TravelStream™ news feed for member thetravelingbee on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/thetravelingbee en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:40:54 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1143819180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1143819180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1143819180/tpod.html Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:40:54 -0500 Amazon to the Andes

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Puerto Maldonado, Peru

Where to even begin?! First off, thanks to all for the birthday wishes!! I got all your emails and ecards and the like and really appreciated every thought and well-wish, etc. I had a fabulous birthday, but I´ll get to that in a minute as, in order to be consistent, I need to try and at least pick up where my last blog left off. So, when we last met, I had just gotten back from Machu Picchu (still not over that one!) and was back in Cuzco on the night of 26 March. Monday the 27th began pretty much like any other day with nothing specific on the agenda. I was up much earlier than Nancy, as per usual, and after a shower decided to go for a walk and find some breakfast. I figured there must be some places open since it was a work day and therefore people in general would be out and about earlier going to school, work, what-have-you.. But alas, practically everything was closed. I saw a few open markets, but not a whole lot else. Thankfully I found a place on the Plaza de Armas where Nancy and I´d had lunch last week (The Yaku Mama Cafe), so I went in ordered myself a pancake (read: crépe) with coffee, fresh fruit, toast, with juice and got to watch the heart of the city of Cuzco come alive. It was a fantastic morning - a little crisp, but sunny and just what I needed after having so many thoroughly exhausting (but rewarding!) days of srenuous physical activity. Other than that, not much went on... We had lunch out with Aileen & Kirsten, visited a market briefly, laid about for a chunk of the afternoon, a quick briefing on what to expect with regards to the next couple of days itinerary, and then had dinner out with those who were left of our original group (Aileen, Kirstin, Imogene, & Marissa - Marissa was the only one left who wouldn´t be joining us in the Amazon trek having already done an excursion into the rainforest in Brazil prior to joining us for the Inca Trail). Tuesday the 28th is when things started to become interesting again. For starters, it was my birthday (yay!) and what a fabulous day it was... We met up Tuesday morning for breakfast at 9am and were on our way to the airport by 10:30 or so for our 1-hour flight to Puerto Maldonado in the southern part of the Amazon jungle. A quick but humorous kerfuffle: There was a bit of a problem with my checking in - apparently the LAN Peru rep didn´t look at my passport closely and checked me in as Collin Miller on a flight to Lima. Thankfully we got the mistake corrected before my bag made it onto the wrong flight. At the airport we were met by stifling humidity as well as our guide, Daniel, who loaded us onto a bus and drove us through the city to the GAP office where we could transfer our junk for the jungle into smalled (and far more manageable) duffle bags. I can´t understand it, but I would swear that my bag has gotten heavier since arriving which makes no sense as I´ve bought next to nothing so far, and I feel like I´m wearing more of the heavier clothes... This is a phenomenon I´ve discovered tends to occur on overseas trips and I´m wondering if there´s some sort of hidden law of physics that might explain it...? Anyhow, after scaling down our belongings, we were driven a short way to a small boat dock where they loaded us into a fiberglass boat and we began our 3-hour journey up the Tambopata River to the lodge that would be our home for the next couple of days. Like the Inca Trail, I feel it´s going to be next to impossible to describe really just how exciting this part of the trip was, but I´ll do my best. The boat trip alone was a thrill... We saw a caiman (alligator), a capybara (the world´s largest rodent that can weigh-in at over 130 pounds), turtles, and countless birds. It was like being on a water safari. Daniel (our guide) was superb - able to spot things from a mile off with his bionic eyes and point them out to us. It was sunny and humid still, but the lilac-scented breeze from the speed of boat really made the ride comfortable. We had to make a stop at a checkpoint along the river bank where we climbed up a long wooden staircase, filled in a guestbook of sorts with our name, occupation, destination, length of visit, etc. and then got our passports stamped (for about the 80th time this trip). At that point we were only about another 30 minutes from the lodge. The lodge. How to describe it... Would "paradise" or "utopia" be too strong? How about "perfect", "amazing", and "freaking cool"? I honestly can´t think of any good analogies for it... I would say that it´s kind of like adult camp, but that doesn´t even come close to doing it justice. I think I may have to just say it´s one of those places you have to see to believe and leave it at that. From the boat all we could see at first was a long wooden staircase leading up from the bank of the river. After climbing it, we found ourselves on a stone pathway which led a little ways in to the heart of the lodge which is comprised of 14 bungalows (or cabins), a bar, a dining room, a kitchen, and some other staff buildings. It is called the Libertador Tambopata Lodge and is one of 9 lodges of its kind in the Tambopata River region of the Amazon making this one of the top destinations for eco-tourism in South America. The bungalows feature cold water showers, no electricity, or any other major modern conveniences (however they do at least have toilet seats on the bowls which is more than I can say for most places in Peru). Bedrooms in the double bungalows share a common roof with open space between so basically there´s no such thing as "true" privacy here. Beds are all provided with their own mosquito nets as you can never be too careful (I´ve come to enjoy sleeping under it so much I think I might like one for home). The pathways outside are lit at night by naked torches and the rooms all by candlelight and/or kerosene lamps. Basically to be happy here, you need to be pretty okay with totally roughing it which naturally for me translates into a near-heaven experience. The lodge also has a baby spider monkey on the grounds which they are looking after until he can take care of himself. His name is Wally (as in "and the Beaver"). He´s only 9 mons old and absolutely adorable (except when he pees on the ground and then proceeds to lick it up...then he´s pretty gross, but that didn´t happen too often - the first time this happened, Kirsten´s response was, "Oh come on now, nobody´s that thirsty"). They keep him in a cage at night to protect him from possible predators, but otherwise he just wanders the grounds and will come running out of the brush and up the legs of anyone going past if feeling in the need of a little affection. Didn´t take long for us all to fall in love. After we arrived on Tuesday, we checked into our rooms, were shown a short slide presentation about the rainforest, and then headed out for a "night walk" before dinner. Since a large number of Amazonian creatures are nocturnal, naturally the best time to try and spot them is after dark so we braved getting positively eaten alive by mosquitoes or, worst yet, carried off by some for the chance to see some of the night wonders of the Amazon. Through the course of the walk we saw trantulas and multitudes of other types of spiders, but unfortunately that was about it - oh, except for the bat that flew into our midst at one point when we turned off our flashlights just to listen to the sounds of the forest which was somewhat unnerving. The group that took the walk after us also spotted some night monkeys and an armadillo. That was fine, though, because the next day made up for it. The dinner they served us when we got back was fab, especially by candlelight, and we´d even brought a couple of bottles of wine which we cracked into one in part to celebrate my "big day". After dinner, we all retired to the bar for drinks, a round of "Happy Birthday to You", and even some presants which I thought was just BEYOND sweet. We had an early morning ahead of us (wake-up knock was coming at 5:30am), so we went to bed somewhat on the early-side for us and I slept better than I think I have in weeks... So Wednesday came with our 5:30 awakening, breakfast at 6, and then us back on a river boat around 6:30 or so to explore Lake Condenado (an ox-bow lake about 15 minutes or so upriver) and the surrounding rainforest. According to the lodge guide we were provided, ox-bow lakes are: "...old-remnant river courses cut-off from the main river by the effects"Just thought that was facinating...of erosion and the constant shifting of river channels. To put it more plainly, Lake Condenado used to be part of the Tambopata River, but now it's not. The journey there proved to be a thrill ride complete with a siting of red howler monkeys (which Daniel told us were not often seen), saddleback tamarin monkeys, several colonies of army ants, the largest tree in the Amazon, and even a poison arrow frog (a VERY small specimen that Daniel also said was rare to find). The natives used to put it on the tips of their arrows as one drop could kill as many as 10 men. We also got to climb inside what was left of a tree that had been worked over by a Strangler Fig (got a picture of the inside of that which I'll post). Out on the lake we saw a Mealy Parrot, a Kingfisher, sleeping bats, as well as a strange bird called a Hoatzin which is usually difficult to spot given its extreme shyness. It's a large bird with oddly-colored feathers and wings that apparently don't allow it to fly very well, so instead it uses them along with the little prehistoric-like claws it has on its wing-joints to propel itself up trees. We saw Angel Fish in the lake as well (I always sort of wondered if they did actually live in the wild somewhere, or if they were instead confined to pet shops and classroom fishtanks). After we returned, I spent most of the afternoon relaxing. Around 3pm a group went over to a nearby farm, but I opted to stay back at the lodge, have a nap, and do some birdwatching from the porch of our little bungalow. I saw at least 6 different birds that I didn't recognize (a couple of which I still need to try and identify), a Paradise Tanager (GORGEOUS bird - try and look up a picture if you can), as well as 2 Scarlet Macaws that flew directly overhead. Apparently the group at the farm actually got to see them in a tree which I wonder if it could have been the same ones I saw flying... In any case, one got a fantastic picture that he's going to send me. Naturally, all these parrot sitings have made me miss my own bird, but I'll be home soon enough. That night before dinner we went out on a caiman (alligator)-watching adventure. Loaded into a riverboat, we motored up and down the river with one of the guides scanning the shoreline with a giant spotlight hoping to catch some caiman's on the riverbank. We got to see quite a few as well as one of those giant rodents again and a night-bird of some kind (I know we were told the name of it, but it elludes me at the moment). There are a decent amount of baby caimans out right now and so the guide was able to actually grab one of them and bring it on the boat so we could take pictures as well as even pet it, if we were so inclined which I was. It was definitely a fun and exotic way to spend an evening. Another dinner, round of drinks, and fabulous night's sleep brought us to our final morning. We had breakfast and then boarded the riverboat one last time to transport us back down the Tambopata. We took a bus from a different port this time and 45 minutes later we were back in Puerto Maldonado where we picked up our original bags and were then left at the airport for our flight back to Lima marking the end of the trip, more or less. We arrived in Lima yesterday around 4:30 or so, had dinner out at a local restaurant (food was really good), and now today will just be killing time until my flight out tonight at midnight. Not particularly looking forward to a red-eye flight (I really hate them), but I'm also feeling ready to come home. Nancy's still up in our room - she was just waking up when I was leaving to come down here and get this blog going. I don't think we have much of a plan today, but I'm sure it includes some shopping and eating. We might do a Lima city tour, but I don't know if a final decision had been made on that. Since I haven't mentioned my grandfather in a few entries, I'll just provide a quick update on that here - he's been pretty much holding his own these past couple of weeks, but the impression I've gotten is that it's still hard to tell exactly what we should expect going forward or how much longer he'll be able to remain with us. My plan right now is that I'll be home in PA through next Tuesday. Tuesday night I'm taking a flight down to Atlanta to see him and will be working from there through the end of the week, returning on Sunday. So please continue to keep him and my whole family in your prayers. I would say that this would be my last blog, however I will probably post just one more with respect to this trip when I get home to cover some missing items and also to make some closing commentary which I don't feel I can adequately do while still sitting in Peru, if that makes sense. So, with that I'll just say goodbye for now and enjoy the pictures!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/7/1199719920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/7/1199719920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/7/1199719920/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jan 2008 10:34:35 -0500 Niagara Falls, Canada & US

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Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

The title of this blog is taken from a book I owned as a kid. The heroine of the story wrote letters to her best friend and always ended them with "Yours Till Niagara Falls," and so I could think of no better title for this entry. This was not my first trip to Niagara Falls, nor do I suspect it will be my last. My parents brought me here when I was little (I think I was 8 or 9) and I have definite memories of the trip and particularly the Falls, but needless to say it has changed a bit over the last 25+ years. Not so much the Falls themselves as I don't imagine they've really changed all that much in the last few thousand years, but the surrounding area definitely has. The addition of buildings, hotels, and neon-casinos have probably also meant the addition of more tourists making it all-but-impossible to imagine what the Falls must have looked like to the first human eyes that took them in when they were surrounded by nothing but wilderness. I thought about that a lot while I was there. What must that have been like to "stumble" across something this immense and magnificent for the first time? Surely they would have heard the Falls long before first seeing them... Did they wonder what that endless thundering sound was? I would think the sound alone would be a little frightening without knowing the source. Could they have fathomed the sight they were to encounter? Well, before launching head-long into my weekend, let me save you some of the suspense and say that no, I did not go on the Maid of the Mist or the Journey Behind the Falls. It is not so much that I wasn't interested in doing these things, but that I did do them when I was little (and I still remember it), and it was also a rather cold weekend and I just didn't much care for the idea of spending part of a windy and chilly Saturday drenched to the core. Like I said, I highly doubt that this will be my last trip to Niagara and I'll just work those in then. Now for the weekend play-by-play... Friday started early. I met up with the group I was going with to Niagara in the Church of the Savior parking lot in Wayne, PA at 7:30 a.m. - Starbucks firmly in hand. We boarded the minibus and were on our way around 8 or so. 7 hours and 3 pit-stops later, we arrived at the Rodeway Inn Fallsview on the Canadian side of the Niagara River. I'm not going to bore you with all of the thoughts I had on the lodging situation, but I think you'll get the idea when you hear that the best thing I can say about the Rodeway is that at least it had four walls. I'm not trying to be a snob because I'm sure it was economical and all, and those of you that know me know how much I love roughing it...but I feel very strongly that "roughing it" is a phrase that should only be used in association with camping, NOT hotels. I don't feel that I relax as well or have nearly as much fun when staying in a place where I'm afraid to take my shoes off. Sure, camping is dirty and all, but let's just say that if I dropped a hotdog on the ground while camping, I would be far more inclined to brush it off and eat it anyway where as there is absolutely no way I would eat anything that hit the floor at the Rodeway. So as you might imagine after we checked in, I left the room as quickly as I could and headed down with a group of people to take in The Falls. Wow. And allow me to say again, wow. They were big and loud (but not in a bad way) and gorgeous. I couldn't stop staring at them. The path along the road was speckled with viewfinders (you know, the kind you stick a quarter in - or dollar in this case - and look through the holes) which made me wonder if people really had that much trouble seeing them with the naked eye? The Falls also amazed me at the way they would change size based on where you were standing. For example, from the top of Murray Street, the American Falls look like towering giants - as if you would get down to the bottom of the street and have to be looking up at the Falls. From the Niagara Parkway which runs alongside the river, the Falls still look big, but definitely on an equal parallel. Then, from the US side (which we visited yesterday afternoon), the Falls look even larger up-close than they did from the landscape vantage point on the Candanian side (which I kinda preferred, but more on that later). Friday night we all went out to dinner to a place called Cocoa's on Murray Street. We sat outside which turned out to be a rather chilly decision, and ended up huddling around the heat lamps that were strategically placed on the patio area. Afterwards, some of us headed back to the hotel and layered-up (it was REALLY cold...I even toyed with the idea of strapping one of the heat lamps to my back to carry around all evening, but in the end I decided it wouldn't have been very practical, and I might have even caught fire). We were back down to view the Falls by 9 when they were lit up by both spotlights and fireworks. I managed to get some relatively decent pictures considering I'm still trying to figure out my camera and am pretty far from mastering night scenes. Saturday I was up by 9-ish and out hunting for Starbucks by 10. I managed to find one with some nice outdoor seating where I chilled (literally - it was still cold) and enjoyed my latte before beginning my 7-hour self-guided walking tour of Niagara Falls. I wandered down to the Falls, walked North along Niagara Parkway until it became River Road and ran right up to Rainbow Bridge. I followed the sidewalk under the bridge where there was an exotic bird aviary. I like birds so I bought a ticket and walked through. It was fun to see all the birds and, even though it doesn't compare to seeing Red Macaws in the wilds of the Amazon, I still enjoyed myself. I came out and walked back down and, despite how windy and even chilly it still was, I found that all the walking was quite a workout - especially in the sun - so I decided that a stop at the hotel was in order. I changed and headed back out to the IMAX theater where they were showing a film about the Falls covering its history and some of the raving lunatics...er, I mean BRAVE SOULS...who have launched themselves off of the Falls inside "barrels" made of everything from wood to home insulation. After the movie I walked for another couple of hours, taking pictures all the while. I stopped to find a tacky souvenir toothpick holder for Es and pick up a Niagara Falls Starbucks mug to add to my collection at home. Finally I decided that I'd had enough alone time (somehow I managed to not run into anyone from the group all day) and went back to the hotel to see if anyone else was contemplating dinner. About half of us ended up eating at The Keg inside the Embassy Suites (good steak, EXCELLENT mushrooms stuffed with crab and cream cheese) and then one of the women who I'd become friends with (Julie) and I walked down to the hip-and-happening Clifton Hill area. We found a sports bar, had a couple of drinks and dessert, and closed out the night taking some photos in front of the Casino on Fallsview. Sunday was a long day. It started out even colder than Saturday with a sky that threatened rain all day long (eventually making good on that threat). We had to get up and have the minibus loaded by 9, however we weren't actually shoving off for brunch at the Skylon until 10, so Julie and I decided to walk over to the Tower after we handed over our suitcases. We made a quick souvenir shop stop and met the group in the lobby. Brunch was good and we had a beautiful view of the Falls from our seats. FYI - if you ever go, be sure you ask to be seated in the main dining room which is a revolving restaurant. Wherever it was that they seated us didn't move an inch. After brunch we spent 2 hours (give or take) waiting to cross the border back to the U.S. (which was exhausting and subsequently made us about 2 hours late getting home). Anyhow, once we got back into the good ol' U.S. of A., we stopped for awhile in Niagara Falls State Park for some photos and a completely different (and in some ways better) view of the Falls. I say "better" because as beautiful as the Falls were from the Canadian vantage point, and as nice as it was to be able to stand in one spot and view them all at once, there was just something really majestic about being right next to them - thundering water cascading down 22 stories at the tune of 600,000 gallons per second - in other words, one-half of the Mediterranean Sea. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. I think some of the pictures I took Sunday afternoon are still pretty, but it would've been nice if it hadn't been so overcast. You can judge for yourself. I've of course included my fave pics in this entry, but if you want to view all of my shots from the trip, visit my Niagara Falls album. All-in-all, it was a nice weekend. I got some sun (a little more than I would've liked, actually - I'm still feeling it on my face and upper arms), I walked probably close to 20 miles, and got to spend some quality time with one of the natural wonders of the world. I will leave you with a couple of quotes. One from Charles Dickens in which he described his Niagara Falls encounter during his visit there in 1842. He certainly puts it far more eloquently than I. And, because I like to keep things fun, the final quote is from Mark Twain upon his visit to the Falls: <i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When we were seated in the little ferry-boat, and were crossing the swollen river immediately before both cataracts, I began to feel what it was: but I was in a manner stunned, and unable to comprehend the vastness of the scene. It was not until I came on Table Rock, and looked - Great Heaven, on what a fall of bright-green water! - that it came upon me in its full might and majesty. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then, when I felt how near to my Creator I was standing, the first effect, and the enduring one - instant and lasting - of the tremendous spectacle, was Peace. Peace of Mind, tranquility, calm recollections of the Dead, great thoughts of Eternal Rest and Happiness: nothing of gloom or terror. Niagara was at once stamped upon my heart, an Image of Beauty; to remain there, changeless and indelible, until its pulses cease to beat, for ever."&nbsp; Charles Dickens, American Notes for General Circulation, 1842 <i>"Although it was wonderful to see all that water tumbling down, it would be even more wonderful to see all that water tumbling up."&nbsp; Mark Twain
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142521860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142521860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142521860/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jan 2008 10:13:01 -0500 Amazon to the Andes

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Lima, Peru

This is it - my last night before leaving for Deepest, Darkest Peru... Land of the Incas, as I often see it called. It seems somewhat odd to me to define an entire country by one particular group of people who once inhabited the land... Fantastic tribute to the Incas and their modern descendants I suppose, but what of the rest of the country's history and the other cultures there now? Do they feel slighted at all? What if we were to start doing that with other countries? For some it would probably just end up sounding redundant (e.g. Africa: Land of the Africans) but for others it could work (e.g. Mexico: Land of the Mayans). The only problem with the Mayans is the fact that they also occupied Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, so to be proper, you could end up with a lot of countries using the same "Land of"-s... But I digress.So I leave tomorrow! I'm so excited that I'm almost literally beside myself (which I wish I was because I could really use an extra set of hands). This trip has been a long time coming. Yes, I booked this adventure in August of last year, but I've actually been waiting not just the 7 months since booking. This trip was one that I was originally supposed to take in March of 2004, but unfortunately had to postpone due to an unexpected (and unwelcome) stay at Lenox Hill Hospital. But now it's finally be rescheduled and looks as though it will actually happen - although another hospital incident almost derailed the trip again.Briefly, because I don't want to bum everyone out, I found out this morning that my grandfather (the only one I have left) suffered a major stroke and is now in the hospital in Atlanta. My knee-jerk reaction was to not go on the trip, but after careful consideration and a conversation with my grandmother, I decided that I would still go. My grandfather's birthday is a week from today, in fact, but hopefully I'll at least be able to give him early-happy birthday wishes over the phone before I depart, and will prayerfully hope that his speech will have returned to him by the time I get back. In the meantime, I'm going to do my best to enjoy myself and soak everything around me in so I can provide him with a full report.Anyway, one of the definite perks to having this adventure postponed is that my friend Nancy will be accompanying me. Nancy (who I lovingly refer to as Fancy Pants or FP for short) and I didn't even know each other in 2004, but met and became buds on my afore-blogged-about Thailand trip. Nancy has one of the most contagious laughs I've ever heard and is something of a clown (but not in the frightening Stephen King sense of the word). Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.However fun as this may be, I must admit that there are a couple of things I'm mildly concerned about so I'll mention them now so you'll all be aware as I'm sure I'll bring them up later: 1) Altitude sickness and B) the Inca trail.1) Altitude sickness. This is one of those things that is something of a mystery to me. I mean, I know what it is and why it happens having read multiple books on Everest and other mountain climbing expeditions, but there seems to be no sense in why some people will get completely bowled over by it, and others seem to fare just fine. That said, I have no idea where I will fall in that spectrum and I'm just a tad nervous about finding out. For example, I know people who get headaches and other mild symptoms in places like Denver (elevation 5,431 feet) and others that have no issues at all, even in places like Aspen (elevation around 8,000 feet). Now, if those places can be used as any kind of gauge, then I can at least say that I have had not even a hint of a "Rocky Mountain High" in either Denver or Aspen, but Cuzco sits at 10,912 feet which is hardly the dreaded Death Zone, but still a pretty drastic change from sea level in a short period of time. From everything I've heard and read, it takes about 3 days to acclimatize and then you're fine. There are medicines you can get (by prescription only in the US), but they can also carry with them side-effects which I'd rather avoid. So without drugs, worst case scenario: you feel like you have the flu for a few days until your blood begins carrying more oxygen. Best case scenario: you feel a bit light-headed and get out of breath quickly until your acclimatization is complete. I don't know about you but given the choice, I'd opt for the latter. Since I'm not going the drug-route, my plan is to hydrate myself like crazy and then start chewing coca leaves or drinking tea made from them (a local remedy that's supposed to help). I also read where sleeping after arrival is recommended as well so perhaps FP and I would be well-served by staying up late the night before. Just a thought...B) The Inca Trail. While this is without a doubt the highlight of the trip and the reason I wanted to book in the first place, I have to admit that some of the comments made by those who have gone before are a little scary. For example, one of the favorite phrases I've heard with regards to the trail has been: "It's by far the hardest thing I've ever done." Well, who wouldn't be a little freaked out by a strong, 30-something, buff guy making a statement like that? But of course there are others who then brag how their 70-year-old aunt did it. The dichotomy of these two statements leads me to believe that the strong, 30-something, buff guy either isn't as strong and buff as he seems or that the 70-year-old aunt is a retired superhero able to leap tall mountains in a single bound...or perhaps the truth lies somewhere inbetween. I'm sure the trail isn't exactly a cake walk, but it probably also is not a task being assigned on Mission Impossible either. Of course I won't know until I get there, but what I can promise all of you, dear readers, is that I will be frank and honest in my assessment of the difficulty of the trail...keeping in mind that I'll be making this trek only 4 months after breaking my foot. I will also be sure to include any comments from Nance (FP) and other members of our group...As for the moment, the bigger question is: Am I properly packed??I typically pride myself on being a really good packer. On more than one occasion I've had people look at what I've brought with me on various trips and say, "Wow, is that really all you brought?" "Why, yes!" I beam back at them, "I am the Queen of Efficent Packing, but please no autographs." However, this trip is a might different. I found it easier to pack for my last 2-week trip (Thailand) where all I really did was throw a bunch of tank tops and shorts into a bag and off I went. This is more difficult and I feel like I'm packing too much, or not enough of the right stuff... I read back over the dossier from the trip company I'm using (which conveniently includes a packing list) and I just feel like there are a lot of things NOT mentioned on there (such as underwear). To bring enough underwear for 2 weeks is a lot of underwear, is it not? The list also seems to not necessarily be tailored to the specific time of year that a trip is scheduled for and so someone going in August (read: non-rainy season) is being given the same dossier and subsequent packing list as those going in March (read: rainy season). The part of this list that I found almost comical is that the only mention of clothes is as follows (Ah-hem): 4 shirts/t-shirts 1 pair of shorts 2 pairs of long trousers 1 pair of hiking pants/track pants Thermal underwear Yeah, right.To say we should only bring 4 shirts...well, uh, I don't know about you, but there is NO WAY I'm going to wear the same 4 shirts for 14 days. Nope - not happening. Same goes for basically what boils down to 3 pairs of pants. And then this is also packing for 2 totally different climates - the high Andes and the low Amazon. Cold and hot, dry and humid... I could not possibly pick out 4 shirts, etc. that would work interchagably for both climates. Right now I'm just trying to figure out what I should be planning to sleep in since apparently the temperature in the mountains can drop down below freezing at night in the thin air. I have a good sleeping bag (and liner sheet), but I don't want to be confined to it after the sun goes down because the 4 shirts and 3 pairs of pants I brought can't hack it alone. And so I've packed more than that which leaves me feeling as though I may have over-packed. Even as I type, I'm acutely aware of my duffle bag scowling at me from the floor as if to say, "Take some of this crap out of me!" Perhaps I should listen to it.Before I sign off and do a re-evaluation of my duffle's contents, a quick word about what lies ahead... I had emailed out a high-level itinerary which I will include below (with some additional details). I will be taking my camera and a card-reader along so hopefully will be able to post some photos as we go and not have to do them all retroactively. FP and I have also have rented a camcorder which, I might add, is practically smaller than my camera - so some video will be made and a short-length feature film will be forthcoming upon our return (for those of you who I tied down and forced to watch the movie I made after Thailand - start preparing yourselves for another one!)Itinerary:March 17 - Flight from EWR to Lima, PeruMarch 18-19 - Flight to Cuzco in the morning with the rest of the time spent hangin' and trying to acclimatize a bit.March 20 - Early morning train to Puno (Lake Titicaca) - the highest navigable lake in the world at over 13,000 feet.March 21 - Flight back to Cuzco and meeting up with the rest of the groupMarch 22 - Travel to Ollantaytambo (by bus I think...or perhaps llama)March 23-26 - Hiking/Camping the Inca Trail arriving in Machu Picchu with a return train ride to Cuzco. (note that the 23rd is my grandfather's birthday)March 27 - Day in CuzcoMarch 28-29 - Travel to and stay in the Tambopata Rainforest Area (note that the 28th is my birthday - hence the timing of this trip) March 30 - Return to Lima (via Cuzco)March 31 - Flight from Lima to EWR (a ever-so-fun redeye flight leaving at midnight and arriving in Newark the morning of April 1st) And so with less than 24 hours before my departure to the southern hemisphere, all I can say is: ready or not, here I come!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142730060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142730060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142730060/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jan 2008 10:11:30 -0500 Amazon to the Andes

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Cuzco, Peru

Okay, so don´t get used to getting an entry from me daily because I know for sure that I won´t be able to provide one for probably most days after we leave Cuzco, but in the meantime, I´ll keep you as informed as possible.I also updated my previous blog with pictures so you might want to check it out - there´s only a couple of them, but they´re still worth looking at.First things first, just to give you all an update, I heard from my mom that my grandfather is not doing well... Apparently he had a heart attack on Friday night and it´s looking like he could only continue to be with us a matter of days or even hours. Please continue to keep my family in your prayers...and I´m very sad to not be there as well.Onto happier topics! Doing pretty well with altitude adjustment...I haven´t even had so much as a headache. I have noticed that I do get winded a lot more quickly than would be normal, and I also sometimes have trouble saying as much in one breath as I typically would (maybe some of you think that´s not such a bad thing...?). It´s also difficult to get a good, deep breath in when on the street as there seems to be a lot more exhaust in the air than I would have thought - I wonder if that´s just a feature of the thin air, or if they maybe drive more diesel fueled cars here...? Nancy´s been having a bit of a tougher time, but she´s also fighting a cold which I´m sure doesn´t help. I left her in the hotel room sleeping this morning - figured she could probably really use it...but it was such a beautiful sunny morning I couldn´t stand the thought of not going out, even for a short walk.Last night we had dinner at a place called the Inka Grill right on the Plaza de Armas which is more-or-less the center of town. It´s an open square with a gorgeous fountain in the middle surrounded by cathedrals and little shops and restaurants. It´s really perfect. It was really beautiful when we got there last night. The weather was crisp and cool and everything was lit up like it was on display.Our dinner was good, but the place was an obvious location for tourists - the fact that the menus were in English was a pretty good tip-off. But the atmosphere was great, and we even had some live music for awhile - a guy playing one of those Pan flutes (I can´t remember what they´re called). Anyway, Nancy got some sort of ravioli stuffed with sweet potatoes (who would´ve thought?) and I had some form of risotto with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes. It was pretty good, but the rice really wasn´t risotto-y, but more Uncle Ben´s Converted Rice-y (as in not sticky and more rice-like than risotto-like).We turned in early (relatively speaking). Even though we´d had that great nap in the afternoon, we were really pretty exhausted... Probably an affect of the altitude. From what we hear, the 3rd day in altitude is supposed to be the worst. We´re about to enter into our second full day, so I´ll continue to let you know how it goes. For now my time on the Internet here is about to run out and I want to upload some pics before I sign off.Later all.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142702460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142702460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142702460/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jan 2008 10:09:03 -0500 Amazon to the Andes

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Cusco, Peru

And here I sit having just arrived in Cuzco less than an hour ago. Nancy´s up in our room and I came down to do a quick email check and write up a few thoughts on the past 18 hours.Before I get into the events and other thoughts, I want to say Happy Birthday to Esther, so, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ES!!! I´d call, but I don´t think my oxygen and sleep-deprived mind can totally wrap itself around how to use the phone here quite yet. It´s all I can do to type on this funky keyboard with all the superfluous characters that the Spanish language requires.Okay, so onto the play-by-play...My flight from EWR was fine except for being one of the most turbulent flights I´ve ever been on. Seriously. And for most of the flight as well... But, I kept thinking, at least I´m in first class (having used miles to upgrade), so if we crash in the Andes, I´ll go down with lots of leg room and a good meal.A guy named Brian was my neighbor on the trip and also was heading out to Cuzco with a bunch of his friends and then doing the Machu Picchu thing starting Wednesday, a day before us. Lucky guy having gotten into first class because his buddy he was traveling with got a free upgrade for a friend. They´re doing the trip with 4 other suckers who were all stuck back in coach, poor things.Anyway, once the plane was on the ground, I collected my bag and proceeded to wait for Nancy's flight to arrive and for her to make her way through the maze of glass hallways and escalators that is the Lima airport - honestly, coming down to immigration from the gate made me feel like some sort of lab rat with all these people watching us from the other side of various glass walls. The baggage claim area was fairly large, but difficult to get lost in so I had no doubt I´d be able to find Nancy easily enough. While waiting, I was highly entertained by how many Peruvian men were walking around with their shirts 3/4 of the way unbuttoned showing off their thick rugs and gold chains; as well as watching these girls who were representatives of the FreeCell kiosk at the end of the baggage claim area. You might ask how I knew that they were FreeCell reps - well, it was really no secret. They were dressed in bright yellow spandex outfits with FREE CELL written in large letters going up the sides of their arms and legs. The outfits were otherwise covered with flags from just about every country imaginable making them look more like a walking poster children for the United Nations. The shirts also had emblems of all the major credit cards out there that apparently they accept (however it was unclear to me as to whether they <i>personally accepted those cards for heaven knows what purpose, or if just their company did). Their job, as it appeared to me, was to be more-or-less cell phone pimps. They would assault people who were coming through immigration with offers and promises of free incoming calls and ease of in-country calling. They were not at all unlike the women at the perfume counters at Bloomingdales. A little annoying, but certainly entertaining.Finally I saw that FP´s flight had landed and her bag was quick to emerge from on the beltway. She followed (through the door, not the beltway) a few minutes later. We figured out the taxi situation and then left the baggage claim area passing through a narrow roped-off corridor that was surrounded by a crowd of people at least 3 or 4 deep. I´ve never felt so much like a celebrity! It was really kind of cool... Very movie-premier-ish.Our Lima hotel (Colonial Inn) was situated right next to a Pappa John´s Pizzeria (I wonder of Pappa John even knows that he has a store open in Lima...I wouldn´t imagine he gets out here much). The room was a really good size with 3 beds, a bright blue tiled bathroom, and a fan that sounded somewhat like it might leap off the wall at any moment and slice us to shreds while we slept...and yes, we HAD to keep it on - it was really hot and humid out and there was no air conditioning.This morning our taxi driver from the night before (Jesus) came back ´round at 8 to run us back to the airport for our flight to Cuzco which we almost couldn´t get on (some mix-up with the tickets not being e-tickets, but paper and of course we didn´t have the paper tickets and so they wouldn´t give us our boarding passes. Took some time, but we sorted it out and still managed to make the flight).We touched down in Cuzco at noon and got a quick ride to the hotel. Cuzco, from what I´ve seen so far, is not what I was expecting. I think I had imagined it smaller,for some reason. Rather it´s something of a sprawling town with houses and buildings that creep up the mountains surrounding them. It´s a very interesting look and atmosphere and I can´t quite think of what I would liken it to, but give me time and I´ll come up with something... I´ll also post some pictures to this blog a little later, but I haven´t really taken any yet - but be sure to re-check this post later for pics.The hotel here (Prisma Hotel) is great - open and airy. Our room is smaller, but it has a balcony that looks out over the city and is just beautiful. The one major downside (or blessing, depending on how you look at it) is that the hotel doesn´t have an elevator and we´re on the 4th floor. And remember, the air is thin here at over 10,000 feet, so it´s a bit of a task to climb up those stairs!Now, before you ask, yes - I can definitely tell that the air is thinner. It was an immediate change in my breathing when I stepped off the plane and almost felt a little lightheaded. FP noticed it as well (which I was glad of because at first I wondered if it was just in my head). It´s a little better now, but after climbing up 4 flights of stairs, I was huffing waaay more than I would normally be.As for the altitude sickness, well, it´s not something that tends to hit right away - my understanding is that it takes at least 3 hours or so to really set in (if it´s going to at all), and then apparently the 3rd day in high altitude is known to be the worst. So we´ll see, I´ll keep you all posted.Right now I´ve got to get back to the room and take a nap. I´m completely exhausted...and sleeping is also supposed to help with acclimation.More to come!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142916840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142916840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1142916840/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:55:24 -0500 Amazon to the Andes

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Puno, Peru

What a day...and I mean that in the best possible sense of the phrase. But let me begin rather with where I left off yesterday. We hit a new restaurant last night called "Macondo" on Cuesta San Blas in another part of Cuzco that we hadn't visited yet. It was incredible... Definitely are going to be spending some more time in that part of town when we return tomorrow. Narrow streets overflowing with culture and everything that makes Cuzco unique.One thing that's really been impressing us about the Inca architecture (and I'm sure we'll see more of this at Machu Picchu) is the way they structured their walls. The Hiriam Bingham book I'm reading describes it as "Egyptian style" meaning that the walls slope inward as they go up so the top are narrower than the base. Apparently this made the buildings far more able to withstand earthquakes (which apparently are not uncommon here). And we still use this technology today, it would seem (think of the TransAmerica building in San Francisco which is said to be the safest building to be in during an earthquake). The other facinating thing about these Inca walls are how the blocks were carved to be such a perfect fit that no mortar was necessary. This makes it easy to tell the original structures throughout Cuzco from the newer additions which all have stones and bricks mortared together. They're very protective of their original walls as well - I got yelled at for touching one of them last night. Oops. But, as Nancy said, "They really should have signs." Anyway, the Incas really were master builders - and what's more, they built all these things themselves without having the use of horses or other strong animals to speak of... Apparently llamas were used quite a bit, but it was found that no matter how much training one gives a llama, a llama will still be unable to carry more than about 100 pounds, so the real heavy lifting was left up to the Incas to figure out. I'm sure we'll find out more about all this once we join our official guide tomorrow who will take us on through the Sacred Valley and over the Inca Trail itself.So, that was last night.This morning we woke up early, heaved ourselves out of our hotel room and downstairs where we checked out and then had a cab take us over to the train station where we boarded our train for Puno (Lake Titicaca).Let me first start by saying that this day and a half was really the "big splurge" of our trip. The train we were taking was PeruRail which is owned and operated by the well-known Orient Express. There were two classes of tickets available: Andean Explorer (read: First Class) and Backpacker (read: Coach). The prices were $119/ticket or $17/ticket. Nothing inbetween. We opted for the First Class and...well, it was worth it!The look and feel of the train cars themselves were very reminicent of the old style trains of the early 1900's... Upholstered armchairs, white linen table clothes, brass lamps, and dark wood added to the richness of the experience. Even the ceiling of the cars were covered in cloth. We got lunch and "afternoon tea" included with our tickets, as well as an optional breakfast (which of course we took being that we were on the train by about 7:45am).The train ride was to be 10 hours taking us all the way from Cuzco through the highlands of Peru to Puno, on the shore of Lake Titicaca. Now I know 10 hours seems like an insanely long trip, but I can't even begin to tell you how quickly it flew by. Bored? Never! The scenery changed so radically from start to finish that you never wanted to take your eyes off the windows, even for a second lest you miss something.The route took us through the towns of Huambutico, Urcos, Tinta, Sicuani, Chuquibambilla, Tirapata, Juliaca (where we'll fly out of tomorrow morning), and finally ending in Puno. We actually gained elevation during the ride (I think the highest point was somewhere around 13,700 feet). We had about a 10 minute stop at La Raya where there were plenty of local Peruvians more than a little anxious to sell us their handmade hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, and everything else you can imagine. Through the journey I feel like we really got a better taste of Peru in general than we'd had just having spent a couple of days in Cuzco and barely a night in Lima. There's a lot more poverty than I think I previously realized, and yet there it was inspiring to see how hard the Peruvians work at farming or whatever other business it is that they're a part of. One of the most interesting views we had were those of farms being cultivated right on the mountainsides... Amazing.Of course we also saw plenty of Peru wildlife (or as Nancy called them, "The Big Five of Peru"). We saw sheep, cows, pigs, llamas, and alpacas (a relative of the llama that are domesticated and raised for their fine wool). I also learned in reading through some of the tourist books today that, the way to tell if something you buy is really and truly made of alpaca wool (because apparently some items are labeled falsely) is burn a few fibers - if it smells like plastic, then it's acrylic and not alpaca. Additionally you can wet it - if it smells like wet dog, it's llama wool and not alpaca. So Nancy and I discussed how exactly we might conduct these tests when in stores trying to purchase what they <i>say is alpaca. Can we just spit on it and set it ablaze?In case some of you are not aware, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world sitting at 12,507. It is more than 120 miles long and 50 miles wide. There has even been tales of a lake monster living here much like the one in Loch Ness. I also learned today that the name "Titicaca" is generally accepted as meaning "Rock of the Mountain Cat" due to an old legend where the Incas believed that they saw the eyes of a mountain cat shining out from the rock around the lake.There is more I could say about the train ride - I could, for example, tell you about the weird guys from Arkansas that boarded the train (looking as though they might have actually been previously hit by one) and proceeded to tell us about how they just came from the police station because a buddy of theirs had had some money stolen but the police didn't believe him or something to that affect, so their buddy was actually getting searched by the police (huh?); or I could tell you about the group of people from Scotland who sat just a few seats away from us and had the whole car laughing more than once; or I could tell you about Meryl and Hazel, the two British sisters who sat across from us and had tales to tell of their world travels sounding like they've seldom been home in the past few years... But I won't get into all that right now. Instead, I'm exhausted and need to turn in so I want to wrap it up and post some photos of the train ride, etc. to leave you with for now.Tomorrow we're up early, on a plane back to Cuzco where we will (finally) meet up with rest of the people we'll be spending the remainder of the trip with. We're dying of curiosity at this point, and I don't need to tell you that there has been much speculation as to what these people might be like... Nancy and I have become quite imaginative at times, so I'm sure they'll turn out to be far more normal than we've built them up to be in our own loco minds.We don't officially start the Inca Trail until Thursday, but I believe we're leaving for the Sacred Valley on Wednesday so I'll try to post one more entry before then.Adios para ahora! (My Spanish isn't all that good so I'm not <i>entirely sure that my grammar is correct there, but that should mean "Goodbye for now")
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1143081540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1143081540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/peru-trails/1143081540/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:40:04 -0500 Amazon to the Andes

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Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley, Peru

I realize it's been a couple of days and so as a result I have a lot to catch you all up on. I'll most likely miss some stuff, but I'll do my best to get it all in...and whatever I do miss, I'll be sure to add later - sound good?So yesterday, as predicted, we were up early...like crack of freaking dawn early. I think the wake-up call was for 5am and I'm pretty sure I was up before that call came through not having slept terribly well. Nancy and I both had a hard time going to sleep which we think was due to the coca tea we had at dinner which apparently helps with acclimation, but is also a stimulant which should certainly be taken into consideration if one is planning to drink it right before one intends on turning in. So that'll learn us, I suppose.The ride to the Juliaca airport was quite an interesting one...or perhaps "hair-raising" would be a better descriptor. It was about a 45 minute drive from Puno through crowded city streets, narrowly missing children and dogs alike, and passing slower moving vehicles with barely time to avoid a head-on collision. We were doing about 80 km/hour the whole way (I could see the speedometer) which I'm not exactly sure how fast that is in mph, but figure it's probably just as well.Juliaca airport was probably one of the smaller airports I've ever been to having only 2 gates, but it was relatively efficient and I think our total flight time back to Cuzco was only about 30 minutes. We grabbed a cab and were back to the Prisma Hotel before noon, I think. We then proceeded to take naps, but I was back up about an hour and half later and snuck out of the room to see about making a quick phone call to check on my grandfather as well as do a quick email scan for anything of importance.While I was sitting at the computer in the lobby, a group of people came piling in and then proceeded to take seats together at a long table just behind me. I knew that the group that Nancy and I were supposed to meet up with should have been flying in around noon or so and so I was wondering if this was, in fact, them. Turned out it was... So I joined them at the table and listened to our guide, Carlos, give a brief overview of what the next few days were going to look like followed by some quick instructions on how to help yourself acclimatize. Nancy wandered down and joined us as well (having been awoken from her nap when the front desk called to inform her that they had all arrived - the little dears).After the little meeting, it was hard to tell what (if anything) the rest of the group was up for doing since everyone pretty much retreated to their rooms. Nancy and I took up our duffle bags upstairs and worked on packing them a bit (we were all given specific duffle bags that we were to pack for the Inca Trail and told to keep it within a certain weight limit), then we decided to head out and try and take in some of the cathedral tours in Cuzco which we hadn't yet felt like doing.Don't hate me, but here's where my memory gets fuzzy and I really need to go back and pull out my ticket stubs because I can't for the life of me remember which cathedral we toured first... The second one I remember more because it was a church that was built over Inca ruins, but even there the name escapes me... In any case, the first cathedral was really magnificent. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures because we weren't permitted to take any indoors, but I was quite impressed with the alter work, paintings, etc. - really brilliant it was, and very different from what I've seen in other cathedrals in the US or Europe. On that tour, we ended up with one of the girls that's a part of our group for The Trail (named Eve), so afterwards we went onto the second cathedral (the one built on Inca ruins) and then back to the hotel for a quick rest before heading out to dinner.Dinner was probably the most fun dining experience we've had yet. Eve came with us as well as another member of our group (Marissa) and we hit a restaurant that was recommended to us by the front desk of the hotel which they said had good food and local music. I can't so much speak for the food since I didn't eat (Eve had a guinea pig which I have to admit that I tasted...yes, I know, having had a guinea pig for a pet when I was young, I really struggled with that decision, but felt that in the interest of all things local, I should try it). Anyhow the music was great - two local bands played Peruvian music (which is often very reminiscent of Simon &amp; Garfunkel which, we were informed, Peruvian music is where Simon &amp; Garfunkel got some of their inspiration) and they even had dancers come out some of the time including two men dressed as wolf-like demons or something who proceeded to pay special attention to our table (4 gorgeous women, who can blame them?).This morning was one of moderate excitement (at least for me) since it was the day we were finally checking out of the hotel and leaving Cuzco, gearing up for The Trail.Carlos came for us at 9am with a van and we all piled in and proceeded to drive out to The Sacred Valley of the Incas. What an amazing drive...seriously unbelievable. We saw some ruins and got a good walking tour of them, stopped in Pisca (sp?) for lunch and market shopping, and then finished up the day checking into our hotel here in Ollantaytambo (meaning "resting place of Ollan") where we also visited the ruins here and then walked around a bit before having dinner (about 8 of us had dinner together at a little local place not far from the hotel). This valley is just unreal... And I don't mean to downplay the ruins at all, but frankly the stunning scenery really sort of overshadowed everything else for me. The mountains are amazingly dramatic - I can't even really liken them to anything... Alaskan mountains are stunning, of course, and not that the Peruvian Andes are MORE stunning, but they're just stunning in a completely different way. I've just never seen anything like them.Before arriving at the hotel, we stopped at a little bar along the way and got to try one of the local specialties - a type of beer made from corn. Wasn't my favorite thing, but I'm glad it works for them. There was also a room full of guinea pigs - raised to be eaten, of course, but that was still something to see.Tonight's dinner was also a treat because we got to know some more members of the group better and really had a good time. I was also relieved to find out that they all seem to be just as nervous about the Inca Trail as I am, apparently having also read all kinds of dreadful things about how hard it is, etc. especially after some of the hiking around ruins we did today (did I mention that one guidebook actually called Day 2 "grueling"?!). The hiking today was a good warm-up, I'm sure - and one thing that was actually good to find for myself was that, though I got out of breath relatively fast in the altitude, as soon as we stopped to rest, I recovered very quickly. Hopefully that will continue to be true of me through the next four days!Okay, I think that's really it for now... I'm kinda tired and we're up and out at 8am tomorrow heading for the trailhead. We're all excited, I think, and I want to make sure that my excitement doesn't keep me awake too late tonight.I won't be able to post another update until at least Sunday which is when we reach Machu Picchu so just know that for the next few days, I'll be on The Inca Trail.Wish me luck!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1182182400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1182182400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1182182400/tpod.html Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:16:09 -0500 Cruising the Inside Passage

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Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

The title of this entry is taken from a quote by Robert Benchley. I have absolutely no idea who he is, but I like the way his mind works: There is probably no more obnoxious class of citizen, taken end for end, than the returning vacationist. I'm back at work today and thrown back into the atmosphere of reality (caution: objects may burn up upon reentry) which is why I'm taking a few minutes out to write now. I'll finish up from home most likely which will give me a chance to add some photos as well. So to recap quickly... Since I last wrote which was sometime on Friday morning, we landed in Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC around 5pm or so. I was supposed to have a shore excursion to the gardens, but my day had just been absolutely non-stop since 8:30 that morning, I decided to skip out. Seen one flower... I mean, I'm sure it would have been pretty, but I just didn't have the energy. So instead I waited until about 7:30pm and took a shuttle into town where I walked around the waterfront and just enjoyed the gorgeous day for a couple of hours. Friday night was mostly spent trying to drink up the rest of the wine some of us had bought in various ports before finally heading off to bed. Saturday morning was a bit of a blur... I got up exhausted since being out late and for some reason not having slept well. I managed to crawl out of bed around 7:15 and somehow gathered my bags and got off the ship. Janelle picked me up on the dock and we headed back to her house. Sean ran out for a haircut, but then we all went into town to walk around the Edmonds Art Festival and enjoy some food, and fresh lemonade. Good times. Jel got me to the airport in plenty of time to make my flight (which was late thanks to Houston thunderstorms) and I pretty much passed out as soon as I got on the plane only to awake four and a half hours later in Newark. Always a downer when coming back in from the Pacific Northwest...or almost anywhere else, for that matter. When I've been away long enough, I forget how people here can be - especially in the areas surrounding NYC. For example, here I've been used to being on a ship with friendly vacationers and wandering around towns with friendly residents. Then I fly into Newark and make the mistake of smiling at a guy walking past who happened to look in my direction. What I got in return was...well...put it this way, if looks could kill... And so I am once again left wondering why I haven't picked up and moved to Seattle, and once again there are no answers. Sigh. Anyway, since my flight had been delayed, I missed the last train from EWR to Princeton where my car was parked so I examined my options: Stay overnight at the airport, or take a car service. Turned out the price was about the same either way, so I opted for the car service. This landed me home around 3am. Sunday I went to pick up my Chena (for those of you who don't know, her name is pronounced "Chee-na") from my aunt &amp; uncle's house - and what a happy reunion that was! A lot of peeing and excitement ensued (just to clarify, Chena did the peeing...I was just excited). I think she had a blast while I was away, but she also seems to have crashed once I showed up. She barely left my side, couldn't wait to get into the car when we finally went to leave, and even this morning she was doing a lot of yawning and lazing around as I got ready for work. I suspect she'll be sleeping most of today. I'm finding that I'm having an easier time getting back to regular life than I have after other trips. I suspect that this is due to the shorter length so I don't think I ever got into full vacation mode as I did with, say, Thailand. As for the trip itself, and final thoughts: I definitely enjoyed myself - more so as the week wore on. I was pleasantly surprised, and of course some of the people I met certainly enriched my overall experience as well as making it more fun. Despite my earlier reservations, I think I would do another cruise, but I would probably be a little more inclined to go with pre-existing friends I'm not having to start from scratch with relationship-wise. I could see where I might have had more fun sooner if Jo or Es or Jel had been with me. I would also make sure I didn't do a longer trip - 10 days or more at least. The 7-day just ended up feeling like something of a tease. So I realized that I'm actually heading out again in just under two weeks (which I think may also be helping with being home). I have a 4 day backpacking/camping trip in Glacier National Park, Montana set to begin on June 30. To further assist with my readjustment until then, I will focus on the immortal words of Milton Berle: "Laughter is an instant vacation."Thankfully I manage to get a lot of that in!Until Montana...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1181937600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1181937600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1181937600/tpod.html Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:05:41 -0500 Cruising the Inside Passage

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Ketchikan, Alaska, United States

Well, it's official. I'm a cruise-ship convert. This is not to say that I will be from now on chosing to cruise my way to every destination I have in my life travel "to-do" list, but rather I mean this to imply that I have honestly embraced the cruising experience. After the paradigm shift I mentioned previously (where I came to the realization that a cruise vacation is as much about the ship itself as it is about the destination), I was able to fully "feel the love" of being in the floating resort. As I type right now I'm literally "at sea" and yes, I did say that I was not going to surrender to pay the crazy onboard Internet charges, but I caved. Not due to boredom or anything - trust me on that, but rather I wanted to post an update and hating that I didn't have the time while in port for our short time in Ketchikan yesterday and the fact that I'm pretty sure I'll lack the time in Victoria. Now for the bad news, since I am on the ship, I also will be unable to post pictures until later which REALLY bummed me out since I didn't realize this until after logging on. So sadly you'll all have to wait to see my pictures of Ketchikan and the others I took in Sitka - and possibly even the ones from Victoria I'll take later. What I wanted to make sure I did was at least chronicle the last couple of days since we're now nearing the end of the trip which has really turned into a delight despite my first day or so of not understanding exactly what it is that I'd gotten myself into! So Sitka. Sitka was Wednesday and is known as the "Paris of the North" although, despite a exhaustive Google search, I am unable to find a source that can explain why it was given that nickname. Another off-hand question...why is it not the other way around? Why isn't Paris called instead the "Sitka of France" or something comparable? Thoughts? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? After I left the Internet cafe in Sitka, I headed over to an semi-out-of-the-way coffee shop which a local recommended called "The Back Door". Great coffee and even greater molasses cookies. Seriously the best molasses cookie I think I have ever had. It was big and warm and postively melted in my mouth. In Sitka. Who knew? In fact, I enjoyed that cookie so much that I would return to Sitka just to have another one. Perhaps the Sitka visitors bureau should add this little-exposed fact in their tourist information packets or Chamber of Commerce publications...? Just a thought. So with cookie in hand, I meandered over to Chapel Hill for the view and ran into a couple from our group so I had some company for the rest of my wanderings. We visited St. Michael's which is a Russian Orthodox Church just about in the center of town. Apparently from 1840 to 1872, Sitka was the seat of the Russian Orthodox Diocese which goverened all of the Russian Orthodox Churches in North America. The original structure was completed in 1848, but burned down in a major fire which hit the town in 1966. The building as it currently stands is an exact replica of the original and, amazingly enough, they were able to save roughly 90% of the artifacts that still reside in the chruch (icons, paintings, chandeliers, etc.). After St. Michaels, we walked over to the Sitka Raptor Center. I will admit here that my first thought was the raptor center had something to do with dinosaurs, although I didn't tell anyone this since I was pretty sure I was wrong. I was. The Raptor Center is in fact a wild bird rehab. They receive injured raptors (bald eagles, owls, hawks, etc.) from all over North America and work to rehabilite them for release back into the wild. I have seen more than my share of bald eagles up-close-and-personal (as Es can attest to after our trip to Homer), but they never cease to impress me with their size and magestical presence. They command attention - and it clearly doesn't matter if they're sitting on a piling, soaring through the sky, or hangin' in a pseudo-habitat. Realizing that we were cutting it close if we were to head back to the ship on foot, we called a cab with a rather unique list of charges posted inside including a $100 charge for "pukers". Naturally questions arose, so our driver explained that they often do a lot of shuttling of individuals home from the bars and so "pukers" became a nuicence because, well, who wants to clean up that? Hence the extra charge. The rest of the evening onboard ship was I think the best yet, followed closely by last night - but I'm getting ahead of myself. Wednesday night first. I went with a bunch of the group to dinner and then killed some time before the semi-finalist round of "Superstar" (this is the American Idol-esque show they do onboard that I mentioned in my last entry). Since they were having some technical difficulties, the MC for the event and the cruise director were having a time trying to come up with jokes to tell the audience. After a few rather lame ones, I ran up to the stage and stuck my head around the curtain and said, "Hey, why don't you guys ask the audience if we have any jokes to share?" Our cruise director asked if I knew any and of course I couldn't turn down an invitation like that! So I got up and shared a rendition of the best all-time Alaska catch-phrase that Janelle and I used so often I've lost count when explaining to people why we had difficulty meeting men in Alaska despite what is perceived as the exceptionally favorable ratio: "The odds are good, but the goods are odd." Thankfully the audience thought this was as funny as we always have...and they don't even know how true it is! After the "Superstar" came a ventriloquist act in the main lounge area which was really cool. Never having seen aone live before, I was thoroughly impressed and laughed so hard my face actually began to hurt. Finished out the evening relaxing with a drink (or three) in one of the ships many bars. And that was Wednesday, more or less. Out late, up later. We had arrived in Ketchikan early yesterday morning, but I didn't force myself out of bed until nearly 9:30. When I pulled back the balcony curtains, I was smacked in the face by bright sunshine and clear, blue skies - a welcome break from the previous few days of mostly clouds and rain...made even more amazing when you have the knowledge that Ketchikan is the city that gets the most rainfall in all of North America. I took a shower and got myself off the ship by 10:30. Unfortunately we only had until 12:30 or so to explore which is why I didn't have time to do the Internet thing while in port. I went up and down the roads right along the port, up the infamous Creek Street - Ketchikan's former Red Light District so named for the creek that runs along its side which, as the old saying goes which was plastered across every t-shirt I saw, "is the only creek in the world both men and salmon go up to spawn". In search of totem poles, I wandered a little further into the residental area and ended up giving some pruning feedback to a local who was staring at a flowering bush in his yard, but otherwise didn't see much in the way of residents - I think they had all retreated when they saw the approaching cruise ships, perhaps wisely. I was back on the boat by about 11:45, ate some lunch outside on the Aft Deck by the pool and then went to a couple of events onboard. This inlcuded getting roped in by a 12-year-old to play an adjusted version of "Family Feud". I had just gone in to watch, but had a difficult time saying "no" to her when she begged and said they had to have an adult in order to play. And so I caved and so it was me and four 12-year-olds. Bet you all wish you could have seen that! I sort of felt like I was auditioning for "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" We actually didn't do too badly (all things considered) and lasted through a couple of rounds, although the question we lost on came down to one of the girls who must not have understood the question because when asked to name one of the top five creatures that people would wipe out if they could (think spiders, mosquitoes, etc.), her answer was "fireflies". Hm. Afterwards, I wandered around the ship a little and hit dinner alone on the Lido deck (everyone else was at "formal night" which I had more-or-less boycotted since I didn't have the space to pack a cocktail dress before leaving). After dinner I met up with some people for the final show put on in total Broadway splendor - seriously. I've been to a lot of shows and what these performers did for us last night rivals much of what I've seen in and around Times Square. After the show we hit the much ado-ed about "dessert buffet" where I'm sure one could literally drown in chocolate if one so desired which, in my book wouldn't be such a bad way to go. Then a handful of us then went dancing until...well, there's some debate as to what time it was. It was the night we changed the clocks back from AK to West Coast time, and we weren't sure whether the clocks we saw had been updated yet or not. Either way, it was late. This morning we had our group farewell meeting and then attended the disembarkation session where just about all 800 of the cruise ship crew lined the stage and sang for us (I have some pictures of that as well which I'll surely post later). It was a little cheese, but it was fun cheese - like perhaps gouda. We arrive in Victoria, BC tonight around 6pm. I may or may not have time to get online again before heading home on Saturday night. If not, I'll definitely post another blog (WITH pictures) when I get back home on Sunday. So to get back to the title of this entry - how do you hug a cruise ship? Well, I haven't entirely figured that out yet...my go-go-gadget arms have been malfunctioning... I may just have to settle for hugging the crew. I doubt I'll have time for all 800 of them but perhaps a select few. And there you have it. I'm a cruise convert and am definitely feeling a strong affinity for the ship in general - I'm only sorry it took so long for this to set in! Thanks for reading - I know it's not as fun when there aren't any pictures to keep you entertained... I will add those when I get home. In the meantime, hope you're all having fun in your normal, ship-less, mountain-less, Alaska-less lives...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1181662200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1181662200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thetravelingbee/akcruise/1181662200/tpod.html Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:53:45 -0500 Cruising the Inside Passage

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Sitka, Alaska, United States

While I'm technically in Sitka now, this entry is going to really be more about what has been happening especially yesterday as it was our Hubbard Glacier day. After my last entry in Juneau, I left the Internet cafe and walked back to the ship. This ended up being a very wet mile, but it was nice to get a semi-hike in. Back onboard, I got changed into dry clothes and went to dinner followed by a comedy show and then a version of "American Idol" they hold on board where passengers "try out" and then sing before a panel of judges which included our illustrious cruise director, one of the singers from the shows they do on board, and one of the DJs. It was most definitely a lot of fun. I've finally realized something which maybe should have been more obvious, but I'm not always the first to catch onto stuff - a fact that will come as no surprise to many of you, I realize. Anyhow, what I've come to see is that going on a cruise is really almost more about the ship than it is about the destination. This being the case, I can see why it's such a desireable thing to do in places like the Carribean. So rather than viewing the cruise as just a mode of transportation to take me someplace I want to be, like I would an airplane, the ship itself becomes an active participant in the overall vacation experience. I took some time and walked around the ship yesterday and found a cooking demonstration by one of the restaurant chefs, people winning and losing all kinds of money in the casino, a never-ending abundance of food being served in the various dining rooms, and shopping galore. All this is to say that I'm finally starting to see what I need to do in order to get more enjoyment out of being on the ship itself...and who knows, this might just change my entire outlook on this trip. Yesterday was a rather long day, partly because we didn't get off the ship at all. I had sessions with my travel group in the morning. They've been taking us through a full DISC personality assessment which has been interesting - turns out I'm a High I and my overall profile is "The Persuader" (I is the highest with D next and then very low S and even lower C). At 12:15 we all met on the Aft Deck to get a group photo taken as we began motoring in to see The Glacier. One might be tempted to think that if you've seen one glacier, you've seen them all. And while I agree with this statement, I also am always amazed by glaciers. They're just really beautiful... Sadly because we were on a large cruise ship, we could not get in as close to the glacier as you can in places like Portage where the ship gets so close that the glacier fills your field of vision completely. Still, Hubbard was a pretty large and breathtaking sight. After being outside so long I couldn't really feel my fingers anymore, I went in, grabbed a tray of food, and went to the room to sit and eat on the balcony and continue to take in the stunning view. I then did my walk around the boat - checked out the culinary arts demo, looked in every nook and cranny, and then went to change for dinner before heading over to our second group DISC session. We all were given a gift card for The Pinnacle Grill which most of us were doing after the session. The food was great - I've never seen so much salmon on one plate in my life. I was able to eat about half of it before knowing that to continue would only mean pain. The chocolate volcano cake I had for dessert (because let's face it, there's ALWAYS room for dessert) was to absolutely die for. Anyway, so after dinner I went to a magic show which was really fun - the man and wife team performing have done shows in Vegas and other places so you can imagine how talented they are. After that, there was another more intimate show playing in the lounge with the four singers who performed a medley of Broadway tunes - everything from "My Favorite Things" to tunes from "Rent". Very fun. I finally ended up my day as I do on the Aft Deck which gets really quiet after the pool and hot tub close down at 10pm. I sit out there with a glass of wine and enjoy the peace and beauty... It's good to be alive.
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