Gros Mollet from Microbrasserie du Lac Saint-Jean in Saint-Gédéon, Quebec
Gros Mollet – A Lumberjack Beer from Quebec
Quite a tasty beer, definitely strong enough and good enough for a lumberjack!
The great picture on the front was what made me choose this beer at first, but I am glad I did. Plenty of caramel and molasses, but a puff of yeast and spices even it out.
More complex and delicious than anticipated. Overall slightly sweet, but it is well carbonated and hides the alcohol decently.
Give it a go if you’re looking for a beer fit for a lumberjack!
Crawling around in mud on your hands and knees, carrying a bag full of explosives sounds like a great adventure, doesn’t it?
That is exactly what I got to do in Potosi, Bolivia.
The Miners Market / Mercado Calvario in Potosi
This is the city to visit for a glimpse into the world of old school silver mining.
It’s definitely not something to do if you’re a timid traveller or easily get claustrophobic though.
Just for Fun – Proving that the Dynamite is Real
First, you get dressed up in a head to toe outfit, complete with hard hat and headlamp. But that’s about as far as the safety precautions go.
After that it’s an insane journey into the bowels of a mountain. Carrying dynamite, ammonium nitrate and other explosive materials you enter mine shafts that are sometimes only big enough to squeeze through by sliding down on your stomach, like a seal. One cave-in and you’re quickly trapped inside a mountain!
Hanging out in a Silver Mine in Bolivia
Handing out sticks of dynamite, as if they were candy, you get to meet miners deep inside the mountain. Each one of them working shifts up to 24 hours long, hoping to strike a nice vein of silver in their part of the mine. They may not even speak Spanish here, some olny speak the local Quechua language.
There are young workers here too. Those ones you can give cookies instead of explosives. It seems kind of odd, but they’re happy with this life. Many miners work for themselves, owning a portion of the mountain. The silver they find is theirs. They’re not ruled by a company, they have freedom.
El Tio is the one the miners worship. By offering him cigarettes and alcohol, he will look over them and keep them safe.
It’s hard, dangerous work for sure, but with the blessing of El Tio (The Uncle), a miner can make a decent living by working in his mine whenever he wants.
The most intimidating part of the visit is hearing explosives going off in other parts of the mine and having miners tell you stories about how they’ve been trapped or had their legs broken and shoulders dislocated from cave-ins.
As exciting as it sounds, there is a darker side to it as well. For those who need extra cash, they can go deeper down into the mines. Down there, they use jack hammers to cut through the rock, creating clouds of cancer-causing dust. Without any real protection for the dangerous dust particles, workers are only allowed down there for a few weeks or months at a time. Higher pay, but higher risk.
Thankfully, they’re cautious enough to keep that part of the mine off-limits to travellers.
The first hint that you’re approaching the Antarctic continent is the sighting of icebergs.
As icebergs become more plentiful, excitement grows, anticipating your first sighting of land in two or more days. They’re the precursor to the real allure of Antarctica – penguins and seals.
A typical iceberg in Antarctica
Yet, somehow as the days of an Antarctic adventure go on, you can’t help but be mesmerized by the varying shapes and sizes of the icebergs you cruise by.
You begin to learn a new lingo. You start talking about pancake ice, bergy bits and tabular icebergs. The bergy bits being smaller chunks floating in the water, while tabular icebergs can be behemoths larger than your average multi-story apartment building.
A gloomy, underexposed iceberg in Antarctica
You learn that only 10% or so of the iceberg is actually visible above water, the rest hiding under the surface.
You see different coloured icebergs too, with blueish tints, sometimes quite dark and dense – hints that the iceberg was made of older, compacted ice which broke off from an ancient glacier.
Who wants a scoop of ice cream? An ice cream iceberg in Antarctica
Different types and colours abound, as do shapes. One iceberg may look like an animal, another could look like a scoop of ice cream.
A city block sized tabular iceberg floating off the coast of Antarctica
Far away from the remote control and constant visual stimulation we’re so used to, icebergs take on the role of entertainer when you’re not communing with the wildlife in Antarctica. Your imagination takes hold and before you know it, these chunks of ice become one of the most exciting parts of your day.
A Bushbuck, or Imbabala, seen in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
The Bushbuck is a small antelope species from Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite being so common, I only spotted a few of them during my travels through eastern Africa.
This Bushbuck was photographed in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. Recent research indicates that the Bushbuck should be divided into two different species, meaning this Bushbuck would be an Imbabala. The other Bushbuck species, found further west and north in places like Senegal would be called the Kéwel. Even with that division naming specific Bushbuck subspecies is a bit of a headache. There are no less than 16 subspecies listed for Bushbucks, but no real consensus has been reached.
Confusion aside in terms of what exact species / subspecies this is, this Bushbuck is different than the commonly seen Impala and larger antelopes, as it has a unique colouration of spots and lines.
Lonesome George, photographed at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos
Up until June 2012, Lonesome George was one of the rarest animals on earth. While Galapagos Tortoises are plentiful, George was the last of his species from Pinta Island.
For decades he was held in captivity, and safety, on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos, with hopes that a suitable mate would be found one day. During his time there at the Charles Darwin Research Station, he mated with a number of females from other Galapagos Tortoise species, but the eggs never hatched. Despite rewards being offered and numerous searches conducted, no female of his species was ever found and Lonesome George passed away from old age on June 24th, 2012.
The root cause of his species decline was the introduction of feral goats on his island. Despite eradication efforts, feral goats remain an issue on some islands of the Galapagos where they compete for food with native species such as tortoises.
