastern Sabah. We had arranged to stay in Sepilok, where there is an Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, which we visited that afternoon. We were fortunate to see not only orang utan, but also a number of macaques (both long-tailed and pig-tailed). 

 Macaque

 

 

 

Orang Utan at Sepilok

In the morning we went back to the Centre again, seeing fewer orang utan, and no macaques before visiting the adjacent Sun Bear Centre.

 

Sun Bear at Sepilok

We then headed down to the boat dock and took a boat from Sandakan, east along the coast, then up the Kinabatangan River, to Abai Lodge. This is on the riverbank, distant from any significant human population, and we were able to appreciate the original forest ecosystem, although found that there has been significant encroachment of plantations close to the river, deducing the original habitat significantly. A night walk revealed frogs, snakes, and birds, in the luxuriant flora. 

Common Bush Frog (?)

 

Red-tailed Racer 

 

Borneo keeled pit viper

 

Pigmy squirrel

The following day was spent exploring upriver and downriver by boat, and we were excited to see Proboscis monkeys as well as Orang Utan in the wild, and a considerable variety of bird life.  

 

Proboscis Monkey

  

Orang Utan upriver

 

 Oriental Pied Hornbill

 

 Lesser Adjutant (? please help confirm identification)

 

Stork-billed Kingfisher

 

Owl (please help with identification)

The next day we headed downriver again to see more Orang Utan and also Rhino Hornbill, then upriver, seeing more hornbill, and crocodile on the riverbank. Finally we arrived at Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge Sukau, where we were to stay that night. 

 

Obvious

 

Water snake (species unknown)

 

Rhino Hornbill

On the following day we headed back downriver to Abai Lodge, for a break, and then on to Sandakan. On arrival there we visited the local market and then lunched at the Sabah Hotel, a neo-colonial place, with a pleasant pool to relax for a couple of hours before heading to the airport for our flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

This unplanned trip, for only a few days in Borneo, was relatively brief, however although a longer stay would have been great, we were fortunate to have this window of opportunity to appreciate the area, and to fufil a longstanding wish to to see Orang Utan in the wild, as well as Proboscis Monkey and a variety of bird life and other fauna.

 

Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com

If interested in our 11 month road trip around South America, take a look at http://suramericacontraelreloj.blogspot.com.co.

 

“The Rock”: Newfie travel in mid-winter.

2015 Nov 14-20

Nota: publicado en Inglés: vamos a editar e incluir versión en español pronto. 

If you are in Algiers in winter and need to be in Malaysia a couple of weeks later, St John’s, Newfoundland would not usually be your preferred stopover location. We were in this situation, however had a commitment in St John’s, and also some time available which would allow us to visit family in Nova Scotia afterwards, so off we went. Alan flew from ALG to FRA and then to St John’s via YYZ; Marce had to be in Colombia for a few days, and so flew from ALG to BOG, and then to YYT via YYZ at the end of the week.  

 

St John’s was cold but clear, and Alan had a day free so rented a car and took advantage of the “unusual” excellent weather to make a circuit of the Avalon Peninsula. The good news? Clear roads, excellent views, no traffic. The bad news? Everywhere (cafés, stores, etc.) was closed for the winter. After fruitlessly seeking a place for lunch, Alan finally found a place open – the “Blue Whale” in South Dildo; assuming that the “all day breakfast” would be the safest option, he ordered this, waited long enough for it to have been brought by taxi from St John’s, and found it to be the worst meal of the year… oh well, it’s always good to calibrate the scale. We noticed that the café is conveniently close to the local office of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, however presumably they are focussed on hygiene rules and not taste. Fortunately during the week he was able to take advantage of the excellent “Saltwater” restaurant, making up for this experience. St John’s lived up to its reputation as extremely friendly, as previously noted, and it was also good to be able to catch up with friends again.

Marce’s flight arrived in the middle of the night, so it was mid-morning before we were able to get out and walk around the town for Marce’s first experience of St John’s. We then headed west on Canada Highway #1 (the “TransCanada”), stopping briefly for lunch at Clarinville, which proved to be a fruitless mission, since the power transformer for the block in which the restaurant was situated exploded while we were waiting for our order…

We continued west, gaining a far better appreciation of the size of Newfoundland, and fortunately seeing some moose at the roadside at dusk. 

We were going to spend the night in Rocky Harbour, and realized that we were going to arrive late enough that finding dinner might be a challenge (not late in Latin American terms, but certainly late for Newfoundland in the winter. We called the hotel from Deer Lake, and were given the number of the only place which might be able to serve us dinner; we called them and since it would be too late if we simply arrived and ordered, we ordered from Deer Lake, so that when we arrived in Rocky Harbour we went directly into the restaurant to be served our excellent dinner immediately – a singular experience!

In the morning we headed up the coast into Gros Morne Park, with its glacially eroded fjord landscape. 

 
As you can see, the information boards were less useful then they presumably are in summer. 

 

 

An isolated pair of sun lounger chairs made the weather seem even colder than it was.

 

Later in the day we headed south towards Port aux Basques to catch the night ferry to Nova Scotia, which was the MV “Blue Puttees”. This is an 8 hour crossing, and it was obvious from moment we entered our cabin that it was expected to be rough…

 

In fact, although there was indeed a lot of motion, the athwartships design of the bunks allowed us to sleep well.

On arrival in Sydney (NS, not to be confused with Sidney BC) we headed south again, crossing Cape Breton Island (or Peninsula if you prefer, although it is indeed an island) and then continuing south west into Nova Scotia, with a stop in Antigonish, to Kingston, where we spent 3 days with Alan’s brother and his family before heading off to Malaysia, via FRA (yet again), incidentally bumping into Alan’s old friend Jeff in YYZ; a welcome reunion.

Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com

 

 

Algiers: how to enjoy the “white city” when your movements are restricted.

2013 Jun 22-26 and 2015 Nov 14-20

Nota: publicado en Inglés: vamos a editar e incluir versión en español pronto. 

Algiers is not exactly a frequent tourist destination however we had business there in 2013 and also in 2015 so were able to see something of the city and its surroundings. 

 

On our visit in 2013 our business hosts imposed significant restrictions on movement, although we were hosted to a dinner at the Aurassi, with a great view over the city and harbour. Also we were fortunate enough to lose our luggage on the flight into Algiers (you will not hear this statement made often) which meant that we had to go into town to buy clothes for the following day and so saw something of day-to-day life in the evening. 

We were taken to a shopping area, without much variety of options, however found items which were going to work OK, then went for dinner. It took a little persuasion however we convinced our driver that it would be OK and the three of us then dined in a local restaurant; the owner was extremely welcoming and we ended up with enough food for a week, with delicious local specialities. We suspect that the number of tourists visiting his restaurant in the last decade could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

The following evening we were treated to an delicious couscous at the home of Alain, Aida, and Samir, friends from when Alan had worked in Algeria. It was great to catch up with them, and to gain some insight into living in Algiers from them.

Marce was able to get into Algiers one day and visited Notre Dame d'Afrique, the Monument du Martyre, the Musée des Beaux Arts, the Jardin Francais, the Grotte Cervantes, and the zoo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to take advantage of a free day to visit the Roman ruins at Tupisa (A UNESCO World Heritage site) and see a little of the coast (and of the local kids, who clearly wanted their picture taken).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our visit in 2015 was even more restrictive in terms of seeing anything. We stayed at a guest house in the city, and were able to escape only twice together: once in the evening when we were able to walk around the immediate vicinity of the guest house, and once when we negotiated a brief tour of the Monument, followed by dinner at a seafood restaurant in La Madrague, allowing us to get a feel of this small fishing port. Marce also had the opportunity to visit the Bardo Museum. 

 

We really want to visit the Casbah, and this trip caught a glimpse at one point, which was more than we had achieved in our previous visit. Next time…

 

So, two brief visits, with opportunities to get a taste of the city, encouraging us to seek to make the most of future opportunities. 

Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com