Having spent a few hours poking about around the neighbourhood of my friend Becky's place I came back to settle into watch a horror movie as I felt like I owed at least a little something to the evening and Halloween just isn't a big deal here. A quiet night in it was not meant to be...
Becky called me about an hour into Black Sheep (see it, very good zombie-sheep movie) to annouce that there was a big staff party that night for EF (the company we both teach for) here in Shanghai. However, before we got anywhere near the orgnized staff party we got word that the event was a bust and that everybody had headed to a bar called Windows Scoreboard.
We arrived to a packed out Chinesse Sportsbar filled with about 1/2 westerners and 1/2 locals at around11. An odd sight to lay eyes on. However, the beer was cheap (about 1.20 Canadian) and the music was good. And so the drinking began... Beer after beer until it was suddenly 4am and Becky and I were drinking with the bar staff. She had to work this afternoon so she wisely took the empty bar as an omen that it was time to retire for the night. Me, never one to call it a night early had pallied up with a Philopena waitress and we decided that we should carry on later into the night. Thankfully Becky wrote her address on my arm and on a piece of paper so that I could get a taxi to take me back.
The waitress, whose name totally escapes me, and I headed off to another Windows bar and drank full on until the sun chased the night away. Fortunately the dawn was enough to force a little sense into me and I stumbled into a taxi. Handed the driver my piece of paper and promptly passed out.
When he dropped me off in Becky's neigbhourhood it was on the opposite side of the street to where I was used to and because of that and the countless beers I was totally lost. I did however, find a hotel, I went in and asked how much a room was. They quoted me a price in the 50$ range so I decided to move on. I phoned Becky pleading for her help. She had a wee chuckle at my expense and told me the hotel was just across the street from her building complex...
The beauty of China is that at 7 in the morning their are a bevy of street vendors selling all matter of breakfasts and so I sat down on the curb to a meal of 1.25 Liters of Gatorade and two freshly made beautiful crepes. Before stumbling my way to up to Becky's flat.
Turns out even with that grub and Gatorade the beer won. Hangover 1 Clinton 0.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Back in the Saddle
So for a longtime the blog has sat silent. It is time to fire it up again. Sorry about the wait, but until just yesterday I was unable to access my blogging account. The Great Firewall of China had shut me out, however, yesterday talking to another backpacker they pointed out that you can access blogger to post blogs, you simply cannot view them. Looks like I am back in business.
To bring those up to speed who I did not see over my 1 month vacation in Victoria, I've moved to China with my good friend Emily-Anne. We are living in the south of China in a city called Shenzhen, about 45 minutes and one quick border away from downtown Hong Kong.
We are both going to be teaching English for a company called English First, however, because of visa complications for me I have had to wait about a month before I can start teaching. Emily-Anne on the other hand was able to start straight away. I look forward to starting next week when the final bits of requisite paperwork will arrive.
We have found a lovely 2 bedroom apartment on the 21st floor of a brand new building. The views are amazing and it is about a 10 minute walk into work.
I am sorry this blog doesn't have more stories of adventure but I do promise to start adding those soon as I am now capable of uploading
Will have more for you soon.
To bring those up to speed who I did not see over my 1 month vacation in Victoria, I've moved to China with my good friend Emily-Anne. We are living in the south of China in a city called Shenzhen, about 45 minutes and one quick border away from downtown Hong Kong.
We are both going to be teaching English for a company called English First, however, because of visa complications for me I have had to wait about a month before I can start teaching. Emily-Anne on the other hand was able to start straight away. I look forward to starting next week when the final bits of requisite paperwork will arrive.
We have found a lovely 2 bedroom apartment on the 21st floor of a brand new building. The views are amazing and it is about a 10 minute walk into work.
I am sorry this blog doesn't have more stories of adventure but I do promise to start adding those soon as I am now capable of uploading
Will have more for you soon.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Imminent Return
I was going to be hush-hush about this but word has leaked.
I am going to be in Victoria this Thursday night (the 30th) and will be staying for about 10 days until I fly out to Shanghai.
If you´ve been reading this I´d love to catch up while I am in town. However, I will not have my cell phone so please get me on my folk´s home phone (250)598 3986
I am going to be in Victoria this Thursday night (the 30th) and will be staying for about 10 days until I fly out to Shanghai.
If you´ve been reading this I´d love to catch up while I am in town. However, I will not have my cell phone so please get me on my folk´s home phone (250)598 3986
I Tarzan, You scary as hell.
Yesterday afternoon´s ATVing was absolutely brilliant. The boys and I got on our Quads around 2 for a crash course on steering them. There was couple from New York with us as well and it was a definite highlight of the afternoon when they both had to ask how standard transmissions work as everyone in NYC drives automatic.
Introductory course out of the way it was on to some gravel roads to open them up a little. They weren´t huge machines only 350cc but you could do some impressive fishtailing in them. It wasn´t long before the lads and I were drawing the ire of the guide for pushing the quads close to their limits.
We soon left the gravel roads behind and were driving through rolling green hills of cow paddocks, splashing through half meter deep muddle puds and generally having a riotous time.
Then we got to the real technical riding. Which started with a steep downhill descent over loose muddy rocks. I locked up the brakes once to avoid the guide who had slowed suddenly and began to spin sideways until I gave it a ton of gas and sprayed mud every which way. At the bottom of the hill was a big creek crossing, about 1 meter deep and about 20 meters wide, which our guide cautioned us to keep going or risk going over into the drink. It was an amazing experience to push through a couple of such crossings. The final one I found a deep spot with my front right tire and nearly lost the quad, luckily my other 3 tires held traction and I was able to get through.
We all came back in one piece, caked in mud and smiling from ear to ear. A great day!
This morning we were up early to do a canopy tour, which is walking through cloud forests checking out various bits of wildlife atop a number of different suspension bridges. It was amazing to see the jungle canopy and a variety of cool little animals. The clear highlight of the morning was getting up to the final bridge. To get up to it it was necessary to scale the inside of a strangling ficas tree, which had killed its host tree. It was amazing to climb up the 12 meter inside of a tree and out on to the bridge looking down at the canopy below.
However, as cool as both the above two tours were they paled sharply with what the afternoon had in store. Ziplining! Zipling, for those who don´t know, is when you don a rock climbing harness connected to wire lines by a simple wheel and zip on lines from stand to stand usually for pretty good distances. Another tidbit for those out of the loop. I hate heights and turn into a bit of a baby by them, and were I not with the Irish crew there was no way in hell I would´ve done this.
The first few lines were pretty civilized, 30 meters long and about 15 meters high. Good fun and built up the confidence. They got progressively longer until we were flying about 700 meters about 75meters up! But the real oh shit moment of the trip was when we went to do the ¨Tarzan Swing¨which was leaping off of a perfectly good platform 20m up and swinging out from it for 15ish seconds. I was terrified and tried to back out, however Carl and Carolyn weren´t having any of it, and over I went. I promise I will post Carl´s video of it soon as it is classic. I was shaking with adrenaline after. It really was a wonderful day!
Introductory course out of the way it was on to some gravel roads to open them up a little. They weren´t huge machines only 350cc but you could do some impressive fishtailing in them. It wasn´t long before the lads and I were drawing the ire of the guide for pushing the quads close to their limits.
We soon left the gravel roads behind and were driving through rolling green hills of cow paddocks, splashing through half meter deep muddle puds and generally having a riotous time.
Then we got to the real technical riding. Which started with a steep downhill descent over loose muddy rocks. I locked up the brakes once to avoid the guide who had slowed suddenly and began to spin sideways until I gave it a ton of gas and sprayed mud every which way. At the bottom of the hill was a big creek crossing, about 1 meter deep and about 20 meters wide, which our guide cautioned us to keep going or risk going over into the drink. It was an amazing experience to push through a couple of such crossings. The final one I found a deep spot with my front right tire and nearly lost the quad, luckily my other 3 tires held traction and I was able to get through.
We all came back in one piece, caked in mud and smiling from ear to ear. A great day!
This morning we were up early to do a canopy tour, which is walking through cloud forests checking out various bits of wildlife atop a number of different suspension bridges. It was amazing to see the jungle canopy and a variety of cool little animals. The clear highlight of the morning was getting up to the final bridge. To get up to it it was necessary to scale the inside of a strangling ficas tree, which had killed its host tree. It was amazing to climb up the 12 meter inside of a tree and out on to the bridge looking down at the canopy below.
However, as cool as both the above two tours were they paled sharply with what the afternoon had in store. Ziplining! Zipling, for those who don´t know, is when you don a rock climbing harness connected to wire lines by a simple wheel and zip on lines from stand to stand usually for pretty good distances. Another tidbit for those out of the loop. I hate heights and turn into a bit of a baby by them, and were I not with the Irish crew there was no way in hell I would´ve done this.
The first few lines were pretty civilized, 30 meters long and about 15 meters high. Good fun and built up the confidence. They got progressively longer until we were flying about 700 meters about 75meters up! But the real oh shit moment of the trip was when we went to do the ¨Tarzan Swing¨which was leaping off of a perfectly good platform 20m up and swinging out from it for 15ish seconds. I was terrified and tried to back out, however Carl and Carolyn weren´t having any of it, and over I went. I promise I will post Carl´s video of it soon as it is classic. I was shaking with adrenaline after. It really was a wonderful day!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Borders
Through out my trip I have crossed a number of borders and they never cease to fascinate me. For example, when Heather and I left Victoria all those nights ago we were checked by American border officials in Victoria and then again when we arrived in Seattle. Two things about this were really interesting to me. First, the fact that we have people from the US in Canada which stamp your passport and usher you into a small waiting room. What country am I in at that point? Is it Canada? Because we are certainly on Canadian soil in a Canadian owned and operated building. Or is it like an embassy in which it is sovereign land of the other country gifted by the host country. Furthermore, if a murder was committed there whose law is tried under and is the death penalty a possibility?
A second complicating factor in my mind is the fact that I again was checked by customs officials when I arrived in America. Between the time I was first checked by American guards in Canada and those in Seattle what country was I in? Did I have rights under either the American Constitution or the Canadian Charter? It is this kind of grey air that allows Camp X-ray to exist in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
As I travelled South some more strange things happened on borders. The border between Mexico and Guatemala is demarcated by a bridge of about 300 meters in length (as was the one between Honduras and Nicaragua is likewise demarcated) This seems a petty question, but as the bridge is in no man´s land whose laws govern its construction and who pays for and does the upkeep on it?
On a more serious level is what borders represent. They rarely, if ever, demarcate clear lines between regions or ethnicity's. For example, the people of Washington state speak, sound are pretty much indistinguishable from people in BC. For the most part we can see all their newscasts, share the same climate and geography.
So what is the point of borders when it seems pretty clear that people change by regions and not arbitrary lines. To see how arbitrary those lines can be look at a map of Africa! It is pretty safe to understand that the straighter a line is the more arbitrary.
So are borders a tool of peace or war? I ask this because the obvious answer seems to be of war, the fact that there is a line dividing groups from others they identify with or resources they cover creates a desire and an impetus for military conquest. However, what would happen if there was not clearly demarcated lines? The Ottoman Empire used to work very much like this, their authority or border essentially ended where ever their ability to assert control ended. However, this meant that for the people far removed from the center and living on the regions that there was frequent warfare on and around their land.
It seems clear to me that the European Union has the correct solution to this problem because with free trade it eliminates the coveting of people/resources, allows for people to settle where and with the people that they identify with. The one reservation I have is that the surrender of sovereignty that things like a common currency entail. Although I think I shall save my thoughts on what currency represents for a later date.
A second complicating factor in my mind is the fact that I again was checked by customs officials when I arrived in America. Between the time I was first checked by American guards in Canada and those in Seattle what country was I in? Did I have rights under either the American Constitution or the Canadian Charter? It is this kind of grey air that allows Camp X-ray to exist in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
As I travelled South some more strange things happened on borders. The border between Mexico and Guatemala is demarcated by a bridge of about 300 meters in length (as was the one between Honduras and Nicaragua is likewise demarcated) This seems a petty question, but as the bridge is in no man´s land whose laws govern its construction and who pays for and does the upkeep on it?
On a more serious level is what borders represent. They rarely, if ever, demarcate clear lines between regions or ethnicity's. For example, the people of Washington state speak, sound are pretty much indistinguishable from people in BC. For the most part we can see all their newscasts, share the same climate and geography.
So what is the point of borders when it seems pretty clear that people change by regions and not arbitrary lines. To see how arbitrary those lines can be look at a map of Africa! It is pretty safe to understand that the straighter a line is the more arbitrary.
So are borders a tool of peace or war? I ask this because the obvious answer seems to be of war, the fact that there is a line dividing groups from others they identify with or resources they cover creates a desire and an impetus for military conquest. However, what would happen if there was not clearly demarcated lines? The Ottoman Empire used to work very much like this, their authority or border essentially ended where ever their ability to assert control ended. However, this meant that for the people far removed from the center and living on the regions that there was frequent warfare on and around their land.
It seems clear to me that the European Union has the correct solution to this problem because with free trade it eliminates the coveting of people/resources, allows for people to settle where and with the people that they identify with. The one reservation I have is that the surrender of sovereignty that things like a common currency entail. Although I think I shall save my thoughts on what currency represents for a later date.
So I lied...
The hostel I am staying in has free Internet and as I am in the highlands of Costa Rica waiting for my ATVing tour to start I figured I would put a little time into the blog.
After Leon the boys and I headed to Granada for 3 days. Where a friend of theirs joined us. Her name is Carolyn and she too is Irish. The town was good fun and had a lovely colonial feeling.
Afterwards it was beach time and we headed off to San Juan Del Sur in southern Nicaragua.
We spent the first day on the town´s beach but the waves there were just barely suitable for boogie boarding so we piled onto the hostels 4 wheel drive truck heading off to the big surf beaches. The waves were spectacular! Nice even breaks with clear gaps between them so that you can easily pick out the waves you want.
It was in watching these waves that I saw possibly the most exciting sight of my trip. I was body boarding as one of the lads had wanted a go on my board and as I was watching for my wave to come I saw a large turtle (about 2/3 of a meter across) playing in the wave. He too was surfing the face of the 3 meter wave. It was so amazing that I didn´t pay enough attention to what I was doing and got tossed around so badly that I had reach down quickly to recover my shorts that the wave had mostly off.
The next morning we were up early to continue our travels. It was another long day of travelling, 60 minute taxi ride, 45 minutes at the border, 3 hour bus ride, and then 2.5 hours of another bus that was so full that all the boys and I had to stand. All of which served to deliver us in Monte Verde, Costa Rica. (It is in the North East, part of a massive wildlife reserve.)
Later this afternoon we are off to do a bit of ATV riding and then up tomorrow morning to go ziplining (flying from stands to stands anywhere from 25 to 55 meters over the forest canopy)
After Leon the boys and I headed to Granada for 3 days. Where a friend of theirs joined us. Her name is Carolyn and she too is Irish. The town was good fun and had a lovely colonial feeling.
Afterwards it was beach time and we headed off to San Juan Del Sur in southern Nicaragua.
We spent the first day on the town´s beach but the waves there were just barely suitable for boogie boarding so we piled onto the hostels 4 wheel drive truck heading off to the big surf beaches. The waves were spectacular! Nice even breaks with clear gaps between them so that you can easily pick out the waves you want.
It was in watching these waves that I saw possibly the most exciting sight of my trip. I was body boarding as one of the lads had wanted a go on my board and as I was watching for my wave to come I saw a large turtle (about 2/3 of a meter across) playing in the wave. He too was surfing the face of the 3 meter wave. It was so amazing that I didn´t pay enough attention to what I was doing and got tossed around so badly that I had reach down quickly to recover my shorts that the wave had mostly off.
The next morning we were up early to continue our travels. It was another long day of travelling, 60 minute taxi ride, 45 minutes at the border, 3 hour bus ride, and then 2.5 hours of another bus that was so full that all the boys and I had to stand. All of which served to deliver us in Monte Verde, Costa Rica. (It is in the North East, part of a massive wildlife reserve.)
Later this afternoon we are off to do a bit of ATV riding and then up tomorrow morning to go ziplining (flying from stands to stands anywhere from 25 to 55 meters over the forest canopy)
Saturday, August 25, 2007
All is Quiet on the Internet front
My appologies that I've been so quiet on the net lately. I am still travelling with the Irish lads today we are heading off to Costa Rica. I will be relatively quiet on the blog until about the 31st and then I promise to do a big update for everybody as the net is very expensive in Costa Rica.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Chicken Bus
I have spent a lot of time on buses here and I have started playing with my camera during the rides. Here is another photo gallery, this time of my experiences on chicken buses
Sunday, August 19, 2007
A quiet night in Leòn, Nicaragua
I left Utila on Friday meeting the 2 Irish lads at 6am for the ferry from Utila. 90 minutes later we work back on the mainland and then we headed to the bus terminal to continue our journey. A 6 hour bus later to the capital and on the way we had recruited 3 more people to our fellowship, 2 blokes and a bird. Our numbers swelled to 6 we jumped cabs in the Tegucialpa to get on our 2nd bus a 3 hour beast down bumpy roads. 17 hours after we started we had arrived in Leon and gotten the hell out of the way of the level 5 Hurricane that was threatening to turn Honduras into a rainy wet hell hole.
We deposited our bags and descended on the town, partying in a local dance club until 2 in the morning putting back a number of 1 dollar bottled (and tasty) beers.
Today we were all moving a little slow and explored the town at little more then a saunter, however, we managed to get all the sights in and tomorrow we head south.
Not much of a story, but thought I should bring you up to speed on my latest location.
We deposited our bags and descended on the town, partying in a local dance club until 2 in the morning putting back a number of 1 dollar bottled (and tasty) beers.
Today we were all moving a little slow and explored the town at little more then a saunter, however, we managed to get all the sights in and tomorrow we head south.
Not much of a story, but thought I should bring you up to speed on my latest location.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Travelling "Solo"
Since Heather and I parted ways I've been travelling solo. However, rarely does this mean I am alone. There has been a steady stream of short term travel companions. The very day I went my separate way from Heather I met a couple from Israel and a bloke from Arizona that I spent a couple of nights with. Then we parted ways as they were headed East and I North.
On the boat that took me on that Northern trip into Belize I met a guy from Eastern Europe who I travelled with for a week. When we parted ways I hit Guatemala and El Salvador but as I was moving at such a clip I didn't really get a chance to meet many people. But shortly after arriving in Honduras I met a Swiss girl and travelled with her for 10 days, she left this morning. I was kind of bummed thinking that tomorrow morning I would be tackling an epic day's travel into Nicaragua solo. And yet again I met new travelling companions. Two Irish blokes I'd met when previously climbing the Volcano in Guatemala were on my dive and are headed the same direction at the same time, so over a couple of lunch time beers we decided to head out together. It really amazes me the way that travelling fortune works out like that and it also keeps the adventures fresh.
On the boat that took me on that Northern trip into Belize I met a guy from Eastern Europe who I travelled with for a week. When we parted ways I hit Guatemala and El Salvador but as I was moving at such a clip I didn't really get a chance to meet many people. But shortly after arriving in Honduras I met a Swiss girl and travelled with her for 10 days, she left this morning. I was kind of bummed thinking that tomorrow morning I would be tackling an epic day's travel into Nicaragua solo. And yet again I met new travelling companions. Two Irish blokes I'd met when previously climbing the Volcano in Guatemala were on my dive and are headed the same direction at the same time, so over a couple of lunch time beers we decided to head out together. It really amazes me the way that travelling fortune works out like that and it also keeps the adventures fresh.
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Islands Manifesto
Someone close to me recently put this forward and as much as I am off trying to find myself, I think she summed up beautifully what I actually want to do and be.
"We should travel the world. Who cares where we end up or how long we stay.
We should have engaging conversations with as many as possible, in as many languages as we possibly can. Not just regular run of the mill conversations, but real ones, where we suggest overthrowing governments and banishing poverty.
We should eat like locals, provided it doesn’t kill us.
We should find as much good music and continue to look, never stopping for “regular main stream” stuff.
We should take photos. Many many photos. And send post cards and hand written letters to people “back home,” wherever that may be.
We should not regret, or doubt, or think for too long about any decision.
We should read, a lot. And discuss it over beer.
I’m ready to travel the world. It really is our oyster."
I agree Em, let's go.
"We should travel the world. Who cares where we end up or how long we stay.
We should have engaging conversations with as many as possible, in as many languages as we possibly can. Not just regular run of the mill conversations, but real ones, where we suggest overthrowing governments and banishing poverty.
We should eat like locals, provided it doesn’t kill us.
We should find as much good music and continue to look, never stopping for “regular main stream” stuff.
We should take photos. Many many photos. And send post cards and hand written letters to people “back home,” wherever that may be.
We should not regret, or doubt, or think for too long about any decision.
We should read, a lot. And discuss it over beer.
I’m ready to travel the world. It really is our oyster."
I agree Em, let's go.
The Journey So Far
Unfortunately googlemaps doesn't have very good detailed zoom information of the region, however, I was playing around online with it today and this is my travels so far as I can estimate without cities being listed. I've traveled a fair bit in the last 40 days.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Alive and Well in Utila
I am on an island off the Coast of Honduras that is so small it makes Salt Spring look postively continent like. It is about 5km long and 1km wide. Just a quick update. I am spending the next five or so days scuba diving for 15$ a dive, possibly the cheapest in the world. Sharks, rays, seahorses here I come.
Thanks for all the comments, but please leave your name after the text so I know who is saying what!
Thanks for all the comments, but please leave your name after the text so I know who is saying what!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
A tutorial on Chicken Buses in El Salvador
Recently when I left the surf town of La Libertad about 40kms of San Salvador I got a crash course in how one gets on to a chicken bus at the station. Here is what I hope is a reasonable recounting.
It was hot. It was really hot when I sat my bag down at the parking lot that doubled as a bus station for the chicken buses. Everyone seemed to be milling around a wall finding respite in the heat, so I did the same being a big believer of when in Rome...
A bus came round the corner towards the crowd and suddenly there was a surge of people rushing it at both doors! Banging on the windows and jostling for position. I Candianly strolled over once the crowd died down figuring that they all just wanted the good seats. Nope the bus was packed out! There was no way my backpack and I were getting on that one.
I returned to the shade a little shell shocked. But ready for how it was done. When the next bus approached I was right there in the middle of the ruck, pushing and wedging myself in. (A backpack makes a great bit of a battering ram.) I managed to find a behind the back row for both my pack and I. I watched as the bus filled fuller and fuller the shoving and pushing continued. No one seemed to get angry with each other, it seemed to be merely a case of doing what needed to be done. I watched as women passed their children through the school bus windows! The seat in front of me, which in Canada would seat two, was filled with a husband, a wife, their child, a live chicken with its head sticking out of a plastic bag and then woman offered another lady on the bus to hold her baby as she was pressed into the middle of an aisle and with infant in hand had no real chance to grab a railing for balance. (Which is very necessary as the drivers push these buses through the curves at insane speeds.)
I counted seats on the bus, it was pretty clearly meant to seat around 48-62 people. I lost count at 250 people on board when we left the terminal and we kept picking people up for a while.
When one wants to get off the bus they bang the roof and shout "baja."
Good times!
Headed off to the Ruinas of Copan today and then to the Bay Islands later this week for some SCUBA diving.
It was hot. It was really hot when I sat my bag down at the parking lot that doubled as a bus station for the chicken buses. Everyone seemed to be milling around a wall finding respite in the heat, so I did the same being a big believer of when in Rome...
A bus came round the corner towards the crowd and suddenly there was a surge of people rushing it at both doors! Banging on the windows and jostling for position. I Candianly strolled over once the crowd died down figuring that they all just wanted the good seats. Nope the bus was packed out! There was no way my backpack and I were getting on that one.
I returned to the shade a little shell shocked. But ready for how it was done. When the next bus approached I was right there in the middle of the ruck, pushing and wedging myself in. (A backpack makes a great bit of a battering ram.) I managed to find a behind the back row for both my pack and I. I watched as the bus filled fuller and fuller the shoving and pushing continued. No one seemed to get angry with each other, it seemed to be merely a case of doing what needed to be done. I watched as women passed their children through the school bus windows! The seat in front of me, which in Canada would seat two, was filled with a husband, a wife, their child, a live chicken with its head sticking out of a plastic bag and then woman offered another lady on the bus to hold her baby as she was pressed into the middle of an aisle and with infant in hand had no real chance to grab a railing for balance. (Which is very necessary as the drivers push these buses through the curves at insane speeds.)
I counted seats on the bus, it was pretty clearly meant to seat around 48-62 people. I lost count at 250 people on board when we left the terminal and we kept picking people up for a while.
When one wants to get off the bus they bang the roof and shout "baja."
Good times!
Headed off to the Ruinas of Copan today and then to the Bay Islands later this week for some SCUBA diving.
Monday, August 6, 2007
In El Salvador
So my flight was totally uneventful, save two facts. First, apparently too many tickets had sold to run the prop plan so then we got a 737, the same size plane I'd flown cross continent in. However, not that many tickets had sold so essentially every passenger had their own row. Second, was the very funny fact that we were at cruising altitude for about 3 minutes, the rest of the 30 minute flight was consumed in ascent and descent.
Cramming into an air condition less bus for the 5 hour ride from Guatemala City to San Salvador was a sad reality check, further reinforced by then climbing onto a chicken bus for the final leg of the journey to a surf town called La Libertad on El Salvador's Pacific Coast.
Fortunately I was not lonely on board as a man sat down in the seat beside me and kept talking in rapid Spanish through rotting teeth on foul booze breathe. Clearly he was concerned that I had not had enough physical contact for the day as he touched both legs, purely by coincidence in the places one would keep a wallet as well as my waist, where I happen to keep my money belt and finally the wrist I keep my watch on. However, I was a little ill at ease suspecting any other passenger buy this one might try to pickpocket me and had squirrelled things away securely.
The physical contact barrier dealt with my newest friend took the freshly opened glass bottle of coke from my hand and had a big swig, even before I had had the chance to offer it. I thought in light of our new comradery I would let him have it. However, he kept spilling on me which I worried might accidentally distract me and allow a completely different passenger to nick my things. Unfortunately, in a moment of clumsiness on my part I knocked the bottle he was dangling by the window out and to the side of a rural road.
We continued on in silence until we approached my destination. He was exceptionally concerned about where I was staying, if I'd be alone and if I needed a ride. His relief was almost tangible when I told him that I was meeting six of my former American football teammates in town and that they had sussed a place out, I only had to phone them.
Unfortunately, I forgot to get his email address or say goodbye when our bus lurched to a stop and in the rush of some street vendors getting on to hawk their goods I slipped out the back door.
Unfortunately the town I am now in does not have ATMs that work with international cards (a first in the 12 countries I've travelled to) so after paying for my room I've only 12$ left, so I skipped dinner and am now waiting for a bus back to San Salvador. Surfing in this part of the world shall have to wait for Costa Rica.
A consolation for those of you lamenting the high price of gas this long weekend here. It is 3.78US per LITER here.
Cramming into an air condition less bus for the 5 hour ride from Guatemala City to San Salvador was a sad reality check, further reinforced by then climbing onto a chicken bus for the final leg of the journey to a surf town called La Libertad on El Salvador's Pacific Coast.
Fortunately I was not lonely on board as a man sat down in the seat beside me and kept talking in rapid Spanish through rotting teeth on foul booze breathe. Clearly he was concerned that I had not had enough physical contact for the day as he touched both legs, purely by coincidence in the places one would keep a wallet as well as my waist, where I happen to keep my money belt and finally the wrist I keep my watch on. However, I was a little ill at ease suspecting any other passenger buy this one might try to pickpocket me and had squirrelled things away securely.
The physical contact barrier dealt with my newest friend took the freshly opened glass bottle of coke from my hand and had a big swig, even before I had had the chance to offer it. I thought in light of our new comradery I would let him have it. However, he kept spilling on me which I worried might accidentally distract me and allow a completely different passenger to nick my things. Unfortunately, in a moment of clumsiness on my part I knocked the bottle he was dangling by the window out and to the side of a rural road.
We continued on in silence until we approached my destination. He was exceptionally concerned about where I was staying, if I'd be alone and if I needed a ride. His relief was almost tangible when I told him that I was meeting six of my former American football teammates in town and that they had sussed a place out, I only had to phone them.
Unfortunately, I forgot to get his email address or say goodbye when our bus lurched to a stop and in the rush of some street vendors getting on to hawk their goods I slipped out the back door.
Unfortunately the town I am now in does not have ATMs that work with international cards (a first in the 12 countries I've travelled to) so after paying for my room I've only 12$ left, so I skipped dinner and am now waiting for a bus back to San Salvador. Surfing in this part of the world shall have to wait for Costa Rica.
A consolation for those of you lamenting the high price of gas this long weekend here. It is 3.78US per LITER here.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Tikal
A brief update for my readers. I am now in Northern Guatemala after spending about 7 days and way to much money simply relaxing on the beaches in Belize. They were gorgeous and it was easy and fast to get around because everyone spoke English and the infrastructure was well developed
There is an added sense of urgency to my travel now as I was offered and accepted a contract to go teach English in Shanghai for one year with two of my favorite birds. I am very excited to extend my travels and to use the money I make to keep the journey going after the year is up.
Tomorrow morning I am up early to catch a prop airplane from Flores to Guatemala city. It cuts an 11 hour hellish bus ride down to 45 minutes for only 125$. Here´s hoping 3rd would airplanes work better then the buses as I have seen a number of drivers get out and kick the motor or various other things to hold it together.
And on to Today´s adventure (look at that, same day blogging! How unlike me)
The morning started early with the alarm clock I purchased yesterday ringing at 245am (the first time I have heard an alarm clock in about 6 weeks.) I stumbled to the front of my hostel for my 3am pickup, which arrived promptly at 3am Guatemala time at about 20 minutes past the hour. We then spent 45 minutes cruising around town collection the rest of my early morning trekkers. We were all up at this ungodly hour to see the sunrise from the East facing 55meter in Tikal.
Once we arrived it was clear that the collection had taken more time then intended as our guide set a blistering pace to get us to the temple straight away. Nothing like a 40 minute speedy hike at 5am in humid air when the mercury is already pushing 30 Celsius. We got to the top of the first pyramid but it was foggy so we listened in relative silence to the wookie like screams of the howler monkeys and saw a few toucans fly by. I suspect most readers have actually seen the temple before as it was one of the establishing shots of the Ewok planet in Star Wars!
The highlight of the day was when our guide coaxed a big, wild tarantula out of its den and offered to let us hold it. I was the only one to accept! Although, I did have a nap in 2500 year old king´s chamber on the fifth floor of a temple, that was a close second.
I think the rest of the adventure is best explained in picture form so please enjoy my Tikal Pictures
There is an added sense of urgency to my travel now as I was offered and accepted a contract to go teach English in Shanghai for one year with two of my favorite birds. I am very excited to extend my travels and to use the money I make to keep the journey going after the year is up.
Tomorrow morning I am up early to catch a prop airplane from Flores to Guatemala city. It cuts an 11 hour hellish bus ride down to 45 minutes for only 125$. Here´s hoping 3rd would airplanes work better then the buses as I have seen a number of drivers get out and kick the motor or various other things to hold it together.
And on to Today´s adventure (look at that, same day blogging! How unlike me)
The morning started early with the alarm clock I purchased yesterday ringing at 245am (the first time I have heard an alarm clock in about 6 weeks.) I stumbled to the front of my hostel for my 3am pickup, which arrived promptly at 3am Guatemala time at about 20 minutes past the hour. We then spent 45 minutes cruising around town collection the rest of my early morning trekkers. We were all up at this ungodly hour to see the sunrise from the East facing 55meter in Tikal.
Once we arrived it was clear that the collection had taken more time then intended as our guide set a blistering pace to get us to the temple straight away. Nothing like a 40 minute speedy hike at 5am in humid air when the mercury is already pushing 30 Celsius. We got to the top of the first pyramid but it was foggy so we listened in relative silence to the wookie like screams of the howler monkeys and saw a few toucans fly by. I suspect most readers have actually seen the temple before as it was one of the establishing shots of the Ewok planet in Star Wars!
The highlight of the day was when our guide coaxed a big, wild tarantula out of its den and offered to let us hold it. I was the only one to accept! Although, I did have a nap in 2500 year old king´s chamber on the fifth floor of a temple, that was a close second.
I think the rest of the adventure is best explained in picture form so please enjoy my Tikal Pictures
Thursday, August 2, 2007
So it's a really rainy day in paradise
It is tropical rainstorming outside today so I've decided to upload the vast majority of my trip photos to facebook. For my readers that don't have facebook I will include links to the galleries
Mexico City to Pie De la Cuesta
Pie De la Cuesta to Taxco
Taxco, Mexico to Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua to Lake Atilan (and environs)
Lake Atilan to Semuc Champey
Semuc Champey to Livingstone to Belize
and Finally Belize.
That is more or less every photo I've taken so far, any feedback or tips would be most welcome in the comment section.
Mexico City to Pie De la Cuesta
Pie De la Cuesta to Taxco
Taxco, Mexico to Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua to Lake Atilan (and environs)
Lake Atilan to Semuc Champey
Semuc Champey to Livingstone to Belize
and Finally Belize.
That is more or less every photo I've taken so far, any feedback or tips would be most welcome in the comment section.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Big One
To begin with let me first apologize for the last 11 days without blogging. I've been a bit slack as Internet access has been costly, slowly and generally unavailable. As such I invested the 2 dollars necessary to get a pad of paper and a pen so that at least I could write out what was happening and then post it all in one BIG session once I had access. Today's entry, composed on the 31st of July will attempt to fill in the missing time. It will include, tubing, caving, hiking a hill to put Finlayson to shame in Tevas, cross dressing, hot springs, a very strange religious practice, whitewater rafting, the end of Heather and I travelling together, the death of my iPod and swimsuit in the same day, and a very sobering reminder of the seriousness of travelling particularly solo. In order to break up what I looks like will be a very long blog I am going to divide up by days.
July 20
Arrived in Santa Cruz on the stunning Lago Atilan, its deep turquoise azule waters are the result of it being in the hollowed part of a collapsed volcanic cone and it is ringed on all sides by more volcanoes (2 of which are still active and expected to erupt soonish ((which for us volcanists is within the next 100 years.))) We were staying in a very cool backpacker orientated hostel which served big family style buffet meals. This night was a special party night as a 16 birds on a Contiki tour were coming for dinner and the party. The hostel is also famous for its dress-up parties and had an entire building of fugly women's clothing for people to get there ugly outfit or crossdress on with. Me being me, I joined in the fun donning a rather lovely purple number. Heather's camera holds the evidence right now I trust. The night descended into drunken debauchery as the cheap shots and tasty beer flowed freely.
July 20
Arrived in Santa Cruz on the stunning Lago Atilan, its deep turquoise azule waters are the result of it being in the hollowed part of a collapsed volcanic cone and it is ringed on all sides by more volcanoes (2 of which are still active and expected to erupt soonish ((which for us volcanists is within the next 100 years.))) We were staying in a very cool backpacker orientated hostel which served big family style buffet meals. This night was a special party night as a 16 birds on a Contiki tour were coming for dinner and the party. The hostel is also famous for its dress-up parties and had an entire building of fugly women's clothing for people to get there ugly outfit or crossdress on with. Me being me, I joined in the fun donning a rather lovely purple number. Heather's camera holds the evidence right now I trust. The night descended into drunken debauchery as the cheap shots and tasty beer flowed freely.
The previous night in a wee bit of a drunken stupor I'd signed up for a scavenger hunt, which for 65 Quetzales (there is about 7.29 per Canadian dollar) included transport to the many pueblas on the Lake. Our first stop was to Santiago where our first target was to check out the strangest religious idol I have ever seen. His name is Maxamillion and he is kept in villagers homes, changing monthly. He is about four feet high and of carved dark wood. His preferred offering is of cigarettes and a local harsh whiskey, which more or less makes him the God form of my most recent ex-girlfriend ;-) The room he was kept in was a bizarre spectacle as jade plants and cds hung from the ceiling, all light was either provided by old Christmas lights or candles placed on the floor in 6 groups of 4 double rows. With the walls painted black the room felt tiny. Along one wall in a glass Snowwhite-esque casket was a Jesus...umm I am not sure what word to us here, figurine is too toy-like, mannequin too department store and doll too sacrilegious.. holding a huge bouquet of cheep looking flake flowers. The total effect was exceptionally laughable however, it was very somber as the local shaman was performing a ritual for a mother whose baby was quite sick. The shaman kept taking articles of clothing and waving them in incense and then wrapping the mother in them. The humour was somewhat restored by the articles laid on her which included a funny hat, a dress, a Loveboat type Captain's jacket, and the type of shoes that looked like they would be at home attached to the end of a Village Person.
When we left there we strolled towards the town square where there was a fair being setup. Noticing a group of boys looking longingly at the foozball tables I talked one of my teammates in challenging them to a match on our dime. We were thoroughly destroyed, but must have had about 20 kids gather round to watch the Gringos v. Locals match. A trip highlight and some of my favourite photographs!
After lunch we headed for a dip in the local hotspring where the volcanic vents pressed heat to the surface creating an ideal swim. AS we returned to our hostel and intense tropical rainstorm started to pour down. Our boat began to take on water and our captain was trying to bail water and pilot the boat through big waves. I offered to help but machismo resulted in a pretty certain No. However, he was fighting a losing battle and when I offered again a few moments later he gladly turned the wheel over to me, all on board were relieved when we docked as the bailing had gotten worse and fork lightening and intense thunder had now come out too.
July 22
A full on travel day! 30 minute boat ride, four hours in a shuttle bus, 5 hours on a regular bus and a 30 minute walk to our hostel. All of which only equated to travelling the 250kms (as the crow flies) from Lake Atilan to Coban.
July 23
Up early that morning I realized how much I was missing news when I found myself watching Spanish CNN trying to piece together stories from my limited Spanish and their exceptionally flash logos. We then headed to Lanquin and the super chill El Retiro Hostel. That night at the bar Heather and I decided that it was time to head our separate ways at next stop as we were having some personality clashes that weren't worth risking a valued friendship over.
July 24
That day we were booked into the full tour of Semuc Champey. We started first with a guided tour of one of the cave systems, nothing like one you may have experienced in Canada, instead we were swimming most of it in bathing suits and Tevas. And to truly ratchet up the excitement instead of a flashlight or helmet with headlamps we were given run of the mill candles! One particular 200 meter swim was done with one hand very carefully held aloft.
Afterwards we boarded some tubes for a quick float down the river. Then it was off for an intense hike hike to a lookout on the swimming holes formed in the limestone canyon that makes Semuc Champey a must see for all travellers in the region. The hike up was full on! It was like a steeper, wetter, poorly marked version of Mount Finlayson. Oh yeah, and done in humid 30C+ weather with sandals. The descent was rugged but the view and the swimming the pools was totally worth it.
July 25
A day of clear skies after the most intense rainstorm I had ever witnessed. It had turned roads into rivers and had greatly swollen the river at the foot of our hotel. In other words, perfect conditions for tubing! A Dutch friend name Pieter (who had been travelling with Heather and I since Santa Cruz) spent about 60 Quetzales to get 4 rides to the top of the river so that we could float back down. It was the definition of chilled out!
July 26
This day was all about the Whitewater rafting for Pieter and I. We started off easily with our guide practicing commands, a flip recovery and everyone getting acquainted with paddling in time. The first rapids we hit were called rock and roll and were rated a 4+. Although we avoided flipping for the for the day we had a number of swimmers (those who fall out) including yours truly who had to swim a rather intense 3+, thankful for my helmet and lifejacket. However, at lunch the Billabong shorts I've had since I left Australia were irreparably, and embarrassingly ripped, fortunately I had a backup pair. Then getting home to the hostel I discovered that my iPod had fully given up the ghost. In order to avoid any other harm to others I spent the rest of the night chilling in my dorm room.
July 27
This was the morning Heather and I were both up early to hug goodbye as she was headed North to Flores and Tikal and I chose to get my Caribbean on by heading East to Livingstone (It is the time part of Guatemala on the Caribbean Coast) My journey began with a five hour ride in a shuttle van along bumpy old roads (think logging roads for 5 hours without 4wheel drive or even very decent suspension). Our van was pulled over at one point and an officer approached us to to ask if any us were missing a friend. A rather odd question to a full van I thought. Someone with better Spanish then me took over and it turned out that the body of a drowned backpacker with no ID had been recovered that morning and they had no idea of how to contact his family. It was a very somber moment as the realization that because I was travelling solo it would be awhile before anyone noticed I was missing (apologies to any Moms reading, but I did promise some sober reflection on this blog)
Continuing my journey I hooked up with some travellers from a hodgepodge of Nations enroute. 2 Israelis, 2 Ozzies and 1 Yank. The next ride was a 2 hour bus journey in a chicken bus complete with real chickens. (For those out of the know, a chicken bus is an old school bus that is repainted, often has tinted windows with a crazy sound system and locals and backpackers are often crammed 3 or 4 to a 2 person bench seat, a mandatory Central America experience). Finally we boarded a boat for the two hour scenic river ride down the Rio Dulce. The journey was amazing, seeing a 100 year old fortress, Pelicans, sheer limestone cliffs rising out of a lush tropical jungle and a stop in a splendid natural hotspring.
Alright, enough blogging. That is more or less the exciting parts! Now I am living the chilled out backpacker life on a tiny little island in Belize.
I've uploaded some photos to facebooks, but those of you without an account can access the photos here.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
So a guy goes up a volcano...
After signing off from the blog yesterday I headed back to the hostel to prepare to summit Volcano Pacayo. The question one is faced in climbing such a thing is, what the hell do I pack? I decided lots of water was in order.
Just before our ride arrived it started to rain, and rain, and rain. It did not stop until we got home. Not any Victoria drizzle either. This is the type of rain that drives into you, and soaks you through. At first I was okay with it, thinking that the group was hiking the equivalent of Mount Finlayson, and we are in the tropics so the cold will be overwhelmed by the heat and the climb. Getting into the shuttle bus I was nervous, there was a number of people that looked as though walk was a 4 letter word they tried to avoid. My fears were soon realized as we began our ascent. The rain continued and we took frequent breaks to allow (as I dubbed them) weezy, shakey and porkchop to catch up with the rest of the group which was chomping at the bit to keep moving (if only to stay warm)
For the entire climb the top (or cone as we volcano veterans call them) was shrouded in the clouds and hard to estimate the distance remaining because of this. As we got beyond the tree level the landscape became other worldly, suddenly there was a giant flow of cooled lava with and the grass and mud that had been underfoot was replaced with volcanic rock, and ash. Material that had come from 10kms under the surface in the preceding days and weeks. The climb got far more intense and complicated at this part (and weezy, shakey and porkchop brought the group to a near crawl as we all had to stay close together.) We stepped over vents where steam and sulphured warmed us in our places and as we climbed higher a meter under the dried lava we were standing on I could see and hear the magma flowing by underneath. The final 100 metres of the climb brought us to within 50 meters of where there was fresh magma erupting from the volcano. I know I promised photos, but the rain mixed with the heat of the magma mixed to create a fog that ruined any of the photos I took, for this I apologize.
We turned to begin our descent down. The return put the difference between Guatemala and Canada in sharp contrast for me. The sun had set while we were watching the eruptions, the guide led the group off and would occasionally blow a whistle to indicate which way he wanted us to follow and we had been recommended to bring torches. However, we were more or less on our own to pick our way through the dried flow which was prodigiously dangerous as it dries with very sharp edges and rocks that can easily break and give way underfoot... Ohh yeah, and there were pits of magma that if one fell on... well lets just say it would not be pretty. And finally our guide did not even carry a bag, meaning no first aid kit.
Heather was soaked through and having a rough go of the descent, so we held back a little and tried to get her warmed up with some dry things. I also wanted to be on the tail because I did not remember our guide ever doing a head count and I was a little worried that weezy could be lost.
Eventually we all found our way to the van waiting at the bottom of the hill and everyone was in the van... Weezy, Porkchop and Shakey fell asleep before we even made it back to Antigua.
Just before our ride arrived it started to rain, and rain, and rain. It did not stop until we got home. Not any Victoria drizzle either. This is the type of rain that drives into you, and soaks you through. At first I was okay with it, thinking that the group was hiking the equivalent of Mount Finlayson, and we are in the tropics so the cold will be overwhelmed by the heat and the climb. Getting into the shuttle bus I was nervous, there was a number of people that looked as though walk was a 4 letter word they tried to avoid. My fears were soon realized as we began our ascent. The rain continued and we took frequent breaks to allow (as I dubbed them) weezy, shakey and porkchop to catch up with the rest of the group which was chomping at the bit to keep moving (if only to stay warm)
For the entire climb the top (or cone as we volcano veterans call them) was shrouded in the clouds and hard to estimate the distance remaining because of this. As we got beyond the tree level the landscape became other worldly, suddenly there was a giant flow of cooled lava with and the grass and mud that had been underfoot was replaced with volcanic rock, and ash. Material that had come from 10kms under the surface in the preceding days and weeks. The climb got far more intense and complicated at this part (and weezy, shakey and porkchop brought the group to a near crawl as we all had to stay close together.) We stepped over vents where steam and sulphured warmed us in our places and as we climbed higher a meter under the dried lava we were standing on I could see and hear the magma flowing by underneath. The final 100 metres of the climb brought us to within 50 meters of where there was fresh magma erupting from the volcano. I know I promised photos, but the rain mixed with the heat of the magma mixed to create a fog that ruined any of the photos I took, for this I apologize.
We turned to begin our descent down. The return put the difference between Guatemala and Canada in sharp contrast for me. The sun had set while we were watching the eruptions, the guide led the group off and would occasionally blow a whistle to indicate which way he wanted us to follow and we had been recommended to bring torches. However, we were more or less on our own to pick our way through the dried flow which was prodigiously dangerous as it dries with very sharp edges and rocks that can easily break and give way underfoot... Ohh yeah, and there were pits of magma that if one fell on... well lets just say it would not be pretty. And finally our guide did not even carry a bag, meaning no first aid kit.
Heather was soaked through and having a rough go of the descent, so we held back a little and tried to get her warmed up with some dry things. I also wanted to be on the tail because I did not remember our guide ever doing a head count and I was a little worried that weezy could be lost.
Eventually we all found our way to the van waiting at the bottom of the hill and everyone was in the van... Weezy, Porkchop and Shakey fell asleep before we even made it back to Antigua.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Antigua, Guatemala
Alright, I apologize that I left the last blog half way finished. I didn´t realize quite how many people are reading this thing. I vow to keep it up if I have the audience, maybe if I get a big enough readership I can finance my trip through google ads ;)
To set the scene: Heather and I are in one of Mexico City´s bus terminals, having just waved goodbye to Lee.
We strolled over to the nearby ticket counter asking how to get to somewhere in the far South of the country, a tiny little place called Talisman, where one of the 3 border crossings are into Guatemala. Heather had researched all of them and this one was by far the coolest, as you the border occurred in the middle of the river.
We were told that no bus left the terminal we were at for the where we wanted to go, but one indeed did leave from another terminal from the main terminal in town. The metro system in the city is incredible so we go and hop onto a train which takes us most of the way to the other terminal. When we go to transfer the platform we were on was so crowded that it was 5 deep from the trains as they arrived. And when they did arrive they were already insanely packed out, we let a few go by and I noticed that there was about 3 or 4 dodgy looking blokes doing the same and eyeing Heather and I. She suggested we ditch the terminal and catch a cab the rest of the way. My backpacker´s intuition told me she was correct and so we left the station.
Coming out of the station we were in the middle of some sort of l0cal market selling everything from knockoff superman dolls (you can tell they were fake as the S was facing the wrong way) to batteries, to Croc shoes, to toilet paper. We flagged down a passing cab who stopped in the middle of traffic and we had to race to jump into his cab. It was very amazing race, made all the more so because I kept glancing at my watch thinking we had only 30 minutes to get to our bus. So when he let us out at our terminal after heroic driving forcing his way through traffic, cutting people off, driving in lanes that were little more then pockets in traffic. We ran to the ticket counter with what I thought to be only 8 minutes before the bus left.... Buying our tickets I realized we had two hours more to go and I had done my conversion from 24 hour time incorrectly.... So we spent 2 hours sitting in the terminal preparing for what the ticket seller had told me would be a 12-13 hour ride (confirming the lonely planet´s version of the time required.)
For those not keeping score at home, we had already spent 7 hours travelling that day and then had to wait 2 hours for the bus.
When we finally got on board and settled in the driver (doing his best airline pilot´s impression, full on with the pauses and the "uhhs" informed us that it was going to be a 16-18 hour journey.... Damn it! So we settled in Heather watching some terrible movies in Spanish and me reading Romeo Dallaire´s Shake Hands With The Devil. Granted my experience is only anecdotal, however, maybe there has been some research on the subject. What the hell is up with Mexicans and bad movies? So far on this trip I´ve seen: The Jaguar (crap), Spiderman 3(Western Blockbuster Crap), Centennial Man (Robin Williams Crap) and Wayans movie with a jewel thief who pretends to be a baby (do I even need to say how bad that is?)
When the interminable terrible movies were over and the bus went more or less dark, I tucked away my book content to watch the country side roll past and ponder. As tends to happen in the wee small hours of the night i had a lot of things going through my mind. I was missing my friends back home (odds are if you read this blog I spent a little time considering our friendship that night), I was also struck with an overwhelming desire to really get my head around the language here and wanting to be able to read a Spanish newspaper and understand it before I head home.
Finally the next day at about 2 in the afternoon after travelling for almost 30 hours we got into our tiny hamlet of choice. I was ready to find any hotel, shower and sleep as I don´t do well on buses. Heather, who does much better at sleeping in those seats, had a bit more energy and urged me on to the border. She was right and we jumped in a cab for the 30 minute drive.
The border was not anything like we are used to when crossing into Canada. I had to ask around to find where we emigrated from Mexico! Finally having our passports stamped we started walking across the bridge that divides the two countries and had dozens of people sauntering around offering to change money and just hanging out. When we crossed over to the Guatemalan side it was even harder to find where we had our passports stamped for entry! It was in a small little shop off the main street, it would have been incredibly easy to simply walk right past it. Finally ¨processed¨we found a cab and took it to the nearest place listed in my Let´s Go travel guide that had a bed. By the time we arrived it had been 35 hours of travel and we went lavish with a glorious room with a hot shower, HBO and air conditioning. Which we promptly cranked to make the room 17 Celsius. Man oh man was it nice to need a blanket.
The next morning it was back onto another bus. (SOB) This time 6 hours to Guatemala City. The journey which is less then 200kms ended up taking 7+ hours as we got stuck in some crazy traffic jam on a tiny back country road. At one point some locals hopped on the bus and started selling ¨Tortas con Carne,¨which literally means tortillas with MEAT. (not beef, not chicken, not pork, MEAT.) Impressed by the hustle of flagging down a bus to sell your food and then getting off at some distance later I bought some. It wasn´t great cuisine, but it hit the spot and on the plus side it didn´t kill me. Although I didn´t eat the weird white pasty stuff that came with it and that I´d never seen on another plate before or since.
Finally arrived in Guate (that´s what the locals call the capital city and I want to blend in as much as a 220lb 5´6 white dude can) and it was cold, ugly and from all accounts dangerous as all hell. So we got one of the employees of the bus terminal to tell us how to get to tiny little Antigua about 45kms away. He offered to take us in his cab for about 15$. Exhausted with buses the only concern was how soon we could be on our way.
We should have shopped around more. His cab redefined shunky! The headlights were dull and near useless in the driving rain, as goes for windshield wipers. And then there was the defrost to try to take the humidity off the windows, it was completely useless and our driver had to frequently use a rag or newspapers to wipe them so that he could see the road. On top of all this I am pretty sure it was his first week as he had to read street signs to find the town! It was rather terrifying, particularly when he would take take phone calls and try to wipe the windows at the same time drifting from lane to lane. The terror turned into hilarity when we arrived in Antigua as we spent about 20 minutes of driving around the old cobblestone streets trying to find our hostel (he must have asked about 10 different people for directions) before the eagle eyed Heather spotted it driving down one of the streets.
We have been in town for the last 3 nights, and it has been lovely and warm with many beautiful vistas as we are surrounded on all sides by volcanoes.
And that dear reader brings you up to date and this entry to a close as I must go get prepared to hike one of the active volcanoes this evening. Photos of magma to be posted soon.
To set the scene: Heather and I are in one of Mexico City´s bus terminals, having just waved goodbye to Lee.
We strolled over to the nearby ticket counter asking how to get to somewhere in the far South of the country, a tiny little place called Talisman, where one of the 3 border crossings are into Guatemala. Heather had researched all of them and this one was by far the coolest, as you the border occurred in the middle of the river.
We were told that no bus left the terminal we were at for the where we wanted to go, but one indeed did leave from another terminal from the main terminal in town. The metro system in the city is incredible so we go and hop onto a train which takes us most of the way to the other terminal. When we go to transfer the platform we were on was so crowded that it was 5 deep from the trains as they arrived. And when they did arrive they were already insanely packed out, we let a few go by and I noticed that there was about 3 or 4 dodgy looking blokes doing the same and eyeing Heather and I. She suggested we ditch the terminal and catch a cab the rest of the way. My backpacker´s intuition told me she was correct and so we left the station.
Coming out of the station we were in the middle of some sort of l0cal market selling everything from knockoff superman dolls (you can tell they were fake as the S was facing the wrong way) to batteries, to Croc shoes, to toilet paper. We flagged down a passing cab who stopped in the middle of traffic and we had to race to jump into his cab. It was very amazing race, made all the more so because I kept glancing at my watch thinking we had only 30 minutes to get to our bus. So when he let us out at our terminal after heroic driving forcing his way through traffic, cutting people off, driving in lanes that were little more then pockets in traffic. We ran to the ticket counter with what I thought to be only 8 minutes before the bus left.... Buying our tickets I realized we had two hours more to go and I had done my conversion from 24 hour time incorrectly.... So we spent 2 hours sitting in the terminal preparing for what the ticket seller had told me would be a 12-13 hour ride (confirming the lonely planet´s version of the time required.)
For those not keeping score at home, we had already spent 7 hours travelling that day and then had to wait 2 hours for the bus.
When we finally got on board and settled in the driver (doing his best airline pilot´s impression, full on with the pauses and the "uhhs" informed us that it was going to be a 16-18 hour journey.... Damn it! So we settled in Heather watching some terrible movies in Spanish and me reading Romeo Dallaire´s Shake Hands With The Devil. Granted my experience is only anecdotal, however, maybe there has been some research on the subject. What the hell is up with Mexicans and bad movies? So far on this trip I´ve seen: The Jaguar (crap), Spiderman 3(Western Blockbuster Crap), Centennial Man (Robin Williams Crap) and Wayans movie with a jewel thief who pretends to be a baby (do I even need to say how bad that is?)
When the interminable terrible movies were over and the bus went more or less dark, I tucked away my book content to watch the country side roll past and ponder. As tends to happen in the wee small hours of the night i had a lot of things going through my mind. I was missing my friends back home (odds are if you read this blog I spent a little time considering our friendship that night), I was also struck with an overwhelming desire to really get my head around the language here and wanting to be able to read a Spanish newspaper and understand it before I head home.
Finally the next day at about 2 in the afternoon after travelling for almost 30 hours we got into our tiny hamlet of choice. I was ready to find any hotel, shower and sleep as I don´t do well on buses. Heather, who does much better at sleeping in those seats, had a bit more energy and urged me on to the border. She was right and we jumped in a cab for the 30 minute drive.
The border was not anything like we are used to when crossing into Canada. I had to ask around to find where we emigrated from Mexico! Finally having our passports stamped we started walking across the bridge that divides the two countries and had dozens of people sauntering around offering to change money and just hanging out. When we crossed over to the Guatemalan side it was even harder to find where we had our passports stamped for entry! It was in a small little shop off the main street, it would have been incredibly easy to simply walk right past it. Finally ¨processed¨we found a cab and took it to the nearest place listed in my Let´s Go travel guide that had a bed. By the time we arrived it had been 35 hours of travel and we went lavish with a glorious room with a hot shower, HBO and air conditioning. Which we promptly cranked to make the room 17 Celsius. Man oh man was it nice to need a blanket.
The next morning it was back onto another bus. (SOB) This time 6 hours to Guatemala City. The journey which is less then 200kms ended up taking 7+ hours as we got stuck in some crazy traffic jam on a tiny back country road. At one point some locals hopped on the bus and started selling ¨Tortas con Carne,¨which literally means tortillas with MEAT. (not beef, not chicken, not pork, MEAT.) Impressed by the hustle of flagging down a bus to sell your food and then getting off at some distance later I bought some. It wasn´t great cuisine, but it hit the spot and on the plus side it didn´t kill me. Although I didn´t eat the weird white pasty stuff that came with it and that I´d never seen on another plate before or since.
Finally arrived in Guate (that´s what the locals call the capital city and I want to blend in as much as a 220lb 5´6 white dude can) and it was cold, ugly and from all accounts dangerous as all hell. So we got one of the employees of the bus terminal to tell us how to get to tiny little Antigua about 45kms away. He offered to take us in his cab for about 15$. Exhausted with buses the only concern was how soon we could be on our way.
We should have shopped around more. His cab redefined shunky! The headlights were dull and near useless in the driving rain, as goes for windshield wipers. And then there was the defrost to try to take the humidity off the windows, it was completely useless and our driver had to frequently use a rag or newspapers to wipe them so that he could see the road. On top of all this I am pretty sure it was his first week as he had to read street signs to find the town! It was rather terrifying, particularly when he would take take phone calls and try to wipe the windows at the same time drifting from lane to lane. The terror turned into hilarity when we arrived in Antigua as we spent about 20 minutes of driving around the old cobblestone streets trying to find our hostel (he must have asked about 10 different people for directions) before the eagle eyed Heather spotted it driving down one of the streets.
We have been in town for the last 3 nights, and it has been lovely and warm with many beautiful vistas as we are surrounded on all sides by volcanoes.
And that dear reader brings you up to date and this entry to a close as I must go get prepared to hike one of the active volcanoes this evening. Photos of magma to be posted soon.
Monday, July 16, 2007
In Antigua, Guatamela (and the last few days)
Alright truth be told: for this whole trip I intend to keep a proper travel journal too, which I´ve been pretty good about and from time to time I think I might merely blog my journal word for word (with some editing to either PG it or to protect the names of the innocent)
July 14, 2007
"A little slack on the journal writing- here is my attempt to catch up¨. The 11th Lee, Heather and I headed off for a cable car ride over Taxco, it was rather quiet but the views more then made up for the lack of thrills. The classic colonial town stretch from high up in the mountain it is on down it´s sheer slop to the valley below. When we returned to the town we all split ways to go shopping, lee and I launched into a 3 hour st. Christopher hunt for a dear friend. Apparently he is not very popular in Mexico as every shop I went into I was greeted with blank stares, so I went from asking if they had any pendants with him to: Do you have the Saint walking in water with the child on his shoulder, the answer was repeatedly no, or when it was a yes the silver on offer simply was not up to the standard I was looking for.
That night we hit up a pretty quiet funky little bar and while Lee and Heather worked on Mojitos I was drinking trips on Mezcal on ice. Apparently me and that stuff are good friends, way tastier then Tequila.
...(dull part here edited for my poor reader´s sake)
The next night we found ourselves back in the same bar. I knocked back a couple of more triples and by the time I´d done that they had gotten more Mint so that we could all enjoy some Mojitos.... We were chatting with some locals, and some of the ex-pats and when we went to leave the owner of the bar came over and mentioned that after we´d consumed 17 Mojitos we were the new all time record holders (in fact to keep our drinking going they had to twice send one of the waitresses to run and get more mint.) There were good intentions to keep the party going but as it was only 930 we needed to cool our heals for awhile. Lee started to fade as he was fighting a cold, and pretty soon the 4 hours of drinking we´d already put in had us stumbling our way back to our hostel. (BTW: Cobblestones, steep hills and a solid pissup is a rough walking recipe)
The morning of the 13th was Lee´s last full day in country, so it was time to get ourselves back to Mexico City for his flight. Fortunately Lee is a wonderful pal and he agreed to take my sleeping bag and some other odds and ends that I´d over packed home for me. The three of us parted way in Mexico City´s bus station. It wasn´t teary, but it was emotional. I´ll definitely miss having Lee along for this trip, for his ready smile, sense of humour, third set of eyes to keep a look out, and well because girls dig him and I was enjoying chatting up their friends. (Yeah I was "Turteling his Vince") Also it was more obvious that Heather and I weren´t an item by having another buddy.
All that and I know he heads back to Afghanistan in February and I won´t see him before then... and then I´ll just worry about his safety for the 6 months he´s over there.
I shall continue this story later and fill you in on the 30 hours of busses in two days that got me to Antigua Guatemala.
Those who have Facebook I´ve uploaded a few trip photos.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Leaving Taxco
I am in an internet cafe in what I regard to be the most beautiful Mexican city I have ever seen. Although, I think I´ve dream of a similar place many times, it was always a composite of past travel experiences, fantastic pictures and a healthy dose of imagination. But for the last 3 days I´ve been living that vision.
We arrived 3 nights ago after a long bus ride from Acapulco, winding through intense switch backs and overlooking cliffs that dropped hundreds of feet to valleys bellow. The intensity of that was made all the greater by the fact that we are in Mexico, so people are swerving to pass while honking and considering the double yellow line little more then a warning. Compounding all of this was the fact that there was large cows grazing randomly on the very edge of the road (sometimes while standing on the road too.) Arriving in town it was nice and cool, like a warm Summer´s Victoria night, which let me tell you, after 6 days in the humidity of Acapulco is nice!
We unloaded from our bus and looked upon the colonial town that was built into the side of a mountain. Built in this location because of rich silver deposits the whole town is steep and narrow cobblestone streets built around a massive and gorgeous Cathedral. The people are exceptionally friendly, standing lost in the Zocalo (plaza at the center of almost all Spanish towns) and staring at our Lonely Planet map a number of people approached us to offer directions. With such help we soon found our hostel tucked quietly away in one of the corners of the market.
It was a sprawling 3 terraced level 15 room beauty for a rather fair price that looked out over many of the roofs of the city. But none of us were in the mood for views, it was food and drink that we all wanted after 6 hours pent up in a bus.
Wondering lost through the city we paused obviously lost at another zocalo and two pretty american birds came over to offer aid. They pointed out some places on the map, I played dumb and talked them into a guided tour in exchange for some beers. We hit a local hot spot and much food and drink is imbibed while we get the basic background of the town. Apparently it is a big hotspot for Americans to come to study Spanish (that does hurt the charm a litle.)
The charm of the city persisted as I strolled through many markets, and countless silver stores with beautiful hand crafted works.
Unfortunately today is the last day with my good friend Lee on the trip as he heads back to Victoria early tomorrow morning. I am going to miss having him as a travel companion, we made each other laugh throughout the last 10 days, whether playing frisbee in a 12 meter pool, gawking at gorgeous girls, or playing which of these two hot starlets would you rather. The party has now dwindled to two and Heather and I are continuing south this afternoon to either Oaxaca or right to Guatemalan border.
We arrived 3 nights ago after a long bus ride from Acapulco, winding through intense switch backs and overlooking cliffs that dropped hundreds of feet to valleys bellow. The intensity of that was made all the greater by the fact that we are in Mexico, so people are swerving to pass while honking and considering the double yellow line little more then a warning. Compounding all of this was the fact that there was large cows grazing randomly on the very edge of the road (sometimes while standing on the road too.) Arriving in town it was nice and cool, like a warm Summer´s Victoria night, which let me tell you, after 6 days in the humidity of Acapulco is nice!
We unloaded from our bus and looked upon the colonial town that was built into the side of a mountain. Built in this location because of rich silver deposits the whole town is steep and narrow cobblestone streets built around a massive and gorgeous Cathedral. The people are exceptionally friendly, standing lost in the Zocalo (plaza at the center of almost all Spanish towns) and staring at our Lonely Planet map a number of people approached us to offer directions. With such help we soon found our hostel tucked quietly away in one of the corners of the market.
It was a sprawling 3 terraced level 15 room beauty for a rather fair price that looked out over many of the roofs of the city. But none of us were in the mood for views, it was food and drink that we all wanted after 6 hours pent up in a bus.
Wondering lost through the city we paused obviously lost at another zocalo and two pretty american birds came over to offer aid. They pointed out some places on the map, I played dumb and talked them into a guided tour in exchange for some beers. We hit a local hot spot and much food and drink is imbibed while we get the basic background of the town. Apparently it is a big hotspot for Americans to come to study Spanish (that does hurt the charm a litle.)
The charm of the city persisted as I strolled through many markets, and countless silver stores with beautiful hand crafted works.
Unfortunately today is the last day with my good friend Lee on the trip as he heads back to Victoria early tomorrow morning. I am going to miss having him as a travel companion, we made each other laugh throughout the last 10 days, whether playing frisbee in a 12 meter pool, gawking at gorgeous girls, or playing which of these two hot starlets would you rather. The party has now dwindled to two and Heather and I are continuing south this afternoon to either Oaxaca or right to Guatemalan border.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Wow the fun of developing world computers, I get weird accents on my words, lose y good and necessary friend spell check and idiosyncratic touches like this machine won´t let me have a title. So picture it to be Disco Beach Redux
The night of my last blog we had an intense thunder and windstorm that lit the entire sky, rocked my hammock, scared Heather so much that she slept with a pillow over her head and brought a wonderful breath of cool air.
To return to an earlier theme one of the question I got asked a lot was what will you do all day? Yesterday was one of those brilliant examples of how strange a day while travelling can be. We spent the first 4 hours of the day (which I admit didn´t start until 10ish) searching for a Frisbee to play with on the beach, the first one we found was much much to expensive at 4$ so we kept searching, eventually finding one at 2$ at a Bodega Giganete. Another couple of hours was spent find, haggling, buying and returning from getting Sarongs for Lee and Heather.
Being Saturday night we decided it was time to go out in a big way, which in Acapulco means the Legendary Disco Beach. Shocked to be back in Acapulco was one thing, I thought it was crazy to go back to the site of Colin and I´s 19 year old adventures. But I was sure I´d be robbing mi amigos if we didn´t so I strapped on my dancing sandals and off we went.
I apologize that I don´t have photos to share from the night to do the club justice so kind reader you will have to indulge me a moment while I describe the place for you.
Located in the heart of the tourist district it is a 2 floor club with 4 different bars inside, a large dance floor with multiple platforms, walls covered in a stucco finish that is meant to resemble snow and it spills out on to the beach as it is completely open on the waterfront side. Add to this many people getting their drink on, crazy hot Mexican nights and a variety records spun and you begin to get the feel for what the club is.
We talk our cover charge down from 30$ to 25$ with all of us vowing to get our money´s worth and in Mexican Prices that means we needed to knock back about 10-15 drinks each. Starting at 10 we had exceeded that goal by 1am and are starting to debate heading back to the hotel to call it a night. However, this was not what the night had in store for us as the table next to us full of beautiful Mexicanos sends over an envoy of two to say that one of her cousins wanted to meet Lee (Apparently he´s dreamy.) Soon the tables are combined and we are partying until 5am. Lee and I getting Latin dance lessons (yes I lack rhythm even here) and Heather having a rather handsome dance partner for the evening. There was an awkward moment when the girl that Lee and I were both sure was hotter the habanero confessed that she was only 15 (Photos to come guys calm down). The night drew to a close as the sun began to make its intentions to ruin the night known. In the hasty goodbyes that followed we failed to get email addresses for any of their party but did extract a promise to meet in front of the club at 10am.
Lee woke me up this morning for that meeting with a slap to the leg, quickly springing into action I raced to get ready to meet the birds. However, the whole time I had a vague sense that it wasn´t the best idea. Arriving at the agreed location at 1015 (Yeah we are on Mexican time here) the girls were nowhere to be found. Foiled, but it did reinforce the old rule that sometimes it is best to let a night stand as it is, and to not try to chase yesterday´s fun.
Hope you are all well. Let me know what you want to hear more about in the comments.
-FiveSix
The night of my last blog we had an intense thunder and windstorm that lit the entire sky, rocked my hammock, scared Heather so much that she slept with a pillow over her head and brought a wonderful breath of cool air.
To return to an earlier theme one of the question I got asked a lot was what will you do all day? Yesterday was one of those brilliant examples of how strange a day while travelling can be. We spent the first 4 hours of the day (which I admit didn´t start until 10ish) searching for a Frisbee to play with on the beach, the first one we found was much much to expensive at 4$ so we kept searching, eventually finding one at 2$ at a Bodega Giganete. Another couple of hours was spent find, haggling, buying and returning from getting Sarongs for Lee and Heather.
Being Saturday night we decided it was time to go out in a big way, which in Acapulco means the Legendary Disco Beach. Shocked to be back in Acapulco was one thing, I thought it was crazy to go back to the site of Colin and I´s 19 year old adventures. But I was sure I´d be robbing mi amigos if we didn´t so I strapped on my dancing sandals and off we went.
I apologize that I don´t have photos to share from the night to do the club justice so kind reader you will have to indulge me a moment while I describe the place for you.
Located in the heart of the tourist district it is a 2 floor club with 4 different bars inside, a large dance floor with multiple platforms, walls covered in a stucco finish that is meant to resemble snow and it spills out on to the beach as it is completely open on the waterfront side. Add to this many people getting their drink on, crazy hot Mexican nights and a variety records spun and you begin to get the feel for what the club is.
We talk our cover charge down from 30$ to 25$ with all of us vowing to get our money´s worth and in Mexican Prices that means we needed to knock back about 10-15 drinks each. Starting at 10 we had exceeded that goal by 1am and are starting to debate heading back to the hotel to call it a night. However, this was not what the night had in store for us as the table next to us full of beautiful Mexicanos sends over an envoy of two to say that one of her cousins wanted to meet Lee (Apparently he´s dreamy.) Soon the tables are combined and we are partying until 5am. Lee and I getting Latin dance lessons (yes I lack rhythm even here) and Heather having a rather handsome dance partner for the evening. There was an awkward moment when the girl that Lee and I were both sure was hotter the habanero confessed that she was only 15 (Photos to come guys calm down). The night drew to a close as the sun began to make its intentions to ruin the night known. In the hasty goodbyes that followed we failed to get email addresses for any of their party but did extract a promise to meet in front of the club at 10am.
Lee woke me up this morning for that meeting with a slap to the leg, quickly springing into action I raced to get ready to meet the birds. However, the whole time I had a vague sense that it wasn´t the best idea. Arriving at the agreed location at 1015 (Yeah we are on Mexican time here) the girls were nowhere to be found. Foiled, but it did reinforce the old rule that sometimes it is best to let a night stand as it is, and to not try to chase yesterday´s fun.
Hope you are all well. Let me know what you want to hear more about in the comments.
-FiveSix
Friday, July 6, 2007
In Acapulco again
So since my last entry things have really Mexico-ed it up. We left Mexico City yesterday in the early afternoon. But before departing we had our first street meat... Yes thats right, I´ve lured my innocent travel companions into eating from Vendors whose idea of foodsafe means washing the disposable cutlery under cold water before re-using it.
Going through the mountains to Acapulco was worrying because we seemed to be driving straight to the rain clouds, and rewarding as Mexico City really has to be seen from the surrouding mountains to appreciate its granduer and elevations (2500 meteres over sealevel.)
I couldn´t believe I had aquised and come back to Acapulco. Colin and I had been here when were 19 and I was so over it. Damn you Disco Beach! Sure enough though we were strolling through the main strip last night and they were offering 20$ (Canadian) cover and an open bar. We ended up rocking into a live music venue ordering buckets of 5 beers for 12 each! A good pissup ensued and it was 330 by the time we were back at our hotel.
The hotel and area we are staying in is gorgeous. For 5$ each a night we have a great room with balcony, hammock, and access to a pool. Topping that off we are 100 meters from some of the nicest beach I´ve seen. Last night sitting in the pool at 330 in the morning I couldn´t help but appreciate how truly wonderful life is.
Today we were up pretty early as it 35+ C and humid as all get out. Straight to the beach we body surfed some massive waves. Getting fully and completly ragdolled. Swimming is best done when there is at least some risk for drowning anyways.
Will post more soon, and upload some pictures once I get a decent internet connection as this appears to be an exagerated dial up and the machine... yeah not so quick
Going through the mountains to Acapulco was worrying because we seemed to be driving straight to the rain clouds, and rewarding as Mexico City really has to be seen from the surrouding mountains to appreciate its granduer and elevations (2500 meteres over sealevel.)
I couldn´t believe I had aquised and come back to Acapulco. Colin and I had been here when were 19 and I was so over it. Damn you Disco Beach! Sure enough though we were strolling through the main strip last night and they were offering 20$ (Canadian) cover and an open bar. We ended up rocking into a live music venue ordering buckets of 5 beers for 12 each! A good pissup ensued and it was 330 by the time we were back at our hotel.
The hotel and area we are staying in is gorgeous. For 5$ each a night we have a great room with balcony, hammock, and access to a pool. Topping that off we are 100 meters from some of the nicest beach I´ve seen. Last night sitting in the pool at 330 in the morning I couldn´t help but appreciate how truly wonderful life is.
Today we were up pretty early as it 35+ C and humid as all get out. Straight to the beach we body surfed some massive waves. Getting fully and completly ragdolled. Swimming is best done when there is at least some risk for drowning anyways.
Will post more soon, and upload some pictures once I get a decent internet connection as this appears to be an exagerated dial up and the machine... yeah not so quick
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Mexico City
I have safely arrived. Unfortunately the same can not be said of my backpack which is somewhere between Seattle and Mexico City... Yeah wearing the same clothes for 3 days is great, especially when travelling.
Heather, Lee and I enjoyed a lovely italiam meal this evening as we couldn´t find much in the Old Town part of Mexico City to eat after 8 and just kind of wandered into a place that had meals in the 20 or more range.
Lee and I headed out for a walk tonight in the light rain and saw some amazing architecture, photos to follow soon.
Will blog more soon.
-Five-Six
Heather, Lee and I enjoyed a lovely italiam meal this evening as we couldn´t find much in the Old Town part of Mexico City to eat after 8 and just kind of wandered into a place that had meals in the 20 or more range.
Lee and I headed out for a walk tonight in the light rain and saw some amazing architecture, photos to follow soon.
Will blog more soon.
-Five-Six
Monday, July 2, 2007
Final Day in Victoria
Warning: This first blog post is more about thoughts and feelings in the final moments before I take off, and therefore lacks the wild stories and cool pictures that I promise future entries will have.
The to-do lists are as done as they are going to be, I've packed everything I think I need (and probably more), the money belt is loaded with ID and I am wearing my travel outfit. On top of all this I have a general sense of ... well I guess that is what this first blog post is about.
Everyone I know talks about how excited I must be to be going on this trip. And I am, I absolutely am, but it is about more then a vacation, chugging beers, or chasing international skirts.(Fear not lads, there will be plenty of those stories to go with the deeper thinking on this blog.)
The idea really stems from a rather rough month of March. I was overwhelmed with school, and then my girlfriend Elise (of several years) and I split up, I had my 26th birthday and then to top it all off I didn't get the job I had long pictured myself getting at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service, basically our CIA.) I really felt lost and like running away from it all to re-evaluate things. But I had to finish off the classes I was enrolled in at the time as the drop date had passed. When that semester was done I was able to finish my degree with just 2 summer classes so I felt compelled to get those done. Two days ago I finished that second class and I have now completed all my degree requirements. But have not regained the sense I had of a very clear and obvious progression.
To a large part I have to give credit to my travel partner Heather Fitton for this trip actually getting off the ground. The idea, hatched over a late night's drinking, turned into much more with Heather's encouragement and my following of an old drinking aphorism: "Always do sober what you said you would do drunk." In late April we began to seriously look at this trip and by May we had booked one way tickets to Mexico City from Seattle for 200$ (Cheap if anyone else wants to come down).
I appologize but this has to be cut short and published late as Heather showed up and we had to mozzie to theclipper.
The to-do lists are as done as they are going to be, I've packed everything I think I need (and probably more), the money belt is loaded with ID and I am wearing my travel outfit. On top of all this I have a general sense of ... well I guess that is what this first blog post is about.
Everyone I know talks about how excited I must be to be going on this trip. And I am, I absolutely am, but it is about more then a vacation, chugging beers, or chasing international skirts.(Fear not lads, there will be plenty of those stories to go with the deeper thinking on this blog.)
The idea really stems from a rather rough month of March. I was overwhelmed with school, and then my girlfriend Elise (of several years) and I split up, I had my 26th birthday and then to top it all off I didn't get the job I had long pictured myself getting at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service, basically our CIA.) I really felt lost and like running away from it all to re-evaluate things. But I had to finish off the classes I was enrolled in at the time as the drop date had passed. When that semester was done I was able to finish my degree with just 2 summer classes so I felt compelled to get those done. Two days ago I finished that second class and I have now completed all my degree requirements. But have not regained the sense I had of a very clear and obvious progression.
To a large part I have to give credit to my travel partner Heather Fitton for this trip actually getting off the ground. The idea, hatched over a late night's drinking, turned into much more with Heather's encouragement and my following of an old drinking aphorism: "Always do sober what you said you would do drunk." In late April we began to seriously look at this trip and by May we had booked one way tickets to Mexico City from Seattle for 200$ (Cheap if anyone else wants to come down).
I appologize but this has to be cut short and published late as Heather showed up and we had to mozzie to theclipper.
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