So after our time in Wellington, we took a ferry ride across Cook Strait to the South Island. The boat ride, although rough at times, was rather pleasant. Plus, once we got into the Marlborough Sounds, the ride calmed. The Sounds are inlets dotted with little bungalows and summer homes, only accessable via boat. The Sounds are made up of finger like streches of land reaching out into the ocean where three major bodies of water join. It looks like what parts of Maine must have looked like 50 or more years ago. If the day had seen clearer skies, I may have convinced Jack to hang out and try kayaking, but as it was a huge storm was brewing and we needed to head south.
We got to Kaikoura later in the evening, with enough time to check into a motel and run the grocery to cook dinner. It was a lovely evening of relaxing while snacking on fresh fruit and a good wine. The next morning we headed out to swim with dolphins. I'm not talking about swimming with a dolfin or two in captivity, where they perform a few tricks and you hang on their dorsal fin. These dolphins were wild. We went with a company called Dolphin Encounter, where they took us out into the ocean and had us join a pod of about 350 dolphins. They swam around us, circling us occassionally, checking us out while we dove down and made all sorts of funny noises in the name of entertaining them, despterately trying to keep their attention. It was the most amazing experience. At first I was hesitant, I mean, I was in a full body suit in freezing temperatures, getting ready to plunge into an ocean with wild animals. But after the first group of 5 or even 10 came swimming right at me, and I got to play with them a bit, I was hooked. I had taken the head piece off (I found it too restricting) and as the rush hit, I could barely feel the cold.
After the exhilerating start to the day, we decided to take another ride and on a whim booked a helicopter tour. We had heard from one of the boaters that two blue whales had been spotted in the vacinity. Jack and I both couldn't miss that. Our half hour helicopter ride turned into the best spot decision we have made on this trip. We got to see a female and her calf and hovered over them for about 10 minutes. They are so big, almost unreal. I was amazed at their size, and felt truly lucky to see them in the wild. Then, as they dove, our pilot took us to see a sperm whale that had surfaced. Again, a crazy site. This time the whale was located by a whale watching vessel, so we could compare the sizes. They are enormous mammals. Absolutely astonishing. I now have a better insight into the gravity of whaling. Maybe the next step is to join Greenpeace and go on anti-whaling trips. They just had a huge victory as the Japanese decided to hold off on humpback whaling, so maybe now is the time to step up! Hmmm. Or maybe I'll just whole heartedly support the cause for now.
After Kaikoura, we headed to Christchurch to stay with family friends. This time we stayed with Alex McKinnon and his lovely girlfriend, Rhianon. They were kind enough to host us for two nights and show us around a bit. We had some wonderful Thai food the first night, a warm welcome from the more traditional English fare in New Zealand, and were introduced to the pasty the next day at a farmer's market. The pasty is extremely popular all over England and apparently New Zealand as well. Although I tend to be against meat pies of any kind, the pasty was surprisingly good, even cold. Jack did eat most of it though.
Christchurch is famous for its gardens, so we did some walking around the city to take them in a bit, as well as to explore the Cathedral with its windy bell tower, Christ College, and the new modern art museum. I'm not really a fan of modern art, but the building's architecture was great. Plus, its always nice to check out local artists. Then we went to see Into the Wild, a movie by Sean Penn about a young man who donates all of his inheritance to OXFAM to live a life in the wild. Without giving the moving away, what I'll say is that Jack read the book and has always been intregued by the idea of trying to live off the land, without worldly possessions. Now that we're married, it puts a wrinkle in any attempt to shed all attachment to society and live in the wild, but I understand the basic idea. Some people may say that we're coming pretty close to it now, living for 9 and 1/2 months out of a backpack, but really we have it pretty good. We don't have many clothes, or extra shoes or jewelry or little stuff, but we don't miss it too much. What we miss most is having a permanent place to put everything. Moving every few days gets exhausting. Anyway, in the movie, the main character comes to some sort of revelation that happiness is only happiness when shared. Honestly, it started out well but in the end I just kept thinking, "what an idiot."
On our way from Christchurch we did something I've never done before, we picked up hitchhikers. Americans wouldn't really dream of doing that now-a-days, but the movie inspired us to do it. Plus, we were in New Zealand, where they mention one car crash, or one rape, etc. on the national news. Suffice it to say that we were safe. They two kids were college age and headed south for Christmas break. It was a nice change in conversation for a bit and made us feel good for aboout two seconds before the conversation ended. Mom, how did you do this so much in the 70s?
We went to Lake Tekapo for the night before heading to Mount Cook (New Zealand's largest mountain) and Tasman glacier. The area is gorgeous and well worth a visit. We hiked a bit up to the glaciers - what a fantastic site. We actually saw melting glaciers and the formed glacier lake. If I had been more able, we would have gone kayaking in it, or atleast hiked for longer. But we ended up just heading south again the next day, towards the Otago Penninsula.
On the Otago Peninsula we stayed in a new hostel, Old Bones, sortof out of the way, but extremely nice. It is great to finally find a place where there aren't spiders on your pillow (the night before in Lake Takapo I had a huge black spider crawling right by my head on the pillow as I woke up) and clean and safe enough to do laundry. While there we went to see yellow eyed and blue penquins! The blue penguins were really interesting. We found out that they spend most of their time at sea and only come ashore to mate and molt. The couple needs both the male and female to raise an offspring, so if one dies at sea, then all is lost. They are also the smallest of the penguins and currently in danger.
We also went to a beautiful little restaurant, called Fleur's Place in a nearby town of Moeraki. It's completely made up of wood that used to be in other buildings. For instance, the stairs came from an old house, the floorboards came from another building, etc. I thought it was such a cool idea. And the food was fantastic.
We then went to Dunedin, where we visited the Cadbury chocolate factory (Amazing!) and the only Castle in New Zealand before catching a flight back to Auckland and on to Australia.
Pictures coming!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
New Zealand and the Lord of the Rings - Part I
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. We flew into New Zealand, Auckland to be precise, from Fiji. I had just had the accident and was trying to walk, so our adventures were fairly minimal. We spent a few days there, stayed in a really creepy hostel and visited the hospital, where they confirmed my cuts were healing nicely with no infections, before heading out to see the landscape. We did have some amazing experiences while there though, we not only visited the best ice cream shop I've ever been too (Bill Clinton even stopped here on a visit in 1999), by the name of The Chocolate Boutique, but we went to the top of the Sky tower as well.
By far, in our few days in the city, Jack's driving was the scariest thing we did. We rented a car (the public transportation in New Zealand would have taken way too long, plus I was in no condition to sit on a bus for hours on end). He did an excellent job too! We did have a few instances where he drove on the wrong side of the road (over here its on the Left), but luckily no cars were coming. We then headed north to Sheep World where we saw a shy sheep shorn (say that 10 times) and learned about the natural environment before English settlers cleared the land for sheep grazing. We also learned how good possum fur is for the environment, they are a pest here and not native to the land. Possum fur is the only fur that is deemed good by the World Wildlife Fund (if you're going to buy fur, buy possum fur - its really soft too). Jack bought a pair of slippers and I'm a bit jealous.
Something you may want to consider if you visit New Zealand is that outside of major cities you will not find many hostels, hotels or B&Bs open late. We discovered this at a very inopportune time, as we were headed down the major two lane highway at 9 pm. Everywhere we stopped was closed for the night. We almost had to sleep in the car, but were saved by a very nice old woman who opened her B&B for a ridiculous rate to save us from driving off the road due to sleep deprivation. We learned our lesson!
We then headed to the Coromandel Peninsula to Thames for a night. We stayed a B&B run by a really interesting couple. They grew all of their own fruit and vegetables organically and the husband also had a wood shop (something I also dream of doing one day). Jack and I have discussed ways in which we could grow our own food as well, so it was such a great experience to see it in practice.
After our day in the car, driving around the peninsula, we found our way to Rotorua, a town with a high volume of volcanic activity. We went on a fabulous breakfast boat ride in the morning, after a night at a very good and sparse youth hostel, where we were the only passengers. Usually, they assured us, there were about 100 guests, but we were happy and lucky enough to have our own private tour. The crew gave us great pointers on where to go on the cheep, so instead of paying a bunch of money to see the boilers (like in Yellowstone) we just walked around the city to see the boiling water and mud. It was great! We also visited the Buried Village, the site of a - well you guessed it - buried village from a volcanic explosion over a 100 years ago. Although nothing like Pompeii, it was quite a site to see.
Our days drive from Coromandel Peninsula took us past Tongariro National Park, a World Heritage area. It may be most well known of late as the home of "Mount Doom" in the Lord of the Rings. "Mount Doom" is really Ngauruhoe mountain and is in the middle of two other magnificent mountains. All I can say is that the landscape is one film makers dream of. It was remarkable.
Our next stop was Waitomo, a place known for its caving and glow worms. We again stayed at a really fascinating B&B, this time it was an ostrich farm! The B&B was average, but the owners were hilarious. They were convinced by their entrepreneur son to go in on a scheme to raise ostriches years ago, so they moved to Waitomo and started the farm. We got the tour after breakfast. The eggs alone can feed 18 people! They way a ton, well really about two kilos - or about 5 pounds. You can also use their skin, feathers, and meat. Talk about a useful bird. I may not attempt eating an ostrich, but it sure makes it hard to argue not to. Jack tried an egg, he liked it well enough. I just stuck to my yogurt. We also learned that they could gut you in one kick of their leg - ouch. They really look and act a lot like dinosaurs up close (I assume of course).
After our visit at the Big Bird Inn, and our night hike to see the glow worms, we traveled south to the capital, Wellington. The drive, like all of New Zealand, was simply breathtaking.
Wellington was extremely nice, mostly due to the fact that we stayed with Peters' family friends, the McKinnon's. Although Jack and I love to backpack, and really enjoy our adventures, it was was relaxing and refreshing to stay with friends. It was a treat to have a room for more than two nights and a place where we didn't have to lock up our stuff when we left for the day. It was the perfect time too, as I was starting to miss the comforts of home.
While in Wellington, we visited Parliament at John's suggestion and witnessed a heated debate, as can only happen in the Westminster system. Not unlike the House of Commons. We also just walked around the city, took in the botanic gardens, rode the tramcar, visited the Treaty of Waitomo (the treaty signed by the British settlers and the Maori chiefs), saw an exhibition about Whales at the Wellington museum, and enjoyed home cooked meals by Avenal. It was extremely nice.
Pictures and more to come.
By far, in our few days in the city, Jack's driving was the scariest thing we did. We rented a car (the public transportation in New Zealand would have taken way too long, plus I was in no condition to sit on a bus for hours on end). He did an excellent job too! We did have a few instances where he drove on the wrong side of the road (over here its on the Left), but luckily no cars were coming. We then headed north to Sheep World where we saw a shy sheep shorn (say that 10 times) and learned about the natural environment before English settlers cleared the land for sheep grazing. We also learned how good possum fur is for the environment, they are a pest here and not native to the land. Possum fur is the only fur that is deemed good by the World Wildlife Fund (if you're going to buy fur, buy possum fur - its really soft too). Jack bought a pair of slippers and I'm a bit jealous.
Something you may want to consider if you visit New Zealand is that outside of major cities you will not find many hostels, hotels or B&Bs open late. We discovered this at a very inopportune time, as we were headed down the major two lane highway at 9 pm. Everywhere we stopped was closed for the night. We almost had to sleep in the car, but were saved by a very nice old woman who opened her B&B for a ridiculous rate to save us from driving off the road due to sleep deprivation. We learned our lesson!
We then headed to the Coromandel Peninsula to Thames for a night. We stayed a B&B run by a really interesting couple. They grew all of their own fruit and vegetables organically and the husband also had a wood shop (something I also dream of doing one day). Jack and I have discussed ways in which we could grow our own food as well, so it was such a great experience to see it in practice.
After our day in the car, driving around the peninsula, we found our way to Rotorua, a town with a high volume of volcanic activity. We went on a fabulous breakfast boat ride in the morning, after a night at a very good and sparse youth hostel, where we were the only passengers. Usually, they assured us, there were about 100 guests, but we were happy and lucky enough to have our own private tour. The crew gave us great pointers on where to go on the cheep, so instead of paying a bunch of money to see the boilers (like in Yellowstone) we just walked around the city to see the boiling water and mud. It was great! We also visited the Buried Village, the site of a - well you guessed it - buried village from a volcanic explosion over a 100 years ago. Although nothing like Pompeii, it was quite a site to see.
Our days drive from Coromandel Peninsula took us past Tongariro National Park, a World Heritage area. It may be most well known of late as the home of "Mount Doom" in the Lord of the Rings. "Mount Doom" is really Ngauruhoe mountain and is in the middle of two other magnificent mountains. All I can say is that the landscape is one film makers dream of. It was remarkable.
Our next stop was Waitomo, a place known for its caving and glow worms. We again stayed at a really fascinating B&B, this time it was an ostrich farm! The B&B was average, but the owners were hilarious. They were convinced by their entrepreneur son to go in on a scheme to raise ostriches years ago, so they moved to Waitomo and started the farm. We got the tour after breakfast. The eggs alone can feed 18 people! They way a ton, well really about two kilos - or about 5 pounds. You can also use their skin, feathers, and meat. Talk about a useful bird. I may not attempt eating an ostrich, but it sure makes it hard to argue not to. Jack tried an egg, he liked it well enough. I just stuck to my yogurt. We also learned that they could gut you in one kick of their leg - ouch. They really look and act a lot like dinosaurs up close (I assume of course).
After our visit at the Big Bird Inn, and our night hike to see the glow worms, we traveled south to the capital, Wellington. The drive, like all of New Zealand, was simply breathtaking.
Wellington was extremely nice, mostly due to the fact that we stayed with Peters' family friends, the McKinnon's. Although Jack and I love to backpack, and really enjoy our adventures, it was was relaxing and refreshing to stay with friends. It was a treat to have a room for more than two nights and a place where we didn't have to lock up our stuff when we left for the day. It was the perfect time too, as I was starting to miss the comforts of home.
While in Wellington, we visited Parliament at John's suggestion and witnessed a heated debate, as can only happen in the Westminster system. Not unlike the House of Commons. We also just walked around the city, took in the botanic gardens, rode the tramcar, visited the Treaty of Waitomo (the treaty signed by the British settlers and the Maori chiefs), saw an exhibition about Whales at the Wellington museum, and enjoyed home cooked meals by Avenal. It was extremely nice.
Pictures and more to come.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Dare Devil Joyce
So the day before Thanksgiving, Jack and I were in Tuvalu. We decided to head out after breakfast and explore the extremely small island of Funafuti. Well, we had hear the best way to do this was to rent a motor scooter. We rented one at the front desk, but when it arrived we realized it was an actual motorcycle.
Jack tried to ride first, but stalled. I then hopped on. I started the bike without problem, and started to go... but couldn't stop. I went too fast, uncontrollably, and hit a car. A government car. It was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me.
I didn't scream, but it felt like it. I was stuck between the car and the ground for a moment or two - it seemed like forever - until Jack, the mechanic and a few other men came rushing over.
They helped me up; and hobbling, I went to sit down. I had some rather nasty cuts on my knee, a huge lump on my leg, some other cuts and scraps and some swollen fingers. The worst part was right after the accident, when it all went a bit fuzzy and slightly black for a few seconds.
I ended up going to the Tuvalu hospital, which was an adventure. The hotel van took me there, after the cop asked for ID. It was all rather nonchalant. The hospital was hot and full of ants, but the desk attendant was nice and sent us to the Pediatric Exam room. Weird. I went in after a few minutes and had the doctor look at me. He seemed rather unconcerned, but impressed with our first aid kit, which Jack brought. It doesn't bode well for the rest of the third world countries we're visiting.
I was sent back to the hotel.
The next day, Thanksgiving, I didn't leave the room. My leg had swollen to the size of a softball and I could barely move. That didn't stop me from getting extremely sick - I couldn't hold down food. But, I've survived and am doing much better.
I am now in New Zealand, and despite an infection scare, am fine. The hospital here was awesome and I was reassured that everything was healing well.
I have to say, although I don't gush about my husband often, he's the best man in the world. He's been amazing, even renting this ridiculous bike to get around Tuvalu faster so he could get back to taking care of me as fast as he could.
I think that's the last of my motorcycle days.
Jack tried to ride first, but stalled. I then hopped on. I started the bike without problem, and started to go... but couldn't stop. I went too fast, uncontrollably, and hit a car. A government car. It was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me.
I didn't scream, but it felt like it. I was stuck between the car and the ground for a moment or two - it seemed like forever - until Jack, the mechanic and a few other men came rushing over.
They helped me up; and hobbling, I went to sit down. I had some rather nasty cuts on my knee, a huge lump on my leg, some other cuts and scraps and some swollen fingers. The worst part was right after the accident, when it all went a bit fuzzy and slightly black for a few seconds.
I ended up going to the Tuvalu hospital, which was an adventure. The hotel van took me there, after the cop asked for ID. It was all rather nonchalant. The hospital was hot and full of ants, but the desk attendant was nice and sent us to the Pediatric Exam room. Weird. I went in after a few minutes and had the doctor look at me. He seemed rather unconcerned, but impressed with our first aid kit, which Jack brought. It doesn't bode well for the rest of the third world countries we're visiting.
I was sent back to the hotel.
The next day, Thanksgiving, I didn't leave the room. My leg had swollen to the size of a softball and I could barely move. That didn't stop me from getting extremely sick - I couldn't hold down food. But, I've survived and am doing much better.
I am now in New Zealand, and despite an infection scare, am fine. The hospital here was awesome and I was reassured that everything was healing well.
I have to say, although I don't gush about my husband often, he's the best man in the world. He's been amazing, even renting this ridiculous bike to get around Tuvalu faster so he could get back to taking care of me as fast as he could.
I think that's the last of my motorcycle days.
Coastal Defenses in Tonga and Tuvalu
One of the main reasons I wanted to visit the Kingdom of Tonga was because of climate change. For the past few years I've been studying security in general and the way in which environmental change could lead to conflict, known as environmental security. Although a small field, it interests me because it allows me to look at both the environment and security studies. It also allows me to delve into climate change and its affects worldwide.
That primarily is what brought us to Tonga and later Tuvalu. As a large small island state, Tonga has a rather influential position within the region. It is also one of the bigger countries involved in the UN group representing small island countries. As a group they are largely concerned with rising sea levels and the affect this could have on their countries, especially if the polar ice caps melt as predicted. Tonga also has one of the more advanced countries, in terms of protective measures taken to guard against destruction due to sea rise. I wanted to see for myself what that entailed.
Tongan lagoon -
When we arrived in Tonga, both my husband and I were surprised at the laid back attitude of the islanders. This went way beyond a laissez-faire approach to work. Instead it meant that when we asked directions, for instance, we often got blank stares and quizzical looks. Everyone wanted to help, but seemed not to know the answers. Even when asking location questions, no one seemed to know directions. When asked about this, one local explained that it was most likely because Tongans generally do not know much about the world outside of their country. But we persisted and attempted to ask a few people about climate change. Locals seemed unaware of the topic, until we mentioned coastal erosion. Then they were happy to discuss their concerns.
On our island tour we were shown the defenses, which consist of about a meter high coral wall around only about a third of the main island Tongatapu.
From what I could gather, the best defenses were on the island of 'Eua, which rises about 20 meters from the ocean.
This gave me concern for the rest of the region. If Tonga only had a coral wall, what were the rest of the countries likely to have?
Nothing. Probably.
This is exactly what I found in Tuvalu. Although a personal accident kept me from visiting the lagoon at a closer range, I was able to see that there are no defenses. No disaster planning or preparation either, which leaves the country in a dire state if seas were to rise. At least Tonga has a contingency plan to move its people to Australia. I don't know if there is such a plan on Tuvalu. We attempted to speak to government officials while there; but as parliament was in session all members were meeting in the tent outside the airport. We did get a peak inside the Ministry of the Environment, which was strewn with pamphlets from the UN regarding climate change.
Although beautiful, there is no protection for Funafuti, Tuvalu:
In contrast to Tonga, Tuvalu is an extremely small nation, with only about 8,000 citizens. With so few people, and a small government, its no wonder they have nothing to protect their land.
As far as our trip went, I was able to take back with me a concern for the region and a better understanding of general malaise surrounding the issue. Hopefully I'll be able to do something in a future career regarding disaster planning. Perhaps create something better than a meter high sea wall.
That primarily is what brought us to Tonga and later Tuvalu. As a large small island state, Tonga has a rather influential position within the region. It is also one of the bigger countries involved in the UN group representing small island countries. As a group they are largely concerned with rising sea levels and the affect this could have on their countries, especially if the polar ice caps melt as predicted. Tonga also has one of the more advanced countries, in terms of protective measures taken to guard against destruction due to sea rise. I wanted to see for myself what that entailed.
Tongan lagoon -
When we arrived in Tonga, both my husband and I were surprised at the laid back attitude of the islanders. This went way beyond a laissez-faire approach to work. Instead it meant that when we asked directions, for instance, we often got blank stares and quizzical looks. Everyone wanted to help, but seemed not to know the answers. Even when asking location questions, no one seemed to know directions. When asked about this, one local explained that it was most likely because Tongans generally do not know much about the world outside of their country. But we persisted and attempted to ask a few people about climate change. Locals seemed unaware of the topic, until we mentioned coastal erosion. Then they were happy to discuss their concerns.
On our island tour we were shown the defenses, which consist of about a meter high coral wall around only about a third of the main island Tongatapu.
From what I could gather, the best defenses were on the island of 'Eua, which rises about 20 meters from the ocean.
This gave me concern for the rest of the region. If Tonga only had a coral wall, what were the rest of the countries likely to have?
Nothing. Probably.
This is exactly what I found in Tuvalu. Although a personal accident kept me from visiting the lagoon at a closer range, I was able to see that there are no defenses. No disaster planning or preparation either, which leaves the country in a dire state if seas were to rise. At least Tonga has a contingency plan to move its people to Australia. I don't know if there is such a plan on Tuvalu. We attempted to speak to government officials while there; but as parliament was in session all members were meeting in the tent outside the airport. We did get a peak inside the Ministry of the Environment, which was strewn with pamphlets from the UN regarding climate change.
Although beautiful, there is no protection for Funafuti, Tuvalu:
In contrast to Tonga, Tuvalu is an extremely small nation, with only about 8,000 citizens. With so few people, and a small government, its no wonder they have nothing to protect their land.
As far as our trip went, I was able to take back with me a concern for the region and a better understanding of general malaise surrounding the issue. Hopefully I'll be able to do something in a future career regarding disaster planning. Perhaps create something better than a meter high sea wall.
Chilly Chile
Jack and I got to Santiago on Halloween. Although marked by children in costumes and the passing out of candy in the USA, in Chile we found little evidence of this. Maybe it was the fact that we were in the city, or the fact that we spent the evening drinking margaritas in a Mexican restaurant, but it did not have the same festive feel. I fear that this will be our experience with most holidays oversees.
Despite the lack of celebration, our Chilean holiday was not without entertainment. On our third day we rented a car and drove to Valparaiso. Its a city located on the coast, among the hills of the Andes. It also was once home to Pablo Neruda, a famous Chilean poet. We visited his house, bizarre, beautiful and amazing all at once. It has fabulous view of the harbor, with interesting touches everywhere. He used old portholes as windows in the stairwell and doors from old buildings all over. It gave me some ideas for decorating, as well as recycling efforts when building a home.
Our second destination was a small town in Rancagua where a well-know spa is located called Termas de Cauquenes. Although once probably a grand spa resort, the building looked like it hadn't been renovated since the 1930s. The hotel is most known for its restaurant, which we thought was five-star. However on our first night, we were one of three customers. The food was spectacular though. Even though the trip was less than expected, it was an experience. I feel as though Hollywood has missed a great opportunity here to film in a relic.
We then headed further south to the wine region around Santa Cruz. This area was gorgeous and boasts some of the best wine in the world. We visited Vina Santa Cruz on our second day. We would have stayed longer, but we had to get back to Santiago to head to the south pacific.
I found Chile pleasant and welcoming. Besides the fact that the highway was not well marked, making it an interesting place to drive, it was very developed, a step ahead of the rest of the South America we explored. Its very diverse, so we felt as though we could have stayed much longer and been amazed the whole time. Every aspect of it was beautiful, from the coast to the mountains. On our drive back to Santiago I took in such a fantastic site: the mountains looked as though they were floating in the sky. A blue patch separated the foothills from the high peaks, giving it a sense of suspension in the air - breathtaking!
Because Chile has a large number of biomes and ecosystems, from the desert in the north to Patagonia in the south, this is a place I want to come back to.
Here we are on a "date" to a nice dinner in Santa Cruz. This is one of the only days I've been able to dry my hair with a blow dryer. Exciting stuff!
Despite the lack of celebration, our Chilean holiday was not without entertainment. On our third day we rented a car and drove to Valparaiso. Its a city located on the coast, among the hills of the Andes. It also was once home to Pablo Neruda, a famous Chilean poet. We visited his house, bizarre, beautiful and amazing all at once. It has fabulous view of the harbor, with interesting touches everywhere. He used old portholes as windows in the stairwell and doors from old buildings all over. It gave me some ideas for decorating, as well as recycling efforts when building a home.
Our second destination was a small town in Rancagua where a well-know spa is located called Termas de Cauquenes. Although once probably a grand spa resort, the building looked like it hadn't been renovated since the 1930s. The hotel is most known for its restaurant, which we thought was five-star. However on our first night, we were one of three customers. The food was spectacular though. Even though the trip was less than expected, it was an experience. I feel as though Hollywood has missed a great opportunity here to film in a relic.
We then headed further south to the wine region around Santa Cruz. This area was gorgeous and boasts some of the best wine in the world. We visited Vina Santa Cruz on our second day. We would have stayed longer, but we had to get back to Santiago to head to the south pacific.
I found Chile pleasant and welcoming. Besides the fact that the highway was not well marked, making it an interesting place to drive, it was very developed, a step ahead of the rest of the South America we explored. Its very diverse, so we felt as though we could have stayed much longer and been amazed the whole time. Every aspect of it was beautiful, from the coast to the mountains. On our drive back to Santiago I took in such a fantastic site: the mountains looked as though they were floating in the sky. A blue patch separated the foothills from the high peaks, giving it a sense of suspension in the air - breathtaking!
Because Chile has a large number of biomes and ecosystems, from the desert in the north to Patagonia in the south, this is a place I want to come back to.
Here we are on a "date" to a nice dinner in Santa Cruz. This is one of the only days I've been able to dry my hair with a blow dryer. Exciting stuff!
Beautiful Air and gibberish
So onward to Buenos Aires.
Jack and I went to Buenos Aires in late October. It was a rollercoaster of a few days, mainly walking the streets for hours on end. The city is gorgeous. It is no wonder it's name means 'beautiful air.' There were parks galore. One of the major attractions for us was the nature preserve located on the Rio de la Plata. It had miles of walking trails, all closed to vehicles and reserved strictly for bikers, walkers, or rollerbladers. It was also full of birds and other wildlife; in general, it was spectacular.
I broke down on the second day and just had to go see a movie. It didn't matter what exactly, just as long as it was in English. You see, at this point I was having difficulties. My spanish is non-existant, and Jack, well, if you know Jack, you know that he's beyond gifted with languages. It's annoying at times. He never claimed to know spanish very well, "Just a few phrases to get by," he claimed. Yeah right. We're in Costa Rica for a few days, and he just picks it up! Although this is fabulous overall, it meant that in South America I was glued to Jack's side. I couldn't wander because if I got lost, I couldn't ask for directions. I couldn't read menus, which meant Jack was ordering for me. And in general, I was mute in conversation. It was frustrating.
This leads us to the movie. We went to see, of all things, Invasores, or the Nicole Kidman flick based on "the Bodysnatchers" or something. It would not be my first choice by any means, but options were limited in English. That was the low point.
We were only in Buenos Aires for a few days, but as luck would have it we happened to be there during the Presidential elections. It was interesting to walk the streets and read the signs (well, Jack read them) that were mainly about communism or abstaining from voting in order to prove a point. What point is that? I've never understood those who abstain from voting. Plus, its a bit ironic that they'd call for non-voting when voicing a rejection is permitted in a democracy. Communist countries don't generally allow you to do that. The very thing they abhor is what allows them to voice objection in the first place. Oh well.
We also got to see my friend Antonio. I worked with him at the UN for a few months last winter. It was great to see him and catch up. Although Brazilian, he's working in Argentina and was able to give us a bit of an insiders perspective. He took us to this great restaurant, full of meat! Really Argentina is known for its beef, so it was nice to enjoy a steak for a change. Vegetarians beware!
Here are photos:
I've been taking photos of recycling around the world as we've traveled. These, by far, are the largest recycling bins to date (right outside of the Pink House, Argentin'a White House):
Jack and I went to Buenos Aires in late October. It was a rollercoaster of a few days, mainly walking the streets for hours on end. The city is gorgeous. It is no wonder it's name means 'beautiful air.' There were parks galore. One of the major attractions for us was the nature preserve located on the Rio de la Plata. It had miles of walking trails, all closed to vehicles and reserved strictly for bikers, walkers, or rollerbladers. It was also full of birds and other wildlife; in general, it was spectacular.
I broke down on the second day and just had to go see a movie. It didn't matter what exactly, just as long as it was in English. You see, at this point I was having difficulties. My spanish is non-existant, and Jack, well, if you know Jack, you know that he's beyond gifted with languages. It's annoying at times. He never claimed to know spanish very well, "Just a few phrases to get by," he claimed. Yeah right. We're in Costa Rica for a few days, and he just picks it up! Although this is fabulous overall, it meant that in South America I was glued to Jack's side. I couldn't wander because if I got lost, I couldn't ask for directions. I couldn't read menus, which meant Jack was ordering for me. And in general, I was mute in conversation. It was frustrating.
This leads us to the movie. We went to see, of all things, Invasores, or the Nicole Kidman flick based on "the Bodysnatchers" or something. It would not be my first choice by any means, but options were limited in English. That was the low point.
We were only in Buenos Aires for a few days, but as luck would have it we happened to be there during the Presidential elections. It was interesting to walk the streets and read the signs (well, Jack read them) that were mainly about communism or abstaining from voting in order to prove a point. What point is that? I've never understood those who abstain from voting. Plus, its a bit ironic that they'd call for non-voting when voicing a rejection is permitted in a democracy. Communist countries don't generally allow you to do that. The very thing they abhor is what allows them to voice objection in the first place. Oh well.
We also got to see my friend Antonio. I worked with him at the UN for a few months last winter. It was great to see him and catch up. Although Brazilian, he's working in Argentina and was able to give us a bit of an insiders perspective. He took us to this great restaurant, full of meat! Really Argentina is known for its beef, so it was nice to enjoy a steak for a change. Vegetarians beware!
Here are photos:
I've been taking photos of recycling around the world as we've traveled. These, by far, are the largest recycling bins to date (right outside of the Pink House, Argentin'a White House):
Monday, November 26, 2007
Cool Cuzco
Before I move onto our trip to Buenos Aires and Santiago, I thought I would write a bit about Cuzco, Peru. Up until now, this city has been my favorite. Cuzco is located high in the Andes at about 12,000 ft. which makes for a very cool climate. Its a bustling cultural center among the ancient ruins of the Incan empire and the historical sites of the Spanish conquistadors. Cathedrals are built with Incan stones, and an Incan temple's ruins can be seen as the foundation for the Dominican monestary.
The city also boasts a European feel, no doubt of Spanish influence. The streets remain cobblestone in the center and most buildings have terraces. The views are also spectacular because of the hills. From our hostel window we could see little children practicing cultural dance in a square below; and the music from wind instruments carried up to our window as well.
Of course, along with the hagglers and nagging sellers of post-cards and finger puppets came many fabulous locals who sold tapestries and works of art. Many women carried bundles on their backs and wore local dress. Hats depict various areas of Peru, and although we never were able to tell which was which, it was interesting to note.
We spent a few days there in October, both before and after our hiking trips in the Andes and the Amazon. There was a lot to do and see, and I would certainly go back if I could. We spent some time in the artisan market, tasting the local dishes and finding great meals, the best one was only 12 soles for 2, which is equal to about $4, and visiting the Cathedrals. Just walking up the streets was a challenge at times because of altitude and the sheer fact that they were so steep.
Here are some photos for you:
Before I left for the trip, my dad asked me if I'd look out for evidence of large companies taking over business or negatively affecting locals' lives. Of course, this was due to his recent reading of Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Regardless of reason, and partially due to the fact that I'm interested in organic farming and the use of pesticides, I thought it was interesting that one of the only factories in Cuzco is a pesticide plant. Most of the other industries have left, and the existence of the pesticide company means that most of the local farmers use them. We noticed a large number of ads for them around the city. I couldn't resist mentioning this because it contrasts with the way of farming used by the Incas themselves, who were really good at using the climate and landscape to their advantage. (They obviously didn't have pesticides and used terrace farming, in circular patterns when possible. One theory for this is to help with irrigation.)
Anyway, it was an intersting sidenote. One for you, dad!
The city also boasts a European feel, no doubt of Spanish influence. The streets remain cobblestone in the center and most buildings have terraces. The views are also spectacular because of the hills. From our hostel window we could see little children practicing cultural dance in a square below; and the music from wind instruments carried up to our window as well.
Of course, along with the hagglers and nagging sellers of post-cards and finger puppets came many fabulous locals who sold tapestries and works of art. Many women carried bundles on their backs and wore local dress. Hats depict various areas of Peru, and although we never were able to tell which was which, it was interesting to note.
We spent a few days there in October, both before and after our hiking trips in the Andes and the Amazon. There was a lot to do and see, and I would certainly go back if I could. We spent some time in the artisan market, tasting the local dishes and finding great meals, the best one was only 12 soles for 2, which is equal to about $4, and visiting the Cathedrals. Just walking up the streets was a challenge at times because of altitude and the sheer fact that they were so steep.
Here are some photos for you:
Before I left for the trip, my dad asked me if I'd look out for evidence of large companies taking over business or negatively affecting locals' lives. Of course, this was due to his recent reading of Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Regardless of reason, and partially due to the fact that I'm interested in organic farming and the use of pesticides, I thought it was interesting that one of the only factories in Cuzco is a pesticide plant. Most of the other industries have left, and the existence of the pesticide company means that most of the local farmers use them. We noticed a large number of ads for them around the city. I couldn't resist mentioning this because it contrasts with the way of farming used by the Incas themselves, who were really good at using the climate and landscape to their advantage. (They obviously didn't have pesticides and used terrace farming, in circular patterns when possible. One theory for this is to help with irrigation.)
Anyway, it was an intersting sidenote. One for you, dad!
Peruvian Amazon
Many things have shocked me on our travels, but our trip to the Amazon was stunning, for a few reasons. First, we had just come from Cuzco and Machu Picchu, where the climate was cool and crisp. So the heat of the jungle was shocking at first. I'm not one to do very well in hot weather. My crew coach in college once gasped at how I had sweated through a sweater on a run, to give you an idea.
Second, the days before we reached the Amazon, we were immersed in Peruvian culture. From the Larres Trek, where we met local people living on the mountainside, to Cuzco, where we saw many Incan and Spanish sites, to Macchu Picchu, one of the best preserved Incan villages. Peru had thus been an educational experience. I will be the first to admit that before going, I had little interest in Incan history. So, going to the Amazon, I expected to be an extension of our Incan learning. How wrong was I?
Third, I just didn't realize what we would encounter.
We flew from Cuzco to Puerto Maldanado where we met our tour group and traveled by bus to the boat. We had to travel 3 hours down the Rio Tambopata to our destination.
Here is the river and the boat we traveled on:
We walked through parts of the jungle before reaching the lodge around dusk. Both Jack and I were excited to stay there, because it was an eco-friendly lodge, basically that meant no hot water or electricity most of the time. For me, this brought another surprise though, as our room didn't have either an actual door, or windows. Instead it opened up to the jungle. This meant that bugs of all sorts visited us. They did provide us with mosquito nets however. We were warned not to leave anything with a scent out, because opossums frequented the rooms.
On the first night, on my way to dinner, I spotted a really bizarre animal outside the room. It looked like a opossum in the face, but was bright yellow and had spikes all over its body, making it a porcupine or something. I called for Jack, and he came out too. So there was a witness! But our guide, Diego and the others claimed they had no idea what it was when I described it and said they had never heard of such an animal. Who knows, maybe I discovered a rare Amazonian species?
The second day, it rained; so our activities consisted of an afternoon walk. The jungle alone was simply breathtaking. We were suppose to go to a huge salt lick, where tons and tons of macaws go in the mornings, but it rained. We went to a lookout tower which was awesome, and high. We were swarmed by bees and wasps at the very top, but no stings. Instead we saw tropical birds, Macaws, and other weird birds. Again, I'm not big into birds.
Here is the view from the top of the lookout tower and the canopy view:
That night, we took a boat ride in the river to see the Caymans. They are related to alligators and crocks, but much much smaller. They live all along the river. It was very cool.
On the third day we got an early start and went for the whole morning to some small lakes. The walk there was about an hour long, then we got in a long canoe and headed across the lake. The sun was blistering hot. Once we crossed, we walked a ways and got into another canoe. This one had issues. You see, it did not have a paddle. Our guide said some local must have stolen it. Our group consisted of about 12 people, all in one canoe, so we desperately needed a paddle. One of the people, Smit as we called him, got out a pocket knife and handed it to the guides. They then proceeded to cut down a small tree to use as a paddle to cross the lake. Two men, at either end of the boat, used these stick like things to move all of us along the lake. I thought we were crossing it, but after a few hours of apparent bird watching, I realized that it was not the case. We went up a part of the lake and got stuck, where our guide pointed out the grass growing all around us to show that it was nature's way of making new paths for the water and filling in the rest with swampy marshes. I thought an explanation would have sufficed, but whatever. We then backtracked, all of us grabbing the grass to pull us out, and finally reached the shore. Meanwhile, the whole time, the guy in front of me had noticed a leak in the canoe when we first started. He was hauling water out with a small bucket the entire time!
So, we were in a canoe with no oars, with a leak, in water where piranhas live! It was quite the experience. We survived though.
Here is Jack fishing for pirahnas:
That afternoon, we went to an organic farm. The owner was taught to farm organically by a NGO, ProNatura (www.pronatura.org). Although only one of four farmers in the region to take part in the program, Don Manuel is the only one that profited from the change. The farm was small, but well organized. One of the main crops, that will be profitable in many years, are mahogany trees. Apparently mahogany was over cut, and is now is extremely short supply. So the NGO showed Don Manuel how to intersperse the trees among the crops. Besides growing fruit, such as starfruit, bananas, papayas, mangoes, hybrid fruit etc. he had coffee, sugarcane, chicken, and much more.
It was really fascinating to see.
The whole trip was fantastic. We agreed we would go back if we could later in life. The Amazon is certainly stunning. And hot. If you want more information on the group we took the tours with, Rainforest Expeditions (amazing because of how eco-conscious they are) go to www.perunature.com
Second, the days before we reached the Amazon, we were immersed in Peruvian culture. From the Larres Trek, where we met local people living on the mountainside, to Cuzco, where we saw many Incan and Spanish sites, to Macchu Picchu, one of the best preserved Incan villages. Peru had thus been an educational experience. I will be the first to admit that before going, I had little interest in Incan history. So, going to the Amazon, I expected to be an extension of our Incan learning. How wrong was I?
Third, I just didn't realize what we would encounter.
We flew from Cuzco to Puerto Maldanado where we met our tour group and traveled by bus to the boat. We had to travel 3 hours down the Rio Tambopata to our destination.
Here is the river and the boat we traveled on:
We walked through parts of the jungle before reaching the lodge around dusk. Both Jack and I were excited to stay there, because it was an eco-friendly lodge, basically that meant no hot water or electricity most of the time. For me, this brought another surprise though, as our room didn't have either an actual door, or windows. Instead it opened up to the jungle. This meant that bugs of all sorts visited us. They did provide us with mosquito nets however. We were warned not to leave anything with a scent out, because opossums frequented the rooms.
On the first night, on my way to dinner, I spotted a really bizarre animal outside the room. It looked like a opossum in the face, but was bright yellow and had spikes all over its body, making it a porcupine or something. I called for Jack, and he came out too. So there was a witness! But our guide, Diego and the others claimed they had no idea what it was when I described it and said they had never heard of such an animal. Who knows, maybe I discovered a rare Amazonian species?
The second day, it rained; so our activities consisted of an afternoon walk. The jungle alone was simply breathtaking. We were suppose to go to a huge salt lick, where tons and tons of macaws go in the mornings, but it rained. We went to a lookout tower which was awesome, and high. We were swarmed by bees and wasps at the very top, but no stings. Instead we saw tropical birds, Macaws, and other weird birds. Again, I'm not big into birds.
Here is the view from the top of the lookout tower and the canopy view:
That night, we took a boat ride in the river to see the Caymans. They are related to alligators and crocks, but much much smaller. They live all along the river. It was very cool.
On the third day we got an early start and went for the whole morning to some small lakes. The walk there was about an hour long, then we got in a long canoe and headed across the lake. The sun was blistering hot. Once we crossed, we walked a ways and got into another canoe. This one had issues. You see, it did not have a paddle. Our guide said some local must have stolen it. Our group consisted of about 12 people, all in one canoe, so we desperately needed a paddle. One of the people, Smit as we called him, got out a pocket knife and handed it to the guides. They then proceeded to cut down a small tree to use as a paddle to cross the lake. Two men, at either end of the boat, used these stick like things to move all of us along the lake. I thought we were crossing it, but after a few hours of apparent bird watching, I realized that it was not the case. We went up a part of the lake and got stuck, where our guide pointed out the grass growing all around us to show that it was nature's way of making new paths for the water and filling in the rest with swampy marshes. I thought an explanation would have sufficed, but whatever. We then backtracked, all of us grabbing the grass to pull us out, and finally reached the shore. Meanwhile, the whole time, the guy in front of me had noticed a leak in the canoe when we first started. He was hauling water out with a small bucket the entire time!
So, we were in a canoe with no oars, with a leak, in water where piranhas live! It was quite the experience. We survived though.
Here is Jack fishing for pirahnas:
That afternoon, we went to an organic farm. The owner was taught to farm organically by a NGO, ProNatura (www.pronatura.org). Although only one of four farmers in the region to take part in the program, Don Manuel is the only one that profited from the change. The farm was small, but well organized. One of the main crops, that will be profitable in many years, are mahogany trees. Apparently mahogany was over cut, and is now is extremely short supply. So the NGO showed Don Manuel how to intersperse the trees among the crops. Besides growing fruit, such as starfruit, bananas, papayas, mangoes, hybrid fruit etc. he had coffee, sugarcane, chicken, and much more.
It was really fascinating to see.
The whole trip was fantastic. We agreed we would go back if we could later in life. The Amazon is certainly stunning. And hot. If you want more information on the group we took the tours with, Rainforest Expeditions (amazing because of how eco-conscious they are) go to www.perunature.com
Beautiful Peruvian Trek
Jack and I went treking for three days in the Andes in mid-October. Here´s how our trip went. Let me break this down for you. We got up around 5:45 am so that we could be picked up at 6:20 am to meet our guide and the rest of the group. Then we got on a bus and drove through some mountains in the Andes to our destination point, from where we started hiking. Anticipating that I may have some trouble with rocky areas, steep drop-offs and the high altitude (we were at around 12,100 feet high at the start) I hired two walking sticks. I soon found out that I would definitely have problems with the altitude. I sounded like a woman doing lamase while hiking up the steep parts - which was quite often, considering we were hiking for about 5-9 hours a day. But I did it, and was surprisingly not too sore either.
The hike was absolutely amazing. The area was gorgeous, like nothing I´ve ever seen before. We hiked a total of 3 days for perhaps 19 hours total. The highest campsite was 4,400 meters (about 13,000 feet or so). We hiked past glacier lakes, llamas and alpacas grazing, small villages where children often tended the animals. Most of the trip was extremely rocky, with steep drop-offs. I was frightened to be sure. But most of the time I was too busy trying to breathe to worry about the cliffs and rocks. I do have a new found respect for those people who climbed the Alps to get to freedom.
Here is a picture of a glacier in the background:
We were really taken by the local people, who only speak Quechua, and live in small huts.
Children would come out to great us on the path, and ask for candy. We had bought some small gifts for them, hair bands for girls and combs for boys, in a market before setting out the first morning, and they took them with the biggest smiles on their faces. Another hiker had bread, or ¨tanta¨ in their language, and they absolutely loved that! One little two year old, who could barely walk up the steep hill from his hut to the path, only took the tanta and literally rejected all other gifts- clearly its food that mattered most to him.
The striking thing about these children, was that they all seemed so happy, even though they were extremely dirty and work nothing more than sandals on their feet (it was freezing at times). They also had burns on their cheeks, from both sunburns and frostbite. It was heartwarming to witness how they live and to know that in order to get to school, the majority of them travel a few hours a day. Some take a bus, but most walk to school. And the walk is not an easy one.
On our second night, three women came to sell tapestries to us at the campsite. One woman carried a huge bundle on her back, plus a three month old baby. And she totally put us to shame walking up the steep hills - she was incredibly fast. That night it started to snow - we literally woke up on the third day to a few inches of snow around us.
On the fourth day we made it to Machu Picchu. We woke up very early again to take the bus up and see the ancient Inca site as the sun rose. It was amazing. Although we were sore and tired, the ruins were stimulating.
We ended our hike by returning to Cuzco and preparing for our trip to the Amazon. I would highly recommend this to anyone who's willing.
The hike was absolutely amazing. The area was gorgeous, like nothing I´ve ever seen before. We hiked a total of 3 days for perhaps 19 hours total. The highest campsite was 4,400 meters (about 13,000 feet or so). We hiked past glacier lakes, llamas and alpacas grazing, small villages where children often tended the animals. Most of the trip was extremely rocky, with steep drop-offs. I was frightened to be sure. But most of the time I was too busy trying to breathe to worry about the cliffs and rocks. I do have a new found respect for those people who climbed the Alps to get to freedom.
Here is a picture of a glacier in the background:
We were really taken by the local people, who only speak Quechua, and live in small huts.
Children would come out to great us on the path, and ask for candy. We had bought some small gifts for them, hair bands for girls and combs for boys, in a market before setting out the first morning, and they took them with the biggest smiles on their faces. Another hiker had bread, or ¨tanta¨ in their language, and they absolutely loved that! One little two year old, who could barely walk up the steep hill from his hut to the path, only took the tanta and literally rejected all other gifts- clearly its food that mattered most to him.
The striking thing about these children, was that they all seemed so happy, even though they were extremely dirty and work nothing more than sandals on their feet (it was freezing at times). They also had burns on their cheeks, from both sunburns and frostbite. It was heartwarming to witness how they live and to know that in order to get to school, the majority of them travel a few hours a day. Some take a bus, but most walk to school. And the walk is not an easy one.
On our second night, three women came to sell tapestries to us at the campsite. One woman carried a huge bundle on her back, plus a three month old baby. And she totally put us to shame walking up the steep hills - she was incredibly fast. That night it started to snow - we literally woke up on the third day to a few inches of snow around us.
On the fourth day we made it to Machu Picchu. We woke up very early again to take the bus up and see the ancient Inca site as the sun rose. It was amazing. Although we were sore and tired, the ruins were stimulating.
We ended our hike by returning to Cuzco and preparing for our trip to the Amazon. I would highly recommend this to anyone who's willing.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Pictures of Past Events
So here are some photos I have neglected to post.
After so many meals in Costa Rica, consisting of fried plantains and rice, this was my favorite meal. I have to admit, it did sustain us for quite a few days - we even ate the bread and peanut butter for breakfast. Yum!
Here I am in the Costa Rican canopy, going upside down! Crazy moments I tell you. If you can't figure it out from the photo - I'm absolutely screaming at this point. It was so much fun.
And here Jack and I are, going together on the zip line. Cute, I know.
This picture sums up our terrible night in Puerto Viejo. The hostel looked like something from a horror movie. Quite honestly, between the ants crawling on the wall, the lizards and Jack's terrible rash, it was my idea of a nightmare. Really, that's an overstatement.
Ok, I hope you've enjoyed some of these. More will come, I promise!
After so many meals in Costa Rica, consisting of fried plantains and rice, this was my favorite meal. I have to admit, it did sustain us for quite a few days - we even ate the bread and peanut butter for breakfast. Yum! 
Here I am in the Costa Rican canopy, going upside down! Crazy moments I tell you. If you can't figure it out from the photo - I'm absolutely screaming at this point. It was so much fun.
And here Jack and I are, going together on the zip line. Cute, I know. This picture sums up our terrible night in Puerto Viejo. The hostel looked like something from a horror movie. Quite honestly, between the ants crawling on the wall, the lizards and Jack's terrible rash, it was my idea of a nightmare. Really, that's an overstatement.
Ok, I hope you've enjoyed some of these. More will come, I promise!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Lonesome George
Jack and I went to the Galapagos Islands off of Ecuador on October 11th. We arrived in Quito and immediately welcomed the cool weather. We actually had to wear jackets and I put on my down vest. From Quito we traveled to Baltra in the Galapagos Archipeligo. Jack and I were so tired that we fell asleep for most of the plane rides (yes rides) and were completely disoriented, not to mention hungry, when we landed. Because we were so tired from our trip from Costa Rica and the 12 hour delay in the Panama airport, we missed most of the free food on the plane. I have to give this to Ecuadorian airlines - they certainly know how to feed people. The worst part was that I kept dreaming about them serving food, but was too tired to wake up to get any. So when I did wake up, taking off my eye mask, the loud and loquacious man from Philly behind us told us straight off how wonderful the food service was and all about the delicious little sandwhiches. We, however, had to settle for plantain chips and a coke in the airport.
We soon discovered that our adventure was going to make us intimate with our boat, GAP III, some of the wildlife and the eight other passengers onboard.
We traveled to four of the 13 large islands. The first day we went to a very small island to see sea lions. The docks of San Francisco Bay are nothing compared to the beaches in the Galapagos. We were so close that we were stepping over them to walk along the beach. Most were harmless, but watch out for the male sea lions! Get this - they only have control over the harem of females for four months before they duke it out with the other males again. I guess its natures way of making sure they´re not too inbred. I think we know more than we´d ever want to about sea lion mating.
Anyway, our second activity, snorkling, took us to frigid waters where we both almost died, not from the cold per se, but from the extreme waves. Brrr! I´m cold and tired just thinking of it. At some point, my senses came to me and I decided to hoist myself back in the boat. I felt a bit like a huge fish wrigling on the boat deck - and then there came Jack, an even bigger fish! I think his lips were actually blue. So much for him always being about 10 degrees hotter than me.
Our hiking adventures and subsequent snorkling activities were much more successful. We saw some turtles, sting rays, sharks (they were asleep than goodness!), and penquins in the water. Fish included of course. On land we saw the famous finches, land, marine and hybrid iguanas, hugh albatrose birds, pink flamingos, blue-footed boobies, and so many more birds. The hikes were my favorite. That´s where we got to see the most wildlife, plus the waters were cold and almost too cloudy to see anything.
One of my favorite hikes took us to Floreana, or Charles Island, where Charles Darwin spent 5 weeks studying the finches. I don´t care much for birds, so that didn´t interest me too much, but I was fascinated by the landscape. Everything was dry and it all looked barren. We learned that when El Nino that hit the island and made the flamingo population drop from the thousands to only a few hundred. Our guide explained that although hte plant life can survive for long periods without rain, the animal populations are extremely vulnerable. This makes it difficult for the islands, becuase they continue to move closer to Ecuador each year. Combined with the four different wind currents and the increasing tourism, the Galapagos are threatened in multiple ways - tourism and invasive species being the most dangerous. If you want to know more about convervation efforts, visit www.galapagos.org.
Another great trip was to the tortoise conservation center. There were met George. He´s the last of his species left and he refuses to mate. I would too if I were over 100 years old. Anyway, Lonesome George was amazing to see.
Everything was amazing to see. I do have to warn any future visitor though that the stay on the boat is not too much fun. First, although our group was really nice, you have to spend so much time with other passengers, so beware beforehand. Second, I, lover of all boats, got extremely sea-sick! Our cabin smelled of diesel and mildue, and everything stayed wet the whole trip. It took 2 days for me to feel steady again, just in time for my hike through the Andes. In short, we´re glad we went, and we´re glad to be off the boat!
We soon discovered that our adventure was going to make us intimate with our boat, GAP III, some of the wildlife and the eight other passengers onboard.
We traveled to four of the 13 large islands. The first day we went to a very small island to see sea lions. The docks of San Francisco Bay are nothing compared to the beaches in the Galapagos. We were so close that we were stepping over them to walk along the beach. Most were harmless, but watch out for the male sea lions! Get this - they only have control over the harem of females for four months before they duke it out with the other males again. I guess its natures way of making sure they´re not too inbred. I think we know more than we´d ever want to about sea lion mating.
Anyway, our second activity, snorkling, took us to frigid waters where we both almost died, not from the cold per se, but from the extreme waves. Brrr! I´m cold and tired just thinking of it. At some point, my senses came to me and I decided to hoist myself back in the boat. I felt a bit like a huge fish wrigling on the boat deck - and then there came Jack, an even bigger fish! I think his lips were actually blue. So much for him always being about 10 degrees hotter than me.
Our hiking adventures and subsequent snorkling activities were much more successful. We saw some turtles, sting rays, sharks (they were asleep than goodness!), and penquins in the water. Fish included of course. On land we saw the famous finches, land, marine and hybrid iguanas, hugh albatrose birds, pink flamingos, blue-footed boobies, and so many more birds. The hikes were my favorite. That´s where we got to see the most wildlife, plus the waters were cold and almost too cloudy to see anything.
One of my favorite hikes took us to Floreana, or Charles Island, where Charles Darwin spent 5 weeks studying the finches. I don´t care much for birds, so that didn´t interest me too much, but I was fascinated by the landscape. Everything was dry and it all looked barren. We learned that when El Nino that hit the island and made the flamingo population drop from the thousands to only a few hundred. Our guide explained that although hte plant life can survive for long periods without rain, the animal populations are extremely vulnerable. This makes it difficult for the islands, becuase they continue to move closer to Ecuador each year. Combined with the four different wind currents and the increasing tourism, the Galapagos are threatened in multiple ways - tourism and invasive species being the most dangerous. If you want to know more about convervation efforts, visit www.galapagos.org.
Another great trip was to the tortoise conservation center. There were met George. He´s the last of his species left and he refuses to mate. I would too if I were over 100 years old. Anyway, Lonesome George was amazing to see.
Everything was amazing to see. I do have to warn any future visitor though that the stay on the boat is not too much fun. First, although our group was really nice, you have to spend so much time with other passengers, so beware beforehand. Second, I, lover of all boats, got extremely sea-sick! Our cabin smelled of diesel and mildue, and everything stayed wet the whole trip. It took 2 days for me to feel steady again, just in time for my hike through the Andes. In short, we´re glad we went, and we´re glad to be off the boat!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Pictures Anyone?
So, I know I´ve promised pictures of our travels. There are a few glitches in our plan to provide you with the proof of our adventures: one, we are not always have good internet access; two, we do not always have the time necessary to download them; and three, most importantly, we are a bit lazy. So we apologize. I do promise that we are indeed traveling and not in some CIA training facility in Cuba. Have you heard that´s why they don´t allow Americans to go there? Yes folks, its because that´s where we really rule the world from. Can you tell I´m tired?
The pictures will come. Have faith. They will come.
The pictures will come. Have faith. They will come.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Costa Rican Travel
There is something striking about Costa Rican roads. About a week ago, my husband and I were in the small Central American country, with no real agenda. All we wanted to do was relax and see some of the diverse landscape. So we made arrangements to travel to a small coastal town, a city with an active volcano and a cloud forest. To get there, however, we traversed some of the worst roads I´ve come across in my life. I first noticed the roads when we took a bus to Manzanillo from San Jose. Most of the road was well paved. Then came the bumpy, thrilling ride from the coastal town of Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. Happily asleep for most of it, I was jerked awake as the road turned cavernous. Every ride out of the town and back, made perhaps five times total, became a stomach-turning adventure. I´d hold on to the seat in front of me and pray until it was over. If the weren´t for the extremely large potholes, the ride might have been like any other in Costa Rica: a jolty, noisy, exhaust-filled, regular ride. Walkers and bikers beware. However, this it was not.
I found out from one of our guides that the road was paved about eight years ago. The government, although praised by the US for its commitment to democracy, and indeed a ¨poster child¨ of sorts in the region for its stability, is still corrupt. The roads, as we learned, are evidence of this. Because the road was only paved with concrete a few inches thick, it quickly broke down. When I asked why the government didn´t fix it, I actually got a scoff in reply. Apparently I´m way too naive. Its too expensive for the contractors to fix, when they were the ones who overcharged and underworked in the first place.
As we continued our trip, the roads became a fascination for me. I avidly took photos and knew I had convinced Jack it was something to concern oneself with when he pointed out men working on the roads! It was amazing. They were walking down the street, not with a huge truck dumping concrete out the back while men put out orange cones to warn passers-by of the danger. Oh no! They were cranking the concrete machine themselves and hesitantly walking beside it. We had rented a car for the day, which I drove because it was a manual, so I swerved to the side of the road while Jack whipped out the camera. (You could say we were oddly fixated, yes.)
We continued to notice the streets, maybe me more so than Jack. But, goodness, I was driving on them! Not an easy task, especially when the car won´t go uphill without some coaxing, in pooring rain, and when the not-so-occasional pothole continued to make me shout profanities. (Ok, so I cuss like a sailor anyway when I drive, but this was outrageous!) Suffice it to say we were both happy to return the rental car and leave the streets of Costa Rica behind.
I found out from one of our guides that the road was paved about eight years ago. The government, although praised by the US for its commitment to democracy, and indeed a ¨poster child¨ of sorts in the region for its stability, is still corrupt. The roads, as we learned, are evidence of this. Because the road was only paved with concrete a few inches thick, it quickly broke down. When I asked why the government didn´t fix it, I actually got a scoff in reply. Apparently I´m way too naive. Its too expensive for the contractors to fix, when they were the ones who overcharged and underworked in the first place.
As we continued our trip, the roads became a fascination for me. I avidly took photos and knew I had convinced Jack it was something to concern oneself with when he pointed out men working on the roads! It was amazing. They were walking down the street, not with a huge truck dumping concrete out the back while men put out orange cones to warn passers-by of the danger. Oh no! They were cranking the concrete machine themselves and hesitantly walking beside it. We had rented a car for the day, which I drove because it was a manual, so I swerved to the side of the road while Jack whipped out the camera. (You could say we were oddly fixated, yes.)
We continued to notice the streets, maybe me more so than Jack. But, goodness, I was driving on them! Not an easy task, especially when the car won´t go uphill without some coaxing, in pooring rain, and when the not-so-occasional pothole continued to make me shout profanities. (Ok, so I cuss like a sailor anyway when I drive, but this was outrageous!) Suffice it to say we were both happy to return the rental car and leave the streets of Costa Rica behind.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
The Refuge
A few days ago my husband and I were in Manzanillo, Costa Rica, a quaint little costal town. We scheduled a trip to go kayaking in Gondoca Lagoon nearby, which is part of a national refuge of around 9500 hectares. So, we woke up around 4:45 in the morning, reminding me of my crew days in college, and headed to the meeting spot. Around 6:30 am, the time we were supposed to be there (thanks to a little mistake our alarm was set an hour early), a man, who later introduced himself as Omar, rode up on a bicycle and said we should head to the beach.
After arriving on the beach, we took a boat ride to a nearby organic farm, only accessible by boat, horseback, hiking or kayak to pick up our kayaks for the morning. Our guide, Omar, said the organic farm, Punta Mona (meaning Monkey Point), grows over 600 varieties of fruits and vegetables, perhaps some other crops as well. The farm is well-known in the area, and accepts volunteers to learn sustainable farming year round. Organic farming has been practiced in the region by the Bribri for hundreds of years. It makes sense then that the region should continue this practice. If you want more information on the organic farm, go to www.puntamona.org
After picking up our kayaks, we went to the lagoon, which is a part of the Gandoca-Manzanillo refuge, housing the organic farm, portions of Gandoca and Manzanillo and the lagoon. It is also the location where leatherback turtles lay their eggs every year - it is such a shame we missed this, as the high season is January to April. The lagoon, we discoved after getting our feet wet (and pretty much everything else), has amazing mangroves. Mangroves, if you are unaware, are unique in that they grow in areas where fresh water meets salt water. Because they are so delicate and cannot grow around other trees well, they adapted to suit these environments. They have become integral to costal areas, by acting as natural barriers to erosion. For that reason, many places, Florida in particular comes to mind, have discovered that eradicating the Mangroves can mean disaster for the natural ecosystem.
We then kayaked up the lagoon and viewed a variety of birds (sorry to say that I am not that knowledgable in this area and only remember the Osprey sighting). Omar mentioned that the area is home to 400 types of birds year round; however, as the rainforest is cut down, increasingly every year, more birds migrate to the lagoon. He says that somewhere around 800 birds can now be seen in the area!
As we continued along, and the hours passed, it now being somewhere around 8:00, my hopes of seeing monkeys deminished. However, Omar spotted some spidermonkeys in the trees, literally trying to pull branches over to make bridges. It was an amazing sight. We also got to see white-faced monkeys and we heard the howler monkeys. Luckily for us our one upshot of the excessively early morning was that we got to see a howler monkey crossing the road around 5:30 am; so the fact we missed them in the lagoon was not disappointing.
All in all, the trip was a phenomenal success. My arms ached liked they used to, a soreness I had forgotten, but relish; and we got to learn more about the area.
If you want to check out more about the refuge, go to http://www.moon.com/planner/costa_rica/mustsee/gandoca.html
After arriving on the beach, we took a boat ride to a nearby organic farm, only accessible by boat, horseback, hiking or kayak to pick up our kayaks for the morning. Our guide, Omar, said the organic farm, Punta Mona (meaning Monkey Point), grows over 600 varieties of fruits and vegetables, perhaps some other crops as well. The farm is well-known in the area, and accepts volunteers to learn sustainable farming year round. Organic farming has been practiced in the region by the Bribri for hundreds of years. It makes sense then that the region should continue this practice. If you want more information on the organic farm, go to www.puntamona.org
After picking up our kayaks, we went to the lagoon, which is a part of the Gandoca-Manzanillo refuge, housing the organic farm, portions of Gandoca and Manzanillo and the lagoon. It is also the location where leatherback turtles lay their eggs every year - it is such a shame we missed this, as the high season is January to April. The lagoon, we discoved after getting our feet wet (and pretty much everything else), has amazing mangroves. Mangroves, if you are unaware, are unique in that they grow in areas where fresh water meets salt water. Because they are so delicate and cannot grow around other trees well, they adapted to suit these environments. They have become integral to costal areas, by acting as natural barriers to erosion. For that reason, many places, Florida in particular comes to mind, have discovered that eradicating the Mangroves can mean disaster for the natural ecosystem.
We then kayaked up the lagoon and viewed a variety of birds (sorry to say that I am not that knowledgable in this area and only remember the Osprey sighting). Omar mentioned that the area is home to 400 types of birds year round; however, as the rainforest is cut down, increasingly every year, more birds migrate to the lagoon. He says that somewhere around 800 birds can now be seen in the area!
As we continued along, and the hours passed, it now being somewhere around 8:00, my hopes of seeing monkeys deminished. However, Omar spotted some spidermonkeys in the trees, literally trying to pull branches over to make bridges. It was an amazing sight. We also got to see white-faced monkeys and we heard the howler monkeys. Luckily for us our one upshot of the excessively early morning was that we got to see a howler monkey crossing the road around 5:30 am; so the fact we missed them in the lagoon was not disappointing.
All in all, the trip was a phenomenal success. My arms ached liked they used to, a soreness I had forgotten, but relish; and we got to learn more about the area.
If you want to check out more about the refuge, go to http://www.moon.com/planner/costa_rica/mustsee/gandoca.html
Friday, October 5, 2007
Varities of Costa Rica
Experiencing Costa Rica avec un backpack is quite an experience. I guess visiting anywhere with about a 40 lb. sack is interesting (and mine´s on the lighter side, Jack´s is about 70 lbs.). After our four and a half hour plane ride, $18 taxi ride through San Jose at lightning speed, and our 5 or so hour bus to the quaint seaside town of Manzanillo, we found ourselves stranded with our packs. With nothing to do but walk, we ventured to the nearest hostel/ hotel possible. It is at the Cabinas Manzanillo that we have enjoyed the bare essentials. Indeed, for $25 a night we have a bed, two sheets and running water (some even heated, when its not half electricuting Jack, that is). I also discoved that my feet had swollen to about twice their size. Since we arrived they have gone down, so I´m attributing it to the stress of travel and not to any sort of insect bite or other sort of misfortune.
I have to say, thus far we are both lucky. As we learned from an Englishman and his Japanese wife who recently came from Nicaragua, the experience here is much more delightful. He had to endure a sickness while in Nicaragua during a major drought where no running water was available from 10 am until 3 pm. Imagine having the stomach flu and not being able to wash your hands or flush the toilet. I had no idea how good I had it!
The experience in Manzanillo is much like a drawn out Victorian novel: we sit, we wait, and we do a lot of scheming. Scheming on how to spend less, move less (its extremely hot) and scuba dive more. Scuba lessons have proven difficult to come by, not because they do not exist, but because we did such poor planning. We have however secured a place to learn on Sunday, in hopes of continuing the lessons for open water dives later in our travels. In the morning tomorrow we´ll go kayaking in a lagoon to see the monkeys and sloths before we go zip-lining in the evening. One site in Costa Rica I do not want to miss is the canopy. As we traveled by bus, we got an amazing view of men working on treacherous hillsides and mist filled valleys of lush forests. So I am particularly excited about the canopy.
We will then leave the eastern coast and head to the cloud forest. I look forward to sharing more with you. As we get to a better internet connection, I will try to post photos and write better entries. For now, we´re safe and enjoying our time.
I have to say, thus far we are both lucky. As we learned from an Englishman and his Japanese wife who recently came from Nicaragua, the experience here is much more delightful. He had to endure a sickness while in Nicaragua during a major drought where no running water was available from 10 am until 3 pm. Imagine having the stomach flu and not being able to wash your hands or flush the toilet. I had no idea how good I had it!
The experience in Manzanillo is much like a drawn out Victorian novel: we sit, we wait, and we do a lot of scheming. Scheming on how to spend less, move less (its extremely hot) and scuba dive more. Scuba lessons have proven difficult to come by, not because they do not exist, but because we did such poor planning. We have however secured a place to learn on Sunday, in hopes of continuing the lessons for open water dives later in our travels. In the morning tomorrow we´ll go kayaking in a lagoon to see the monkeys and sloths before we go zip-lining in the evening. One site in Costa Rica I do not want to miss is the canopy. As we traveled by bus, we got an amazing view of men working on treacherous hillsides and mist filled valleys of lush forests. So I am particularly excited about the canopy.
We will then leave the eastern coast and head to the cloud forest. I look forward to sharing more with you. As we get to a better internet connection, I will try to post photos and write better entries. For now, we´re safe and enjoying our time.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Wedding Photos
To everyone who wants to remember the day, please go to www.adeleredingphotography.com and type in the password: joycejackpeters under "view proofs". You can also view a short slideshow - really wonderful - by going to
http://bigshow.bigfolio.com/?s=000007174&t=47feba571354f6ac79cb04a306dc0a0d We hope you enjoy!!!
Thus, with this, we're off. We're still packing, but we leave in just a few short hours. After moving out of our apartment in Denver on Friday night, this is just one more night this week without sleep. Why, oh why did I give up coffee?
http://bigshow.bigfolio.com/?s=000007174&t=47feba571354f6ac79cb04a306dc0a0d We hope you enjoy!!!
Thus, with this, we're off. We're still packing, but we leave in just a few short hours. After moving out of our apartment in Denver on Friday night, this is just one more night this week without sleep. Why, oh why did I give up coffee?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
An Excitement We Hope Never Dies
After getting married, about 26 days ago now, I woke up and looked around at a world which was familiar, comfortable and warm. Jack was the same, I was the same, but there was a feeling of newness, of something we couldn't quite take in. We couldn't feel it with any sense we knew, but we both had this strange excitment to our "good mornings" and every once in awhile one of us would burst out, "We're married!"
Perhaps this feeling is par for the course for newlyweds. (Hopefully that is the case.) Whatever it is, our excitment continues. We're packing up our Denver apartment (I having graduated in June and he having taken the year off from teaching, perhaps in persuit of another career) to travel for nine and a half months, all over the globe, in search of a bit of everything. The most of which, I hope, is perspective.
This blog is both my attempt to keep my family and friends informed of my travels and as a way to document my encounters with our changing environment. As I studied environmental security in graduate school, I'm fascinated with climate change and the ways in which our lives could be threatened, or at the very least, altered by it. I'm looking forward to the many people and places we'll visit this year, and I hope I can share some of those encounters with you.
So off we go, in just 5 days. Maybe, somewhere along the way we'll find something to represent this excitement we feel, something concrete, something we can grasp between our fingers, taste or smell or see.
Perhaps this feeling is par for the course for newlyweds. (Hopefully that is the case.) Whatever it is, our excitment continues. We're packing up our Denver apartment (I having graduated in June and he having taken the year off from teaching, perhaps in persuit of another career) to travel for nine and a half months, all over the globe, in search of a bit of everything. The most of which, I hope, is perspective.
This blog is both my attempt to keep my family and friends informed of my travels and as a way to document my encounters with our changing environment. As I studied environmental security in graduate school, I'm fascinated with climate change and the ways in which our lives could be threatened, or at the very least, altered by it. I'm looking forward to the many people and places we'll visit this year, and I hope I can share some of those encounters with you.
So off we go, in just 5 days. Maybe, somewhere along the way we'll find something to represent this excitement we feel, something concrete, something we can grasp between our fingers, taste or smell or see.
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