Things that you have done that most people probably haven't

[Alf Bentley]

On 07/10/2020 at 17:55, fuchsntf said:

1970s-1990s Sometimes with work...most out of pleasure.

Following is just an outake..

 

Traversed the Darien Gap...

 

I've been meaning to ask about this.

 

It was to avoid the Darién Gap [60+ miles of mountainous jungle, marshland & rivers between Panama and Colombia, with no road connection] that I opted to negotiate a passage on a merchant ship and ended up on smugglers' boat.

 

At the time (1990), I was told locally that it was possible to cross the Darién Gap on foot as a 7-day trek if you hired a local guide. But I had little money (it would have cost a lot to hire someone for 7-14 days), had no camping equipment and didn't fancy heading into the jungle with persons unknown....particularly with Colombian guerrillas active on the other side of the border. A sea voyage seemed a much better idea in my circumstances. 

 

Did you trek across on foot with the odd boat thrown in? I ask as I see from Wiki that people have crossed on motorbike and even by off-road vehicle, though that takes a preposterous amount of time:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darién_Gap#Crossings_of_the_Darién_Gap

 

Did you hire a local guide or make your way using your own maps? I presume you camped en route? The world needs to hear more about this, Mr. Fuchs....

[fuchsntf]

1 hour ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

I've been meaning to ask about this.

 

It was to avoid the Darién Gap [60+ miles of mountainous jungle, marshland & rivers between Panama and Colombia, with no road connection] that I opted to negotiate a passage on a merchant ship and ended up on smugglers' boat.

 

At the time (1990), I was told locally that it was possible to cross the Darién Gap on foot as a 7-day trek if you hired a local guide. But I had little money (it would have cost a lot to hire someone for 7-14 days), had no camping equipment and didn't fancy heading into the jungle with persons unknown....particularly with Colombian guerrillas active on the other side of the border. A sea voyage seemed a much better idea in my circumstances. 

 

Did you trek across on foot with the odd boat thrown in? I ask as I see from Wiki that people have crossed on motorbike and even by off-road vehicle, though that takes a preposterous amount of time:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darién_Gap#Crossings_of_the_Darién_Gap

 

Did you hire a local guide or make your way using your own maps? I presume you camped en route? The world needs to hear more about this, Mr. Fuchs....

5 Person group,using Local guides...& Maps.

 

# Then excellent Local Indigenous guides, hard agreed rules , One Camp before nightfall.

# my Travels were well before real troubles began.

# Bandits,smugglers could be an irritation,could be the only income for a village, but also a great source of information..

# Well before bellend egoistic waste-laying travellers..

# Cant remember if 8 or 10 days..

# Walking, gud ol' Shanks's-pony & canoe... 

# with pack mules ,(not to ride) & not all the way..

 

# No Major shake,so no feeling of advertising it. Just a personal  target,that others had done & have done.

# Indigenous were more welcoming..

# Definitely less all round hassle then, than now.

# Today One reads/hears at the forefront major drug-trafficking , unwarranted baksheesh, Bad guides, Guerrillas,Kidnapping, corruption  etc,etc. Since my time.

# I travelled for my own goals , ( hopefully Not too egoistically ) .They were paths/routes that were Simply there..!

# Todays People who Love individual travelling have to discover their inner-wants, the world has changed within its innocence

 # Todays  adventurous traveller still  have to collect their own experiences, but  the peripheral Challenges have changed dramatically. Naivity can be dangerous,then again enthralling..!!  Attitude-aptitude-flexability the Key words...

 

# There has been some Great modern small unknown world travellers, making like we had, their own expeditions, either by walking, cycling,motorcycling,Expedition vehicles,Sponsored or  some just for their own satisfaction... In the past few years some have Traversed the Darien gap,with Daker-Rallaye organisors, or other, with Toyotas,Merceds 4x4s,   I am a DG Nature  snob...I found that sad, but everybody to their own...!!

        

 

 

 

  

   

 

[fuchsntf]

4 hours ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

I've been meaning to ask about this.

 

It was to avoid the Darién Gap [60+ miles of mountainous jungle, marshland & rivers between Panama and Colombia, with no road connection] that I opted to negotiate a passage on a merchant ship and ended up on smugglers' boat.

 

At the time (1990), I was told locally that it was possible to cross the Darién Gap on foot as a 7-day trek if you hired a local guide. But I had little money (it would have cost a lot to hire someone for 7-14 days), had no camping equipment and didn't fancy heading into the jungle with persons unknown....particularly with Colombian guerrillas active on the other side of the border. A sea voyage seemed a much better idea in my circumstances. 

 

Did you trek across on foot with the odd boat thrown in? I ask as I see from Wiki that people have crossed on motorbike and even by off-road vehicle, though that takes a preposterous amount of time:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darién_Gap#Crossings_of_the_Darién_Gap

 

Did you hire a local guide or make your way using your own maps? I presume you camped en route? The world needs to hear more about this, Mr. Fuchs....

Ahh  Alf... Dont Take your own experiences lightly....The odd ones you have dropped in, on FT seem also Full of mind Opening jaunts....

our experiences nearly as Adventure-loaded as being a LFB at our beloved foxes...

[fuchsntf]

On 08/10/2020 at 01:45, ozleicester said:

Bathed with/washed (rescue) Elephants, 

This is Great isnt it..my experience was with working Mahouts & their Elephants...Just to see their trust,with  no aggressive learn technics, and then to Share & experience the bathing & washing routine Simply beautifull...

[Jon the Hat]

Had a pint with Des Lynam.

Played a gig at the Dublin Castle (among others)

Got an award from Dame Ellen MacArthur

Had dinner in Stockholm City Hall where they hold the Nobel Prize ceremony

Had a run in with a bear in Yosemite National Park

[josh_baskin]

Placed a coin on a rhinoceros’ backside and walked off.

 

Edited 9 October 2020 by josh_baskin

[Guest Manini]

I once got Ian Bell to spot me on the bench press for 3 sets at David Lloyd’s at meridian. 

[fuchsntf]

Scored 3 own goals in 2 matches. 

Didnt even get the sympathy votes...

Thankfully moved to the other Shaped ball discipline...

[Blarmy]

2 hours ago, josh_baskin said:

Placed a coin on a rhinoceros’ backside and walked off.

 

You walked off? That’s mental!

[Suzie the Fox]

Got chatted up by Mark 'return of the mack' Morrisons in Jokers. 

 

Had my t-shirt signed by Steve Walsh who conveniently held my boob to get a better signature 

 

Spent an evening in the VIP part of Krystals with Steve Guppy who didn't want to talk football 

[1972 Fox]

3 minutes ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Got chatted up by Mark 'return of the mack' Morrisons in Jokers. 

 

Had my t-shirt signed by Steve Walsh who conveniently held my boob to get a better signature 

 

Spent an evening in the VIP part of Krystals with Steve Guppy who didn't want to talk football 

Did you report him, considering you were only 15 at the time? 

[Suzie the Fox]

1 minute ago, Blue Fox 72 said:

Did you report him, considering you were only 15 at the time? 

Hell no, just gutted he didnt also write his phone number down.  

[SpacedX]

On 07/10/2020 at 18:30, Stoopid said:

Once spent a very strange afternoon getting ridiculously stoned with a former member of Jefferson Airplane. 

Which one? 

[Izzy]

2 hours ago, Manini said:

I once got Ian Bell to spot me on the bench press for 3 sets at David Lloyd’s at meridian. 

I once went in the sauna at David Lloyd Meridian and Neil Lennon was sat in there on his own. Had a good chat with him and he commented on how similar we looked  

 

I met him again 20 years later at a charity function and I couldn’t believe he didn’t remember our first encounter 

[Wolfox]

On 07/10/2020 at 23:29, Red Squirrel said:

 

Got Guillain Barre syndrome where the immune system attacks your nervous system and completely paralysed but fully conscious, could not speak or move. Spent one month on a ventilator in ITU 

 

How bizarre…. I’ve never met anyone else who had that

 

i was very young (nine?) and not hospitalised…. I remember waking up one morning and couldn’t move properly….  I remember sliding myself on my arse down the stairs to go and tell my mum I couldn’t move properly…

 

It’s the strangest thing to try and explain to anyone who hasn’t had it…. My local GP spotted it, otherwise it would easily have gone undiagnosed and I wouldn’t have had the right treatment…

Edited 10 October 2020 by Wolfox

[UpTheLeagueFox]

I've never done anything vaguely interesting in my life apart from going to school with @Izzy.

And that's something I've done and @Izzy hasn't 

[MPH]

 Watched a baby die. There was nothing we could do. Police came in straight after and arrested the dad for murder. Had to be polite and professional to the dad for over a week even though we all knew what he had done..

Edited 10 October 2020 by MPH

[Jimothy]

12 hours ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Had my t-shirt signed by Steve Walsh who conveniently held my boob to get a better signature 

Reminds me of one that happened to my mum when we were kids. We met Timmy Mallet at the Abbey Park show, asked for his autograph so he signed, well, my mums cleavage (she was wearing a vest top). We'd bought plant at the show and she spent the rest of the time carrying it to cover up the autograph.

[Sly]

Got asked to marry the daughter of a dodgy Russian, so she could get a British passport (It was her father who asked).
 

Lent on a bar in the Czech Republic, causing the entire thing to collapse. I was the only person who could speak English. This was awkward. 
 

Played football at the Nou Camp. Lost to Olympiakos. I hardly touched the ball.

Took 147 aeroplane flights in year, which would have been okay, however I’m not a pilot / cabin crew.

 

Lived in a hotel in Northern Ireland for 6 months. 
 

Been on an aeroplane when it has an engine fire (mid air). Had to make an emergency landing in Greenland and I’d flown in shorts. Bloody freezing! 

 

Played (lost again) against the West Ham youth team that had Carrick, Cole, Kirkland etc Cole was truly brilliant. 

 

Swallowed a pound coin and had to go for an X Ray. All rather embarrassing, as when I arrived, they said they were expecting a small child. 

Taken a Mexican Billionaire clothes shopping in Burtons Coalville, after he’d lost his baggage on a flight into Birmingham. Why I choose Coalville, I’ll never know! 

[1972 Fox]

Went to all 42 LCFC home and away league games in the 1981-82 season but missed the FA Cup SF v Spurs due to a family wedding.

 

Never thought at the time that 38 years on we wouldn't reach the semifinals again since that day. 

[Guest Electric Yetis]

3 hours ago, MPH said:

 Watched a baby die. There was nothing we could do. Police came in straight after and arrested the dad for murder. Had to be polite and professional to the dad for ever a week even though we all knew what he had done..

Jesus 

[VLC86]

14 hours ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Got chatted up by Mark 'return of the mack' Morrisons in Jokers. 

 

Had my t-shirt signed by Steve Walsh who conveniently held my boob to get a better signature 

 

Spent an evening in the VIP part of Krystals with Steve Guppy who didn't want to talk football 

That’s happened to me so that doesn’t count.

[fuchsntf]

16 hours ago, Izzy said:

I once went in the sauna at David Lloyd Meridian and Neil Lennon was sat in there on his own. Had a good chat with him and he commented on how similar we looked  

 

I met him again 20 years later at a charity function and I couldn’t believe he didn’t remember our first encounter 

Cracked mirrors..

[Stoopid]

17 hours ago, Line-X said:

Which one? 

It was Paul Kantner. I was working as a courier in San Francisco,  and delivered a package to his house (nice place overlooking the Pacific).

He picked up on my accent and talked about playing at the DeMontfort Hall. Really nice bloke - we ended up sitting on his patio,  smoking and shooting the breeze for most of the afternoon. 

Was sad to hear about his death fairly recently. 

Intelligent and thoughtful man.

[Parafox]

5 hours ago, Sly said:

 

Taken a Mexican Billionaire clothes shopping in Burtons Coalville, after he’d lost his baggage on a flight into Birmingham. Why I choose Coalville, I’ll never know! 

Did he buy a lot of lycra?