Stuffed...but not with turkey. My third Thanksgiving at Marblehead has been as much fun as the second...and the first, except that I'm not leaving for Australia tomorrow (sigh). A real Thanksgiving definitely makes up for not being able to use the holiday (and the week around it) to take off...almost. Okay yeah, it does. This is just the itch to be on the road again speaking.
Back to the turkey. It was kosher this year so everyone could eat it. Me? I tried a bite. Great for a turkey (even for a bird) but I'm psychologically turned off birds now thanks to Mr. Pollan. I was never really on the four-legged critters and I'm sorry, I can't give up sushi (yes, that does make me a bit of a hypocrite in my support of sustainable, natural, free range/organic - call it what you will - rearing). That being said, I partake of the piscine species about once a month so I hope I'm not doing too much harm.
Still debating on where to go over New Year's eve...I might, unbelievably, stay in town and work on my composting and baking ideas. Vive la New York!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Things I've noticed...
...one thing in common about every place I've visited so far in Indonesia - everyone is pretty convinced you are not where you want to be. Regardless of whether you're strolling along the beach, going on a run, stepping off a shuttle into a new town, walking out of your hotel, even standing still watching the scenery - the question is "where are you going?" It's like they know something I don't.
...there are no dogs on Gili Trawangan. I agree - it's an odd thing to mention. But their absence is strangely magnified by the fact that there are goats, roosters and about a million cats (if not that many yet, there will be soon). No dogs.
...everything that can be fried, is. The strangest fried item I've seen so far is a fried boiled egg. First boiled, then dipped in batter and fried. I'm really not sure why.
Be back!
...there are no dogs on Gili Trawangan. I agree - it's an odd thing to mention. But their absence is strangely magnified by the fact that there are goats, roosters and about a million cats (if not that many yet, there will be soon). No dogs.
...everything that can be fried, is. The strangest fried item I've seen so far is a fried boiled egg. First boiled, then dipped in batter and fried. I'm really not sure why.
Be back!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Bali - some things to write home about
So far, my week in Bali has ranged from encountering the strangest sights to the oddly familiar. Bali is a land of contrasts...for a tiny island that can be covered in one long day, it offers a multitude of experiences that can leave you reeling at the end of each day.
To begin with, there are the temples. 20,000 of them. On one tiny island. There are family temples placed within family courtyards, village temples where the entire village (and just that village) holds festivals (there are three subsets of temples here too), professional temples such as a fishermen temple, an artist temple and so on...and the major public temples that any Balinese person can visit. Outsiders, even Indonesians who are not from Bali, are often not allowed into many temples.
Then there are the volcanoes. Like NZ, Indonesia is built on and around them. Many of them are open to climb, sometimes uncomfortably close to when they last erupted - unlike NZ, where most if not all volcanoes that one can hike up blew up at least a 100 years ago. It is my intention to scale the highest volcano in Bali, Gunung Agung, when I get back from Java next week.
The one word I've heard most often in the last week is "Transport?" with just that ending. Every four people out of five are seemingly ready to push you into the closest available car and drive off into the horizon. Again, for a little island of its size, Bali has an incredible number of cars...and more people willing to arrange them for you.
And then...there is the food. Ah, this is a vegetarian's paradise. Tofu, tempeh, bean sprouts, spinach, cabbage, carrots...you name it, it's all here. Fresh and often covered in peanut sauce. The nut-allergic may suffer - as I found out in my cooking class yesterday, Base Gede, the basic spice mix used in almost every food, contains kemiri or candle nuts. Hard to avoid those even if you lay off the peanut sauce. But what a way to go...!
Highlights this week - a few days of blissful living at the Le Meridien Nirwana Resort in southwest Bali - MUCH appreciated after the last few months of dorm/bunkbed life (it even had a water slide from its top pool level to its bottom pool level!); watching the sunset at Pura Tanah Lot, one of the 9 or so large public temples in Bali; my 80 US cent Indonesian meal of Gado Gado (absolutely the best I've had so far and the price had nothing to do with it); biking through Balinese countryside exchanging high fives with little kiddies on the way, making a pretty neat bracelet in my silversmithing class, wandering through Ubud - Bali's arty town at all hours of the day, lunching at Sari Organik (address to be posted later) in the middle of rice paddy fields and finding some mind blowing chocolate at Casa Luna.
Next week in Java...to be continued.
To begin with, there are the temples. 20,000 of them. On one tiny island. There are family temples placed within family courtyards, village temples where the entire village (and just that village) holds festivals (there are three subsets of temples here too), professional temples such as a fishermen temple, an artist temple and so on...and the major public temples that any Balinese person can visit. Outsiders, even Indonesians who are not from Bali, are often not allowed into many temples.
Then there are the volcanoes. Like NZ, Indonesia is built on and around them. Many of them are open to climb, sometimes uncomfortably close to when they last erupted - unlike NZ, where most if not all volcanoes that one can hike up blew up at least a 100 years ago. It is my intention to scale the highest volcano in Bali, Gunung Agung, when I get back from Java next week.
The one word I've heard most often in the last week is "Transport?" with just that ending. Every four people out of five are seemingly ready to push you into the closest available car and drive off into the horizon. Again, for a little island of its size, Bali has an incredible number of cars...and more people willing to arrange them for you.
And then...there is the food. Ah, this is a vegetarian's paradise. Tofu, tempeh, bean sprouts, spinach, cabbage, carrots...you name it, it's all here. Fresh and often covered in peanut sauce. The nut-allergic may suffer - as I found out in my cooking class yesterday, Base Gede, the basic spice mix used in almost every food, contains kemiri or candle nuts. Hard to avoid those even if you lay off the peanut sauce. But what a way to go...!
Highlights this week - a few days of blissful living at the Le Meridien Nirwana Resort in southwest Bali - MUCH appreciated after the last few months of dorm/bunkbed life (it even had a water slide from its top pool level to its bottom pool level!); watching the sunset at Pura Tanah Lot, one of the 9 or so large public temples in Bali; my 80 US cent Indonesian meal of Gado Gado (absolutely the best I've had so far and the price had nothing to do with it); biking through Balinese countryside exchanging high fives with little kiddies on the way, making a pretty neat bracelet in my silversmithing class, wandering through Ubud - Bali's arty town at all hours of the day, lunching at Sari Organik (address to be posted later) in the middle of rice paddy fields and finding some mind blowing chocolate at Casa Luna.
Next week in Java...to be continued.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Overheard in Bali...
...while heading out to Pura Tanah Lot, a seaside temple on the southwest coast of Bali. Little girl to dad after seeing a crowd taking pictures with a large snake - Daddy, what's the biggest snake in the world? Dad - My lawyer. Little girl - Miloya? How big is it?
Diving the Great Barrier Reef
Someone recently asked me my favorite part of this journey so far...and I realized I hadn't blogged about it. If I was to take any single experience on this trip and call it a favorite, it would have to be my 3 night/4 day live-aboard boat trip around the Great Barrier Reef.
This trip had it all...new friends among strangers half-crazy like I am, fabulous food by a dive trip director turned chef for this trip (he's also an ex-chef who once worked in NY), a very comfortable boat that wasn't the last word in luxury but somehow managed to stay clean and cosy despite us all running about it everyday...and what we were all there for - some pretty incredible diving.
One of the most important things about diving is learning to manage your air - as one may imagine, it's pretty important. You need to keep breathing in water - not too slow else you may pass out to become fish food and not too hard - or you'll be up before everyone else is halfway done with their dive. My problem was the latter...for some reason I hyperventilate underwater. It may be the sharks in the vicinity, then again, maybe I've always been a heavy breather and just not realized it on land. Of the various suggestions offered to me including adjusting my weight belt and kicking my legs harder, the one that really stands out is humming underwater. It seemed like a fun thing to do so there I was humming "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid as I swam through the fish...I also hoped to generate some kinship with them while doing so. My 20 minute dive time on 200 bar (when most people were doing 60 min) shot up to 45 minutes...no kidding. I remain forever grateful for that suggestion and I'm not changing my song.
Spotted underwater - turtles, sting ray, bandit fish (they really looked like they had black face masks), a lion fish (super poisonous and it knows it - hence, it just stays there while I hovered around it), reef sharks...one of our group tried to pull its tail but it wasn't having any of that, beautiful, fiery coral, enormous clams that changed through a blue to violet spectrum as I went closer and clammed up (pun intended) when I reached out to tickle it, a very curious snapper that kept butting in while we were doing our deep dive and snapped at John's finger...he suddenly went crazy trying to punch it while the rest of us wondered if he'd lost it..., enormous potato cod, barracudas, sea horse like creatures - and more.
What a trip.
Monday, June 22, 2009
I saw a shooting star!
That's it...nothing more to add, except for the fact that I've always missed seeing them until a few nights ago when I actually saw one. It took me a second to realize it wasn't a plane that evaporated. Very cool.
Boot laundering
On the verge of leaving Australia...my only excuse for not blogging (besides being a terribly infrequent blogger to begin with) is that I've been having fun, and that too, offline. Always a good thing, isn't it? :)
I was wondering yesterday what it is about NZ and Australia that draws me here...big, wide, open, PRESERVED spaces definitely come to mind. These countries have a way of keeping their oceans blue and their lands litter-free. Which brings me to my experiences of boot laundering, and this is not the laundering of the money kind. When I entered NZ, their routine custom check required that I not only give up all fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat from another country but also have my bag and hiking shoes inspected for dirt. My hiking shoes were found wanting (not for dirt) and taken in to get chemically laundered. This happened again when entering Australia from NZ and there was another chance of it occurring when leaving Queensland and entering Western Australia, i.e. a state transfer. I thought it was pretty awesome...especially since I get shoes that smell like a chemistry lab after it's been cleaned, in the bargain.
I was wondering yesterday what it is about NZ and Australia that draws me here...big, wide, open, PRESERVED spaces definitely come to mind. These countries have a way of keeping their oceans blue and their lands litter-free. Which brings me to my experiences of boot laundering, and this is not the laundering of the money kind. When I entered NZ, their routine custom check required that I not only give up all fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat from another country but also have my bag and hiking shoes inspected for dirt. My hiking shoes were found wanting (not for dirt) and taken in to get chemically laundered. This happened again when entering Australia from NZ and there was another chance of it occurring when leaving Queensland and entering Western Australia, i.e. a state transfer. I thought it was pretty awesome...especially since I get shoes that smell like a chemistry lab after it's been cleaned, in the bargain.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Last day in NZ
They say when you choose one road to travel on, you forgo a 100 others. Maybe more. Be that as it may, I'm pretty glad I picked the NZ road. My only regret is that I didn't think of traveling on it for longer. No worries...I'll be back and with some luck, in the summer :)
It smells of considerable irony - for a person who will gladly follow the summer anywhere, I have spent this year's Northern Hemisphere winter in Poland and am beginning the Southern Hemisphere winter in NZ and Australia. I'm not really trying to follow the winter, it has chosen to accompany me wherever I am. I'll probably spend the next three years (or more) trying to shake it off.
Three weeks in NZ have been just enough to cover the North Island. Barely. One may wonder what it is about this little country that demands so much time...but finding out on your own time should be pretty rewarding. In the last three weeks, I have
- taken a hop on-hop off bus tour around the North Island on the Stray bus. The other big ones are Magic and Kiwi. Stray is supposedly for older travelers, offers more cultural insights and goes off the beaten track often. Some fun (and odd) Stray traditions include mooning (or showing other not so appropriate parts of yourself) to Kiwi buses and jumping out to kiss the lollipop man - that's the guy who holds up the stop and go signs at road construction sites.
- hugged a 500 year old (kauri) tree wishing for good weather. As anyone who knows me well enough will attest, this is seriously needed in my life.
- watched orcas trying to look for food while we stand on boats and gawp at them; also watched dolphins playing 100m off the beach while we stand on the sand and gawp at them. If you're here in the summer, you're more likely to go for a swim with the dolphins (probably not the orcas though, I hear they're not really like the Willy who was free)
- gone boogie boarding down a massive sand dune...not once, not twice but THREE times. As anyone who has run up that dune once will tell you, that is no mean feat. I counted it as my workout for the day. If only I could have such a fun workout every day...
- completed a 500 piece and a 1000 piece puzzle in two different towns. The latter, I stayed up until 6am in the morning to finish...and our bus left at 7am. I was pretty tired that day.
- watched the meeting of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea at the northernmost tip of NZ.
- jumped off a plane at 15,000 feet. Some may call that crazy...I do too. See separate post for feelings on this jump.
- summitted a volcano...Rangitoto. It's only one of the 49 that Auckland is built on so not much to crow about but lava rock does a cool island make.
- cooked dozens of meals including many based on baked beans in tomato sauce. Turns out I really like baked beans.
- visited a hot water beach and tried to dig a hot water hole in it - "tried" being the operative word. Again, this is something to try in the summer...where the heat source is, it's REALLY hot but it's pretty damn cold when you're digging around it, trying to build a sand wall to protect your 'tub' against the waves.
- watched gorgeous sunsets, trekked miles of unbelievably beautiful coastline, spotted more than a dozen rainbows...every view is a postcard and I hope I've captured some of those postcards in my photos. After years of traveling and buying postcards everywhere I go, NZ is one place I haven't bought a single postcard. None of them could do it justice enough.
- abseiled down dark caves and waterfalls, crawled through tunnels, seen stalactites and glow worms (which are actually glow maggots...and it's their poop that glows, sorry to disillusion anyone) and climbed a pretty cool underwater natural wall...all at Waitomo. Don't miss it if you're on the North Island.
- Zorbed down a hill...watch youtube for an example of this and check wiki for descriptions, but if you do the Zydro (w/ water option), it's like being in a cushioned washing machine, rolling down a hill. Pretty darn awesome.
- stayed overnight at a Marae (a Maori meeting house), eaten a not-so-traditional dinner, learned the Poi (the women's dance) and watched the guys do the Haka.
- stayed a few days in Rotorua, which smells of a chemistry lab (with a broken bottle of hydrogen sulphide), where the ground steams anywhere it can, where rhinocerous-grey mud spurts up with energy and thermal baths reside. If you stop there, stay at the YHA - it may be a hostel with "no soul" but it's definitely clean, cheap and has great facilities. You can always find some soul nearby.
- jumped in a natural hot mud swimming hole that had a warning about not putting your head in for fear of contracting meningitis due to water entering nasal passages. That sign definitely gave this little excursion an unwanted element of danger.
- seen a 4m long colossal squid at the country's National Museum in Wellington...apparently some fisherman just stumbled upon it while fishing.
- read tons and tons of books...still going strong on that.
I'm sure I've missed out on some stuff...but that's a pretty strong NZ activity resume :)
Some additional trivia - NZ has a population of 4 million people, one-third of whom live in Auckland and three-quarters of whom are on the North Island. Given the vast empty spaces I saw everywhere I went, I can hardly imagine how uninhabited South Island must be. It's apparently like a different country...in geography, history and climate. Some summer...
Next stop - Cairns, Australia. NZ may have gone a long way in displacing Australia in my heart, but I'm still pretty excited about getting there. Especially given the fact that it's so much warmer a few latitudes up...fingers crossed.
It smells of considerable irony - for a person who will gladly follow the summer anywhere, I have spent this year's Northern Hemisphere winter in Poland and am beginning the Southern Hemisphere winter in NZ and Australia. I'm not really trying to follow the winter, it has chosen to accompany me wherever I am. I'll probably spend the next three years (or more) trying to shake it off.
Three weeks in NZ have been just enough to cover the North Island. Barely. One may wonder what it is about this little country that demands so much time...but finding out on your own time should be pretty rewarding. In the last three weeks, I have
- taken a hop on-hop off bus tour around the North Island on the Stray bus. The other big ones are Magic and Kiwi. Stray is supposedly for older travelers, offers more cultural insights and goes off the beaten track often. Some fun (and odd) Stray traditions include mooning (or showing other not so appropriate parts of yourself) to Kiwi buses and jumping out to kiss the lollipop man - that's the guy who holds up the stop and go signs at road construction sites.
- hugged a 500 year old (kauri) tree wishing for good weather. As anyone who knows me well enough will attest, this is seriously needed in my life.
- watched orcas trying to look for food while we stand on boats and gawp at them; also watched dolphins playing 100m off the beach while we stand on the sand and gawp at them. If you're here in the summer, you're more likely to go for a swim with the dolphins (probably not the orcas though, I hear they're not really like the Willy who was free)
- gone boogie boarding down a massive sand dune...not once, not twice but THREE times. As anyone who has run up that dune once will tell you, that is no mean feat. I counted it as my workout for the day. If only I could have such a fun workout every day...
- completed a 500 piece and a 1000 piece puzzle in two different towns. The latter, I stayed up until 6am in the morning to finish...and our bus left at 7am. I was pretty tired that day.
- watched the meeting of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea at the northernmost tip of NZ.
- jumped off a plane at 15,000 feet. Some may call that crazy...I do too. See separate post for feelings on this jump.
- summitted a volcano...Rangitoto. It's only one of the 49 that Auckland is built on so not much to crow about but lava rock does a cool island make.
- cooked dozens of meals including many based on baked beans in tomato sauce. Turns out I really like baked beans.
- visited a hot water beach and tried to dig a hot water hole in it - "tried" being the operative word. Again, this is something to try in the summer...where the heat source is, it's REALLY hot but it's pretty damn cold when you're digging around it, trying to build a sand wall to protect your 'tub' against the waves.
- watched gorgeous sunsets, trekked miles of unbelievably beautiful coastline, spotted more than a dozen rainbows...every view is a postcard and I hope I've captured some of those postcards in my photos. After years of traveling and buying postcards everywhere I go, NZ is one place I haven't bought a single postcard. None of them could do it justice enough.
- abseiled down dark caves and waterfalls, crawled through tunnels, seen stalactites and glow worms (which are actually glow maggots...and it's their poop that glows, sorry to disillusion anyone) and climbed a pretty cool underwater natural wall...all at Waitomo. Don't miss it if you're on the North Island.
- Zorbed down a hill...watch youtube for an example of this and check wiki for descriptions, but if you do the Zydro (w/ water option), it's like being in a cushioned washing machine, rolling down a hill. Pretty darn awesome.
- stayed overnight at a Marae (a Maori meeting house), eaten a not-so-traditional dinner, learned the Poi (the women's dance) and watched the guys do the Haka.
- stayed a few days in Rotorua, which smells of a chemistry lab (with a broken bottle of hydrogen sulphide), where the ground steams anywhere it can, where rhinocerous-grey mud spurts up with energy and thermal baths reside. If you stop there, stay at the YHA - it may be a hostel with "no soul" but it's definitely clean, cheap and has great facilities. You can always find some soul nearby.
- jumped in a natural hot mud swimming hole that had a warning about not putting your head in for fear of contracting meningitis due to water entering nasal passages. That sign definitely gave this little excursion an unwanted element of danger.
- seen a 4m long colossal squid at the country's National Museum in Wellington...apparently some fisherman just stumbled upon it while fishing.
- read tons and tons of books...still going strong on that.
I'm sure I've missed out on some stuff...but that's a pretty strong NZ activity resume :)
Some additional trivia - NZ has a population of 4 million people, one-third of whom live in Auckland and three-quarters of whom are on the North Island. Given the vast empty spaces I saw everywhere I went, I can hardly imagine how uninhabited South Island must be. It's apparently like a different country...in geography, history and climate. Some summer...
Next stop - Cairns, Australia. NZ may have gone a long way in displacing Australia in my heart, but I'm still pretty excited about getting there. Especially given the fact that it's so much warmer a few latitudes up...fingers crossed.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Travel Map & Photos!
Work in progress...here's the fruit of Sasha's effort over the last few weeks, food and location recommendations included - http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&vps=1&jsv=159e&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=105151842918802257267.000467780ada00432fd75
Ecuador photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/catechin/Ecuador02?locked=true&feat=email#
Rest of South America photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/catechin/TheRestOfSouthAmerica?locked=true&feat=email#
NZ to come soon...
Someday I'll find the time to link all of this together :P
Ecuador photos - http://picasawe
Rest of South America photos - http://picasawe
NZ to come soon...
Someday I'll find the time to link all of this together :P
April Fool's
In Wellington, NZ now and hopefully will be posting a link to a map of our travels soon (courtesy Sasha)...the first weeks in South America went by slowly but time's a-flying now.
I have to share the story of the best April Fool's trick on Auckland (yes, the entire city) ever. A few years ago, a group of university students woke up early one morning (or more likely, stayed up late drinking) and drove up to Mt. Eden, a large volcanic crater in the middle of the city. Once there, they sent a pile of rubber tires rolling into the crater and then lit them on fire. Apparently, rubber tires smoke. A lot. Auckland city woke up that morning to see one of the 49 volcanoes it sits on, smoking...the rest is easy to imagine. The city began organizing an immediate evacuation and had 3,000 people out before someone remembered it was April 1st and went close enough to check out the smoking volcano. While Auckland was pretty pissed, the rest of NZ got a big laugh out of it. I love it.
I have to share the story of the best April Fool's trick on Auckland (yes, the entire city) ever. A few years ago, a group of university students woke up early one morning (or more likely, stayed up late drinking) and drove up to Mt. Eden, a large volcanic crater in the middle of the city. Once there, they sent a pile of rubber tires rolling into the crater and then lit them on fire. Apparently, rubber tires smoke. A lot. Auckland city woke up that morning to see one of the 49 volcanoes it sits on, smoking...the rest is easy to imagine. The city began organizing an immediate evacuation and had 3,000 people out before someone remembered it was April 1st and went close enough to check out the smoking volcano. While Auckland was pretty pissed, the rest of NZ got a big laugh out of it. I love it.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Hostel talk
Lodging in New Zealand has been all about staying in dorms so far. It's significantly cheaper, easier to meet people and...that's about it. Part of that whole parcel is being an ear-witness to conversations you normally wouldn't have been privy to...not such a bad thing if you think about it.
Last night, as I lay reading Ender's Game (awesome book btw - if you haven't read it yet, do) in my top bunk I was involuntarily subjected to a conversation between three of my female room mates and another one they met at the hostel. I'm going to make a note about it just to acknowledge my amusement and slight shock. Our guest was going through her (sexual) activity diary over her last couple of months in Australia. Her way of cataloging this involved four columns marked by date - (P)rotected, (U)nprotected, (G)irls and (B)lowjobs. At last count, she was at a total of 29 over a period of two months. Impressive...or horrifying?
Last night, as I lay reading Ender's Game (awesome book btw - if you haven't read it yet, do) in my top bunk I was involuntarily subjected to a conversation between three of my female room mates and another one they met at the hostel. I'm going to make a note about it just to acknowledge my amusement and slight shock. Our guest was going through her (sexual) activity diary over her last couple of months in Australia. Her way of cataloging this involved four columns marked by date - (P)rotected, (U)nprotected, (G)irls and (B)lowjobs. At last count, she was at a total of 29 over a period of two months. Impressive...or horrifying?
Fear of heights
So I'm really, really terrified of heights. No, I mean really. Give me something to do on land or in water...and I'll take to it at once. But jumping off a cliff, or a bridge...or out of a plane - that's a different story (watch my sequence of photos on a 15-ft cliff in Ecuador to get the picture...no pun intended).
Given the above, I'm a little proud of being able to jump out of a plane at 15,000 feet today. Just a little :) I was the last of 6 people to fly up and jump off today...we went two at a time and the other person in my plane jumped off at 12,000 feet. When you're sitting with your heart in your mouth and shaking with cold at that height in a little plane, watching somebody disappear doesn't exactly help the situation. Feeling the plane take off at steep incline towards 15,000 feet doesn't either. And then suddenly, you're there. The little sliding door is pulled up, you're being asked to take the "banana shape" and wham! you drop down. My first sensation was that of teeth hurting (it IS really cold up there), then there was "oh my God, oh my God, I just jumped off a plane...what sort of an idiot does that", and then...what the hell, I've jumped. I might as well enjoy the view...and I definitely did that.
Now, I just have to summon the guts up to jump off a bridge. I personally think it requires more courage to jump those 40m (or so) since there's no one clipped to your back making sure you're going with him. Sigh.
Given the above, I'm a little proud of being able to jump out of a plane at 15,000 feet today. Just a little :) I was the last of 6 people to fly up and jump off today...we went two at a time and the other person in my plane jumped off at 12,000 feet. When you're sitting with your heart in your mouth and shaking with cold at that height in a little plane, watching somebody disappear doesn't exactly help the situation. Feeling the plane take off at steep incline towards 15,000 feet doesn't either. And then suddenly, you're there. The little sliding door is pulled up, you're being asked to take the "banana shape" and wham! you drop down. My first sensation was that of teeth hurting (it IS really cold up there), then there was "oh my God, oh my God, I just jumped off a plane...what sort of an idiot does that", and then...what the hell, I've jumped. I might as well enjoy the view...and I definitely did that.
Now, I just have to summon the guts up to jump off a bridge. I personally think it requires more courage to jump those 40m (or so) since there's no one clipped to your back making sure you're going with him. Sigh.
New Zealand - when it rains...
...it rainbows. Even when it doesn't rain, it rainbows. I've been here barely a week and have seen an average of two rainbows a day. Big ones, small ones, tall arches...little ones, they're all still bow shaped, though :)
Have I mentioned yet that I love it here? It could explain why I haven't been blogging - I've been too busy loving being here. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous land...beautiful views, friendly people, awesome food (and great chocolate). That dream of moving to Australia since I was 5...I've decided it encompasses New Zealand as well. Now all I need to find is some way to make money and the visa that goes along with it.
Have I mentioned yet that I love it here? It could explain why I haven't been blogging - I've been too busy loving being here. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous land...beautiful views, friendly people, awesome food (and great chocolate). That dream of moving to Australia since I was 5...I've decided it encompasses New Zealand as well. Now all I need to find is some way to make money and the visa that goes along with it.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Traveling in Brazil
Over the last 10 days, I´ve disembarked from the boat on the Amazon, flown down to Rio and then proceeded to take buses for a week going further down. This has included sleeping in buses three nights in a row and four out of six nights, while making it down to -
- Curitiba - supposedly a successful experiment in city planning and organization. All I have to say is, if you do end up going there try not to visit on May 1 - it´s a national holiday and pretty much everything is closed.
- Foz de Iguazu - A stupendous series of waterfalls at the border of Brazil and Argentina, with Paraguay bordering nearby. Put together, they would probably equal the Niagara in volume but spread apart as they are, they are magnificent. There is no other word for them. If you do plan to visit both sides on one day, go to the Argentinean side first. They have attractions included in the trails that close relatively early in the afternoon.
- Florianopolis - A relatively large island about 20 hours south of Rio. Maybe it was getting to sleep in a bed after three nights in buses...maybe it was just the island itself (I´m willing to bet the latter). Florianopolis is gorgeous...the weather was perfect (26 deg Cel in this Brazilian winter!), the beaches were beautiful and the water was lovely. Watching people spend their entire day surfing and then waking up to go surfing again makes me wonder...I would like to find something I could do over and over and over all day and still go back to the next day...and the next. Still looking.
Word of wisdom gained the hard-way...cover shorter distances and spend more time at locations instead of trying to get to the moon and back in a week. It´s been a great week but I doubt I´ll be doing it this way again.
- Curitiba - supposedly a successful experiment in city planning and organization. All I have to say is, if you do end up going there try not to visit on May 1 - it´s a national holiday and pretty much everything is closed.
- Foz de Iguazu - A stupendous series of waterfalls at the border of Brazil and Argentina, with Paraguay bordering nearby. Put together, they would probably equal the Niagara in volume but spread apart as they are, they are magnificent. There is no other word for them. If you do plan to visit both sides on one day, go to the Argentinean side first. They have attractions included in the trails that close relatively early in the afternoon.
- Florianopolis - A relatively large island about 20 hours south of Rio. Maybe it was getting to sleep in a bed after three nights in buses...maybe it was just the island itself (I´m willing to bet the latter). Florianopolis is gorgeous...the weather was perfect (26 deg Cel in this Brazilian winter!), the beaches were beautiful and the water was lovely. Watching people spend their entire day surfing and then waking up to go surfing again makes me wonder...I would like to find something I could do over and over and over all day and still go back to the next day...and the next. Still looking.
Word of wisdom gained the hard-way...cover shorter distances and spend more time at locations instead of trying to get to the moon and back in a week. It´s been a great week but I doubt I´ll be doing it this way again.
Rooster in Rio
Back in Rio after a week of going further south...and staying in a hostel at Copacobana. I know I´m going to sound rooster-obsessed but this one is definitely in cahoots with Geronimo. Why else would a random rooster be walking up and down our really steep hostel block and insist on crowing at all times of the night?! That too, right outside my dorm window. Aagh. I counted the other night...then lost count after the 25th crow/cackle - whatever you want to call it. And not because I fell asleep.
I remembered this guy waiting next to me at a bus stop in Guaranda, Ecuador, at 7am in the morning. He saw a chicken come out of nowhere and walk along the sidewalk across the road. In a flash, he had crossed and caught the chicken by its legs...and was back waiting for the bus. He looked super pleased and why wouldn´t he be? It´s not often that dinner comes running to you on its own.
I wish someone would see that potential in my Rio rooster. I´m sure he´d be great for someone´s dinner. Bah.
I remembered this guy waiting next to me at a bus stop in Guaranda, Ecuador, at 7am in the morning. He saw a chicken come out of nowhere and walk along the sidewalk across the road. In a flash, he had crossed and caught the chicken by its legs...and was back waiting for the bus. He looked super pleased and why wouldn´t he be? It´s not often that dinner comes running to you on its own.
I wish someone would see that potential in my Rio rooster. I´m sure he´d be great for someone´s dinner. Bah.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Guarding air space
Taking a slow river-boat on the Amazon waters requires a fair amount of watching...not just your stuff but your air space. This was definitely a lesson learned on the slow boat from Tabatinga to Manaus (further into Brazil), a trip that takes about 4 days and 3 nights...faster than the other way round since we were heading downstream.
One may rent tiny cabins or hang up a hammock on the common deck, which is what most people opt to do - a) it´s cheaper, b) it´s way more air than you would get stuffed in a cabin. The thing about hammocks is...people can hang them anywhere, and they do. Hammocks can be hung under and below yours if you aren´t watching...often, even if you are. As a result, you find yourself in some sort of a triple-hammock-burger sort of position...which is entertaining for the first couple of minutes while you´re taking a picture...but not so much after that.
That excitement aside, it´s a pretty relaxed trip floating down. You get meals a couple of times a day, read or hang out in the sun during the day, play cards in the evening and float about all day. I have to admit I was the crazy gringo who took a walk on the upper deck each day, which usually comprised of 75 - 100 circles of the deck of 40 or so steps each. I had a lot of time on my hands...so I kept count.
One may rent tiny cabins or hang up a hammock on the common deck, which is what most people opt to do - a) it´s cheaper, b) it´s way more air than you would get stuffed in a cabin. The thing about hammocks is...people can hang them anywhere, and they do. Hammocks can be hung under and below yours if you aren´t watching...often, even if you are. As a result, you find yourself in some sort of a triple-hammock-burger sort of position...which is entertaining for the first couple of minutes while you´re taking a picture...but not so much after that.
That excitement aside, it´s a pretty relaxed trip floating down. You get meals a couple of times a day, read or hang out in the sun during the day, play cards in the evening and float about all day. I have to admit I was the crazy gringo who took a walk on the upper deck each day, which usually comprised of 75 - 100 circles of the deck of 40 or so steps each. I had a lot of time on my hands...so I kept count.
Crossing borders
Fresh off the Amazon...and in Rio de Janeiro. Hola from Brazil!!! That still stays the same even though the rest of the language is way different from Spanish. That being said, one can still get by with a butchered mix of Spanish and French for most part.
In the last few days, I flew from Guayaquil (last stop in Ecuador) to Lima where my first hotel splurge occured. Since I was in Lima for just the night, I opted to stay at the airport Ramada Inn. Nice hotel...with a spa, pool and free internet. Three guesses as to where I spent my time. As an aside, I wonder why people think that showing you numbers on a calculator makes a discount more effective? The guy at the reception desk punched a new number into his calculator each time he gave me a further discount on the room rate. It´s not the first time I´ve seen this happen...maybe it´s all about the power of the picture as opposed to words sort of thing.
From Lima to Iquitos...a crazy little town towards the eastern edge of Peru where one may catch a boat to the ´three-frontier´of Peru, Brazil and Colombia. Iquitos has two main modes of transportation...two-wheeled vehicles (a varied assortment) and ´moto-taxis´, which are the strangest versions of three-wheelers that I have seen to date (photos will be uploaded soon, I promise!). They are essentially front halves of motorcycles that become a little covered rickshaw at the back. Anyone who has seen bicycle rickshaws in India...just think of motorcycle-rickshaws instead, and you´ll get the picture.
From Iquitos to Santa Rosa...a Peruvian border town that can be reached on a fast boat from Iquitos in 9 hours. It was a fun ride that ended with everyone walking off the boat on planks into the town (we were surrounded by the river and wet mud), on planks to the immigration office/police station and leaving on planks towards another little boat heading to Tabatinga, the nearby Brazilian border town. It´s all fun and games until you realize that you forgot to get a country exit stamp while you´re trying to enter another country...we met a French guy entering Peru who was sent back (by boat) to Colombia for his exit stamp. He lost an entire hour on his schedule...damn!
While Santa Rosa needs a boat, Tabatinga and Leticia (Colombia´s border town) border each other pretty closely. Close enough so that one may wander along the road from Brazil into Colombia looking for faster internet...wander back for food...and then head into Colombia again. I´m pretty sure Indian citizens generally need a visa for Colombia, but Leticia is obviously an exception :)
In the last few days, I flew from Guayaquil (last stop in Ecuador) to Lima where my first hotel splurge occured. Since I was in Lima for just the night, I opted to stay at the airport Ramada Inn. Nice hotel...with a spa, pool and free internet. Three guesses as to where I spent my time. As an aside, I wonder why people think that showing you numbers on a calculator makes a discount more effective? The guy at the reception desk punched a new number into his calculator each time he gave me a further discount on the room rate. It´s not the first time I´ve seen this happen...maybe it´s all about the power of the picture as opposed to words sort of thing.
From Lima to Iquitos...a crazy little town towards the eastern edge of Peru where one may catch a boat to the ´three-frontier´of Peru, Brazil and Colombia. Iquitos has two main modes of transportation...two-wheeled vehicles (a varied assortment) and ´moto-taxis´, which are the strangest versions of three-wheelers that I have seen to date (photos will be uploaded soon, I promise!). They are essentially front halves of motorcycles that become a little covered rickshaw at the back. Anyone who has seen bicycle rickshaws in India...just think of motorcycle-rickshaws instead, and you´ll get the picture.
From Iquitos to Santa Rosa...a Peruvian border town that can be reached on a fast boat from Iquitos in 9 hours. It was a fun ride that ended with everyone walking off the boat on planks into the town (we were surrounded by the river and wet mud), on planks to the immigration office/police station and leaving on planks towards another little boat heading to Tabatinga, the nearby Brazilian border town. It´s all fun and games until you realize that you forgot to get a country exit stamp while you´re trying to enter another country...we met a French guy entering Peru who was sent back (by boat) to Colombia for his exit stamp. He lost an entire hour on his schedule...damn!
While Santa Rosa needs a boat, Tabatinga and Leticia (Colombia´s border town) border each other pretty closely. Close enough so that one may wander along the road from Brazil into Colombia looking for faster internet...wander back for food...and then head into Colombia again. I´m pretty sure Indian citizens generally need a visa for Colombia, but Leticia is obviously an exception :)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The big egg
I have to make note of this in case I forget in the next few months or years...I´m in possession of a big egg!!!
This is not an X-rated post.
Salinas is a little town sort of in the middle of nowhere...well, Ecuador...but in the middle of nowhere in Ecuador (Proof: There was no cell reception in that town even on what is possibly Ecuador´s most popular network). There is a big reason to go there though...for me. Salinas makes its own chocolate and exports couverture to Italy and finished chocolate goods to Japan.
It´s all milk chocolate but definitely some of the best I´ve tried in Ecuador so far...and believe me, I have been trying. Hard. So I bought this little egg of chocolate (remember Kinder eggs?) and it had a surprise inside. Unlike Kinder eggs, which actually have a plastic case holding some sort of toy (what do they do with those plastic cases after the chocolate´s gone anyway? I´ve always wondered...such a waste) , this one had a little ball of foil that was wrapped around a bracelet! I love it. I then saw a bigger egg (of chocolate) and had to have it. It was about 10 times the size of my little one!
Now I have a big egg...that also has something inside of it. I´m super-excited. So excited that I haven´t started eating it yet. I feel like Charlie before he found the golden ticket to the chocolate factory. Also, the fact that I´m going to be on the Amazon for 10 days with no access to other chocolate might have something to do with saving it...
This is not an X-rated post.
Salinas is a little town sort of in the middle of nowhere...well, Ecuador...but in the middle of nowhere in Ecuador (Proof: There was no cell reception in that town even on what is possibly Ecuador´s most popular network). There is a big reason to go there though...for me. Salinas makes its own chocolate and exports couverture to Italy and finished chocolate goods to Japan.
It´s all milk chocolate but definitely some of the best I´ve tried in Ecuador so far...and believe me, I have been trying. Hard. So I bought this little egg of chocolate (remember Kinder eggs?) and it had a surprise inside. Unlike Kinder eggs, which actually have a plastic case holding some sort of toy (what do they do with those plastic cases after the chocolate´s gone anyway? I´ve always wondered...such a waste) , this one had a little ball of foil that was wrapped around a bracelet! I love it. I then saw a bigger egg (of chocolate) and had to have it. It was about 10 times the size of my little one!
Now I have a big egg...that also has something inside of it. I´m super-excited. So excited that I haven´t started eating it yet. I feel like Charlie before he found the golden ticket to the chocolate factory. Also, the fact that I´m going to be on the Amazon for 10 days with no access to other chocolate might have something to do with saving it...
Last day in Ecuador
This entry primarily serves as a last-day-in-Ecuador marker and comes from Guayaquil, possibly my favorite city in Ecuador. I think that can be attributed to the tremendously long waterfront esplanade-type thing that I've spent most of my time on, devouring icecream...I'm finally some place hot!
In the last 10 days, I've bus-sed it from the farm (Hacienda Picalqui - http://www.fbu.com.ec/picalqui.htm) down to -
- Tena, one of Ecuador's river rafting and kayaking capitals
- Baños (yes, there really is a city named after bathrooms...delightful touristy destination)
- Guaranda, a little town that takes credit for its access to Salinas, another little town known for its town-made cheese and chocolate (I thought that was reason enough to visit)
From Tena, I made a foray into the Ecuadorian jungle to go rafting, waterfall climbing, stay with a family in the jungle...and get bitten every-darned-where possible. I still resemble a huge mosquito/sand flea bite despite repellent. Aagh. That being said, rafting Class III waves was fun, jumping off a 10-foot high rock into a lagoon was thrilling (I am very definitely scared of heights, I've realized) and body-surfing a waterfall was just plain awesome.
Tonight is the move to Peru, and in another day the river ride down the Amazon to Brazil begins. I ate up my week in Peru right here in Ecuador...so another time, another trip. So much to see, so little time to do it all!
In the last 10 days, I've bus-sed it from the farm (Hacienda Picalqui - http://www.fbu.com.ec/picalqui.htm) down to -
- Tena, one of Ecuador's river rafting and kayaking capitals
- Baños (yes, there really is a city named after bathrooms...delightful touristy destination)
- Guaranda, a little town that takes credit for its access to Salinas, another little town known for its town-made cheese and chocolate (I thought that was reason enough to visit)
From Tena, I made a foray into the Ecuadorian jungle to go rafting, waterfall climbing, stay with a family in the jungle...and get bitten every-darned-where possible. I still resemble a huge mosquito/sand flea bite despite repellent. Aagh. That being said, rafting Class III waves was fun, jumping off a 10-foot high rock into a lagoon was thrilling (I am very definitely scared of heights, I've realized) and body-surfing a waterfall was just plain awesome.
Tonight is the move to Peru, and in another day the river ride down the Amazon to Brazil begins. I ate up my week in Peru right here in Ecuador...so another time, another trip. So much to see, so little time to do it all!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Geronimo under pressure
One fine day at the farm, it was decided that the oldest rooster in the coop had seen his final hour. This decision was aided to a large extent by the arrival of the new rooster (see previous post for that one´s antics), no doubt.
Our resident farm expert, Gimena (pronounced Himena) headed over to the farm compost heap - apparently rooster blood is really good for compost - with Alex (long term volunteer holding rooster in question), Sasha, Derek & Margo (two short-term volunteers from Seattle) in tow. Yours truly stayed at home in order to avoid witnessing the grisly scene. On the way to the compost heap, Alex thought aloud that the rooster shouldn´t die without a name - and it was promptly named Geronimo.
After a pretty gruesome death by all witness accounts, Geronimo´s weird parts were cooked for consumption on the same day - I won´t go into further detail here. His not so weird parts were saved in (possibly the farm´s only) refrigerator to be cooked the next day. Stuart (the farm program coordinator) lent us a pressure cooker for the deed.
We had a strange situation on our hands - on the one hand, there was the person who knew how to operate a pressure cooker (that would be me) who wanted to have nothing to do with the chicken...and then we had the chicken-happy camp that had never worked a pressure cooker. Our cooking sojourn began with 45 minutes of chicken under pressure (Geronimo was a tough, old guy) and was interrupted by a loud POP when Sasha tried to force the pressure cooker open blasting chicken bits and soup over the kitchen floor, walls and ceiling (in my defense, I was standing two feet away telling him to let more air out of the cooker). One of the chicken pieces even made it into a ladle hanging nearby...ready to serve.
To our credit, we continued with cooking the rest of the meal, STILL using the pressure cooker though I was its sole operator this time. Our hypothesis is that Stuart lends the pressure cooker to new volunteers whenever he wants the volunteer house kitchen cleaned. Of course, it could very well be Geronimo taking his revenge from the grave...
Our resident farm expert, Gimena (pronounced Himena) headed over to the farm compost heap - apparently rooster blood is really good for compost - with Alex (long term volunteer holding rooster in question), Sasha, Derek & Margo (two short-term volunteers from Seattle) in tow. Yours truly stayed at home in order to avoid witnessing the grisly scene. On the way to the compost heap, Alex thought aloud that the rooster shouldn´t die without a name - and it was promptly named Geronimo.
After a pretty gruesome death by all witness accounts, Geronimo´s weird parts were cooked for consumption on the same day - I won´t go into further detail here. His not so weird parts were saved in (possibly the farm´s only) refrigerator to be cooked the next day. Stuart (the farm program coordinator) lent us a pressure cooker for the deed.
We had a strange situation on our hands - on the one hand, there was the person who knew how to operate a pressure cooker (that would be me) who wanted to have nothing to do with the chicken...and then we had the chicken-happy camp that had never worked a pressure cooker. Our cooking sojourn began with 45 minutes of chicken under pressure (Geronimo was a tough, old guy) and was interrupted by a loud POP when Sasha tried to force the pressure cooker open blasting chicken bits and soup over the kitchen floor, walls and ceiling (in my defense, I was standing two feet away telling him to let more air out of the cooker). One of the chicken pieces even made it into a ladle hanging nearby...ready to serve.
To our credit, we continued with cooking the rest of the meal, STILL using the pressure cooker though I was its sole operator this time. Our hypothesis is that Stuart lends the pressure cooker to new volunteers whenever he wants the volunteer house kitchen cleaned. Of course, it could very well be Geronimo taking his revenge from the grave...
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Living on a farm
I´m definitely making all my dreams from reading about kids on a farm come true...current whereabouts - on an organic farm north of Quito, volunteering for a while. We are growing (notice how I can say that after two days on the farm) broccoli, lima bean, cauliflower, radish, tomat d´arbol (see post below), mora (blackberries!) and about 40 other kinds of fruits and vegetables.
Yesterday I harvested spinach and lima bean, dug up and made a plant bed (compost spreading included) and then went on a vegetable & fruit selling trip in the back of a van to the neighboring towns, yelling ´Hortalisas Organicas´(organic vegetables) every once in a while. If anyone is wondering how it feels to transition from a suit in a client office to farm clothes in a pickup truck...it´s surreal and fun (and I don´t think it´s hit me completely as yet) but would suck if it rained, which it does most of the time here :P
Today was bed-digging and grub finding day - those were fed to the chickens. If anyone has ever thought hens are lazy just watch them go at slugs and grub for a revised opinion. Ooh...we also chased the new rooster that escaped from the coop with an interested audience in the form of a dog and a duck. Life is good!
Yesterday I harvested spinach and lima bean, dug up and made a plant bed (compost spreading included) and then went on a vegetable & fruit selling trip in the back of a van to the neighboring towns, yelling ´Hortalisas Organicas´(organic vegetables) every once in a while. If anyone is wondering how it feels to transition from a suit in a client office to farm clothes in a pickup truck...it´s surreal and fun (and I don´t think it´s hit me completely as yet) but would suck if it rained, which it does most of the time here :P
Today was bed-digging and grub finding day - those were fed to the chickens. If anyone has ever thought hens are lazy just watch them go at slugs and grub for a revised opinion. Ooh...we also chased the new rooster that escaped from the coop with an interested audience in the form of a dog and a duck. Life is good!
Also making up for the last few days!
It has now been officially a week and a day in Ecuador and not counting the fact that I can´t get to my photographic documentation (see post below), things are good.
One of my most notable trips has been to the Mercado de los Animalos (animal market) in Otavalo, two hours north of Quito. The market is organized by size of animal starting with little chicks, hens, roosters and geese moving on to guinea pigs (also known as cuy, pronounced coo-ee), cats, dogs, pigs, sheep and eventually llamas and cows. It is pretty awesome...I have no other word for it. People come in every Saturday morning with their ¨wares¨and customers pour in from nearby towns and villages. I saw two kinds of rooster backpacks...one where the rooster is tied up to hold other items and the other, a sling carrying a rooster. Possibly the most interesting sight was someone putting chicks in a brown paper bag with holes in it...I think I pick up chocolate with more caution.
Following that was the Mercado de las Frutas (fruit market) - in addition to all the fruits that are so delightfully plentiful in India, there have also been tomat d´arbol (tree tomato), pepiño, sapota (no, it´s not the same thing as chikoo here) and tuna (not the fish but a spiny fruit that is orange with tons of seeds that can be eaten). I do have pictures and they are all very interesting to see...but currently not accessible. Sigh.
One of my most notable trips has been to the Mercado de los Animalos (animal market) in Otavalo, two hours north of Quito. The market is organized by size of animal starting with little chicks, hens, roosters and geese moving on to guinea pigs (also known as cuy, pronounced coo-ee), cats, dogs, pigs, sheep and eventually llamas and cows. It is pretty awesome...I have no other word for it. People come in every Saturday morning with their ¨wares¨and customers pour in from nearby towns and villages. I saw two kinds of rooster backpacks...one where the rooster is tied up to hold other items and the other, a sling carrying a rooster. Possibly the most interesting sight was someone putting chicks in a brown paper bag with holes in it...I think I pick up chocolate with more caution.
Following that was the Mercado de las Frutas (fruit market) - in addition to all the fruits that are so delightfully plentiful in India, there have also been tomat d´arbol (tree tomato), pepiño, sapota (no, it´s not the same thing as chikoo here) and tuna (not the fish but a spiny fruit that is orange with tons of seeds that can be eaten). I do have pictures and they are all very interesting to see...but currently not accessible. Sigh.
Trying to recover lost photos...
...and failing miserably at the moment. Anyone with ideas on how to recover photos that have been deleted from a camera and saved as a zip file on a flash drive, which now gives me a message saying that this is an incomplete file and can´t be opened - please don´t hesitate to comment here :) I promise lots of interesting photos!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
22km from the Equator...and freezing
Bah.
I think it may have something to do with the fact that Quito is almost 3000m above sea level. Just for that, I´m going to the Equator tomorrow :P
I think it may have something to do with the fact that Quito is almost 3000m above sea level. Just for that, I´m going to the Equator tomorrow :P
The power of a quarter
The currency of choice and in use in Ecuador is the US dollar. Even after living in the US for the last few years and feeling the power of a dollar in travel, I am a little surprised by its magnified power here. For instance, it took exactly 25 cents for me to get to the center of New Town in Quito from the airport. Comparing this with the 85 dollars it took for me to get to JFK (since I was running late as always and had no time to take the train), I am left a little speechless.
To be fair, I did take the bus from Quito airport given that I have all the time in the world here, but even if I hadn´t, a taxi would have cost me...wait for it...a full 4 dollars. We aren´t talking about getting from the South ferry to the beaten-up Bull distance here.
That being said, prices all over fluctuate wildly. An icecream (I obviously had to have one of those) cost me a dollar-fifty, lunch was a very full plate for three dollars...and a fresh empanada can be had for 15 cents. I´m learning the power of a dime too...and obviously eating my way through Quito.
To be fair, I did take the bus from Quito airport given that I have all the time in the world here, but even if I hadn´t, a taxi would have cost me...wait for it...a full 4 dollars. We aren´t talking about getting from the South ferry to the beaten-up Bull distance here.
That being said, prices all over fluctuate wildly. An icecream (I obviously had to have one of those) cost me a dollar-fifty, lunch was a very full plate for three dollars...and a fresh empanada can be had for 15 cents. I´m learning the power of a dime too...and obviously eating my way through Quito.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Leaving and landing in the right spot
It´s finally begun and I´m in Quito (of the Ecuadorian kind) today!
I have reason to be both surprised and pleased especially given that Panama City was enroute. For those who wonder why, you obviously haven´t heard of my attempt to fly into Costa Rica more than a year ago. That trip has a lot of events to remember it by - not least that it was the first of a million scuba trips to get certified (okay, I exaggerate a TINY bit but it´s pretty true) - but the one that sticks with me went something like this...
a) Sasha misses Newark to San Jose flight due to fog (which is the star of our story) in Boston.
b) Linda and I take off after trying to delay Newark flight to get aforementioned Sasha in it.
c) Linda and I land in Liberia (Costa Rica, not West Africa) which has an airport the size of a Walmart parking lot - of course, Linda thinks I´ve been smoking something when I wake her up and tell her we´re in Liberia...before I tell her it´s the one in CR.
d) Linda and I take off after 2 hours of sitting in the plane (Liberia CR doesn´t have custom officials to deal with a plane the size of ours) when Continental decides that if Air Mexicana can land in a foggy San Jose, so can they.
e) Linda and I fall asleep.
f) Linda and I wake up when the plane lands to hear an announcement welcoming us to Panama City, Panama...I´m NOT kidding.
g) Of course, we are the only people on the plane not holding US passports and without visas for Panama (I´d like to point out we had our Costa Rica visas), so our passports are confiscated and we wait for our "escort" while the airport security sings Happy Birthday to me (it WAS actually my birthday).
h) Our escort keeps watch over us for an entire day (we exchange lessons in English and Spanish) and we find out that she doesn´t know our plane is leaving for San Jose earlier than planned...I stand in front of a bus holding the other plane passengers and refuse to let it move.
i) We finally leave...and meet Sasha who is already in San Jose (of course!)
I think I´m justified in wondering where we were actually going to get to when I reached the gate at JFK...but we landed in the right spot, alright!
Side-notes:
- Follow-up on previous post; Costa Rica is one of those countries that now allows Indian citizens (and more) in for up to 90 days if you hold a US visa.
- I fully recommend harem pants for travel as long as you´re okay with being singled out for a security frisk; they want to know what you´re hiding (special note to the one who gave them to me :) )
Monday, March 23, 2009
Indian citizens rejoice...
...so I think my count of countries in this world that do not require Indian citizens to get visas prior to travel has exceeded the fingers of one hand. Yay.
I could start with India...but this is not a trick.
There's Ecuador, now looking to create "friendly relations with the world" which translates to no visas required for visits less than 90 days.
Bermuda - if you're looking for some sun after being beaten down by New York's crazy weather.
Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia...you can get visas at the airport. I will post a disclaimer on the last two and confirm once I actually enter these countries in a few months.
Singapore - if you're going there for less than 96 hours and have a ticket that shows you're actually leaving.
More to come...if you do know more, feel free to share!
I could start with India...but this is not a trick.
There's Ecuador, now looking to create "friendly relations with the world" which translates to no visas required for visits less than 90 days.
Bermuda - if you're looking for some sun after being beaten down by New York's crazy weather.
Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia...you can get visas at the airport. I will post a disclaimer on the last two and confirm once I actually enter these countries in a few months.
Singapore - if you're going there for less than 96 hours and have a ticket that shows you're actually leaving.
More to come...if you do know more, feel free to share!
Friday, March 20, 2009
10 days and counting...
I'm taking off a week from Tuesday...unbelievable! That is, if my passport decides to show up of course. Whoever decided that countries must have boundaries, citizens must have passports and permissions are required to enter just about anywhere definitely had a lot of time on their hands.
In the middle of all my (very slow) planning, I came across this and want to post it here - primarily to remind myself of how to tackle everything in life, not just triathlons, which is what this is for.
- Eliminate self-limiting thoughts.
- Optimize your skills.
- Be willing to spend the effort and energy to be successful.
- Enjoy the journey.
- Be a student.
- Persevere.
- Develop mental toughness.
- Be prepared to suffer.
- Take strength from others.
- You must want success.
- Avoid over-training.
Be inspired, inspire others.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
It's finally stopped snowing...
...for a while at least. I know I shouldn't complain, given that NY (where I'm heading towards in a couple of days - yay!) has been attacked by freezing rain and sleet in the last week.
And the snow was pretty this time - light, swirling flakes that didn't completely melt when they hit the ground. I caught a few and tried to figure out if every snowflake really is different from the others and has 6...points? They melted too quickly though. Easier to catch falling leaves in the autumn AND you have the benefit of one day of good luck the next year for each one you catch (never mind...one of those old tales that's just stayed with me).
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