Bajan Invasion! Nicaragua 2010

Thursday, 6 May 2010

Chapin, Pepito and Matt of Giant's Foot

Wednesday, 5 May 2010

The view from Etienne's place near Popoyo

The blue 4x4 is ours. From the photo you can't tell:

1. The engine is caked in mud from the rivers we got stuck in.

2. It is very close to being out of diesel (and had been for miles).

3. One of the tyres is blown out completely.

4. There are no tools inside to fix the tyre.

5. It smells like death inside.

Chancletas - way up in North Nica near Chinandega

More poor photos from my phone:

1. A new hammock view... this time of Boom Huevos (spelt Wavos in Lonely Planet!) and the left off the island.

2. The island with that perfect left barrelling off of it (we got there by asking a fisherman to take us in his boat).

3. Keeping with the frog theme... a Costa Rican looking frog outside our room.

Giant's Foot Surf Camp

Some poor photos from my phone:

1. Giant's Foot beach with Giant's Foot in background (we climbed it and it was awesome)(like everything else was quite frankly).

2. Alex in a hammock between one of the surf sessions (tiring!! 3 x 2 hours a day is tough).

3. Diego reading about secret symbols and looking over blueprints of the Vatican very carefully.

4. The surf camp with boards storage unit on right and ping pong table slightly out of shot on left.

5. Our friend the frog (toad) that bathed in the foot bath every night.

The moment we realised we were off to Nica

Alex laughing in the face of the volcano that couldn't stop the Bajan Invasion of Nicaragua.

Sunday, 25 April 2010

Another test...

Can I blog from my phone from Nica?
Evidently so...

we've done 2 and a half days in nica which means we've been taken out on the boat (panga called vale la pena) 7 times for 7 x 2 to 3 hour surf sessions. amazing. we have this afternoon off because the offshore wind has just become onshore.
this is a test really. the internet is not doing to well at the moment.
so i'll write about the best and biggest barrel ride of my life another time!
alan

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Well guys... this is it. Nothing more we can do but hope Continental Airlines comes through for us tomorrow.

''Alan, Diego, Alex... we are ready for boarding.''

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Volcano update...

Winds from the south to the north today... so maybe that jack-ash is being pushed away. Note the smoke is now going left instead of right. This morning it was thick and black and moving right (South).

Are our hopes dead?

Airports re-opened and then closed. A new ash cloud is on its way to the UK...

The only good news: the volcano has been quieter today and is making less ash...

Fingers still crossed for a Thursday departure.

Come on NATS! (next update from them is at 3pm apparently)

Monday, 19 April 2010

My friend NATS

A gnat waves at us from a volcano because he is so excited about the news from NATS.

'Statement on Icelandic volcanic eruption: Monday April 19, 1530

The volcanic eruption has reduced and the volcano is not currently emitting ash to altitudes that will affect the UK. Assuming there are no further significant ash emissions we are now looking at a continuously improving situation.

Based on the latest information from the Met Office, NATS advises that the restrictions currently in place across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until 0700 (local time) tomorrow, Tuesday.'

OH MY GOD!!!! KNOCK ON WOOD AND CROSS EVERYTHING MOFOS!!!

Statement on Icelandic volcanic eruption: Monday April 19, 1245

'The Met Office advises that the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano is now less active than previously. NATS advises that the current restrictions across UK controlled airspace due to the volcanic ash cloud will remain in place until at least 0100 (local) on Tuesday 20 April.'

Guys... what kind of a name is Eyjafjallajoekull?

It could as well be called Lhjfdkhfkjwhfkjwhfgfjhddszkj!!

Ash is getting low and volcano may be calming...

(Reuters) - The erupting volcano in Iceland sent new tremors on Monday, but the ash plume which has caused air traffic chaos across Europe has dropped to a height of about 2 km (1.2 miles), the Meteorological Office said.

WORLD

Ash production had fallen and Iceland's coast guard and scientists prepared to fly over the volcano in search of signs its crater was now producing lava, which could indicate the nature of the eruption was changing.

"The situation is definitely better than it was particularly on Saturday, which was a difficult day for us due to heavy ash fall just south of the volcano," said Urdur Gudmundsdottir, a spokeswoman at the foreign ministry.

The appearance of lava could suggest the eruption was moving into a less explosive phase, possibly a good sign for thousands of travelers who have been stranded at airport across Europe for the past five days because countries have closed their airspace over safety fears.

"Lava would be good because then we would not get all this ash, and we know what the ash is doing to the flights," Hjorleifur Sveinbjornsson, a geologist at the Meteorological Office, told Reuters.

Visibility near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier was almost nil as falling ash saturated the air and covered agricultural fields with a thin layer of dust which could be dangerous to animals if eaten, local media quoted the police as saying.

There was a risk, however, that molten rock could create new pathways for water to run into the crater, causing more explosions and a higher level of ash production.

The ash plume, which has cost airlines millions of dollars per day in lost revenue, had descended to a lower altitude as strong winds continued to push the cloud southward, he said.

"The ash plume is very low. It's not much higher than 2 kilometers," Sveinbjornsson said.

The column of ash rising from the volcano was as high as 11 km when it started erupting earlier last week.

Air traffic over Europe remained severely disrupted on Monday.

BREAKING NEWS11:42am UK, Monday April 19, 2010 BA Test Flight: 'No Sign Of Ash Damage'

Sky Sources are reporting that the British Airways Test flight, sent up yesterday, has found no evidence of damage from volcanic ash.

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet, which was also carrying the BA chief executive Willie Walsh, landed without incident at British Airways' maintenance headquarters in Cardiff.
The aircraft flew for more than two hours, up to an altitude of 40,000 feet.
A team of engineers have carried out a detailed visual inspection and found no sign of damage to the aircraft or its engines.
A more detailed technical analysis is now being undertaken to confirm those initial findings.
The apparent lack of damage will reinforce the calls by many airlines to allow flights to resume again as soon as possible.
The crisis is estimated to be costing the European Aviation industry more than a 130 million pounds a day.
More follows...

Flight is still on... for now

Well, after 1 hour on hold (it said 1 hour on my phone) to Continental Airlines a very unpleasant woman appeared on the line and nearly hung up on me because I couldn't tell her my Continental Confirmation Number. I just had the Opodo one.

Anyways...

1. Our Thu flight is still on at the moment
2. People cancelled today DO NOT GET TO TAKE OUR FLIGHT - as in our place is booked and no one is kicking us out
3. IF the flight is cancelled we COULD fly out of Madrid or out of Rome BUT BUT BUT those flights are full until 26th of April at moment and EVERYONE is doing this.

So, in a nutshell we have to hope that the airline industry proves it is safe to fly (they ran loads of tests last night) and that things open Wed or Thu.

Alan

I thought we would have to worry about volcanos in Nicaragua!

Is this what all the fuss is about? Isn't that normal volcanic activity?
Volcano, kickin' up, soon erup', an de lava gettin' hot!

http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/

Sunday, 18 April 2010

UK airspace shut by Iceland volcano ash cloud could reopen tomorrow

''Air traffic controllers say it is possible commercial flights could resume earlier than expected.''
(from the Guardian website a second ago)

COME ON ENGLAND!

Saturday, 17 April 2010

Live coverage of the O'neil Cold Water Classic sucks

They can't film the surfing properly, most of the time it's on the commentators and then quickly pans to a surfer halfway through a wave. Also, one of the commentators mics was off and he was on the phone. It is windy and freezing to boot. At least there is a hot water butt to sit in.