Brazil : part 2 : as a visitor

How many people have seen the pictures of Christo – Christ the Redeemer – and wanted to go there? I was one of the lucky ones, I did.

The title of this post is as a visitor, but I really did not explore Brazil as I would have done as a tourist. I went with the Street Child World Cup organisation as a volunteer for the two weeks of the football tournament and the conferences. We stayed in large and safe sports facilities at Espaço in Lonier, which was about an hour from the airport.

I can, however, write about a couple of the times we did go out and my thoughts on these experiences.

The visit to Christo was done on two days. The girls teams went one day with half the volunteers and the boys teams went the next with the other volunteers – Lynne with an ‘e’ and Lynn without an ‘e’ included, as you can see from the picture.

It was a massive achievement to get us all there and all back, especially as you have to change buses half way up as only the official ones go to the top. Went in the seat next to the driver on the way up, and down too. Sounds like nothing special, but believe me, on those hairpin bends all the way up and down it most definitely pushed your comfort barriers!

Christo was an incredible experience, being there as part of an amazing team of people, made it all the better. We had a drone photographing all that was happening and the results were spectacular – the main photo on part 1 is one example.

Travelling through to the places we visited, you can see the lack of refurbishment and the neglect of huge parts of Rio. The rich get richer and the poor are just shoo-shooed away if they become a nuisance.

The second trip out was with the boys teams and we went to the favela of Vidigal. Wow, what an incredulous day that was! Incredulous because it showed the huge chasms in Brazilian society and incredulous because it really was an eye-opening and truth-defining time.

Near the bottom, it takes about an hour and a half or more to walk to the top, was this sign – ‘more love please’ – definitely fitting.

There were going to be three stops on the way up for people to get their breath back. At the first water stop, two of the injured boys were going the rest of the way in a minibus. Jan Ferguson (Mum to the lovely Vicky Ferguson of Glad’s House) and I thought we would go too, so we could keep an eye on them. Nothing to do with us being over 25, of course; we were just being considerate of others.

At that first stop we met Marcello, who had been in the film ‘City of God‘. If you haven’t seen that film do watch it; based on a true story, it tells of the lives of the teenagers in Rio – very raw.

Marcello and friends formed a dance and music troupe and encourage children from the favelas to become part of it. Keeps them away from the street gangs.

Vidigal is officially described as ‘pacified’ by the authorities. This means that the favela now has a police presence and, supposedly, no gangs terrorising the inhabitants. Horrible description, ‘pacified’, and says a lot about the society out in Brazil.

These people may not be shown any respect by the powers that be, but they were lovely, proud and friendly with us. The houses were made of whatever they could build them with, so there was a huge array of styles and stableness.

And at the end of the day, we exited down and onto the street where Vidigal is hidden from the hotel and big houses.

The challenge Brazil now has is that, where the favelas have been built, it’s prime real estate land and the corporate building boys want to replace the favelas with big, expensive housing. They may well get their way in some instances, as they’re building Olympic villages for the athletes for 2016. From what I understand, they’re telling the people from the favelas that they can move into them, after the games. Immorally, and horrendously, they will do this without telling them that they’ve already sold them on to private agents at an appropriate time afterwards.  I do hope that isn’t correct, because these proud people will then be homeless and in a far worse situation than the favelas they’ll move from. But the future is not looking good whatever happens.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.   Edmund Burke

Unfortunately the good men are not in positions of power and so, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3u0

 

 

 

Brazil : part 1 : as a volunteer

I’ve just returned from two weeks in Brazil, in Lonier near Rio de Janeiro.

I was just one of the many volunteers, from lots of different countries, who were at the Street Child World Cup. It was an incredible experience and was a fortnight filled with the highs and lows of emotions and tears of total despair & sadness but also tears of joy.

I learned of Street Child World Cup (SCWC) through one of the co-founders, John Wroe. John and Tim are Swansea Jacks (meaning they support some football team called Swansea City). John’s enthusiasm and total commitment to the SCWC was impossible to resist and when I saw a tweet asking for volunteers for the Comms Team, I leapt at the chance. I didn’t tell John though and, at the volunteers training weekend earlier in the year, when he saw me, his first words were “What are you doing here?” Chuckle, I was warmly welcomed after that. The Wroe family is just wonderful, John and Jo and their two daughters, Alice and Ruby. Yes, I am using superlatives but they deserve every single one . . . and more.

One thing I did find out was that it’s hard work being a volunteer! I was part of the Comms Team and we spent the first few days in the media room, ensuring all was ready for the football tournament. From before breakfast until you went to bed – those people were so dedicated and committed to what they were doing, you happily joined in. On one day, 06.30 was the first meeting and, at the end of another, 22.30 was the last!

Hard work it most definitely was, but with so many pluses. The joy of meeting new people, learning new things, sharing experience and expertise and being part of a team. I cannot properly put into words how exhilarating it was to be a member of a team that was doing something totally for others, to give without wanting anything back, to get so much from it. It was an absolute privilege to work as part of the ‘J’ Team, Jo Clark, Jo-Jo Ellison and Joe Hewitt. Not forgetting, wonderful Ben, amazing Matt, lovely Jo, gorgeous Malachy, Wilf and Alan, beautiful Ben, Becky, Kate and Vicky, Tanzi and Hena, Jessie and Bex, Nick and Paul, Sam and David, someone called Lynn (without an ‘e’) and, and, and . . . . . .

As for the sleeping arrangements; our little room slept five with just enough space between the beds to put your suitcase side on! We five,  Sue, Bev, Ingrid, Lynn without an ‘e’ and me, got on really well, especially as there was only one key for the room. You had to remember to take it to main reception if you were the last one to leave the room – thank goodness we didn’t have too many moments of forgetfulness.

The children, who were in the teams, were amazing. Some of the stories of what they’d been through would break your heart, but that’s for another post.

This is a photo of some of us arriving back at Heathrow after our 12 hour flight – all looking extremely glamorous, of course. Great timing!  I hope we stay in touch, wonderful friendships were forged.

Would I do it again?  Absolutely!

P.S. Just have to mention the outrageously lovely reception peeps – WonderWoman, Angel and her hubby, Superman.

P.P.S. Not too late to donate and help the street children – it isn’t just for the duration of the Street Child World Cup.

www.JustGiving.com/lynnerosie

 

 

 

 

Positively Portugal

Last month we went on a lovely long weekend break to Portugal, booked through TravelZoo – they have some great deals. We live in the bodacious shire of Bedford, so going from Ldn Luton Airport was a bonus.

Leaving early-ish on Saturday, we were at Faro Airport before we knew it. Picking up the hire car we made our way to Albufeira, to the Clube Praia da Oura. Great resort, not our normal choice but very well thought out, and for all ages – look at the fabulous swimming pool with a ramp :-)

The sky was very grey when we wandered along the pathway nearest to the sea. There really is something special about being by the seaside, your senses are heightened, your appreciation of the power of mother nature is ever present.  But so much had changed and expanded, the last time I came here was about twenty-eight years ago when it was wonderfully unfashionable.

This sculpture was about half way to the old town of Albufeira and is by the boats and the old way of life. There was a group of locals standing nearby, more mature men, chatting and laughing at what the day was bringing to them.

And then we came across this wonderful bicycle, it was outside the restaurant called flavours. Well, we just had to go in – and it didn’t disappoint. It was long and the front was out onto the beach. Lovely cups of coffee and an admirable apple pie too.

The angels of the weather decided to be kind to us and the sun emerged from a blue sky. Time to walk further afield. We walked through the square and into the shopping part and there we felt right at home – look, anything Milton Keynes can do . . . . . .

We decided to walk along the main road gong back and so glad we did. The first roundabout we came to had this amazing structure on it. It was massive and breathtaking and based on Portugal’s wonderful seafaring history.

We had more surprises on our journey back – they had named a Chinese restaurant after Tim! His eating prowess was obviously gaining international fame. Then we saw a restaurant advertising all manner of sumptuous ice cream desserts, so we found a table.  Imagine our disappointment when they told us they’d run out of ice cream! Boo. Walking further on we saw an orange tree and a lemon tree – real ones!

The sky was going grey again and, lo and behold, the Algarve showed us its quirky side.  Two huge watches in the centre of the next roundabout. How could you not know what the time was – just brilliant!

The sky was staring to show blue again and then, the best was yet to come, the next roundabout held wonderful, funky, funny worms and, even better, their tails came out of the central reservations on each side.

Can you see the tails?

Back to the hotel, we had half board so there was time to chill before dinner.  The food was good, as was the restaurant and all the team who worked there.

A very nice break, thank you.

Street Child World Cup 2014

If you don’t know about Street Child World Cup, let me tell you about these wonderful people. The Street Child organisation had its first event at the South African World Cup in 2010 and things started to happen. South Africa made changes to the whole matter of street children – and all to the good. Life is wonderful, when you make a difference.

In the world of travel and tourism, the street children are often hidden away and never ever mentioned – the countries’ governments do not usually understand nor address the situation. The children are not worthy, they have no official identification, they do not exist. In putting the teams together, the Street Child World Cup (SCWC) team works with local charities and government agencies in each country. This gives encouragement to improve the way they deal with homeless children, sometimes from seeing them as criminal vagrants to recognising them as human beings who need support. For the first time, often, they are registered as citizens so they can be given a passport. And the needs of the wider homeless community are spotlighted as a result.

Glad’s House, Mombasa, Kenya

These children on the road to Rio 2014 come from 19 different countries; there are both boys and girls teams. All they want to say is ‘I Am Somebody’. The countries are El Salvador, USA, Zimbabwe, Argentina, England, Mozambique, Nicaragua, South Africa, Burundi, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Liberia, Brazil, Egypt, Mauritius, Kenya, Tanzania and the Philippines. Have a look at the SCWC website to find out more.

I am very proud and privileged to have been included in the volunteer comms team going to Rio – so lucky, I’ll get to make a difference. All the volunteers met up at a weekend training session at Gilwell House in Epping Forest last week. So inspiring, so many fabulous people.

Should you wish to make a difference too, I’m trying to raise £2000 towards the central fund, it costs about £1,000 per child to get them there – and it has such an impact on their lives – this is the world cup that matters. Please donate here justgiving.com/lynnerosie – thank you.

Ecuador and conscious tourism; sadly not.

Last year, Ecuador held a conference called ‘Conscious Tourism’, which was hailed as a wonderful success and a beacon to lead the way forward for tourism. Ecuador made a very bold statement then.

This new strategy was based on the principles of sustainability and ethics; and promoted the values ​​of peace, friendship, respect and love of life as the essence of tourist practice.

I chose the slide above from the presentation made by the keynote speaker and founder of Conscious Travel, Anna Pollock. It is a beautiful saying from Malaysia, that captures how the very wise indigenous people see our planet. The Native Americans knew/know how precious our wondrous planet is, they used only what they needed to live. They did not have laws, they did not need them. They looked out for each other and lived peacefully, and America was bountiful. Then the white man came and brought the evils of egos and empires, and America changed beyond recognition. It’s the same in most countries. I haven’t gone off on a tangent, it’s not too late to listen to what they say, it’s not too late to save this planet. But . . . . .

Reading what had been said at the conference by representatives of different countries and of the UNWTO; I, and many others, were filled with a new hope. No more of the old industrial model of mass tourism, but a new respect for what each country has, their unique cultures and characteristics.

And now there is a race to save Ecuador’s Yasuni national park from the oil lobby. Green groups are frantically campaigning for a petition to force a national referendum to block President Correa’s unilateral sanction for drilling. Yet again, it’s all about the money and not nature that gives us life.

Talk is easy, the annual conferences have ‘leaders’ of tourism, saying wonderfully scripted promises for the future – but it is action we need. Action and a shared aim to conserve and celebrate what we have and not just go on developing for its own sake. We do not need same old, same old . . . . We need determined change, we need commitments from governments to make the changes. 

Samoa and falling in love (number 2)

Samoa and Paradise in the same sentence is as natural as bread and butter! You really don’t need any rose tinted glasses – the beauty is there in all its glory.

Vailima – the home of Robert Louis Stevenson – now a museum.

It’s where Robert Louis Stevenson settled and made his home after saying, during an amazing long voyage of discovery; ”For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints.”

It’s where Rupert Brooke said, “Sheer beauty, so pure that it is difficult to breathe it in”.

It’s where we went and found peace, tranquillity, beauty and smiles.

It’s where you can soothe your soul and saturate your senses.

It’s the sacred centre of the Polynesian Islands.

It’s the treasured islands of Samoa.

It’s Paradise.

And why do I wax so lyrical, why is it Paradise? Because it is virtually unspoilt – you can tell it is Samoa by how the buildings are crafted by hand from natural, local materials (apart from a couple of white, modern government buildings looking totally out of place).

The artistry and the purpose of traditional Samoan houses, resorts, fales are what makes Samoa unique. It really is like the sense of being enveloped in a great big hug, you feel safe and cherished. The wondrous thing is that it has stayed true to its heritage, so far it hasn’t let big business come in and spoilt its beauty. There are so many beautiful islands that the corporates have invaded and taken over – and always to the detriment of the environment and its true roots.  For those who want to get close to the country, its natural wonder and the people and their culture, it remains one of the best places in the world to do this.

It is Paradise because of the beauty of the flowers and plants, the beauty of its natural landscapes and the beauty of its people – but all that’s for another post!

Peace and love.

Samoa and falling in love

What country has had this said of it?

“Sheer beauty, so pure that it is difficult to breathe it in”

and of the people,

“The loveliest people in the world, moving and dancing like gods and goddesses, very quietly and mysteriously, and utterly content”

The country is the sacred centre of the Polynesian Islands. The country is Samoa.

The speaker of these words was the talented and tragic Rupert Brooke, who, during World War I, wrote ”The Soldier” (If I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England.) and Granchester (oh! yet stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?)

I visited Samoa this year; it is everything and more that Rupert Brooke said. The islands are still mostly unspoilt, there are smiles and happiness everywhere. It is just like Paradise would be.

Samoa, saturates your senses and soothes your soul.

We travelled around and stayed at different types of places, all local of course.  I’m very much a responsible traveller and like to get close to the local cultures and people whenever possible. So the places we stayed at were all locally owned, the shops we bought from were all local and the places we ate were all local.  That way you know it is benefiting both you and your hosts; you because you learn and experience so much and your hosts because the money exchanged stays local.

I’m not sure whether it was at the airport or when we arrived at The Orator that I knew I’d fallen in love with Samoa. So much beauty, so much care and so many smiles. And . . . pineapples growing in the garden!  And the food, oh dear, all ideas of being good and counting calories went out of the window – delicious!

We marvelled at the beauty all around us and the flowers, so absolutely splendid. We took the bus into Apia town and went out for long walks. I ‘m not exaggerating when I quote Louis Armstrong;

Yes, I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

Our next stop was at the ferry to the island of Savai’i.  We stayed at La Legoto, which was glorious. Our beach front fale was not made from wood and straw but it was definitely built by locals.  The views were to die for and the sky was blue ~ deep sigh of contentment.

I could sit and just look out to sea for hours, so serene, so good for the soul. As with elsewhere, the people were so friendly and so lovely and genuine; the place was, well you can see for yourself, soooooooo easy on the eyes, so stunning; and the food was delicious. The plants and flowers were a joy to behold.  There are tons more superlatives and adjectives I could use, but the word Paradise keeps popping back in my mind.

To be continued . . . .

The destruction of the Coastguard – lies, damn lies, and statistics . . .

We have so much to see and do in these sceptred isles of ours and our coastlines are like treasures.  

Some are flawless gems, others are rough cut and then there are the downright dangerous ones. And looking after us and our safety is the wonderful front line Coastguard Service we have. The Service co-ordinates the rescues, searches and everything else to do with incidents in the seas surrounding us and the estuaries, tributaries and even on land. The men and women are highly skilled, experienced, hard working and respected, and have saved many thousands of people.

But far from being respected by everyone, for the last two years, the Coastguard has been badly betrayed by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) and this government, in the form of the Department of Transport.In September 2011, I read an article, in The Independent, about pollution and the withdrawal of the four tugs that patrolled and protected the UK. I wrote about it on another blog of mine; the post was called SOS – Save Our Souls. It went on to state that Mike Penning, the then Shipping Minister, was also responsible for the potential closure of some of our Coastguard Stations. Eight of them were threatened, Brixham, Clyde, Forth, Liverpool, Portland, Swansea, Thames and Yarmouth.  Please read for background information of how this whole shabby fiasco started.This got me involved with the wonderful team at Coastguard SOS and I am, indeed, very proud to be one of the three founding members.  What has happened since then beggars belief really.You do need to know that Mike Penning stood up in Parliament and stated that not one Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre would close until a new HQ was completely operational and all communications systems were proven and up & running.  This is written into Westminster history. Yeah, right!

  

So far we have lost three Coastguard Stations; Clyde, Forth and Yarmouth. Not sure which one is next on the list, and all this ….. 

DESPITE . . . . .   Concerns raised over two long and arduous sessions of gruelling questions by the House of Commons Transport Committee Grave concerns from personnel at the MRCCs over the loss of local knowledge with all calls going into the HQ first Huge concerns from the experienced and expert personnel over the extra time that each incident would take to get through Serious concerns from MPs, the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament over the loss of local knowledge and the vast expanses of unattended coast Plummeting morale of the Coastguard members Large numbers of personnel leaving the service The undermanned stations now in operation The huge cost of having to fly people to and from different stations to maintain a certain number of skilled operatives The threat of industrial action over revised pay scales Promises and assurances given, being broken The final salute at Clyde MRCC What next? Please go to CoastguardSOS Read all the articles concerning this, the betrayals made, the promises broken. Write to your MP please, we’re an island country – we need the local knowledge of our Coastguards at the front line by the sea, not in some landlocked HQ, where the MCA has already admitted that the new way could add ten minutes onto the time taken to respond!

The most comfortable bed in Australia

Travelling around nine countries in eight weeks is just an incredible experience. The different cultures and people; the amazing food and the thrill of actually seeing landmarks and scenery you’ve only ever seen in books. After South East Asia, our next destination was Australia.

We stayed at Mint Rhapsody Melbourne Apartments in St. Kilda Road, which we had booked through City Base Apartments. Having stayed with City Base Apartments in London, it seemed the ideal solution for Melbourne – and it was soooooooo good for lots of different reasons.  The location was great, the trams ran along the St. Kilda Road, it had a restaurant adjacent to the block and there were other choices on the opposite side of the road, the team of people there was great, the apartment was really good and, best of all, it had the most comfortable bed in all of Australia, perhaps even the world!

When you’re travelling to different cities, even countries, every two or three days, your body gets incredibly tired after a while. Adrenalin keeps you going but when you stop to rest, it all catches up with you.

On our first night at the apartment, we slept right through until the late hours of the next morning. Felt so refreshed, it was wonderful. The next night was the same, and we were so relaxed, we actually didn’t want to get up the third day! The bed was so incredibly comfortable that I actually unmade it so I could look at the label on the mattress! Strange, I know.  The manufacturer was Australian, of course.

Luscious local travel in North Vietnam

One of the best meals we had in Hanoi was in a tiny place known simply as Number 49.

I can cook Vietnamese spring rolls – and they taste delicious! I have learned t’ai chi; the absolute basics. And I can kayak, well, sort of!  And, and, and, and  …….

During our #BFGAdventure – Big Friendly Giant Adventure – we chose to travel as consciously, responsibly and locally as we could.  We stayed in local hotels, ate at local restaurants and/or with street sellers, bought what we needed at local shops and travelled by cyclo, tuktuk, car, bus, ferry, ship and train.  Oh yes, and our walking boots certainly saw a lot of use :-)

If you’ve never been to VietNam before, as we hadn’t, the skills and rules of driving over there are fairly non-existent! At least, that’s how it seems to a new visitor. The traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road, well, that’s the theory. To get to Ha Long Bay, where we were going on a 2 night and 3 day cruise, there is an eighty mile  journey from Hanoi – thoughts of the fairgrounds and dodgem cars sprang to mind!  The next morning, we were filled with excitement and a certain amount of trepidation when the mini-bus picked us up from our hotel. A long journey giving us a great opportunity to see all the areas in between the two locations, and that was punctuated by a stop off at a rather large statue & monument emporium, containing a restaurant. Comfort break time. What we did find was that when you’re with an experienced local driver, the roads hold no worry. Our travels were as smooth as the road works and potholes would allow. Talking of road works; this is the main road from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, and it is being improved and widened. They work on one side of the road and the traffic is allowed to use the other half of the road (alternatively, of course!) Phew, the precision with which these drivers go is amazing – there were at least two inches between the men digging and our vehicle.

The port we were going to was all new with a lot of  development happening around the location. It’s a beautiful place and was undergoing a rapid expansion with new hotels, apartments and complexes; sadly, though, the buildings could have been in any place, in any country, there was nothing that epitomised a Vietnamese style. Inside the port building it was more like a modern airport concourse! You did not get the impression that there would be serenity in just a short while. There were many ships in harbour, ranging from very small to rather grand ones. We joined the other guests of Bhaya Cruises and were taken out to the ship, the Au Co, by speedboat and welcomed on board as if we were the most important group of people in the world. And that level of customer care is what we all experienced throughout the whole adventure. The girls and guys, who made up the crew, were more like a team of good friends, always happy. They were generous with their time and gracious, oh so very gracious. The cruise manager was Alfred Yong, you can see him in the wedding picture below – he’s the one wearing the red polo shirt.

In those three days we experienced Vietnamese dancing, kayaking, t’ai chi, tea ceremony, cooking demonstration – where we learnt how to make the Vietnamese spring rolls, We visited the floating village of Cong Dam; Cat Ba Island and the village there; the Sung Sot cave on Bo Hon island and, all our meals were based on the five elements of fire, water, earth, wood and metal. We were also offered night-time squid fishing, but I don’t think anyone took that one up!

The girls and ladies from the floating village of Cong Dam, rowed over and took us to see where they lived.  It’ s fascinating how they’ve put together the ‘houses’ with walkways between them and areas for different activities. We got out of the boats and had a look round, we even went into the school house to see what they were doing. Bhaya Cruises has built the school house for them and sponsors the teacher and his personal house.  The children weren’t in school as it was a holiday but we saw them playing on some of the houseboats, as we saw the men chatting in groups. There’s a fish farm there too, now that really is local!

Visiting the village of Viet Hai on Cat Ba island, the next day, was a real treat, in more ways than one. It is a long way to walk from the quay to there and you could choose to walk or go by bike. We chose to walk. So pleased we did, we lingered over the scenery and the beautiful butterflies we saw and we dallied where the wild goats and their kids were. The island was quite heavily wooded and we stopped time and time again to smell the local flowers and, if truth be known, have a tiny rest on the 45 to 60 minute walk.

There are no cars on the island, we just saw the occasional bike or moped.  And it did seem as if the women were doing all the work again, we saw them out fishing, working in the fields and going about household chores. All had big smiles though – such joy everywhere.

The farm there is all organic and grows vegetables and fruit. All work is done by traditional methods, the women plough the fields, leading water buffalo pulling the harrow. I always feel the traditional methods give more substance to the term organic, but that’s just me.

The Bhaya Cruises’ Au Co Foundation, works with the local villagers, supports them and started the organic farming project there. The company provides funds, agricultural and practical training for the locals and, when the fruit and vegetables and crops are ready, buys the produce back at a fair market price.

The bride in the wedding picture is one of the team on our ship, how fantastic was that – and we were all invited to go along. The bride and groom, on the right, looked so very young, I actually has to ask, and they were 24 and 25. Must be their way of life! Many of each crew for Bhaya Cruises come from Viet Hai and all are so genuinely delightful. What a wonderful example of community involvement. And we could feel the joy – we became part of it.

Cat Ba is also the only home of the Golden-headed Langur. They are one of the most endangered species and, it is thought, there are only 53 of them alive today. You can find out more, and/or become involved/help, from the Cat Ba Langur Conservation site or on their facebook page.

On this cruise, I was a guest of Bhaya Cruises.  However, the content and comments are entirely mine; and I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending them.

Lynne Gray – Thatspr