My Sound Of The Day

I am still in electro mode: Discomirage - Another C.



La suite!

I Love Jersey

Instead of being bored in Jersey why not go visit Saint-Malo? That is what I have told myself since I have been in Jersey. I would have liked to write about how I loved the city and its little streets but this post will be about something else instead.



I should have been travelling back to Jersey on Sunday around the end of the afternoon but once I got to the ferry terminal for my check-in I learned that the departure time for the ferry had been pushed earlier because of the weather.
- Hello, I am going to Jersey.
- The ferry left at 3 PM sir.
- 3 PM? It was supposed to leave at 5:30 PM.
- Yes but the departure time was moved because of bad weather.
- And you guys don’t warn people?
- We did call you but didn’t reach you on Saturday.
- On which number.
- +44xxxxxxxxxx
- You have the right phone number but the battery on my phone was dead.
- We also sent you an email.
- I doubt that, I quickly checked my email yesterday evening and didn’t see anything.
- I assure you that a mail has been sent.
- Can I use one of your computers to check my mails?
- Here.
- There is indeed an email from your company but why was it sent on Sunday morning? 5 hours before the new departure time doesn’t leave time to get organized for someone who is not from around here.
- The email is only being sent when we can’t reach a person on the phone.
- That makes no sense, sending an email doesn’t cost anything.
- ...
- I suppose that this sort of things happen often, what is your course of action in those cases?
- There is none.




- I have to be at work tomorrow morning.
- You can catch the plane flying from Dinard tomorrow morning, you will be in Jersey at 1 PM.
- I guess there are no earlier flights.
- No.
- Is your company paying for the plane ticket?
- No, you have to pay for it.
- At what time does the ferry get to Jersey tomorrow?
- 2:15 PM.
- This means that I have lost a day of work, thank you very much.
- ...
- How does this work? Are you in charge of finding me a hotel for the night?
- No, you have to do that.
- Will your company pay for the bill?
- No, you have to pay for it.
- Well that is nice, I miss my ferry thanks to you and I have to pay for my hotel.
- You couldn’t be reached there is nothing more we could do.
- I don’t know, maybe sending an email as soon as you know the ferry time will be moved wouldn’t be a bad idea instead of sending it 5 hours before the departure time.
- Do you want to see the manager?
- No, I don’t want to fight with someone who will tell me that there is nothing he can do. I will find a hotel, send you the bill and your company will see what happens if they don’t want to pay for it.
- Take care.



I went back to the ferry terminal the next day and checked in. I then headed to the customs booth and gave my passport to the agent. He looked at my passport, put it in the reading machine, took it out, looked at it again and showed it to his colleague.
- Do you have another means of identification sir? Like a driving licence for example?
- No I don’t drive.
He looked at my passport again.
- I have been travelling for ten years with this passport, I can assure you that it is legit.
- It is weird the machine can’t read it.
- It happens from time to time but I have a ferry to catch.
- Alright, safe trip.
- Thanks.
I took my passport and went to the waiting room but before I got there one guy stepped in front of me and showed me the infrared machine. No other travellers had to go through it I was the lucky guy of the day, this is what we French call “to fit the part”. I put my bags on the conveyor belt and went through the gate. On the other side I was not surprised when the guy asked to look at my backpack as if toiletries, a multimedia hard drive and some comics could be dangerous. It had been a while since this kind of thing had happened to me...



I was in Jersey 1 hour and thirty minutes later and I went through the customs again. This time it was the same thing. The agent looked at my passport, put it in the machine, looked at it again and called a colleague so that he looked at it. He said to me:
- Do you speak English?
- Course I do.
He kept looking at my passport.
- I assure you this passport is valid, it is not the first time I have been on the island.
- How long are you staying on the island?
- 4 days.
- Where are you staying.
- In a hotel in the city.
- Do you have something to prove that?
- Listen, the last thing I want is to stay on this island. I am only here for 4 days.
- I hear you sir but I have to find out why you are here.
- I am working for a telecom company.
- Ah yes? And what are you doing there?
- That is none of your business.
- Do you have another means of identification sir?
- No I don’t drive.
- Don’t you have a business card with your name on it?
- My name is right there on the passport with my face on it, there was no problem with my passport at the airport when I got to the island a few days ago and I am late for work.
- I am here to check whether you can enter our country or not so do as I ask.
- I don’t have a business card.
- Could you fill this form for me sir?
- What a waste of time!
I start filling the form.
- Could you fill it over there?
I look around and there is no one in the room except me and the customs agents.
- There is no one in the room.
- Fill the form over there sir!
- I am in nobody’s way.
- I have to speak with my colleague.



I moved away from the customs booth to fill the form and brought it back. The two agents started comparing what I wrote on the form with what was on my passport. It was pathetic.
- I will need another means of identification sir.
- So what was the form for?
- Do you have a credit card?
- I have 3 where you will find the name that is on my passport.
The guy took the 3 cards, my passport and left. I stayed with the first agent who kept looking at the form. I took my phone out and started calling the colleague waiting for me.
- You can’t call sir?
- People are actually waiting for me at work so I have to warn them.
I explained to my colleague that I was still at the customs and I didn’t know when I would get to work. I third agent came while I was on the phone, I was very popular.
- Can you give the name of someone I can contact where you work.
I reached for my phone, dialled the colleague and handed the phone to the third agent.
- You can talk to him right now.
The agent took the phone but instead of starting talking he just wrote the name appearing on the screen and the phone number. He was probably thinking that I only needed 2 seconds to create a fake Jersey phone number with a real person on the line. I took the phone.
- The customs agent asked me about you but he doesn’t want to talk to you, he will probably try to reach you through the main office.
- Seriously?
- I kid you not. Sorry for the wasted time, I will work from my hotel. I will let you know when they release me.
- Do you want me to come and show them my badge?
- No don’t waste your time, it really isn't worth it.
I hung up and started talking to the two customs agent.
- Do you know that it is not the first time that I come to the island? I don’t know why there is no problem with my passport at the airport but there always is a problem when I come with the ferry.
- I don’t know what to say about that.
- You don’t say! How do you explain that your colleagues at the airport don’t have a problem with my passport when you do? Is the passport database they use different than the one you guys use?
- ...
- The worst thing here is that I really hate coming to this island.
The guy who took off with my passport came back.
- We are terribly sorry for the delay sir, you may enter the country.
I took my passport, my credit cards and didn’t even look any of them in the eye when I left.



I almost came back to ask for their name but what good would it do? I think that I shouldn’t let people who are not worth it ruin moments of my life just because they can. By pressing charges I would I kept that story with me for quite a while, today I move on.

La suite!

My Sound Of The Day

I little bit of electro music is always good for the ears: Nero - Me And You (Danger Remix).




La suite!

My Sound Of The Day

Here are two songs that sample a classic that i love "Unlimited Touch - I Hear Music In The Streets": Paul Johnson - Hear The Music.



Rampage - Take It To The Streets Feat Billy Lawrence.



La suite!

The Week-end

What is the recipe for an excellent week-end? You have to spend time with people you love, you have to do something outdoors, you have to meet new people and you have to learn something you.



Waking up on Saturday morning was tough. It was quite a while since I last woke up with an aftertaste in the mouth. Two friends had come for a drink the evening before, we finished late and ended up drinking a lot. I had scheduled a dive at 7:30 AM, I was following a training allowing me to dive as deep as 40 meters under supervision. I had slept enough to be in a good shape but that weird aftertaste in the mouth just wouldn’t go. I was lucky to be on a boat with divers who had full autonomy under water, we had to wait for them to finish their dive to start ours so that gave me time to drink enough water to get rid of that aftertaste. For my training I had to repeat the same exercises at different depth. I had to be able to jump from the boat and meet my instructor and fellow divers 3 meters below the water level without stopping to check my equipment on the surface. I had to remove my mask underwater, put it back on and empty it from any water to be able to see clearly again. From time to time I had to give some air to one of the divers faking he didn’t have air anymore. The most important one was to be able to stay at the same depth by achieving neutral buoyancy during the decompression phase without using the swimfins. The dive went pretty well, I was quite at ease underwater even when I had to completely remove my mask, put it back and empty it (I used to hate that). I still have 2 dives left to conclude my training.



On Saturday I went to a party in a nice house with a great swimming pool. The house guest was living alone in that place that could have easily accommodated a large family. One of the girls at my place the day before had invited me, I met some interesting people and had a lot of fun. When there is a swimming pool at a party one can be sure that someone is going to end up in it at one point. We played Uno Sport in the swimming pool, it is like the Uno but the cards are made of plastic so that they can be used almost anywhere. Here we were in the swimming pool at 11 PM, there was not enough light around the pool so we used headlamps to light the floating tray where the cards were. Some of the girls were cold in the water they were wriggling all the time and the boys were going in and out of the water the same way a piston would. The intermission of the party came when champagne was served; the second part of the party then started when everyone started playing tarot. I was back at my place at 5:45 AM, it was a very long time since I had played cards all night long.



I received a short message at 8:25 AM, a friend was telling me that he would be late and would be picking me up at 8:45 AM. We were supposed to meet at 9:00 AM to go to a rope course. I jumped out of the bed, brushed my teeth, went to the kitchen to put a bowl of milk in the microwave, opened the fridge to grab anything I had that could be used to make sandwiches and threw all that in my backpack as well as something to drink and some plastic glasses. I had eaten half of my croissant when I heard is 4x4 coming in the alley leading to my place. I finished the croissant with one bite, drank the remainder of the milk, checked I had everything I needed in my backpack and left. We went to meet two more friends before heading to the rope course park, I was so tired that I felt asleep in the car. Still I was fresh enough during the 2 rope courses available for adults. We spent 3 hours in the park and enjoyed every minutes. We then looked for a quite to have a picnic and headed to a black sand beach once our bellies were filled to spend the afternoon.



The friend who had picked me at my place had brought a kite and showed us how to use it on the beach. I had always seen kite flying as something not very interesting and quite boring but that quickly changed when my turn to fly the kite came. I think I must have scared a few beachgoers who must have thought that the kite would end up falling on their head. With my experience I had the kite fly close to the heads of a few people but thankfully each time I lost control the kite crashed where there was no one. After a few attempts I managed to have the kite fly from left to right and from right to left at different speed. I was astonished by the way I would feel the actual speed of the kite. I would sometime brace myself in the sand to make sure the kite would not make me lose my balance. I discovered kite flying thanks to the same person who introduced me to boomerang throwing, I am extremely thankful to him for that.



I fell like a log in my bed once I was back to my place. The alarm on my phone didn’t even ring on Monday morning allowing me to sleep one extra hour, it seems like I really needed to rest.
I have a hard time writing these days so you won’t read me for a short while but don’t worry I will be back. Enjoy your week-end.

La suite!

My Sound Of The Day

The sound of the day is back with amazing sound: Slackwax - Midnight Feat Trinah.



La suite!

Canyoning

Water, stones and landscapes = life.



I have been thinking about trying canyoning for more that a year now but I have always used the fact that I don’t like cold water as an excuse to not to give it a shot. What is not to like: you spend the day in a stream, to go forward you will have to do some abseiling, some jumping and go down some natural slides. All this looks nice for someone who likes nature but as I am not a true nature lover things could have gone sour.



We went to the « fleurs jaunes » canyon in Cilaos and started gearing up before going in the water. You have to start with the 5mm thick integral wet suit. You then put another suit whose only purpose is to cover and protect the wet suit from being scratched on the rocks. The harness comes next, it comes with snaps used for safety during abseils; the rear part of the harness is reinforced with burlap to protect our rear ends during the slides. The helmet comes last as one would not want to smash his head against the rock. Bags containing either ropes, dry clothes or food that will be eaten at the bottom of the canyon will be carried by the strong ones. I can tell that you will be hot while wearing all this but don’t worry the walk to the start is not long.





It is now time to start canyoning, I woke up at 5 A.M. for this so my hatred of cold water doesn’t matter much anymore. We get to the water through a small slide and damn it is cold but this way it won’t take me one hour to get in it. The guide makes a small security briefing before we start going in the 20 meter high cascade. I wait for 2 persons to go before heading to the edge. The guide puts the rope in an eight shaped object connected to the harness and tells me that I am good to go. I sit on the edge of the cascade, holding the rope he handed me; I feel like I am on top of a building. I only have two things to do: if I push the rope away from me I will go down and the farther the rope will be the fastest down I will go; If I pull the rope to me I will slow down then stop going down. It is very easy. I go down with my back to the wall and I end up pretty quickly under the water, the water in the cascade may not look strong but it is something else when you are under it. Even though I took my time going down I am quickly in the pool below and I tell myself that this is going to be a piece of cake. I then take my camera (in its underwater case) out of the wet suit it was staying up until now to take pictures.



After the first cascade I was almost always the first to go, the guide would tell me to keep the camera inside my suit during the abseils but what was the point of bringing it in its underwater case if it was to not take pictures when I was right inside a cascade? For the second abseil I asked the guide if I could go with my feet on the wall instead of with my back against the wall; he answered that it was my call and warned me that it would be quite slippery. And indeed it was! Here I was trying to keep my balance on the wet rock and trying to take picture at the same time. It is neither easier nor more difficult, it is just more fun. The water was pushing hard against my feet and the slippery rock didn’t help to stay straight but boy did I have fun. Most of my pictures were crap because the underwater case is made to take pictures … underwater and it really didn’t help when I had a few drops of water on the part protecting the lens but it was ok as long as I had a not too bad pictures of myself doing abseiling.



The high point of the canyon is the 55 meters high abseil. You are in for quite a view when you are standing on threshold just before going down. You see the small pool far below and you can’t even see the whole cascade because some of it is hidden by the rocks. I went in with the camera in my hand hoping I wouldn’t lose my balance as I was walking on the rock. I was so concentrated on the water and being stable that I didn’t even look down to check how far I had to go. I think I must have been smiling all the way. I was getting showered by the waterfall as I was fighting to keep my balance, I was having a hell of a good time. The water was so strong on my elbow that it was difficult to lift my arm to take pictures. As was enjoying myself so much that I could have stayed there a while but others where waiting for me to get to the bottom. Once there I really felt like I had only spent a few seconds up there and I would have minded a quick way to go back up and do this one again.



The canyon ends with 2 shorts abseils then comes the time for lunch and getting dry. After that you will have to go through an hour long walk on a steep slope under the burning sun to get back to the starting point. The walk is no peace of cake but you will get a very nice view of Cilaos. Trying canyoning is adopting it. If you are in Reunion Island and want to try canyoning send an email to Luciano he will take good care of you.



La suite!