April in the Amazon

What does an early morning photo of a coffee and luggage in a south American airport have to do with watch straps?  

My briefcase, made from saddle leather, is 25 years old and still almost perfect.  Great for bags and saddles, it requires some innovative engineering to be suitable for a comfortable watch strap.  Equally old, equally well used and not sitting on the table as I do have a modicum of common sense, is my wallet.  This is made from Teju, which is almost as tough and has a lovely pattern.  Saddle leather, teju, crocodile and hand-made construction are not cheap and so the Field Engineer price will rise ('only the very best, regardless of cost' can be expensive), but in due course a new standard fit strap will be made from English saddle leather with a Teju or crocodile outer layer, and since the vast majority of Teju comes from controlled and managed programmes in south America I thought I’d take a look whist I’m here.  Teju meat is very nice (texture of chicken and tastes of whatever it's been seasoned with) and goes well with the brilliant fish that features in any resturant near a river.

Quite possibly the only subsea engineer on the amazon, limping slightly because according to the surgeon that bolted them back together, ‘the left one stings a bit because it’s still broken’.  

April’s strap testing continues with a few days in North Africa.  Less humidity, drier and dustier environment, lamb and couscous on the menu.