I’m an old guy, retired, a layabout. But I have a lot of stories to tell and time to write them. There’s a motorcycle adventure in Fascist Spain in 1964, a ride across Siberia in 1968 and much more foolishness here and there. If you have the travel bug, you may find the time you spend reading these stories is time well wasted.
Layabout
by Layabout
Motorcycles and Guns
I’m just back from Paris where I must go from time to time for treatment of my APDS, a chronic condition that can only be treated in that place. (APDS = Acute Paris Deprivation Syndrome)
Before I retired and became a full-time layabout, I was a Structural Engineer and this is why the Notre Dame de Paris has always fascinated me. In my working life, my professional mandate was to look at a structure or a proposed structure and see the invisible push and pull of forces acting upon it, make it conform to building codes, make it practical and economical to construct, and make it to not fall down which would cause much embarrassment and loss of life.
The picture below shows the back end of the Cathedral and its flying buttresses. The roof structure consisted of wood trusses overlain with wood planking and lead shingles, all very heavy. Under that roof structure are the stone vaults that you see as a ceiling from inside the church. These loads would impose upon the walls as a vertical force and a lateral thrust that would destroy the walls by pushing them outwards. The lateral component of force is resisted by the flying buttresses.
Look at those flying buttresses, how long and slender they are; it appears they must be made of steel or reinforced concrete. But no, they are just stones pushing against each other, held in place by friction and that lateral pressure from the roof. You might think they are held in place by mortar, but no, if there is mortar it only holds them apart. At nine hundred years old, that mortar probably wouldn’t do much of anything. So, what might happen if half of that lateral force is removed by burning the roof? A house-of-cards model may be applicable.
The roof was removed by the fire, the spire collapsed, one of the stone vaults fell to the floor, but the buttresses held and the sequence of failure stopped there. The buttresses have been given new support by installing wooden trusses, just as they were supported nine centuries ago during construction. You can see the trusses in the picture. Earliest stages of the restoration were performed by workers dangling on ropes from the tower crane. Now the whole thing is wrapped in scaffolding and work stages and it’s more secure.
One of the two towers was on fire too, the one on the right in the above picture. You might think this tower of stone can’t burn, but you would be wrong. The supporting structure is made of oak posts and beams; the stone serves only as exterior cladding. It looks like an old Ontario barn, though much bigger. I’ve been there. The biggest bell “Le Bourdon” weighs thirteen tonnes. Firefighters had to drag their hoses inside to access the flames, not knowing if the whole thing was going to come down on their heads.
The builders of this magnificent thing nine hundred years ago had no computers, no tower crane, no power tools, not even a tape measure. They preceded by several centuries Isaac Newton’s laws on action and reaction which are the basis of structural analysis, Leibnitz’ discovery of the calculus and Napier’s discovery of Logarithms. They were winging it with only their intuition and hands-on experience from other projects.
Nicaragua is a fine place for adventurous mochileros (backpackers) to evade the Canadian winter and meet a gracious and welcoming people. For the more comfort-loving all inclusive crowd, . . . . . nah, not so much. 
Just weeks after we left that place, a demonstration against proposed changes to pensions led to a bloody government repression. Apparently, it’s hard for revolutionary heroes to adjust to democratic norms. Examples, Lenin, Mao, Castro, Mugabe, Chavez,and now Ortega. The gains of a revolution can only be sustained by the people, not by their revolutionary leaders.
Five old guys take on a challenging hike in the mountains of Guatemala. The story offers readers a look at the country around the most beautiful lake in the world, Lago Atitlán.
Enjoy The Trail to Santa Cruz
A 2CV is languishing for years in an Ontario barn. The rightful owner longs for it but has no way to get it from here to there. What he needs is a friend who is crazy enough to take up the project and has the mechanical aptitude to make it happen.
The 2CV with its little two-cylinder motor was designed to be as crude and simple as possible, to put 1930’s French farmers on the road at minimal cost. Its basic simplicity is its greatest virtue and the reason why 2CV remains the world’s most popular expedition car, for crossing the Sahara or penetrating dense jungles or driving the Silk Road to China.
Vancouver should be easy. Enjoy: 2CV ride to Vancouver
This is an account of a journey on the buses through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. These are poor small countries; we used to call them “Banana republics”. The bus service is good here, much better than in Canada. Bring along some local currency, your Lonely Planet guidebook and, if you have it, some knowledge of Spanish.
Enjoy:
Central America
Apart from the well-travelled “Gringo Trail” to Machu Picchu, Peru is a place untouched by mass tourism. This is an account of my circle tour out of Lima, over the mountains and into the upper Amazon basin: Peru 2014
November – December 2007, from Mexico City we make a big circle to the west, riding the buses and meeting the people. Winter is low season for Mexican beaches if they are not near an international airport. Enjoy: Mexican Highlands
Tales of a layabout 