Part of the central water fountain in Lima’s historic Plaza Mayor; the red and white flags fly in anticipation of the 28-29 July Fiestas Patrias (Peruvian national holidays)
Arequipa maybe Peru’s food capital and Cusco the country’s tourism capital but Lima is its transportation, business, dining and official capital. With one-third of Peru’s population, Lima dominates the country.
For many time-limited tourists, Lima is merely a place to transit between planes and buses. However, in a city with almost ten million people, there is much to do. Continue reading →
The Pantanal, spread across South American countries Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay is the world’s largest tropical wetland. The region is also an amazing place for viewing wildlife despite consisting largely of privately owned cattle stations. In four days of Pantanal exploring I saw and photographed so many birds and other animals, they required separate blog posts. Continue reading →
I was lucky enough to be in Sucre for the third weekend of March. On this weekend, Tarabuco hosts the Pujllay Festival commemorating the defeat of the Spanish in the 12 March, 2016 Battle of Cumbate. Tarabuco is a town located 65 kilometres from Sucre, making a very pleasant day trip.
On Sunday the 20th of March I caught a bus from Sucre’s Plaza 25 de Maya to Tarabuco for the 2016 Pujllay Festival. In Tarabuco groups of locals, many wearing outrageous costumes, paraded from the town centre to an open field for further celebrations.
The 2016 Pujllay Festival parade in Tarabuco’s main square (the multicoloured flag is Bolivia’s second national flag and represents Bolivia’s indigenous)Continue reading →
Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia. Cochabamba is in the Andes but located in a valley so it’s altitude is only 2,500 metres. The city is not on the main tourist trail although it does have a Jesus statue larger than Rio de Janeiro’s. I did not come to Cochabamba for the statue but for the 2016 Carnival festival, as Cochabamba has Bolivia’s second best Carnival, after Oruro’s.
Carnival centred on a parade that went around the city’s centre. Along the route temporary stands were built just for this day, Saturday the 13th of February. I sat in a stand next to a television station’s event broadcast facility. Seats were expensive in Bolivian terms and many locals peered through the stands to glimpse the festivities. It was a hot and sunny day and the parade went for almost 12 hours, making the performers in their often heavy costumes sweat.
The parade featured dancing troupes interspersed by big bands. Some of the groups had practised all year in preparation for the day while others were not so polished. All participants were having fun, despite the heat.
A kid spraying foam at an already drenched victim. Note the swimming goggles to protect his eyes
Spraying foam is only legal in Bolivia during Carnival time and kids (and some adults) had a great time spraying others and deploying water balloons and other weapons. I managed to avoid serious attack.
Outrageous costumes featured in Cochabamba’s Carnival paradeContinue reading →
The highlight of my visit to El Calafate in January/February this year and, indeed, one of the absolute highlights of my trip, was seeing the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park. The glacier’s awesomeness cannot be overstated. The mild and sunny weather on both days I visited accentuated the experience.
According to Wikipedia, a glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. Perito Moreno’s movement slowly pushes it against the land, causing various sized pieces of ice to fall off regularly. I was lucky enough to witness and record a giant ~50 metre high slab falling off the glacier (see video below). Every four or five years a bridge forms in the ice and crashes down even more spectacularly. The bridge last ruptured on 10 March, more than a month after I visited.
The head of the Perito Moreno Glacier pushing against the landContinue reading →
One of my dreams was to see Pearl Jam play live in South America, the home of their craziest fans. After hearing the band play my favourite song (Rearviewmirror) for the first time at their 2014 Perth concert, my wish for this concert was to enjoy the moment and soak up the atmosphere.
Sao Paulo was the second of five Brazilian Pearl Jam concerts as part of their 2015 Latin American tour.
My Pearl Jam Sao Paulo experience began with an unofficial fan gathering the night before at O’Malley’s pub in central Sao Paulo. There I chatted with other fans, both Brazilian and foreign and shared our pre-concert excitement, including Cleide, a fellow runner and a passionate soccer fan. Coincidentally, that evening Brazil played Argentina in a world cup qualifier in Buenos Aires and loud cheers rang out when Brazil came back to draw the match 1:1.
The pub had an interesting payment system I had not experienced before. Upon entry each person was given a card. Food and drinks were put against that card like a tab. Prior to leaving, each person paid their bill in order to receive an exit ticket. No exit ticket, no exit. My bill totalled R$109 for two pints of stout (R$19 each), a grilled tuna salad (R$31) and the R$40 male cover charge. If I recall correctly, females paid R$30.
Thank you to Dimitrios, a fanatical Pearl Jam fan from Greece who found the venue and created the Facebook event. It was a great night except for the terrible news from Paris flashing up on the television screens.
With other Pearl Jam fans outside Sampa Hostel before going to the concert
The next afternoon I walked 10 minutes to Sampa Hostel to catch a specially chartered van taking fans to and from Morumbi, the concert venue (40 real). Cheers to Hostel Alice for reserving my place!
Morumbi, officially known as Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, is one of Sao Paulo’s major soccer stadiums and the home of Sao Paulo FC. My Piste Premium concert ticket gave me access to the general admission section in front of the stage. Arriving after 5pm, I had hours to buy a t-shirt (R$100) at the merchandise stand, enjoy the stadium atmosphere, chat with other fans and watch the crowd build.
The Piste Premium general admission section in front of the stage
Vendor carrying esky of water, soft drink and beer
Fans wanting to eat or drink didn’t even need to leave their spot in the audience. Both before and during the show, vendors wandered amongst the crowd selling either drinks (water: R$6, soft drink: R$8, beer: R$10) or hot chips (R$12).
Voucher for hot chips (‘potatoes in cone’) bought at a kiosk
More food and drink was available from kiosks. There, instead of paying cash directly, one had to buy a voucher and exchange it for the items purchased. “Pearl Jam” featured prominently on each voucher and I bet a few fans bought extra vouchers for souvenirs.
As the concert got closer, Mexican waves started in the stands and the sense of anticipation grew
The crowd roars as Pearl Jam enter the stage; the video ends with the first notes of Long Road
After 8:30pm the band entered the stage to a huge roar. Long Road opened the concert followed by Of The Girl and, as I predicted beforehand, Love Boat Captain. Prior to Love Boat Captain, singer Eddie Vedder read out a few words in Portuguese regarding the recent attacks in Paris. Drummer Matt Cameron’s bass drum also featured an outline of the Eiffel Tower.
Fans shine their mobile phone lights during Pearl Jam’s cover of John Lennon’s Imagine
The stage glows
Strong winds and rain hit the stadiums, causing some interruptions. Eddie sang a solo acoustic version of Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town and the first encore break was extended in order to secure loose items, allow the spotlight operators to come down and to protect the stage.
After the rain
The audience rocking to the Neil Young cover Rockin’ In The Free World – the couple dancing typify the crowd’s enthusiasm and joy
The lights are on for the end of the show
Yellow Ledbetter usually signals the end and after this song the band thanked the crowd and said goodbye. However, as it was such a great night the band came back for a final song and third cover, All Along The Watchtower.
Pearl Jam put on a magical night for the ~ 60,000 strong crowd, performing 33 songs over three hours and eleven minutes. It’s very hard to pick favourites from the night but my highlights included Hail, Hail, State Of Love And Trust and Rearviewmirror. The main highlight, however, was the wonderful atmosphere brought about by the crowd and band feeding off each other.
For the full set-list and further fanviews: http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/247890/sao-paulo-brazil-fanviews-here-11-14-15
The good news I have two more occasions to experience the Pearl Jam-Brazil magic: in Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. I can’t wait!
Pakistani music is diverse and I managed to sample a few styles during my trip.
Classical
Although there was music at both of Hani’s wedding receptions, it did not take a prominent role.
The music at the second reception consisted of a tabla and a sitar, the basis for Pakistani classical music.
Qawwali
Every Thursday in Lahore there are two special performances: Qawwali music at the Shrine of Data Sahib in the afternoon and Sufi drumming and dancing at the Tomb of Shah Jamal in the evening. Thanks to Malik and the personnel at Regale Internet Inn, I and the other Internet Inn customers had some of the best seats at both events.
Following are three photos and three videos from the Qawwali performances of 28 December. Vocals dominate the Qawwali style of music and the singing can get quite animated at times. Worldwide, the most famous Qawwali singer was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, someone Eddie Vedder was privileged enough to work with.
Every so often a man would come around to collect tips for the group then performing. At least two or three different formations performed. Some people went and threw notes over the band or other audience members just like at a Turkish wedding.
https://youtu.be/6bq9RnFOEms
Following the Qawwali performance, outside of the Shrine of Data Sahib some Gypsies performed in the street. They are societal outcasts with their long hair, body piercings and different dress but are seen as holy/providing good fortune, hence the crowd. Note the bells hung around their belts. These guys also attended the Sufi dancing that night.
Sufi Drumming and Dancing
That evening, several of us from the Regale Internet Inn caught rickshaws to the Tomb of Shah Jamal just outside Lahore for an evening of dhol drumming and sufi dancing.
Prior to the dancing the brothers Goonga and Mithu Sain drummed, at one stage joined by a saxophonist. The below video is pitch black and the sound is muffled because I recorded it with my camera in my bag as taking of images was not allowed. Despite these defects, the sound is still cool, particularly for anyone into jungle p0rn music or under the influence of mind-altering substances.
Later in the evening the dancers came on and starting dancing their freestyle Sufi styles. The almost purely male crowd were enjoying their hash in various forms and everyone had mellowed out so I slyly recorded the next video. Two of the dancers whirling themselves into ectasy in the below video were not originally meant to be dancing. The guy with the hat gave Drummer Goonga Sain a 1,000 rupee note (the largest Pakistani denomination, about USD 16.50) and for that his mate was allowed to sit front and centre and he could dance with impunity. The guy in the mustard-coloured dress insisted on dancing despite the best efforts to get rid of him by one or two of the ‘real’ dancers.
Despite the extremely loud drum noise, asleep in the tree above where I was sitting were pigeons. Unfortunately, the two people sitting next to me were shat on 2 or 3 times by these winged rats.
As the night was cold, the concrete seat uncomfortable and, most importantly, I wasn’t smoking the weed, I did not totally get into the sound and left with other Regale Internet Inn backpackers before the performance finished early the next morning. Outside the courtyard, other drummers were doing their stuff in front of another audience.
Bhangra
A Bhangra band provided entertainment New Year’s Eve at Regale Internet Inn. The group consisted of Chimta (large tongs), harmonium (squeezebox), ektara (single-stringed guitar) and dholak (drum) and voice.
