Hello,
After sifting through nearly 6000 photos, I've FINALLY posted a few photos on my me.com website. Here are the links:
Latin American Photos website
New Zealand Australia Scotland phots website
I hope you enjoy them.
Feel free to drop me a line sometime at staceybai@yahoo.com.
cheers,
Stacey
Monday, August 6, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
Home Sweet Home
Home, home, home, home. Home. Home. Home. Home. HOME!!!!!!
I missed my house. How do you hug a house?
Feels soooooooo good to be home. To sleep in MY bed (in all its soft, fluffy, bedbugless wonderfulness). To drive MY car (who knew running errands could be such a joy?). To eat MY food (ORGANIC BROWN RICE!!! Heaping piles of GREEN vegetables. Spelt toast!). To use MY shower ( I will never complain about my shower again!).
I arrived home a week ago Thursday. Fortunately I left Edinburgh, Scotland before the terrorist incident in Glasgow on Friday. My luggage, which managed to not get lost for 20 flights over the last 6.5 months, didn't arrive in Syracuse with me from Chicago. The airline found and delivered it two days after I got home. Better at the end of my trip than at the start, I suppose.
After I left Australia, I spent 10 days in Scotland. I spent three days at the house of a friend in Edinburgh, and did a 7 day tour of the West Highlands, the Isle of Skye, and several Orkney Islands. What a beautiful country! Green and mountainous. Wide, open spaces. Lots of sheep. And cold. A warm summer day in Scotland is a warm winter day in Syracuse! The West Highlands reminded me of the Andes in Peru.
The tour I took was fabulous. We were 16 people and the guide. I was a great group. A good mix of people from Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, England, and the US. We traveled over 1000 miles (1649 km) in 7 days! So the bulk of the trip was driving.
Every so often we'd stop to see a historic sight, or to go for a "wee walk". A "wee walk" usually entailed 45 minutes of walking up. "Oh stop your wingeing. This is Scotland. We have hills here," as our Scottish guide would tell us in response to our moans whenever he'd announce it was time for a "wee walk". And he'd walk UP those mountainous hills with the same ease as did those quechua people in the Andes. It felt more like a "wee uphill sprint". But once I made it to the top and caught my breath, the views were spectacular. One thing I've learn this trip is that I can safely remove "mounaineer" off my list of career possibilities.
Every so often Budgie ( the name of the tour guide: "Kids are cruel". He had a huge puffin beak like nose) would stop the car for a wee walk in what looked like the middle of nowhere. Just farmland dotted with sheep. "But there's nothing here as far as the eye can see," I'd think to myself. And off we'd go. And some 30 minutes or so later, you could start to see SOMETHING that looked promising. You'd never know this stuff was here unless someone from here told you. Sometimes he'd send us on our own: "Go straight for a while, turn left at the third sheep and go straight. When you're done, continue your way around and down I'll meet you over there with the bus. Don't stray off the path because you might sink in a peat bogg." (Sink in a peat bogg?!) And these directions actually worked!
And while in Edinburgh, I attended a kaylie (I don't know how to spell the word). It's tradional dancing with live music. Gotta love a dance where men where skirts and you can dance wearing hiking boots. Half the people didn't know the dances. it was a blast!
Scotland was great fun.
And now I'm home. Can't believe the adventure has come to an end. I had a grand time. I'm so glad I did this. And, FYI, I met MANY people on the road who had quit their jobs and decided to volunteer and/or travel for a while. I was in good company.
I will find a website to post some of my photos over the last year. When I'm done I'll post the link here in case any of you are interested in seeing the photos.
cheers,
Stacey
Friday, June 15, 2007
How Sweet the Little Blue Penguin
Greetings from Melbourne,
Melbourne is a beautiful city. Mixture of old and new buildings. Lots of green space (the botanical garden is amazing!). It's a great place to wander around.
However, let's talk penguins.
Every night after the sun sets, the little blue penguins climb out of the Tasmin Sea and head back to their burroughs to rest, mate, or just hang with their neighbors. Last night I watched several groups of them perform this nightly ritual. They assemble in the surf, and when they have a sufficient critical mass, they walk out of the sea, over the sand, pass the on-lookers, and into the grass. It takes them several attempts to make this crossing as they are paranoid about birds swooping down to grab them as they leave the water. (they are only 8 to 12 inches tall!) And they get scared at the slightest movements. When scared, they turn and run back into the surf. But eventually they make it across. It's a wonderful to watch them frantically waddle their way to safety.
Once they arrive in the grassy area, you can watch them waddle to their burroughs. They are noisey buggers! And there are some squabbles along the way. But they are TOO CUTE in their white and blueness. It was worth braving the freezing winds off the Tasman Sea to watch them.
And I finally saw the South Cross. It was a clear night with a million stars. Had an Aussie point out the South Cross Constellation. Doesn't look like much of a cross to me.
cheers,
Stacey
Melbourne is a beautiful city. Mixture of old and new buildings. Lots of green space (the botanical garden is amazing!). It's a great place to wander around.
However, let's talk penguins.
Every night after the sun sets, the little blue penguins climb out of the Tasmin Sea and head back to their burroughs to rest, mate, or just hang with their neighbors. Last night I watched several groups of them perform this nightly ritual. They assemble in the surf, and when they have a sufficient critical mass, they walk out of the sea, over the sand, pass the on-lookers, and into the grass. It takes them several attempts to make this crossing as they are paranoid about birds swooping down to grab them as they leave the water. (they are only 8 to 12 inches tall!) And they get scared at the slightest movements. When scared, they turn and run back into the surf. But eventually they make it across. It's a wonderful to watch them frantically waddle their way to safety.
Once they arrive in the grassy area, you can watch them waddle to their burroughs. They are noisey buggers! And there are some squabbles along the way. But they are TOO CUTE in their white and blueness. It was worth braving the freezing winds off the Tasman Sea to watch them.
And I finally saw the South Cross. It was a clear night with a million stars. Had an Aussie point out the South Cross Constellation. Doesn't look like much of a cross to me.
cheers,
Stacey
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Melbourne
Greetings from Melbourne,
Arrived in Melbourne this afternoon. It's hard to believe that my travels will over in 16 days. After 6 days in Melbourne, I'll spend 10 days in Scotland, and then it's back to Syracuse. It will have been six months and three weeks since I left home. Times flies when you're having an adventure.
When last I wrote, I had just arrived in Adelaide. Adelaide is a pleasant city. And just what did I do in Adelaide?
Visited the Barossa Valley. The Barossa Valley has beautiful scenery, and is famous for its vineyards. They make excellent shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and port. En route to the valley, we stopped at a town famous for making wooden toys. And as a form of advertisement, they have huge rocking horse -- 60 feet tall -- on display in town. It seems towns in Australia and New Zealand like to create huge statues of things for which they are famous. You could climb to the top of the rocking horse for a view of..... who knows cuz I didn't feel like climbing up a metal horse in the pooring rain.
Next to the horse was a small zoo. There was a cage full of parrots of various types, including a fat pink trouble maker who would suddenly scream for no reason, causing the other twenty parrots to scream, puff their feathers, spead their wings and fly around the cage. Twenty odd screaming parrots make a terrifying and deafening noise. Then just as suddenly, they'd go silent, and the white ones would say "hello".
On the way home we visited the "whispering wall", which is really the curved wall of a reservoir. But sure enough, it sounds like the people at the other end are whispering in your ear despite the fact that they are really all the way over there on the other side. Takes five minutes to walk to the other side of the damn wall.
Kangaroo Island was nice. It's an island that his half farmers and half nature reserve. The island is full of koalas, kangaroos, wombats, possums, animals that look like porcupines but are not, penguins, seals, pelicans. You can see all these animals in the wild living their lives. And there are some beautiful secluded beaches as well.
Visited the port town of Glenelg. This is where the ships first landed when then came down to South Australia. Now-a-days, it's shops and restaurants and beautiful public beaches.
And there are several interesting museums in Adelaide, as well as a gorgeous botanical garden.
Over the weekend there was a Cabaret Festival. I saw a couple of performances.
The first was 6'5" Australian man, mid to late 40's, who pretended to be an 80 year old, uppper class, English woman. His character is a singer who has now incorporated hiphop music and lyrics to her songs. This was hilarious in a bizarre way (picture Queen Elizabeth rapping about her frustrations, but not using any foul language). Equally entertaining was the audience: white, middle-aged australians. At the end of the performance, the audience was required to engage in a hiphop version of the Hokey Pokey. Very, very strange.
The second show was a performance of two young women, dressed in corsets and striped socks, who performed and sang about topics that reflected concerns of women -- sex, their hair, finding love. They were very good. For their encore they did a song about why they hate Americans. It was very funny.
The hotel where I stayed was beautiful! It was a five star hotel that I gave me an incredible deal. The decore was 1920's, but in subtle colors and designs. And the concierge was a riot. He worked his fanny off.
And that was Adelaide.
cheers,
Stacey
Arrived in Melbourne this afternoon. It's hard to believe that my travels will over in 16 days. After 6 days in Melbourne, I'll spend 10 days in Scotland, and then it's back to Syracuse. It will have been six months and three weeks since I left home. Times flies when you're having an adventure.
When last I wrote, I had just arrived in Adelaide. Adelaide is a pleasant city. And just what did I do in Adelaide?
Visited the Barossa Valley. The Barossa Valley has beautiful scenery, and is famous for its vineyards. They make excellent shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and port. En route to the valley, we stopped at a town famous for making wooden toys. And as a form of advertisement, they have huge rocking horse -- 60 feet tall -- on display in town. It seems towns in Australia and New Zealand like to create huge statues of things for which they are famous. You could climb to the top of the rocking horse for a view of..... who knows cuz I didn't feel like climbing up a metal horse in the pooring rain.
Next to the horse was a small zoo. There was a cage full of parrots of various types, including a fat pink trouble maker who would suddenly scream for no reason, causing the other twenty parrots to scream, puff their feathers, spead their wings and fly around the cage. Twenty odd screaming parrots make a terrifying and deafening noise. Then just as suddenly, they'd go silent, and the white ones would say "hello".
On the way home we visited the "whispering wall", which is really the curved wall of a reservoir. But sure enough, it sounds like the people at the other end are whispering in your ear despite the fact that they are really all the way over there on the other side. Takes five minutes to walk to the other side of the damn wall.
Kangaroo Island was nice. It's an island that his half farmers and half nature reserve. The island is full of koalas, kangaroos, wombats, possums, animals that look like porcupines but are not, penguins, seals, pelicans. You can see all these animals in the wild living their lives. And there are some beautiful secluded beaches as well.
Visited the port town of Glenelg. This is where the ships first landed when then came down to South Australia. Now-a-days, it's shops and restaurants and beautiful public beaches.
And there are several interesting museums in Adelaide, as well as a gorgeous botanical garden.
Over the weekend there was a Cabaret Festival. I saw a couple of performances.
The first was 6'5" Australian man, mid to late 40's, who pretended to be an 80 year old, uppper class, English woman. His character is a singer who has now incorporated hiphop music and lyrics to her songs. This was hilarious in a bizarre way (picture Queen Elizabeth rapping about her frustrations, but not using any foul language). Equally entertaining was the audience: white, middle-aged australians. At the end of the performance, the audience was required to engage in a hiphop version of the Hokey Pokey. Very, very strange.
The second show was a performance of two young women, dressed in corsets and striped socks, who performed and sang about topics that reflected concerns of women -- sex, their hair, finding love. They were very good. For their encore they did a song about why they hate Americans. It was very funny.
The hotel where I stayed was beautiful! It was a five star hotel that I gave me an incredible deal. The decore was 1920's, but in subtle colors and designs. And the concierge was a riot. He worked his fanny off.
And that was Adelaide.
cheers,
Stacey
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Simply Spectacular
G'Day,
If it's Tuesday, I must be in Adelaide. Arrived this morning. And I woke up way too early to catch the flight here from Cairns. Tonight will be an early night.
After Brisbane, I spent several days in Cairns. Cairns itself is not so interesting, but it's a place from which you can do many things: Kuranda, Port Douglas, the Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, just to name a few places.
Too me, the Great Barrier Reef was the best thing I saw during my stay in Cairns. And that's not to say that the rest of the sites were disappointing. The Reef is incredibly beautiful.
I joined an all day dive and snork cruise out to three sites in the Reef. It was a spectacular day, which Uncle Fluffy (our marine biology specialist and snorkel supervisor) explained is rare in the winter. Once it becomes winter, the winds pick up (20+ knots), and the sites diving and snorkeling sites are limited, assuming we survive the boat ride. But that day the winds were calm, which meant we were able to visit three prime summer dive and snorkel sites.
We spent an hour at each site. The water was a beautiful shades of blue and not too cold. Uncle Fluffy snorkeled with us and made sure we saw gorgeous coral reefs and various rare fish and animal life. I saw two white tipped sharks (these are vegetarians), several gigantic clams, a lion fish, and Nemo (the orange and white clown fish). And the coral was simply amazing. The shapes and colors!!!! I was simply content to swim and look at the pretty fish and coral. Three hours of snorkeling is exhausting. And I don't think I missed anything by not diving. The reefs were close to the surface.
My next favorite place was Paronella Park. The history of the place is incredible. Paronella Park with created on a piece of land purchased by a Catalonian Spaniard at the beginning of the 1900s. He was a baker in Spain who decided to come to Australia to make his fortune as so many people did at that time. He was fortunate enough to save enough money over 11 years to purchase a large piece of land that had a small waterfall. Unfortunately, his fiancee, whom he left 11 years earlier, chose not to wait for him and married another man. So he married her sister and brought her to Australia. He then built a house in which the lived, and a spanish mansion and resort park for people in the area to enjoy. He build his house, the mansion, the fountains, the tables -- almost every structure on the premises himself, using stones from the river below and cement. He carried rocks and water up a whole lot of steps (that he also built). There were tennis courts, a bowling green, a ballroom, a refreshment stand, and a lovers' walk. He and a few friends built this incredible resort.
Over the years the place was distroyed by natural disasters and a fire. The current owners have been slowly rennovating the place. So what you see are ruins of the splendor that used to exist. Crumbling, moss covered structures. And even in this state it's a tranquil and inspiring place to visit.
The rest of my time was spent on various tours visiting different portions of the rain forest covered area. The area is green and peaceful. I also took a boat ride where I saw three large people eating crocodiles in the wild. Fortunately, it is winter, and crocs don't eat in the winter because they don't digest food when it's cold outside. Phew! These were big SOB's.
The drive up to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation, also the coastal road is gorgeous. Spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean with sandy, rocky or tree lined coasts. On one drive up the coast, we passed the scene of an accident. Turns out a tourist fell down the cliff after he got out his car to take photos of the coast line. He didn't get hurt.
I also had a chance to see several demonstrations of local aboriginal dancing, dirigidoo playing, spear and boomerang throwing. The dancing is very energetic; I got tired just watching them. I tried my hand at throwing a boomerang. It's harder than it looks, but not impossible. My boomerang partially returned to me. Passed on the spear throwing and the digeridoo.
We also visited another native animal park. There were koalas, crocodiles, lots of colorful birds, a pair of black swans, and two huge pelicans. We were able to walk among the kangaroos. I saw several kangaroos with joeys. They are adorable! I was able to hold a koala. They are so sweek and soft, although their claws tickle and prick a bit.
And that summarizes Cairns. Cairns is my favorite set of experiences thus far in Australia.
cheers,
Stacey
If it's Tuesday, I must be in Adelaide. Arrived this morning. And I woke up way too early to catch the flight here from Cairns. Tonight will be an early night.
After Brisbane, I spent several days in Cairns. Cairns itself is not so interesting, but it's a place from which you can do many things: Kuranda, Port Douglas, the Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, just to name a few places.
Too me, the Great Barrier Reef was the best thing I saw during my stay in Cairns. And that's not to say that the rest of the sites were disappointing. The Reef is incredibly beautiful.
I joined an all day dive and snork cruise out to three sites in the Reef. It was a spectacular day, which Uncle Fluffy (our marine biology specialist and snorkel supervisor) explained is rare in the winter. Once it becomes winter, the winds pick up (20+ knots), and the sites diving and snorkeling sites are limited, assuming we survive the boat ride. But that day the winds were calm, which meant we were able to visit three prime summer dive and snorkel sites.
We spent an hour at each site. The water was a beautiful shades of blue and not too cold. Uncle Fluffy snorkeled with us and made sure we saw gorgeous coral reefs and various rare fish and animal life. I saw two white tipped sharks (these are vegetarians), several gigantic clams, a lion fish, and Nemo (the orange and white clown fish). And the coral was simply amazing. The shapes and colors!!!! I was simply content to swim and look at the pretty fish and coral. Three hours of snorkeling is exhausting. And I don't think I missed anything by not diving. The reefs were close to the surface.
My next favorite place was Paronella Park. The history of the place is incredible. Paronella Park with created on a piece of land purchased by a Catalonian Spaniard at the beginning of the 1900s. He was a baker in Spain who decided to come to Australia to make his fortune as so many people did at that time. He was fortunate enough to save enough money over 11 years to purchase a large piece of land that had a small waterfall. Unfortunately, his fiancee, whom he left 11 years earlier, chose not to wait for him and married another man. So he married her sister and brought her to Australia. He then built a house in which the lived, and a spanish mansion and resort park for people in the area to enjoy. He build his house, the mansion, the fountains, the tables -- almost every structure on the premises himself, using stones from the river below and cement. He carried rocks and water up a whole lot of steps (that he also built). There were tennis courts, a bowling green, a ballroom, a refreshment stand, and a lovers' walk. He and a few friends built this incredible resort.
Over the years the place was distroyed by natural disasters and a fire. The current owners have been slowly rennovating the place. So what you see are ruins of the splendor that used to exist. Crumbling, moss covered structures. And even in this state it's a tranquil and inspiring place to visit.
The rest of my time was spent on various tours visiting different portions of the rain forest covered area. The area is green and peaceful. I also took a boat ride where I saw three large people eating crocodiles in the wild. Fortunately, it is winter, and crocs don't eat in the winter because they don't digest food when it's cold outside. Phew! These were big SOB's.
The drive up to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation, also the coastal road is gorgeous. Spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean with sandy, rocky or tree lined coasts. On one drive up the coast, we passed the scene of an accident. Turns out a tourist fell down the cliff after he got out his car to take photos of the coast line. He didn't get hurt.
I also had a chance to see several demonstrations of local aboriginal dancing, dirigidoo playing, spear and boomerang throwing. The dancing is very energetic; I got tired just watching them. I tried my hand at throwing a boomerang. It's harder than it looks, but not impossible. My boomerang partially returned to me. Passed on the spear throwing and the digeridoo.
We also visited another native animal park. There were koalas, crocodiles, lots of colorful birds, a pair of black swans, and two huge pelicans. We were able to walk among the kangaroos. I saw several kangaroos with joeys. They are adorable! I was able to hold a koala. They are so sweek and soft, although their claws tickle and prick a bit.
And that summarizes Cairns. Cairns is my favorite set of experiences thus far in Australia.
cheers,
Stacey
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Brisbane
I haven't been very inspired to write lately.
This is my last night in Brisbane. Brisbane is a pleasant city. Not as crowded as Sydney. Not as many tall, shiny highrise buildings. It's proximity to many gorgeous beaches is a plus.
I visited Frazer Island, Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast, and Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast. Pristine white sand beaches and clean blue Pacific Ocean water are what they all have in common. Absolutely gorgeous beaches.
Frazer Island is the world's largest sand island. It's white sandy beach on the eastern coast with rainforest on the rest of the island. There's not a lot of activity on the island. I spent only a day on the island, so I saw only a portion of the place. The drive along the beach coast line was amazing: white, white sand, blue water with huge crashing waves. Spent some time on a calmer portion of the beach. It was so beautiful.
On the way back to Brisbane, we stopped at a koala and kangaroo park. There were all sorts of native Australian animals there. Koalas are so damn cute! They sleep even more than cats! It was feeding time when we arrived, so the koalas were lively with anticipation of the day's eucalyptus leaves. By lively I mean, awake. They don't do tricks or cartwheels, although a couple of koalas DID pace back and forth awaiting their dinner.
There was a section of the park where you could walk among the kangaroos. It was an expansive space, and the kangaroos roamed freely. They didn't seem upset by the presence of humans, and you could get very close.
Also saw a tasmanian devil and a wombat. The tasmanian devil seemed a bit neurotic. He circled his habitat non-stop. As for the wombats... they are huge!
But the highlight of this visit was a white parrot, about 12 inches in length. He/She perched on the cage in front of me and said "Ello, ello, ello, ello, ello, ello" for quite a while, and nothing more. When I turned to leave, I say "bye-bye", to which the white parrot replied "bye-bye" with perfect timing! It was hilarious!
There's not much to say about Noosa Beach on the Sunshine Coast. It's a beach town, with gorgeous white sand beaches. There are shops, restaurants and homes. It's a quiet, relaxing place.
Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast, on the other hand... beautiful beach bordered by many tall condominiums, shops and restaurants. And it was raining when I visited, which meant that hanging out on the beach was not an option. That left the shops and restaurants. I suppose this is a great place if you are 20-something and interested in drinking and hanging out on the beach. I was very disappointed.
Tomorrow I fly to Cairns, located on/near the Great Barrier Reef. This should be cool.
By the way, I don't recall if I mentionned this, but Australia is suffering from a draught that has lasted for 5 years! One community near Brisbane has run out of drinking water. Lawns are brown. People are urged to to take 4 minute showers, and to minimize laundry. They can't use their garden hoses. The local reservoir managed to provide water to the area for 5 years, but is almost dry. It's a concerning situation to observe.
cheers,
Stacey
This is my last night in Brisbane. Brisbane is a pleasant city. Not as crowded as Sydney. Not as many tall, shiny highrise buildings. It's proximity to many gorgeous beaches is a plus.
I visited Frazer Island, Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast, and Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast. Pristine white sand beaches and clean blue Pacific Ocean water are what they all have in common. Absolutely gorgeous beaches.
Frazer Island is the world's largest sand island. It's white sandy beach on the eastern coast with rainforest on the rest of the island. There's not a lot of activity on the island. I spent only a day on the island, so I saw only a portion of the place. The drive along the beach coast line was amazing: white, white sand, blue water with huge crashing waves. Spent some time on a calmer portion of the beach. It was so beautiful.
On the way back to Brisbane, we stopped at a koala and kangaroo park. There were all sorts of native Australian animals there. Koalas are so damn cute! They sleep even more than cats! It was feeding time when we arrived, so the koalas were lively with anticipation of the day's eucalyptus leaves. By lively I mean, awake. They don't do tricks or cartwheels, although a couple of koalas DID pace back and forth awaiting their dinner.
There was a section of the park where you could walk among the kangaroos. It was an expansive space, and the kangaroos roamed freely. They didn't seem upset by the presence of humans, and you could get very close.
Also saw a tasmanian devil and a wombat. The tasmanian devil seemed a bit neurotic. He circled his habitat non-stop. As for the wombats... they are huge!
But the highlight of this visit was a white parrot, about 12 inches in length. He/She perched on the cage in front of me and said "Ello, ello, ello, ello, ello, ello" for quite a while, and nothing more. When I turned to leave, I say "bye-bye", to which the white parrot replied "bye-bye" with perfect timing! It was hilarious!
There's not much to say about Noosa Beach on the Sunshine Coast. It's a beach town, with gorgeous white sand beaches. There are shops, restaurants and homes. It's a quiet, relaxing place.
Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast, on the other hand... beautiful beach bordered by many tall condominiums, shops and restaurants. And it was raining when I visited, which meant that hanging out on the beach was not an option. That left the shops and restaurants. I suppose this is a great place if you are 20-something and interested in drinking and hanging out on the beach. I was very disappointed.
Tomorrow I fly to Cairns, located on/near the Great Barrier Reef. This should be cool.
By the way, I don't recall if I mentionned this, but Australia is suffering from a draught that has lasted for 5 years! One community near Brisbane has run out of drinking water. Lawns are brown. People are urged to to take 4 minute showers, and to minimize laundry. They can't use their garden hoses. The local reservoir managed to provide water to the area for 5 years, but is almost dry. It's a concerning situation to observe.
cheers,
Stacey
Monday, May 21, 2007
G'Day from Down Under
I arrived in Sydney, Australia, three days ago, after having spent several days in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Christchurch is a beautiful city. It was designed to be an English-style city, with gardens and greenspace. Many of the homes have an English country feel to them. There is a river that runs through the city called The Avon River. Grass, weeping willows and other trees are planted along its banks. The autumn colors of the trees added to the beauty of the area.
After Queenstown and Franz Josef, Christchurch was rather low key. It isn't a very action oriented city. You can sky dive (did that already in Queenstown), hot air balloon, or simply walk around soaking in the beauty. I did the latter. There's also big culture aspect to Christchurch, so I spent time exploring museums and art galleries. And one afternoon I took a ride to Hamner Springs and soaked in the sulfur spa pools. The end of my stay in New Zealand was very relaxed.
Today is day number three in Australia. Sydney is a beautiful city: sky scrapers, lots of green space, and lots of beaches. In some ways it is similar to Auckland and Wellington, only more impressive. And expensive.
So far I've just spent time exploring different areas of the city: Darling Harbour, Bondi and Manley Beaches, the Sydney Tower, a couple of city parks whose names I can't recall. Wandering and meandering.
Yesterday I visited a few wineries in Hunter Valley. Hunter Valley, located a couple hours outside of Sydney, is famous for its wine, mostly Shiraz and port, although I was impressed by all the wine -- white and red -- that I sampled. I prefer Aussie wine to Kiwi wine. Kiwi wine just didn't do it for me. And kiwi wine is VERY expensive, atleast NZ$20, with the better wines costing NZ$34 or more. And to pay so much for wine I didn't care for... I started buying Aussie wine while in New Zealand because not only was it half the price, but also tasted better.
Tomorrow I will visit the Blue Mountains. That should be nice.
That's what's new with me.
Cheers,
Stacey
Christchurch is a beautiful city. It was designed to be an English-style city, with gardens and greenspace. Many of the homes have an English country feel to them. There is a river that runs through the city called The Avon River. Grass, weeping willows and other trees are planted along its banks. The autumn colors of the trees added to the beauty of the area.
After Queenstown and Franz Josef, Christchurch was rather low key. It isn't a very action oriented city. You can sky dive (did that already in Queenstown), hot air balloon, or simply walk around soaking in the beauty. I did the latter. There's also big culture aspect to Christchurch, so I spent time exploring museums and art galleries. And one afternoon I took a ride to Hamner Springs and soaked in the sulfur spa pools. The end of my stay in New Zealand was very relaxed.
Today is day number three in Australia. Sydney is a beautiful city: sky scrapers, lots of green space, and lots of beaches. In some ways it is similar to Auckland and Wellington, only more impressive. And expensive.
So far I've just spent time exploring different areas of the city: Darling Harbour, Bondi and Manley Beaches, the Sydney Tower, a couple of city parks whose names I can't recall. Wandering and meandering.
Yesterday I visited a few wineries in Hunter Valley. Hunter Valley, located a couple hours outside of Sydney, is famous for its wine, mostly Shiraz and port, although I was impressed by all the wine -- white and red -- that I sampled. I prefer Aussie wine to Kiwi wine. Kiwi wine just didn't do it for me. And kiwi wine is VERY expensive, atleast NZ$20, with the better wines costing NZ$34 or more. And to pay so much for wine I didn't care for... I started buying Aussie wine while in New Zealand because not only was it half the price, but also tasted better.
Tomorrow I will visit the Blue Mountains. That should be nice.
That's what's new with me.
Cheers,
Stacey
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Climbing the Glacier
Kei Ora,
I can't believe I actually climbed a glacier! Yesterday afternoon I climbed the face of the Franz Josef Glacier. We were on the glacier for only 2 hours total, and managed to climb rather high. It was cool, but a little nerve-wrecking. It's like climbing a mountain or hill, but the guide had to cut steps into the ice. Climbing DOWN a glacier is harder than climbing up because as you face out, you realize just how high you've climbed on a block of ice. My body was exhausted after it was all over.
The tour company provides ice cleats (I don't know what the name of these things are. They attach to your boots and they bite into the ice as you walk), boots, socks and raincoat, as well as hats, gloves and overpants if you need them.
The guides are young, chipper, mountain goats that dash up the glacier and carve steps as needed. It's amazing how these kids run around the glacier as if it were no big deal. I guess for them it's not. The harder part is sheparding thirteen novice climbers up a slippery glacial slope. They have to manage our fears and keep us from hurting ourselves and other people. They did an excellent job.
Once again, the weather was spectacular: blue sky with a few clouds. The day before it had rained most of the day. I couldn't imagine climbing an ice mountain in the rain, but people did it. Since the glacier is located in a rainforest, the temperature was warm, even on the ice. Some of the guides wore shorts!
As for the glacier itself, it looks like a mountainous block of snow and ice. Most of the ice is white, but the denser parts are light translucent blue.
I'm glad I did the climb.
Today I took a bus and then the Trans Alpine Train to Christchurch. It took 10 hours in total to get here. Lots of beautiful mountain scenery. I'm in Christchurch for five more days, then I'm off to Australia. Sydney. My New Zealand adventure is coming to a close.
sigh.
cheers,
Stacey
I can't believe I actually climbed a glacier! Yesterday afternoon I climbed the face of the Franz Josef Glacier. We were on the glacier for only 2 hours total, and managed to climb rather high. It was cool, but a little nerve-wrecking. It's like climbing a mountain or hill, but the guide had to cut steps into the ice. Climbing DOWN a glacier is harder than climbing up because as you face out, you realize just how high you've climbed on a block of ice. My body was exhausted after it was all over.
The tour company provides ice cleats (I don't know what the name of these things are. They attach to your boots and they bite into the ice as you walk), boots, socks and raincoat, as well as hats, gloves and overpants if you need them.
The guides are young, chipper, mountain goats that dash up the glacier and carve steps as needed. It's amazing how these kids run around the glacier as if it were no big deal. I guess for them it's not. The harder part is sheparding thirteen novice climbers up a slippery glacial slope. They have to manage our fears and keep us from hurting ourselves and other people. They did an excellent job.
Once again, the weather was spectacular: blue sky with a few clouds. The day before it had rained most of the day. I couldn't imagine climbing an ice mountain in the rain, but people did it. Since the glacier is located in a rainforest, the temperature was warm, even on the ice. Some of the guides wore shorts!
As for the glacier itself, it looks like a mountainous block of snow and ice. Most of the ice is white, but the denser parts are light translucent blue.
I'm glad I did the climb.
Today I took a bus and then the Trans Alpine Train to Christchurch. It took 10 hours in total to get here. Lots of beautiful mountain scenery. I'm in Christchurch for five more days, then I'm off to Australia. Sydney. My New Zealand adventure is coming to a close.
sigh.
cheers,
Stacey
Friday, May 11, 2007
Franz Josef Glacier
Kei Ora,
Last night I arrived in Franz Josef, after a seven hour bus ride from Queenstown. It was raining heavily when we departed Queenstown, so the scenery was obscured by the rain, fog and clouds for the first third of the trip.
Around lunch time the rain stopped, and the magnificent scenery reappeared. Imagine an expansive, bright blue glacier carved lake, surrounded by high, lush green mountains. And above those mountains are higher mountain peaks of jagged rocks, capped with snow, backed with a clear, blue, cloudless sky. Or, remove the lake, and insert rolling greenish, brown pasture land with grazing sheep or cows.
At one point we drove along the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Sea is the body of water on the West coast of New Zealand. The water was gray and turbulent. The shore was rocky with pebbles instead of sand. Violent, crashing waves, and sea foam on the pebbled shore. Not peaceful.
Alot of ride was through rainforest. The glaciers -- Fox and Franz Josef are located in/above the rainforest. Of course, once we hit the rainforest, it started raining again, only lightly. It rains 6 meters of rain each year in this area.
I arrived in Franz Joseph at dusk last night, so there wasn't much time to explore.
This morning I took a helicopter tour to the glacier. It's beauty is beyond words, but I will throw out a few adjectives: white, majestic, awesome, incredible. And the contrast against the green rainforest below is striking. And to think our greedy human self-interest is rapidly destroying this awe-inspiring magnificence! The helicopter landed on the glacier by an ice covered lake. The area was white and pristine. And against the clear, blue sky with wisps of clouds, the glacier was so beautiful. The helicopter ride was cool. It was my first time in a helicopter. Got to sit next to the pilot.
This afternoon I will hike on the glacier. That should be fun. Will write more when I get a chance.
Cheers,
Stacey
Last night I arrived in Franz Josef, after a seven hour bus ride from Queenstown. It was raining heavily when we departed Queenstown, so the scenery was obscured by the rain, fog and clouds for the first third of the trip.
Around lunch time the rain stopped, and the magnificent scenery reappeared. Imagine an expansive, bright blue glacier carved lake, surrounded by high, lush green mountains. And above those mountains are higher mountain peaks of jagged rocks, capped with snow, backed with a clear, blue, cloudless sky. Or, remove the lake, and insert rolling greenish, brown pasture land with grazing sheep or cows.
At one point we drove along the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Sea is the body of water on the West coast of New Zealand. The water was gray and turbulent. The shore was rocky with pebbles instead of sand. Violent, crashing waves, and sea foam on the pebbled shore. Not peaceful.
Alot of ride was through rainforest. The glaciers -- Fox and Franz Josef are located in/above the rainforest. Of course, once we hit the rainforest, it started raining again, only lightly. It rains 6 meters of rain each year in this area.
I arrived in Franz Joseph at dusk last night, so there wasn't much time to explore.
This morning I took a helicopter tour to the glacier. It's beauty is beyond words, but I will throw out a few adjectives: white, majestic, awesome, incredible. And the contrast against the green rainforest below is striking. And to think our greedy human self-interest is rapidly destroying this awe-inspiring magnificence! The helicopter landed on the glacier by an ice covered lake. The area was white and pristine. And against the clear, blue sky with wisps of clouds, the glacier was so beautiful. The helicopter ride was cool. It was my first time in a helicopter. Got to sit next to the pilot.
This afternoon I will hike on the glacier. That should be fun. Will write more when I get a chance.
Cheers,
Stacey
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Free Falling
Kei Ora,
Well, this afternoon I jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 ft, attached to a most handsome skydiver. It was such an incredible rush! We jumped over Queenstown, in front of the Remarkables Mountains and over Lake Wakatipu. The sky was blue with only a few small clouds. What a magnificent view!
The worse part was the actual falling out of the plane. There is no jumping out of small plane when you are attached to another person. We rolled out of the plane and continued to roll until we ended face down. We free-fell for 45 seconds before the chute opened. This part was not so enjoyable, probably due to the wind, the speed and the altitude. The pressure hurt my ears. But once the chute opened and slowed down, the decent was delightful. It took another 5 or so minutes to reach the ground. And the view of the lake, mountains and farmland was breathtaking. The sheep looked like specs of dust on the grass. Would I do it again, you betcha! Would I do it solo? Maybe.
This morning I took a jetboat tour of the Dart River. That was fun! We boarded a jetboat in Glenorchy which is about 45 minutes outside of Queenstown. The boat sped up the river past Paradise Forest, Mt Eanslaw, Rockburn chasm Chinaman's Bluff and out to Sand Bluff. The boat driver would occaisionally do 360 degree turns in the water. Kinda like doing donuts in the snow (or skidding out on ice). The trip was about 50 minutes. The snow capped mountains are magnificent.
On the return trip in the boat, we got off at Paradise Forest. Parts of the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed in this forest, and also along the Dart River. They just finished filming parts of the next Narnia movie along part of the river.
Yesterday I went to Milford Sound, via Lake Te Anau. It was a rainy miserable day, but apparently rains most days at Milford Sound. The plus side of the rain is that waterfalls appear on the rocky mountain peaks of the mountains. The falls only exist when it rains, and will disappear when the rain stops. The dark, rocky cliffs are overwhelming. (I need more mountain adjectives!!!)
Milford Sound was incredible. It's actually a fjord, not a sound. Rough, dark blue water surrounded by huge rocky mountains. There was an occaisional waterfall embedded in the mountains. A couple of dolphins swam with the boat. And it was REALLY, REALLY COLD!!!!
Today and yesterday have been filled with unbelieveable sights. My eyes need a rest.
Cheers,
Stacey
Well, this afternoon I jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 ft, attached to a most handsome skydiver. It was such an incredible rush! We jumped over Queenstown, in front of the Remarkables Mountains and over Lake Wakatipu. The sky was blue with only a few small clouds. What a magnificent view!
The worse part was the actual falling out of the plane. There is no jumping out of small plane when you are attached to another person. We rolled out of the plane and continued to roll until we ended face down. We free-fell for 45 seconds before the chute opened. This part was not so enjoyable, probably due to the wind, the speed and the altitude. The pressure hurt my ears. But once the chute opened and slowed down, the decent was delightful. It took another 5 or so minutes to reach the ground. And the view of the lake, mountains and farmland was breathtaking. The sheep looked like specs of dust on the grass. Would I do it again, you betcha! Would I do it solo? Maybe.
This morning I took a jetboat tour of the Dart River. That was fun! We boarded a jetboat in Glenorchy which is about 45 minutes outside of Queenstown. The boat sped up the river past Paradise Forest, Mt Eanslaw, Rockburn chasm Chinaman's Bluff and out to Sand Bluff. The boat driver would occaisionally do 360 degree turns in the water. Kinda like doing donuts in the snow (or skidding out on ice). The trip was about 50 minutes. The snow capped mountains are magnificent.
On the return trip in the boat, we got off at Paradise Forest. Parts of the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed in this forest, and also along the Dart River. They just finished filming parts of the next Narnia movie along part of the river.
Yesterday I went to Milford Sound, via Lake Te Anau. It was a rainy miserable day, but apparently rains most days at Milford Sound. The plus side of the rain is that waterfalls appear on the rocky mountain peaks of the mountains. The falls only exist when it rains, and will disappear when the rain stops. The dark, rocky cliffs are overwhelming. (I need more mountain adjectives!!!)
Milford Sound was incredible. It's actually a fjord, not a sound. Rough, dark blue water surrounded by huge rocky mountains. There was an occaisional waterfall embedded in the mountains. A couple of dolphins swam with the boat. And it was REALLY, REALLY COLD!!!!
Today and yesterday have been filled with unbelieveable sights. My eyes need a rest.
Cheers,
Stacey
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Kei Ora from Queenstown
The South Island is impressive. The mountains in the south are more dramatic than those in the north. They remind me of the Andes, only not so high.
After leaving Wellington, I caught the ferry to Picton at the top of the south island. The weather has been perfect, so the ride was calm. The ship carried both people and vehicles.
Once in Picton, I caught the TranzAlpine train to Christchurch, but I got off at Kaikoura. Kaikoura is famous for whale, dolphin, albatross and sea lion watching,, as well as New Zealand crayfish (lobsters without those big front claws). It's another beautiful seaside town. Unfortunately, I didn't see any dolphins. The ocean was too rough on the day my tour was scheduled. I rescheduled for the next day. The weather was perfect, but the dolphins were nowhere to be found. Oh well.
The next day I caught the TransAlpine train to Christchurch. Spent the night at Christchurch, then headed down to Dunedin via Mt Cook. The scenery en route to Mt Cook was spectacular. Snow-capped mountains. It's really amazing. But I still think the Andes are more beautiful.
Dunedin was good. It is the sister city to Edinburgh. They original settlers were of Scottish descent, and wanted to name the place New Edinburgh, but settled on Dunedin. The city is filled with hills, gorgeous gardens and homes. THEY SAY that Dunedin is very scottish in ambiance. New Zealand's number one university is located in Dunedin, which means 20,000 students arrive in Dunedin every February.
Dunedin is also home to Cadbury Chocolate, and Speights Beer. Both are great products.
While in Dunedin, I visited the Otago Peninsula and saw some yellow-eyed penguins. There are so adorable! The is currently mating season for the yellow-eyed penguins. We say several couples emerge from the ocean and walk to their homes. Also saw three type of albatross. They are huge, beautiful birds.
Yesterday I took a train through the Taieri Gorge. It's an old train that runs from Dunedin to Pukeri. The scenery is amazing. Rocky cliffs with rivers running below. Once in Pukeri I caught a bus to Queenstown.
Today I visited Bob's Peak, a mountain peak with a spectacular view of Queenstown, and then did a wine tour. Had some good pinot noir, however, pinot noir is not my favorite wine. The people on the tour were a riot. Two scots and an irishman.
Tomorrow I will go to Milford Sound for the day.
And that's what I've been up too.
cheers,
Stacey
After leaving Wellington, I caught the ferry to Picton at the top of the south island. The weather has been perfect, so the ride was calm. The ship carried both people and vehicles.
Once in Picton, I caught the TranzAlpine train to Christchurch, but I got off at Kaikoura. Kaikoura is famous for whale, dolphin, albatross and sea lion watching,, as well as New Zealand crayfish (lobsters without those big front claws). It's another beautiful seaside town. Unfortunately, I didn't see any dolphins. The ocean was too rough on the day my tour was scheduled. I rescheduled for the next day. The weather was perfect, but the dolphins were nowhere to be found. Oh well.
The next day I caught the TransAlpine train to Christchurch. Spent the night at Christchurch, then headed down to Dunedin via Mt Cook. The scenery en route to Mt Cook was spectacular. Snow-capped mountains. It's really amazing. But I still think the Andes are more beautiful.
Dunedin was good. It is the sister city to Edinburgh. They original settlers were of Scottish descent, and wanted to name the place New Edinburgh, but settled on Dunedin. The city is filled with hills, gorgeous gardens and homes. THEY SAY that Dunedin is very scottish in ambiance. New Zealand's number one university is located in Dunedin, which means 20,000 students arrive in Dunedin every February.
Dunedin is also home to Cadbury Chocolate, and Speights Beer. Both are great products.
While in Dunedin, I visited the Otago Peninsula and saw some yellow-eyed penguins. There are so adorable! The is currently mating season for the yellow-eyed penguins. We say several couples emerge from the ocean and walk to their homes. Also saw three type of albatross. They are huge, beautiful birds.
Yesterday I took a train through the Taieri Gorge. It's an old train that runs from Dunedin to Pukeri. The scenery is amazing. Rocky cliffs with rivers running below. Once in Pukeri I caught a bus to Queenstown.
Today I visited Bob's Peak, a mountain peak with a spectacular view of Queenstown, and then did a wine tour. Had some good pinot noir, however, pinot noir is not my favorite wine. The people on the tour were a riot. Two scots and an irishman.
Tomorrow I will go to Milford Sound for the day.
And that's what I've been up too.
cheers,
Stacey
Monday, April 30, 2007
Mouth of the Fish
Kei Ora,
The Maori imagine that the two islands of New Zealand resemble a boat and a fish: The South Island is the boat, and the North Island is the fish. Wellington is the fish's mouth, and Wellingtonians say Auckland is the fish's butt hole. Aucklanders argue that Auckland is the tail of the fish, but Wellingtonians counter that the strip of land that heads toward Cape Reinga is really the tail, that Auckland is located just beneath that extention of land, and thus Auckland is where the poop exits the fish.
Saw an impressive Chinese movie last night at the Embassy Theatre, the theater where the "Lord of the Rings" films premiered here in New Zealand. As most of you already know, much of the films were filmed around Wellington and on the South Island. Before the premier of the first movie, Wellington spent $5M to rennovate the Embassy Theatre to return it to it's 1920's art deco glory. It's one of those old fashioned single screen theaters with a stage and a wide screen. The preferred seating area has comfortable leather seats. The theatre is beautiful: wood paneling, stained glass, lush tiles, a grand staircase. Even the restroom was gorgeous!
The movie is "The Curse of the Yellow Flower", by Zhang Yimou. The story is simple, but the cinematography is magnificent. The battle scene was unbelieveable. (The last great movie battle scene I recall seeing was the one in Kurosawa's film "Ran". Yellow Flower's battle scene was much more spectacular.) The most remarkable aspect for me was the quantity of extras used to make this movie. I suppose only in China could you actually hire and pay the quantity of extra people used to make this movie. Zhang Yimou triumphs again.
Wellington is so cool! Located at the bottom of the North Island, the city is surrounded by water on three sides, and so there is a combination of gentle sandy beaches and rough rocky shoreline. There are hills throughout the city, and houses are stuffed along these hills. Due to lack of space, earthquakes and wise urban planning, there are not many tall buildings. Most houses are one and two story, wooden colonial style houses. Colors tend to be muted. Many of the houses located at the top of these hills have their own private cable cars to move people and purchases from the lower street level to the house. There are lots of trees.
Art is very important important and is evident throughout the city. Art is on display in public spaces, and there are lots of art galleries. There are many cultural activities here as well. Lots of inexpensive theater as well as broadway style productions. Between the gardens and trees and art and natural beauty of the coast line, Wellington is an attractive city.
And there is at least one coffee shop in every block. There are more cafes per capita in Wellington than in any other city in the world. And like in Seattle, you have to work really hard to find lousey coffee.
Today I spent the day at Te Papa: the New Zealand Museum of Art and Culture. It's a huge museum that does an excellent job of displaying different aspects of New Zealand history, culture and art in an easy to understand and fun way. It's really kid friendly, too.
Actually, New Zealand is family friendly. If you can afford to fly your family here, there are ways to travel inexpensively throughout the country: renting a car or campervan, camping on many of the public camping grounds, staying at hotels and motels with cooking facilities or renting a flat for a week at at time. There's lots of nature and outdoorsy stuff to do that kids would love. Traveling between the middle of March and the end of May provides decent weather and prices (Fall) weather, as does late-September to late November (Spring). I'm sure you can get even better deals between June and mid-September, but it might be too cold to do some of the outdoor activities.
Tomorrow I catch the ferry to the South Island. EVERYONE tells me how beautiful the South Island is. I can hardly wait.
cheers,
Stacey
The Maori imagine that the two islands of New Zealand resemble a boat and a fish: The South Island is the boat, and the North Island is the fish. Wellington is the fish's mouth, and Wellingtonians say Auckland is the fish's butt hole. Aucklanders argue that Auckland is the tail of the fish, but Wellingtonians counter that the strip of land that heads toward Cape Reinga is really the tail, that Auckland is located just beneath that extention of land, and thus Auckland is where the poop exits the fish.
Saw an impressive Chinese movie last night at the Embassy Theatre, the theater where the "Lord of the Rings" films premiered here in New Zealand. As most of you already know, much of the films were filmed around Wellington and on the South Island. Before the premier of the first movie, Wellington spent $5M to rennovate the Embassy Theatre to return it to it's 1920's art deco glory. It's one of those old fashioned single screen theaters with a stage and a wide screen. The preferred seating area has comfortable leather seats. The theatre is beautiful: wood paneling, stained glass, lush tiles, a grand staircase. Even the restroom was gorgeous!
The movie is "The Curse of the Yellow Flower", by Zhang Yimou. The story is simple, but the cinematography is magnificent. The battle scene was unbelieveable. (The last great movie battle scene I recall seeing was the one in Kurosawa's film "Ran". Yellow Flower's battle scene was much more spectacular.) The most remarkable aspect for me was the quantity of extras used to make this movie. I suppose only in China could you actually hire and pay the quantity of extra people used to make this movie. Zhang Yimou triumphs again.
Wellington is so cool! Located at the bottom of the North Island, the city is surrounded by water on three sides, and so there is a combination of gentle sandy beaches and rough rocky shoreline. There are hills throughout the city, and houses are stuffed along these hills. Due to lack of space, earthquakes and wise urban planning, there are not many tall buildings. Most houses are one and two story, wooden colonial style houses. Colors tend to be muted. Many of the houses located at the top of these hills have their own private cable cars to move people and purchases from the lower street level to the house. There are lots of trees.
Art is very important important and is evident throughout the city. Art is on display in public spaces, and there are lots of art galleries. There are many cultural activities here as well. Lots of inexpensive theater as well as broadway style productions. Between the gardens and trees and art and natural beauty of the coast line, Wellington is an attractive city.
And there is at least one coffee shop in every block. There are more cafes per capita in Wellington than in any other city in the world. And like in Seattle, you have to work really hard to find lousey coffee.
Today I spent the day at Te Papa: the New Zealand Museum of Art and Culture. It's a huge museum that does an excellent job of displaying different aspects of New Zealand history, culture and art in an easy to understand and fun way. It's really kid friendly, too.
Actually, New Zealand is family friendly. If you can afford to fly your family here, there are ways to travel inexpensively throughout the country: renting a car or campervan, camping on many of the public camping grounds, staying at hotels and motels with cooking facilities or renting a flat for a week at at time. There's lots of nature and outdoorsy stuff to do that kids would love. Traveling between the middle of March and the end of May provides decent weather and prices (Fall) weather, as does late-September to late November (Spring). I'm sure you can get even better deals between June and mid-September, but it might be too cold to do some of the outdoor activities.
Tomorrow I catch the ferry to the South Island. EVERYONE tells me how beautiful the South Island is. I can hardly wait.
cheers,
Stacey
Sunday, April 29, 2007
To Zorb or Not To Zorb
Kei Ora!
Greetings from Wellington, New Zealand.
Updating this blog in NZ has proven to be a bit challenging: cost and blogspot server accessibility being the two main issues. Cost: NZ isn't cheap, and that includes the internet. An internet cafe that charges $5 or $6 per hour is a bargin. Also, since NZ is about 17 hours ahead of the East Coast of the US, and the blogspot server is on Pacific Time, it is not uncommon that the server is not available when I am fortunate enough to find reasonably priced internet access.
Oh yeah, and sometimes the problem is me: I just don't feel like writing.
However, desire, cost and server access are all in alignment, so I'll fill you in on my exploits.
After Auckland I took a long distance bus to Rotorua. Rotorua is located about four hours south of Auckland, an the Eastern side of the island, about "an inch" (on my map) south of the Pacific Coast. Rotorua is famous for its boiling mud and hot springs, maori culture, and timber industry. And adrenelin junkies can get satiated here as well. There is zorbing, swooshing, sky diving (tadem and solo), white water rapids rafting and sledging, going over a waterfall in a rubber raft, and of course, bungy jumping.
I almost zorbed. It would have been cool to have told people that I zorbed in New Zealand. Apparently you can't zorb just any where in the world. But I just couldn't overcome the imagined feelings of nausea of rolling hiney over head down a hill (down a straight or zig-zag track) strapped inside a huge, plastic ball. Or, you can do it hamster style: they don't strap you in and you run (or flop) free in the plastic ball down the hill. Water is optional(??????). Nope, just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Swooshing was definitely out of the question. You sit in a pod with two or three other people. The lift you high up in the air, between two towers. Your pod is attached to the two towers. A crane pulls the pod back/out as far as it will go and then releases. You swing back and forth between the two towers at a bizillion mph. Yeah. No.
I seriously thought about tandem sky diving. Yes, I understand the incongruency: I am unwilling to free fall to earth only a few hundren feet with a rubber band around my ankles, but I AM willing to hurl toward the earth from several thousand feet with a parachute on my back. However, with tandem sky diving, I can blame it on my partner if the parachute doesn't work.
As for sledging, I'm not exactly sure what that is. I think it's white water rafting, but somehow they pull you faster through the water. This means I can avoid slamming into bolders at a faster rate.
No, being the couch potato that I am, I went for the soaking in hot mud and hot spring water at Hell's Gate. Hell's Gate is a thermal reserve that is filled with boiling mud and boiling mineral spring water. The water gets as hot as 148 degrees celsius. Boiling mud is so cool! It looks and sounds like boiling oat meal, without the lumps. Lots of steam and ploping sounds. Sulfur Oxide makes the air smell like rotton eggs. After marinating in warm mineral mud and water, my skin felt so wonderful.
Other activities in and around rotorua included a sheep and cow performance, a visit to another thermal reserve (this one had a geyser and kiwi birds), a recently recovered village that had been buried when a volcano exploded in 1880, and a Maori Hangi.
The Maori Hangi was interesting. A performance group enacted a first time meeting between Maori tribes (their tribe meets YOUR tribe), demonstrated aspects of Maori life in a small village setting, performed several Maori songs and dances, and then served a dinner that was roasted in the ground. The ritual meeting was amazing. I can only imagine the astonishment the European explorers must have felt having been greeted by growling, stomping, spear-waving, burley, tatooed, Maori warriors. Their eyes wide open, their tongues sticking out, and growling. And if you didn't respond the correct way, you started a fight, and could possibly end up as dinner. (yes, Maori were cannibals). But if you were Maori, then you knew to expect this sort of greeting, so unless you came looking to start a fight, you knew how to respond. Any way, it was all very intimidating and wonderful to watch.
I had some amazing food in Rotorua. Food in NZ has been really good, but also really expensive. There's a restaurant in Rotorua called the Fat Dog Cafe. The coffee is perfect. And they make pancakes with blueberries and whipped cream to die for. I had pancakes two days in a row! And the restaurant's ambiance is fun. Poetry on the walls and on the back of chairs. Lots of bright colors.
After Rotorua I went to Napier. There's not much to say about Napier. Napier suffered a horrific earthquake in 1931 which destroyed the city center. The city decided to rebuild the buildings in an art deco style. So many of the downtown buildings are attractive. There city is on Pacific Coast, but the surf and undertown are too strong for swimming. The beach is black pebbles, not sand.
The area is also known for its vineyards. Did a wine tour one day. Had some good wines. Red are not that great in New Zealand. They tend to be thin in body. The best reds I tasted were syrahs, which tend to be less full bodied, anyway. The chardonnay's were excellent, very buttery. NZ is known for sauvignon blanc. This is not a wine I drink, so I will learn about this type as I travel through the country.
Now I'm in Wellington. Arrived last night. In a few minutes I will join a tour that will explore the greater metropolitan Wellington area. The only thingsI can report right now are: The city has lots of hills, and the building in the area where I am are pretty. Oh, and my bed has fleas.
Will tell you more later.
cheers,
Stacey
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Hello From the Future
Keiora, (hello in Maori)
I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand last Tuesday. I can't believe that it's been only a week since I left South America. And it is still strange to hear English, instead of Spanish, spoken around me. Actually, I hear and see more Chinese around me, but more about that later.
New Zealand is about 17 hours ahead of the east coast of the USA (or about 12 hours ahead of my friends in Europe). I say "about" because they went on Day Light Savings Time, and the US went off DST (or is it the other way around), so I'm not exactly sure how far into to tomorrow I really am. This means that when folks back home on the East Coast of the US are waking up and starting their day at 6AM, it is 11 PM that same day, and I am getting ready to go to bed. [just in case you are wondering, the future is looke good from my perspective: Monday, April 23, has been a perfect day here]
Auckland is beautiful! Green and lush, with with rolling hills (after so many months in the Andes, I just can't bring myself to refer to this hills as mountains). Auckland is in the middle of the peninsula on the Northern Island, and has the Tasman Sea on the West/Left and the Pacific Ocean on the East/Right. There are many islands and gulfs and bays and alcoves and such around Auckland. It's a watersport and beach person's paradise: fishing, boating, swimming, beaching, surfing, diving, as well as hiking and camping (and bungey jumping off the Sky Tower, the highest structure in the Southern Hemisphere). You have the big city excitment of Auckland, and within thirty minutes you can have small island solitude. The weather has been sunny and in the mid to high 70's (20-22 degrees Celsius).
Auckland is big city. I don't know the population, but it is relatively crowded for New Zealand. And it is ethnically diverse. People of European descent make up the majority of the population at 50%, Maori are 30% and Asians (1-Chinese, 2-Indians and 3-other Asians) make up the balance. When I first arrived, I thought I was staying in the Chinatown section of the city. There are so many signs in Chinese, and it looke like one in three people on the street were Chinese-looking. I hear lots of Chinese spoken around me. On the plus side, there is plenty of inexpensive and delicious Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indian food all around me.
I spent three days in Auckland before heading up North to the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands is comprised of 145 islands, and is where Captin Cook arrived when he came in search of New Zealand. Abel Tasman, a Dutchman (and after whom the Sea, Island and Devil were named), found New Zealand first (New Zealand is dutch for New Sea Land), however he never stuck around after being greeted by the Maori with the traditional Maori greeting. Imagine a dozen large, burly, tan skinned and heavily tatooed men, dressed in grass skirts and carrying spears, squatting and stamping the ground with their feet (think Sumo wrestler, the move, not the size), sticking their tongues at you and yelling as loud as they can. How would that make you feel? Abel decided to leave, but wrote about his experience. Captain Cook decided to check the place out, brought a Maori translator (Maori inhabited Hawaii and many other Polynesian Islands), and thus knew what the proper response to the above described Maori greeting should be if you don't wish to start a fight (slowly bend over and pick up the branch placed before you, never breaking eye contact). The rest is history. The British claimed New Zealand as a colony in 1840, at a site just outside of Paihia (Pie-heeya), and the initial capital of the country was in a city located across the bay from Paihia. Kokorareka, today known as Russell.
Anyway, I won't bore you with more fascinating history of the Bay of Islands and the North Country. I spent three days up north, exploring the area by catamaran, airplane, 4x4 bus, and an amphibious "duck" boat (they even gave us a kazoo to quack at pedestrians as we passed by). I went as far north as is possible in New Zealand. The area is spectacular: rolling hills, clear multi-hued turquoise water, white, golden and black sand beaches. And of course, perfect weather -- not too hot, not too cold. And not too many tourists. Tourist season is over, and it is the perfect time to visit this area. Eating was pricey, but the food was superb. Lots of great seafood.
Today I'm back in Auckland, and tomorrow I start my journey down south. The next stop is Rotorua.
Today I mailed a package home. And what a joy that experience was. No, really. Mailing packages from the various countries I've visited over the last year has been a special kind of hell. But not so in New Zealand! The people who work at the post office are pleasant and reasonable. And compared to what I've spent to mail stuff home from countries that are much closer to the US than New Zealand, postage was cheap! And they accept credit cards!!!!!!!! It was a truly DELIGHTFUL experience.
And that's a little of what I've been up to. I like it here, at the other end of the world.
cheers,
Stacey
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Iguazu Falls
Hola,
Iguazu Falls are amazing! Yeah, yeah, Niagra is nice, but Iguazu Falls are amazing! There are over 200 falls in Iguazu Park. Iguazu Falls are not as high as high as Niagra, but it is much wider, with more falls.
There is the Argentine Side, and the Brasilian Side. You have a panoramic view of the falls from the Brazilian side, and you are IN the falls on the Argentine Side. I visited both sides. The Argentine side was clearly more fun. There are three circuits that guide through out the main portion of the park, and give you spectacular views of the major falls. At the end we took a small boat that takes very close to the Throat of the Devil, the major cascade. Of course you get soaking wet, but boy is it exciting.
The Brazilian side is mearly a single circuit that gives you different view of the Falls. The whole visit takes no more than two hours. The Argentine side took a little over eight hours.
Officially, you need a visa to enter Brasil to see the Falls if you are American. It is payback for the visa fee their citizens have to pay for a US visa. But, if you find the right taxi, you pay him and he takes you through. I did this, and crossed over with no problem. It was amazing how easily it happened. Gotta love tourism and entreprenuerism.
On the morning of my last day, I went to the Iguazu Forrest. There I did the Zip Line - you zip through the tree tops in a harness on a cable. Also rappelled down a small waterfall. Both were easier than I had imagined. I had a blast.
Gotta run and catch a plane.
I´m off to New Zealand.
Chao.
Stacey
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
It´s Pouring and I¨m Sick -- Again
Hola,
It´s pouring rain, and I have another head cold. But this is all new since my last entry.
Last week was short on work and long on vacation. And the weather was spectacular. Last week was Santa Semana, which can be translated as Holy Easter Week, more or less. I worked only two days. Monday commemorated the war over the Malvinas Islands, a.k.a. the Faulkland Islands. You may recall the war between the Argentines and the Brits in the 1980´s over who owned the islands. Argentina lost. And they remain unhappy about this outcome some 20 years later, understandably so. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked. Thursday and Friday I did not, Something Thursday and Good Friday. Whatever. The weather was spectacular, and I used the time to explore the city further.
Ayacucho is famous for its Santa Semana celebration. It´s a week long affair (that really started 8 weeks ago) with processions everyday. They observe Painful Friday, on which day grandparents flogg their grandchild first thing in the morning with branches, and people stick each othr with pins and nails. Dodging water balloons and shaving cream during Carnival was bad enough. I´m am SO glad I´m no longer in Ayacucho.
Unlike the Peruvians in Ayacucho, the Argentines, also predominantly catholic, are much more mellow. You wouldn´t really know it was Easter weekend. Many businesses worked on Friday thru Sunday. I was even able to attend Tango classes on Easter Sunday night. No Easter baskets, chocolate eggs, special dinners, nails or shaving cream. Life as usual.
Porteños (natives of Buenos Aires) tend to leave the city during this week, taking advantage of the extra days off from work. As a result, there was less traffic and fewer people on the streets, in the parks, at the street fairs. And as I said, the weather was perfect, perfect for walking and just hanging outside.
Things I did include:
Attempting to add more pages to my passport. The US Embassy is ALWAYS a joy to work with -- NOT! Waited an hour for service, and then two more hours only to be told that the computers were down and to come back NEXT WEEK. They didn´t know they had computer problems three hours earlier!!!!!!
Went to El Tigre, a town near the coast, about 30km outside of BA, where five rivers intersect. It´s kinda like the Thousand Islands north of Syracuse. There are lots of islands and rivers and streams. It is vacation spot were people keep summer homes (camps for you CNY folks). Travel between homes and islands is by boat. The area is beautiful.
Took two tango lessons, and much to everyone´s amazement, I was actually able to learn the steps fairly quickly. But two lessons does not make one a tango dancer. Much like lindy, you need to learn and practice a lot to dance this dance. I had taken a couple of classes a few years ago in Syracuse, and just couldn´t get it. But last week something clicked and I did very well. I might have to give this dance another try when I get home.
Saw a Tango Show. A Tango Show has music, singing, and of course dancing. All threee parts were excellent. The dancers were phenomenal. I am continually amazed that no one trips or gets wounded doing this dance.
Also saw two drag queen shows. Both were different in character. The first was more interplay with the audience and male dancers revealing their assets. The second was more entertainment and dance routines, with more clothes. While both were entertaining, it was clear that I was not the target demographic.
After both shows I went dancing and stayed out until the wee hours. I´m usually waking up for work at the time I arrived home. This city never sleeps. At 3 AM, people are sitting in outdoor cafes drinking like it's 7 PM. It´s wonderful.
Well, I need to go in search of food. The rain has let up a bit.
Tomorrow I go to Iguazu Falls, and then I leave for New Zealand. My Latin American tour has come to a close. I probably won´t write again until I hit New Zealand.
I added some more pictures to older posts.
cheers,
Stacey
It´s pouring rain, and I have another head cold. But this is all new since my last entry.
Last week was short on work and long on vacation. And the weather was spectacular. Last week was Santa Semana, which can be translated as Holy Easter Week, more or less. I worked only two days. Monday commemorated the war over the Malvinas Islands, a.k.a. the Faulkland Islands. You may recall the war between the Argentines and the Brits in the 1980´s over who owned the islands. Argentina lost. And they remain unhappy about this outcome some 20 years later, understandably so. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked. Thursday and Friday I did not, Something Thursday and Good Friday. Whatever. The weather was spectacular, and I used the time to explore the city further.
Ayacucho is famous for its Santa Semana celebration. It´s a week long affair (that really started 8 weeks ago) with processions everyday. They observe Painful Friday, on which day grandparents flogg their grandchild first thing in the morning with branches, and people stick each othr with pins and nails. Dodging water balloons and shaving cream during Carnival was bad enough. I´m am SO glad I´m no longer in Ayacucho.
Unlike the Peruvians in Ayacucho, the Argentines, also predominantly catholic, are much more mellow. You wouldn´t really know it was Easter weekend. Many businesses worked on Friday thru Sunday. I was even able to attend Tango classes on Easter Sunday night. No Easter baskets, chocolate eggs, special dinners, nails or shaving cream. Life as usual.
Porteños (natives of Buenos Aires) tend to leave the city during this week, taking advantage of the extra days off from work. As a result, there was less traffic and fewer people on the streets, in the parks, at the street fairs. And as I said, the weather was perfect, perfect for walking and just hanging outside.
Things I did include:
Attempting to add more pages to my passport. The US Embassy is ALWAYS a joy to work with -- NOT! Waited an hour for service, and then two more hours only to be told that the computers were down and to come back NEXT WEEK. They didn´t know they had computer problems three hours earlier!!!!!!
Went to El Tigre, a town near the coast, about 30km outside of BA, where five rivers intersect. It´s kinda like the Thousand Islands north of Syracuse. There are lots of islands and rivers and streams. It is vacation spot were people keep summer homes (camps for you CNY folks). Travel between homes and islands is by boat. The area is beautiful.
Took two tango lessons, and much to everyone´s amazement, I was actually able to learn the steps fairly quickly. But two lessons does not make one a tango dancer. Much like lindy, you need to learn and practice a lot to dance this dance. I had taken a couple of classes a few years ago in Syracuse, and just couldn´t get it. But last week something clicked and I did very well. I might have to give this dance another try when I get home.
Saw a Tango Show. A Tango Show has music, singing, and of course dancing. All threee parts were excellent. The dancers were phenomenal. I am continually amazed that no one trips or gets wounded doing this dance.
Also saw two drag queen shows. Both were different in character. The first was more interplay with the audience and male dancers revealing their assets. The second was more entertainment and dance routines, with more clothes. While both were entertaining, it was clear that I was not the target demographic.
After both shows I went dancing and stayed out until the wee hours. I´m usually waking up for work at the time I arrived home. This city never sleeps. At 3 AM, people are sitting in outdoor cafes drinking like it's 7 PM. It´s wonderful.
Well, I need to go in search of food. The rain has let up a bit.
Tomorrow I go to Iguazu Falls, and then I leave for New Zealand. My Latin American tour has come to a close. I probably won´t write again until I hit New Zealand.
I added some more pictures to older posts.
cheers,
Stacey
Friday, March 30, 2007
It´s Pouring
Hola,
It´s been pouring rain all night and all mourning, and will probably continue all day. Luckily I have my Cusco-tested rain poncho. It´s not very elegent, but it keeps me dry.
I´ve given up the ideal of looking stylish. I´ve been wearing the same t-shirts and jeans for several months now. No make-up. Hair in a ponytail most of the time. I´ve lost a lot of weight, but not enough to fit into clothing sold down here. They seem to think women are skinnier than they are. Some of the women are very thin, but most are normal and a few are overweight. And women here wear their clothes very snugly. But even with my new thin-ness, I can´t fit into the clothing available for gorditas (fat women). Sigh.
Today walking from the subte stop to the foundation was alot easier. The street normally bustling with pedestrians crawling or racing down the sidewalk, and sellers of umbrellas or some useless gadget or toy. In front of most stores there are people handing out fliers to intice shoppers into the stores. And there are the bus stops and the people waiting for the bus. So walking down the sidewalk from the subte to work is really an obstacle course. Today there were fewer people, but those people had umbrellas. I decided to forego the umbrella and use the poncho to make the walk a little less challenging.
And this morning, the park through which I pass each day, was empty. Usually it´s packed with people awaiting the bus, vagrants, people meeting and waiting for others, christians preaching, kids playing, trash and unbelieveable smells.
There is a monument in the middle of the park. This is where the cats live. There are a hundred cats that I can see, and there are nooks where I´m sure more cats are lurking. They seem quite content to be there. There are not cat fights. And this morning, the cats were the being hanging out in the park, sheltered by the monuments, watching the people scurry by.
I think the rain just got harder. It´s like God turned firehose on Buenos Aires. It´s incredible! And I have to go outside now. Great.
By the way, I´ve added some more photos to past posts.
Need to get going.
cheers,
Stacey
It´s been pouring rain all night and all mourning, and will probably continue all day. Luckily I have my Cusco-tested rain poncho. It´s not very elegent, but it keeps me dry.
I´ve given up the ideal of looking stylish. I´ve been wearing the same t-shirts and jeans for several months now. No make-up. Hair in a ponytail most of the time. I´ve lost a lot of weight, but not enough to fit into clothing sold down here. They seem to think women are skinnier than they are. Some of the women are very thin, but most are normal and a few are overweight. And women here wear their clothes very snugly. But even with my new thin-ness, I can´t fit into the clothing available for gorditas (fat women). Sigh.
Today walking from the subte stop to the foundation was alot easier. The street normally bustling with pedestrians crawling or racing down the sidewalk, and sellers of umbrellas or some useless gadget or toy. In front of most stores there are people handing out fliers to intice shoppers into the stores. And there are the bus stops and the people waiting for the bus. So walking down the sidewalk from the subte to work is really an obstacle course. Today there were fewer people, but those people had umbrellas. I decided to forego the umbrella and use the poncho to make the walk a little less challenging.
And this morning, the park through which I pass each day, was empty. Usually it´s packed with people awaiting the bus, vagrants, people meeting and waiting for others, christians preaching, kids playing, trash and unbelieveable smells.
There is a monument in the middle of the park. This is where the cats live. There are a hundred cats that I can see, and there are nooks where I´m sure more cats are lurking. They seem quite content to be there. There are not cat fights. And this morning, the cats were the being hanging out in the park, sheltered by the monuments, watching the people scurry by.
I think the rain just got harder. It´s like God turned firehose on Buenos Aires. It´s incredible! And I have to go outside now. Great.
By the way, I´ve added some more photos to past posts.
Need to get going.
cheers,
Stacey
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Buenos Aires
Hola,
Buenos Aires is great!
I arrived a little over a week ago, and have been busy wandering the streets, exploring neighborhoods, hanging out at cafes. Crucial activities.
If you appreciate big cities, then Buenos Aires is a special treat. It´s noisey and chaotic and people walk like their pants are on fire. Cars DO stop for pedestrians here. There´s the Subte (the subway), and over 400 different colectivos (buses). The blocks are long, the avenues wide. And for a moment, on certain streets, if I don´t look at the names of stores or at the billboards too closely, I feel like I´m back in New York City. Not the NYC of today, but the New York City I recall from 20 years ago (yes, there is a difference). The streets are full of business people, tourists, students, average people, wealthy people, beggars. Trash is everywhere. The Subte smells of people, but it is very clean. It´s a big, beautiful, vibrant city.
And the neighborhoods! Each one has it´s own personality. The architecture is different in each one. Old and majestic buildings, new and metalic ones. The buildings in some neighborhoods are painted bright colors -- pink, turquoise, yellow, orange, lime green. There are lots of trees and parks and green space. The blocks can be long, and the distances great. Even one or two hours of meandering doesn´t scratch the surface.
I´m staying with a family instead of in an apartment as I had originally planned. The taxi pulled up to the beautiful old house on Sunday, and I was met by this wonderful woman, and so I decided not to move. The house from the outside is not much to speak of, but that seems to be the case for most of these houses in the countries I have visited in Latin America. But once inside, it´s a palace. There are a million bedrooms, a large backyard, a spacious kitchen, a livingroom with a chimney, a familyroom, and a couple of decks upstairs.
The owner of the house is Alicia. Alicia is ten years older than I, and has four teenaged childeren. Three girls and a boy. There is no husband. I don´t know if they are separated. No speaks of him. I should ask. And there is a Canadian student who has been living with them for almost a year. He is studying spanish and taking classes at one of the universities. And despite the number of people living in this house, you don´t hear them. It´s very quiet.
Alicia is bright and has a great sense of humor, when I can understand what she says. The accent is very different, and I have difficulty understanding much of what the Argentinians say. She used to work doing something with taxes, but for some reason no longer works (not by her choice, I think), and currently brings in income by renting rooms in her house and in another building she owns. This what I think I heard. Anyway, I enjoy talking with her even if I only understand half of what she says.
As for my work....
I´m working at foundation called Fundamind. Fundamind provides services to poor children and families, most of whom are suffering from AIDS. They do alot of AIDS prevention training in high schools and in the community. They help kids and families get the medical treatment they need, and provide any needed psychological counseling. They teach women how to sew using sewing machines so they can get work. They have kindergarten during the day, and help kids with homework during the evenings. And they support a couple of soupkitchens in the community. A few nights a week I help kids with their English homework. During the day I´m writing an English presentation and strategy to be used to solicit donations and support from foreign companies and donors. They have been in operation since 1990, and receive support from several international organizations, as well as from Argentine donors. So far I´m enjoying the work.
Last weekend I went to Mendoza. Mendoza is on the other side of the country, to the north. It is famous for wine. There are many vineyards in and around Mendoza. The area is extremely arid, and this results in excellent, full-bodied red and white wines. The Malbec grape produces excellent wine here.
I stayed at the Cavas Wine Lodge, a high-end resort located about 35 minutes outside of Mendoza. It´s in the middle of a vineyard. There are only 10 or so rooms at this resort. Each room is really a small house. I had a private dipping pool on the patio, and an outside fireplace on the upstairs patio. The inside was gorgeous. The price of the room included all transportation, all activities, a massage, and all food (consumed at the resort, and at local restaurants as well). I had to pay extra for wine. The wine ranged in price from affordable to outrageous, but everything I drank was excellent. The food was amazing. You could eat in your room or in the diningroom. All food was gourmet quality.
One night I ate at a local famous restaurant called 1884. The chef is one of the top 50 chefs in the world. And I only paid for the wine I consumed. The dinner and ambiance were exquisite. It´s been a while since I have eaten such divine food.
And such as been my life these last few days.
I need to get off the internet. I´ve been here way too many hours (yes, hours).
Time to go roam the city.
cheers,
Stacey
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Machu Picchu
In a word: Amazing
Words cannot express the beauty you experience in person.
I took the train to Aguas Calientes on Tuesday, and then the bus on Wednesday morning to meet the Inca Trail group with whom I would have traveled had I done the Inca Trail. We entered the site at 8 AM. When you turn the corner, you see a city of ruins floating in fog. As the fog slowly lifts, you see that Machu Picchu is on a mountain peak, and is surrounded by other mountain peaks. The ruins suggest buildings and other structures that made up the city of Machu Picchu. And given that about 2000 tourist visit the site daily, Machu Picchu is in amazingly great condition.
And what is even more amazing is the fact that the Incas moved many huge stones from mountains far a way. The moved them UP and DOWN the mountains. They didn't use metal tools to cut, carve or polish these stones. They used other stones, wood, and water to cut and shape these intricately carved stones. And these structures were so well designed that they survived 400 years of earthquakes. And they survived the Spanish Conquistadors because the Spanish never knew that Machu Picchu existed. Thank goodness for that.
The tour guide took us the more famous points in the city, and explained the history of the area. After he was finished, we were left to explore on our own for a few hours. I wandered another hour before heading back to Aguas Calientes. I left at about 11:30 AM, the time when bus loads of tourists started arriving. When you take the train from Cusco, you arrive in Aguas Calientes at about 11 AM. And then you arrive by bus at Machu Picchu at 11:30. When the hordes arrive, the magic of the place diminishes. It was so worth spending the night at Aguas Calientes so that I could have an early start the next day.
cheers,
Stacey
Monday, March 12, 2007
Cusco
¡Hola!
Cusco is wonderful, despite all the foreigners. And it seems so odd to see so many non-Peruvian faces on the street after having spent four weeks in Ayacucho where every foreign face was a surprise.
Tourism has served the city well. The buildings and streets are well maintained. This morning I visited an area that doesn´t see much tourism and the contrast in the state of the infrastructure was great.
I arrived yesterday morning after an uneventful trip. In the afternoon I took a tour of several Incan ruins located within a 45 minute drive outside of Cusco in the mountains -- Sacsayhuaman, Quenka, Puca Pucara (I think) and a third place whose name I can´t recall at the moment. All were amazing as ruins. You can only imagine how they were in their original state when the Incas used them. The Incas were skilled craftsman and builders, especially when you consider the rudimentary tools they used. Many of these structures would probably still remain in tact had the Spaniards not destroyed them. The remaining structures that have survived for 500 years, still function.
This morning I visited one Incan ruin and one pre-Incan ruin (the Wari who preceded the Incas) that are located outside of Cuzco. Most travelers don´t have the time to visit these sites, and so the sites are tourist free and tranquil. They are part of the Andean country side. And I´ll say it again: The Andes are f***ing amazing. I can´t get enough of their beauty.
My tour guide was excellent. Arturo knew so much history about the area and the Incas. He explained everything in Spanish, and I understood it all!
Tomorrow I go to Macchu Picchu. I´m so glad I cancel my four day Inca Trail hike. While I love these mountains, my body just can´t cope. I´ve been living in the mountains at over 10k feet ASL for the last nine weeks and my breathing STILL hasn´t adapted. It´s so frustrating. Walking four days to Macchu Picchu would be hell for me. So, I will take the train tomorrow and meet the tour guide at the gate the following day. I´ll still get to see the splendor of Macchu Picchu without the agony and stress.
Cheers,
Stacey
Saturday, March 10, 2007
A Detour
¡Hola!
This morning was not a good morning.
Ava, another volunteer, and I were supposed to take an early morning flight to Lima this morning. However, the planes were delayed about one and a half hours due to inclimate weather, so I missed my connecting flight to Cuzco.
But even if the plane had arrivedon time in Lima , there would have been some confusion about which airline I was to fly to Cuzco. The travel agent gave me paper receipt for a flight on one airline, but then last night "someone" left me a message telling me that my flight was with a different airline. So when I arrived in Lima, I spent several hours trying to figure out what flight I was supposed to have taken. I eventually tracked down the guy who made the arrangements for me, and he sorted everything out. Unfortunately the result was that I would have to spend the night in Lima so that I can catch a flight to Cuzco tomorrow morning. The travel agency is paying for my hotel tonight.
So I had my first glimpse of Lima. Lima is much better than I had expected it to be. And it is VERY DIFFERENT than Ayacucho. This afternoon I explored the area around the Plaza Mayor (also called the Plaza de Armas). The area is colonial, with many pastel colored buildings. There was an exhibition of "before" and "after" photos of different areas around Lima. Apparently the mayor has implemented a lot of urban improvements around the city. The parts of the city I have seen so far are quite nice.
Tomorrow I will catch an early flight to Cuzco. I can hardly wait. The pictures I´ve seen are amazing.
cheers,
Stacey
Friday, March 9, 2007
Take a Seat
¡Hola!
Yesterday I bought 45 desks for the school that´s located near the prison. This school is quite poor. There are about 200 students and not enough desks. A catholic school was selling their old desks to make room for new ones, so I decided to buy the remaining desks and donate them to the school in need. It was only 45 desks, but now 45 more students have places to sit.
cheers,
Stacey
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Leaving Ayacucho
¡Hola!
I know I haven´t written for a while, but I´ve been busy BEING SICK!!!!! ¡¡¡¡¡Again!!!!! I THOUGHT I would escape the dreaded gripe (the flu in spanish) this time, but NOOOOO. And each time seems worse than the last. Unfortunately I won´t be finished recuperating in time for my planned four day Inca Trail hike to Macchu Picchu. Looks like I´ll have to take the train to Macchu Picchu. Darn.
Friday, tomorrow, is my last day in Ayacucho. My flight to Lima, and then Cuzco, is early Saturday morning. I am so ready to leave. I will spend five days in Cuzco, two days in Lima, and then it´s on to ARGENTINA!!! Buenas Aires, here I come.
I didn´t tell you about the Llama Trek.
Three weekends ago five of us -- the more mature ladies -- went on a two-day llama trek in the mountains about two hours north of here. Ayacucho is at about 10K ft ASL. The llama trek started and ended at 13K ft. The highest point we climbed was a little over 14,500 ft.
The drive was spectacular. The vegetation changed as we climed in altitude. The vegetation in Ayacucho is mostly desert: lots of cactus and other succulents, a little grass, and some sorry trees. As we climbed, there were more trees and more vegetation, then these were replaced with short grass that looked like moss. No trees. Some of this moss stuff was soft and spongey, and some was sharp and prickly. And the mountains themselves were magnificent. In the distance you could see a couple of snow capped mountains.
We were greeted at our starting point by a herd of llamas. Black ones, brown ones, white ones and multicolored ones. All wore dangling red yarn earrings (used for identification purposes). A few wore cow bells which jangled as the herd approached us. We could hear the bells before we could see the llamas. The llamas traveled in a tight group, and they refused to have their photos taken. Each time I pointed my camera in their direction, they would ALL turn and point their butts in my direction. I have lots of llama butt shots.
The llamas were attended by three young men and two horses. The llamas and the horses carried our packs and supplies. Llamas look cute, but are not agreable animals. The llamas selected to carry the supplies were none too happy about the task. The three men had to wrestle each llama to tie the packs down. Disgruntled llamas can be very vocal. The llamas accompanied us as we walked to our campsite.
The three young men seemed to be between 15 and 19 years old. They were cousins. One wore large gaudy fake flowers on his hat to signal that he was single and looking for a girlfriend. That certainly makes dating easier. They didn´t spend any time with us as they tended to walk way ahead of us. Only one of the three spoke spanish; the other two spoke quechua.
At this point I don´t remember how many miles we walked, but it took us 6 hours to hike to our campsite. Hiking at 14,500 feet is very slow. As you ascend, your heart beats faster and your legs feel like lead. We stopped alot for breathing breaks. One of the women in our group got altitude sickness at 14k feet. Her head felt like it was going to explode, and she was nauseated. At 14,300 or so, my legs felt so heavy that I couldn´t take one more step. I decided to take up the offer to ride one of the horses. Climbing steep mountains on horseback is exciting. I had to have faith that the horse knew where to step because I certainly had no control in the matter. Once we reached 14,500 feet, I got off the horse and walked the remaining hour to the campsite. The other woman had to continue on horseback she was so ill.
The hike was amazing. It was a sunny, but windy day. And at that altitude, windy meant cold. We passed lakes, and groups of grazing llamas and alpacas. This is the season where llamas and alpacas give birth, so we also saw lots of new borns grazing with their mothers. Our picnic lunch was especially wonderful so high in the mountains surrounded by llamas.
At one point we passed a hamlet of what looked like abandoned stone houses. Since the families need to move a lot to provide food for their grazing animals, they take up residence in these hamlets as needed. These houses looked like they were built 400 years ago. They live in single room houses. The families sleep, cook, and store supplies in a space that is about 8 feet by 5 feet. They burn llama poop and peat moss for fuel.
Our campsite was a one room school house. School was not in session, so we were able to use it to sleep. We slept in sleeping bags on a long mattress. And once the sun set it was so darn cold we all climbed into our sleeping bags for warmth. The toilet was an outhouse. This outhouse didn´t smell bad, probably because the locals didn´t use it. Don´t know where they went to do their business.
The next morning we watched an alpaca get sheered. Alpacas as a little smaller than llamas, and the wool is much softer. Alpacas don´t seem to enjoy being sheered. The first challenge is to capture the alpaca. The guy doing the sheering used a lasso to catch an alpaca. It took a couple of tries until he cought the one he wanted. And what a fight this alpaca put up! They make a very high pitched squeal when they are upset. You wouldn´t expect this sound from such a large animal. Once caught, the alpaca is wrestled to the ground, and it´s legs are tied together. The sheering guy kneels on the alpaca´s neck as he sheers it. One adult alpaca yields about six pounds of wool.
While the alpaca was being sheered, a baby alpaca was born in the pen. It came so quickly and silently. And within 30 minutes it was up and walking and grazing with it´s mom. Another thing happened once the baby was born. Suddenly several of the alpacas started mating. There were four couples going at it within minutes of the birth. All the excitement took away from the alpaca sheering demonstration.
After the sheering and mating demonstration, we took a horse ride around the area. That was enjoyable. There weren´t many people around because that weekend was the official start of Carnival. Most people were down in Ayacucho getting drunk, spraying people with water or shaving cream, or enjoying the parades.
When it was time to return home, our van never arrived. I suppose it broke down somewhere. So we had to walk back to the main road to catch a bus back to Ayacucho. Our guide decided that we should take a short cut down the mountain and across a ravine instead of staying on the easy-to-navigate dirt road. This was the long march of hell - in the rain. After two hours of walking we made to the road.
The bus that picked us up was quite an experience. It was a microbus that was supposed to carry about 20 passengers, but there were easily 35 people and all their parcels, two sheep tied to the roof, and a sack full of live guinea pigs (apparently one guinea pig escaped). There were lots of interesting smells and sounds. This was my first chicken bus ride.
And that was the llama trek.
That´s all for now.
Cheers,
Stacey
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