unpaidbill - Bill Shum

Motorcycle riding in North, Central and South America. 70,000 kms from LA - South to Ushaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, 'The End of the World' then back to LA, then up North to Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, 'The Top of the World'. 18 countries, 35 border crossings, 15 months.
Now on a 47' catamaran from Grenada in the Carib, Venezuela, Colombia, San Blas, Colon, a short side trip to my favourite country, Cuba, back to Panama, back onboard, off across the big blue Pacific, Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuomotus, Societys, Cooks, Tonga and Fiji where I bail.
Back on land, NYC, Kentucky, Panama, Cuba, Medellin in Colombia to settle down for a bit...maybe.

VENI, VIDI, BLOGI

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Joined on: June 11th 2005
Last Login: July 2nd 2008

Blog Entries: 107
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by unpaidbill, order by Date newest first.

By unpaidbill
June 16th 2008

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE BORA BORA AURA

Oceania » Cook Islands » Rarotonga

me chasing Ray
Bora Bora

If these are the famous Trade Winds….I can do without the trade. Tearing ourselves away from the magic of Bora Bora in the Society Islands we set off for Rarotonga in the Cook Islands some 500 miles SW. The first day or so was really quiet we even had to drive for a while but then had Big Red up and hauling us along. Thursday came the front, wind blowing 20 - 25 knots and the seas just went berko. Sloppy, choppy big waves but no rhythm or rhyme, a violent washing machine action, not your smooth sloppy front-load this was [View Full Entry]

By unpaidbill
June 3rd 2008

OMG THE GREEN FLASH IS!

Oceania » French Polynesia

You lookin' at me?

And just as the reformed alcoholic becomes the most strident teetotaller so the vitriolic green flash naysayer may become its most tediously vocal supporter. We were sailing from Morea to Huahine, an overnighter so we would get there mid morning. The sun was setting off the port bow and M, Jim and I were watching the last moments. As always, waiting for this so called ‘green flash’. You may recall some colourful comments in previous blogs about this subject, for me in the same league as UFOs, crop circles and Bigfoot. (Not to say that some of the green flash proponents [View Full Entry]

adjusting the sacred ceremonial centrepiece

By unpaidbill
May 19th 2008

PARADISE LOST, REGAINED, REGRAINED, LOST AGAIN..

Oceania » French Polynesia » Tahiti

Canon repair 101
well, it was pretty well stuffed so I had little to lose.....needless to say that was truly the end of it!

PARADISE LOST and REGAINED?… Just walk away Renee…. CAN YOU BE MORE (S)PACIFIC… NO MAD NOMAD HERE… AN ANENOME OF THE PEOPLE?.. Infernal, Internal Thermals…and much, much more!.. Nuku Hiva, now a memory, but something transpired there, it really got to me, I’m still not sure what it was…..more later maybe Unlike the Galapagos Islands which were basically conventional volcanic islands - you know, cone shaped, sloping lava fields to the sea, calderas, tunnels all that stuff, the Marquisas are far more topographically challenging. (and, as there are English, French and Spanish spellings, even differing names for many of these places, [View Full Entry]

By unpaidbill
April 24th 2008

ABIDING THE MARITIME PARADIGM

Oceania » French Polynesia » Nuku Hiva

My Little Gecko
Nuka Hiva

They call it Stormy (petrel) Monday Recycled Casserole - Deja Stew Nurse Hurts Worse - the Killer Cure More Whales! I thought all waves were the same….until I saw you wave good-bye… FIRST TATTOO Reporting in from the extraordinary Marquesas. Minute specks of volcanic crests truly in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful isolation and laidback lifestyle. And the French influence, fine when it comes to bread but for almost everything else…hmmmm And all these Photos are from Jim’s camera, Thank You so much! So, back to where it all began, leaving the Galapagos….. I’m just starting to realise just how big [View Full Entry]

By unpaidbill
March 19th 2008

I LAVA GOOD VOLCANO……

South America » Ecuador » Galapagos Islands

only bright thing on the horizon

We changed islands. After a week in San Cristobal we were ready to move. I t had been memorable, I think. A lovely little harbour, nice collection of shops and a couple of restaurants, fresh market, renovated malecon, always friendly people, the usual resorts and research places for the turtle huggers and cute little water taxis to get us to and fro the boat. Altho’ it may be hard to equate little bashed up dinghies and outboards with the elegant gondolas of the sunken city……I felt it was a bit Venetian….(and even more so in Isabela where the roads were kerb [View Full Entry]

By unpaidbill
February 29th 2008

BACK TO THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

South America » Ecuador » Galapagos Islands

Bill swims the Equator
equator

WAY POINT - navigating, WEIGH POINT - fishing, WHEY POINT - yoghurting Booby Aboard! …..Swimming the Equator!…..Back to the Galapagos….Eau de Sea Lion (Odour Sea Lion)…….but…. WHERE DO BIRDS PUT THEIR FEET WHEN THEY’RE FLYING? ..especially those big gum-booted pelicans………altho’ sometimes I can see pelicans’ feet, they tuck them back like they are holding their big, fish-filled, pot bellies in…but for all the other birds, nada…… And talking birds, last night on my watch, 4am - 6am, a couple of birds started circling the boat, very strange clackety chirruping call, just 2 of them, doing weird stuff in the light at [View Full Entry]

By unpaidbill
February 15th 2008

Postscript from Cuba and a little more

Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panama Canal

my new job, social worker
habana

Another day, another family, another roast pig……the sound of a thousand tiny balls, bearing…..thoughtlessly efficient design…..back on board….and so much less…..than last time! Life in Cuba, the people, the country, can be described in many, many ways, but I can tell you one thing for nothing…it is NEVER boring! nunca aburrido! Not that I get bored easily, as you know, I mean, I spent time staring out, just above the horizon, I could have done the hare krishna thing, I’m easily amused, but here, you know who wept! It is a constantly moving feast, altho’ that’s probably not the most appropriate [View Full Entry]

By unpaidbill
February 1st 2008

WELCOME TO THE HOTEL INGLATERA..

Central America Caribbean » Cuba » Oeste » La Habana

libertad...adonde
don´t look like libertad to me!

WELCOME TO THE HOTEL INGLATERA….such a lovely place….such a lovely face It’s a wonder all the women aren’t pregnant and all the men asleep. Cuba runs on sex, fuelled by rum, coffee and tobacco, supported by the familiar background soundtrack, it’s hot, and wet, fecund. They have the best of everything. Travelling thru the city and countryside you still get an endless barrage of patriotic reminders of the revolutionary struggle, now nearly 50 years on! Libertad, Liberty, is a consistent theme, but this doesn’t look like liberty to me! The older generation seem to accept it all but I’m meeting [View Full Entry]

By unpaidbill
January 8th 2008

AFTER CARTAGENA, AGAIN A....

Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panama Canal

bite my tongue
san blas

Sailing down the Colombian coast, big, grey, dusky mountains so close by. The mist is rising up the gullies and ridges, looks like bushfire smoke, wreathed in the trees, slowly tearing itself away, spiralling up to join the massive thunderhead, taking up half the sky, a gigantic slow motion explosion, billowing out, twisting and contorting, blindingly white, so pure and perfect, a larger-than-life, laundry detergent commercial. Spooky bit of mainland Colombia here. The Darien. Impassable, no roads, incredibly steep mountains, dangerous swamps and lots of people with guns: Colombian police and military, their Panamanian counterparts, the guerrillas, the cartels’ militia, CIA, [View Full Entry]

By unpaidbill
December 11th 2007

FOOD AND SEX.....THE NIGHT SHIFT

South America » Colombia » Cartagena

weekend supplies
Cartagena

I’d bought a new rod and reel, I didn’t want to be catching whales, or anything bigger than I could eat, so I went for a medium size reel with 200m of 50lb line. I chose this reel because it has a little arm that swings back and forth, laying out the line as it’s reeled in. The old reel was slightly larger but I had to be guiding the line onto the reel with finger or thumb. This was exceedingly difficult when reeling in something substantial. Hey, even the little tunas fight like fury! Anyway, the first time out [View Full Entry]

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