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Nicaragua - The wall
2008-01-22 02:36:00
Location : The Yucatan - 17 08 N, 082 06 WIn my pursuit of the global graffiti, here is a wall from the small village of Corinto in Nicaragua . For a change I think the graffiti is about pro-social causes such as deforestation and abortions.
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Nicaragua
2008-01-21 03:58:00
Location : The Carribs - 13 57 N, 079 40 WI know I say this about every place, But Nicaragua is a beautiful country. I think once I get back home I should lay down strict guidelines on rating beauty. But the above scene was just sitting on the balcony of my deck. There are not too many peoplein Nicaragua and the reason might be the presence of 27 active Volcanos on the pacific coast. This is one of them and the fact that it was spewing out smoke throughout the stay of the ship was not very comforting to me. I've heard people actually pay money to get near places like this. Its a good thing I got my Pay raise last year!

Valparaiso - The wall
2008-01-10 04:12:00
Location : Pacific, Ecuador Coast - 00 23 S, 083 09 WValparaiso really is a beautiful city. It was one of the oldest cities to be settled in the country of Chile and the neat thing about it is that as it was settled, people from all over Europe came to the city and built houses in the style of theircountry. So you have French Shotgun houses nestled right besides a British country home. One great thing I like about the city was the huge variety if Graffiti on display. You had the more standard ones with weird font letters like the ones you usuallysee in the US to some really beautiful paintings done up on the wall. The snap above is on one such wall I pass on the way to lunch as we went walking on the cobbled roads.PS: As you can see from the position, I am now 23 miles from the equator so should be passing the big line in a couple of hours.
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Sea Lions
2008-01-08 17:46:00
Location : Pacific - Peru Coast 07 59 S, 080 49 WChile claims a sizable chunk of the Antartic Continent as a part of its Territory. I am not really sure how this goes down internationally because as far as my understanding went, the whole of the Antartic was supposed to be an international territory.Regardless, the Antartic does impose a potent influence on the whole country simply because of the cold water current that flows from it up the Chilean coast. This also brings along the visitors from down under such as Penguins and Sea lions. While Penguins are often spotted about 50 miles south of Valparaiso, only sea lions venture north up to Vina Del Mar. The picture above is of a rock just off the coast on the main road joining Vina Del Mar and Quintero. The picture was taken by acamera with zero optical magnification and 3 mega pix. I really regretted the fact that my faithful camera had finally died. Missed some wonderful snaps back there. A stamp sheet of these included in the Phi...
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The Beach
2008-01-08 04:31:00
Location : Pacific, Peru Coast - 10 55 S, 079 47 WInspired by the post that I put up on my philatelic blog, I wanted to show you what a day on the beach looks like in Chile in the Summer.This was also the day after the new year and on they say a million extra people had come to the Twin cities of Valparaiso & Vina Del MAr. This is the Main Beach of Vina.The Jetty in the background is that of an old Sugar refining factory, but has now been condemed for the use of some amusement park while the Sugar plant dug up and shipped to some remote region.

Warli Painting
2008-01-07 03:58:00
Location - Pacific - 16 15 S, 077 54 WHave been meaning to put this latest by Puja for some time. She painted this last month using Acrylic paints.
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One Love & El Nino
2007-12-27 02:23:00
Location - Peru Coast, Pacific - 11 21 S, 079 38 WThe last time I was in this area, in September end, I had written a post about the El Nino current . To refresh the info, the El Nino current is a current that has started flowing only over the last few years and is a southward warm current that overpowers the cold northward current that stays here the rest of the year. Its called El Nino, because it occurs around the last week of December and when it does flow, it brings in huge amount of fish for the fishermen. El Nino translates as "Baby Jesus".By some cosmic coincidence I find myself in the same location at Christmas. I am happy to say that the El Nino is not flowing this year. I can report that the current is still northerly, but at a much lower rate. For my part in the fight against global warming, I have switched off the Air con of the vessel for the last two days. The picture above is of the fishing vessel "One Love " in the small city of Lome in the small country of Togo in t...

Equator crossing
2007-12-24 19:04:00
Location - Coasting Ecuador, Pacific - 00 08 S, 081 10 WWe crossed the Equator a little before noon today. At the Equator, one minute of Latitute equals one nautical mile. So as you can see from the position, I an currently eight miles south of the big line already. For those who have read the novel by Roald Dahl, The BFG (big friendly Gaint) tells Sophie that he always likes to go south because its feels like going down hill. I feel much the same way! :)The picture above is of a cruise ship taken from the Mambo beach of Curacao in the evening. As this is the peak tourist season there, Cruise ships come practically everyday, spending the day at port and nights at sea, hopping from one Island to theother like sunbirds.Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:06 UTC Message-id: 353765797
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Old Lome Port
2007-11-30 23:35:00
Location - West Coast AfricaThis is all that remains of the Old Lome Port these days. Lome still isn't that big a port. It would probably be as big as Ballard Pier in Mumbai. The only real traffic in Lome is of the container ships, which come here in surprisingly large numbers.As the chap driving me along explained, the main export here is timber that is stuffed in containers. As he explained, these people cut trees & mint gold. He looked accusingly at me and said " And you know what, all these people, they are Indians?" Hey if I'm to take collective responsibility, let me have some money too!

Lome & the whales
2007-11-28 23:23:00
Location - West Coast AfricaThis is a picture of whale splashing away just 30 meters from my ship. We were anchored off Lome when a pair of whales came out way and started jumping (atleast they tried) and generally splashed around. Till my final days I shall regret not having my usual camera and having to shoot with this one. It was an amazing moment & I gave up trying to shoot it through this camera and simply enjoyed it.
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Panama - The dartboard
2007-11-27 23:48:00
Location - West Coast AfricaThe last few days were busy in port and am just getting past all that paperwork, so let me shaow you a sight we see in the Panama at the locks. For passing lines to the ships, you have thin lines (8mm Polyproplene) with a weighed end that needs to bethrown to the shore or the ship by which you can pass the remaining lines. The line throwers in Panama actually have tournaments and this is the board on which it is held. You throw the line through the bulls eye, and also over the top pole. I have thrown lines across many railings towards many ports and Let me assure you that its an art that I doubt I'll ever acquire!Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:50 UTC Message-id: 221327664

Fishing
2007-11-24 08:32:00
Pictures above is the sort of fishing boat that is common in these parts. The masts are based on hinges and the sails are fixed to the mast. As a result, unlike the sailing boats that you might be familar with, here the sails don't go up & down, thewhole mast is put up or collapsed when wind has to be utilised. Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Sat, 24 Nov 2007 07:34 UTC Message-id: 220681536
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Finland Ships
2007-11-21 23:06:00
Location - West Coast AfricaHave been at the anchorage for the last few days and with things a bit hectic haven't shown up here. Since the fish series has had a break due to cartoons and cartoons got interrupted by Ship work, it seems only fair to put up some posts about Ships . This is a stamp form Finland on the older ships. The stamp itself is a beautiful one and the sketch in Sepia tones does give it a very nice look. I will need to do a bit of googling to find out any history about the featured ship, but I can try to giveyou a few basics.The ship is Named SS Express. The Prefix SS in front of the name indicates "Steam Ship". Other prefixes might be "SV - Sailing Vessel", "MV- Motor Vessel", etc. I am myself sailing in a "MT - Motor Tanker". The SS Express is thus a steam powered vessel most likely sailing around the 1915's by the look of it and is the type of vessel that used to carry everything from coal to livestock to Passengers...

Submarines
2007-11-18 20:43:00
Location : At Anchor, African west CoastWe are at anchor waiting for our berth & there is nothing to see. The capital of the country looks from this place like a desolate township near the bus stop on a highway. Well we are anchored about 10 miles from the coast, so hopefull that mightexplain it. Seeing nothing brings me to this snap of a Submarine that passed us by in the Panama Canal. The submarine is of the Columbian navy and as the pilot described it, is "engaged in the war on drugs". Interesting fact - Under the UNCLOS treaty, a distance of 12 miles from the coast baseline is considered as territorial waters of the country. A forign naval vessel can enter the territorial waters of another country under something called "Right ofinnocent passage". A submarine going submerged or a ship operating an aircraft is not innocent under law.Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:59 UTC Message-id: 219575616
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Whales
2007-11-17 23:19:00
Location - Anchorage , West Coast AfricaYesterday, I had put up a post on my philatelic blog about Whales from Estonia. Today, by some strange coincidence we spotted dozens of Whales all around the ship. It was an awesome sight, and I truly missed my old camera with 10X zoom. Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:06 UTC Message-id: 219500458
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Tribal Beauty
2007-11-14 10:58:00
This is Puja's latest painting. Its inspired by one of M F Husains painting & we call it "Tribal beauty".Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:01 UTC Message-id: 218813425
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Columbus
2007-11-13 16:06:00
Location - The Atlantic - 05 36 N, 020 30 WWe have been in the Atlantic for some time now and so I think it's apt to put a post about a chap who did it much before me. Columbus sailed out of Spain and crossed the whole of the Atlantic a long time back. The picture above is of the built to scale models of the ships that Columbus used to cross the Ocean with. I'm not sure if I told you about these before, but these ships are at the Corpus Christi Museum on the south end of the Corpus Christi inner harbor Bridge, opposite the State Aquarium. My knowledge, is limited at the best of time, but If I remember, Columbus left Italy with a convoy of three ships & at least one of them was named "Santa Maria". I could spot only two ships put up for display there.Whatever the case might be, to travel halfway across the globe, when everyone else thought you to be crazy, I guess you had to be a bit crazy. Here's to the craziness in all of us!

The Curacao Waterfront
2007-11-11 01:38:00
Location : The Atlantic - 07 34 N, 033 50 WA few days back I had shown you a night snap of the curacao waterfront as seen from the floating bridge. This is a picture of the same area as taken in the day. Thought I'd put this up because I was posting a stamp on my phylately blog which has anillustration with the same style of the buildings as can be seen in the background. BTW, as Willemstad is a commercial harbour, under the local laws, even small vessels such as this in the picture have to enter with a pilot on board. If a sailing boat skipper does not wish to pay pilotage simply to complete immigration formalities atthe Custom house (about half a mile up the channel), then s/he has the option to drop anchor in the Spanish Bay about 10 miles up the coast and then catch a taxi to the custom house.Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:47 UTC Message-id: 218208836
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Kavo Topaz
2007-11-10 02:25:00
Location - The Atlantic - 08 13 N, 038 25 WToday was Diwali back home & we had a small meeting down below. Just wanted to drop by and let you see this picture of the Kavo Topaz shot at Gatun Lake in Panama. She is a beautiful ship & this always is one of the best profiles to take a picture of a ship from. The Kavo Topaz is a Panamax gearless bulk carrier & by the looks of it has not been out of the yard for more than a couple of years. Ships such as these are a pleasure to sail on. Happy Diwali to all you good people out there.

USNS Pililaau
2007-11-09 02:41:00
Location - The Atlantic - 09 21 N, 045 57 WI like pictures like this one taken in Corpus Christi, because they show so much of what happens in that area. In this picture, we can see a tug tied up with the ship as it goes along the narrow parts of the channel. Up ahead is a lift bridge belowwhich we can see a barge coming down and another tug going up the channel. On the north side of the channel, moored alongside is the USNS Pililaau. As I came to know recently, "USNS" vessels, like any vessel prefixed by the "USS" are also controlled by the US Navy, but are manned by civilians from the merchant Navy. These ships though painted in the naval colors are cargo ships and carry vehicleand supply for the naval force. BTW, its Diwali in India today, so Happy Diwali to all you folks out there.Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Fri, 09 Nov 2007 01:59 UTC Message-id: 217879168

Flowers
2007-11-07 12:27:00
Location : Atlantic - 10 00 N, 050 36 WPuja has come out with another reproduction that we call "the flowers". Currently she is working on an painting of M F Hussain.
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Curacao - waterfront
2007-11-05 15:21:00
Location : Off Tobago : 11 27 N, 060 14 WAm off the Island of Tobago right now. Now we leave the confined waters of the caribbean and step out into the huge Atlantic Ocean. Before we step out of the Carrib, let me part with a snap of probably the most popular place in Curacao , the waterfront.The Waterfront in Curacao is not really the sea front, but the narrow channel leading from the sea to the Willemstad harbor. across the narrow channel, they have built a bridge that floats on pontoons and is imaginatively called the "Floating bridge".The above picture is taken from the bridge at night and shows the building in all their splendid colors & dutch design. during the day, the Restaurants set up tables along the water and you get to enjoy the best that the Caribbean has to offer for 3.99a glass of Baccardi cocktails.BTW, a point of interest, the route from Curacao to the present position off Tobago, brought me off the Island of Tortuga yesterday evening. The kind reader may rememb...

Isla Refinery , Willemstad - Curacao
2007-11-03 15:06:00
Location : 2 Miles off Curacao - 12 03 N, 068 54 WBefore I begin, a disclaimer. The following has been told to me by the people attending the vessel such as the pilots and the agents so it might actually be the truth. I will need to verify the facts once I get down, but till then, here's the story as I heard it:-I am right now a couple of miles from the Island of Curacao, fueling up for the long voyage up to the West coast of Africa & the place looks as beautiful as I remember it. The sun is out & the Island looks every bit as inciting as it is made out to beby the tourist broucher. But the last time I was in Curacao, I saw the most distressing sight to be seen in a tourist hot spot. Right in the middle of the Willemstad Bay, at any time of the day, you can see a huge oil slick floating around for all to see. This was explained tome by a story that does not seem so shocking these days. The Island of Curacao really gained any prominence only in the second world war, when the...
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The finger insect at Curacao
2007-11-03 02:20:00
Location - The Caribbean - 12 43 N, 070 49 WI agree that on the face of it, close up images of an insect do seem strange on a blog focused on sea life, but we are reaching Curacao tomorrow for supplies & the last time I was there, this very strange fellow dropped by the ship. I am very surprisedthat this species have not become extinct till now, simply because it spent almost nine minutes out of ten on its back wriggling its legs. I infact had to flip it over so that it could give me a couple of profile shots. After obiliging me, he promptlyflipped over & begane the leg wriggling. It might be that this is some arcane insectile mating ritual, but I doubt it. The curious thing about it though is that when yo look at it, it looks astonishingly like a thumb or a finger. Sort of like doing a cut-thumb trick and then the thumb sprouts legs and starts crawling around. Creepy! Happy Halloween everyone!Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Sat, 03 Nov 2007 01:21 UTC Message-id: 21680...
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USS Lexington
2007-11-01 16:22:00
Location - The Caribbean - 15 50 N, 077 37 WAs you come out under the Corpus Christi inner harbor bridge, you'll find the USS lexington on your port side, moored to a jetty next to the Texas State Aquarium. The Lady Lex (as she is popularly known) has been decommisioned for some time now & hasbeen converted to a Museum. I had gone on it the last time I had come to Corpus & it has a great flight simulator where you get to see an actual flight mission in Iraq & then get close to planes lined up on the main deck.This time we saw the aquarium, but gave a pass to the Lex.Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:26 UTC Message-id: 216538489
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The Copus Christi Inner Harbor bridge
2007-10-30 17:02:00
Location - Yucatan Channel - 22 07 N,085 54 WThis is the Corpus Christi inner harbor bridge & if you look a few post back to the bridge of the Americas, you'll realise that it bears a striking resembelance to the bridge of the Americas in Panama. I'm not sure which bridge was inspired by whome,but surely it's more then a plain coincidence. As we had come to the port at night, this is the snap of us going out. On the left of the bridge is the Texas State Aquarium, where we went and saw a nice dolphin show. On the right of the bridge is a Museum (I think of fine arts. Which we did not goto. I think our priorities are very clear. :)Though the bridge might look like the Bridge of the Americas it is no where near in size. The bridge has a horizontal span of 300 Feet and a vertical span of 138 feet. When we came in, we had an air draft of 132 feet and as we passed under the bridge,I was convinced that I had come out on the other side minus a radar antennae. Received: from ...
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Corpus Christi - Texas
2007-10-29 19:08:00
Location : Gulf Of Mexico - 24 06 N, 089 26 W, I have been off the blog for the last few days and the reason for that was that we were in the port of Corpus Christi, Texas . Though its not a port you hear of often, it did rank as the sixth busiest port in USA. As the outbound pilot explained to me,the ranking is done on the basis of the deadweight handled by the port. Corpus christi, with more then 42 feet of water is one of the deepest ports in the US and thus handles bigger ships and so manages to climb up on the charts. But regardless of the number of ships that the port might handle, my berth could not have handled too many ships. It took us almost five days to load a cargo of about 37,000 MT. The picture above shows the jettey where we were tied up for the duration of the stay.

Arrived Texas
2007-10-22 00:11:00
Location : At Anchor off GalvestonWe came in and dropped anchor off the coast and I must offer my condolences to all Texans. This coastline is some of the most unexciting coastline in the whole of the US. I have been up and down the coast of this magnificent country many times, and theTexas coastline always seems to me, the most boring part of the country. And coming from a place like Panama, it really looks fore lone and barren. The only thing visible are some smoke stacks of a few refineries & a few people out fishing in small dinghies on a weekend. More in an effort to cheer myself, I'll show you what I was seeing four days back. As the moisture laden wind rises just a hundred feet, you could literally see the clouds being formed out in Panama.Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Mon, 22 Oct 2007 01:05 UTC Message-id: 349466099

Sunrise
2007-10-20 15:09:00
Location : Gulf of Mexico - 24 50 N , 090 46 WPeople do ask me if I don't get bored looking out the at sea for months & months. Its hard to explain that the sea never looks the same even during the same day. The other day, I woke up & opened the curtains of my porthole to look at this. Even after so many years, some of the sights that the sea throws my way are still breathtaking. Received: from GCC at Globe Wireless; Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:27 UTC Message-id: 349298104
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twenty one hotel
2007-10-19 18:34:00
Location: Gulf of Mexico : 22 25 N, 086 19 WI think I mentioned that each ship transiting the canal is given a number for that day. All ships going south bound (from the Atlantic to the pacific) are given even numbers. When we were going to Chile, we were "Eight". If for some reason you getstuck in the middle of the canal, the next day, to avoid any confusion, you are called "Eight Alpha". The last time we crossed, we had to anchor in the Gatun lake for two days. That got us the exalted title of "Eight Alpha Alpha".The day before we were "Twenty one". The flags in the picture are the numeral pendants "Two" & "One". The bottom most flag is the Hotel flag I had spoken about earlier that signifies that the Pilot is on board the vessel. Northbound vessels that are delayed are called "Bravo"'s.
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