On the 20th of April, I left Argentina and arrived in Lima at the usual two in the morning. As usual, Luis and Karem were there to meet me, but looked pretty tired.
I spent a couple of days eating ceviche and looking around Lima. On the weekend, Luis and Karem had some time to hang out so we went to the movies. On Sunday the 24th, I joined Luis for his weekly visit to his parents house.
I spent the day of the 25th of April on the bus, heading for the mountains. I spent the night in Huaraz, the trekking and climbing capital of Peru. After five years, it was great to get back there. Lots of international tourists, especially Israelis, pass through Huaraz. That means that I could finally get yogurt, granola and fruit for breakfast again. Huaraz also has an excellent movie theater. Between the 21st and 28th of April, they showed Bend it Like Beckham, American Splendor, Touching the Void, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, Lost in Translation, Harold and Maude, The Motorcycle Diaries, Donnie Darko, and a few others I never heard of. I know a lot of large cities that don't have that many good options.
The morning of the 26th was spent shopping for my back packing trip. In the afternoon, I took a bus to Chiquian, a bit to the south of Huaraz in the Huayhuash area.
On the 27th, after a two hour bus ride, I was finally back to hiking in the Andes in Peru. I left the town of Llamac and headed up the mountain side. It was my first day of hiking and at altitude in quite a while. I was moving pretty slow. I made it up to the 4300 meter pass and started down the other side. About a half an hour before I got to Laguna Jahuacocha, I ran out of daylight and pitched my tent. There was another group of trekkers across the way and a few houses visible in the valley. I fell asleep listening to large pieces of ice and snow fall off the glacier at the end of the valley.
I woke up early on the 28th and sat up. After a moment or two, my peripheral vision began to clamor for attention. Something that should be there was not. I looked through my screen door and saw...the ground. My boots, which were made for walking, were gone. I put on my sandals and started searching the nearby area in case a dog had stolen a boot in the middle of the night, dragged it away and come back for the other one. No such luck. I mean, who would want to wear someone else's dirty smelly boots? Disgusting! There was a woman gathering her cows nearby and I asked her if she saw anything. She said no and asked the man riding by with his donkeys. He seemed pretty upset about my stolen boots and went to talk to the small group camping nearby.
Then they all came over to my tent. The man with the donkeys promised to report the crime to the Lieutenant Governor back in Llamac. And, amazingly, the guide from the other group offered to exchange his boots for my sandals for the week. Thanks to the kindness of Mr. Beto Pinto Toledo of the Casa de Guias in Huaraz, I was able to continue my trek.
So, on day two of the hike, after a late start, I continued up the valley and camped on the far end of Laguna Jahuacocha. I set up camp, read for a while and then hiked up the terminal moraine that held back a blue glacial lake. I sat on the top, and alternated looking way down to the water and way up to the glaciers and peaks.
On day three of the walk, I packed up and walked to the head of the valley and then turned up. A few hard hours later, I crested the 4750 meter pass and started down the other side.
Over the years, I have found that I have two special hiking talents. I tend to lose the trail very easily and I tend to end up where I want to anyway. My special talents came into play at the top of the pass and I spent the next few hours edging my way down the valley and wondering where the trail was. Luckily, hiking off trail in the Andes is very easy because the sheep and cows make their own trails everywhere. There is almost always some trail to follow.
The valley ended at a river and a dirt road. Three kilometers up the road was Quartelhuain. A collection of three or four simple homes. I put up my tent just before the hail and rain started and spent the night there.
I woke up bright and early on the fourth day of the trek and packed up. A local muleteer was hanging out nearby, waiting for a group of Israelis to come and start their hike. I spoke with him for a while and then started up to the 4700 meter pass and a few hours later I was looking down into a new valley.
The Israelis and their English friend caught up with me there and I spent much of the afternoon walking with them to Laguna Mitacocha. It was a rainy afternoon and I realized that the thin soled boots I was wearing were not very waterproof, but still much better than sandals.
My new friends stopped at the bottom of the lake and I continued up the valley. I wanted to camp as close to the crashing glaciers as possible. I set up camp just below Laguna Ninacocha. It was a beautiful valley, with towering glacier covered peaks at the head and lots of side areas and waterfalls to explore. I planned to spend three days camped there.
After putting up the tent, I hiked up the moraine and found another great viewpoint overlooking the blue water and underlooking the white ice. It was a bit cloudy up above, so the waterfalls and glaciers appeared to decend directly from the clouds. I had one of my special days where I never get hungry or tired and end up singing while I walk.
On the way back down to camp, I met up with a local cowboy who was bringing in the cows for the night. I asked him about leaving my tent up while I went away exploring for the day. He said it was not such a good idea. But, as a consolation, he told me that I could climb straight up the side of the valley and down the other side. Naturally, when he said that it was very steep and difficult I was hooked.
On the fifth day of my walk, I went back up the morraine, past Laguna Ninacocha and up the scree slope by the glacier. It took four long hours to reach the top. The whole time I was climbing, I could not figure out how I was going to get up the final 10 meters of steep rock. But, as usual, once I got close, I found a way.
Coming down the other side was something else altogether. It was rather steep and the rock, which looked very smooth from a distance, was very sharp. There was a line of vegetation that offered me an alternative place to put my hands. The only problem with that was the points. The grass was about a foot long, but pointy at the end. Pointy enough to leave splinters in my hands. As long as I carefully placed my hands on the rocks and grass I was okay. The problem came whenever I started to slip and had to hurriedly grab something to keep from falling. Did I mention that a hail storm was approaching my exposed position? There was no way to take off my pack and get my rain gear, so I had to scoot down quicker than I would have liked.
I managed to get my rain gear on just in time and then continued around the head of this new valley to the next high pass. I spent the next few hours going along the top of a big valley. I met a couple of men who were driving sheep towards eachother from opposite directions. Maximo, the second one, showed me a nice viewpoint and then directed me towards where I was headed.
From high up, I could see a series of accending lakes. The lowest one had lots of icebergs in it and a glacier dropping down into one end. I wanted to camp near there, but there did not seem to be a good place. So, I went to the official campground and camped near the Israelis, who had taken the normal route to get there. I was pretty tired after the long day, but still managed to stay up past sunset visiting with my neighbors. Since they were hiking with mules, they had a big group tent, good food and music. Since sunset was at only six pm, I had no trouble staying awake for a few hours with them.
The next day they left to continue the circuit of the mountains and I prepared to head back towards Llamac. I waited for the sun to clear the valley walls and melt the ice off of my tent. Once it was dry, I hiked up to the pass of Punta Carhuac at 4650 meters. It was a long, gentle slope, but my legs were still tired from the day before when I never once found any official trails.
In the early afternoon, I passed some houses and gathered following of small children. Just before the rain started, they fled and I put on my rain gear.
My map indicated some hot springs and my conversations with the people I met confirmed this. It took me a couple of hours to get to the right area and then about an hour to find them. It was a stream coming out of a cleft in a hill. The water flowed for about 5 meters before passing under a small bridge, going another 5 meters and passing under a second small natural bridge. My friends in the mountains had assured me that the water was very hot. But, for someone like me who does not normally take his baths in glacial meltwater, it was barely even warm water. Certainly not hot enough for me to risk getting in and then trying to get out into the rainy and windy afternoon.
The next morning was still cloudy, so no hot springs for me. I went back over the pass where I had first met the Israelis. Just past the crest, a Peruvian muleteer caught up with me. I had met him the week before on the bus to Llamac. We spent the next couple of hours going down to the road and starting on the four hour walk to Llamac. The dirt road was empty, so I could safely walk in the middle. A few minutes after we passed a mine, a mine truck came by and gave us a ride to Llamac.
It was still early afternoon, so I went to the Lieutenant Governor's house and filled out a report. He promised to keep an eye out for my boots. I set up my tent on the town soccer field and wandered around town. I would have sent some emails, but they will not get electricity until later this summer.
In the mountains, every one I talk with eventually tells me that they feel bad and ask for some medicine. When I explain that I don't have any they ask for candy, which I am often able to share. Or pens for the kids.
In Llamac, everybody who passed by asked me my country and stopped for a bit of a chat. Around five, the soccer game started. The players were pretty good, considering that there were cow pies, large holes and a tent on the field. They managed to only hit my tent a couple of times, and never very hard.
On the 4th of May, I caught the first of two minibuses back to Chiquian. I sat next to a Peruvian woman from Llamac who spent six years in Japan as an illegal factory worker. We had an interesting conversation and talked a little bit in Japanese. After lunch, I took another bus back to Huaraz.
I spent the 5th of May in Huaraz and ate dinner in a very nice Thai place with a friendly owner. He dragged me into the kitchen to show me how fresh the food was. On the 6th, I returned to Lima to spend the weekend with Luis and Karem. On Sunday, I went out for a good Chinese buffet with Luis' family for Mother's Day.
On Monday and Tuesday, I hung out at Luis' place to read his books and watch his Science Fiction videos.
Tonight, I will fly back to the US and am eager to start my summer of visiting friends and relatives.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay
It seems I have let this updating get away from me. But, I will try to catch up now.
In late February, after my Aconcagua climb, I had a few weeks to explore Northwestern Argentina before John came down for a visit. I started off by heading north to the town of San Juan. This was a nice desert town with lots of shade trees. I had a huge and delicious lunch in the Syrian-Lebanese Club.
From San Juan, I continued north to the town of San Augustin del Valle Fertil. The night I got there was the town carnival so I got to see all the kids in the town in costumes on parade. The next day, I went for a walk in the dry country side, but after only a few hours, the 100 degree temperatures took there toll and I went to the riverside to sit in the shade with my feet in the water and a book in my hands.
The main tourist attraction near San Augustin is the Ischigualasto Provincial Park. It is also known as the Valley of the Moon, so naturally I wanted to check it out. Ischigualasto is a small park a few hours from San Augustin. There was a very unusual heavy rain the night before so the dirt road was very muddy and fun. Many of the streams had flooded over the road and we got stuck in the mud at our first stream crossing. Luckily, the driver of the car had some rope and a nearby bulldozer was enlisted to pull us through the mud. At the second muddy crossing, a pick-up truck was used to pull us through.
At the park, we joined a convoy of other cars for the tour. We stopped at the various viewpoints and a guide lectured us about the natural history of the place. Also, as in most desert parks with rock formations, many rocks had names. We saw the "Worm" and the "Ball Court". Because of the mud, we were unable to visit the "Submarine". After the driving tour, we visited the museum. Many dinosaur fossils have been found there and they had a good display of the bones and techniques used to unearth them.
After lunch, my three person tour continued on up to the Talampaya National Park. It was a beautiful red rock place with high cliffs. We looked at some of the aboriginal petroglyphs carved into the rocks. Then, we entered the narrow and tall canyon and visited the Echo Chimney. The Chimney was a tube carved out of the wall that went all the way to the top. We saw some condors flying near the lip of the canyon. At the bottom, it was very quiet and because of the special acoustics, we could hear the air rushing loudly over the birds wings as if they were only a few feet away.
From San Augustin, I wanted to head north, but because the road was so bad, I had to return soutn San Juan in order to continue on up to La Rioja. I spent a couple of days working my up through Catamarca and Tucuman. In the province of Tucuman, I visited Tafi del Valle. Tafi is a small town in the hills and I spent a couple of days wandering in the country side.
My next stop was the hot spring town of Termas de Rio Hondo. I found a cheap hotel near the bus station and went in search of the hot water. At the tourist information office, I was told that every hotel has hot spring water and that there are no special places to go. Unfortunately, my three dollar a night place did not have hot water. Since it was in the middle of a desert in the summer, I had no use for hot water in the room anyway. In the evening, I went down to the river where there was a public hot spring pool. The water was warm and I relaxed there for a while.
I spent a couple of days working my way back to Mendoza and then crossed the border into Chile on the 11th of March. I went to stay with some of John's friends in Santiago. The next day, John flew in from Alaska and we all explored downtown Santiago.
On the 14th of March, John and I headed a bit southeast to the mountains. We made it into the Canyon of the Maipo River and spent a night above the river. The next day, we went up to the Natural Monument Park and started our hike. After registering with the friendly guard, we headed up the narrow valley. We spent the night next to Lake Morales. The next morning, I learned that John has the same special ability as I do. We both woke up, picked up our books and never even left the tent until afternoon - when the books were finished.
After lunch, we hiked to the head of the valley and the foot of the San Francisco glacier. I sat at the bottom and John climbed a little way up. He knocked rocks down in my direction in the hopes of having them land in the river and splash me. I think he managed to get one or two drops pretty close to me, but he never got a rock chip closer than a meter.
In the afternoon we hiked down to the park entrance to camp. We visited the local thermal springs the next morning. They were barely warm and we did not spend much time soaking. After a tasty lunch in a place overlooking the river, we returned to Santiago.
With John's friends, we all went to the coast for a couple of days of relaxing by the seashore. Then, John and I went to the small fishing village of Horcon. It was a great place to relax and we found our own private beach to read our books on. Next, we went down to Vina del Mar. I wanted to see the Moa statue from Easter Island. The museum also had a very good display on shrunken heads and how to make them.
We spent that night in Valparaiso and tried out one of its famous cable cars the next day before returning to Santiago. John went back to Alaska and I went with Jerry to a soccer game on the 26th of March. Chile was hosting Uruguay in a World Cup Qualifying match. The game started at 10 at night and we did not arrive much before that. The stadium was packed and everyone was standing and being loud and having fun. Once the game started, the crowds sat down and were pretty quiet, except when Chile was close to scoring. It was a bit strange considering how involved they were before the game.
On the 28th of March, I returned to Mendoza and started my journey east. I spent a night in San Juan and then took a bus up to the Sierra de las Quiljadas National Park. After setting up my tent in the campground, I joined a guided tour along the valley floor. The park was dry and full of canyons, just like my favorite areas of southern Utah. So, naturally I had a great time.
I continued east and past through the big city of Cordoba on my way to Santa Fe and Corrientes. I wanted to visit the embassy of Paraguay and get a visa. Unfortunately, that embassy is only for information and not visas. So, I spent the morning visiting the really sad zoo next to the river. I felt sorry for the big lion in the little cage.
I wanted to visit the capital of Paraguay, Asuncion. The closest border crossing is the Argentinian town of Clorinda. I got there on a Thursday night and went to the Paraguayan embassy on Friday morning. It was closed for a three day holiday weekend, so no visa for me. Instead, I just went to the bridge and walked over the dirty little stream to Paraguay. It was a border crossing for local people, not tourists, so there was no customs or immigration controls on the Paraguayan side. I wandered around for a bit and then came back to Argentina.
Without a visa and entrance stamps, I did not want to travel too much in Paraguay, so I continued east in Argentina. It took a couple more big bus trips to get to Iguazu National Park, on the border with Paraguay and Brazil.
Iguazu is one of the largest waterfalls in the world and I spent a whole day wandering around the Argentinian side. They have miles of trails and boardwalks and it was very easy to get up close to more than one mile wide falls. I took a short boat trip to an island and a ten minute jet boat ride that went under a small section of the falls. The grand finale in the park was walking out to the overlook directly above the Throat of the Devil. There was so much water that it was impossible to see the river down below. Only mist.
The next day, I tried the local adventure activity. I climbed up a tall tree on a rope ladder and clipped on to a 200 meter long wire. Then, with a slight push, I was sailing over the jungle to a tree off in the distance. After a second leg of wire flying, my little tour group moved on to a small waterfall. We clipped on to a rope there and took a couple turns at rappelling down the water. It was a pleasant day, but not too exciting.
On the way back to town, I noticed an Embassy for Paraguay. I went in to ask about a visa, but they told me that it was a brand new office and they don't have visas yet. But, I spoke with the man in charge for a while and he told me that if I just visit the nearby city of Ciudad del Este and don't go further I won't need a visa. From Puerto Iguazu in Argentina, they have direct buses to Ciudad del Este. The road passes through the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu. I did not want to spend $100 for a visa to visit Brazil, so I took the direct bus that does not stop at Brazilian immigration and is not allowed to make any stops in Brazil.
When we got to Paraguay, we did not stop at their immigration either. I spent the afternoon wandering around Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. The town is famous for its cheap imported items. Paraguay has had a lot of immigration from China and I felt like I was in Hong Kong. They had 10 story buildings crammed with hundreds of electronics and computer shops, many run by Chinese people. There were quite a number of Asian restaurants and lots of signs in Chinese and Korean.
When I was ready to return to Argentina, I went to the bridge to Brazil. It is a narrow bridge with a lot of traffic. People who want to get across quickly, get on the back of a motorcycle taxi and zip through. I waited on the bridge for my bus and hopped on. I explained my situation to the bus driver and he was very nice to me. After we drove through Brazilian immigration without having to stop he pulled the bus over and let me jump off for one second. Now I can say that I have visited Brazil, even if I don't have a stamp to prove it. The rest of the 40 minute bus ride back to Argentina was uneventful.
The next day I ended up on the slow local bus and spent the whole day getting to Posadas. By then, I was running out of time, so I opted for a rare journey by night. But, since I like to sleep at night, I took a super-luxury full-bed bus. It cost $30, but it was worth it. My very wide seat reclined all the way back to horizontal. I slept great and woke up in Buenos Aires the next morning.
My passport was full so I visited the US Embassy to get some new pages put in. That went surprisingly fast. I wandered around the city and looked for interesting places to eat.
Uruguay is really close to Buenos Aires, so I took a high-speed ferry across the Plate River. I visited the capital city of Montevideo and spent a few days wandering around this lovely old city. They have done a great job of preserving the miles of shoreline and making the beaches easily accessable. Montevideo was the site of the first World Cup of soccer in 1930. I visited the original stadium, where the US had their best ever World Cup finish - semifinalists.
I spent one more night in the old town of Colonia before returning to BsAs.
On the 20th of April, I flew to Peru for my next adventure.
In late February, after my Aconcagua climb, I had a few weeks to explore Northwestern Argentina before John came down for a visit. I started off by heading north to the town of San Juan. This was a nice desert town with lots of shade trees. I had a huge and delicious lunch in the Syrian-Lebanese Club.
From San Juan, I continued north to the town of San Augustin del Valle Fertil. The night I got there was the town carnival so I got to see all the kids in the town in costumes on parade. The next day, I went for a walk in the dry country side, but after only a few hours, the 100 degree temperatures took there toll and I went to the riverside to sit in the shade with my feet in the water and a book in my hands.
The main tourist attraction near San Augustin is the Ischigualasto Provincial Park. It is also known as the Valley of the Moon, so naturally I wanted to check it out. Ischigualasto is a small park a few hours from San Augustin. There was a very unusual heavy rain the night before so the dirt road was very muddy and fun. Many of the streams had flooded over the road and we got stuck in the mud at our first stream crossing. Luckily, the driver of the car had some rope and a nearby bulldozer was enlisted to pull us through the mud. At the second muddy crossing, a pick-up truck was used to pull us through.
At the park, we joined a convoy of other cars for the tour. We stopped at the various viewpoints and a guide lectured us about the natural history of the place. Also, as in most desert parks with rock formations, many rocks had names. We saw the "Worm" and the "Ball Court". Because of the mud, we were unable to visit the "Submarine". After the driving tour, we visited the museum. Many dinosaur fossils have been found there and they had a good display of the bones and techniques used to unearth them.
After lunch, my three person tour continued on up to the Talampaya National Park. It was a beautiful red rock place with high cliffs. We looked at some of the aboriginal petroglyphs carved into the rocks. Then, we entered the narrow and tall canyon and visited the Echo Chimney. The Chimney was a tube carved out of the wall that went all the way to the top. We saw some condors flying near the lip of the canyon. At the bottom, it was very quiet and because of the special acoustics, we could hear the air rushing loudly over the birds wings as if they were only a few feet away.
From San Augustin, I wanted to head north, but because the road was so bad, I had to return soutn San Juan in order to continue on up to La Rioja. I spent a couple of days working my up through Catamarca and Tucuman. In the province of Tucuman, I visited Tafi del Valle. Tafi is a small town in the hills and I spent a couple of days wandering in the country side.
My next stop was the hot spring town of Termas de Rio Hondo. I found a cheap hotel near the bus station and went in search of the hot water. At the tourist information office, I was told that every hotel has hot spring water and that there are no special places to go. Unfortunately, my three dollar a night place did not have hot water. Since it was in the middle of a desert in the summer, I had no use for hot water in the room anyway. In the evening, I went down to the river where there was a public hot spring pool. The water was warm and I relaxed there for a while.
I spent a couple of days working my way back to Mendoza and then crossed the border into Chile on the 11th of March. I went to stay with some of John's friends in Santiago. The next day, John flew in from Alaska and we all explored downtown Santiago.
On the 14th of March, John and I headed a bit southeast to the mountains. We made it into the Canyon of the Maipo River and spent a night above the river. The next day, we went up to the Natural Monument Park and started our hike. After registering with the friendly guard, we headed up the narrow valley. We spent the night next to Lake Morales. The next morning, I learned that John has the same special ability as I do. We both woke up, picked up our books and never even left the tent until afternoon - when the books were finished.
After lunch, we hiked to the head of the valley and the foot of the San Francisco glacier. I sat at the bottom and John climbed a little way up. He knocked rocks down in my direction in the hopes of having them land in the river and splash me. I think he managed to get one or two drops pretty close to me, but he never got a rock chip closer than a meter.
In the afternoon we hiked down to the park entrance to camp. We visited the local thermal springs the next morning. They were barely warm and we did not spend much time soaking. After a tasty lunch in a place overlooking the river, we returned to Santiago.
With John's friends, we all went to the coast for a couple of days of relaxing by the seashore. Then, John and I went to the small fishing village of Horcon. It was a great place to relax and we found our own private beach to read our books on. Next, we went down to Vina del Mar. I wanted to see the Moa statue from Easter Island. The museum also had a very good display on shrunken heads and how to make them.
We spent that night in Valparaiso and tried out one of its famous cable cars the next day before returning to Santiago. John went back to Alaska and I went with Jerry to a soccer game on the 26th of March. Chile was hosting Uruguay in a World Cup Qualifying match. The game started at 10 at night and we did not arrive much before that. The stadium was packed and everyone was standing and being loud and having fun. Once the game started, the crowds sat down and were pretty quiet, except when Chile was close to scoring. It was a bit strange considering how involved they were before the game.
On the 28th of March, I returned to Mendoza and started my journey east. I spent a night in San Juan and then took a bus up to the Sierra de las Quiljadas National Park. After setting up my tent in the campground, I joined a guided tour along the valley floor. The park was dry and full of canyons, just like my favorite areas of southern Utah. So, naturally I had a great time.
I continued east and past through the big city of Cordoba on my way to Santa Fe and Corrientes. I wanted to visit the embassy of Paraguay and get a visa. Unfortunately, that embassy is only for information and not visas. So, I spent the morning visiting the really sad zoo next to the river. I felt sorry for the big lion in the little cage.
I wanted to visit the capital of Paraguay, Asuncion. The closest border crossing is the Argentinian town of Clorinda. I got there on a Thursday night and went to the Paraguayan embassy on Friday morning. It was closed for a three day holiday weekend, so no visa for me. Instead, I just went to the bridge and walked over the dirty little stream to Paraguay. It was a border crossing for local people, not tourists, so there was no customs or immigration controls on the Paraguayan side. I wandered around for a bit and then came back to Argentina.
Without a visa and entrance stamps, I did not want to travel too much in Paraguay, so I continued east in Argentina. It took a couple more big bus trips to get to Iguazu National Park, on the border with Paraguay and Brazil.
Iguazu is one of the largest waterfalls in the world and I spent a whole day wandering around the Argentinian side. They have miles of trails and boardwalks and it was very easy to get up close to more than one mile wide falls. I took a short boat trip to an island and a ten minute jet boat ride that went under a small section of the falls. The grand finale in the park was walking out to the overlook directly above the Throat of the Devil. There was so much water that it was impossible to see the river down below. Only mist.
The next day, I tried the local adventure activity. I climbed up a tall tree on a rope ladder and clipped on to a 200 meter long wire. Then, with a slight push, I was sailing over the jungle to a tree off in the distance. After a second leg of wire flying, my little tour group moved on to a small waterfall. We clipped on to a rope there and took a couple turns at rappelling down the water. It was a pleasant day, but not too exciting.
On the way back to town, I noticed an Embassy for Paraguay. I went in to ask about a visa, but they told me that it was a brand new office and they don't have visas yet. But, I spoke with the man in charge for a while and he told me that if I just visit the nearby city of Ciudad del Este and don't go further I won't need a visa. From Puerto Iguazu in Argentina, they have direct buses to Ciudad del Este. The road passes through the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu. I did not want to spend $100 for a visa to visit Brazil, so I took the direct bus that does not stop at Brazilian immigration and is not allowed to make any stops in Brazil.
When we got to Paraguay, we did not stop at their immigration either. I spent the afternoon wandering around Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. The town is famous for its cheap imported items. Paraguay has had a lot of immigration from China and I felt like I was in Hong Kong. They had 10 story buildings crammed with hundreds of electronics and computer shops, many run by Chinese people. There were quite a number of Asian restaurants and lots of signs in Chinese and Korean.
When I was ready to return to Argentina, I went to the bridge to Brazil. It is a narrow bridge with a lot of traffic. People who want to get across quickly, get on the back of a motorcycle taxi and zip through. I waited on the bridge for my bus and hopped on. I explained my situation to the bus driver and he was very nice to me. After we drove through Brazilian immigration without having to stop he pulled the bus over and let me jump off for one second. Now I can say that I have visited Brazil, even if I don't have a stamp to prove it. The rest of the 40 minute bus ride back to Argentina was uneventful.
The next day I ended up on the slow local bus and spent the whole day getting to Posadas. By then, I was running out of time, so I opted for a rare journey by night. But, since I like to sleep at night, I took a super-luxury full-bed bus. It cost $30, but it was worth it. My very wide seat reclined all the way back to horizontal. I slept great and woke up in Buenos Aires the next morning.
My passport was full so I visited the US Embassy to get some new pages put in. That went surprisingly fast. I wandered around the city and looked for interesting places to eat.
Uruguay is really close to Buenos Aires, so I took a high-speed ferry across the Plate River. I visited the capital city of Montevideo and spent a few days wandering around this lovely old city. They have done a great job of preserving the miles of shoreline and making the beaches easily accessable. Montevideo was the site of the first World Cup of soccer in 1930. I visited the original stadium, where the US had their best ever World Cup finish - semifinalists.
I spent one more night in the old town of Colonia before returning to BsAs.
On the 20th of April, I flew to Peru for my next adventure.
Friday, February 25, 2005
An attempt on Mt. Aconcagua (6963m/22,841ft)
Hello from Mendoza, Argentina.
I forgot to mention one of the most exciting things for me on last month's trip to Antarctica. I spend a lot of time living out of my backpack, so whenever I have a chance to unpack and spread out, I take advantage of it. So, just like in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1996 and Pushkar, India in 1999, I took advantage of a ten day stop to unpack. I hung my shirts and jackets in the closet and put my books on the bookshelf.
Once back in Ushuaia, I visited the former prison and current museum. They had some really life like models of the former prisoners in there.
At the end of January, I flew to Buenos Aires and slept in the airport. The next morning, I flew up to Mendoza and spent a couple of days looking for the right tour to join next. While in Mendoza, I noticed that they have a very large number of cars from the 70's and earlier, including lots of Ford Falcons. Mendoza is also a very beautiful city. The climate is pretty dry and hot, so they have lined all of the streets with big 100 year old trees. Every street is well shaded and so are the numerous parks.
I decided to join the February 7th departure with Inka Expeditions. That was a few days away, so I packed up my gear and headed for the hills. I wanted to spend a few days at high altitude to get ready for my upcoming ascent of Aconcagua.
I took an evening bus to Potrorillos and camped in a pleasant desert campground. The bus passed through some dry horse country with lots of side roads. This was the first time on this trip that I took a local bus to get anyplace. Looking out the window at all the other places to go made me really miss my bicycle.
The next day, a nice Argentinian couple picked me up and drove me all the way up to the ski resort in Vallecitos. I spent a night at the bottom of the ski are and then hiked up to Piedra Grande to set up my base camp. For the next couple of days, I walked up to high altitude valleys and read my book.
On the 6th of February, I walked for hours to get out of the mountains and back to the main road. The second car to pass by picked me up and took me back to Potrorillos. One ride later I was in the outskirts of Mendoza and a short bus ride later I was back in the city.
On the 7th of February, I met some of the other members of my Aconcagua Expedition. Our guide was Gabrielle. He looks like he is from Pakistan, so naturally, his nickname is Paki. My roommate in the Mendoza hotel was Malik, from Turkmenistan. Malik was attempting to be the first from his country to climb Aconcagua. He is a really nice man, even if his English is a bit limited. He had a bunch of books about Turkmenistan and now I really want to visit his central Asian country. He is also well educated and gave us many impromptu lectures on Geography, History, Linguistics, Anthropology and Politics. He also taught me a little bit of Russian.
After the introductions, we went to rent the appropriate gear and then had a group dinner. It was strange for me to be part of a group without leading it. I found all of my little tour leader habits coming back to life, but not to the point where I tried to actually make any decisions.
On the 8th of February, we went to the Permit Office and bought our climbing permits. Then we headed up to the small ski resort of Penitentes (2600m/8500ft). I spent the afternoon wandering around near the hills.
On the 9th of February, we drove the last few miles to the Park Entrance. We started walking nice and slow. After an hour or two, we crossed the bridge that was built for Brad Pitt to use in the movie "Seven Years in Tibet". We had lunch there and then continued on to the Confluencia Camp (3300m/10,800ft). It was a short day, but my stomach was a bit sensitive, so I decided to relax that afternoon.
On the 10th, we hiked up towards Plaza Francia (4000m/13,000ft). At the highest point of our acclimatization hike, we stopped to eat lunch next to a glacier and looking up at the nearly 10,000 tall South Face of Aconcagua. In the afternoon, we returned to Confluencia.
On the 11th, we headed up to Plaza De Mulas Base Camp (4250m/14,000ft). It was a pretty long walk, both in distance and in time. We stopped for lunch near a big rock that is often used as a toilet. Just to add to the atmosphere, there was a dead mule nearby.
The 12th was a rest day, so we relaxed. We strolled over to the nearby glacier in the morning for a little bit of ice practice. We strapped on the crampons and wandered on the ice for an hour or so.
On the 13th, we brought some food and supplies up to Camp 1 - Camp Canada (4900m/16,000ft). We hiked up the side of the mountain for a few hours and had lunch at Camp 1 before returning to Base Camp.
The 14th was a rest day and I did just that. I took the twenty minute walk across the glacier over to the hotel. Their toilet had a seat.
Finally, on the 15th, it was time to start the four day assault on the summit. We went back up to Camp 1 and spent the night. At this point, my tentmate Malik finally stopped insisting that we keep the tent doors open for ventilation during the night. This is also about when the water bottles started freezing during the night.
On the 16th, we spent most of the afternoon hiking up to Camp 2 - Nido De Condores (5400m/17,700ft). From this camp we had a great view of the surrounding mountains and glaciers. I took a little afternoon stroll around the lake up there.
During the night, I managed to knock over my very poor quality thermos. I think much of the water was absorbed by Malik큦 sleeping bag. As the hours dragged on, the water froze and so did Malik. Oops. But, when it was time to take down the tent in the morning, cleaning out the water was easy. Malik just held the tent up and shook the ice out.
During the afternoon of the 17th, we moved up to Camp 3 - Camp Berlin (6000m/19,700ft). We had a little discussion about the next day and ate a big dinner of tortellinis.
At these heights it is pretty much impossible to sleep. Many even consider it impossible to survive for an extended period of time up there. We went to bed before sunset even though we knew we would not sleep. Instead, our job was to act as a heater for our batteries, cameras, water bottles and shoes. Our goal was to keep things from freezing during the night.
At three in the morning, our Guide Ariel delivered some hot water and it was breakfast time. I, like most of the others, was not at all hungry and did not eat. We pulled on all of our layers and started walking into the night.
The Doctor/Guide Miguel led us off at a furious pace, but I managed to keep up. With few breaks we made it up to the Independencia shelter (6500m/21,300ft). From there, it was time to head into traverse - a two hour long crossing of a very exposed ridge. One of the group members, a Swiss mountaineer, measured the temperature at -20 C or -5 F. With the strong wind chill, it was about -30 C or -20 F. That sounds pretty cold, but I made the mistake of not believing my guides and was wearing too much clothing. With all of the effort of walking, I was hot. I took off my hat and snot encrusted balaklava and wore only my gore-tex hood on my head. But, my ears got cold and it became difficult to move my jaw and nose.
The group stopped to rest after the traverse, but as soon as I caught up, they took off again. I quickly followed, but fell behind again when I stopped to poop into a black plastic bag and then put it into my pack. At those heights, people move really, really slowly. So, falling behind is a confusing thing. They never left my sight and in terms of distance were never all that far ahead of me. But, in terms of how long it took me to walk up to where they were, I was often 20 or 30 minutes behind.
They stopped to rest sometimes, but every time I caught up, they were off again. I wanted to stop and rest and go at my own pace, but Miguel had warned us that if we fell too far behind, he would just turn us around without reaching the top. He was concerned that we would use all of our energy to get to the top and then have nothing left for the big descent. So, I continued.
After one steep bit, I noticed that everyone seemed very happy. I realized that we were at the top. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was very happy and proud. But, mostly I was just glad for a chance to sit down. The summit of Aconcagua is at 6962 meters or 22,841 feet and the time was about 11:30 in the morning. The only mountains in the world higher are in Asia. I realized that in Asia it was the middle of winter and night time. This meant that there was probably nobody in the world higher than me for the few moments I spent on the highest bit of rock in the Americas.
Previously, the highest I had ever climbed was Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895m/19,335ft) in Tanzania, Africa. The highest I had ever been before without an airplane was 6400m or 21,000 ft. This was when I was skydiving, and we had used oxygen masks while in the airplane.
Out of our group of 11, six made it to the summit. One never left the tent in the morning, two turned back early in the morning from exhaustion, one stopped because of double vision and the final one made it pretty far before stopping because of cold and blurred vision. He had to be led by a rope back down. By the terms of Aconcagua, this is considered a very successful expedition.
At nearly 7000 meters, there is very little oxygen in the air. I found the combination of lack of oxygen, lack of sleep, lack of food and lack of water to be very tiring. I have since determined that some combination of those four elements are essential to my well being.
After a few minutes, Miguel said it was time to go and I requested five more minutes to eat and drink. I had a little to drink, but most of my water was frozen. I walked slowly back to Camp 3 with three other members of my group. The schedule called for us to spend another night up there freezing. But, we got back there at only 2:30 in the afternoon, so after a bit of a rest, we packed up and headed back down to Base Camp. It turned into a very long and difficult day. Doctor Johan, from South Africa, wore a heart monitor and computer. He figured that he burned 15,000 calories that day. That seemed like an incredible amount to me until I heard the guides talk about how many pounds they lose on each expedition.
After a comfortable dinner in the big tent, we all slept very well.
We spent the morning of the 19th relaxing and in the afternoon, Malik, Billy and I climbed up to the top of Bonete Peak (4950m/16,240ft). I carried a radio and when we reached the summit, I called base camp. We raised our arms up and they were able to see us and take a couple of pictures.
They ran back down the mountain to base camp and I strolled.
On the 20th of February, we looked at the mountains and glaciers around Base Camp one last time and then started the long and dusty 36km/22mile walk back to the park entrance. We stopped for lunch near the dead mule and then continued on through Confluencia camp to the start.
We made it back to Mendoza by mid-night and I quickly fell asleep.
On the 21st, we returned the rental equipment and I hung out with Malik. We went to the Inka Office and I was the official videographer for Malik as he presented the staff with some books and handicrafts from Turkmenistan. In the evening we went to an excellent all-you-can-eat buffet and I have barely been hungry since.
After a couple of days of hanging out, it was time to move on. This morning, I took a bus to the next province north - San Juan. I will spend a few weeks around here poking around in the hot desert. I had lunch today in the Syria-Lebanon Club. It was nice to get some non-Argentinian food for a change.
One of the group members, Johanas, has his own website with his own descriptions of the climb. The current page is in Danish, but he promises to make an English one when he returns home in May.
I forgot to mention one of the most exciting things for me on last month's trip to Antarctica. I spend a lot of time living out of my backpack, so whenever I have a chance to unpack and spread out, I take advantage of it. So, just like in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1996 and Pushkar, India in 1999, I took advantage of a ten day stop to unpack. I hung my shirts and jackets in the closet and put my books on the bookshelf.
Once back in Ushuaia, I visited the former prison and current museum. They had some really life like models of the former prisoners in there.
At the end of January, I flew to Buenos Aires and slept in the airport. The next morning, I flew up to Mendoza and spent a couple of days looking for the right tour to join next. While in Mendoza, I noticed that they have a very large number of cars from the 70's and earlier, including lots of Ford Falcons. Mendoza is also a very beautiful city. The climate is pretty dry and hot, so they have lined all of the streets with big 100 year old trees. Every street is well shaded and so are the numerous parks.
I decided to join the February 7th departure with Inka Expeditions. That was a few days away, so I packed up my gear and headed for the hills. I wanted to spend a few days at high altitude to get ready for my upcoming ascent of Aconcagua.
I took an evening bus to Potrorillos and camped in a pleasant desert campground. The bus passed through some dry horse country with lots of side roads. This was the first time on this trip that I took a local bus to get anyplace. Looking out the window at all the other places to go made me really miss my bicycle.
The next day, a nice Argentinian couple picked me up and drove me all the way up to the ski resort in Vallecitos. I spent a night at the bottom of the ski are and then hiked up to Piedra Grande to set up my base camp. For the next couple of days, I walked up to high altitude valleys and read my book.
On the 6th of February, I walked for hours to get out of the mountains and back to the main road. The second car to pass by picked me up and took me back to Potrorillos. One ride later I was in the outskirts of Mendoza and a short bus ride later I was back in the city.
On the 7th of February, I met some of the other members of my Aconcagua Expedition. Our guide was Gabrielle. He looks like he is from Pakistan, so naturally, his nickname is Paki. My roommate in the Mendoza hotel was Malik, from Turkmenistan. Malik was attempting to be the first from his country to climb Aconcagua. He is a really nice man, even if his English is a bit limited. He had a bunch of books about Turkmenistan and now I really want to visit his central Asian country. He is also well educated and gave us many impromptu lectures on Geography, History, Linguistics, Anthropology and Politics. He also taught me a little bit of Russian.
After the introductions, we went to rent the appropriate gear and then had a group dinner. It was strange for me to be part of a group without leading it. I found all of my little tour leader habits coming back to life, but not to the point where I tried to actually make any decisions.
On the 8th of February, we went to the Permit Office and bought our climbing permits. Then we headed up to the small ski resort of Penitentes (2600m/8500ft). I spent the afternoon wandering around near the hills.
On the 9th of February, we drove the last few miles to the Park Entrance. We started walking nice and slow. After an hour or two, we crossed the bridge that was built for Brad Pitt to use in the movie "Seven Years in Tibet". We had lunch there and then continued on to the Confluencia Camp (3300m/10,800ft). It was a short day, but my stomach was a bit sensitive, so I decided to relax that afternoon.
On the 10th, we hiked up towards Plaza Francia (4000m/13,000ft). At the highest point of our acclimatization hike, we stopped to eat lunch next to a glacier and looking up at the nearly 10,000 tall South Face of Aconcagua. In the afternoon, we returned to Confluencia.
On the 11th, we headed up to Plaza De Mulas Base Camp (4250m/14,000ft). It was a pretty long walk, both in distance and in time. We stopped for lunch near a big rock that is often used as a toilet. Just to add to the atmosphere, there was a dead mule nearby.
The 12th was a rest day, so we relaxed. We strolled over to the nearby glacier in the morning for a little bit of ice practice. We strapped on the crampons and wandered on the ice for an hour or so.
On the 13th, we brought some food and supplies up to Camp 1 - Camp Canada (4900m/16,000ft). We hiked up the side of the mountain for a few hours and had lunch at Camp 1 before returning to Base Camp.
The 14th was a rest day and I did just that. I took the twenty minute walk across the glacier over to the hotel. Their toilet had a seat.
Finally, on the 15th, it was time to start the four day assault on the summit. We went back up to Camp 1 and spent the night. At this point, my tentmate Malik finally stopped insisting that we keep the tent doors open for ventilation during the night. This is also about when the water bottles started freezing during the night.
On the 16th, we spent most of the afternoon hiking up to Camp 2 - Nido De Condores (5400m/17,700ft). From this camp we had a great view of the surrounding mountains and glaciers. I took a little afternoon stroll around the lake up there.
During the night, I managed to knock over my very poor quality thermos. I think much of the water was absorbed by Malik큦 sleeping bag. As the hours dragged on, the water froze and so did Malik. Oops. But, when it was time to take down the tent in the morning, cleaning out the water was easy. Malik just held the tent up and shook the ice out.
During the afternoon of the 17th, we moved up to Camp 3 - Camp Berlin (6000m/19,700ft). We had a little discussion about the next day and ate a big dinner of tortellinis.
At these heights it is pretty much impossible to sleep. Many even consider it impossible to survive for an extended period of time up there. We went to bed before sunset even though we knew we would not sleep. Instead, our job was to act as a heater for our batteries, cameras, water bottles and shoes. Our goal was to keep things from freezing during the night.
At three in the morning, our Guide Ariel delivered some hot water and it was breakfast time. I, like most of the others, was not at all hungry and did not eat. We pulled on all of our layers and started walking into the night.
The Doctor/Guide Miguel led us off at a furious pace, but I managed to keep up. With few breaks we made it up to the Independencia shelter (6500m/21,300ft). From there, it was time to head into traverse - a two hour long crossing of a very exposed ridge. One of the group members, a Swiss mountaineer, measured the temperature at -20 C or -5 F. With the strong wind chill, it was about -30 C or -20 F. That sounds pretty cold, but I made the mistake of not believing my guides and was wearing too much clothing. With all of the effort of walking, I was hot. I took off my hat and snot encrusted balaklava and wore only my gore-tex hood on my head. But, my ears got cold and it became difficult to move my jaw and nose.
The group stopped to rest after the traverse, but as soon as I caught up, they took off again. I quickly followed, but fell behind again when I stopped to poop into a black plastic bag and then put it into my pack. At those heights, people move really, really slowly. So, falling behind is a confusing thing. They never left my sight and in terms of distance were never all that far ahead of me. But, in terms of how long it took me to walk up to where they were, I was often 20 or 30 minutes behind.
They stopped to rest sometimes, but every time I caught up, they were off again. I wanted to stop and rest and go at my own pace, but Miguel had warned us that if we fell too far behind, he would just turn us around without reaching the top. He was concerned that we would use all of our energy to get to the top and then have nothing left for the big descent. So, I continued.
After one steep bit, I noticed that everyone seemed very happy. I realized that we were at the top. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was very happy and proud. But, mostly I was just glad for a chance to sit down. The summit of Aconcagua is at 6962 meters or 22,841 feet and the time was about 11:30 in the morning. The only mountains in the world higher are in Asia. I realized that in Asia it was the middle of winter and night time. This meant that there was probably nobody in the world higher than me for the few moments I spent on the highest bit of rock in the Americas.
Previously, the highest I had ever climbed was Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895m/19,335ft) in Tanzania, Africa. The highest I had ever been before without an airplane was 6400m or 21,000 ft. This was when I was skydiving, and we had used oxygen masks while in the airplane.
Out of our group of 11, six made it to the summit. One never left the tent in the morning, two turned back early in the morning from exhaustion, one stopped because of double vision and the final one made it pretty far before stopping because of cold and blurred vision. He had to be led by a rope back down. By the terms of Aconcagua, this is considered a very successful expedition.
At nearly 7000 meters, there is very little oxygen in the air. I found the combination of lack of oxygen, lack of sleep, lack of food and lack of water to be very tiring. I have since determined that some combination of those four elements are essential to my well being.
After a few minutes, Miguel said it was time to go and I requested five more minutes to eat and drink. I had a little to drink, but most of my water was frozen. I walked slowly back to Camp 3 with three other members of my group. The schedule called for us to spend another night up there freezing. But, we got back there at only 2:30 in the afternoon, so after a bit of a rest, we packed up and headed back down to Base Camp. It turned into a very long and difficult day. Doctor Johan, from South Africa, wore a heart monitor and computer. He figured that he burned 15,000 calories that day. That seemed like an incredible amount to me until I heard the guides talk about how many pounds they lose on each expedition.
After a comfortable dinner in the big tent, we all slept very well.
We spent the morning of the 19th relaxing and in the afternoon, Malik, Billy and I climbed up to the top of Bonete Peak (4950m/16,240ft). I carried a radio and when we reached the summit, I called base camp. We raised our arms up and they were able to see us and take a couple of pictures.
They ran back down the mountain to base camp and I strolled.
On the 20th of February, we looked at the mountains and glaciers around Base Camp one last time and then started the long and dusty 36km/22mile walk back to the park entrance. We stopped for lunch near the dead mule and then continued on through Confluencia camp to the start.
We made it back to Mendoza by mid-night and I quickly fell asleep.
On the 21st, we returned the rental equipment and I hung out with Malik. We went to the Inka Office and I was the official videographer for Malik as he presented the staff with some books and handicrafts from Turkmenistan. In the evening we went to an excellent all-you-can-eat buffet and I have barely been hungry since.
After a couple of days of hanging out, it was time to move on. This morning, I took a bus to the next province north - San Juan. I will spend a few weeks around here poking around in the hot desert. I had lunch today in the Syria-Lebanon Club. It was nice to get some non-Argentinian food for a change.
One of the group members, Johanas, has his own website with his own descriptions of the climb. The current page is in Danish, but he promises to make an English one when he returns home in May.
Friday, January 28, 2005
A ten day cruise to Antarctica
Greetings from someone who has visited all seven continents.
On the 18th of January, I boarded the M/V Ushuaia, registered out of Panama to an Argentinean company with a mainly Chilean crew for its Classic Antarcica trip. I boarded the ship and was shown to my cabin. I met my roommate, Christian. He is from Switzerland, but worked around the world as a nurse for Doctors Without Borders. For the past five years, he has worked as a paramedic in French Guiana in South America. He told me that most jobs with aid agencies are in logistics and not for specialists.
The first couple of hours of sailing were through the Beagle Channel. Most of us stood on the deck and watched Chile pass by on the right and Argentina on the left. In the evening, we had the introductory talks and safety drill.
Sometime in the middle of the night we left the calm passage and entered the Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is famous for being very rough and unforgiving on the stomach. The boat started to rock. It was not enough to make me sick, but it did wake me occasionally. It was a strange feeling to be pressed down into my bed one second and then feel like I was floating over it the next. Also, everything in the room that was not bolted down ended up on the floor by morning.
On the morning of the 19th, I felt well enough to have breakfast and hang out on the ship. I met some of the other passengers as well. It was nice to be back among what I think of as 뱈y own people? There were well over a dozen countries represented by the 65 passengers, including two people from Japan. I think the average length of trip for the various passengers was about six months. It was nice to be with people who agree with my opinion that my current four month trip is really too short to do much more than get a quick taste of the area and visit a few of the highlights.
The two Japanese people were interesting as well. Etsuko is a 22-year-old woman who somehow has managed to save enough money for a year and a half trip around the world. She spent the first two months of her trip studying in New Zealand, so she speaks decent English. The other Japanese person is 62 years old and can barely communicate in English. As I was one of the only two other people on board who could talk in Japanese, I spent a lot of time talking with him and helping him talk to other people. Mr. Yamamoto was eager to communicate with everyone despite his communication difficulties and quickly became one of the most liked people on the tour.
Mr. Yamamoto has spent much of the past five years riding his bicycle around the world from East to West. He is now at the start of his attempt to ride around the world from South to North to South. Because his hands hurt sometimes, his doctor told him not to ride for more than 50 days at a time. So, Mr. Yamamoto takes three 45-day trips per year. As you can imagine, he has some great tales to tell of life on the road. Everybody felt sorry for him when his request to bring his bicycle to shore for a ceremonial picture was turned down for environmental reasons.
My Japanese is almost as good as it was when I stopped studying in July and my Spanish is the best it has been for a few years. Usually when I travel, I don't hang out with too many other people, but I really enjoyed sharing a table with people from eight different countries. I even invented a new game. We all took turns saying the same word or phrase in our native tongues.
The whole of day two was spent in the relatively calm but certainly not flat Drake Passage. We had a lecture on Antarctic History and another one on Penguins. By the next day, the movement of the ship was getting to me a little bit. I went to the lectures on Antarctic History and to the mandatory pre-landing briefing. Other than that, I slept most of the day and could not even manage breakfast or lunch.
By dinnertime, we had entered the channel between Anvers and Brabant Islands, not too far from the long peninsula on the continent of Antarctica. The seas became flat and I felt much better. After dinner we all went outside or up to the bridge to watch the glacier-covered mountains pass by. I decided to test my clothing. I bundled up and spent about three hours standing in the wind at the front of the ship. Eventually, my hands got cold and I had to come in. But, since I had spent the whole day sleeping and it was still light out, I decided to go up to the bridge and watch the scenery some more. By about two in the morning, I decided that even though it was still pretty light out and I was not tired, I should go to bed, so I did.
On the 21st of January, we started the day with a landing on Wienke Island. We took the small zodiac boats to Damoy Point in Dorian Bay. We had a nice little walk around, but the wind started to pick up and we had to race back to the ship before it got too windy to safely use the small zodiac landing boats. In the afternoon, we visited Torgenson Island and looked at some Adelie Penguins. There were two scientists there to help explain things to us. Eventually, we crossed a small bit of water and visited the US Palmer Station, of the three permanent US Antarctic Research Stations. We were given a tour and learned about the science they do there and the support staff that makes it all possible. After the tour and a teasing glimpse of the hot tub, we went to the small gift shop and I got to use my credit card in Antarctica. The tour ended in the dining area with tea and brownies. I spoke with the Station Manager and learned that the managers of all the US bases have a background in Geography. Something else to think about.
On the morning of the 22nd, we attempted to sail through the Lemaire Channel. We had a beautiful blue day and spent the morning looking at seals relaxing on the icebergs. The scenery was more of the spectacular blue and white glaciers pouring into the sea. Eventually, the ice became too thick and we were unable to pass through the channel as planned. It was here that we reached the most southerly point of our trip ?nearly 65 degrees south of the Equator. We turned around and cruised through some more nice bays on the way to Orne Island. In the afternoon we went ashore and looked at the Chinstrap Penguins. Some of our walk took us over large patches of ice and, after asking permission from the other party, started the first snowball fight of the trip. It was a shorter one, but after everybody was done looking at the penguins we started a much larger snowball fight. I dug a hole in the snow and sat in it. Then I built a protective wall in front of me and launched my projectiles from the safety of my small fort. When I stood up, I discovered that my pants were not exactly waterproof and that my short underwear, long underwear, fleece pants and heavy winter pants were all soaked through. Plus, my butt was wet.
We went back to the ship for some hot chocolate and dinner. The rooms were kept warm and Antarctica is a very dry place, so everything dried before the 10:00 pm landing at Paradise Bay. This was our first landing on the actual continent of Antarctica, not one of the small islands just off the coast. We visited the Argentine station Almirante Brown. This station was occupied until 1984 when the Doctor went a little loopy and burned the place down so that he could be evacuated back to Argentina. We climbed the hill behind the station, broke out the large plastic bags and enjoyed sliding back down the hill. I was able to climb quickly and managed to slide down a record five times. I cannot remember the last time I was properly dressed for the weather and spent hours playing in the snow. Naturally, I had a great time.
We returned to the ship shortly after mid-night. The next morning, we returned to the continent proper at Neko Harbor. We spent a few hours looking at Gentoo Penguins and a seal, as well as the scenery. I climbed up a hill and spent some time watching big chunks of ice calve off of the glaciers and plunge into the sea. When it was time to go, I found the steepest section of the mountain and slid down. In a continent that is 98% covered in snow and ice, it is always easy to find a slide.
Since it was such a nice day, we had a barbecue on the deck of the ship. After lunch, we landed on Danco Island and looked at the Gentoo Penguins. I climbed a hill and spent some time watching the ice falls in the mountains across the water. It was even warm enough to take off all of my jackets and shirts and run around for a couple of minutes. The hillside was full of penguins, so I had to walk down carefully, instead of sliding down dangerously. On the way back to the boat, our zodiac drivers took a detour and we cruised around a bunch of big icebergs. We went slowly by the big hunks of ice and admired all of the intricate shapes that the wind and water have carved.
Monday, the 24th of January was the day I have been looking forward to for several years. We sailed through the Neptune Bellows and entered the circular island known as Deception Island. We landed in Whaler's Bay and looked at the whale bones, airplane hanger, buildings, cemetery and other things left over from its time as a whaling station and a research station. We also hiked up to the Neptune's Window viewpoint. Then it was time for the highlight of the trip. As we walked back to the zodiac, snow was falling from the sky and steam was rising from the geo-thermally heated beach. At the landing site, a large hole was dug and very, very hot water came out of the sand and ran down to the very, very cold ocean.
I joined a seal in the wind shadow of a big piece of metal and stripped down to my shorts. Even though it was only a few degrees above freezing, I managed to calmly stroll down the beach to the water's edge. It always takes me a few minutes to work up to a cold plunge, so I stood knee deep in the Antarctic Ocean until I was ready. I waded out a little further, dunked down into the heat-sucking ocean and immediately popped up freezing and panting. I quickly made my way to the point where the hot water run-off from the beach met the cold water of the ocean. I joined the others in seeking the delicate balance between freezing and burning. We lay down on our stomachs in a couple of inches of water. Our backs were exposed to the wind, our fronts to the too hot water and our legs to the too cold sea. It was hard work making sure that nothing froze or burned, but I managed to hang out there for about an hour.
It may not have been the most relaxing hot spring experience of all time, but it was definitely one of the most memorable.
After lunch, we moved on over to Hannah Point on Livingston Island. This was the highlight of the trip in terms of penguin and seal sightings. We walked among the colonies of penguins and managed to find a few of the rare Macaroni Penguins. They have big yellow eyebrows that sweep back from their heads and were fun to watch. There was also a large colony of Elephant Seals nearby. They occasionally let out some loud moans, but mostly just sat around and stunk.
Our final day of landings was on the 25th of January. In the morning, we landed on one of the Aitcho Islands. We spent a couple of hours watching the penguins and seals. Between watching the seals on land and spending hours every day on the bridge watching them swim in the water I have come a way very impressed. On land they can do their funky waddle for long distances and are pretty good at climbing rocks. In the water, they look like they are rocket-propelled. It is amazing how fast they can move. When they are commuting someplace, they scoot along just under the surface and then shoot out and fly over the water for a second. A bunch of them all out of the water at the same time reminds me of a school of flying fish. At one point I was lucky enough to see a penguin approach the shore inside of a wave. When the wave got to shore and began to recede, the penguin shot out the front of the wave, tilted from horizontal to vertical in mid-air and landed on its feet, ready to walk. They sure look like they are having a lot o fun.
I also learned that when a penguin is standing still and then suddenly leans forward, you better not be standing too close. They squirt a large quantity of smelly white stuff out of their butts. It makes a line on the ground about two feet long. Their individual nests are all surrounded by white streaks heading off in every direction. From above, an empty nest looks like a sun with its rays.
After lunch, we landed on King George Island and visited the Argentine Jubany Station. We took a long walk on the beach. The tide had gone out and deposited hundreds of car-sized chunks of ice on the beach. It felt like walking through a sculpture garden. At the end of the beach, we climbed up onto a glacier for a brief stroll before heading into the dining area of the station for some tea and cookies. Their shop and post office were open, so I sent a few post cards from Antarctica. They promised that they would take at least a month to get to their destinations.
On the 26th of January, we left the shelter of the islands and returned to the Drake Passage. It was a little bit rough, but I felt well enough to attend the various lectures and play games with my fellow passengers.
Yesterday, we got back to the Beagle Channel and parked there for the rest of the day. I went to some of the lectures and wore my same dirty clothes to the Captain's Dinner. He did not seem to mind.
Today, we got to Ushuaia, ate one final breakfast on the ship and then returned to civilization. I remember thinking when I got here the first time that Ushuaia was at the end of the world. Now it seems like the beginning of the world to me.
I will miss spending my days alternating between playing in Antarctica and watching it for hours on end from the bridge was we sailed by. But, I am eager to get back to hiking. I have booked a flight to Mendoza, Argentina and will soon be gazing up at the tallest non-Asian mountain in the world.
On the 18th of January, I boarded the M/V Ushuaia, registered out of Panama to an Argentinean company with a mainly Chilean crew for its Classic Antarcica trip. I boarded the ship and was shown to my cabin. I met my roommate, Christian. He is from Switzerland, but worked around the world as a nurse for Doctors Without Borders. For the past five years, he has worked as a paramedic in French Guiana in South America. He told me that most jobs with aid agencies are in logistics and not for specialists.
The first couple of hours of sailing were through the Beagle Channel. Most of us stood on the deck and watched Chile pass by on the right and Argentina on the left. In the evening, we had the introductory talks and safety drill.
Sometime in the middle of the night we left the calm passage and entered the Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is famous for being very rough and unforgiving on the stomach. The boat started to rock. It was not enough to make me sick, but it did wake me occasionally. It was a strange feeling to be pressed down into my bed one second and then feel like I was floating over it the next. Also, everything in the room that was not bolted down ended up on the floor by morning.
On the morning of the 19th, I felt well enough to have breakfast and hang out on the ship. I met some of the other passengers as well. It was nice to be back among what I think of as 뱈y own people? There were well over a dozen countries represented by the 65 passengers, including two people from Japan. I think the average length of trip for the various passengers was about six months. It was nice to be with people who agree with my opinion that my current four month trip is really too short to do much more than get a quick taste of the area and visit a few of the highlights.
The two Japanese people were interesting as well. Etsuko is a 22-year-old woman who somehow has managed to save enough money for a year and a half trip around the world. She spent the first two months of her trip studying in New Zealand, so she speaks decent English. The other Japanese person is 62 years old and can barely communicate in English. As I was one of the only two other people on board who could talk in Japanese, I spent a lot of time talking with him and helping him talk to other people. Mr. Yamamoto was eager to communicate with everyone despite his communication difficulties and quickly became one of the most liked people on the tour.
Mr. Yamamoto has spent much of the past five years riding his bicycle around the world from East to West. He is now at the start of his attempt to ride around the world from South to North to South. Because his hands hurt sometimes, his doctor told him not to ride for more than 50 days at a time. So, Mr. Yamamoto takes three 45-day trips per year. As you can imagine, he has some great tales to tell of life on the road. Everybody felt sorry for him when his request to bring his bicycle to shore for a ceremonial picture was turned down for environmental reasons.
My Japanese is almost as good as it was when I stopped studying in July and my Spanish is the best it has been for a few years. Usually when I travel, I don't hang out with too many other people, but I really enjoyed sharing a table with people from eight different countries. I even invented a new game. We all took turns saying the same word or phrase in our native tongues.
The whole of day two was spent in the relatively calm but certainly not flat Drake Passage. We had a lecture on Antarctic History and another one on Penguins. By the next day, the movement of the ship was getting to me a little bit. I went to the lectures on Antarctic History and to the mandatory pre-landing briefing. Other than that, I slept most of the day and could not even manage breakfast or lunch.
By dinnertime, we had entered the channel between Anvers and Brabant Islands, not too far from the long peninsula on the continent of Antarctica. The seas became flat and I felt much better. After dinner we all went outside or up to the bridge to watch the glacier-covered mountains pass by. I decided to test my clothing. I bundled up and spent about three hours standing in the wind at the front of the ship. Eventually, my hands got cold and I had to come in. But, since I had spent the whole day sleeping and it was still light out, I decided to go up to the bridge and watch the scenery some more. By about two in the morning, I decided that even though it was still pretty light out and I was not tired, I should go to bed, so I did.
On the 21st of January, we started the day with a landing on Wienke Island. We took the small zodiac boats to Damoy Point in Dorian Bay. We had a nice little walk around, but the wind started to pick up and we had to race back to the ship before it got too windy to safely use the small zodiac landing boats. In the afternoon, we visited Torgenson Island and looked at some Adelie Penguins. There were two scientists there to help explain things to us. Eventually, we crossed a small bit of water and visited the US Palmer Station, of the three permanent US Antarctic Research Stations. We were given a tour and learned about the science they do there and the support staff that makes it all possible. After the tour and a teasing glimpse of the hot tub, we went to the small gift shop and I got to use my credit card in Antarctica. The tour ended in the dining area with tea and brownies. I spoke with the Station Manager and learned that the managers of all the US bases have a background in Geography. Something else to think about.
On the morning of the 22nd, we attempted to sail through the Lemaire Channel. We had a beautiful blue day and spent the morning looking at seals relaxing on the icebergs. The scenery was more of the spectacular blue and white glaciers pouring into the sea. Eventually, the ice became too thick and we were unable to pass through the channel as planned. It was here that we reached the most southerly point of our trip ?nearly 65 degrees south of the Equator. We turned around and cruised through some more nice bays on the way to Orne Island. In the afternoon we went ashore and looked at the Chinstrap Penguins. Some of our walk took us over large patches of ice and, after asking permission from the other party, started the first snowball fight of the trip. It was a shorter one, but after everybody was done looking at the penguins we started a much larger snowball fight. I dug a hole in the snow and sat in it. Then I built a protective wall in front of me and launched my projectiles from the safety of my small fort. When I stood up, I discovered that my pants were not exactly waterproof and that my short underwear, long underwear, fleece pants and heavy winter pants were all soaked through. Plus, my butt was wet.
We went back to the ship for some hot chocolate and dinner. The rooms were kept warm and Antarctica is a very dry place, so everything dried before the 10:00 pm landing at Paradise Bay. This was our first landing on the actual continent of Antarctica, not one of the small islands just off the coast. We visited the Argentine station Almirante Brown. This station was occupied until 1984 when the Doctor went a little loopy and burned the place down so that he could be evacuated back to Argentina. We climbed the hill behind the station, broke out the large plastic bags and enjoyed sliding back down the hill. I was able to climb quickly and managed to slide down a record five times. I cannot remember the last time I was properly dressed for the weather and spent hours playing in the snow. Naturally, I had a great time.
We returned to the ship shortly after mid-night. The next morning, we returned to the continent proper at Neko Harbor. We spent a few hours looking at Gentoo Penguins and a seal, as well as the scenery. I climbed up a hill and spent some time watching big chunks of ice calve off of the glaciers and plunge into the sea. When it was time to go, I found the steepest section of the mountain and slid down. In a continent that is 98% covered in snow and ice, it is always easy to find a slide.
Since it was such a nice day, we had a barbecue on the deck of the ship. After lunch, we landed on Danco Island and looked at the Gentoo Penguins. I climbed a hill and spent some time watching the ice falls in the mountains across the water. It was even warm enough to take off all of my jackets and shirts and run around for a couple of minutes. The hillside was full of penguins, so I had to walk down carefully, instead of sliding down dangerously. On the way back to the boat, our zodiac drivers took a detour and we cruised around a bunch of big icebergs. We went slowly by the big hunks of ice and admired all of the intricate shapes that the wind and water have carved.
Monday, the 24th of January was the day I have been looking forward to for several years. We sailed through the Neptune Bellows and entered the circular island known as Deception Island. We landed in Whaler's Bay and looked at the whale bones, airplane hanger, buildings, cemetery and other things left over from its time as a whaling station and a research station. We also hiked up to the Neptune's Window viewpoint. Then it was time for the highlight of the trip. As we walked back to the zodiac, snow was falling from the sky and steam was rising from the geo-thermally heated beach. At the landing site, a large hole was dug and very, very hot water came out of the sand and ran down to the very, very cold ocean.
I joined a seal in the wind shadow of a big piece of metal and stripped down to my shorts. Even though it was only a few degrees above freezing, I managed to calmly stroll down the beach to the water's edge. It always takes me a few minutes to work up to a cold plunge, so I stood knee deep in the Antarctic Ocean until I was ready. I waded out a little further, dunked down into the heat-sucking ocean and immediately popped up freezing and panting. I quickly made my way to the point where the hot water run-off from the beach met the cold water of the ocean. I joined the others in seeking the delicate balance between freezing and burning. We lay down on our stomachs in a couple of inches of water. Our backs were exposed to the wind, our fronts to the too hot water and our legs to the too cold sea. It was hard work making sure that nothing froze or burned, but I managed to hang out there for about an hour.
It may not have been the most relaxing hot spring experience of all time, but it was definitely one of the most memorable.
After lunch, we moved on over to Hannah Point on Livingston Island. This was the highlight of the trip in terms of penguin and seal sightings. We walked among the colonies of penguins and managed to find a few of the rare Macaroni Penguins. They have big yellow eyebrows that sweep back from their heads and were fun to watch. There was also a large colony of Elephant Seals nearby. They occasionally let out some loud moans, but mostly just sat around and stunk.
Our final day of landings was on the 25th of January. In the morning, we landed on one of the Aitcho Islands. We spent a couple of hours watching the penguins and seals. Between watching the seals on land and spending hours every day on the bridge watching them swim in the water I have come a way very impressed. On land they can do their funky waddle for long distances and are pretty good at climbing rocks. In the water, they look like they are rocket-propelled. It is amazing how fast they can move. When they are commuting someplace, they scoot along just under the surface and then shoot out and fly over the water for a second. A bunch of them all out of the water at the same time reminds me of a school of flying fish. At one point I was lucky enough to see a penguin approach the shore inside of a wave. When the wave got to shore and began to recede, the penguin shot out the front of the wave, tilted from horizontal to vertical in mid-air and landed on its feet, ready to walk. They sure look like they are having a lot o fun.
I also learned that when a penguin is standing still and then suddenly leans forward, you better not be standing too close. They squirt a large quantity of smelly white stuff out of their butts. It makes a line on the ground about two feet long. Their individual nests are all surrounded by white streaks heading off in every direction. From above, an empty nest looks like a sun with its rays.
After lunch, we landed on King George Island and visited the Argentine Jubany Station. We took a long walk on the beach. The tide had gone out and deposited hundreds of car-sized chunks of ice on the beach. It felt like walking through a sculpture garden. At the end of the beach, we climbed up onto a glacier for a brief stroll before heading into the dining area of the station for some tea and cookies. Their shop and post office were open, so I sent a few post cards from Antarctica. They promised that they would take at least a month to get to their destinations.
On the 26th of January, we left the shelter of the islands and returned to the Drake Passage. It was a little bit rough, but I felt well enough to attend the various lectures and play games with my fellow passengers.
Yesterday, we got back to the Beagle Channel and parked there for the rest of the day. I went to some of the lectures and wore my same dirty clothes to the Captain's Dinner. He did not seem to mind.
Today, we got to Ushuaia, ate one final breakfast on the ship and then returned to civilization. I remember thinking when I got here the first time that Ushuaia was at the end of the world. Now it seems like the beginning of the world to me.
I will miss spending my days alternating between playing in Antarctica and watching it for hours on end from the bridge was we sailed by. But, I am eager to get back to hiking. I have booked a flight to Mendoza, Argentina and will soon be gazing up at the tallest non-Asian mountain in the world.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
A weekend in Lima and a week in Ushuaia, Argentina
Well, now that I am traveling again, life is much more interesting.
On the 6th of January, I flew to Lima, Peru. I got there at 11:30 in the evening. Customs was very slow and I did not get out of the airport until after one in the morning. In Lima, they schedule all of the international arrivals between 11:00 pm and 2:00 am. The next day in the newspaper, there was an article about how bad the line is at the airport. Of all the flights, they picked mine as the single worst one to arrive in. But, I eventually made it out of the airport and my friends Luis and Karem were waiting for me.
Luis had to work the next morning, so I spent the time arranging his books by subject and author. That makes it easier for me to borrow them. We all met at the ceviche restaurant for lunch and I was reacquainted with my favorite Peruvian food ?raw fish. Also, a few hours of being in Peru was enough to remind me that this is my favorite country to eat in in all of South America. I did not have time for all of it on this visit, but I will return in April for some more food. I will eat more ceviche, as well as lomo saltado, chicha, chicha morada, cuy, and papas huanavelica. For desert, Karem and I went to my favorite ice cream place in the center of the Miraflores district.
During the weekend, we saw some movies, went to the beach, ate some more good food and hung out. I also listened to Luis?new Cd. He is the group Ruido and his album is La Lentitud de la Luz. The chorus of the title song is catchy and I have been singing it ever since.
On Sunday night, they took me to the airport. I got in line a bit after ten and waited. The line was not too bad and I eventually made it to the front. I was using one of these fancy new e-tickets, so that meant that I had no paperwork with me. The woman behind the counter put my name in the computer and told me that I was a day late for my flight and that I should wait until everyone else was helped before she could deal with me. Since I had a magazine and did not really care where I waited, I moved aside.
When they were done helping everyone else, it was my turn again. The man behind the counter looked at my passport, typed into his computer and told me that my name was George Fox and that my flight was on the 26th. Eventually, I convinced him to try again. Finally, he decided that my name is Avram Fox and that I actually had reservations for this flight. He gave me my ticket and told me to run to the airplane.
So, I ran. About 50 feet. Then I got in line to pay my airport departure tax. This line looked to be about 30 minutes long, so I went back and told the man at the counter. He cut to the head of the line, paid my tax and told me to run to the airplane.
So, I ran. About 200 feet. Then I got to the line for customs. This line was incredibly long and slow. Nobody seemed interested in letting me cut to the front, so I waited. Eventually, the man came back and told me to hurry. I hurried as fast as I could, but I still finished one magazine and started the next before I had even moved much. Several people from the airline urged the customs man on, but he did not seem to feel any sense of rush. When it was finally my turn, and he new I was in a rush, he took a moment to stretch and clear his mind before he got down to the big job of putting a stamp in my passport. Security was quick for some reason and I was escorted to the gate. There was a pick-up truck waiting to whisk me to the plane and I was the last one on board. I got on at 12:45 am for the 12:35 flight. Now that I was ready, we were on the way.
The Aerolinias Argentina flight landed in Buenos Aires early the next morning. I took a bus to the other airport and checked in for my next flight. Then, I had a few hours to wait, so I took a bus downtown and wandered around. Buenos Aires does not feel like any other Latin American city I have ever been to. Besides being very clean and having the world's widest avenue, the people were not what I expected. I guess I had read about the origin of the population, but it never really sunk in until I walked their streets. Argentina did an even better job of eliminating their native population than even the United States. Most of the people in Argentina are descended from immigrants from Italy, Germany, Spain and other places in Europe. Just from looking at he people, I could have been led to believe that I was in Omaha or Denver.
The fact that almost everybody is white means that I can't just walk up to a counter in a store and have people assume that I don't speak the language. So now there is always that moment of confusion as I struggle for words and the person I am talking to begins to realize that my Spanish is very limited.
On the subject of my Spanish language ability ?I still have a lot to learn. During my first day in Lima, I tried to have a few conversations in Spanish. I was talking in Spanish with the doorman in Luis's building and doing a fine job of it. I was looking at his face and could see that he was understanding me. Then he started looking confused. I reviewed what I had just said and realized that I had effortlessly switched to Japanese and did not even notice. I quickly apologized, but that came out in Japanese also. I needed a moment of quiet to re-orient myself.
Now, each day, there is less and less Japanese in my Spanish. Also, as I hear people speak, a lot of the vocabulary is coming back to me. I should be back to my old fumbling level in no time.
On the afternoon of the 10th, I boarded my flight for Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The view from the plane reminded me of flying over Kansas. Big rectangles of agriculture divided by narrow dirt roads.
I landed at The bottom of the World at 8:30 and it was still light. I sure do like the ratio of daylight to darkness down here in the middle of summer. Sunset was at 10:07 and twilight ended at 11:00 pm. The next day, twilight started at 2:21am and the sun rose at 3:14 in the morning. I consider myself solar powered, so this all makes me pretty happy.
Ushuaia is one of those end of the road towns where the streets turn to dirt within a few blocks of the main drag. It is also a port town and the big cruise ships make day stops here. I heard a couple of fellow fresh off the boat Americans walk into the tourist information place and ask for directions to the golf course.
They have some great information centers here and I was quickly directed to a place to sleep. Single hotel rooms start at about $35, so I opted for the $7 dorm room. They are cheap, but I never seem to sleep well in them. There is always the couple of Israelis that stay up late talking. At least they politely switch to Hebrew when they realize that some people are trying to sleep. Also, there are always some Germans who have to wake up really early and crinkle all of their plastic bags before heading out for the day. Then there is the random person who snores. All of this means that I could not wait to leave town and start camping. But, there was one thing to accomplish first - booking a trip to Antarctica.
I spent the day of the 11th visiting all of the travel agents and asking about trips. I quickly learned that there are two types of boats ?luxury cruises and converted expedition ships. The big ships hold about 800 people and are super expensive. The expedition ships are former scientific research vessels and take about 100 passengers. They don't have swimming pools or putting areas, but they are much cheaper and better for what I want.
I found one that leaves on the 18th. Unfortunately, the travel agent does not accept credit cards and I did not have $2500 cash on hand. I started taking money out of the ATMs, but soon realized that because of the daily withdrawal limits, I would not be able to take out all of the money in time.
On the 12th, I ran around all day to the banks and did not make any progress. But, I was eager to start camping, so I loaded up my gear and headed for the hills. I took a mini-bus a few miles out of town and hiked to a river for the first night in my new tent. The next morning was spent slowly making my way across some very soggy tundra. During the afternoon rain, I climbed a mountainside and camped under a pass, well above tree line.
The 14th was snowy and I did not feel like getting all wet and cold. I spent the day in my tent and read a book. By the 15th, the weather had cleared and I was ready for some more walking. I climbed up to the nearby pass, Paso Belen, and was rewarded with a nice panorama of the surrounding snow capped mountains and valleys. In the afternoon, I followed a stream down towards the road. The valley floor was a series of beaver made lakes. Beavers are an introduced species here and have no predators. I was amazed by how much change they are capable of causing in the landscape. There were big stands of trees that had been killed by beaver created lakes. Every piece of wood had gnaw marks on it. The dams themselves were very well constructed and I often used them as bridges to help me across the valley.
After getting back to the road, I hitched into town and found another loud and cheap dorm room for the night. On the 16th, I went to Tierra del Fuego National Park and camped in the cold rain. But, I sleep better in my tent than I do anywhere else. And, with my new warm sleeping bag and well-constructed tent, I am happy to spend time camping. In the afternoon, I took some short nature strolls.
I came back to Ushuaia yesterday and went to Western Union to see if my money was waiting for me. Unfortunately, the Internet was down in all of Patagonia and they could not help me. I went to a movie in the evening and decided to see what could be done the next day.
Today, after a few hours of waiting and standing in line in two different places, my money came through and I finished paying for my trip.
I leave in about thirty minutes to begin my 10 day cruise to Antarctica. I hope to see a hot spring and maybe some other things as well.
On the 6th of January, I flew to Lima, Peru. I got there at 11:30 in the evening. Customs was very slow and I did not get out of the airport until after one in the morning. In Lima, they schedule all of the international arrivals between 11:00 pm and 2:00 am. The next day in the newspaper, there was an article about how bad the line is at the airport. Of all the flights, they picked mine as the single worst one to arrive in. But, I eventually made it out of the airport and my friends Luis and Karem were waiting for me.
Luis had to work the next morning, so I spent the time arranging his books by subject and author. That makes it easier for me to borrow them. We all met at the ceviche restaurant for lunch and I was reacquainted with my favorite Peruvian food ?raw fish. Also, a few hours of being in Peru was enough to remind me that this is my favorite country to eat in in all of South America. I did not have time for all of it on this visit, but I will return in April for some more food. I will eat more ceviche, as well as lomo saltado, chicha, chicha morada, cuy, and papas huanavelica. For desert, Karem and I went to my favorite ice cream place in the center of the Miraflores district.
During the weekend, we saw some movies, went to the beach, ate some more good food and hung out. I also listened to Luis?new Cd. He is the group Ruido and his album is La Lentitud de la Luz. The chorus of the title song is catchy and I have been singing it ever since.
On Sunday night, they took me to the airport. I got in line a bit after ten and waited. The line was not too bad and I eventually made it to the front. I was using one of these fancy new e-tickets, so that meant that I had no paperwork with me. The woman behind the counter put my name in the computer and told me that I was a day late for my flight and that I should wait until everyone else was helped before she could deal with me. Since I had a magazine and did not really care where I waited, I moved aside.
When they were done helping everyone else, it was my turn again. The man behind the counter looked at my passport, typed into his computer and told me that my name was George Fox and that my flight was on the 26th. Eventually, I convinced him to try again. Finally, he decided that my name is Avram Fox and that I actually had reservations for this flight. He gave me my ticket and told me to run to the airplane.
So, I ran. About 50 feet. Then I got in line to pay my airport departure tax. This line looked to be about 30 minutes long, so I went back and told the man at the counter. He cut to the head of the line, paid my tax and told me to run to the airplane.
So, I ran. About 200 feet. Then I got to the line for customs. This line was incredibly long and slow. Nobody seemed interested in letting me cut to the front, so I waited. Eventually, the man came back and told me to hurry. I hurried as fast as I could, but I still finished one magazine and started the next before I had even moved much. Several people from the airline urged the customs man on, but he did not seem to feel any sense of rush. When it was finally my turn, and he new I was in a rush, he took a moment to stretch and clear his mind before he got down to the big job of putting a stamp in my passport. Security was quick for some reason and I was escorted to the gate. There was a pick-up truck waiting to whisk me to the plane and I was the last one on board. I got on at 12:45 am for the 12:35 flight. Now that I was ready, we were on the way.
The Aerolinias Argentina flight landed in Buenos Aires early the next morning. I took a bus to the other airport and checked in for my next flight. Then, I had a few hours to wait, so I took a bus downtown and wandered around. Buenos Aires does not feel like any other Latin American city I have ever been to. Besides being very clean and having the world's widest avenue, the people were not what I expected. I guess I had read about the origin of the population, but it never really sunk in until I walked their streets. Argentina did an even better job of eliminating their native population than even the United States. Most of the people in Argentina are descended from immigrants from Italy, Germany, Spain and other places in Europe. Just from looking at he people, I could have been led to believe that I was in Omaha or Denver.
The fact that almost everybody is white means that I can't just walk up to a counter in a store and have people assume that I don't speak the language. So now there is always that moment of confusion as I struggle for words and the person I am talking to begins to realize that my Spanish is very limited.
On the subject of my Spanish language ability ?I still have a lot to learn. During my first day in Lima, I tried to have a few conversations in Spanish. I was talking in Spanish with the doorman in Luis's building and doing a fine job of it. I was looking at his face and could see that he was understanding me. Then he started looking confused. I reviewed what I had just said and realized that I had effortlessly switched to Japanese and did not even notice. I quickly apologized, but that came out in Japanese also. I needed a moment of quiet to re-orient myself.
Now, each day, there is less and less Japanese in my Spanish. Also, as I hear people speak, a lot of the vocabulary is coming back to me. I should be back to my old fumbling level in no time.
On the afternoon of the 10th, I boarded my flight for Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The view from the plane reminded me of flying over Kansas. Big rectangles of agriculture divided by narrow dirt roads.
I landed at The bottom of the World at 8:30 and it was still light. I sure do like the ratio of daylight to darkness down here in the middle of summer. Sunset was at 10:07 and twilight ended at 11:00 pm. The next day, twilight started at 2:21am and the sun rose at 3:14 in the morning. I consider myself solar powered, so this all makes me pretty happy.
Ushuaia is one of those end of the road towns where the streets turn to dirt within a few blocks of the main drag. It is also a port town and the big cruise ships make day stops here. I heard a couple of fellow fresh off the boat Americans walk into the tourist information place and ask for directions to the golf course.
They have some great information centers here and I was quickly directed to a place to sleep. Single hotel rooms start at about $35, so I opted for the $7 dorm room. They are cheap, but I never seem to sleep well in them. There is always the couple of Israelis that stay up late talking. At least they politely switch to Hebrew when they realize that some people are trying to sleep. Also, there are always some Germans who have to wake up really early and crinkle all of their plastic bags before heading out for the day. Then there is the random person who snores. All of this means that I could not wait to leave town and start camping. But, there was one thing to accomplish first - booking a trip to Antarctica.
I spent the day of the 11th visiting all of the travel agents and asking about trips. I quickly learned that there are two types of boats ?luxury cruises and converted expedition ships. The big ships hold about 800 people and are super expensive. The expedition ships are former scientific research vessels and take about 100 passengers. They don't have swimming pools or putting areas, but they are much cheaper and better for what I want.
I found one that leaves on the 18th. Unfortunately, the travel agent does not accept credit cards and I did not have $2500 cash on hand. I started taking money out of the ATMs, but soon realized that because of the daily withdrawal limits, I would not be able to take out all of the money in time.
On the 12th, I ran around all day to the banks and did not make any progress. But, I was eager to start camping, so I loaded up my gear and headed for the hills. I took a mini-bus a few miles out of town and hiked to a river for the first night in my new tent. The next morning was spent slowly making my way across some very soggy tundra. During the afternoon rain, I climbed a mountainside and camped under a pass, well above tree line.
The 14th was snowy and I did not feel like getting all wet and cold. I spent the day in my tent and read a book. By the 15th, the weather had cleared and I was ready for some more walking. I climbed up to the nearby pass, Paso Belen, and was rewarded with a nice panorama of the surrounding snow capped mountains and valleys. In the afternoon, I followed a stream down towards the road. The valley floor was a series of beaver made lakes. Beavers are an introduced species here and have no predators. I was amazed by how much change they are capable of causing in the landscape. There were big stands of trees that had been killed by beaver created lakes. Every piece of wood had gnaw marks on it. The dams themselves were very well constructed and I often used them as bridges to help me across the valley.
After getting back to the road, I hitched into town and found another loud and cheap dorm room for the night. On the 16th, I went to Tierra del Fuego National Park and camped in the cold rain. But, I sleep better in my tent than I do anywhere else. And, with my new warm sleeping bag and well-constructed tent, I am happy to spend time camping. In the afternoon, I took some short nature strolls.
I came back to Ushuaia yesterday and went to Western Union to see if my money was waiting for me. Unfortunately, the Internet was down in all of Patagonia and they could not help me. I went to a movie in the evening and decided to see what could be done the next day.
Today, after a few hours of waiting and standing in line in two different places, my money came through and I finished paying for my trip.
I leave in about thirty minutes to begin my 10 day cruise to Antarctica. I hope to see a hot spring and maybe some other things as well.
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
The last two months in Japan and a few months in the US
Happy New Year and all that. I suppose if I spent a little time updating this web page every month, it would not take so long to write or read. But, anyway, here goes. I will start back in September, when I still thought I could do the whole trip without ever flipping over my handlebars and slicing open my knee.
After my last update from the typhoon battered city of Aomori, I started the ride south. I headed up into the mountains of Hakkoda San. I got there early enough to have a great hike. I climbed a couple of big hills and walked across a swampy area. Even getting stuck behind 200 Junior High School students at one point did not slow me down too much. Besides, it is always fun to say "Hello" to a few hundred people in an hour.
After the hike I went to the "1000 Person Cedar Bath" It was not all that big. I don't think you could fit more than 200 people in there, and they would all have to be pretty good friends. The hot spring was in a big, old cedar building and had milky water.
From my mountain campsite, I headed down towards the Towada-Ko Lake. It was a great long downhill followed by a riverside ride along the beautiful and famous Oirase River gorge. The road around the lake had some big climbs in it and so did the road away from the lake. It was time to head for the coast and start making some good time.
I headed southwest into Akita Prefecture and then followed the coast south. A couple of hard days of riding brought through Yamagata Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture. I found a big hotel with a hot spring on the beach in the town of Murakami. I think I arrived at the hotel a few minutes before some tour buses. There were about a dozen young women in kimonos out front to greet me. They all giggled at me as I rooted around my bike to find my soap and towel and cleaner clothes. Finally, I got my stuff and was ceremoniously bowed into the hotel and guided to the hot spring. I soaked a few days road grime off of my skin and watched the sun set.
That night I found a hilly town park to camp in. A big wind and rain storm came in during the night and the event I knew would happen eventually finally occurred. My tent pole snapped and the whole thing came down on top of me. The tent floor flooded and I retreated fully into my sleeping bag. My sleeping mattress is only about four feet long, so I had to curl up and make sure that nothing hung out into the tent lake. Eventually, I was fully soaked and decided to just pack up and start riding. I got a nice early start that day.
I approached the city of Niigata from the north and noticed many interesting things. Niigata is a major port, especially for trade with Russia. As I rode along the port area, I saw a bunch of used car dealerships. All run by big Russian men in overalls. Also, there were lots of Russian guys riding around the port area on bicycles. I also went by Habib's Halal Restaurant, but it was too early to stop.
I made it into the city early enough to do my usual Internet and book exchange. Then I went down to the river to dry my stuff in the sun and to plan where to go next. Riding into the city took all morning and was not so fun. I did not look forward to spending another few hours fighting traffic just to leave the city. A quick look at the map told me that I could leave in the easiest way possible ?by ferry.
I took the afternoon ferry over to Sado Island. In the distant past this remote island was used for banished intellectuals and Emperors. In the 1600s it was populated with convicts who were forced to dig for gold. In the 1970s North Koreans kidnapped people from here. Last month, Sado Island made the news when the US defector from the Korean War, Mr. Jenkins, settled here with his family.
I got to the island just after sunset and a very helpful woman at the information counter directed me to a sea side park that was suitable for camping. I had ridden hard for about a week and decided to treat my time here as an island vacation. From the port town of Ryotsu, I rode around Kanto Lake, read a book and then followed the coastline north to the top of the island. I found a great campground on a cliff, overlooking the ocean and two small islands named the Turtle Islands. The next morning, I spent a few hours cleaning and tuning up my bike before swimming in the ocean.
By lunchtime, I was out of food and decided to start riding. This coastal rode was long and sparsely populated. There was no place to buy food. By two o'clock I was getting hungry when a woman in a passing car reached out her window and handed me some snack food. I guess must have looked hungry or something.
After a couple more easy riding days and beach nights, I made it to the small town of Ogi on the Southwest coast and took the ferry to Naoetsu. I rode inland along a highway and camped in a rest area. A few mountain passes later, I was in the city of Nagano in time to visit a bike shop and get a new sprocket for the back wheel.
My extensive study of urban camping areas has honed my searching skills. At the end of the day, I headed straight for the river. All the cities put their sports fields next to the rivers, in the flood plains. There is always nice camping down there. In Nagano, I found a small field that was completely surrounded by 10 foot tall trees. After forcing my way through the barrier, I had a whole private camping ground with no obvious access all to myself.
From Nagano, I continued inland to the town of Matsumoto and then headed into the mountains. I followed the Azusa River into the Northern Japan Alps. A day after leaving Nagano, I found myself slowly climbing towards the small town of Kamikochi. A difficult two mile climb up a very steep tunnel that was only open to buses and taxis brought me to the Kappa bridge ?one of the most famous mountain view points in all of Japan.
It was time to park the bike and enjoy some hiking. I followed the river north for the rest of the day and camped near the head of the valley. The next day was a bit rainy and entirely uphill. I made it to the campsite just below Japan's fifth tallest peak - Mt. Yari. As I was setting up my tent in the rain on a wind-blasted ridge, a pole broke. I fixed it and spent a cold, cold night waiting for the tent to fall on me, but it never did. In the morning fog, I climbed the 3,180 meter peak. It was an exciting hour with all of the ladders and chains, but there was no view at the top.
The rest of the day was spent on the famous Daikiretto traverse. A very steep and scary ridge walk with lots more rusty ladders, chains, old ropes and scree fields to traverse. It was tiring, but great. At the end of the traverse, I found myself high above a very crowded campground. It took another hour or two to make my way down and camp in one of the most popular back country campgrounds in Japan. After climbing over another small mountain, I walked back to Kamikochi. I was out of the bitter cold mountains and into the heavy rain.
After a damp night, I awoke to a clear day and rode back down the long tunnel. It was much easier going this way. From there, the road split. Cars could take a tunnel and bikes had to go over the mountain. After an hour of climbing, my chain broke. I had the tools and knowledge to fix it. Under the watchful eyes of a troop of monkeys, I had the bike repaired and my hands cleaned in under 30 minutes. Another bit of climbing took me to a 7,000+ foot pass - the highest point on my bike ride.
I stopped in the town of Hirayu for lunch. While washing my hands I got a great surprise. For the first time in my two years in Japan, I found a public bathroom sink that had hot water. It helped that the rest stop was part of a hot spring. I ended that day just outside of Takayama at a nice riverside campsite.
Now that my last big hike was behind me and time was running out, I decided to ride hard for a few more days. I got a nice early start the next day. It only took me about 30 minutes to realize that I had missed a turn. So, I zoomed back down the valley, found the turn and headed up into the hills on a very small and empty road. After three major hill climbs, I stopped at a roadside rest area with a robotic dinosaur show. There was also a bunch of motorcycle club members there. One club was for people with Harley Davidson motorcycles. The motorcycles were painted like police bikes and the riders all wore official looking uniforms and patches. I guess they were out playing police man for the day.
Towards the end of the day I found myself climbing another big hill. About an hour before sunset I realized that I was already well over 90 miles on the day and that I could hit 100 if I pushed on a little longer. So, I watched my odometer and as soon as it hit 100 miles for the day I stopped. I camped behind a small shrine and slept through the night of rain.
A few hours into the next day I came to an intersection. To the left was the road I had planned on taking, but it was closed. To the right was the suggested alternative. Naturally, I chose to continue on straight, figuring that I would just split the difference. I followed the river as the road got smaller and smaller. Eventually, the pavement ended and I was on a dirt road. In the heavy downpour, I found it rough going and ended up pushing the bike up the rest of the mountain. Coming down the other side was no picnic either with wet brakes and a dirt road.
I returned to the Sea of Japan coast and passed through the towns of Tsuruga, Obama and Maizuru. Maizuru was exciting because that is where I caught one of my ferries up to Hokkaido back in August. I only had about two weeks left and I was still only half way done. But, I still had one exciting experience to survive before even thinking about finishing. Late in the afternoon, I decided to take a break from the narrow and busy road and ride on the empty sidewalk. As I was tooling along, the front left bag on my bike got snagged on a pole. The front wheel turned sharply and went down. So did I. I flipped over the handlebars and skinned my knee in the process. I finished my somersault on the strip of grass next to the sidewalk - or so I thought for a brief moment. As I was rolling over I realized that my feet should have hit the ground already, but were still in mid-air. I looked down and saw that I was rolling off of a four foot ledge into a muddy rice field. I managed to stick my landing perfectly and only got muddy up to my ankles. The blood from my knee never even made it past my shin, so I guess the cut was not all that serious.
I found a city sports park and hid at the top of a hill until the staff all went home before setting up camp. The overnight drizzle turned into a downpour before I got to the town of Ama-no-hashi-date (The Bridge to Heaven). This is one of the three most famous views in Japan. It is a two mile long spit of sand and trees separating a lake and the ocean. There is a viewpoint from which you are supposed to turn your back on the view and bend down and look through your legs. It seems to me that this viewing position had to have been invented by a bored tour guide. But anyway, it was too rainy to see anything anyway.
That afternoon, I met some people and learned that all this rain was due to an approaching typhoon. I figured that rain is not all that bad and since it was not windy yet, I might as well keep on riding. Just before sunset, I came to a small town. As I entered the town, the wind started and I was in for some difficult riding. It was definitely not a camping night. Rather than aimlessly searching for the Youth Hostel, I rode to the main police station. It is much better marked. I went in, asked directions and apologized for leaving such a big puddle on their floor. I headed back out into the wind and they looked at me like I was crazy.
I had to peddle really hard to make any progress. Also, I had to keep the brakes on to keep the sudden strong gusts of wind from knocking me over. A mile later, I stopped in a small police station to check the directions and left a puddle there too. Finally, not too long after dark, I made it to the Youth Hostel and finally got out of my wet clothes.
The next day was nice and sunny as I headed to the City of Tottori. I was excited to be there because that is the sight of the largest sand dunes in Japan. I spent a morning hiking across the dunes down to the sea. The dunes are not very big, but there was one enjoyable one that was steep enough to run down very fast.
Another day or two of following the coast west brought me to the port of Sakai-Minato. I decided to have another island vacation and took the ferry to the island of Nishino in the Oki chain of off-shore islands. I got to the very small town of Beppu in the late afternoon and went off in search of the campground. I crossed to the north side of the narrow island and the road ended in a long, narrow bay. At the head of the bay was an empty campground. I was tired of sleeping in my wet and broken tent, so I spent the night on the floor of the shower room, where it was dry.
Nishino is a pretty small island and I explored most of it the next morning before taking the ten minute ferry to Nakano Island. Nakano is also small and I found another empty seaside campground to relax in. After riding all over Nakano, I took a ferry to the bigger island of Dogo. Crossing Dogo took over an hour and I ended up another empty seaside campground. This one was memorable because they had a lot of chopped up firewood sitting around for me to make a fire with.
After ferrying back to the mainland, I rode west for a few more days to the town of Hamada. Then it was time to head for the hills again. I rode up to the Sandan Gorge and went for an afternoon hike along the river. An hour into my very pleasant walk, I looked across the river and saw a small bear. I had seen on TV that all of the typhoons had been forcing the bears out of the mountains, but I had long since given up hope of seeing one, so I felt pretty lucky.
After two hours of hiking I came to a small hut with a little old lady in it. For a few dollars, she let me sit in her boat while she used overhanging ropes to pull us through the narrowest section of the gorge to look at a big waterfall.
Another wet night and it was time to go to Hiroshima. It was just about all down hill to the center of the city. I parked near the train station and found another great capsule hotel. I wandered around the downtown for a while before returning to the Grand Sauna Hiroshima Capsule Hotel. After a warm soak in the roof top baths, I returned to my capsule and watched on TV as the latest typhoon hit Japan.
I spent a rainy day touring the city and a few hours in the Peace Memorial Hall after walking around the Peace Memorial Park ?site of the world's first use of a nuclear bomb on people. I was most impressed by the wall of telegraphs. Every time any nation detonates a nuclear bomb for testing purposes, the Mayor of Hiroshima sends a telegraph of protest to the president of that country. Unfortunately, over the years, the mayors have sent out many such telegrams.
After another night at the capsule hotel, the typhoon was gone and it was time to move on. I hate riding in and out of big cities, so in Hiroshima, I finally did it right. I came in from the mountain side which is always the fastest and easiest land access to a city. I left by ferry. The ferry passed through the huge Hiroshima Bay. I was amazed by the number and size of ships being built. Outside of the bay, we crossed the Inland Sea. There are over 3,000 little islands there and I longed for a sea kayak so that I could explore them all.
The ferry docked in Matsuyama and I quickly started following the coast of Shikoku Island to the Southwest. I spent the night on a peninsula overlooking the town of Yawatahama. The next day, I took the ferry to the city of Beppu in Kyushu. Beppu is famous for its many hot springs. There are many different kinds of them. Some are for soaking and the other are really hot and are just for looking at. I am a big fan of bubbling mud, so I went to one of the so-called "Hells" I went to one that was called Bozu. Bozu refers to the shaved heads of monks. The big bubbles of mud really looked like a bald guys scalp before they popped.
After looking at the popping mud bubbles, I went for a soak in the Hyotan Onsen. They had some nice soaking pools and a section of big waterfalls. The main road out of the city was very crowded and I felt sorry for all of the people stuck in traffic as I zipped by them on my bike.
From Oita, I headed straight south towards the Prefecture of Miyazaki. This coastline faces the Pacific Ocean and is famous for its interesting rock formations. I was now back on my home turf, re-visiting places I had been to in the previous two years. I continued along the coast down to Shibushi, the place where I caught one of my ferries north in the beginning of the summer.
I kept the ocean on my left all the way down to the very bottom of the country. This day was longer and tougher than I expected. I ended up actually riding just over ten hours, according to my bike computer. My butt was very sore that night. I spent my final night near Cape Sata and rode on up to the Southernmost point in mainland Japan in the morning. Then I followed the Kinko Bay coastline to Tarumizu before taking the 15th and final ferry ride of my ten week bike ride.
I returned to Kagoshima on the 15th of October, after riding 5177 kilometers (about 3200 miles) in ten weeks. Once back in Kagoshima, I quickly picked up where I had left off ?with goodbye-parties. But first, I stayed in and watched TV for two days as the tenth typhoon of the season passed overhead. This one was the most powerful typhoon in many years and I was glad to be out of it. When the weather cleared, I had a good bye hike, hot spring excursion and party with the teachers from Wada Junior High School. I also had second good-bye party from the nice people in my Tai Chi class. Rie and I rode the new Ferris wheel twice and visited the new shopping area near the train station.
I managed to sell my bike and am already looking forward to buying my next one. I also ate in my favorite sushi place another half dozen times before leaving Japan on the 25th of October.
After my sad goodbye with Rie in Kagoshima, I flew to Korea. During the layover I went to the Haesoopia Hot Spring. It was very big. In Korea, they like their hot water salty, so that was a new experience for me. There was a hot cave to crawl into, but that was boring. The best part was a room with hot red lamps overhead and little wooden pillows on the floor. I had a great nap in there along with a dozen other men.
I thought that once I left Japan I would have no use for Japanese. But, in the Korea airport, the English speaking people at the information booth were busy, so I went to the Japanese speaking person instead. It was much faster. Also, at the Korean hot spring, a man tried to start a conversation with me, but he did not speak English and I don't speak Korean. Luckily, he was able to remember his Japanese lessons from when Korea was a colony of Japan and we could have a little conversation.
The over night flight to LA was uneventful. In LA, I had a few hours to wander around before my flight to Fort Lauderdale. In a men's room I saw a homeless man talking to himself. He was speaking in Japanese and I again had an opportunity to say a few words in my latest language. Wow - three times in a day I had a chance to speak Japanese outside of Japan. And I thought that Japanese was only good for reading the instructions on VCRs. I have since realized that many people in America have tattoos of Chinese characters and I can read many of them.
I got back to Florida early on the 26th of October and went straight to the Driver's License office to renew my long expired license. It took me a day or two to get used to driving on the right side of the road again, but I made the transition without doing any damage or scaring anybody.
On the 27th, I went up to help my grandfather celebrate his 80th birthday. I was proud to be the sole representative of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I also saw my father and uncles there.
After a hectic week that included the death of a family friend from cancer, my mother and I hit the road for road trip. I like driving and always miss it on my overseas travels. My mother let me drive all the way to Atlanta. We stopped along the way at cousin Leslie's and then visited friends in Atlanta. I think it was my first visit back there since 1996 or so. I was very excited because they have three REI camping stores. I managed to visit two of them and buy a new tent.
On the way out of the city, we stopped at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center. According to his museum, he was a great man and did a lot of good things. And still does.
We stopped in my old college town of Gainseville and I marveled at all the new buildings.
On the 19th of November, I flew up to New Jersey to visit Unka Jim and all the Dalins. After a fun few days there, I went into New York and saw cousin Nancy, Milo, Uncle Ed and Ruth. I also visited with my friend Matt and discussed his triathlon training.
From New York, I went to visit Uncle Lenny and his family in Connecticut before taking the long bus ride to Boston. Visiting my dad and his family was naturally the highlight of this leg of the journey, but a couple of trips to the REI store were also very enjoyable.
I returned to Florida on the 2nd of December and had a good birthday party that weekend. On my fourth birthday my mother made a chocolate cake that I did not care for. I decided, after 29 years, to try it again and I liked this one even less than the first.
On the tenth of December, Karla flew in from Denver. We spent a day gathering supplies and then drove down to the southwest corner of Florida. We rented a canoe and headed out to the Everglades for five days. During the first afternoon, we were paddling against the tide and it was tough going. We got to Rabbit Key at high tide and camped on the beach on our own private island. We spent the night listening to raccoons run around inside the canoe and in the morning the food lock box was covered in sandy little footprints.
On the morning of the 13th, we packed up and set out. Unfortunately, it was low tide and we spent about 30 minutes pushing the fully loaded canoe through the tidal muck before we could actually get in and start paddling. We went south along the coast and crossed a big bay before stopping on Mormon Key. It was such a nice place that we decided to call it a day and read our books. The rats came out in the late afternoon, but they stopped snooping a little while after sunset.
We spent the third morning of the trip reading books and waiting for the tide to change. After a while, we loaded up and headed up a channel. We saw a dolphin playing in the water near the canoe. Lunch at a campground was quick because of the mosquitoes. We paddled on into the afternoon and came into some difficulty. We had to cross a large open bay. It was very windy and the water was choppy. We were both a little nervous as we fought the waves in our little canoe. Eventually, we made it across and up into a side channel before realizing that it was the wrong channel. After a quick re-crossing of the big waves, we went up the correct channel and camped on a chickee. A chickee is a raised platform over the water. It has a toilet, a flat space for the tent and a roof. Ever since Karla and I learned of their existence many years ago, we have been eager to spend a night on one.
Florida had its one cold week while we were there and we froze. The wind was strong all night and was blowing in the large gap between the tent and the water. The temperature was well below 40 degrees. In the morning, my fingers hurt as I untied the knots on the ropes holding down the tent. Soon after we started I decided that it is time to buy a new and better sleeping bag.
It was a very long and difficult day. We had to cross a couple of large open bays. We tried to stick to the shore and hide behind the trees when possible. Most of the day was spent in shallow water, just in case we over-turned. The canoe scared a lot of large fish and they were always jumping around the boat. Twice I was scared when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a large silver object flying at me, only to bounce off the canoe with a solid thump. Those poor fish must have quite a headache now.
Our goal for the day was another chickee. It was hidden behind some small islands. I caught a glimpse of it and steered us straight across the large bay. We fought the strong wind and waves knowing that we were almost there and if we rested we would lose ground. The gap to the chickee was passable, but soon got too shallow and muddy for us. We went back around one of the islands to try a different approach. We got within 30 feet of the chickee but could not get any closer because of the mud. I was willing to wait a few hours for the tide to come in, but in the end we went with Karla's excellent suggestion and moved on to the next campground.
The last night of the canoe trip was spent on a riverbank. The highlight of the evening was seeing a manatee swim bye while we were watching the sunset.
Bright and early on the 16th, we set out and had a pleasant ride back to the start. There were a lot of birds out and even some raccoons. The five days were a lot harder and colder than either of us had anticipated. My back was pretty sore from all that hard work. Karla managed to find us a couple of showers within minutes of landing.
We got in the car and drove off to look at some alligators before arriving in the keys. Karla was done camping and spent the next two nights in the car. I enjoyed the extra room in the tent.
Karla and I went to Key West and were both unimpressed. The big cruise ships were in and the whole place was too crowded. Plus, the beaches were less than spectacular. I can see the attraction of living there, but it is no place for a tourist.
On the 18th, we went to John Pennekamp State Park for a sailboat ride out to the reef. I did not realize that the reef off of Florida is the third largest in the world. Within minutes of jumping in the water, I saw a large sea turtle. During the next hour or so I saw some spotted rays, barracuda, lots of pretty tropical fish and some healthy coral.
The next day we spent a few hours on South Beach in Miami and had a Cuban lunch in Little Havana.
Karla went home on the 20th and I spent some time helping around the house and getting ready for my next trip.
There are a lot of things I miss from Japan, but I am ready for my next adventure. Tomorrow I will fly to Lima, Peru and start four months of hiking and traveling, so stay tuned.
After my last update from the typhoon battered city of Aomori, I started the ride south. I headed up into the mountains of Hakkoda San. I got there early enough to have a great hike. I climbed a couple of big hills and walked across a swampy area. Even getting stuck behind 200 Junior High School students at one point did not slow me down too much. Besides, it is always fun to say "Hello" to a few hundred people in an hour.
After the hike I went to the "1000 Person Cedar Bath" It was not all that big. I don't think you could fit more than 200 people in there, and they would all have to be pretty good friends. The hot spring was in a big, old cedar building and had milky water.
From my mountain campsite, I headed down towards the Towada-Ko Lake. It was a great long downhill followed by a riverside ride along the beautiful and famous Oirase River gorge. The road around the lake had some big climbs in it and so did the road away from the lake. It was time to head for the coast and start making some good time.
I headed southwest into Akita Prefecture and then followed the coast south. A couple of hard days of riding brought through Yamagata Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture. I found a big hotel with a hot spring on the beach in the town of Murakami. I think I arrived at the hotel a few minutes before some tour buses. There were about a dozen young women in kimonos out front to greet me. They all giggled at me as I rooted around my bike to find my soap and towel and cleaner clothes. Finally, I got my stuff and was ceremoniously bowed into the hotel and guided to the hot spring. I soaked a few days road grime off of my skin and watched the sun set.
That night I found a hilly town park to camp in. A big wind and rain storm came in during the night and the event I knew would happen eventually finally occurred. My tent pole snapped and the whole thing came down on top of me. The tent floor flooded and I retreated fully into my sleeping bag. My sleeping mattress is only about four feet long, so I had to curl up and make sure that nothing hung out into the tent lake. Eventually, I was fully soaked and decided to just pack up and start riding. I got a nice early start that day.
I approached the city of Niigata from the north and noticed many interesting things. Niigata is a major port, especially for trade with Russia. As I rode along the port area, I saw a bunch of used car dealerships. All run by big Russian men in overalls. Also, there were lots of Russian guys riding around the port area on bicycles. I also went by Habib's Halal Restaurant, but it was too early to stop.
I made it into the city early enough to do my usual Internet and book exchange. Then I went down to the river to dry my stuff in the sun and to plan where to go next. Riding into the city took all morning and was not so fun. I did not look forward to spending another few hours fighting traffic just to leave the city. A quick look at the map told me that I could leave in the easiest way possible ?by ferry.
I took the afternoon ferry over to Sado Island. In the distant past this remote island was used for banished intellectuals and Emperors. In the 1600s it was populated with convicts who were forced to dig for gold. In the 1970s North Koreans kidnapped people from here. Last month, Sado Island made the news when the US defector from the Korean War, Mr. Jenkins, settled here with his family.
I got to the island just after sunset and a very helpful woman at the information counter directed me to a sea side park that was suitable for camping. I had ridden hard for about a week and decided to treat my time here as an island vacation. From the port town of Ryotsu, I rode around Kanto Lake, read a book and then followed the coastline north to the top of the island. I found a great campground on a cliff, overlooking the ocean and two small islands named the Turtle Islands. The next morning, I spent a few hours cleaning and tuning up my bike before swimming in the ocean.
By lunchtime, I was out of food and decided to start riding. This coastal rode was long and sparsely populated. There was no place to buy food. By two o'clock I was getting hungry when a woman in a passing car reached out her window and handed me some snack food. I guess must have looked hungry or something.
After a couple more easy riding days and beach nights, I made it to the small town of Ogi on the Southwest coast and took the ferry to Naoetsu. I rode inland along a highway and camped in a rest area. A few mountain passes later, I was in the city of Nagano in time to visit a bike shop and get a new sprocket for the back wheel.
My extensive study of urban camping areas has honed my searching skills. At the end of the day, I headed straight for the river. All the cities put their sports fields next to the rivers, in the flood plains. There is always nice camping down there. In Nagano, I found a small field that was completely surrounded by 10 foot tall trees. After forcing my way through the barrier, I had a whole private camping ground with no obvious access all to myself.
From Nagano, I continued inland to the town of Matsumoto and then headed into the mountains. I followed the Azusa River into the Northern Japan Alps. A day after leaving Nagano, I found myself slowly climbing towards the small town of Kamikochi. A difficult two mile climb up a very steep tunnel that was only open to buses and taxis brought me to the Kappa bridge ?one of the most famous mountain view points in all of Japan.
It was time to park the bike and enjoy some hiking. I followed the river north for the rest of the day and camped near the head of the valley. The next day was a bit rainy and entirely uphill. I made it to the campsite just below Japan's fifth tallest peak - Mt. Yari. As I was setting up my tent in the rain on a wind-blasted ridge, a pole broke. I fixed it and spent a cold, cold night waiting for the tent to fall on me, but it never did. In the morning fog, I climbed the 3,180 meter peak. It was an exciting hour with all of the ladders and chains, but there was no view at the top.
The rest of the day was spent on the famous Daikiretto traverse. A very steep and scary ridge walk with lots more rusty ladders, chains, old ropes and scree fields to traverse. It was tiring, but great. At the end of the traverse, I found myself high above a very crowded campground. It took another hour or two to make my way down and camp in one of the most popular back country campgrounds in Japan. After climbing over another small mountain, I walked back to Kamikochi. I was out of the bitter cold mountains and into the heavy rain.
After a damp night, I awoke to a clear day and rode back down the long tunnel. It was much easier going this way. From there, the road split. Cars could take a tunnel and bikes had to go over the mountain. After an hour of climbing, my chain broke. I had the tools and knowledge to fix it. Under the watchful eyes of a troop of monkeys, I had the bike repaired and my hands cleaned in under 30 minutes. Another bit of climbing took me to a 7,000+ foot pass - the highest point on my bike ride.
I stopped in the town of Hirayu for lunch. While washing my hands I got a great surprise. For the first time in my two years in Japan, I found a public bathroom sink that had hot water. It helped that the rest stop was part of a hot spring. I ended that day just outside of Takayama at a nice riverside campsite.
Now that my last big hike was behind me and time was running out, I decided to ride hard for a few more days. I got a nice early start the next day. It only took me about 30 minutes to realize that I had missed a turn. So, I zoomed back down the valley, found the turn and headed up into the hills on a very small and empty road. After three major hill climbs, I stopped at a roadside rest area with a robotic dinosaur show. There was also a bunch of motorcycle club members there. One club was for people with Harley Davidson motorcycles. The motorcycles were painted like police bikes and the riders all wore official looking uniforms and patches. I guess they were out playing police man for the day.
Towards the end of the day I found myself climbing another big hill. About an hour before sunset I realized that I was already well over 90 miles on the day and that I could hit 100 if I pushed on a little longer. So, I watched my odometer and as soon as it hit 100 miles for the day I stopped. I camped behind a small shrine and slept through the night of rain.
A few hours into the next day I came to an intersection. To the left was the road I had planned on taking, but it was closed. To the right was the suggested alternative. Naturally, I chose to continue on straight, figuring that I would just split the difference. I followed the river as the road got smaller and smaller. Eventually, the pavement ended and I was on a dirt road. In the heavy downpour, I found it rough going and ended up pushing the bike up the rest of the mountain. Coming down the other side was no picnic either with wet brakes and a dirt road.
I returned to the Sea of Japan coast and passed through the towns of Tsuruga, Obama and Maizuru. Maizuru was exciting because that is where I caught one of my ferries up to Hokkaido back in August. I only had about two weeks left and I was still only half way done. But, I still had one exciting experience to survive before even thinking about finishing. Late in the afternoon, I decided to take a break from the narrow and busy road and ride on the empty sidewalk. As I was tooling along, the front left bag on my bike got snagged on a pole. The front wheel turned sharply and went down. So did I. I flipped over the handlebars and skinned my knee in the process. I finished my somersault on the strip of grass next to the sidewalk - or so I thought for a brief moment. As I was rolling over I realized that my feet should have hit the ground already, but were still in mid-air. I looked down and saw that I was rolling off of a four foot ledge into a muddy rice field. I managed to stick my landing perfectly and only got muddy up to my ankles. The blood from my knee never even made it past my shin, so I guess the cut was not all that serious.
I found a city sports park and hid at the top of a hill until the staff all went home before setting up camp. The overnight drizzle turned into a downpour before I got to the town of Ama-no-hashi-date (The Bridge to Heaven). This is one of the three most famous views in Japan. It is a two mile long spit of sand and trees separating a lake and the ocean. There is a viewpoint from which you are supposed to turn your back on the view and bend down and look through your legs. It seems to me that this viewing position had to have been invented by a bored tour guide. But anyway, it was too rainy to see anything anyway.
That afternoon, I met some people and learned that all this rain was due to an approaching typhoon. I figured that rain is not all that bad and since it was not windy yet, I might as well keep on riding. Just before sunset, I came to a small town. As I entered the town, the wind started and I was in for some difficult riding. It was definitely not a camping night. Rather than aimlessly searching for the Youth Hostel, I rode to the main police station. It is much better marked. I went in, asked directions and apologized for leaving such a big puddle on their floor. I headed back out into the wind and they looked at me like I was crazy.
I had to peddle really hard to make any progress. Also, I had to keep the brakes on to keep the sudden strong gusts of wind from knocking me over. A mile later, I stopped in a small police station to check the directions and left a puddle there too. Finally, not too long after dark, I made it to the Youth Hostel and finally got out of my wet clothes.
The next day was nice and sunny as I headed to the City of Tottori. I was excited to be there because that is the sight of the largest sand dunes in Japan. I spent a morning hiking across the dunes down to the sea. The dunes are not very big, but there was one enjoyable one that was steep enough to run down very fast.
Another day or two of following the coast west brought me to the port of Sakai-Minato. I decided to have another island vacation and took the ferry to the island of Nishino in the Oki chain of off-shore islands. I got to the very small town of Beppu in the late afternoon and went off in search of the campground. I crossed to the north side of the narrow island and the road ended in a long, narrow bay. At the head of the bay was an empty campground. I was tired of sleeping in my wet and broken tent, so I spent the night on the floor of the shower room, where it was dry.
Nishino is a pretty small island and I explored most of it the next morning before taking the ten minute ferry to Nakano Island. Nakano is also small and I found another empty seaside campground to relax in. After riding all over Nakano, I took a ferry to the bigger island of Dogo. Crossing Dogo took over an hour and I ended up another empty seaside campground. This one was memorable because they had a lot of chopped up firewood sitting around for me to make a fire with.
After ferrying back to the mainland, I rode west for a few more days to the town of Hamada. Then it was time to head for the hills again. I rode up to the Sandan Gorge and went for an afternoon hike along the river. An hour into my very pleasant walk, I looked across the river and saw a small bear. I had seen on TV that all of the typhoons had been forcing the bears out of the mountains, but I had long since given up hope of seeing one, so I felt pretty lucky.
After two hours of hiking I came to a small hut with a little old lady in it. For a few dollars, she let me sit in her boat while she used overhanging ropes to pull us through the narrowest section of the gorge to look at a big waterfall.
Another wet night and it was time to go to Hiroshima. It was just about all down hill to the center of the city. I parked near the train station and found another great capsule hotel. I wandered around the downtown for a while before returning to the Grand Sauna Hiroshima Capsule Hotel. After a warm soak in the roof top baths, I returned to my capsule and watched on TV as the latest typhoon hit Japan.
I spent a rainy day touring the city and a few hours in the Peace Memorial Hall after walking around the Peace Memorial Park ?site of the world's first use of a nuclear bomb on people. I was most impressed by the wall of telegraphs. Every time any nation detonates a nuclear bomb for testing purposes, the Mayor of Hiroshima sends a telegraph of protest to the president of that country. Unfortunately, over the years, the mayors have sent out many such telegrams.
After another night at the capsule hotel, the typhoon was gone and it was time to move on. I hate riding in and out of big cities, so in Hiroshima, I finally did it right. I came in from the mountain side which is always the fastest and easiest land access to a city. I left by ferry. The ferry passed through the huge Hiroshima Bay. I was amazed by the number and size of ships being built. Outside of the bay, we crossed the Inland Sea. There are over 3,000 little islands there and I longed for a sea kayak so that I could explore them all.
The ferry docked in Matsuyama and I quickly started following the coast of Shikoku Island to the Southwest. I spent the night on a peninsula overlooking the town of Yawatahama. The next day, I took the ferry to the city of Beppu in Kyushu. Beppu is famous for its many hot springs. There are many different kinds of them. Some are for soaking and the other are really hot and are just for looking at. I am a big fan of bubbling mud, so I went to one of the so-called "Hells" I went to one that was called Bozu. Bozu refers to the shaved heads of monks. The big bubbles of mud really looked like a bald guys scalp before they popped.
After looking at the popping mud bubbles, I went for a soak in the Hyotan Onsen. They had some nice soaking pools and a section of big waterfalls. The main road out of the city was very crowded and I felt sorry for all of the people stuck in traffic as I zipped by them on my bike.
From Oita, I headed straight south towards the Prefecture of Miyazaki. This coastline faces the Pacific Ocean and is famous for its interesting rock formations. I was now back on my home turf, re-visiting places I had been to in the previous two years. I continued along the coast down to Shibushi, the place where I caught one of my ferries north in the beginning of the summer.
I kept the ocean on my left all the way down to the very bottom of the country. This day was longer and tougher than I expected. I ended up actually riding just over ten hours, according to my bike computer. My butt was very sore that night. I spent my final night near Cape Sata and rode on up to the Southernmost point in mainland Japan in the morning. Then I followed the Kinko Bay coastline to Tarumizu before taking the 15th and final ferry ride of my ten week bike ride.
I returned to Kagoshima on the 15th of October, after riding 5177 kilometers (about 3200 miles) in ten weeks. Once back in Kagoshima, I quickly picked up where I had left off ?with goodbye-parties. But first, I stayed in and watched TV for two days as the tenth typhoon of the season passed overhead. This one was the most powerful typhoon in many years and I was glad to be out of it. When the weather cleared, I had a good bye hike, hot spring excursion and party with the teachers from Wada Junior High School. I also had second good-bye party from the nice people in my Tai Chi class. Rie and I rode the new Ferris wheel twice and visited the new shopping area near the train station.
I managed to sell my bike and am already looking forward to buying my next one. I also ate in my favorite sushi place another half dozen times before leaving Japan on the 25th of October.
After my sad goodbye with Rie in Kagoshima, I flew to Korea. During the layover I went to the Haesoopia Hot Spring. It was very big. In Korea, they like their hot water salty, so that was a new experience for me. There was a hot cave to crawl into, but that was boring. The best part was a room with hot red lamps overhead and little wooden pillows on the floor. I had a great nap in there along with a dozen other men.
I thought that once I left Japan I would have no use for Japanese. But, in the Korea airport, the English speaking people at the information booth were busy, so I went to the Japanese speaking person instead. It was much faster. Also, at the Korean hot spring, a man tried to start a conversation with me, but he did not speak English and I don't speak Korean. Luckily, he was able to remember his Japanese lessons from when Korea was a colony of Japan and we could have a little conversation.
The over night flight to LA was uneventful. In LA, I had a few hours to wander around before my flight to Fort Lauderdale. In a men's room I saw a homeless man talking to himself. He was speaking in Japanese and I again had an opportunity to say a few words in my latest language. Wow - three times in a day I had a chance to speak Japanese outside of Japan. And I thought that Japanese was only good for reading the instructions on VCRs. I have since realized that many people in America have tattoos of Chinese characters and I can read many of them.
I got back to Florida early on the 26th of October and went straight to the Driver's License office to renew my long expired license. It took me a day or two to get used to driving on the right side of the road again, but I made the transition without doing any damage or scaring anybody.
On the 27th, I went up to help my grandfather celebrate his 80th birthday. I was proud to be the sole representative of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I also saw my father and uncles there.
After a hectic week that included the death of a family friend from cancer, my mother and I hit the road for road trip. I like driving and always miss it on my overseas travels. My mother let me drive all the way to Atlanta. We stopped along the way at cousin Leslie's and then visited friends in Atlanta. I think it was my first visit back there since 1996 or so. I was very excited because they have three REI camping stores. I managed to visit two of them and buy a new tent.
On the way out of the city, we stopped at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center. According to his museum, he was a great man and did a lot of good things. And still does.
We stopped in my old college town of Gainseville and I marveled at all the new buildings.
On the 19th of November, I flew up to New Jersey to visit Unka Jim and all the Dalins. After a fun few days there, I went into New York and saw cousin Nancy, Milo, Uncle Ed and Ruth. I also visited with my friend Matt and discussed his triathlon training.
From New York, I went to visit Uncle Lenny and his family in Connecticut before taking the long bus ride to Boston. Visiting my dad and his family was naturally the highlight of this leg of the journey, but a couple of trips to the REI store were also very enjoyable.
I returned to Florida on the 2nd of December and had a good birthday party that weekend. On my fourth birthday my mother made a chocolate cake that I did not care for. I decided, after 29 years, to try it again and I liked this one even less than the first.
On the tenth of December, Karla flew in from Denver. We spent a day gathering supplies and then drove down to the southwest corner of Florida. We rented a canoe and headed out to the Everglades for five days. During the first afternoon, we were paddling against the tide and it was tough going. We got to Rabbit Key at high tide and camped on the beach on our own private island. We spent the night listening to raccoons run around inside the canoe and in the morning the food lock box was covered in sandy little footprints.
On the morning of the 13th, we packed up and set out. Unfortunately, it was low tide and we spent about 30 minutes pushing the fully loaded canoe through the tidal muck before we could actually get in and start paddling. We went south along the coast and crossed a big bay before stopping on Mormon Key. It was such a nice place that we decided to call it a day and read our books. The rats came out in the late afternoon, but they stopped snooping a little while after sunset.
We spent the third morning of the trip reading books and waiting for the tide to change. After a while, we loaded up and headed up a channel. We saw a dolphin playing in the water near the canoe. Lunch at a campground was quick because of the mosquitoes. We paddled on into the afternoon and came into some difficulty. We had to cross a large open bay. It was very windy and the water was choppy. We were both a little nervous as we fought the waves in our little canoe. Eventually, we made it across and up into a side channel before realizing that it was the wrong channel. After a quick re-crossing of the big waves, we went up the correct channel and camped on a chickee. A chickee is a raised platform over the water. It has a toilet, a flat space for the tent and a roof. Ever since Karla and I learned of their existence many years ago, we have been eager to spend a night on one.
Florida had its one cold week while we were there and we froze. The wind was strong all night and was blowing in the large gap between the tent and the water. The temperature was well below 40 degrees. In the morning, my fingers hurt as I untied the knots on the ropes holding down the tent. Soon after we started I decided that it is time to buy a new and better sleeping bag.
It was a very long and difficult day. We had to cross a couple of large open bays. We tried to stick to the shore and hide behind the trees when possible. Most of the day was spent in shallow water, just in case we over-turned. The canoe scared a lot of large fish and they were always jumping around the boat. Twice I was scared when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a large silver object flying at me, only to bounce off the canoe with a solid thump. Those poor fish must have quite a headache now.
Our goal for the day was another chickee. It was hidden behind some small islands. I caught a glimpse of it and steered us straight across the large bay. We fought the strong wind and waves knowing that we were almost there and if we rested we would lose ground. The gap to the chickee was passable, but soon got too shallow and muddy for us. We went back around one of the islands to try a different approach. We got within 30 feet of the chickee but could not get any closer because of the mud. I was willing to wait a few hours for the tide to come in, but in the end we went with Karla's excellent suggestion and moved on to the next campground.
The last night of the canoe trip was spent on a riverbank. The highlight of the evening was seeing a manatee swim bye while we were watching the sunset.
Bright and early on the 16th, we set out and had a pleasant ride back to the start. There were a lot of birds out and even some raccoons. The five days were a lot harder and colder than either of us had anticipated. My back was pretty sore from all that hard work. Karla managed to find us a couple of showers within minutes of landing.
We got in the car and drove off to look at some alligators before arriving in the keys. Karla was done camping and spent the next two nights in the car. I enjoyed the extra room in the tent.
Karla and I went to Key West and were both unimpressed. The big cruise ships were in and the whole place was too crowded. Plus, the beaches were less than spectacular. I can see the attraction of living there, but it is no place for a tourist.
On the 18th, we went to John Pennekamp State Park for a sailboat ride out to the reef. I did not realize that the reef off of Florida is the third largest in the world. Within minutes of jumping in the water, I saw a large sea turtle. During the next hour or so I saw some spotted rays, barracuda, lots of pretty tropical fish and some healthy coral.
The next day we spent a few hours on South Beach in Miami and had a Cuban lunch in Little Havana.
Karla went home on the 20th and I spent some time helping around the house and getting ready for my next trip.
There are a lot of things I miss from Japan, but I am ready for my next adventure. Tomorrow I will fly to Lima, Peru and start four months of hiking and traveling, so stay tuned.
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