Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Wednesday 24th of July
09.00 After a good night's sleep, we have woken up in our small room at the Elina hotel in Jūrmala, Latvia. It's nice to sleep in the morning and it should be good to have a whole day without moving on.
09.30 The bodies are freshly showered and ready to be filled with breakfast. It probably won't be taken inside our room. It's quite small in here.
10.26 Today's unusually late breakfast was taken at a plastic table in the garden under an apple tree full of apples. There are also apples everywhere on the ground. It was difficult to buy a breakfast of any higher quality here, but we managed to have a meal anyway.
10.51 Now we are both ready to get to know more of our home town. Yesterday we mostly walked along the main road, Jomas iela. Today we plan to see other parts of the town and also visit the nice beach here.
11.02 We walk the quiet streets here in Jūrmala. Everywhere there are coniferous trees and large, beautiful wooden houses.
11.20 We are currently listening to various sounds. There are hoarse cackles from seagulls, lapping from waves and the sound of bare feet on wooden decks. So we are down by the sea and looking out towards a fantastic sandy beach. Right now we are mostly here to photograph, but we will probably return again in the afternoon.
11.49 We are on our way from the beach. An airplane can be heard above us. A Swedish couple just passed us. The man complained that he had to take responsibility for the accounts by signing something. Oh my god, it's the holidays. How can you care about work?
Juras iela, Jūrmala.
12.14 We said goodbye to the beach and walked right behind a singing French family into the center again. We arrived at the hotel and spa facility Hotel Jūrmala Spa. A gray crow and some house sparrows can now be heard above us. We are back at Jomas iela in the central parts.
16.02 After some time in the room, we are ready to go out for a walk again. An Indian man with a bucket has picked up the fallen fruit by the apple tree. The Indian belongs to the staff here at the Elina hotel. I wonder what will become of the fruit. Does it go in the garbage or does it become an apple pie?
18.36 Now we are at Elina again. Some new guests have arrived and parked their vehicle outside our room. It is an orange small car of an older model. It is now time to seriously structure how we move forward from here tomorrow. After all, we will eventually make it to a new country.
Thursday 25th of July
Outdoor breakfast at Hotel Elina.
Plenty of wooden houses in Jūrmala.
We have found the beach.
The fantastic beach in Jūrmala.
Majori, one of the railway stations in Jūrmala.
Lāčplēsis, the bear slayer.
Nice park near Majori.
Vasarnīca Gastrobars, Jūrmala.
Peter has ordered a sausage lunch.
Christer visits Vasarnīca Gastrobārs.
Turidas iela, Jūrmala.
Beach art in Jūrmala.
The waves of the Gulf of Riga are cold.
We take a break near a map.
We have new neighbours.
We try it again. Dinner will be at Restorāns Jūra.
The chef looks unfocused.
Peter is having dinner at Restorāns Jūra.
The evening beers are ready.
Late evening under the apple tree.
06.31 We have woken up to discover something less pleasant. It's raining out there. How about the planned outdoor breakfast under the apple tree? It's just as well to keep sleeping. Maybe the rain has stopped when we wake up?
08.30 It's not raining at the moment, but it's quite wet out there. It's time for a shower before the day starts with a breakfast we'll probably have to eat in the room. 09.23 Christer is struggling to check us in for the flights that are due tonight and during the coming night. 09.52 There was some more trouble but in the end Christer fixed our boarding passes. 10.40 I'm having a hard time packing my belongings, but now I think everything is where it should be. Regarding the weather, it destroys our plans. We can't be outside for a few hours in the rain. Today we will get from Jūrmala towards Riga and then take the airport bus. Check-out from the hotel is at 12:00 and we don't fly until tonight. 12.10 In the rain and dripping, we checked out and then returned to the restaurant Zelta Teļš. It's time to order lunch. It continues to rain, there is nothing further. 12.32 People walk calmly on the street and they have folded umbrellas. We also think we hear birds singing or is it the rain? 13.41 The lunch ended with coffee and, of course, payment. I think we were the only guests having lunch here in this weather. Maybe others have a home to be in? Now we are back in Dzintaru mežaparks, more precisely in the place where we sat at half past five yesterday. A little girl on rollerblades just rolled by. 14.10 The time on the bench is mostly spent reading and passing the time. 15.13 There was a pause in the reading and we have moved to a bench closer to the next railway station, Dzintari. There will be a short break here before we head towards the train. There are a lot of people on the paths here in the forest park. 16.06 We are back at the Dzintari station we arrived at. However, we are on the other side of the rails. Soon our train will arrive. Can we sit or stand?
Peter is having lunch at Zelta Teļš.
Today it is Christer who is eating Cepelīni.
The rain has passed and the bench is starting to get dry.
We will be here for a few hours.
Dzintaru mežaparks, Jūrmala.
Peter on a forest walk.
16.13 The train was perhaps a little late, but it came anyway. Now it will be a short journey before we get off the train and go on to the airport bus.
16.31 Zasulauks is the name of the railway station where we got off. This is probably the last railway station for this time. Towards the airport bus, we continue on foot a few streets away. 16.50 The airport bus arrived before us at the intended stop Dreiliņu iela. You just have to wait for the next one. 16.55 There was a short wait. A new bus quickly appeared. Now we go with bus 22 towards the airport. 17.16 Next goal is reached. We have arrived at Lidosta Rīga, Riga's airport. We have been here before but it was a while ago now. 18.10 Finally the check-in for Turkish Airlines opened and now we are in a check-in queue which is moving slowly. 19.06 It was slow but now everything is ready. It's time to go towards security, passport control and then gate C7. 19.29 Yes, now we are released from the European Union and we are waiting at gate C7 and want to board. 20.12 We are now on board the Turkish Airlines Airbus 321-200 with the destination Istanbul, Turkey. However, it does not stop there for us. 21.00 So slowly we are on our way up to cruising altitude. Turbulence over the Baltics slows the rise. 21.20 The plane has reached the right height, the food trolleys are rolling in the cabin and I am quite satisfied. 22.23 A good meal has, due to more turbulence, had the coffee delayed. There is now a little more than an hour left of the flight.TURKEY
23.55 After we landed at İstanbul Havalimanı, Istanbul International Airport, we have been rolling for over 20 minutes. How far is the terminal actually? How big is this airport? We know that it is newly built and is the second busiest airport in Europe after Heathrow in London. As many as 76 million passengers passed through here last year. It became Istanbul's new international airport in 2018.
Friday 26th of July
00.09 The plane eventually stopped at Terminal F. From here we will go to Terminal B. Istanbul's new airport is big. As I said, it opened in 2018 and it's the first time we've been here. On previous visits, we have been to the old Atatürk airport and the low-cost airport, Sabiha Gökçen.
00.41 It felt like walking through a city center. There were huge areas to walk through and shops and lights everywhere. Now we will find the way to the next gate, more precisely B15. 00.59 We are almost at the gate. Christer has filled up with necessary drinks from Caffè Nero. It turned out to be expensive luxury water and orange juice. 01.16 There wasn't much time to think for us. We went straight to the gate and then boarded the next plane. On our seats were various items such as a pillow, blanket, headphones and a small toiletry bag with items. This time we fly with Turkish Airlines Airbus 330-200/300.TIME ZONE CHANGE
03.58 The clocks have been moved forward. From now on, the time zone in Mauritius applies in my notes. It is one hour ahead of the time we used in Riga and Istanbul. 04.48 We fly over the Nile delta and look down at all the sleeping Egyptians, although some are probably awake too. 05.05 The food on board, grilled meatballs (köfte) with fresh salad, is eaten and the drinks are finished. Before the coffee, a request came from the cockpit if there was a doctor on board. We hope nothing serious has happened. I'll try to sleep for a while. 09.36 Below us is the Horn of Africa. We fly out over the Indian Ocean at an altitude of 11,800 meters. 11.17 It was scrambled eggs for breakfast. Christer, who does not like to eat eggs, was not entirely satisfied. Now there is not much left of our flight. The journey takes and the journey consumes.MAURITIUS
12.26 Now we have landed in a new country for us, Mauritius. The island nation has historically been controlled by Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Great Britain. Since 1968, the year of my birth, they have been independent. Globally, we are in Africa. In Mauritius, which consists of the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, there are around 1,3 million inhabitants. The islands have no indigenous population, but the colonial masters brought people from Africa and India here as labour. English is the official language, but is spoken by less than one percent of the population. Instead, the mixed language Creole is spoken by 86,5% of the population, the Indian language Bhojupuri by 5,3% and French by 4,1%.
13.07 We are at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. After a long wait in the passport queue, we were taken by friendly staff to our own counter. Incidentally, Mr. Ramgoolam was the country's first Prime Minister. The airport is also called Plaisance after the area in which it is built. 13.46 The luggage was lifted by the belt and we went to an ATM to withdraw some currency from this country, Mauritian rupees. Our pre-booked driver was waiting for us. Now we travel with him past sugar cane fields. In addition to driving us, he is a good guide and tells us about what we pass by. If we hadn't been so tired, we probably would have remembered more of what he tells us. 14.05 We are now in the town of Phoenix. Here the beer of the same name is brewed and look, there is also the brewery, Phoenix Beverages. 14.30 There was a shuttle all the way to the door of Kirin Restaurant and Guesthouse, which is a Chinese restaurant that also has a hotel part on the upper floors. Here we have checked in and are waiting to take the elevator up to the room. We are in the middle of China Town in the capital Port Louis.
We have landed at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport.
Room 503 at Kirin Guesthouse, Port Louis.
Less beautiful view from our room.
This is where we stay and this is where we eat, at least the first evening.
Christer is enjoying a Chinese dim sum dinner.
Kirin offered many interesting dishes.
15.12 Finally we had to take the lift to floor 5. There was room 503 waiting for us. It appears to be our host, Mr. Mihary, who received us. Mr. Mihary, wasn't he the one who trained the Karate Kid? No, wait, his name was Mr. Miyagi. We have received the necessary information and contact details for Mr. Mihary in the form of a WhatsApp number and a QR code.
16.15 Room coffee and some sweets, Maltesers on the bedside table have strengthened us. But I think we need more nutrition. 17.03 Is it the total travel time this summer or the flights that have let us down? In any case, we have limited energy and prefer to rest in the room. 18.17 It's getting dark out there. It's time to stock up on drinks and nutrition. First we will have dinner and then we will look for an open grocery store. 18.55 The restaurant here at Kirin was open but it was impossible to get there. They hadn't had time to open the door for the evening's guests yet. We were admitted and we have sat down there. The menu consisted of pictures and text in English and Chinese. We thought as we do at home and intended to order one dish each, but were then informed that this was a Dim sum menu and then you order several different small dishes. With what we ordered, we drink Phoenix Beer, local beer. 19.37 After a surprisingly good meal consisting of different types of dumplings, we will now go shopping for tonight and two upcoming breakfasts. The business we are targeting is about a kilometer away adjacent to a shopping center and a bus terminal. All the smaller shops here in the city center close when it gets dark. 21.05 It was a successful walk. In the combined shopping mall and bus terminal Victoria, we found the supermarket Winner's. There were some over-refreshed gentlemen there but also the goods we needed. We bought drinks and breakfast for two days. Now everything has to be carried back to our hotel room. 22.08 We use Christer's mobile and listen to the opening of the Olympics in Paris while we fill up with liquids. It's been a while since we covered an opening of the Summer Olympics. I think the last time was during the Africa trip in 2012. 23.02 Now awaits long-awaited sleep. Tomorrow we stay here in Port Louis to familiarize ourselves with life in Mauritius. On Sunday we travel further on.
Saturday 27th of July
09.00 A morning of sleep is always good to have. Today we have planned a full day here in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. I have had trouble urinating during the night. Is there too little fluid in the body? To investigate this, I have already tried drinking my evening beer in the morning, but the situation is unchanged. Strange, last night there was good flow in the urinary tract.
09.45 I continue to have problems. It cannot continue like this. We have to find a solution. As mentioned earlier, I was forced to travel with a catheter this summer. Maybe it's the one who's messing up in some way? 10.30 New unplanned and unexpected challenges and adventures loom this Saturday. It's time to step out and act. Most likely it is my catheter that is having trouble and it needs to be fixed. 10.37 We are out on the streets of Port Louis. We follow Queen Street and have just passed the little trickle of water called La Paix Stream. 11.07 Christer had found a private weekend clinic online and now it is also located in real life. It is called City Clinic (https://cityclinic.mu). After a short wait with registration, I had to leave with a wheelchair to my own bed. Once there, everything started. I will be drained and then get a new catheter. The old one has, simply put, clogged. I don't know what Christer is doing right now. Maybe he's waiting for me in the waiting room. It all happened so quickly that we didn't have time to talk to each other or plan our next move.
Queen Street, Port Louis.
Not much water in La Paix Stream.
Sir Edgar Laurent Street, Port Louis.
City Clinic, the saviour in times of need.
Christer is waiting in the park outside the clinic.
Christer walks around the capital of Mauritius.
12.02 Well, here I am, looking at the ceiling. We have done a lot during over twenty years of travelling, but being admitted to a clinic is something completely new. Christer visited a doctor in Indonesia in 2013, but then it stopped at good advice and a few prescribed pills. The question is how long this will take. Health comes first, but it would have been nice to have time to see something of the city as well.
13.03 Blood and urine have been removed from my body. The blood is for doing various tests and urine because it needs to be drained from the body. The nurses are skilled and pleasant. I am waiting for a doctor to see me eventually. 14.33 The doctor, the surgeon has now been here and informed. He has said that my prostate is enlarged, well thanks, I already knew that. That is the reason why I needed to travel with a catheter. In addition, he wants to admit me and do surgery on me. However, I do not agree with that. We are going to travel on, and besides, I leave any further measures to the doctor at home. The advantage of private care is that you can often get help quickly, but the disadvantage is that they try to milk as much money as they can from patients they get hold of. 15.11 Not much has happened since the last time. I have been in text message contact with Christer, who first waited at the clinic, then waited in the park outside and then went for a bit of sightseeing around the center. I alerted a nurse to my situation. I want to disconnect the drainage bag. I won't stay here. 15.37 My new tap is more like two pipes with green plugs. One of them must be pulled out when draining. 16.02 Everything is now ready at an affordable price. I´ll take some medicines with me. During my time at the clinic, Christer continued to explore Port Louis, checking out China Town and the bus station. Now we return to the accommodation.
China Town Gate.
Jummah Mosque at Royal Road.
A few local buses are waiting near St Paul's Anglican Church.
Jardin Plaine Verte, Port Louis.
China Town, Port Louis.
Royal Road, Port Louis.
16.28 On the way to the hotel, we walked through parts of China Town and managed to document a bit through photos.
18.48 It has become dark and emergency vehicles can be heard outside our accommodation. We are going to go and have dinner soon. I am both hungry and thirsty. 19.30 We are now seated on some chairs at the restaurant Wapalapam La Place (https://wapalapam.com). We are waiting for what we ordered. In addition to solid food, there will be the local craft beer Flying Dodo. Dodo is The flightless Dodo is a now extinct bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius. The Dodo's closest relative was the equally extinct Rodrigues's solitaire, and these two species are now considered part of the pigeon family. The closest living relative is the Nicobar pigeon. 20.11 This was not a cheap restaurant and the beer was expensive. We treated ourselves to this after a day when there was no lunch. It was good again. We ordered mappas which is a curry made with coconut and tamarind. Now we have to go out into the dark and find home again. 21.07 There was coffee with the food here at home in the room. Now another day is coming together, a day that really turned out to be more dramatic and different than we could have imagined. 22.13 The upcoming accommodation certainly wants to be paid in cash, pure money, and no cards. We have some euros left from Latvia, but they are not enough. Before we leave the capital tomorrow, we should probably find an ATM and top up with cash in the local currency. 23.35 Now a hopefully calmer night awaits. Tomorrow we travel on here in Mauritius.
The mosque Jummah Masjid glows green.
It is evening in Port Louis.
Chicken Mappas.
Christer is having dinner at Wapalapam La Place.
Coming home again!
You can see 43 photos from July 24 in this photoalbum.
You can see 8 photos from July 25 in this photoalbum.
You can see 13 photos from July 26 in this photoalbum.
You can see 33 photos from July 27 in this photoalbum.