(I have a couple of hours on my hands and though I'm still digesting my experiences in Cuba, I need to write something before I forget too much. Sorry if I drag this out, but this is more for me than anyone else.)
It's a shame Cuba has such a stigma because it's really a precious place. The three-plus weeks I spent there were perhaps the most educational three weeks since I left home some 10 months ago. To the weary traveler, Cuba inspires a second (or in my case, a third) wind to liven up and get the most out of every day. Granted I only spent three weeks there, therefore I'm no expert and everything below is simply based on my observations, superficial as they may be, but three weeks was enough time to get a feel for a country that for me has been an elusive destination the past few years, not to mention completely illegal for US citizens (Actually, it's technically not illegal for a US citizen to be in Cuba, just illegal for a US citizen to spend money there, or to support the Cuban economy in any way, hence the embargo; hence my indifference).
In these three weeks I managed to experience more of Cuba than most may care to know about. From Havana, Viñales, Trinidad, Morón, Cayo Coco, Guantánamo, Baracoa to Santiago, I was able to walk almost forgotten streets and talk with often overlooked characters. I attempted several times to keep up in salsa, but always resolved to just watching a most rhythmic people make magic with musical instruments (magic without illusions). I drove through oceans of sugar cane and might say I drank the metaphorical equivalent in rum. Unfortunately, I have no stomach for its world-famous tobacco, which I quickly learned my second night laying in bed in a nauseated cold sweat. My stay was just enough to give me a taste of what life is like not only in Cuba, but in Castro's Cuba (*).
Cuba is a picturesque country. It is picturesque because it is a beautiful island in the Caribbean, with beautiful beaches, landscapes and people. It is picturesque because of the constant echo of music, or the sound of people joking with each other, or the slap-bang-cheer (or groan) of a dominoes game. It is picturesque because it has not kept up with the rest of the world in money motivated modernization and tacky technology. Stepping off the plane in Havana is, in many ways, like stepping back in time, but the people are anxiously aware of this, thus creating a strong demand for fashion, technology and entertainment from outside that fuels a rapidly growing black market.
Only internationally recognized historical and cultural centers are maintained while the rest of urban Cuba slowly dilapidates from more than forty years of neglect. Cliché images of colorful ´50´s American cars parked on cobbled streets in front of even more colorful colonial buildings become commonplace, seen on nearly every street corner(**). For the newcomer other images become cliché, like the endless pro-socialism propaganda seen in Cuba where in other countries on would see more discreet pro-capitalism propaganda in the form of billboards or commercials; and incessant representation of the Argentine-born hero, Ernesto "Ché" Guevara, whose bust has become immortalized and is Cuba's revolutionary martyr (***). Then again the US flag and the Eagle of Imperialism can be spotted with almost as much frequency: such images that are much more subversive and rebellious, that weren't even tolerated less than five years ago.
Even though Cuba has been an independent country for more than 100 years, and its American history is one of the oldest in the Americas as Columbus landed on it's easternmost coast on his second voyage in the beginning of the 16th century. However, despite Cuba's long history, one can't help but referring to the past forty years when relating it to the rest of the world. After all it continues to be that little thorn in the USA´s side (... and then there is the apocalyptic prophecy recently revealed by some wizard who said something about an "axis of evil" ... I digress). I've grown up in and have reaped the benefits of a different system and have a distinct ideology, but I don't hesitate to say I respect the moral and intellectual values of socialism on a theoretical basis (see "Imagine" by John Lennon), but in a realistic setting my feelings differ significantly.
Being an undeveloped or underdeveloped country, Cuba is still the least worst I've seen in Latin America. People are, at least, well educated. People have, at least, access to decent health services and everyone has a home of some kind, at least. However but the education is biased and is self serving (for the state), many of the homes people live in are no more than huts and their health services may be recognized worldwide, but all too often are short of supplies (I wonder who's to blame for that?).
Ironically, everyone, with whom I spoke, dwells on what they don't have, which is a lot compared to richer countries, instead of what they do have, which is also a lot when compared to poorer ones. No one would hesitate for a chance to emigrate to a country where they can work for themselves, but no one is ungrateful for their free education and healthcare. I can't remember how many times people refer to their lives as a "jail", a "prison", or feel "trapped", especially after being reminded of recent executions of political dissidents. I'm told that there is a lottery, called "el bono," held every year where 20,000 randomly selected Cubans are given visas to the USA; some just use it as a chance to visit long lost relatives, most stay for good. Perhaps just another case of coveting the grass of the neighbor's pasture, which, in this case, is certainly "greener."
In every city and town I stayed in what are called "casas particulares" (particular homes) that are privately owned and pay steep taxes in order to receive exclusively foreign guests. Although more expensive than other countries, this system is excellent for the "backpacker" because one stays in someone's home, which has meet a minimum standard of quality and demands that the tourist mingle with the people. These guest houses are usually the nicer homes because the people are able to save some money of their own to fix a home and actually buy furniture, appliances and silverware. For this the owners of these guest houses are always on guard as they are under constant pressure of the officials.
Trying to keep things in perspective so I might enjoy myself in on this tropical island, I befriend a few locals, mostly men. I had many opportunities to get to know some beautiful women, but a vast majority of them "work" for their friendships, and since I wasn't about to open that can of worms, I kept them at a cordial distance. After all, so called "jineteras," or prostitutes, are not criticized by the people because everyone understands that one has to do what one must to make some spare change to survive, or, ideally, escape.
After a few enjoyable introductory days in Havana I made my way west to the small town of Viñales set amongst amazing rock formations in a lush tropical landscape, and is where I made friends with a 22 year old local fellow, Mario, who was the first Cuban my age that I'd met that wasn't trying to gain anything from me (as this tends to be a big problem for the tourist in Cuba, being constantly hassled and touted by locals. In Havana, for example, everyone wants to be the tourist's friend or guide for the day in exchange for something). In my four days there I was able to learn what semi-rural life is like in Cuba, lending me his rickety one speed bike for a day, introducing me to his friends, riding through town on a trailer pulled by a tractor and helping his family and friends dismantle the original palm leaf roof of his house and replace it with a more modern fiberglass one. Despite being almost unbearably hot and humid, the latter experience was truly a treat because there were no pretenses when, after a few hours of work, we all sat down to sip some home made rum. Maybe they thought I was crazy and felt sorry for me, but for a moment I was sure I was Cuban.
But that moment was short lived as I soon departed for Trinidad where, en route, I met three English blokes who would later become very trusting friends allowing me to drive them from one end of the island to the other in a rented car over the course of a week. I like to believe that Charlie, Bhavin and Tim benefited from my ability to speak the language just as much as I benefited from their company: not only to save money on rooms and car rental (an impossibility alone), but in keeping me sane, as traveling alone can be psychologically trying at times.
Having a car gave us the freedom to explore the roads less traveled, or at least the roads not as easily traveled. One thing Cuba has not spent much time or money on recently is the road network because they're almost all in impossible driving condition. It crossed my mind more than once that some of the pot holes were so big that perhaps they were dug out intentionally as our little Daihatsu disappeared into one, or blew out a tire for the second time, or bent the rim. On more than one occasion we all had to get out and unload the car so it wouldn't "high-center" and get stuck while climbing out of such monsters. But what an experience! and I'm a better driver because of it, having learned that oxen don't yield no matter how slow they're walking or no matter what they're pulling, horses will yield if honked at or if being ridden and there is no point in arguing with a Cuban police officer that you weren't speeding because, even though he doesn't have a radar gun, his eye knows the difference between 35 and 45 kilometers per hour.
In our car we were able to access trails and rivers around the quaint fishing village of Baracoa on the eastern coast and climb up to the top of one of Cuba's most famous geological formations: el Yunque, the mountain that served as a land mark for Columbus and other explorers. Also in Baracoa, I developed some skin reaction resembling an allergy to either the sun, the river water, seafood or Sachi (a girl I met there), as my face, waistline and feet were unbearably itchy for several days.
After a little over a week together the English chaps went on their own way after Santiago, to the resort of Varadero, the Cuban equivalent of Cancun, while I stayed a couple extra days in Santiago hanging out with Luis, another Cuban fellow who I felt I could trust, like Mario, and enjoyed the Festival del Carribeño (Festival of the Caribbean): a good time, but nothing like Carnaval in Rio.
I met Luis while hopping off the back of the bed of a truck, one of Cuba's typical forms of public transportation, almost exclusively for locals as tourists are herded to overpriced yet comfortable buses. Anyway, I was trying to find the back entrance to El Morro, an old Spanish naval fort south of Santiago, and he said he'd help me if I'd help him meet some girls on the beach (as if I could!). Well there were no ladies to our fancy, or visa versa, so, after visiting the Fort, we made our way back into town where he would later be fined by the police for not being registered to hang out with me. A shock to me, but no surprise to Luis as he compared his life to a prison in amongst corrupt power hungry militants supported by a blind dictator, but also reasoned that in order to crack down on hassling of tourists, the police try and make locals register for every foreign friend they may have. In fact, Luis was given a ticket for hanging out with me (which I gave him money to pay for).
Note: Cuba is a very safe country, perhaps the safest in all of the Americas, save Canada I suppose. And with the omnipresence of the gray shirted overstaffed, underpaid, thus easily corrupted, police it is no wonder there is little delinquency. Since tourism is Cuba's number one industry, the tourist is king, which is nice when one wants to wander the streets at almost any hour of the day, but frustrating when trying to mingle with the locals.
Wow! I just realized I've written all but a book, but I can't conclude without commenting on the music, which I'll quickly say exceeded all my expectations previously established by members of the internationally acclaimed Buena Vista Social Club. Cubans are a musical people and one doesn't have to search long before finding quality musicians just playing for fun in the street, in a bar, one of the many casas "de trova", in a plaza or in some of the least expected places. Bystanders will drop what they're doing, almost compulsively, no matter what it may be, and either sing or dance along. This was the case for every town. And having musical tendencies of my own, I couldn't help but participate whenever possible. Undoubtedly the people, with their rhythm and musicality, were my favorite part of Cuba.
In three weeks I learned that Cuba is more than just salsa, rum, tobacco and sex, though all are products they exploit very well. I might say I learned a lot about myself and how I see the world around me, but I don't want to get too carried away. And despite my spending money there being strongly prohibited by my country, it was worth the risk because a few weeks in Cuba was a most valuable experience.
(*) And it is Castro's Cuba. You may not see him all the time, but his presence is felt. In the official rhetoric, in political imagery, in the lifestyle of a single class system, Castro has worked hard to create something very unlikely and gradually becoming impossible.
(**) Actually, about half the cars are newer imported cars from Europe, Russia and Asia, a few newer American models get in at the cost of a small fortune. Then again, I arrived with a small fortune, spending in three weeks eighty times what the average Cuban makes a month (I took $800, you do the math).
(***) He actually died several years after the Cuban revolution while trying to do something similar in Bolivia. It is understood that he was killed by US request, but some say he may have been sent to his death intentionally by Castro (+)
(+) It would be unfair to mention Ché and not mention the 19th century poet and intellectual José Martí whose image, poetry and Marxist rhetoric is seen twice as much as that of Ché´s, in plazas, schools, billboards and television. Martí is not only considered the intellectual author of the Cuban revolution, but has inspired and continues to inspire many leftist movements throughout Latin America, or as he called it "Our America," because the term "latin" excludes the African populations that are also part of the Americas, especially the Caribbean.
Monday, July 14, 2003
Thursday, March 27, 2003
Porto Alegre, Brasil
We left the Ilha da Santa Catarina yesterday, poor weather keeps us moving, no surf lessons, but a nice long walk on the beach, and we didn´t make it to the end, at least five miles long. The bus ride was just like all bus rides, long, smelly and arriving in a daze trying to figure out where we are and where we need to go. The land we traveled over seems very fertile in places with vineyards and cattle farms, and there must be lots of clay because there were a number of tile factories along the way.
Porto Alegre itself is a dirty port town, apparetly a fresh water port as five rivers meet at it´s confluence before draining into the ocean. But there isn´t much tourism, which is nice because the locals don´t have much of a preconceived stigma of tourists (or Americans). Though the I see just as many American flags on clothing as I do see signs of anti-War propaganda (which is essentially just Anti-Bush, and, unfortunaely, Anti-American. Though I can´t say I´m pro Bush, but I´m definitely pro-home). And I understand Portuguese well enough to know when people´s comments are sarcastic, or just ignorantly serious, and enough to give them my two cents if the mood strikes me, but I mostly stay quiet since they´ll never understand the irony in their ignorance. Now, I´m looking forward to Uraguay, though they say it´s more expensive there and Brasil has been very inexpensive. We eat very well, and sleep for cheap. For lunch today I had a whole (2-3lbs) fish, rice, salad, beans, potato salad, soda for two dollars. Though the region is more known for its steaks, but I think I´ll wait ´till Argentina. The places we stay in usually give us "café da manha" (morning coffee), which is breakfast consisting of bread, cheese, ham, fruit, juice and coffee.
And it was just a couple days ago when I figured out why I´ve been disoriented so frequently recently, the noon shadow points SOUTH! the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west, but, I don´t know exactly when it switched, but my compass is the opposite too (the white end of the needle, which usually points south, now points north, and the red end south).
We´ll probably be taking a night bus to Montevideo, a nice 10 hour ride over a windy, flat country, I´m told. We´ll be there for a couple days, taking excursions to "experience" a bit of Uraguay before crossing the river by ferry to Buenos Aires, to which I´m very much looking forward.
Porto Alegre itself is a dirty port town, apparetly a fresh water port as five rivers meet at it´s confluence before draining into the ocean. But there isn´t much tourism, which is nice because the locals don´t have much of a preconceived stigma of tourists (or Americans). Though the I see just as many American flags on clothing as I do see signs of anti-War propaganda (which is essentially just Anti-Bush, and, unfortunaely, Anti-American. Though I can´t say I´m pro Bush, but I´m definitely pro-home). And I understand Portuguese well enough to know when people´s comments are sarcastic, or just ignorantly serious, and enough to give them my two cents if the mood strikes me, but I mostly stay quiet since they´ll never understand the irony in their ignorance. Now, I´m looking forward to Uraguay, though they say it´s more expensive there and Brasil has been very inexpensive. We eat very well, and sleep for cheap. For lunch today I had a whole (2-3lbs) fish, rice, salad, beans, potato salad, soda for two dollars. Though the region is more known for its steaks, but I think I´ll wait ´till Argentina. The places we stay in usually give us "café da manha" (morning coffee), which is breakfast consisting of bread, cheese, ham, fruit, juice and coffee.
And it was just a couple days ago when I figured out why I´ve been disoriented so frequently recently, the noon shadow points SOUTH! the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west, but, I don´t know exactly when it switched, but my compass is the opposite too (the white end of the needle, which usually points south, now points north, and the red end south).
We´ll probably be taking a night bus to Montevideo, a nice 10 hour ride over a windy, flat country, I´m told. We´ll be there for a couple days, taking excursions to "experience" a bit of Uraguay before crossing the river by ferry to Buenos Aires, to which I´m very much looking forward.
Monday, March 24, 2003
Barra do Lagoa, Brasil
I´m still on the Ilha de Santa Catarina, but on the other side at a beach where the waves are world class and the beaches are sillica soft, clean and never ending. We´re staying in a cheap place in a tiny town called Barra do Lagoa, which roughly translates as the lagoon penninsula since the town is between an lagoon and the sea. I´m glad to be out of the overrated Floranopolis and in a small town where I might take some surf lessons and just relax, some more. It´s really nice here. I`m getting tired of saying it now, and feel bad since I´m always in some nice place and seeing new and amazing things.
Internet is expensive here, so I´ll have to be brief (almost $2 an hour). We've been eating well in Brazil, not only at John and Helen´s, but the restaurants make good food and serve large portions. The buffet is very popular, and there many burger/sandwich places to fill in the empty spaces. I should write more about the food when I have more time, because it´s not very different, but still interesting how much food one can get for five dollars.
Internet is expensive here, so I´ll have to be brief (almost $2 an hour). We've been eating well in Brazil, not only at John and Helen´s, but the restaurants make good food and serve large portions. The buffet is very popular, and there many burger/sandwich places to fill in the empty spaces. I should write more about the food when I have more time, because it´s not very different, but still interesting how much food one can get for five dollars.
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Curitiba e Joinville, Brasil
Well we´re back on the move again, southbound. We spent last night in Curitiba, again. I can´t get over how clean and well managed the traffic is in that city, especially when compared to the unmanageable traffic and filth of São Paulo. But I enjoy São Paulo, I learned how to use the buses well, and the metro. There isn't much to do for the tourist, but there are always cultural events, shows and exhibits taking place. It was also very nice to be at the Coachman Compound, really a lovely place, where we were safe and well fed. Now, we´re a bit further than Curitiba, in the city of Joinville; also a clean, well managed city, and quiet, especially on Saturday. We've wandered some of the streets and up a hill to catch a panoramic view of the city and the bay that opens to the Atlantic, a really picturesque layout for a city, with little hills and canals and the ocean. This city is an example of Brazil´s diverse immigrant population, as the Germans, Pols and Italians settled to the south, most street signs and businesses are German names, the people look nordic, so we don´t stick out nearly as much, except for my clothing and a big bag on my back. Apparently, this state, Santa Catarina, produces the most top models from Brazil, due to the mix of blood I suppose. There are also a number of American colonies, not religious, just Americans who emigrated during or after the Civil war, they can be found in towns like Clevelandia and Americana. But Portuguese is still the main language, mine´s improving, slowly, and I know all I need is a month or so of immersion, where I can´t speak to anyone in English. Perhaps on the way back. I´d really like that.
As for specific travel plans, all I can say is a week or so more in Brazil, a week or so in Uraguay, a couple weeks, maybe even a month in Argentina and just as much in Chile, then back to Brazil and maybe even traveling up to Venezuela and the Carribean Islands. So at least another four months on the road. I can afford it, the question is, will I be able to endure, and not just get exhausted. I have a feeling Scott and I might go separate ways after Chile. He´s mentioned he might want to do that, but is not for sure, but it´s just a feeling, it might be better anyway. We've gotten along very well this far, it would be a shame to separate on a bad note
As for specific travel plans, all I can say is a week or so more in Brazil, a week or so in Uraguay, a couple weeks, maybe even a month in Argentina and just as much in Chile, then back to Brazil and maybe even traveling up to Venezuela and the Carribean Islands. So at least another four months on the road. I can afford it, the question is, will I be able to endure, and not just get exhausted. I have a feeling Scott and I might go separate ways after Chile. He´s mentioned he might want to do that, but is not for sure, but it´s just a feeling, it might be better anyway. We've gotten along very well this far, it would be a shame to separate on a bad note
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Sao Paulo 3
After a few weeks in Sao Paulo, Scott and I are getting ready for another bout of transcontinental traveling. We plan to leave Friday, heading south, no destination in particular, just south, and, south and west and around. Hopefully this War won´t affect our plans, hopefully the dollar stays strong. I´m really tired of the whole mess; just being American gets exhausting and stressful in times like these. I really wish the political climate were different, on the international level (I´m more worried about North Korea than Iraq). Staying at Helen and John´s has been such a privilege because we´re not only stuffed with food, but we´re stuffed with media, TV, newspaper, internet, which is nice in keeping informed. We spend a lot of time discussing the situation; Helen and John are very well informed, especially on US news. I just want to travel, see the pretty places, people and listen to the music and eat the food and drink the wine and go to bed wondering what kind of pleasant surprises the next day will bring. I still feel strange about leaving the guitar behind, though I probably should. I´ll see how it goes during this next trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. I´ll decide what to do with it when I get back to São Paulo.
Monday, March 17, 2003
Sao Paulo 2
We went to a very important soccer game yesterday, two local rivals São Paulo and Corinthians, a rivalry with much animosity and enthusiasm. We only stayed two-thirds of the game to avoid crazy crowds. Then John and Helen took us out for pizza, along with their son-in-law Marco and two adorable granddaughters Silvia (13) and Alice (9) (just Scott and I went to the game), their daughter Christina didn't come. The live a couple hours out of town, Marco owns a hat-making company and I don't know what Christina does. Not to be confused with Jobi's (Helen's brother) daughter, Christina, in Hawaii. Anyway, we've been keeping busy doing little tourist things. Today, if the rain lets up, we'll head into the center to visit with Fabio (the Brazilian we met in Peru). Heluisa let me borrow her bike, so I've been able to ride around the neighborhood in the mornings, though this morning I was soaked. I miss riding my bike, a lot.
Sao Paulo 2
We went to a very important soccer game yesterday, two local rivals São Paulo and Corinthians, a rivalry with much animosity and enthusiasm. We only stayed two-thirds of the game to avoid crazy crowds. Then John and Helen took us out for pizza, along with their son-in-law Marco and two adorable granddaughters Silvia (13) and Alice (9) (just Scott and I went to the game), their daughter Christina didn't come. The live a couple hours out of town, Marco owns a hat-making company and I don't know what Christina does. Not to be confused with Jobi's (Helen's brother) daughter, Christina, in Hawaii. Anyway, we've been keeping busy doing little tourist things. Today, if the rain lets up, we'll head into the center to visit with Fabio (the Brazilian we met in Peru). Heluisa let me borrow her bike, so I've been able to ride around the neighborhood in the mornings, though this morning I was soaked. I miss riding my bike, a lot.
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Sao Paulo 1
…speaking of breaks, well mine's enough for plenty of people, perhaps a lifetime? and sometimes I feel guilty that I'm able to enjoy so much with while having suffered so little. Should I have to suffer in order to enjoy? It's difficult to "keep perspective" whin the perspective is so obscured by the mess our world always seems to be when trying to be "realistic." What can I do other than enjoy myself, somebody has to have a good time, right? This weekend was a perfect example.
Immediately upon our return to Sao Paulo, we were invited by a yet to be known friend to go to the beach for the weekend. After rearranging my busy agenda and making sure all appointments were cancelled, we set off with a very motley group of four Italians (from Italy) four Brazilians and us two Americans. Naturally it was a relief to see that seven of the eight people that came in two cars to pick us up were girls, all our age (early twenties). Despite the fact there was no sun the three days we were at Toque Toque Grande (toque toque means "island" in the native tongue), the weekend was very bright with a continued hedonistic theme carried over from the previous weeks festivities (carnaval). The place we stayed was a tiny village somewhere between Santos and Sao Sebastiao and tucked away so that one could not hear or see any traffic, people or noise beyond the paraquites that wake all too early, especially when one sleeps on a hammock on the porch next to their roosting tree. And aside from a little language barrier (the common language was English since the Italians don't speak Portuguese) and many persistent mosquitoes, the weekend was a perfect success and I now have several new friends with whom to keep in touch on the internet. I hope the Italian contacts come through some day, i.e. I wouldn't mind travelling Italy similarly as I've done 'round the Americas (So much to see so little time!).
And back in Sao Paulo, all seems well. It's been rainy, soft rain. More of a drizzle, and the sun doesn't come out. But when one sleep in 'till 1PM it's not so much of a loss. Yup, we went out again last night and I think I'm going to call it quits soon because I don't like always returning home at 4AM, the dogs make too much noise. Perhaps, I'm not being fair to myself. I am staying healthy and am making many new friends and am pondering schemes to either extend my stay here (later) or return (even later), like grants, jobs or whatever (matrimony is out of the question, for now). Brazilians are a very lively people, it also is nice to see many attractive ladies, but there is so much more to see in this giant country (just as big as the continental US).
Immediately upon our return to Sao Paulo, we were invited by a yet to be known friend to go to the beach for the weekend. After rearranging my busy agenda and making sure all appointments were cancelled, we set off with a very motley group of four Italians (from Italy) four Brazilians and us two Americans. Naturally it was a relief to see that seven of the eight people that came in two cars to pick us up were girls, all our age (early twenties). Despite the fact there was no sun the three days we were at Toque Toque Grande (toque toque means "island" in the native tongue), the weekend was very bright with a continued hedonistic theme carried over from the previous weeks festivities (carnaval). The place we stayed was a tiny village somewhere between Santos and Sao Sebastiao and tucked away so that one could not hear or see any traffic, people or noise beyond the paraquites that wake all too early, especially when one sleeps on a hammock on the porch next to their roosting tree. And aside from a little language barrier (the common language was English since the Italians don't speak Portuguese) and many persistent mosquitoes, the weekend was a perfect success and I now have several new friends with whom to keep in touch on the internet. I hope the Italian contacts come through some day, i.e. I wouldn't mind travelling Italy similarly as I've done 'round the Americas (So much to see so little time!).
And back in Sao Paulo, all seems well. It's been rainy, soft rain. More of a drizzle, and the sun doesn't come out. But when one sleep in 'till 1PM it's not so much of a loss. Yup, we went out again last night and I think I'm going to call it quits soon because I don't like always returning home at 4AM, the dogs make too much noise. Perhaps, I'm not being fair to myself. I am staying healthy and am making many new friends and am pondering schemes to either extend my stay here (later) or return (even later), like grants, jobs or whatever (matrimony is out of the question, for now). Brazilians are a very lively people, it also is nice to see many attractive ladies, but there is so much more to see in this giant country (just as big as the continental US).
Thursday, March 6, 2003
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (CARNAVAL 2003!!!)
I don't think Rio will ever be the same... No, we behaved rather well given the possibilities. We managed to get a decent place to stay, in the middle of Rio de Jaineiro, in the district of Catête (pronounced: Ketetchie) for a decent price. Other than the foul smell of the water, the shower breaking, the key breaking in the lock while trying to enter at 4AM, the AC stopping the hotel was a good value, in fact I'd stay there again only for its central location that gave us easy access to the metro. Now, the city of Rio is a marvel, perhaps that's why it's nickname is "ciudade maravilhosa" (marvelous city). Geographically Rio is a spectacle, with it's many solid granite monoliths along its jagged coastline and endless beaches (Including Copacabana) decorated with plenty of colorful and beautiful people. Rio is a big city, difficult to see all of it, especially during carnaval, especially when one consumes lots of cerveza. But a friend of a friend of a friend offered to help us find and experience the true Carioca (Person from Rio) Carnaval. And that we did! From the beginning we found ourselves immersed in an atmosphere of festivity, almost everything was closed and everyone who didn't flee the city was on the streets, drinking, dancing and singing. This mutual friend, who is now our friend, and her husband, showed us the "bloco" party, which difficult to explain, but easy to describe: thousands of people meet up in a designated place at a designated time, samba music is played on large trucks and people dance and parade for several hours following/leading the music truck through the streets. Some of the blocos have been the same for almost 90 years, others just a couple, but they usually have a theme, like friendship, or fantasy, or whatever, but they're all pretty much the same. It's really just a bunch of people all making fools of themselves together (when in Rome...)
Anyway, the more commercial aspect of Carnaval is in the giant stadium called the Sambódromo (giant samba stadium) where samba "schools" go to compete, professionally. A samba "school" is a group of several thousand people organized to create several dozen themes with floats and costumes and march through the Sambodromo before judges and spectators. It's really nothing more than a giant parade for five days, we were there at two in the morning one night and they were still going strong. The costumes are spectacular and the music is loud. Some women wear little or no costume as they dance samba, whatever it takes to gain points to win. Aside from the dancers, the most impressive thing is the structure of the Sambodromo, which is a stadium some 1/3 of a mile long with tall tall stands on both sides, resembling a wide city street, with many many lights shining onto the competitors and into the sky. Honestly, sitting there is quite boring, the school has one hour to get everyone and all the floats through and then there's a big break between schools. We were more into the street party, which cost next to nothing.
Then there are the beaches, which were very full last week. Since it is summer here, Rio gets warm, tropical warm with humidity and 33 degrees Celsius (85-90 Fahrenheit, I think). Everyone goes to the beach and there is much to see! I felt overdressed with my swimming trunks on! (Not to be misleading, nudity was rare, suits were just cut to be as small as possible). Anyway, we got a lot of exercise walking on the beaches, trying to find a place to sit or a place to swim. Had it been any other time I would have been quite frustrated by the number of people, but that is what carnaval is about: lots of people.
Now we're back in São Paulo, to rest for a day. It seems we've been invited to the beach again, by a distant relative of Helen's (did I tell you how wonderful they've been to us? introducing us to so many people, I'll never have time to see everyone again!).
Anyway, the more commercial aspect of Carnaval is in the giant stadium called the Sambódromo (giant samba stadium) where samba "schools" go to compete, professionally. A samba "school" is a group of several thousand people organized to create several dozen themes with floats and costumes and march through the Sambodromo before judges and spectators. It's really nothing more than a giant parade for five days, we were there at two in the morning one night and they were still going strong. The costumes are spectacular and the music is loud. Some women wear little or no costume as they dance samba, whatever it takes to gain points to win. Aside from the dancers, the most impressive thing is the structure of the Sambodromo, which is a stadium some 1/3 of a mile long with tall tall stands on both sides, resembling a wide city street, with many many lights shining onto the competitors and into the sky. Honestly, sitting there is quite boring, the school has one hour to get everyone and all the floats through and then there's a big break between schools. We were more into the street party, which cost next to nothing.
Then there are the beaches, which were very full last week. Since it is summer here, Rio gets warm, tropical warm with humidity and 33 degrees Celsius (85-90 Fahrenheit, I think). Everyone goes to the beach and there is much to see! I felt overdressed with my swimming trunks on! (Not to be misleading, nudity was rare, suits were just cut to be as small as possible). Anyway, we got a lot of exercise walking on the beaches, trying to find a place to sit or a place to swim. Had it been any other time I would have been quite frustrated by the number of people, but that is what carnaval is about: lots of people.
Now we're back in São Paulo, to rest for a day. It seems we've been invited to the beach again, by a distant relative of Helen's (did I tell you how wonderful they've been to us? introducing us to so many people, I'll never have time to see everyone again!).
Friday, February 28, 2003
Brazil - En route to Rio
Yes, we're still going to Rio, tomorrow. I'm aware of the recent violence we'll be extra careful. Anyway, I'll write more later. Gotta run. love, George
(Later that day)
I´m just killing a couple minutes while waiting for the bus in the Sao Paulo bus station (rodovaria = bus station). We spent 40 minutes in an urban bus to get from the Coachman house to a metro station and another 20 or so to get here. In a few minutes we´re off to the madness of Rio, though I can´t say Sao Paulo is much better. This is a big, big city that is built up so all you see are high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. Fortunately there are a lot of trees, so it´s not completely paved over. The Coachman house is indeed a refuge in the middle of the mess, it´s really nice to be there.
We should be fine in Rio. John says the police probably arrested some big drug dealer and they´re retaliating. I´m more worried about the large crowds and being distracted by the many interesting women!
I´ll tell you how it goes.
(Later that day)
I´m just killing a couple minutes while waiting for the bus in the Sao Paulo bus station (rodovaria = bus station). We spent 40 minutes in an urban bus to get from the Coachman house to a metro station and another 20 or so to get here. In a few minutes we´re off to the madness of Rio, though I can´t say Sao Paulo is much better. This is a big, big city that is built up so all you see are high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. Fortunately there are a lot of trees, so it´s not completely paved over. The Coachman house is indeed a refuge in the middle of the mess, it´s really nice to be there.
We should be fine in Rio. John says the police probably arrested some big drug dealer and they´re retaliating. I´m more worried about the large crowds and being distracted by the many interesting women!
I´ll tell you how it goes.
Friday, February 7, 2003
Argentina - Salta
Hello from green, warm, friendly Salta. We arrived yesterday morning from Jujuy, impressed by the lushness of the vegetation and vastness of the skies. Salta is perhaps the cleanest town we`ve been to and the people are very European, and the towns are more and more reminiscent of Spain.
The highways are nice making bus rides more comfortable and despite the economic crisis, people are getting along well enough. At least the level of poverty is not nearly as visible as in previous countries. One can sense the disappointment in their politicians. The people have no trust in their elected officials as they are as corrupt as they come, having basically destroyed an entire country`s economy for selfish gains. The value of the Argentinian peso has dropped in one year from being fixed one to one with the dollar to now 3.2 to a dollar, a staggering devaluation in such a short period of time. No one is anticipating a quick recovery either. But people have their pride still, and hope for the best, after all this place is indeed beautiful, and as we saw last night, people still enjoy themselves by going out and living.
Helen gave me a contact here in Salta, of which we took advantage and met John and Christine Leach (Christine is a cousin of Helen´s, her maiden name was also Lane), and their two boys Thomas and Lorenzo, ages 4 and 5 respectively who are two adorable little toeheads already speaking English, Spanish, and some Portuguese. We had lunch with them and took an afternoon nap and enjoyed the views from their lovely house just outside of town. They gave us some tasty honey from their large tobacco farm a few kilometers further out of town. They invited us to stay at their house, though it would have only been for the night because they left for Chile today. We already found lodging, but appreciated the offer. Nice people, John is of English dissent (sp?) but his family has been here for several generations; Christine is from Brazil. It was very interesting to visit with them and discuss Argentina and see how traditions survive (i.e. English).
We´ll be here a couple days more then head to Resistencia before visiting other relatives of Helen´s in Asuncion, Paraguay. Things are working out quite nicely.
I forgot to mention that we crossed another time zone entering Bolivia and another entering Argentina, so now we´re four hours ahead, i.e. 2PM there is 6PM here. We also crossed another geographical milestone by passing the Tropic of Capricorn just north of Jujuy, having transversed the entire Tropics (Cancer is somewhere between Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan). We won´t be going much further south, more east and north. Though I have a strong desire to see more of Argentina and for sure Chile.
The highways are nice making bus rides more comfortable and despite the economic crisis, people are getting along well enough. At least the level of poverty is not nearly as visible as in previous countries. One can sense the disappointment in their politicians. The people have no trust in their elected officials as they are as corrupt as they come, having basically destroyed an entire country`s economy for selfish gains. The value of the Argentinian peso has dropped in one year from being fixed one to one with the dollar to now 3.2 to a dollar, a staggering devaluation in such a short period of time. No one is anticipating a quick recovery either. But people have their pride still, and hope for the best, after all this place is indeed beautiful, and as we saw last night, people still enjoy themselves by going out and living.
Helen gave me a contact here in Salta, of which we took advantage and met John and Christine Leach (Christine is a cousin of Helen´s, her maiden name was also Lane), and their two boys Thomas and Lorenzo, ages 4 and 5 respectively who are two adorable little toeheads already speaking English, Spanish, and some Portuguese. We had lunch with them and took an afternoon nap and enjoyed the views from their lovely house just outside of town. They gave us some tasty honey from their large tobacco farm a few kilometers further out of town. They invited us to stay at their house, though it would have only been for the night because they left for Chile today. We already found lodging, but appreciated the offer. Nice people, John is of English dissent (sp?) but his family has been here for several generations; Christine is from Brazil. It was very interesting to visit with them and discuss Argentina and see how traditions survive (i.e. English).
We´ll be here a couple days more then head to Resistencia before visiting other relatives of Helen´s in Asuncion, Paraguay. Things are working out quite nicely.
I forgot to mention that we crossed another time zone entering Bolivia and another entering Argentina, so now we´re four hours ahead, i.e. 2PM there is 6PM here. We also crossed another geographical milestone by passing the Tropic of Capricorn just north of Jujuy, having transversed the entire Tropics (Cancer is somewhere between Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan). We won´t be going much further south, more east and north. Though I have a strong desire to see more of Argentina and for sure Chile.
Wednesday, February 5, 2003
Argentina - Jujuy
Yup, already in Argentina. We´re moving along quite quickly. The trick is to take long overnight bus rides to save on hotel costs and time, though today we spent the morning and noon in the bus and were able to see the spectacular descent from the Andes into the Northern "Pampa" of Argentina, which resembles nothing more than the Sonoran desert! even the cactus look just like saguaros, just a little fuzzier. The climate is the same as when we left home: warm, humid; and the mesquite trees line the hills and willows the arroyos. We´re just here in Jujuy (pronounced "hoo-hooey." Really) for the night then off to Salta tomorrow, where I´ve been trying to make a connection with some of Helen´s family, but their Email address was mistyped so I´m going to have to call.
I´m so glad to be in Argentina, it´s always had a similar mystique as Spain had for me, now I´m here. Bolivia was really nice, but I like the warm places better. We passed by where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their ends (all the way into southern Bolivia!) Oh, and I got mugged finally, last night at the Potosi bus station. Really, it was quite an amusing experience. For some reason, all twenty of the buses leaving Potosi leave about the same time every afternoon, making the bus terminal a bit more than chaotic when boarding. Anyway, Scott went to the bathroom, we´d already loaded our packs, all i had was a day pack and my guitar, when a person squirted some caramel shit on my arm. I immediately knew what was going on and backed up quickly and felt someone brush my leg, so I conveniently swung my guitar around, but I couln´t tell who it was since it was so crowded. But my wallet was still there. So I decided to get on the bus and get away from the mess. There was a person charging a typical "tax" of a few cents upon boarding the bus, normal, but as I was digging for my change I felt someone brush my leg again (my left thigh is where I kept this wallet) so I grabbed the hand that led to a middle aged lady who looked at me dumbfounded as I told her "keep your hands away or we´ll be visiting the police." She disappeared, my wallet was still there. So I payed the tax, boarded, stowed my guitar and decided I´d go back out to warn Scott, who was now watching the baggage bin (as one of us usually does before we leave, to make sure no one walks off with our bags). As I was walking down the bus isle, I had to push my way through a group of people who were all upset about something, in the midst of this chaos I, once again, felt my thigh being brushed, but this time the wallet was gone, and there was only one man who it could of been. So I grabbed his jacket and told him "give it back" he played dumb and I started laughing in his face and followed him off and approached him again and told him "a shame you didn´t get anything" (all dialogues in Spanish of course) and he too disappeared. My last statement was almost entirely true, but he did get my wallet that only had some useless calling cards from Costa Rica and Guatemala because it was my dummy wallet that I never use anyway, other than occupying space in my pocket. But the bad part was he used a rapid razor to cleanly cut my poor pocket and swiftly slide out my wanted wallet (say again?), so I was lucky he didn´t try and use it again; and I had this caramel shit on my shirt which cleaned off nicely as EX-OFFICIO brand shirts claim to resist stains. I was lucky, about the stain, and the wallet I guess. It made the next eleven hours in bus a bit tense though because I suspected everyone of trying to rob me. Now I´m over that and looking for a new wallet and a tailor to fix my pocket.
So that´s the latest of adventures. To answer your question about where we stay, we stay in budget Hostels averaging two dollars a night, hot water in Peru and Bolivia was a priority and private bathrooms are optional. We lucked out today, because we have both for a mere three dollars. Argentina´s economic crisis is much to our benefit (beef here costs 13 pesos for 3 kilograms, roughly four dollars for seven pounds!) the exchange is 3.2 Argentinian pesos to a dollar, where just a year ago the peso was fixed with the dollar. The people were hit hard.
So yeah, back in warm weather, reasonable altitudes (1200 meters, 4000 feet) and the ladies are looking better and better. (I could hear the "uh-oh" from here. fret not, everything's under control, for the moment).
I´ll be in touch from Salta, hopefully I´ll be able to get a hold of Helen´s family, though I have been in contact with some others in Asuncion, Paraguay. What luck!
I´m so glad to be in Argentina, it´s always had a similar mystique as Spain had for me, now I´m here. Bolivia was really nice, but I like the warm places better. We passed by where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their ends (all the way into southern Bolivia!) Oh, and I got mugged finally, last night at the Potosi bus station. Really, it was quite an amusing experience. For some reason, all twenty of the buses leaving Potosi leave about the same time every afternoon, making the bus terminal a bit more than chaotic when boarding. Anyway, Scott went to the bathroom, we´d already loaded our packs, all i had was a day pack and my guitar, when a person squirted some caramel shit on my arm. I immediately knew what was going on and backed up quickly and felt someone brush my leg, so I conveniently swung my guitar around, but I couln´t tell who it was since it was so crowded. But my wallet was still there. So I decided to get on the bus and get away from the mess. There was a person charging a typical "tax" of a few cents upon boarding the bus, normal, but as I was digging for my change I felt someone brush my leg again (my left thigh is where I kept this wallet) so I grabbed the hand that led to a middle aged lady who looked at me dumbfounded as I told her "keep your hands away or we´ll be visiting the police." She disappeared, my wallet was still there. So I payed the tax, boarded, stowed my guitar and decided I´d go back out to warn Scott, who was now watching the baggage bin (as one of us usually does before we leave, to make sure no one walks off with our bags). As I was walking down the bus isle, I had to push my way through a group of people who were all upset about something, in the midst of this chaos I, once again, felt my thigh being brushed, but this time the wallet was gone, and there was only one man who it could of been. So I grabbed his jacket and told him "give it back" he played dumb and I started laughing in his face and followed him off and approached him again and told him "a shame you didn´t get anything" (all dialogues in Spanish of course) and he too disappeared. My last statement was almost entirely true, but he did get my wallet that only had some useless calling cards from Costa Rica and Guatemala because it was my dummy wallet that I never use anyway, other than occupying space in my pocket. But the bad part was he used a rapid razor to cleanly cut my poor pocket and swiftly slide out my wanted wallet (say again?), so I was lucky he didn´t try and use it again; and I had this caramel shit on my shirt which cleaned off nicely as EX-OFFICIO brand shirts claim to resist stains. I was lucky, about the stain, and the wallet I guess. It made the next eleven hours in bus a bit tense though because I suspected everyone of trying to rob me. Now I´m over that and looking for a new wallet and a tailor to fix my pocket.
So that´s the latest of adventures. To answer your question about where we stay, we stay in budget Hostels averaging two dollars a night, hot water in Peru and Bolivia was a priority and private bathrooms are optional. We lucked out today, because we have both for a mere three dollars. Argentina´s economic crisis is much to our benefit (beef here costs 13 pesos for 3 kilograms, roughly four dollars for seven pounds!) the exchange is 3.2 Argentinian pesos to a dollar, where just a year ago the peso was fixed with the dollar. The people were hit hard.
So yeah, back in warm weather, reasonable altitudes (1200 meters, 4000 feet) and the ladies are looking better and better. (I could hear the "uh-oh" from here. fret not, everything's under control, for the moment).
I´ll be in touch from Salta, hopefully I´ll be able to get a hold of Helen´s family, though I have been in contact with some others in Asuncion, Paraguay. What luck!
Monday, February 3, 2003
Bolivia - Potosí
Hello from chilly Potosi, some 14,400 feet above sea level, but it´s not as cold as AZ in the winter (though it´s summer here) because it doesn´t freeze at night. Today we toured one of the world´s most infamous mines that has, in the past four hundred years, claimed the lives of well over 8 million people (from African and indigenous slaves to present day miners).
Guided by a 21 year old, ten year veteran of the mines, we crawled and climbed 500 meters into the what used to be the world´s richest mine, before the Spaniards took all the millions of tons of silver for themselves. All is left is a Swiss cheese hill, that has sunk over 1000 meters, averaging now a meter a year. A tragic place, most tragic, is one of the most vivid examples of the blatant exploitation of a land for the benefit of the European Royaly and the Catholic Church. Today, the tailings are picked through for tin and zinc, bought by the USA, but the town still struggles, mainly surviving on tourism. Coca leaves flow freely as they are a save substance in their natural form, but the US places pressure on the officials to eradicate the crop, so the poor poor people are loosing their culture as they lose money and identity. Such a desolate land, only the most humble and the most greedy would try and survive here, hardly any vegetation and minimal annual rainfall, it´s hard to believe that Potosi was once the largest and richest city in the western hemisphere. Definitely worth the visit.
We heard about the Colombia a couple days ago, though the cause remains unknown. Bolivia is full of it´s own news and turmoil, as their history has always been. In fact their government has changed some 160 times in the 140 years it´s been a country (give or take a couple numbers on both) these people are just tired and want nothing more than a simple life, but corruption prevents any form of progress and the weakest suffer the most.
How fortunate I am, so very, very fortunate. All I have to do is go to a bank and I´m set for a week. Which reminds me, the ATM charge has always been $3, that´s why I go inside and use my debit card like a credit card for a "cash advance" because it has the visa symbol, but since it´s not a credit card I get no charge by either bank, as the credit card is supposed to charge a commission.
...
Again, I´m so fortunate. I couldn´t be happier right now. We´ll be on the move south again tomorrow, heading to Argentina. Bolivia is a great country with so much to offer the ecotourist, but we´re just passing through right now, trying to get to Brasil. I would like to spend more time here, like Guatemala and Mexico. The food is so good too, though it´s influenced by Argentinian gastronomy as well.
Guided by a 21 year old, ten year veteran of the mines, we crawled and climbed 500 meters into the what used to be the world´s richest mine, before the Spaniards took all the millions of tons of silver for themselves. All is left is a Swiss cheese hill, that has sunk over 1000 meters, averaging now a meter a year. A tragic place, most tragic, is one of the most vivid examples of the blatant exploitation of a land for the benefit of the European Royaly and the Catholic Church. Today, the tailings are picked through for tin and zinc, bought by the USA, but the town still struggles, mainly surviving on tourism. Coca leaves flow freely as they are a save substance in their natural form, but the US places pressure on the officials to eradicate the crop, so the poor poor people are loosing their culture as they lose money and identity. Such a desolate land, only the most humble and the most greedy would try and survive here, hardly any vegetation and minimal annual rainfall, it´s hard to believe that Potosi was once the largest and richest city in the western hemisphere. Definitely worth the visit.
We heard about the Colombia a couple days ago, though the cause remains unknown. Bolivia is full of it´s own news and turmoil, as their history has always been. In fact their government has changed some 160 times in the 140 years it´s been a country (give or take a couple numbers on both) these people are just tired and want nothing more than a simple life, but corruption prevents any form of progress and the weakest suffer the most.
How fortunate I am, so very, very fortunate. All I have to do is go to a bank and I´m set for a week. Which reminds me, the ATM charge has always been $3, that´s why I go inside and use my debit card like a credit card for a "cash advance" because it has the visa symbol, but since it´s not a credit card I get no charge by either bank, as the credit card is supposed to charge a commission.
...
Again, I´m so fortunate. I couldn´t be happier right now. We´ll be on the move south again tomorrow, heading to Argentina. Bolivia is a great country with so much to offer the ecotourist, but we´re just passing through right now, trying to get to Brasil. I would like to spend more time here, like Guatemala and Mexico. The food is so good too, though it´s influenced by Argentinian gastronomy as well.
Saturday, February 1, 2003
Bolivia - La Paz
Greetings from the Altiplano of Bolivia. La Paz is such an interesting city, built in what resembles a three sided volcano (though I don´t think it was a volcano) with majestic mountains dominating the background under skies blue as Arizona´s (when it is not raining here). It´s the coolest (cold) place we´ve been, again, the altitude, and the sun is intense (yes, I´m using my sunblock). Much like the other south American capitals (thought La Paz is the unofficial capital, Sucre being the official) the streets bustle with cars, buses, people and animals in such chaos that it almost seems planned. The hills are steep that line the "bowl" of La Paz, and the houses are stacked one on top of the other overflowing the rim and sprawling out onto the surrounding plateau.
The indigenous population is prevalent, many not speaking much Spanish, only Quechua (Language of the Incas) and Aymara (another even older language). The ladies´ apparel is of the previous century, wearing layered dresses with shiny material, thick knit shawls and Charlie Chaplin felt top hats (the rounded kind), which is endlessly amusing, to me (not amusing like I want to laugh, just cracking a smile rather). And, just like all the more indigenous women since Oaxaca, they all carry loads on their backs like ants (almost the same proportions of weight too) using a tied piece of hand woven tapestry, and somehow have room for a baby in there too. I´ll never complain again about having to carry groceries from the car to the kitchen.
Beer when poured out of the bottle into a glass is pure foam, again, the altitude, which has been the source of some frustration, having to resolve to hard liquor (hee, hee). Bolivia is the Coca capital (though some would argue that Colombia is) and the USA´s presence in aide and loans controls the economy, with a special emphasis on obliterating Coca (leave that is processed to make cocaine) cultivation. One sees the locals, i.e. indigenous, chewing the leaves as has been done for 2500 years and wasn´t a problem for anyone until the Europeans came. I went to a museum dedicated to Coca, very interesting, and learned a lot about this simple little plant that intrigues the world. And while there is an incredible demand in the US and other European countries, there will be a supply from Bolivia, creating a vast schism between political parties who support cocaleros (growers) and the US. However, we haven´t encountered much Anti-American sentiment other than graffiti on the walls. So it goes...
Tonight we´ll be heading to even higher and colder ground, Potosí, once the most important city in Latin America, because of its mines. I´m much looking forward to this city because of it´s historical significance, though supposedly only a ghost city anymore. I´ll tell you more as I learn more.
So we´re going to war? Another Vietnam? apparently the gov´ment has been unloading many a dollar in war preparation already. Hmmm? Nelson Mandela has condemned Bush, but I guess "peace" is not the objective.
The indigenous population is prevalent, many not speaking much Spanish, only Quechua (Language of the Incas) and Aymara (another even older language). The ladies´ apparel is of the previous century, wearing layered dresses with shiny material, thick knit shawls and Charlie Chaplin felt top hats (the rounded kind), which is endlessly amusing, to me (not amusing like I want to laugh, just cracking a smile rather). And, just like all the more indigenous women since Oaxaca, they all carry loads on their backs like ants (almost the same proportions of weight too) using a tied piece of hand woven tapestry, and somehow have room for a baby in there too. I´ll never complain again about having to carry groceries from the car to the kitchen.
Beer when poured out of the bottle into a glass is pure foam, again, the altitude, which has been the source of some frustration, having to resolve to hard liquor (hee, hee). Bolivia is the Coca capital (though some would argue that Colombia is) and the USA´s presence in aide and loans controls the economy, with a special emphasis on obliterating Coca (leave that is processed to make cocaine) cultivation. One sees the locals, i.e. indigenous, chewing the leaves as has been done for 2500 years and wasn´t a problem for anyone until the Europeans came. I went to a museum dedicated to Coca, very interesting, and learned a lot about this simple little plant that intrigues the world. And while there is an incredible demand in the US and other European countries, there will be a supply from Bolivia, creating a vast schism between political parties who support cocaleros (growers) and the US. However, we haven´t encountered much Anti-American sentiment other than graffiti on the walls. So it goes...
Tonight we´ll be heading to even higher and colder ground, Potosí, once the most important city in Latin America, because of its mines. I´m much looking forward to this city because of it´s historical significance, though supposedly only a ghost city anymore. I´ll tell you more as I learn more.
So we´re going to war? Another Vietnam? apparently the gov´ment has been unloading many a dollar in war preparation already. Hmmm? Nelson Mandela has condemned Bush, but I guess "peace" is not the objective.
Thursday, January 30, 2003
Peru - Puno
A quick note before we leave Peru. This should be our last stop and then we´ll move southeast around Lake Titicaca to La Paz. We could spend some time here, in and around the highest navigable lake in the world, but it´s kinda´ cold and it´s been raining every afternoon, making it colder. Surprisingly, it´s not as cold as one would thing for 13,000 feet (our bus ride rose up to 14,400 feet), just the breeze off the lake is reminiscent of, say, Chicago. So, tomorrow, early we´ll be off, continuing through the very green but treeless Altiplano of Bolivia to the other side of the lake. ("Altiplano" roughly translates as "high flats", though the terrain is hardly flat). Not much else to tell. Will be in touch from Bolivia
Thursday, January 23, 2003
Peru - Ayacucho
I still find myself impressed by the convenience of recent technology, i.e. Email. It´s incredible that I can be in a small town way up in the mountains of Peru and have a better connection than at home. Incredible!
We finally made it out of Lima. Our stay there was relaxing and we caught up on rest. The Cornejo-Lanao family treated us as their own, it was very nice to just have our own space for a little while. They are good people, I´d like to see them again (such a big family, we stayed with one of the seven children! there are some 18 grandchildren, most our age!).
But we haven´t parted completely from the Lanao family (in fact Lanao is Scott´s middle name ... it all makes sense now). We´re at the heart, staying with the grandparents Aquiles and Lucinda (Wiracocha "wise old man" in Quechua, and Morena are what everyone calls them). They´ve adopted Scott as their "nieto blanco" (white grandson) and treat me just as well. This couple reminds me so much of grandma and grandpa Genung (which reminds me, how are they?), A) because they´ve been married forever and B) because everyone with whom the come in contact adores them and vica versa. Once again we´ve lucked out in being welcomed like family. Aquiles is a well known figure in the local community, running cooperative farms and small banks to give nominal loans to those who otherwise wouldn´t qualify in larger banks. He was the former director of the Peace Corps in Peru, hence the Vandervoet connection, and is, just like his name, a wise old man. It is indeed a privilege to be staying with them (Morena is all the more the better half). Funny, yesterday as we were eating lunch, talking, listening to the radio in the background, when he tells us "quiet. listen" and we listen to the radio and it´s some news update, a man being interviewed about local progress and plans or something, and he says "that´s me." And it was! Just an example of what a figure he is here.
Ayacucho is not so much a town, as a small city, very busy, very dusty, but walkable. Again, we´re back in the altitude, some 9,000 feet, but it´s not as bad as before. Good excuse for a nap. The town is on the foothills of a mountain overlooking a grand valley. The vegetation is more abundant here, rather, there is vegetation because from Trujillo to Nasca, Peru is dry desert. The climate is very agreeable, fluctuating between 70 at night and 75 at day (I guesstimate). The sun is intense, yes I wear my sunscreen, especially on my forehead! My hair has bleached out and is very light (I too have not cut my hair) and my beard is almost ready for the cold weather of Bolivia.
Tomorrow morning we´re taking the early bus to Cuzco, which will take us through the short-cut through the Andes, only 20 hours! It will be a long ride, many switchbacks and mostly a dirt road. I´m looking forward to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Then again, I look forward to every day, because it´s always something very new.
Not much else to report. I wonder about the earthquake in Mexico, I´ll have to contact my friends there to see how they are.
We finally made it out of Lima. Our stay there was relaxing and we caught up on rest. The Cornejo-Lanao family treated us as their own, it was very nice to just have our own space for a little while. They are good people, I´d like to see them again (such a big family, we stayed with one of the seven children! there are some 18 grandchildren, most our age!).
But we haven´t parted completely from the Lanao family (in fact Lanao is Scott´s middle name ... it all makes sense now). We´re at the heart, staying with the grandparents Aquiles and Lucinda (Wiracocha "wise old man" in Quechua, and Morena are what everyone calls them). They´ve adopted Scott as their "nieto blanco" (white grandson) and treat me just as well. This couple reminds me so much of grandma and grandpa Genung (which reminds me, how are they?), A) because they´ve been married forever and B) because everyone with whom the come in contact adores them and vica versa. Once again we´ve lucked out in being welcomed like family. Aquiles is a well known figure in the local community, running cooperative farms and small banks to give nominal loans to those who otherwise wouldn´t qualify in larger banks. He was the former director of the Peace Corps in Peru, hence the Vandervoet connection, and is, just like his name, a wise old man. It is indeed a privilege to be staying with them (Morena is all the more the better half). Funny, yesterday as we were eating lunch, talking, listening to the radio in the background, when he tells us "quiet. listen" and we listen to the radio and it´s some news update, a man being interviewed about local progress and plans or something, and he says "that´s me." And it was! Just an example of what a figure he is here.
Ayacucho is not so much a town, as a small city, very busy, very dusty, but walkable. Again, we´re back in the altitude, some 9,000 feet, but it´s not as bad as before. Good excuse for a nap. The town is on the foothills of a mountain overlooking a grand valley. The vegetation is more abundant here, rather, there is vegetation because from Trujillo to Nasca, Peru is dry desert. The climate is very agreeable, fluctuating between 70 at night and 75 at day (I guesstimate). The sun is intense, yes I wear my sunscreen, especially on my forehead! My hair has bleached out and is very light (I too have not cut my hair) and my beard is almost ready for the cold weather of Bolivia.
Tomorrow morning we´re taking the early bus to Cuzco, which will take us through the short-cut through the Andes, only 20 hours! It will be a long ride, many switchbacks and mostly a dirt road. I´m looking forward to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Then again, I look forward to every day, because it´s always something very new.
Not much else to report. I wonder about the earthquake in Mexico, I´ll have to contact my friends there to see how they are.
Saturday, January 18, 2003
Peru - Pisco/Ica/Nasca
Pisco is a small port town in the desert, but really destertic with dunes and intense heat. The coast is nice and the nights are cool. We were only there a day and a night, but long enough to know the town. We detoured to the National Park of Paracas, which is also a coastal desert town, very, very barren, but for some reason attracts many, many seabirds on it´s peninsula and archipelago off the coast, thus attracting many tourists too. We admired from afar, as we are not tourists. Then we headed further south to the dust dunned town of Ica, which is really in the desert (reminds me of Marrakesh, Morocco, with Atlas Mountains in the distance and the dunes encroaching upon the city). But the dunes here don´t seem to be a concern, only the Paracas (same as the park) which means "rain of sand," which we were so fortunate not to have seen. In Ica we walked around, visited a small oasis/village of Huacachina that is literally an oasis hidden in the dunes (I took pictures).
If we had gone a bit further south we would have seen the Nasca lines, which are gigantic lines scratched into the ground depicting animal figures (I´m sure there is info on the internet), but I was satisfied with looking at pictures and seeing a replica at a the regional museum in Ica. Ica is supposedly inhospitable to the tourist as my guidebook suggested and many locals told us time and again to be careful, which we are, but no more than usual. Well, we had no problems, and were able to visit a vineyard and get a tour of how they make their wine and their brandy like tequila called Pisco (just like the town), which is very strong and is especially good with Lime juice, tasting much like a Margarita. We bought a bottle, and broke it in on our return to Lima, but are saving the rest to warm the bellies in the altitudes near Machu Pichu.
Also, we purchased little truffle-like candies called Tejas (just like Texas, but pronounced "teh-has") one bag for us, one bag for our hosts. Good stuff. Which reminds me of another candy we bought weeks ago in Trujillo, strangely named King Kong, (perhaps some bastardization of some indigenous word, perhaps not), a breaded candy that comes in a big box. The big box we bought was intended to be a gift, but it didn´t make it to Lima. also good stuff! What is not good stuff is Coca Cola´s only competitor, a Peruvian Soda called Inca Kola. In fact, it is the only national product in the world that outsells Coca Cola, within Peru. That is it outsells Coca-Cola cola, I´m sure with all the other Coca Cola products that Inca Kola doesn´t have a chance. But it´s nuclear yellow color and bubblelicious bubble gum taste just turn my stomach, but sales are high here. Good for them. (Did you know that 20%+ of liquid consumed by humans, in the WORLD, is a Coca Cola product. Yup, 20%, including their bottled water, sprite, fanta, etc. I learned that back home. Coca Cola is EVERYWHERE, but with an unrelenting presence. Just when you think you´re in the middle of nowhere, a donkey passes you carrying ... Coca Cola!).
So, our plan is to leave, again, Monday, and push it through to Bolivia by the end of January, and be in Sao Paulo sometime around the 15th of February (that will be pushing it, but the route we´ve mapped will accommodate: La Paz to Potosí to Villazón to Salta (northern Argentina) to Asunción (paraguay) to Iguazu Falls (border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) and up to Sao Paulo; roughly 15 to 17 days. Roughly a rough trip, but we´re travelers, and we´ve come a long way, it can´t be anything we haven´t seen before, though the altitudes in Bolivia might be an issue, try 10,000+ feet is Lake Titicaca, and that won´t be our apogee)
I don´t know what else is going on. I´m feeling well, eating well. Perhaps I will see Lord of the Rings tonight. On the bus back we watched Spider Man and Captain Hart´s War (or something like that) and that was the cheap bus!!!
...
As for the guitar, I play it all the time, but am anticipating tiring of carrying it around, after Brazil. True, I could get rid of it, but it´s been good. I´ll probably leave it somewhere. And my books? what will I do with them? Mail them? so heavy. And how are my guitars at home? I miss them too. Now that I think about it, I hated this guitar because it was so bad compared to my others.
If we had gone a bit further south we would have seen the Nasca lines, which are gigantic lines scratched into the ground depicting animal figures (I´m sure there is info on the internet), but I was satisfied with looking at pictures and seeing a replica at a the regional museum in Ica. Ica is supposedly inhospitable to the tourist as my guidebook suggested and many locals told us time and again to be careful, which we are, but no more than usual. Well, we had no problems, and were able to visit a vineyard and get a tour of how they make their wine and their brandy like tequila called Pisco (just like the town), which is very strong and is especially good with Lime juice, tasting much like a Margarita. We bought a bottle, and broke it in on our return to Lima, but are saving the rest to warm the bellies in the altitudes near Machu Pichu.
Also, we purchased little truffle-like candies called Tejas (just like Texas, but pronounced "teh-has") one bag for us, one bag for our hosts. Good stuff. Which reminds me of another candy we bought weeks ago in Trujillo, strangely named King Kong, (perhaps some bastardization of some indigenous word, perhaps not), a breaded candy that comes in a big box. The big box we bought was intended to be a gift, but it didn´t make it to Lima. also good stuff! What is not good stuff is Coca Cola´s only competitor, a Peruvian Soda called Inca Kola. In fact, it is the only national product in the world that outsells Coca Cola, within Peru. That is it outsells Coca-Cola cola, I´m sure with all the other Coca Cola products that Inca Kola doesn´t have a chance. But it´s nuclear yellow color and bubblelicious bubble gum taste just turn my stomach, but sales are high here. Good for them. (Did you know that 20%+ of liquid consumed by humans, in the WORLD, is a Coca Cola product. Yup, 20%, including their bottled water, sprite, fanta, etc. I learned that back home. Coca Cola is EVERYWHERE, but with an unrelenting presence. Just when you think you´re in the middle of nowhere, a donkey passes you carrying ... Coca Cola!).
So, our plan is to leave, again, Monday, and push it through to Bolivia by the end of January, and be in Sao Paulo sometime around the 15th of February (that will be pushing it, but the route we´ve mapped will accommodate: La Paz to Potosí to Villazón to Salta (northern Argentina) to Asunción (paraguay) to Iguazu Falls (border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) and up to Sao Paulo; roughly 15 to 17 days. Roughly a rough trip, but we´re travelers, and we´ve come a long way, it can´t be anything we haven´t seen before, though the altitudes in Bolivia might be an issue, try 10,000+ feet is Lake Titicaca, and that won´t be our apogee)
I don´t know what else is going on. I´m feeling well, eating well. Perhaps I will see Lord of the Rings tonight. On the bus back we watched Spider Man and Captain Hart´s War (or something like that) and that was the cheap bus!!!
...
As for the guitar, I play it all the time, but am anticipating tiring of carrying it around, after Brazil. True, I could get rid of it, but it´s been good. I´ll probably leave it somewhere. And my books? what will I do with them? Mail them? so heavy. And how are my guitars at home? I miss them too. Now that I think about it, I hated this guitar because it was so bad compared to my others.
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
Peru - Lima IV
Finally, we got our passports back from the Brazilian Embassy. I don´t like not having it, but now it´s got this nice visa stamp to add to my collection. I don´t know if it was worth $100 dollars, then again I didn´t have much choice. We´ll see. Anyway, we´re planning on heading south the Pisco tomorrow, that is if our laundry dries and we find the bus station. From there we´ll hang out around the coast for a couple days, then climb back into the Andes to visit the rest of the family, in Ayacucho. From there the tentative plan is to go to Cuzco (and Machu Pichu) then Bolivia. Little by little, we´re getting there. Next month we should be pretty close, if not already in, Brazil.
...
Our stay in Lima was semi productive, got the visa, got my shots, got a package mailed home (keep an eye out, expected to be arriving soon!). Though I spent a fair amount of time (lots) lounging around, it was nice to rest completely, eat well, see a few movies and just recuperate from the traveling and the illness. I think I´ve lost some weight, which I´m not to thrilled about, but my metabolism just won´t slow down. I feel fine, I guess I just burn all my energy walking. I´m looking forward to moving on, as our stay here was a bit "sheltered" being housed in such a nice part of town, but it was definitely worth it. The family has treated us like their own, much because Scott´s been here a couple times before, and we´ve been able to get to know a less common socio-economic lifestyle in Peru: upper class. Certainly nice, but not necessarily my style.
...
Our stay in Lima was semi productive, got the visa, got my shots, got a package mailed home (keep an eye out, expected to be arriving soon!). Though I spent a fair amount of time (lots) lounging around, it was nice to rest completely, eat well, see a few movies and just recuperate from the traveling and the illness. I think I´ve lost some weight, which I´m not to thrilled about, but my metabolism just won´t slow down. I feel fine, I guess I just burn all my energy walking. I´m looking forward to moving on, as our stay here was a bit "sheltered" being housed in such a nice part of town, but it was definitely worth it. The family has treated us like their own, much because Scott´s been here a couple times before, and we´ve been able to get to know a less common socio-economic lifestyle in Peru: upper class. Certainly nice, but not necessarily my style.
Saturday, January 11, 2003
Peru - Lima III
Yup, still here, as the passport situation doesn´t give us much freedom to travel. I mean, we could go wherever within Peru, but it wouldn´t be the wisest thing to do only having copies. Fortunately I was able to withdraw money from the bank, i.e. cash advance, but I spent a good part of that on the hepatitis shots (A & B, $70).
Oh well, I´m set now, for the next five years at least. And the clinic I went to was much nicer than the Pima clinic in Tucson, I didn´t check the vile, but I´m confident it wasn´t expired, it´s not like I´m in Nogales, hee, hee. Anyway, I´m getting a lot of reading done because we hang out at the house a lot. Which is fine by me. However, last night, we spent way too much money going out, for really no reason other than being in a place as expensive as any U.S. bar, but that situation must be avoided at all costs, the expenses I mean, but I was able to dance with some lovely Peruvian ladies.
The previous night we treated ourselves to an American night in, eating two Domino´s Pizzas and renting a movie (French, AMELIE, very very good) from Blockbuster´s. It´s incredible how far the American culture has spread. In fact this family is more American than us. They all work from Dawn ´till Dusk, have memberships at private heath clubs, vacation once in a great while, have one car per person, don´t know the names of their neighbors, don´t recycle ect. The only thing different is their maid (indentured servant) who waits hand and foot by day.
It´s a awkward situation for me because I´m not exactly used to someone cleaning up after me. Then again, the maid, named Kamu, is probably living much better off here than where she´s from as the social schism is vast in these countries, middle class is almost non existent. Not to sound overly critical, but the daughters seem to live somewhat sheltered upper class lives, not really appreciating their condition, perhaps taking things for granted. They work at least, the oldest Claudia is some business executive for Procter and Gamble here in Lima; the middle one, Rita is a green lawyer working in public affairs but getting paid well, and the youngest, Marcela is finishing school in Psycology, in fact interning in some mental clinic. Scott has some strange non-romantic, semi-platonic relationship with her that I really don´t understand, but some things of his I just won´t understand. Anyway, it keeps him occupied while I read and write this Email. The mother, Pia, doesn´t work, but did, and is always in a hurry to be somewhere while the father, Wilbert (It must be a native Inca name or something), works as an engineering consultant for irrigation and water systems. They keep busy and have been more than hospitable to us, for which I am most grateful. I´m mostly glad to have some time to read.
As for any other news, we´re planning to head out sometime next week, towards where the grandparents of this family live, that is if we get our passports. I´ll probably need a new passport before the trip is over because I´ve almost filled all the pages. I guess I´ll have to stop by an embassy soon to find out how it works. As for Brazil, they´re supposed to issue an 90 tourist visa, which should be renewable, but we´ll see how the first 90 days goes.
Oh well, I´m set now, for the next five years at least. And the clinic I went to was much nicer than the Pima clinic in Tucson, I didn´t check the vile, but I´m confident it wasn´t expired, it´s not like I´m in Nogales, hee, hee. Anyway, I´m getting a lot of reading done because we hang out at the house a lot. Which is fine by me. However, last night, we spent way too much money going out, for really no reason other than being in a place as expensive as any U.S. bar, but that situation must be avoided at all costs, the expenses I mean, but I was able to dance with some lovely Peruvian ladies.
The previous night we treated ourselves to an American night in, eating two Domino´s Pizzas and renting a movie (French, AMELIE, very very good) from Blockbuster´s. It´s incredible how far the American culture has spread. In fact this family is more American than us. They all work from Dawn ´till Dusk, have memberships at private heath clubs, vacation once in a great while, have one car per person, don´t know the names of their neighbors, don´t recycle ect. The only thing different is their maid (indentured servant) who waits hand and foot by day.
It´s a awkward situation for me because I´m not exactly used to someone cleaning up after me. Then again, the maid, named Kamu, is probably living much better off here than where she´s from as the social schism is vast in these countries, middle class is almost non existent. Not to sound overly critical, but the daughters seem to live somewhat sheltered upper class lives, not really appreciating their condition, perhaps taking things for granted. They work at least, the oldest Claudia is some business executive for Procter and Gamble here in Lima; the middle one, Rita is a green lawyer working in public affairs but getting paid well, and the youngest, Marcela is finishing school in Psycology, in fact interning in some mental clinic. Scott has some strange non-romantic, semi-platonic relationship with her that I really don´t understand, but some things of his I just won´t understand. Anyway, it keeps him occupied while I read and write this Email. The mother, Pia, doesn´t work, but did, and is always in a hurry to be somewhere while the father, Wilbert (It must be a native Inca name or something), works as an engineering consultant for irrigation and water systems. They keep busy and have been more than hospitable to us, for which I am most grateful. I´m mostly glad to have some time to read.
As for any other news, we´re planning to head out sometime next week, towards where the grandparents of this family live, that is if we get our passports. I´ll probably need a new passport before the trip is over because I´ve almost filled all the pages. I guess I´ll have to stop by an embassy soon to find out how it works. As for Brazil, they´re supposed to issue an 90 tourist visa, which should be renewable, but we´ll see how the first 90 days goes.
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Peru - Lima II
We´ve been on the road for, today, 101 days, last night we had a drink to celebrate, though it wasn´t much celebration being Tuesday. We´re going to hang out here for a few days, maybe a week, maybe more. It all depends on how we feel. We also have to go to the Brazilian consulate to inquire about tourist visas, as they´re the only country requiring one, which we´re going to do today.
...
We got all the necessary information turned in everything at the Brazilian consulate here in Lima, which took the better part of this morning and cost and arm, $100, but I guess that´s what the US charges to get in, however it´s a spiteful policy to impose the same restrictions when Brazil hardly has the same pressure from people attempting to emigrate illegally. Besides, I wonder how much they get in foreign aid? Oh well, water under the bridge. The only bad part is I´m without passport until next week, on which they´ll place the tourist visa.
...
We´re also going to inquire about mailing a package, prices etc. We haven´t discussed to whose house it will be mailed, but it will most likely be one for both of us and you back home will have to sort out whose is whose, we´ll have it organized.
That´s the news for now. I feel well, even after a Pisco sour last night (pisco is a local alcohol) and am being cautious. I think i´m fine, we´ll see.
...
We got all the necessary information turned in everything at the Brazilian consulate here in Lima, which took the better part of this morning and cost and arm, $100, but I guess that´s what the US charges to get in, however it´s a spiteful policy to impose the same restrictions when Brazil hardly has the same pressure from people attempting to emigrate illegally. Besides, I wonder how much they get in foreign aid? Oh well, water under the bridge. The only bad part is I´m without passport until next week, on which they´ll place the tourist visa.
...
We´re also going to inquire about mailing a package, prices etc. We haven´t discussed to whose house it will be mailed, but it will most likely be one for both of us and you back home will have to sort out whose is whose, we´ll have it organized.
That´s the news for now. I feel well, even after a Pisco sour last night (pisco is a local alcohol) and am being cautious. I think i´m fine, we´ll see.
Tuesday, January 7, 2003
Peru - Lima I
We´ve arrived safe and sound in Lima after a long overnight bus ride, though the bus was probably the nicest one we´ve been on yet. Since we arrived early, we walked, all five miles (maybe less, took two 1/2 hours) from the bus station to the Lima Family house: Cornejo Lanao, who have very nice place in the nice part of town and have nice pretty daughters (and they´re our age. Uh oh!) and we have our own nice little guest house and a nice maid who lives here cooking and cleaning, but the best part is the guest house because it has a music (tape and CD collection) that I look forward to checking out.
I´m feeling better, much better, I´d almost say 100%, but last night´s bus ride left me a bit groggy, even after a nap. But I can, with certainty, say that I´m over the infection, just have to be on guard to see if it does something like yours did, hopefully not. Honestly, I was pretty worried for a while.
I´m feeling better, much better, I´d almost say 100%, but last night´s bus ride left me a bit groggy, even after a nap. But I can, with certainty, say that I´m over the infection, just have to be on guard to see if it does something like yours did, hopefully not. Honestly, I was pretty worried for a while.
Saturday, January 4, 2003
Peru - Trujillo
On the move again.
We´ve cruised through three towns in as many days, taking advantage of night buses or short rides. Let´s see. There was the small, quiet Piura where the locals are nothing but old men by day and young girls by night. Crossing the border into Peru, and getting closer to the coast, the climate has warmed and dried up, also our eleveation has lowered significantly.
Then we were in Chiclayo long enough to see what the town itself had to offer. Spent a night, though a tourist would have a much better time for several days as there are a number of incredible pre-colombian ruins surrounding the town described as the south American Egypt, which we missed, but we´re travellers, not tourists.
From there we´ve made it to Trujillo, which is right on the coast and warm like May in Arizona and the town is clean, cheap and people seem friendly enough. Summer is just starting here, so this is going to turn out to be the never ending summer as we´ve had great weather most of the trip, save Ecuador.
As for my illness, I feel back to normal. The infection in the throat cleared, my sinuses are draining and I can hear normally and I am feeling like my chipper self again. I´ll keep in mind your tragic strep story, but I´m hoping for the best. We´ll be in Lima on Monday, and from there I can look up doctors that the insurance covers and I´ll keep a close account of my symptoms or lack there of. Fortunately, it never went into my lungs, which, as you well know, are more sensitive.
Speaking of lungs, I´ve only use one of my ten or so inhalers, which is good thing. Oh, Scott and I are going to probably send a package home from Lima, a few things we will not longer need, or didn´t need in the first place. Somewhere along the way, the tiger tail Clair gave me got ripped off, either by accident or intentionally, but I know it made it to Costa Rica. I miss it.
...
Our scam of Withdrawing as a Cash advance using Visa in the banks still works, saving us $3 every time. Financially, I´m better of than anticipated, but still keeping a tight budget. We´ll be able to save some money in Lima staying with Scott´s friends.
Any updates? Any community news. National? are we going to war yet? hopefully not? perhaps Bush resigned? Not much else going on here. Haven´t changed shirt or pants in two weeks, you can hardly tell by looking, but smelling... hee. hee.
We´ve cruised through three towns in as many days, taking advantage of night buses or short rides. Let´s see. There was the small, quiet Piura where the locals are nothing but old men by day and young girls by night. Crossing the border into Peru, and getting closer to the coast, the climate has warmed and dried up, also our eleveation has lowered significantly.
Then we were in Chiclayo long enough to see what the town itself had to offer. Spent a night, though a tourist would have a much better time for several days as there are a number of incredible pre-colombian ruins surrounding the town described as the south American Egypt, which we missed, but we´re travellers, not tourists.
From there we´ve made it to Trujillo, which is right on the coast and warm like May in Arizona and the town is clean, cheap and people seem friendly enough. Summer is just starting here, so this is going to turn out to be the never ending summer as we´ve had great weather most of the trip, save Ecuador.
As for my illness, I feel back to normal. The infection in the throat cleared, my sinuses are draining and I can hear normally and I am feeling like my chipper self again. I´ll keep in mind your tragic strep story, but I´m hoping for the best. We´ll be in Lima on Monday, and from there I can look up doctors that the insurance covers and I´ll keep a close account of my symptoms or lack there of. Fortunately, it never went into my lungs, which, as you well know, are more sensitive.
Speaking of lungs, I´ve only use one of my ten or so inhalers, which is good thing. Oh, Scott and I are going to probably send a package home from Lima, a few things we will not longer need, or didn´t need in the first place. Somewhere along the way, the tiger tail Clair gave me got ripped off, either by accident or intentionally, but I know it made it to Costa Rica. I miss it.
...
Our scam of Withdrawing as a Cash advance using Visa in the banks still works, saving us $3 every time. Financially, I´m better of than anticipated, but still keeping a tight budget. We´ll be able to save some money in Lima staying with Scott´s friends.
Any updates? Any community news. National? are we going to war yet? hopefully not? perhaps Bush resigned? Not much else going on here. Haven´t changed shirt or pants in two weeks, you can hardly tell by looking, but smelling... hee. hee.
Thursday, January 2, 2003
Peru - Piura
Yet another country.
We took the overnight bus last night from southern Ecuador (Loja) to northern Peru (Piura). It´s nice take overnight buses to save a hotel expense, but we miss out on the views. We were glad to be out of Loja: their New Year´s celebrations were a bit disheartening since they burn paper floats, not so much that as the theme of main one was an Anti-U.S. theme of Uncle Sam, U.S. Military and an a general Anti-American attitude. I could only shake my head in disappointment, because of all the respect I immediately lost. Though no one has ever said anything, their actions speak louder than their words. I´m sure that only a few ruin it for the rest, but no one objects, and the American becomes the target of everyone´s criticism and hate despite the fact our tax dollars reach as far as their ungrateful hands to support their economy and perhaps help in ¨progress¨, not that that´s a good thing and of course the sword is double edged, but one should not bite the had that feeds you, as they say. Needless to say, I didn´t stay up ´till midnight.
Aside that I needed the rest to get over this (I´ve concluded viral) infection, of which I am greatly recovering, the celebrations would have just pissed me off making me a hazard to myself and those around me. Besides, even after all these countries and everyone lighting firecrackers, I still can´t get used to a M-80 going of one meter from where I stand. Maybe it´s just me.
So yeah, long bus ride, easy border crossing at 3:AM, the guards and customs were literally in their pajamas. We rolled in to dry, warm, low-elevated, Piura and waited for the town to wake up (We arrived at 6;AM) and found a cheap place, took a cold shower, waited for the banks to open so we could get some Soles (one Sol) which are 3.5 to one dollar and have been so for a couple years according to Scott. Am very much looking forward to seeing the northern coast over the next couple days. Our plan is to be in Lima by the 6th or so, where we´ll have a house and time to relax, and fully recover from this sinus/ear/throat infection that I bring with me from Ecuador. I´ve taken enough antibiotics to make a horse sterile, so I should be good to go, i.e. 100% in a couple days, not that it has slowed me down too much.
Ecuador, in summary, is a nice place to be. The mountains are forever high and the people are forever interesting. However, what we saw was the colder aspects of both. We never saw the really poor 3rd world aspects either. The dollariziation also effected our experience making everything seem like a rip-off, when compared to the previous months of our trip. I can´t get over the mountains though, it would be nice to have a mountain bike or a 4x4 to just wander and explore the little villages and disappear. Of course there is Amazonia, of which we saw none, maybe next time.
We'll be in Peru for the next few weeks. I hope for the best, yet everything is so much better after getting rid of this illness (The back of my throat was white, around my eyes, especially my right one, were swollen, not to mention the glands in my throat; my ears wouldn´t ¨pop¨ and it hurt to swallow. I hope I don´t have to go through it again anytime soon).
We took the overnight bus last night from southern Ecuador (Loja) to northern Peru (Piura). It´s nice take overnight buses to save a hotel expense, but we miss out on the views. We were glad to be out of Loja: their New Year´s celebrations were a bit disheartening since they burn paper floats, not so much that as the theme of main one was an Anti-U.S. theme of Uncle Sam, U.S. Military and an a general Anti-American attitude. I could only shake my head in disappointment, because of all the respect I immediately lost. Though no one has ever said anything, their actions speak louder than their words. I´m sure that only a few ruin it for the rest, but no one objects, and the American becomes the target of everyone´s criticism and hate despite the fact our tax dollars reach as far as their ungrateful hands to support their economy and perhaps help in ¨progress¨, not that that´s a good thing and of course the sword is double edged, but one should not bite the had that feeds you, as they say. Needless to say, I didn´t stay up ´till midnight.
Aside that I needed the rest to get over this (I´ve concluded viral) infection, of which I am greatly recovering, the celebrations would have just pissed me off making me a hazard to myself and those around me. Besides, even after all these countries and everyone lighting firecrackers, I still can´t get used to a M-80 going of one meter from where I stand. Maybe it´s just me.
So yeah, long bus ride, easy border crossing at 3:AM, the guards and customs were literally in their pajamas. We rolled in to dry, warm, low-elevated, Piura and waited for the town to wake up (We arrived at 6;AM) and found a cheap place, took a cold shower, waited for the banks to open so we could get some Soles (one Sol) which are 3.5 to one dollar and have been so for a couple years according to Scott. Am very much looking forward to seeing the northern coast over the next couple days. Our plan is to be in Lima by the 6th or so, where we´ll have a house and time to relax, and fully recover from this sinus/ear/throat infection that I bring with me from Ecuador. I´ve taken enough antibiotics to make a horse sterile, so I should be good to go, i.e. 100% in a couple days, not that it has slowed me down too much.
Ecuador, in summary, is a nice place to be. The mountains are forever high and the people are forever interesting. However, what we saw was the colder aspects of both. We never saw the really poor 3rd world aspects either. The dollariziation also effected our experience making everything seem like a rip-off, when compared to the previous months of our trip. I can´t get over the mountains though, it would be nice to have a mountain bike or a 4x4 to just wander and explore the little villages and disappear. Of course there is Amazonia, of which we saw none, maybe next time.
We'll be in Peru for the next few weeks. I hope for the best, yet everything is so much better after getting rid of this illness (The back of my throat was white, around my eyes, especially my right one, were swollen, not to mention the glands in my throat; my ears wouldn´t ¨pop¨ and it hurt to swallow. I hope I don´t have to go through it again anytime soon).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)