Travelling As a Vegetarian

Most people question me about travelling as a vegetarian (I eat fish so technically I’m a pescetarian). Have I resigned to eating meat, how do I survive?? At times especially, in the Americas, it has been hard and frustrating but then again if the food is bad, it’s hard for any meat eaters to find good food. The following is what I have found overall.

Western countries are expensive to eat in restaurants so unless you have money this is not viable. I found that when travelling around by car or bus, the food you mainly find in the service or petrol stations contains meat or junk food. Very rarely will you find something that doesn’t contain meat. The easiest and cheapest way I found to eat was buying fruit, eating instant noodles or cheese sandwiches. All of which are easy to transport and cheap. If I stayed anywhere for at least a few days, I would buy vegetables in the supermarket and cook. Hostels usually have kitchens and if you are lucky spare herbs and spices.

Central and South America is a little easier. Most people don’t understand what a vegetarian is. You can’t just tell them you don’t eat meat you need to tell them you don’t eat pork, beef, and chicken. It can be frustrating especially if you don’t speak Portuguese or fluent Spanish but there is usually someone at hand to help with the language difficulty. Once they understand, most restaurants will make a plate up of food without meat and reduce the price, unless it’s a pre made dish. Fish is available on most menus and not badly priced either. Bare in mind you will be served the whole fish eyes, bones, and all. Fruit is readily obtainable; sitting on a bus a vendor will appear, sitting on a boat a vendor will sail up, stands line most streets or within a couple of minutes walk. Among the fruit sellers is usually someone who sells nuts but it can be a little harder. Some fruit is cheaper than others but always a good choice and variety. Food on a whole isn’t necessarily cheaper to buy in shops or markets unless there are a quite a few people to help share with the cost.

Throughout Asia, I found it to be the easiest and cheapest for vegetarians. There are lot of vegetarians in Asia due to Buddhists and other beliefs. The choice is vast, probably on a par with meat dishes if not greater in certain countries and restaurants. Eating out is very cheap so I don’t even bother buying food to cook, it would be hard to find accommodation with a kitchen anyway. Street food is a hit and miss situation that you need to be careful about; Laos has very good street baguettes made to demand, perfect for journeys or a meal. Places with curries always have a vegetarian option, if not the sides that accompany the mains are usually vegetarian. Seven to Eleven shops in Japan are abundant, selling triangular sushi for around 30p; one of these fills me for lunch or a light meal. You do need to examine the photo closely if you don’t know Japanese to make sure it is fish, meat or veg. Fruit and nuts aren’t as widely available as in Central or South America but it is still easy to come by.

I have found that I probably eat healthier whilst travelling. More beans and lentils are utilized with a greater variety in the vegetables in dishes. Fruit and nuts are available to snack on more then junk food, compared to Western countries. Therefore, as far as I'm concerned travelling as a vegetarian (pescetarian) is unproblematic.

Road Trip To Inuvik In the Arctic

Whilst I was in Banff, Canada, I decided that I wanted to visit Inuvik in the arctic. It did not look that far to drive so I went and hired a car, packed a few thermal clothes, a sleeping bag and bought food supplies. I then convinced a friend to accompany me on the epic voyage.

To get to the Arctic from Banff you need to head up through Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northern West territories. From here, you turn onto the Dempster highway to Inuvik. The return journey would cover 2674 miles at the end of winter so conditions are still harsh with temperatures of minus 15-35 degrees. I had only given myself 8 days to cover this distance so it would be around 14hrs driving a day and at night sleeping in the car.

The first leg of the journey to the Dempster highway took three days. This was a long haul but was more stimulating than expected. We were aware that petrol stations were few and far between so make sure the tank was filled at each one. In addition to going through towns covered in snow, driving along side mile long cargo trains, we got to drive over dramatic engulfing steel bridges and past rivers flowing through ice banks amongst tree valleys. Apart from the dramatic scenery there were extra unique things to see; trucks that carry packs of huskies; a field full of number plates attached to posts with the odd other sign. The more north we went the snow just got thicker and it got colder with less light in the day. We had music and laughter to keep us motivated. Just past Whitehorse, we passed a herd of Moose walking by the road. We then came upon miles of devastated forest that had been burnt down due to a forest fire a long time ago. Sticks of the once trees remain with a few small sprouts emerging. The evenings were spent watching the sunset over the trees then pulling over to try to get some sleep. Eventually, we arrived in Dawson City and went out to see the Northern lights. They were breath taking green swirls, changing shapes in and out of view. We were informed that they are the weakest at the moment and so we would have to wait another 14 years till they would be at their brightest. If these are, the weak ones, I cannot wait to see them at their strongest. Due to the drop in temperature, we could no longer sleep in the car so into a motel and plugged in the car to stop it from freezing. I did not know people actually did this!

The morning of the fourth day came, the one we had been waiting for. We had to head back down the Klondike highway a short way until our turnoff onto the Dempster Highway. From here, it was just another 457miles to Inuvik. Car filled up we headed off. The scenery changed to bleakness that was more dramatic in no time, no houses, and no lights just a layer of snow icing. The road was deserted and icy, it was just the wild and us. About an hour in, we saw some lynx playing by the side of the road so we pulled over. An amazing opportunity but after a short while we decided we should move on so we could get to Inuvik before sunset.  The drive was through valleys along side looming mountains, past frozen lakes with the road looping around itself. The mountains soon levelled off to reveal a flat icing of snow. There are hardly any trees after the initial start and the ones we did see were like frozen popsicles sticking out. It was the midday blue sky. The bleakness was astounding but it felt calm and safe. The temperature was now minus 30 – 35 so walking around was not an option, our clothes were not insulated enough. The road got icier and the driving harder, at one point we nearly skidded off a cliff.  Around three quarters down the road, just past Eagle Plains, we got to the Arctic Circle. In silence and awe we just stood looking around taking in the vast nothingness and thinking of the people who live beyond here. Here there are no other people just the void and us. We have to then drive along the airport landing strip, the road itself, and twice over the frozen river. After being able to drive through such dramatic scenery the road was suddenly straight, non-changing lined with the popsicle trees. After two hours, it seemed like we were still on the same stretch of road that we started on two hours ago, very disorientating. The journey was over, we reached Inuvik early evening and crashed at a hotel after plugging our car in for the night.

The next morning before heading back we went sightseeing around the town. We saw the church that is shaped like an igloo, the graveyard and colourful rows of houses. It was dusk the whole drive up the Dempster highway and whilst we were in Inuvik which gave a more lonesome feeling. A splash of colour was just what we needed after all the white.

On the way back, at the Arctic Circle, we came across a 4wd with a film crew. We inquired what was going on as a man ran past us pulling a sleigh. It was the 6633 ultra marathon. Twenty contestants start at the beginning of the five-day event but only six were left when we arrived. I cannot imagine how hard it would be in those severe conditions. The rest of the way back was a more demanding journey, as the snow was getting heavier. At one point, we did a 360-degree spin onto the frozen river, up ended onto a snow bank. Luckily, we were fine but the car took a battering. A day later produced another skid into a snow wall. Back into British Colombia conditions improved radically and we arrived back in Banff safely but tired.

What an experience one I will be redoing in 14 years time.

Back To the Amazon

After leaving the Amazon three years ago I thought it was time I went back. I had really enjoyed myself the first time and missed the place, mosquitoes, and all. This time I planned to go in from Leticia, Colombia and travel into Macapa, Brazil.  

Leticia was a lot different to what I was expecting. Previous Amazon cities I had experience with were Iquitos and Requena. Neither very pleasant or safe and made you want to leave as soon as you landed. Leticia is small, the people are friendly, and the ice cream is great. There is not much to do in Leticia except arrange boats or tours. The zoo is now closed down but walking around is pleasant and the park is relaxing and includes a pond in addition to various statues. Next to this is another pond that contains the giant Victoria lily pads in case you don’t get to go on a tour to see them. Down by the river is a market; do not presume town finishes at the rivers edge. Walk over the water by the narrow ledge; along the shop fronts and you will come onto a long pier. There are more little shops, fish factories, and plenty of boats and life. Catch a boat to nearby small towns in Peru or just cruise the river. North of here is the river town area. The houses in this area are all in the river on stilts with just planks of wood connecting them, all very wobbly narrow planks that creak when you place your feet onto them. As soon as someone wanted to get past, I clung on for my life onto the nearest post or house. It is a very interesting seeing people live like this and they are quite happy for you to walk around. Occasionally I stumbled across a shop in this bizarre setting.

On our first evening, we were taken into Tabatinga, Brazil, for a free concert (There is an agreement with the two countries that you can commute between the two towns without a visa). The hostel owner met us at the border; just a 15min walk on the main road connecting the two countries and towns. The whole section of the road was littered with bars. I felt like I was back in the 80’s with neon lights and lasers dancing around. At the border, we took three motor taxis to the concert. The band was playing a type of samba music under an old petrol station roof. The place was packed, cheap beer and free music. People were dancing, drinking, or hanging with their bikes. A great atmosphere, when the band acknowledged us the crowd all cheered. We were late arriving so unfortunately we only got just over an hour of music. If you are around for long enough they play every week.

The next day we headed to Tabatinga, legally, to catch our speedboat to Manaus. It was cheaper than the slow boat so how could we refuse. Be aware though that if you are North American you need a Brazilian visa in advance combined with a ticket out of Brazil. Sorting it out here takes a lot time, maybe a few days, and hassle.

The speedboat looked like another 80’s object, a square looking Lego plane. The seats inside were very comfortable and reclined. Food was buffet style 3 times a day and was the same. We were informed that the boat would take 2 days but it was actually 3 days and 2 nights. I am a vegetarian so food was limited to rice, bananas, and noodles. Breakfast was biscuits and coffee but luckily, I had brought supplies with me. Acai berries are served after every meal. A close resemblance to purple paint with the option of rice crispies added to the top. Taking a mouthful I realised I had just eaten something very sour and acidic. Not to my tasting and I do not think I would have it again. Not long after the boat leaves Tabatinga, it stops in the centre of the river. Police come aboard and search all bags and people. After nearly two hours, one lady with a baby was arrested for drug smuggling. Unfortunately, we were sitting behind her so got searched more than other people were. Once on our way, we sat on the seats at the front next to the open doors. Films and music videos were played until lights out or you could just look at the scenery and read a book. Coffee and water was available throughout the voyage. As I remember, the jungle is quiet and peaceful and you can get lost in your thoughts forgetting the outside world. It was a very relaxing journey, completely different atmosphere to the slow boats.

Arriving in Manaus was a disappointment; busy and dirty. I was expecting this grand big old city; Instead, I got a city similar to Iquitos. For people who like handbags and shoes they would be in heaven. Buffets are the cheapest way to eat being charged for the weight of the food you have on your plate. We managed to see the theatre just before a downpour started. Two hours were spent huddled under a bus shelter. The rain on the roads got higher flooding the paths carrying all sorts of rubbish including cockroaches.

After a detour into the Guiana’s we caught a slow boat from Macapa to Belem. We were early so had the whole top dock to choose where to hang our hammocks. We took an area next to the pillar to tie our luggage up on under my hammock. Experience on previous slow boats in Peru makes you aware that you have to be vigilant with your belongings. Within no time, the boat filled up with hammocks, but not too many. Up, down, left, right, fancy, plain, bright, dull, everywhere you looked a sea of hammocks. Everyone was very friendly saying hello and looking at us inquisitively. We got informed that tourists were rare on this route. The kitchen staff even came to find us and hand us food when they noticed we had not been down to the kitchen. I would have to say this has been my most enjoyable boat journey. We passed numerous wooden houses hidden by the blanket of trees and vines, small villages, graveyards, churches, and a vast amount of wood mills. Due to the river being narrow we got to see all the houses close up each seem to hold around five - eight people. Every house had a pier and a boat, usually a canoe some with a small ferry. Some even had gardens and vegetables growing on their piers. We were informed that the journey would take only one day, this ended up being two days and two nights. I didn’t mind this time change, I was quite happy observing the river life in a serene setting.

A few hours before arrived in Belem, we were informed we had to change ferries. When the new ferry arrived, we pulled up beside it and jumped on. This ferries main deck was overcrowded and smelt of wet animals, not at all pleasant like our last ferry. There was nowhere to hang our hammocks so I had to sit on bags and my companions’ hammock was in the aisle and got soaked every time the downpour came through the tarpaulin. No sleep this night, next time a cabin. We met an elderly Czech man who had worked in one of the logging mills for 40 years. He comes every two to four weeks for supplies but just leaves the ferry for an hour then returns up river to his house.

Finally at Belem, my second jungle trip was over, a flight to Natal confirmed this. I think I have now exaustered my time on river ferries so my next visit I will go deeper travelling by canoe. 

The Amazon

Flying into the Amazon was a magnificent spectacle; trees for as far as the eye can see intersected by a network of shimmering veins. Landing was a bumpy affair bouncing past old military planes that look like they’d been there a few decades heavily covered in moss.

 Our hostel was a nice little tranquil place amongst the chaos, just around the corner from the river. The staff were polite and friendly and had arranged for us to meet a guide to take us around the Amazon - Carlos, a man in his later years but as sprightly as a 20 yr old. He later told us his wife is 40yrs younger and he has a 2 yr old daughter!

 After a hot and sticky night’s sleep we met Carlos and headed off to the market to where you can find anything you want, from machetes to socks to batteries to DVDs. Once shopping and packing was complete we headed with Carlos to board the ferry. The ferries in the Amazon are very old consist of two or three levels and infiltrated with rust. Every space available is occupied by a hammock or five! Literally you cannot move, above, below, to all sides are hammocks, with around 100 people and 1 toilet each floor!  Getting onto the ferry was a mission in itself, dodging the hundreds of people, boarding, loading and unloading goods whilst balancing on a narrow, wet and slimy plank of wood.

 Onboard we met our cook and interrupter, and sampled the local delicacy wrapped in a banana leaf. After a sleepless night due to the lights being left on and all matter of noises (luckily the animals were on the bottom deck!), we got awoken in the dark and told to quickly get off. As there are no next stop anouncements as soon as goods and people are swapped the ferry is off, giving you very little time.

 On land we were escorted to a house at the end of the village. The village itself is quite big but very bare to our standards. All houses are made out of planks of wood with mud floors. There are two rooms: the living area with beds and a table, and the kitchen which extends outside for washing and bathing. It was here I got electrocuted! As I reached for my water bottle my arm brushed past a wire that was dangling down - the next minute I shot backwards, thankfully no damage just a little shaken. Toilets are either balancing on a plank of wood over a river outlet or in nature, and as soon as you pull down your trousers bite bite bite from mosquitoes. In some areas of the village are village squares with arranged plants and a bench in the centre. No one speaks English and our Spanish was poor smiles and nods were quite common place, so we had to rely on the interrupter to communicate for us.  After a tour of the village and a bathe in the local river, we visited the village shop which stocked everything and even had a few old games consoles for the local kids to play on. The people here are happy and friendly and the kids constantly play games whilst laughing.

 The next day we hired a canoe driver. The canoes are small and very tight with six people  and  camping equipment onboard. You can’t imagine  how wide the Amazon actually is until you are there, we were like a little pea-pod floating down a Derbyshire stream. Off the Amazon we turned into very narrow rivers, aka streams, where the canopy of the trees was right over us and at times we went through it. Branches had to be chopped down with machetes to clear the way. Fruit trees are everywhere and instead of hearing animal noises, it was in fact very still and quite. “Hungry?” our guide inquired - a fruit tree was found and the fruit removed. Papaya here is the nicest I’ve ever tasted, very juicy and fresh tasting, unlike the ones you buy in the local supermarket. Bananas were also widely consumed, different types and sizes and the smallest strangely tasted exactly like pineapple!

 As well as staying in villages we additionally stopped by small clearings on river banks. The driver and cook put hammocks up in box mosquito nets and made a fire from which dinner was cooked. Food here consists of rice, yukka (stringy potato), plantain(green bananas) and fish. It’s actually very good and goes down well. As the sun sets the amount of mosquitoes becomes unbearable so you have to retreat to your hammock. Even after getting in, you needed to kill, and just as you thought you had got them all... buzzzzzz right in your ear.

 One day we went on the hunt to find some giant lily pads. Weaving through more canopy covered streams, ants dropped on us the size of  a 10p piece, some poisonous. We eventually emerged through a small gap and before us were lily pads 4-5ft wide with spikes lining the exterior rim - impressive by any standards.

 Back on the Amazon, we passed a travelling band going from village to village, which we were informed was for the festival that was on at the time. We watched kids decorate a palm tree with toilet paper and clothes, then standing it upright in the middle of the street. We had to be careful walking around town as part of the festival is to cover people in paint. Luckily for us no one tried.

 Eventually we got on another ferry to Requena, a large town few hours down the river. It was here stocks were replenished and a Peki-peki (motorized canoe) was acquired for the next leg of the journey. Mid voyage a horrendous downpour started ponchos and plastic sheeting appeared like lightning, fortunately it only lasted 15 minutes. Soggy, we passed a large convoy of floating logs on which people were living for weeks until they got to their destination. A family, tents and fires were on these logs with canoes fixed either side. That night we stopped at a house where an old lady, her son, his daughter and son-in-law lived with chickens and a cat. After fishing with a net, the fish were plucked out and cooked. Catfish and piranha are some of the fish consumed in the Amazon, Despite the amount of bones and lack of flesh they are very tasty. The locals find it funny that we won’t eat the bones, skin or eyes, so they do this for us. After a few hours sleep we went off in a canoe looking for caimans around a little lake area.  A few hours of hearing them call, we eventually track down two babies. It’s quite nerve racking moving around the canopy in complete darkness knowing that at any time insects could be landing on you or animal pouncing out at you, let alone the bats swooping down on you from above.

 Another small village we stayed at was with ex-cannibals - Marta and Elios, two of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Their house was very organized; bedroom separate from the living area with a walkway to the kitchen with a large bowl to collect rain water for washing the pots, wood carved toilets separated by gender with lids!  One tip when you’re in the kitchen: do not look up from the table. The ceiling is full, and I mean full of spiders! Webs everywhere! They leave them there to catch the flies so they don’t go near their food supplies, a good idea but not ideal for those scared of spiders! After dinner Marta will take you down to the river to bathe, it seems all the villagers do this at the same time, the women are naked but the men keep their clothes on. It was here that my hammock broke and I fell to the floor with a great bang. I was OK and a new hammock was erected for me.

 Typical villages down river are small and half flooded out, with maybe a hospital and/or a school, both of which consist of a one room hut. 

 One of our last days we got lost, something you don't want to do in the Amazon. We ended up rushing through the canopy as it was getting dark, branches swiping at our faces, and my companion had some of his ear ripped off. Peculiarly we bumped into some locals who informed us where a clearing was to camp for the night. Whilst sleeping we got woken up by gunfire! Terrified we stayed in our hammocks waiting for someone to approach us, eventually managing to get back to sleep. In the morning we found out it was our crew who had gone off to a house nearby to get drunk and it was their return we heard! When daylight arose we went piranha fishing, the canoe bumped into a little tree from which black bees flew out and stung my neck. It was so painful and swollen I couldn’t move it for 12 hrs, we also failed to catch any piranha. It was then time to get out of our lost mess, 24 hours lost to be exact. We were informed it was common in the wet season as the river is so high the usual landmarks are underwater. Suddenly river dolphins appeared that look like pink aliens, but unlike their relatives cannot jump out of water, infact, they can only stick their noses out. A quick stop then back to Requena through the night to catch the ferry back to Iquitos.

 Back in Iquitos we travelled by a small boat to the Boro Tribes village. It was here that we got to see the old traditions with dances, meet and stroke an anaconda and hold sloths, one of which was called Maggie Thatcher.

 Then it was over and a flight was caught out of the Amazonian rainforest, a trip I will never forget.

Hi, please bear with me and i will get some posts up asap........i have just got wifi after 1 month being in New Zealand.