So Betsy from Rivas was finally crowned Carnival Queen and the party finished at around 1am. Then the staff had to clear up, and then this morning at about 6.30 guys started taking down the scaffolding of the stage. So I wasn’t at my best this morning. Betsy might get by without her beauty sleep but I need all I can get!
But being Saturday it was a relaxing day. Neil and had a meeting to discuss some things we hadn’t had the chance to catch up on recently, then ater I I took my laptop outside, sat under some shade and read up on some documents which have been on my ‘must read’ list for several months now (I call it my ‘guilt pile’ – although now most documents are emailed its not as bad as having a teetering pile of paper on the desk reminding you every day what you haven’t done!). .
Really interesting to read the WWF Energy Report published earlier this month – it argues that by 2050 the world’s power, transport, industrial and domestic energy needs could potentially be met entirely from renewable sources. WWF’s director general, Jim Leape, sums it up: “The Energy Report shows that in four decades we can have a world of vibrant economies and societies powered entirely by clean, cheap and renewable energy, and with a vastly improved quality of life… But we must start now.”
The fact that it COULD be done doesnt mean that it WILL (I wish I was more of an optimist!), but there are some really quite mindblowing facts in the report – did you know that if just 0.3% of the Sahara was turned into a concentrated solar plant it could power the whole of Europe? Wind could meet 1/4 of the world’s electricity needs by 2050 if current growth rates continue. I won’t try and summarise the whole report but if you are interested – and I recommend it, you can read the report here (its a large pdf so takes some time to download).
Anyway, being a confirmed sun worshipper I couldn’t miss out on the chance to crash out beside the pool. People often think that the travel we do is very glamorous – but the reality can be very mundane – lots of meetings, packed schedules and no chance to kick back, And we don’t usually stay in hotels with pools! But Managua is extremely cheap and this hotel gives us a very good charity deal, so I felt very lucky to get the chance to get a bit of holiday time over the weekend and get rid of some of my winter pallour!