TravelStream™ news feed for member jeffsadventures on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jeffsadventures en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:21:38 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1258330459/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1258330459/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1258330459/tpod.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:21:38 -0500 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Antigua Guatemala, Western Highlands, Guatemala

Paid to Play Episode 2:&nbsp; The one where the author goes on a training trip called the Volcano Trail from San Jose Costa Rica to Antigua Guatemala and learns how to be a Tour Leader as well as other various aspects of getting paid to play.And so it begins.&nbsp; To learn to be a tour leader I will have two training trips by following an experienced guide.&nbsp; In the end, I will finish in Playa del Carmen Mexico.&nbsp; Shortly after that, I will get my very own group of adventure tourists who will entrust their life to me.&nbsp; Why they should trust me I´m not too clear on myself but I suppose this is a learning process.&nbsp;First stop, La Fortuna Costa Rica where I had to go white water rafting in the morning and then take a group of girls to the hot springs later in the evening.&nbsp; So far so good!&nbsp; Moving on to the Monteverde Cloud forest the highlight, without a doubt, was doing the zip lines through the forest canopy.&nbsp; I have to admit I didn´t really "see" much as I spent the entire time wondering if the cable was going to unexpectedly break while I was on it.&nbsp; The longest zip-line was over half a mile long.&nbsp; This was an amazing day of <i>work and I am slowly adjusting to this new life of continuous employment.&nbsp; Moving on from Costa Rica took us to Isla de Ometepe, an Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua and a place I had visited in 2004.&nbsp; The pace of life is slow here and finally the weather has a very humid tropical feel.&nbsp; For those of you who are suit-wearing office monkeys, the climate is similar to what you would find in your boxer shorts on a hot summer day while walking the city streets to your next meeting or appointment.&nbsp; Except here, it´s enjoyable.After a couple days in Granada, we moved on to Leon Nicargua where I celebrated my birthday and visited Quetzaltrekkers, the organization I volunteered with five years ago hiking volcanoes to raise money to help street kids.&nbsp; I was glad to see the sign I painted still hangs in reception!&nbsp; Cool!. And they gave me a free T-shirt too.&nbsp; Traveling north took us to the Caribbean Island of Roatan in Honduras.&nbsp;&nbsp; Ahhhh....the real deal. Roatan does not disappoint.&nbsp; After visiting the ruins in Copan, we finished in Antigua Guatemala.&nbsp; Most of you know that traveling like this is not the way I do things on my own so I constantly have to remind myself I am employed.&nbsp; Well, now I am headed to Cancun Mexico.....more training.&nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1258320778/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1258320778/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1258320778/tpod.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:12:50 -0500 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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San Jose, Province of San Jose, Costa Rica

<i>Paid to Play Episode 1:&nbsp; The one where after screwing off for 5 1/2 years, the author finds actual year-round employment. Well, now I am just like all of you reading this blog.&nbsp; I have a job.&nbsp; I have to get up every morning and do actual work, just like you.&nbsp; I must be responsible for stuff and in general, work hard to earn my wages just like you.&nbsp; I have to check e-mail, follow a budget, manage expense reports, and type things into Excel spreadsheets just like you.&nbsp; It is a full time commitment and I now have to work all year round...just like you.&nbsp; At first, this sounds rather depressing.&nbsp; But the administrative tasks associated with this particular job thingy is just a part of what I have to do everyday.&nbsp; I am now a Tour Leader in Central America for the number one Adventure Tour Operator in the world, G.A.P. Adventures.... The "Great Adventure People"&nbsp; My work consists of a variety of tasks and my office is an ever changing outdoor environment.&nbsp; Job duties include climbing volcanoes, swimming in rivers, riding horses and ATV´s, exploring caves, mountain biking, hiking, rappelling and canyoning, white water rafting, relaxing in hot springs, zip lining through jungle canopies, snorkeling and scuba diving, going to the beach, visiting Maya ruins, and finishing a tough day at the local disco tech.&nbsp; So I am officially hard at work now....just like you.In San Jose, Costa Rica, I learned a bunch of office and computer stuff and got to meet the visionary CEO of the company.&nbsp;&nbsp; Next up, a training trip with 4 other new trainees up to Guatemala...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1253143786/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1253143786/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1253143786/tpod.html Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:30:10 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, United States

It's my third season working at the Royal Coachman Lodge in Alaska.&nbsp; And one of my job perks this year was a visit to the legendary Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park.&nbsp; Everyone knows this waterfall from the National Geographic photos of salmon jumping right into the mouth of a grizzly bear.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, this is the place.&nbsp;&nbsp;The bears are everywhere eating fish and berries to fatten up for the long winter and&nbsp;you can't walk very far before having a close encounter.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rule in this situation: don't run but get out of their way.&nbsp; A grizzly bear is as fast as a race horse for the the first 30 meters so running does you no good anyway.&nbsp; Unless of course you're faster than the guy next to you. Surprisingly, the bears are&nbsp;accustomed to people wandering around and as&nbsp;long as you keep&nbsp;your distance, you're considered safe.&nbsp; The park rangers explained that there haven't been any injuries to humans for quite some time and the last incident was actually a collision between a running bear going about his business and an unfortunate tourist caught standing in the way of said "business".&nbsp; Imagine&nbsp;the running back AND two line-backers colliding with the skinny tuba player in the band and that's probably how that one came out. After bear viewing, we went <i>fishing with the bears&nbsp;on the river.&nbsp; This is probably as real as it&nbsp;gets.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact I had to wonder how it's even legal.&nbsp; The same rules apply, get out of their way, but now we are competing with the bears for their food source.&nbsp; We spent more time bear dodging than actually fishing.&nbsp; The idea is to always know your exit strategy and not get pinched between 2 or more bears, which is quite common.&nbsp;&nbsp;In one incident, one of our clients hooked the rainbow trout of his dreams&nbsp;only to have the guide&nbsp;cut the line&nbsp;so we could get into the woods and hide.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some of the bears have learned to associate the bend of a&nbsp;fishing rod with a tasty salmon on the end.&nbsp; When&nbsp;a nearby bear took interest&nbsp;in&nbsp;the catch and started coming toward us, we had to free the fish and go!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well now that I am a veteran bear viewer I am no longer concerned about people and bears at Brooks Falls.&nbsp; What does concern me, however, is the caretaker we left behind at the&nbsp; lodge for the winter.&nbsp; The caretaker job is an eight month excercise in survival and solitude.&nbsp; Winter temperatures will hit -40 degrees F&nbsp;( which is also -40 C where the temp scales cross) and darkness will prevail for about 20 hours a day&nbsp;in late December and January.&nbsp;&nbsp;He is supposed to keep an eye on the camp, shovel snow off the roofs of all the buildings, and&nbsp;basically not die until we return in June.&nbsp;&nbsp;After meeting our new caretaker, however, it wasn't long before we&nbsp;called him Crazy Mike.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&nbsp;seemed slightly bi-polar and with a&nbsp;mild case of Tourette's syndrome.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crazy Mike&nbsp;described himself as <i>"not&nbsp;a people person"&nbsp;and <i>"lucky to not&nbsp;be in jail for murder."&nbsp; &nbsp;Besides that, we had to wonder if he is&nbsp;prepared to do this.&nbsp; I noticed his sleeping bag was rated to +35 degrees F.&nbsp; Umm....shouldn't you buy one that has a minus sign in front of the number???&nbsp; Or at least a zero???&nbsp; And physically, he is absolutley out of shape.&nbsp;&nbsp;He was <i>sooo out of breath he almost died the first time he pulled his little plastic&nbsp;firewood sled up the&nbsp;trail to his cabin....and it was <i>EMPTY.&nbsp; Then he cursed the fact that he has to live on a "f--kin mountain" (it's a small hill that an&nbsp;8 year old would be disappointed to sled ride, maybe&nbsp;20 vertical feet in skiing terminology).&nbsp; He often&nbsp;screamed into the air "I'm f--kin outta here."&nbsp; Five minutes later he'd be in a great mood again.&nbsp; In addition, he has absolutely no problem solving skills except shouting&nbsp;"f--k this shit" at&nbsp;random things.&nbsp;&nbsp; We would then have to show him how these random things worked.&nbsp; For example, I introduced him to the&nbsp;fancy electronic wizardry of a six plug electrical strip and how to plug-in all three food freezers to the gas generator which he will need to run if the daytime temp is&nbsp;above freezing.&nbsp; If his food spoils in the first couple weeks, he can't get his chainsaw started to cut wood, or has any of a million possible problems that can happen in the Alaska wilderness....he's done.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yep, death or Sara Palin's "I-quit-arod" are just around the corner for Crazy Mike...my guess is Nov 1st after the first brutal snowfall.&nbsp; He has two satellite phones if he remembers how to use them...we showed him how three times!&nbsp;My adventures continue but with a twist.&nbsp; Stay tuned........
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1242519060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1242519060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1242519060/tpod.html Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:20:50 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Oxapampa, Pasco, Peru

"Hey, I want to rent your motorcycle."   This is kinda' the summary of my week long foray into the Central Sierra; a region of mild weather and numerous laid back towns and villages among cloud forest and other pre-jungle flora.  The weird thing about this area of Peru is it's easy to get here.  And also easy to leave.  But once you arrive, the tourist infrastructure for things to do and ways to get there is about zero aside from hiring a taxi driver to cart you around all day.  So I found myself walking up to complete strangers and asking them if I could rent their motorcycle.  It's really the <i>only way to reach the outlying rivers, waterfalls, and other points of interest.  After many strange looks, and everyone telling me this wasn't possible, I eventually found someone who actually said yes.  The other thing I learned is that the Chinese make one hell of a piece of shit when it comes to building a motorbike.  I suppose they technically "work" as they got me where I needed to go, but the quality is just noticeably crappy.  This is my last update for a while.  I am headed back to Alaska again to work.  So until I can get back on the road in October, it will be quiet here on my web space.  Those of you stuck working in the orifice all summer will have to find someone else's blog or something to entertain you.  Until October....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1097172660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1097172660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1097172660/tpod.html Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:45:46 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Granada, Nicaragua

Well, after 3 months, I <i>finally packed up my things and left León. There are still some places I want to see in Nicaragua so last week I made the quick trip to the immigration office in Managua to extend my visa an extra 30 days. Originally, I was supposed to exit the country on Oct 3rd but this was too much of a rush. Strangely, on the way to the immigration office, I think I spent more time in taxi cabs trying to get there than with the officilas in the office.&nbsp; The process to get an extension was almost as easy as ordering from a fast food joint. And the taxis themselves were an adventure.&nbsp; My first driver had a habit of looking to see where we had just <i>come from rather than where we were going. Those familiar with the procedures of driving know this is not the recommended technique.&nbsp; The result?&nbsp; A paint scraping side swipe of another cab. Angry facial expressions were the only exchange between drivers since exchangeing insurance papers&nbsp; probably just happens in the movies.&nbsp; Seconds later, we almost ran down a fearful, wide eyed pedestrian. I think I said "ten cuidado" (be careful) and pointed at some obstacle or other collision causing device ten times in the first minute with that driver. At least his brakes worked.&nbsp; My return to the bus terminal was in a taxi without shock absorbers. The driver maintained an extremely slow pace as even the smallest bump in the road would catapult the car into an unstoppable fit of bouncing down the street. That ride ended a block away from the bus terminal with a flat tire.Last week, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake shook the whole Pacific Coast of Nicaragua and I felt it all. It is amazing how the earth can just move under your feet! &nbsp; Quetzaltrekkers, the organization I volunteered for in León, just moved their office into a new house and had a housewarming party combined with a going away party for me. It was a lot of fun and I was the victim of my first piñata. This also gave me a chance to say goodbye to the many people I know here. The time I spent in Leon has been great but there´s so much more to see in this amazing country.As I write this, I´m in Granada and will use this as a home base for exploring some other parts of Nicaragua until I cross the border into Costa Rica.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1241548560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1241548560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1241548560/tpod.html Mon, 11 May 2009 22:59:36 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Puerto Maldonado, Peru

Upon our arrival to the jungle in Puerto Maldonado, we were greeted by a blast of well oxygenated hot air, a standing wall of humidity, and no one holding the sign with our names on it like we had expected.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Lisa's hair began changing right before our eyes like a fresh flower you just put into the microwave.&nbsp;&nbsp;Weird! &nbsp;Eventually, we&nbsp;found our bilingual guide and began the two and half hour journey up the Tambopata River to the jungle community of <i>Infierno...Hell in Spanish.&nbsp; It's literally hot as hell here and our lodging has no electricity.&nbsp; Simply put, there will not even be a fan to keep cool.&nbsp;&nbsp;There will also be no use of electrical hair fixing devices. Oddly, the shower water was close to freezing though so there was no danger of overheating if you could muster up the courage to&nbsp;jump in.&nbsp; I expected our trip to the jungle to be educational and Puerto Maldonado did not disappoint!&nbsp; Howler Monkeys, parrots, caymans, falcons, piranhas, lots of strange birds, medicinal trees and plants....pretty cool stuff.&nbsp; But Howler Monkeys&nbsp;definitely win the award as one of nature's odder creations.&nbsp; These things only weigh&nbsp;up to about&nbsp;10kg (22 pounds) but their scream carries through the&nbsp;forest for hundreds of meters.&nbsp; In the&nbsp;morning, they start before sunrise and the&nbsp;noise is downright intimidating.&nbsp; Seriously, it sounded like Satan himself&nbsp;was just off&nbsp;in the&nbsp;distance&nbsp;bearing down on&nbsp;our souls with a pack of&nbsp;evil minions from the Jurassic period!&nbsp; Truly wild! But the best things in life are free and that came in the form of a tour to the medicinal garden where a Shaman, or medicine man, explained his potions and then let us line up for a complimentary sample.&nbsp; We enjoyed a Jagermeister flavored potion call Para Para that is supposedly nature's very own Viagra.&nbsp; He carefully explained that you <i>only have to drink it&nbsp;twice a day for 3 months, avoid&nbsp;eating papayas, and walk backwards on Tuesdays (I made that one up) and the stuff is guaranteed to kick into gear.&nbsp; Either that or after 3 months, hopefully, &nbsp;someone might tell you about <i>beer, which&nbsp;has been helping ugly people have more sex for centuries and is already well documented.&nbsp; Well, from here we go back to Lima to continue our&nbsp;pilgrimage to find Peru's best pisco sour and enjoy the big city with all it's modern conveniences.&nbsp; It was great having more visitors!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1240857300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1240857300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1240857300/tpod.html Fri, 08 May 2009 21:17:42 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Cusco, Peru

Today, George and Lisa are on their tour at Machu Picchu which means my guide services are not needed and I&nbsp;have a couple days off until their return.&nbsp; So once again, I hit the trail on a Honda Falcon to try and explore some new places around Cusco.&nbsp; I'm getting to the point now where I need multi-day trips to get far enough away to see new things.&nbsp; Since there are only so many ways in and out of Cusco,&nbsp;I have to ride the same familiar routes&nbsp;on each excursion and new photo opportunities are becoming limited.&nbsp;&nbsp;It's clearly the dry season now and it's a pleasure to ride here...this is just a quick entry with some photos from the latest ride.&nbsp; George and Lisa return on the train tonight and tomorrow morning we fly to the jungle....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1241548860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1241548860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1241548860/tpod.html Fri, 08 May 2009 21:15:20 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Cusco, Peru

My friends George and Lisa have finally arrived from the USA after months of detailed planning, preparations, and hundreds of questions asked.&nbsp; But you can't be prepared for everything....George, at 6 foot 5", is now probably the tallest person in the country and is already hitting his head on things.&nbsp; Lisa is amazed that there really are alpacas and llamas in the streets and that the women carry their kids wrapped in a blanket on their backs...which I have to agree is strange but I'm so numb to it anymore I barely notice.&nbsp; It's refreshing to see Cusco again through a fresh perspective. To settle in the first evening,&nbsp; we went to see Kusikay, Peru's version of the Cirque du Soleil.&nbsp; The show features traditional dance including some impressive acrobatics and a stretching attempt at comedy.&nbsp; I learned the hard way that I may have missed my calling as a Spanish Matador as I was plucked from the crowd and forced to do silly things on stage.&nbsp; At least I got to be the matador...some other idiot had to play the charging bull.&nbsp; Fortunately, there is no video evidence of this! The next day, the shopping spree began.&nbsp; Blankets, stuffed animals, original paintings, silver jewelry...it can all be had at the Pisac Market. I never knew shopping for stuff could be so tiring.&nbsp; I'm used to hanging out with other backpackers and breezing through a market in about 15 minutes.&nbsp; And we live by a pretty simple rule....don't buy anything.&nbsp; <i>This was the exact opposite.&nbsp; Fortunately, after a long day of shoppin for stuff, we all agreed to eat and drink well.&nbsp; We made it our mission to try Peru's national drink, the pisco sour, in as many bars and restaurants possible during their visit.&nbsp; I still carry the torch of this mission today as I really haven't given up the cause; even as I write this about a week after George and Lisa have gone home. After just a couple days, Cusco was history and it's time to go to Machu Picchu.&nbsp; I'm sending George and Lisa up on the train and I'll wait here...&nbsp; I can't go twice in a month and their tour is full service and <i>mostly in English.&nbsp; Our next stop together is new even to me.......
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1239575400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1239575400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1239575400/tpod.html Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:15:41 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Cusco, Peru

Another thing I've learned about traveling in third world developing nations like Peru and England for example, is that <i>everything is possible, <i>nothing is certain.&nbsp; Our four day bike and hike through the jungle to Machu Picchu became a 3 day event thanks to a one day national strike.&nbsp; I'm not sure who was protesting. &nbsp;I think it was the farmers.&nbsp; But it shut down the all the main roads and transportation services throughout the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was considered too dangerous to be traveling while the roads were closed off by hordes of possibly drunken demonstrators throughout the relatively lawless countryside.&nbsp; So with a day lost to hanging out in Cusco while the locals brought attention to their plight of plunging potato prices, Doug and I&nbsp; had to forfeit a day of jungle trekking.The following day, after the strike ended, we finally started the&nbsp;adventure.&nbsp; A four hour bus ride into the mountains dropped us off somewhere&nbsp;around 13,000 feet (4000m) and we mounted our half-ass maintained bicycles and began descending into the jungle.&nbsp;&nbsp; Reaching speeds of <i>really fast and sometimes&nbsp;<i>ridiculously slow,&nbsp;I found myself trying to twist the throttle to get moving....only the motorbikes were back in Cusco.&nbsp; Upon reaching the pointless village of Alfamayo, the paved tarmac turned to rough dirt road and the fun factor kicked up a notch...that is until the first uphill section arrived after over 30 miles of dive bombing the mountain.&nbsp; Arriving in the jungle town of Santa Maria, we welcomed the warm,&nbsp;humid jungle air.&nbsp; From here they shuttled us in a private taxi to Santa Teresa...this was the part we were supposed to hike but thanks to the local farmers,&nbsp; we are skipping.&nbsp; In Santa Teresa, we joined an odd mix of Argentinians, Czechs, Germans, and French for our hike to Aguas Calientes, otherwise known as Machu Picchu Village. Like most places near Cusco, the scenery is exotic and it's&nbsp;actually warm down at this elevation.&nbsp; After lunch in A.G. we had this bright idea to climb a mountain called Putucusi for a preliminary view of the Lost City.&nbsp; It was a tough climb and we paid dearly the next day but the photos and views were worth the sore legs.&nbsp; This was my second time to Machu Picchu and I have to say it is just as impressive as the first time I was here in 2005.&nbsp; The fact that an entire city of huge rocks was painstakingly constructed on top of a mountain of this stature and then suddenly abandoned is nothing less than astonishing.&nbsp; And finally, thanks go my adventurous visitor, Dr. Douglas A. Freese, PhD in bushes and plants and shit, for taking all the cool photos you're going to see of the jungle flowers.&nbsp; Seriously, I can't believe how many plant varieties&nbsp;are here....we even saw Poinsettia growing wild; a species I thought was native only to the home and garden section in Wal-Mart at Christmas time.Doug's trip is finished and he's on his way back to the USA now to return to his job thingy and the conventional routine of ordinary American.&nbsp; As for me, I will carry on here in South America as a beacon of hope and freedom.&nbsp; A Sentinel, guarding the way for those who wish to screw off endlessly around the globe, wherever the&nbsp;sun and&nbsp;wind may take them.&nbsp; That was ridiculously dramatic.&nbsp; I'm actually just waiting for George and Lisa to arrive this Saturday.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1149792600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1149792600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeffsadventures/jeffswalkabout/1149792600/tpod.html Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:36:11 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost" What has unexpectedly become a five year odyssey through Latin America, South East Asia, parts of Europe, and Alaska.

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Salta, Argentina

Well so far, beef poisoning here in Salta Argentina has eluded me.&nbsp;I take that as a sign I can eat as much steak as I want. And believe me, I am imbibing. The hostel has BBQ's every Wednesday and Saturday followed by some type of pub crawl to explore the nightlife. And the amazing thing about Argentina is how late things get started. It isn't uncommon to go for dinner at 11PM, get served around midnight, finish up around 2AM, then head out to the bars or clubs for drinks until 7AM. This late night pattern is considered perfectly normal for Argentinians as I witnessed several families out for a nice dinner with small children in tow until 2 in the morning. This explains the "Siesta" concept that shuts the city down between 1 and 4PM every afternoon. Want to mail something? Come back after 4, they told me. Need a haircut? After 4. Want to eat lunch? Now that was a wierd one...some restaurants were closed for lunch! Things are open in the morning, but I never liked morning very much and don't get too many things accomplished. So I am definately an after 4 client for businesses here.I rented a car again, but this time with Mohawk Paul(due to his hairstyle) and Eunice, two travelers from England I met here in the hostel. This time however, I wasn't able to drive ... which was OK by me since I really don't have a driver's license; physically as it was stolen in Nicarugua, and legally as it is long expired anyway. And Paul and Eunice had to take the inevitable rental risks with credit cards, insurance, and licenses etc. which is also OK by me. What was not OK by me was simply that they are from England which means they drive on the WRONG SIDE of the road. Their automatic reaction in traffic to stay to the left or react to emergencies by swerving TOWARD the head on collision made for an interesting adjustment period, at least until we got out of city traffic. You should have seen the look on Paul's face at his first traffic circle! "Oh my God" he exclaimed when we approached the very busy round-about. This was followed by me yelling at him about where to be and when so we could navigate the thing correctly. "Follow that guy, move left" I would shout. "But I thought I needed to stay right?" "Not yet, now move right, follow that guy, go now!" "Ahhhhh!" "Merge, merge, stay to the right, follow that motorcycle".... "Whew." A collective sigh of relief from everyone. Once out in the countryside, however, they both had no problems. We also were able to get some good photos of the scenery which are posted here.And like always, I had to say goodbye to some new, good friends. Paul and Eunice will carry on through Paraguay and into Brazil before they eventually split up and go seperate ways, and I am going north to Bolivia. One nice surprise just before leaving, however, was running into Eleanor, an Israeli girl that I met in Nicaragua 2 years ago. I was the hiking guide for her and her boyfriend when I was volunteering at Quetzaltrekkers. She couldn't believe I was still on the same trip.
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