Day 1467: Iquique, Chile. Getting my blog to a halfway presentable state….
I have spent a dozen hour over the last week messing about with my blog and finally feel I have it how I like it. I found a new theme that I like, the Modularity Lite theme which lets you use custom menus at the top, solving my problem linking to my spot location. It’s also nice and wide, giving me lot of space for yummy photos. These should be flowing regularly now and giving me some love from facebook too. I have a plugin called ‘Add link to facebook’ which automatically posts a link to facebook whenever I post a new item, directing people towards my site rather than giving facebook all my unshown pictures. I have another plugin called PhotoQ which pulls all my pictures from an ftp location and queues them up in a nice randomly order list. I have a thing called a ‘cron job’ which is a command that runs on my hosts server and sends a message to my website in an interval I choose (currently every 6 hours) to publish another photograph. These stay in the order I shot them on the site….
I have a lot of processed photos and I think it’s nice that people finally see what I’ve been up to this year. My only other change in workflow is that now I type in captions for each of the pictures with a quick description. That was something I needed to do anyway, and then I export them as jpgs and upload them via ftp. Everything else is automatic. Easy as pie.
My edditing list is starting to accumulate again so I think I need another day just picking out more best shots and writing some more captions. I have 60 new pics ready to go and should ideally keep a months worth at least, but describing 180 more photos isn’t such a big deal. I’m able to add the location information automatically with my GPS and then the only thing to do is keyword tagging…. but that can wait until after Lonely Planet Images say yes.
Up in Arica I mean Jeanne, a photographer who gets paid to shoot :p and she advised me to only send my 500 strongest images in my application. I’m still not sure if I should do that or hit them with the 2,000 its looking like at the moment. Suggestions on a postcards please.
I will be heading back north on Friday now, but I found someone to come with me, Carlos, a friend of Isabel, whose hostel I am staying in at the moment. He also is a photographer and knows the area so hopefully we should be able to find some awesome shots together.
Tags: gps, photos, Day, Modularity Lite, week, photographer, blog, facebook, Iquique, worthDay 1455 : Arica
Im still in Arica and desperate to be off but I’ve been forced into staying a while longer to do some urgent repairs to my car. I found a Dodge dealer to perform a diagnostic check and the potential bill came back as $4500!! twice the value of the car. Yesterday I took it to get the brake fixed and found the guys at that garage pretty cool and helpful so I was back there today getting my steering fixed. It’s been vibrating over 50 mph so it wasn’t so safe. I have to get the belt changed too as well as the oil and air filter, they are well over due. I have also been looking into getting a liquid gas conversion since there seems to be a lot of providers in Chile. According to web there are lots in Argentina and Brazil too so it could be quite cost effective.
After a wait of 8 months my Lee 10 stop filter finally arrived in the Uk so I then went on a spending spree to find more stuff I need. I bought a couple more 1tb drives and a few more bits and bobs. I’m now debating whether I should get a SSD for my laptop although I’m tempted to sell the stupid thing. I had to buy a new battery in Lima and it’s on it’s second charger. Now it keeps hibernating for no reason… Bloody computers!
Now my parents think I will be turning up on the doorstep like I did last time but I’ll be getting it all sent to Cusco as soon as the important stuff arrives. Should be about £57 with £500 insurance, I just hope I don’t get too screwed with import duty, but I got the hard drives for £65 each and here they’re £100 so that paid for the postage at least.
I will try to get out to the park Laucua tomorrow if I can get up early enough. The time difference from Peru is 2 hours so I’m sleeping a bit too late still. Jet lag from a border only 40km away…
Arica isn’t a bad place to get stuck for a while, they have a Govindas restaurant and the weather is nice. I’ve been out to the caves by the coast a few times but trying to get to the seal colony was pretty dangerous on the cliffs.
:: viva la revolution! its ind…
:: viva la revolution! its independence day in guatemala & xela is going crazy!
Tags: Day, GuatemalaTwitter Weekly Updates for 2008-09-07
- ::just bought another domain, lets see how this working on the net thing really works #
- :: i think the guatemalan system of toilet paper in a bin doesnt work if you end up knocking it into the shower while youre showering…
# - :: the pool was cold but now were back in xela drinking hot chocolate in la luna. Mine is so thick the spoon stands up! Yum! #
- ::glad to find toilet paper but y is it *outside* the stalls?? Surely people just end up taking too much? Y is the owner waiting outside 2? #
- :: the water under the pool doesnt look very deep, but then i am a tall gringo & not a tiny guatemaltecan. Ken can test it first. #
- ::after a ride & a nice walk thru the sunny fields the pool looks nice. Im not sure about the diving board though which is concrete+spring #
- ::this morning were off to study at the pool. Weird idea but there you go. Have to take a hated chicken bus to get there #
- ::its not enough that the local school plays its terrible music all day by my class? They have to start at 11pm? Roll on independence day!! #
- :: now for dinner i had to eat red chilis that my family wouldnt even try… Is that sadism? #
- :: hmmmm, Digg can display my blog? interesting… #
- :: a quick test for RSSless…. #
- :: To be a well travelled man you need to walk fast #
- ::my teacher is pissed off that i didnt do my homework or record here the cd i promised. Im a bad student! #
- :: omg! Will pay *40 for 4 of stirrup! This is killing me! #
- :: going riding without a hat or suntan lotion. Stupid stupid #
- :: for dinner my host family was offering me very hot chilis. They chose the wrong foreigner to test! :p #
- :: i was intending to go to el salvador on the weekend but now im wondering if i should go back to mexico and look for a job… #
- ::the sun is shining and im going horseback riding tomorrow morning. All is good! #
- ::hmmm,waffles for breakfast & fake maple syrup…Whatever happened to oatmeal? No wonder my host family (& half the country) has a problem #
- ::house prices fell 10% this year in the UK. Sooo glad i went travelling and arent stuck in the property well! #
Time to get myself working
Day 254
Xela, Guatemala
Well, I’ve been away for nearly a year now and its time to face facts! My website isn’t earning any money. It hasn’t helped that I wasn’t being indexed by Google for the first 10 months :p Despite that, unless you have lots and lots of traffic a regular blog just won’t cut it.
I have a few ideas on how to make a buck and I’m not broke yet but my dreams of travelling the world just on one domain doesn’t look realistic. Damn!
Still, I’ve been looking into SEO and other web marketing and have another plan. If one blog won’t cut it, how about a few more? Thus the inception of my new site : http://www.firsttimebackpacking.com
I have a few more ideas for various sites too so I’ll be slowly bringing them up in the next couple of weeks. All I have to do is pray for some love from Google.
Watch this space….
Tags: Travel, time, blog, faces, money, week, google, moneys, seo, traveller, Day::its not enough that the loca…
::its not enough that the local school plays its terrible music all day by my class? They have to start at 11pm? Roll on independence day!!
Tags: Day, locals, class
Photo of the Day
One of my most favourite places in the world, Angkor Wat. The ancient faces look out from the Bayon as they have done for centuries. My friend Andy looks up in awe.[rssless]
Photo of the Day
One of my most favourite places in the world, Angkor Wat. The ancient faces look out from the Bayon as they have done for centuries. My friend Andy looks up in awe.
Tags: photos, Day, photo, facesPhoto of the Day
Down the park in Birmingham just before I left the UK my good friend Martin shows off his juggling skills while I try to capture a picture while shooting into the sun.
Good times 
Photo of the Day
The day Lauren’s luck ran out.
Photo of the Day
The little mermaid gets what’s coming to her. Sadly no one told these backpackers they had to buy the candy separately :p
Photo of the Day
He’s smiling but that snapped board just cost him about $100.
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2008-08-24
- :: i just swept my room & collected a huge pile of dust. I guess this is to be expected when you live under the shadow of an active volcano #
- :: i dont want to complain but i really wish people wouldnt give me meat and then laugh when they realise. Its very rude :/ #
- ::the hike was good,without the projected storm.we had to baby sit a moaning american mom/daughter all day though.if youre sick stay home! #
- ::its 6am & im up to go climb some mountain with school. I thought saturdays were for lie ins & football. Maybe i get one later…A match… #
- :: hah! I broke twitter! #
- :: 100 facebook friends! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm carrot cake and coffee! # - :: i just looked in my mirror to see the car behind doing a 180 spin! Home safely in 10 mins after a 6 hour drive. Zzzz #
- :: guatemalan customs arent that bad. Im @ the border renewing my car permission & everyone is very helpful & no one is asking for bribes #
- ::will i really go to hell for using a computer program to conjugate the verbs in my spanish homework so i ago in our dancing? :p #
- ::after 15 minutes of whispering in the dark we are finally able to dance to rhianna. Why do the police hate gays so much? :p #
- :: is it really wrong to change salsa schools just because the other instructor is really hot? :p was fun dancing with someone new though… #
- bleh #
- ::why is my website such a pain? I change one little thing and then RSS stops working…. its a learning experience I guess… #
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2008-08-24
- :: i just swept my room & collected a huge pile of dust. I guess this is to be expected when you live under the shadow of an active volcano #
- :: i dont want to complain but i really wish people wouldnt give me meat and then laugh when they realise. Its very rude :/ #
- ::the hike was good,without the projected storm.we had to baby sit a moaning american mom/daughter all day though.if youre sick stay home! #
- ::its 6am & im up to go climb some mountain with school. I thought saturdays were for lie ins & football. Maybe i get one later…A match… #
- :: hah! I broke twitter! #
- :: 100 facebook friends! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
- mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm carrot cake and coffee! #
- :: i just looked in my mirror to see the car behind doing a 180 spin! Home safely in 10 mins after a 6 hour drive. Zzzz #
- :: guatemalan customs arent that bad. Im @ the border renewing my car permission & everyone is very helpful & no one is asking for bribes #
- ::will i really go to hell for using a computer program to conjugate the verbs in my spanish homework so i ago in our dancing? :p #
- ::after 15 minutes of whispering in the dark we are finally able to dance to rhianna. Why do the police hate gays so much? :p #
- :: is it really wrong to change salsa schools just because the other instructor is really hot? :p was fun dancing with someone new though… #
- bleh #
- ::why is my website such a pain? I change one little thing and then RSS stops working…. its a learning experience I guess… #
Photo of the Day
Oaxacan dove.
My daily routine in Xela
Day 341
Xela, Guatemala
I’ve been here for three weeks now studying and my days are pretty much the same. I wake up at 7.30am, eat breakfast and walk the 50 meters to the school around the corner. I get a cup of coffee and sit studying Spanish until 10am when there is more coffee and usually cake. Every stands around chatting for half an hour and then there is more studying until 1pm. Sometimes myself and the other students and teachers will go for a walk around town to look at something interesting, sometimes we’ll go for coffee. The school hasn’t had many people in it so far, at most 5 students, which at least means its reasonably quiet.
After school I come back to my host family for lunch and then maybe I have the rest of the day to while away. For several afternoons in the week we take excursions out to markets or churches in the local area which fills the rest of the day. Sometimes I have a siesta in the afternoon, or just sit and play my guitar for a few hours. I found a cool little cafe with wireless Internet so like to sit there when I need to get my information fix. I pulled my bike out of my van as soon as I arrived so try to cycle everywhere. Xela is kind of hilly and the roads can be pretty bad but its small enough with a bike.
At 6pm I have a salsa lesson and there are two possibilities, Salsa Rosa, which is small and funky, or Guajira which is bigger and with a nicer room. They both cost Q30 ($4) for a group lesson but no matter which you go its always a gamble as to whether you end up dancing with someone suitable or not. There is a nice Canadian girl, Ashley, who usually goes to one of them who is pretty good to dance with, but you might end up with someone completely off your level, or worse, no one at all. It seems Salsa is pretty popular with guys in Xela.
And so it should be, last Tuesday I turned up at Guajira to find 8 new, and very attractive, girls lined up for the class. Apparently they were trying to learn some new skills as they were the contestants in the ‘Miss Xela’ competition later today. I had a fun hour dancing with some hot (and rather tall) girls but sadly they didn’t return the next night. :p On some nights there is Salsa music in a few of the clubs which I have been to a few times. I’m feel like I’m finally getting to a decent level but I am still hampered by the lack of a good regular partner…
After my class I head back home for my evening meal and maybe an attempt at my homework, depending on whether I was given any. I’ve been messing around with Cubase 3sx for a while in an attempt to record some music, but the PreSonus 1394 interface I have works but produces far too much noise to make it worthwhile. I’m still looking for a solution but its not easy without a permanent Internet connection.
Xela is nice, although a little cold and it seems to be raining a lot of the time these days. I figure I will study for another week, maybe two, while trying to find some travel companions on the road South before heading east to El Salvador and some more time on the beach.
Tags: internet, cafe, beaches, excursion, time, bike, rainPhoto of the Day
Having a huge digger come off the road right in front of us only slowed us slightly. More enterprising people cleared a path on the left and everyone carried on as normal.
::the hike was good,without th…
::the hike was good,without the projected storm.we had to baby sit a moaning american mom/daughter all day though.if youre sick stay home!
Tags: american, Day, mom, HomePhoto of the Day
Who needs a surf board? A local boogie boarder shows off his moves. 
Photo of the Day
Bags of semi-precious stone in a Mexican Market.
Photo of the Day
The dog challenges the dead fish for the prize in the manky competition. 
Photo of the Day
A chance encounter with a street parade in the Mexican Capital shows the variety and colour of the local dresses. 
Photo of the Day
When its hot and the beach is dangerous, even a budget traveler is well advised to get a place with a pool.
