Hello again! Having some down time in Australia is allowing me to log on to email heaps. So lucky for all of you, more newsletters! In Sydney, Alison and I did the bridge climb up the harbor bridge. It's only been open to the public since 1998, and they are so systematic about the whole process! We got full gear: climbing harness, jumpsuit, fleece jacket, hat, and they even had shoes if you needed them! If you show up to this place in only your underwear, it's STILL possible to climb the bridge! I thought it would be much more scary than it actually was. More of a stroll than a climb, as Alison said. We got some great photos of us, completely posed by the guide, of course. I suspect he's done it before...they are almost as ketch as the Taj Mahal shots we had done. Alison said they make us look like we should be announcing our engagement to be married or something.
The next day, we "czeched" out the Tarrango Zoo in Sydney. We were lucky enough to arrive in time for the koala's to be fed. I'd never seen them so active! Alison must've taken over a dozen photos of them. It was hilarious. We wanted to get our photo taken with the koala, but the booth was already closed. Ah well. Sarah's parents promised to take us to the zoo in Brisbane, where that can be done there as well.
So in case you felt my last newsletter was a bit dull, well, here is a classic story: We're on the bus, having a rather mundane conversation, for once, and the Australian guy sitting across from us remarks out of no where, "Oh my God, you have the strongest American accents I've ever heard! Are you doing that on purpose, because you're traveling?"
Alison: "No, this is how we really talk."
Rude Aussie: "But I have American friends in Japan, and they don't sound like you. You seem like you've turned up the volume on it, deliberately. Has anyone ever said that to you before?"
Alison: "No, not to our face, anyway."
Rude Aussie: "Well, I prefer the American southern accent. It just has a sound to it that is so pleasing, and the wide brim hats the men wear, I just love that! (he smiles and reflects fondly on this)
Carla: "Interesting, I think some Americans wouldn't agree with you on that one."
Alison: "So, do all Australians talk like you?"
Rude Aussie: "We just say it like it is, ya know? Put it all out on the table. Nothing beats honesty, I say."
He got off the bus at this point, which was good because Alison looked ready to smack him silly and I was biting my lip, trying not to laugh.
We're in Canberra now, with my penpal of 15 years, Sarah Kearns. This city is like a country version of Washington DC, minus the Smithsonians. Alison discovered there's an Erotica Museum here, though, so we're going to "czech" that out tomorrow. Sarah's brother, Scean, is taking the day off from work to show us around. When we told Scean where we wanted to go, he couldn't stop laughing.
Oh, in regards to my newsletter about the Indian burning man festival I went to in Delhi, but couldn't remember the name, my Mom sent me the following information via her friend Amy:
I believe she is speaking of Diwali (pronounce dee-vall-ee). It is the Festival of Lights representing (light over darkness or good or evil). It is the major Hindu holiday.
Hope that was as enlightening for all of you as it was for me! Thanks Mom and Amy!
Love, Carla
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Monday, March 10, 2003
Last stop....Winchestaaahh Bauston!
I am back in Massachusetts, as evident of the accent surrounding me. My kind brother and wife have taken me in and even given me my own bedroom! I get to play with my 1 1/2 year old niece as much as I want. Life couldn't get better, well, maybe after I get a job, that is.
Left the warm weather and warm people behind in Brazil and arrived into the Northeast with all its cold and ice. I think I put on every item in my backpack, including some that were gifts as well. It is soooo cold here! I am glad to be back in America though, and it has been great seeing my brother, Dad, and old friends again. Alison's Dad helped me dig out all my winter clothes out of her garage and then even let me borrow a winter coat until I find my own. Did I mention how freaking cold it is here, already?
Brazil was heaps of fun. My highlight was going to the soccer match. You have not lived until you have attended a soccer match in Brazil. These folks take team spirit to the nth degree! I got right into the action in the stands, waving the gigantic flags, shouting the chants in Portugese, and even wearing the team shirt. The game ended in a tie, but I didn't mind because that meant everyone was a winner!
What a bonus having Mangueira, our samba school, come in second place. We all donned our wilting, smelly costumes a second time, for the championship parade, and this time I brought my camera and took heaps of photos. I bought the video, so if any of you are intersted, I can show it to you and point out where I am. har har Alison is shipping our costumes home, and is thinking of trying to sell them on ebay. Isn't that an incredible idea?
Ok, now that I am back, I will be reconnecting with all of you American folks asap. Hey, Elizabethe! If you are reading this, email me your new phone number. It may be awhile before I dig out my address book in that garage...
Good to be back. Love you all!
Carla
Left the warm weather and warm people behind in Brazil and arrived into the Northeast with all its cold and ice. I think I put on every item in my backpack, including some that were gifts as well. It is soooo cold here! I am glad to be back in America though, and it has been great seeing my brother, Dad, and old friends again. Alison's Dad helped me dig out all my winter clothes out of her garage and then even let me borrow a winter coat until I find my own. Did I mention how freaking cold it is here, already?
Brazil was heaps of fun. My highlight was going to the soccer match. You have not lived until you have attended a soccer match in Brazil. These folks take team spirit to the nth degree! I got right into the action in the stands, waving the gigantic flags, shouting the chants in Portugese, and even wearing the team shirt. The game ended in a tie, but I didn't mind because that meant everyone was a winner!
What a bonus having Mangueira, our samba school, come in second place. We all donned our wilting, smelly costumes a second time, for the championship parade, and this time I brought my camera and took heaps of photos. I bought the video, so if any of you are intersted, I can show it to you and point out where I am. har har Alison is shipping our costumes home, and is thinking of trying to sell them on ebay. Isn't that an incredible idea?
Ok, now that I am back, I will be reconnecting with all of you American folks asap. Hey, Elizabethe! If you are reading this, email me your new phone number. It may be awhile before I dig out my address book in that garage...
Good to be back. Love you all!
Carla
Friday, March 7, 2003
The Grande Finale: Carnival in Rio!
Letting you all know, I have officially written off the carla_martino@yahoo.com email address. I will probably never regain access into it so please just use this new one now: carlamartino2003@yahoo.com.
This will be my last email before I head back to Boston! I can´t believe my world travel adventure has come to an end. What an end it was though! I think I last told you about my Amazon trip and hitching a ride to Argentina with two Brazilians. I didn´t do too much in Salta, slept, did laundry, went to the movies, and met Ryan, an Aussie who needed a place to stay in Rio. I told him to join us as we had space and then I went on from Salta to Puerto Iguazu, where the famous waterfalls are. They make Niagra Falls look like child´s play. I hiked all around the falls on the Argentina side with two new friends, Sam (Frenchie) and Karl (another bloody Brit). We found a swimming pool at the base of one fall in the middle of the jungle and went swimming. Sam told us about it as his friend had discovered it earlier as he came across a playboy shooting there. The water fall cascaded down on rocks, perfect place to photograph naked women. I didn´t offer to re-create the scene for them, however. I do have some boundaries!
After czeching out the Argentina side, I took a bus over to the Brazilian side of the falls and stayed at the best hostel I have ever seen. It even beat out the ones I saw in New Zealand! It had a pool, hammocks galore, game room, free internet, laundry, free breakfast, and a bar with a TV. There was a soccer field too, of course and I watched the boys all play a match in their bare feet. Brazilians play barefoot here.
Off to Rio after the falls. I met up with many hashers from Boston, Hugh, Jen, Dick, Austin, Todd, and Alison, of course! She and I reunited after going our separate ways in Equador. We had lots of stories to share with eachother. Hugh had rented 2 apartments so I recruited a few of my travel friends to join us. Made everything much cheaper and much more fun! Thanks Ryan, Karl, Dave, and Charlie for joining us! Karl, Dave and Charlie, see you in London, eh???
Rio was much more beautiful and a lot safer than everyone warned me about. Saw nothing of any riots that were reported to me. Saw no crimes or muggings, and the local Brazilian people are just as friendly and helpful as the rest of the people in South America. Hugh, Alison and I got to march in the samba parade Monday night with a samba school. Our costumes were so pink and had heaps of feathers. We had to dance and pretend to sing a song in Portugese and smile and stay in line. It was so easy! Our school came in second so Alison and I are going to march again this Saturday.
We also went on a run with the Rio hash. They took us everywhere thorough the city and I had so much fun talking with the hashers of Rio. I would do a write up but I think Hugh is going to take care of that. Thanks Sarah and Caroline! You both made me feel so welcome!
I also czeched out a Carnival Ball. The band was phenomenal and the costumes were amazing. Everything you imagine of the women is true. Too bad I didn´t bring my camera with me that night. The street parties were a blast. All the Brazilians were dancing and singing the samba school songs. The two most important prides of Brazil is their soccer team and their samba schools. It was just incredible to take in the love of the culture here.
I´m hanging around in Rio until I head back to Boston in 2 days time. The beaches are beautiful and I need to work on my Brazilian tan. I am also going to go see the Brazilain soccer team play this Saturday!
Looking forward to being back in Boston soon. I am ready to hang up my backpack for a spell. Just to tell the rest of you, since I haven´t told everyone yet, I am going to move to England this summer for 6 months, to work and try my hand at English nursing. I´ve gotten an offer I cannot refuse, after all...
Life is an ongoing adventure. Carpe Diem! See my Bostonian friends and family soon!
Love, Carla
This will be my last email before I head back to Boston! I can´t believe my world travel adventure has come to an end. What an end it was though! I think I last told you about my Amazon trip and hitching a ride to Argentina with two Brazilians. I didn´t do too much in Salta, slept, did laundry, went to the movies, and met Ryan, an Aussie who needed a place to stay in Rio. I told him to join us as we had space and then I went on from Salta to Puerto Iguazu, where the famous waterfalls are. They make Niagra Falls look like child´s play. I hiked all around the falls on the Argentina side with two new friends, Sam (Frenchie) and Karl (another bloody Brit). We found a swimming pool at the base of one fall in the middle of the jungle and went swimming. Sam told us about it as his friend had discovered it earlier as he came across a playboy shooting there. The water fall cascaded down on rocks, perfect place to photograph naked women. I didn´t offer to re-create the scene for them, however. I do have some boundaries!
After czeching out the Argentina side, I took a bus over to the Brazilian side of the falls and stayed at the best hostel I have ever seen. It even beat out the ones I saw in New Zealand! It had a pool, hammocks galore, game room, free internet, laundry, free breakfast, and a bar with a TV. There was a soccer field too, of course and I watched the boys all play a match in their bare feet. Brazilians play barefoot here.
Off to Rio after the falls. I met up with many hashers from Boston, Hugh, Jen, Dick, Austin, Todd, and Alison, of course! She and I reunited after going our separate ways in Equador. We had lots of stories to share with eachother. Hugh had rented 2 apartments so I recruited a few of my travel friends to join us. Made everything much cheaper and much more fun! Thanks Ryan, Karl, Dave, and Charlie for joining us! Karl, Dave and Charlie, see you in London, eh???
Rio was much more beautiful and a lot safer than everyone warned me about. Saw nothing of any riots that were reported to me. Saw no crimes or muggings, and the local Brazilian people are just as friendly and helpful as the rest of the people in South America. Hugh, Alison and I got to march in the samba parade Monday night with a samba school. Our costumes were so pink and had heaps of feathers. We had to dance and pretend to sing a song in Portugese and smile and stay in line. It was so easy! Our school came in second so Alison and I are going to march again this Saturday.
We also went on a run with the Rio hash. They took us everywhere thorough the city and I had so much fun talking with the hashers of Rio. I would do a write up but I think Hugh is going to take care of that. Thanks Sarah and Caroline! You both made me feel so welcome!
I also czeched out a Carnival Ball. The band was phenomenal and the costumes were amazing. Everything you imagine of the women is true. Too bad I didn´t bring my camera with me that night. The street parties were a blast. All the Brazilians were dancing and singing the samba school songs. The two most important prides of Brazil is their soccer team and their samba schools. It was just incredible to take in the love of the culture here.
I´m hanging around in Rio until I head back to Boston in 2 days time. The beaches are beautiful and I need to work on my Brazilian tan. I am also going to go see the Brazilain soccer team play this Saturday!
Looking forward to being back in Boston soon. I am ready to hang up my backpack for a spell. Just to tell the rest of you, since I haven´t told everyone yet, I am going to move to England this summer for 6 months, to work and try my hand at English nursing. I´ve gotten an offer I cannot refuse, after all...
Life is an ongoing adventure. Carpe Diem! See my Bostonian friends and family soon!
Love, Carla
Friday, February 21, 2003
I´m still alive, and Rio bound soon!
Hi everyone! I was seriously out of internet access for 2 weeks. Feels good to be back in civilization again. Civilization would be Salta, Argentina, by the way.
I did end up doing that Coricho road mountain bike trip. The road really was the most dangerous one in Bolivia. There were two trucks that went over the edge in the past week. I wanted to get a photo but Julio, the guide said it would be in poor taste since people died. He´s right, but the photo would´ve been cool.
After that, riots started erupting in La Paz, so I got out and went up to the Amazon for a week. I treked in the jungle, czeched out all the "toxico" insects, drank water out of a tree, and swam in the Amazon river. After that I headed to the pampas to meet all the alligators, monkeys, pink dolphins and stuff. The guide, Juaquin, would make Steve Irwin look like a pansy. He grabbed alligators for us to inspect, wrestled cobras and andaconda snakes out of the marsh for photos, and showed us how to fish for pirahanas. I was the only one who caught them. Must´ve been all that wonderful fishing Papa and I did when I was younger. I also swam with the pink dolphins and alligators. You know, alligators will only bother you if you are near a nest. Not that I´m speaking from experience or anything...
Then the rainy season really did arrive and I was stuck in Runnebaque until the grass runway dried enough for a plane to take off. There were tons of other backpackers in the same boat as me so it made for a very entertaining time. The only bar there floods in heavy rain. I met my first farmer traveler. He runs a sheep and corn farm in Australia and takes time out inbetween harvest and shearing to travel. The plane that finally took me away was so small that we had to wear oxygen masks in flight. I got a photo of the pilot taking photos out the window while flying the plane.
By the time I made it back to La Paz, the riots had stopped. I was done with the city anyway though and went on to southern Bolivia to czech out those salt lakes everyone kept raving about. I went on a group tour, and the other backpackers I was with were hilarious. Good thing we all got along since we were seven in a small 4x4 jeep for 3 days. The first night we played a game of strip poker and when Jilian, the French dude, had to start showing skin, all the other French backpackers in the hostel shouted, ¨Viva la France!¨and took their clothes off as well. Just in case any of you are curious, I fared very well in the game. No worries.
Our guide didn´t speak English, the tour reminded me of the one I did in Turkey. He´d make random stops at various places and just point and say the name in Spanish. I did work out most of it, like vizcahas are like large chinchillas, and live in the random rock islands in the salares. Aren´t you glad you know that now? The best part was the Sol de Manana. There were geysers, mud pools and a NON- sulfur hot spring where we soaked all morning, feeling quite in need of a bath after 3 days without.
I nearly missed the bus to San Pedro de Alcama, Chili. Just my luck that the bus driver happens to be the only anal-retentive Bolivian in existance (My friend Gary calls Bolivia the country of "nearly"). I couldn´t find my ticket fast enought and had to throw myself in front of the bus shouting, ¨No salga, por favor!¨ The last thing I needed was to be left stranded in the middle of the desert. I got quite an audience, with my little spectacle, but it worked. I got on the bus and then found my ticket. I also became friends with two wonderful Brazilians, Shenk and Mauro, who let me come along with them in their comfy SUV to Salta, Argentina. It was a 12 hour trip, and I kept them entertained with travel stories. They wanted to hear every bit about my journey, since May, and said not to leave out details, since there was loads of time. I learned Portugese, got great tips for Rio, and ideas for places to go afterward, in Brazil.
I feel like this is long enough as is. I have too many emails to read and try and answer now. Hope you are all well and the Bostonians are surviving the snow.
All my love, Carla
I did end up doing that Coricho road mountain bike trip. The road really was the most dangerous one in Bolivia. There were two trucks that went over the edge in the past week. I wanted to get a photo but Julio, the guide said it would be in poor taste since people died. He´s right, but the photo would´ve been cool.
After that, riots started erupting in La Paz, so I got out and went up to the Amazon for a week. I treked in the jungle, czeched out all the "toxico" insects, drank water out of a tree, and swam in the Amazon river. After that I headed to the pampas to meet all the alligators, monkeys, pink dolphins and stuff. The guide, Juaquin, would make Steve Irwin look like a pansy. He grabbed alligators for us to inspect, wrestled cobras and andaconda snakes out of the marsh for photos, and showed us how to fish for pirahanas. I was the only one who caught them. Must´ve been all that wonderful fishing Papa and I did when I was younger. I also swam with the pink dolphins and alligators. You know, alligators will only bother you if you are near a nest. Not that I´m speaking from experience or anything...
Then the rainy season really did arrive and I was stuck in Runnebaque until the grass runway dried enough for a plane to take off. There were tons of other backpackers in the same boat as me so it made for a very entertaining time. The only bar there floods in heavy rain. I met my first farmer traveler. He runs a sheep and corn farm in Australia and takes time out inbetween harvest and shearing to travel. The plane that finally took me away was so small that we had to wear oxygen masks in flight. I got a photo of the pilot taking photos out the window while flying the plane.
By the time I made it back to La Paz, the riots had stopped. I was done with the city anyway though and went on to southern Bolivia to czech out those salt lakes everyone kept raving about. I went on a group tour, and the other backpackers I was with were hilarious. Good thing we all got along since we were seven in a small 4x4 jeep for 3 days. The first night we played a game of strip poker and when Jilian, the French dude, had to start showing skin, all the other French backpackers in the hostel shouted, ¨Viva la France!¨and took their clothes off as well. Just in case any of you are curious, I fared very well in the game. No worries.
Our guide didn´t speak English, the tour reminded me of the one I did in Turkey. He´d make random stops at various places and just point and say the name in Spanish. I did work out most of it, like vizcahas are like large chinchillas, and live in the random rock islands in the salares. Aren´t you glad you know that now? The best part was the Sol de Manana. There were geysers, mud pools and a NON- sulfur hot spring where we soaked all morning, feeling quite in need of a bath after 3 days without.
I nearly missed the bus to San Pedro de Alcama, Chili. Just my luck that the bus driver happens to be the only anal-retentive Bolivian in existance (My friend Gary calls Bolivia the country of "nearly"). I couldn´t find my ticket fast enought and had to throw myself in front of the bus shouting, ¨No salga, por favor!¨ The last thing I needed was to be left stranded in the middle of the desert. I got quite an audience, with my little spectacle, but it worked. I got on the bus and then found my ticket. I also became friends with two wonderful Brazilians, Shenk and Mauro, who let me come along with them in their comfy SUV to Salta, Argentina. It was a 12 hour trip, and I kept them entertained with travel stories. They wanted to hear every bit about my journey, since May, and said not to leave out details, since there was loads of time. I learned Portugese, got great tips for Rio, and ideas for places to go afterward, in Brazil.
I feel like this is long enough as is. I have too many emails to read and try and answer now. Hope you are all well and the Bostonians are surviving the snow.
All my love, Carla
Saturday, February 8, 2003
Movin´ Right Along in South America
Heidi and I left Cusco and headed on to Lake Titicaca. The islands there are beautiful and, I thought, as nice as the Galapagos islands were. There is one called Uros, which is made entirely of reeds and floats in the water, like a cork. The Peruvians who live there never leave, as the guide said. They get everything they need from the island reeds and the lake. When I asked how they manage to kill the birds they eat, he replied, "with guns." So I guess they do have to leave sometimes, eh, to buy guns? I am getting quite sarcastic as I grow travel weary. The other island Taquile, had no Taquila that we could find, but also didn´t have dogs, cars, or bicycles. Made for a nice change from the mainland.
Heidi and I made friends with 4 others on our island tour that day, and went out for dinner with them that night. One couple is from England. More Brits to be friends with! The others were Canadian and Irish. Eddie had us all in stitches with his Irish humor, as the Irish do. I learned a bunch new cards games that evening in the bar, and got invited to dance the salsa with a Peruvian called Thomas. He was a very good lead. I think I may like the salsa better than swing!
I had gotten my fill of islands in general, and the Peruvian culture, so when Heidi left for Boston, I left for Bolivia. I took a very long and rather complicated bus/boat ride across the lake to Bolivia. When we reached the waterway, the driver had us get off the bus and board this tiny boat I was sure would sink with the amount of people who got on. It was a lot more sturdy than the raft the bus was driven onto, in order to get it across to Bolivia. That raft was so dilapidated looking, I just had to take a photo of it. Alison, I am becoming as photo savvy as you now!
So here I am in La Paz, for a bit of rest and regroup to where I go to next. There are heaps of things to do from here. Today I walked around in Valle de la Luna, which looked like a cross between the Badlands of South Dakota, and Bryce Canyon in Utah. After I was completely winded from walking around the trails (the altitude just kills you here) I had to czech out the "kick *ss zoo" as the writer in the Lonely Planet described it. Well, I think the zoo in Cairo was better, that´s how pathetic this was. I can say I have visited the highest zoo in the world, but the animals were nothing to write home about. I may have to write to the Lonely Planet and tell them they need to redescribe the zoo as "sucks *ss."
I´m just biding time until I meet up with the La Paz Hash at a bar here in Zona Sur tonight. Zona Sur is the wealthiest neighborhood in La Paz. Guess the "south end" of every city isn´t like Boston´s Southie, eh? Makes me a bit homesick, really, thinking of Southie.
Tomorrow I will czech out all the markets in the center of La Paz. Apparently there is a Witches Market that is reputed to sell some dodgy items. This girl, Allison, from Texas, who walked around the zoo with me today, was there yesterday and she told me they sold animal fetuses! Ewwwwwww! Makes me think of Harry Potter, when he accidently got stuck in that sketchy part of Diagon Alley.
I haven´t decided if I want to snow board down the highest peak in South America, or mountain bike down the steepest slope in South America, or just get on a bus and go see the Salt Lakes in Southern Bolivia. Mom, don´t worry, I think the latter will be the winner.
Love and miss you all!
Heidi and I made friends with 4 others on our island tour that day, and went out for dinner with them that night. One couple is from England. More Brits to be friends with! The others were Canadian and Irish. Eddie had us all in stitches with his Irish humor, as the Irish do. I learned a bunch new cards games that evening in the bar, and got invited to dance the salsa with a Peruvian called Thomas. He was a very good lead. I think I may like the salsa better than swing!
I had gotten my fill of islands in general, and the Peruvian culture, so when Heidi left for Boston, I left for Bolivia. I took a very long and rather complicated bus/boat ride across the lake to Bolivia. When we reached the waterway, the driver had us get off the bus and board this tiny boat I was sure would sink with the amount of people who got on. It was a lot more sturdy than the raft the bus was driven onto, in order to get it across to Bolivia. That raft was so dilapidated looking, I just had to take a photo of it. Alison, I am becoming as photo savvy as you now!
So here I am in La Paz, for a bit of rest and regroup to where I go to next. There are heaps of things to do from here. Today I walked around in Valle de la Luna, which looked like a cross between the Badlands of South Dakota, and Bryce Canyon in Utah. After I was completely winded from walking around the trails (the altitude just kills you here) I had to czech out the "kick *ss zoo" as the writer in the Lonely Planet described it. Well, I think the zoo in Cairo was better, that´s how pathetic this was. I can say I have visited the highest zoo in the world, but the animals were nothing to write home about. I may have to write to the Lonely Planet and tell them they need to redescribe the zoo as "sucks *ss."
I´m just biding time until I meet up with the La Paz Hash at a bar here in Zona Sur tonight. Zona Sur is the wealthiest neighborhood in La Paz. Guess the "south end" of every city isn´t like Boston´s Southie, eh? Makes me a bit homesick, really, thinking of Southie.
Tomorrow I will czech out all the markets in the center of La Paz. Apparently there is a Witches Market that is reputed to sell some dodgy items. This girl, Allison, from Texas, who walked around the zoo with me today, was there yesterday and she told me they sold animal fetuses! Ewwwwwww! Makes me think of Harry Potter, when he accidently got stuck in that sketchy part of Diagon Alley.
I haven´t decided if I want to snow board down the highest peak in South America, or mountain bike down the steepest slope in South America, or just get on a bus and go see the Salt Lakes in Southern Bolivia. Mom, don´t worry, I think the latter will be the winner.
Love and miss you all!
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
Surpaiki Apu!
That is an Inca blessing that was said at the top of the mountain on the Inca Trail. I put coca leaves under some rocks and said "Surpaiki Apu!" It is supposed to bring good luck and it worked. Even though it was the rainy season, it barely rained at all. The Inca Gods were in favor of me having a great experience here in Peru.
I flew to Cusco from Lima with my friend Heidi and we spent a couple of days getting used to the high altitude. The first day here I had trouble breathing and my heart was racing. I think that is how people with heart failure must feel! Cusco is a beautiful city. It used to be the capital of Peru, until those darn Spaniards came and colonized the country. They changed it to Lima so they could have a port capital. There is plenty to do around Cusco. There are tons of museums, shops, churches, and ruins galore. Heidi and I saw just about everything. We also met up with two very nice doctors from Boston, Aswama and Dennis. They had been doing volunteer surgery the past two weeks in Cusco and were taking some time off to do some sightseeing. Just our luck they were on a private tour of the ruins in Cusco. They let us join them then took us out to lunch, and then we all had fun drinking and playing games in the bar that night. I played about 10 games of backgammon with Aswama and only won twice. Being from Beruit, he is quite good, and the beer consumption didn´t help my concentration at all. Aswana had some hair raising stories of his medical days in Beruit, during the war, but my favorite one was how he proposed to his wife, an anesthesiologist, over an open heart surgery.
We left for the Inca Trail the next day, and started at mile 82, in a small town called Chilca. The whole trek would be 42 kilometers and take us 4 days. I was so excited to do some backpacking again and see the countyside of Peru. The trip exceeded my expectations. We had 16 great people in my group and a wonderful guide, Juan. The first day we came across a drunken Peruvian fast asleep on the trail with his backpack still on! I should have taken a photo but felt it might make him angry.
The second day was the most challenging. We had to hike uphill for 4 hours straight. I was really feeling the weight of my pack by then. Chris, an Aussie, was having a tough time of it, with altitude sickness, so we kept each other company. We were at 13,000 feet, with a 1,200 meter assent. The two of us kept each other moving and laughing once the others long past us. Chris got a classic photo of me imitating the drunken Peruvian on the trail. He and I also took our minds off our discomfort by talking about our friends, family and love lives. Thinking about all of you our there kept my energy going. I thought Chris and I would miss lunch, we took so long to make it to the camp, but we just made it with 10 minutes to spare! His girlfriend was a little annoyed at him, for taking so long, but I suggested he pick some flowers to hand to her at camp, and it worked. Guys, you can NEVER go wrong with flowers!
The third day was the longest, but we saw 7 Inca ruins along the way. Juan was amazing with his knowledge of the Inca history. Made me want to go out and get a book and read more about them. The last night we stayed in a campsite with a bar. We had dinner in a civilized manner at a table indoors and got to drink some Peruvian beer and dance the salsa. I didn´t stay out late though because we had a 4 am wake up call to hike to the Sun Gate in time to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. Unfortunately our good luck with the Inca Gods had expired by then since it rained that morning and clouded over the valley. By the time I made it to Machu Picchu it had cleared, however, and there was no one there but us. My photos are just incredible! It was probably the hardest hike I´ve ever done, but I feel so good having accompished it. Thanks Mom, for loaning me your hiking boots. They saved my feet!
We stayed a night in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu, and famous for their hot springs. A bunch of us from the group all trouped over there after spending the day walking around Machu Picchu and sat in the hot spring for 3 hours! There was even a place to buy beer while you soaked, but I was quite content just soaking sober. We did a massage circle and everyone fought to be in front of Heidi, since she is a massage therapist.
Now we´re back in Cusco, for a day, and tomorrow we take a bus to Puno. Lake Titikaka is suppose to be very beautiful and a few of our new Inca Trail friends are heading in the same direction. I am
sending my love and thoughts to you all!
I flew to Cusco from Lima with my friend Heidi and we spent a couple of days getting used to the high altitude. The first day here I had trouble breathing and my heart was racing. I think that is how people with heart failure must feel! Cusco is a beautiful city. It used to be the capital of Peru, until those darn Spaniards came and colonized the country. They changed it to Lima so they could have a port capital. There is plenty to do around Cusco. There are tons of museums, shops, churches, and ruins galore. Heidi and I saw just about everything. We also met up with two very nice doctors from Boston, Aswama and Dennis. They had been doing volunteer surgery the past two weeks in Cusco and were taking some time off to do some sightseeing. Just our luck they were on a private tour of the ruins in Cusco. They let us join them then took us out to lunch, and then we all had fun drinking and playing games in the bar that night. I played about 10 games of backgammon with Aswama and only won twice. Being from Beruit, he is quite good, and the beer consumption didn´t help my concentration at all. Aswana had some hair raising stories of his medical days in Beruit, during the war, but my favorite one was how he proposed to his wife, an anesthesiologist, over an open heart surgery.
We left for the Inca Trail the next day, and started at mile 82, in a small town called Chilca. The whole trek would be 42 kilometers and take us 4 days. I was so excited to do some backpacking again and see the countyside of Peru. The trip exceeded my expectations. We had 16 great people in my group and a wonderful guide, Juan. The first day we came across a drunken Peruvian fast asleep on the trail with his backpack still on! I should have taken a photo but felt it might make him angry.
The second day was the most challenging. We had to hike uphill for 4 hours straight. I was really feeling the weight of my pack by then. Chris, an Aussie, was having a tough time of it, with altitude sickness, so we kept each other company. We were at 13,000 feet, with a 1,200 meter assent. The two of us kept each other moving and laughing once the others long past us. Chris got a classic photo of me imitating the drunken Peruvian on the trail. He and I also took our minds off our discomfort by talking about our friends, family and love lives. Thinking about all of you our there kept my energy going. I thought Chris and I would miss lunch, we took so long to make it to the camp, but we just made it with 10 minutes to spare! His girlfriend was a little annoyed at him, for taking so long, but I suggested he pick some flowers to hand to her at camp, and it worked. Guys, you can NEVER go wrong with flowers!
The third day was the longest, but we saw 7 Inca ruins along the way. Juan was amazing with his knowledge of the Inca history. Made me want to go out and get a book and read more about them. The last night we stayed in a campsite with a bar. We had dinner in a civilized manner at a table indoors and got to drink some Peruvian beer and dance the salsa. I didn´t stay out late though because we had a 4 am wake up call to hike to the Sun Gate in time to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. Unfortunately our good luck with the Inca Gods had expired by then since it rained that morning and clouded over the valley. By the time I made it to Machu Picchu it had cleared, however, and there was no one there but us. My photos are just incredible! It was probably the hardest hike I´ve ever done, but I feel so good having accompished it. Thanks Mom, for loaning me your hiking boots. They saved my feet!
We stayed a night in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu, and famous for their hot springs. A bunch of us from the group all trouped over there after spending the day walking around Machu Picchu and sat in the hot spring for 3 hours! There was even a place to buy beer while you soaked, but I was quite content just soaking sober. We did a massage circle and everyone fought to be in front of Heidi, since she is a massage therapist.
Now we´re back in Cusco, for a day, and tomorrow we take a bus to Puno. Lake Titikaka is suppose to be very beautiful and a few of our new Inca Trail friends are heading in the same direction. I am
sending my love and thoughts to you all!
Saturday, January 25, 2003
Loving the Galapagos Islands!
The island here are amazing! They are totally pristine, full of wildlife, and just bellowing with Darwin´s theory of evolution. I have been on a week long boat cruise around the islands and have been very well educated by Diego, our guide, on all the different species and geological formations of the Galapagos.
For example, there are 15 different Darwin finches here. Some get most of their food from land, hence the name "Land Finches." Some have very long and strang looking beaks. They are not a freak of nature, as I suspected. They have merely adapted to get their food in the easiest way. So those strange birds are not the "Elephant Bird Finches" as I suggested, they are "Cactus Finches" with beaks long and bendy to get into the cactus flowers. I may have caused Darwin himself to turn in his grave with my observations of the creatures here.
We get to go snorkelling with the sea lions, and penguins, and I even got to swim with a white tipped reef shark, that was perfectly harmless, as Diego assured. I kept my distance, all the same. The animals have no fear here of people, since they don´t have predators.
Bet you all didn´t know that there are TWO kinds of iguannas here. Marine iguannas and Land iguannas. When they sometimes mate, their hybrid offspring are infertile. Darwin´s theory at work! The Marine iguannas can really swim fast in the ocean, and they eat seaweed. The Land iguannas eat the prickly pear cactus fruit, as it falls off the tree.
I´m having a blast with the other people on the boat as well. We are from all over, Austria, Netherlands, England, Canada, Equador and Australia. We are also all pretty sarcastic and a bunch of jokers. Poor Diego doesn´t get most of our jokes.
I have another couple of days here on the islands on the boat tour, then I fly to Lima to meet up with Heidi, my friend from Boston, and we´re going to hike the Inca Trail.
Well, time is running out. I hope you are all well.
Love, Carla
For example, there are 15 different Darwin finches here. Some get most of their food from land, hence the name "Land Finches." Some have very long and strang looking beaks. They are not a freak of nature, as I suspected. They have merely adapted to get their food in the easiest way. So those strange birds are not the "Elephant Bird Finches" as I suggested, they are "Cactus Finches" with beaks long and bendy to get into the cactus flowers. I may have caused Darwin himself to turn in his grave with my observations of the creatures here.
We get to go snorkelling with the sea lions, and penguins, and I even got to swim with a white tipped reef shark, that was perfectly harmless, as Diego assured. I kept my distance, all the same. The animals have no fear here of people, since they don´t have predators.
Bet you all didn´t know that there are TWO kinds of iguannas here. Marine iguannas and Land iguannas. When they sometimes mate, their hybrid offspring are infertile. Darwin´s theory at work! The Marine iguannas can really swim fast in the ocean, and they eat seaweed. The Land iguannas eat the prickly pear cactus fruit, as it falls off the tree.
I´m having a blast with the other people on the boat as well. We are from all over, Austria, Netherlands, England, Canada, Equador and Australia. We are also all pretty sarcastic and a bunch of jokers. Poor Diego doesn´t get most of our jokes.
I have another couple of days here on the islands on the boat tour, then I fly to Lima to meet up with Heidi, my friend from Boston, and we´re going to hike the Inca Trail.
Well, time is running out. I hope you are all well.
Love, Carla
Monday, January 20, 2003
¿Estamos in Cuenca?
Holas mi amigos! Yo soy muy bien y me gusta Equador mucho! After saying "Adios!" to my Mom and John in San Francisco, we drove down to LA and spent one night with our friend, Jeremy, who we met in Greece 6 months earlier. Jeremy, please tell your roommates the cookies they gave us made our flight very pleasant.
Unfortunately, I forgot my yahoo password and can´t get into my email account. If anyone has sent important emails after Jan 14th, you may want to resend them to my hotmail account. carlamartino55@hotmail.com
I´ve alerted some Lone Gunmen to the problem, and hopefully it will be resolved, eventually. Laura, I think you jinxed us when you asked us to keep the drama down!
Alison and I flew from LA to Costa Rica, where we chatted away with Rebecca, a Canadian we met on the plane. Unfortunately we had no time to visit there, went on to arrive in Quito, Equador, instead. I had plans to meet up with some relatives of my cousin´s wife, who live in Cuenca. We bought a flight to Cuenca from Quito, but somehow got on the wrong plane. We arrived in Guayaquil, and when our bags weren´t there to join us, Alison, in jest, asks me, "Are we in Cuenca?" Hmmm, not sure.... After confirming our location with security guard, we sheepishly boarded ANOTHER plane to Cuenca. Only in South America can one wander aimlessly onto the wrong plane, yet still get a set of nail clippers confisgated.
Martina´s family in Cuenca are so nice! They let us stay with them, and took us sightseeing to Incapirca, boating in Gualaceo, and fishing in Parque Nacional Cajas. Everyone had good words to say about my cousin, Brian, especially Uncle Jorge (Tio Loco). Brian was there to visit 7 years before, with his wife, Martina, during Carnival. Since no one spoke English, I was able to practice my amature Spanish heaps. MaEugenia helped me advance my vocabulary by teaching me all the bad words, malas palabras. In turn, Alison and I gave them all a remedial lesson in the art of swearing in English. They must´ve forgotten all the ones Brian taught them, except their favorite, sonofab*tch. We saw all the photos of the family, including the ones when Brian and Martina were there, and all of Martina´s childhood photos. Loved the prom ones, it´s all about the 80´s hairdos!
Apparently, in Cuenca, the tradition is to throw water balloons at people during Carnival. Well, Alison and I got introduced to that the first night we were here. We were just walking around the square, and I got nailed by some guys in a passing car. Maybe they thought I was cute??
Tomorrow we fly to the Galapagos Islands. I´ve wanted to see them ever since I read the book Galapagos by Kurt Vonegut. Hopefully it won´t rain the entire week. Then i´m off to Lima, to meet up with my Boston friend, Heidi. We´re going to hike the Inca Trail together!
Thinking of you all.
Love, Carla
Unfortunately, I forgot my yahoo password and can´t get into my email account. If anyone has sent important emails after Jan 14th, you may want to resend them to my hotmail account. carlamartino55@hotmail.com
I´ve alerted some Lone Gunmen to the problem, and hopefully it will be resolved, eventually. Laura, I think you jinxed us when you asked us to keep the drama down!
Alison and I flew from LA to Costa Rica, where we chatted away with Rebecca, a Canadian we met on the plane. Unfortunately we had no time to visit there, went on to arrive in Quito, Equador, instead. I had plans to meet up with some relatives of my cousin´s wife, who live in Cuenca. We bought a flight to Cuenca from Quito, but somehow got on the wrong plane. We arrived in Guayaquil, and when our bags weren´t there to join us, Alison, in jest, asks me, "Are we in Cuenca?" Hmmm, not sure.... After confirming our location with security guard, we sheepishly boarded ANOTHER plane to Cuenca. Only in South America can one wander aimlessly onto the wrong plane, yet still get a set of nail clippers confisgated.
Martina´s family in Cuenca are so nice! They let us stay with them, and took us sightseeing to Incapirca, boating in Gualaceo, and fishing in Parque Nacional Cajas. Everyone had good words to say about my cousin, Brian, especially Uncle Jorge (Tio Loco). Brian was there to visit 7 years before, with his wife, Martina, during Carnival. Since no one spoke English, I was able to practice my amature Spanish heaps. MaEugenia helped me advance my vocabulary by teaching me all the bad words, malas palabras. In turn, Alison and I gave them all a remedial lesson in the art of swearing in English. They must´ve forgotten all the ones Brian taught them, except their favorite, sonofab*tch. We saw all the photos of the family, including the ones when Brian and Martina were there, and all of Martina´s childhood photos. Loved the prom ones, it´s all about the 80´s hairdos!
Apparently, in Cuenca, the tradition is to throw water balloons at people during Carnival. Well, Alison and I got introduced to that the first night we were here. We were just walking around the square, and I got nailed by some guys in a passing car. Maybe they thought I was cute??
Tomorrow we fly to the Galapagos Islands. I´ve wanted to see them ever since I read the book Galapagos by Kurt Vonegut. Hopefully it won´t rain the entire week. Then i´m off to Lima, to meet up with my Boston friend, Heidi. We´re going to hike the Inca Trail together!
Thinking of you all.
Love, Carla
Thursday, January 9, 2003
From LA to Canada and back, eh?
Alison and I decided it would be great fun to rent a car and drive to Canada to meet up with our Canadian friends we met in Turkey! Jon and Caroline joined us for the road trip making it 3 women to 1 man. Did Jon really know what he was in for??? If he did, he may not have left England!
We were going to spend New Years in San Francisco but our party plans with fellow hashers fell through so we decided to haul on up to Vancouver and spend it there. Two days of steady driving, through blizzards and rain, we made it to the boarder. Jon learned how to put chains on tires, and then learned how to take them off a half hour later when the snow turned to rain. We had a most entertaining meal stop at Dirty Dave's Gay 90's Pizza Place, somewhere in Washington. How can you not stop to eat at a place called Dirty Daves? We had a long wait at the boarder, surrounded by cars filled with 18 year old kids heading to Canada to drink legally. Boy did I feel old.
In Vancouver, we partied at a club called Ginger (in honor of my sister-in-law) and drank fine margaritas until the year 2003. For once, Alison and I were dressed appropriatly for the occasion as we had bought cute new dresses and shoes just for the holiday. No jeans or black flip flops tonight! Highlights of the evening were the passing out of fortune cookies to random people, Alison pulling out fake money from between my breasts with her teeth, and finding the last cab in Vancouver at 3 am to get home.
The next day we picked up our Aussie friend, Mark, at the airport and all 5 of us drove to Victoria to meet up with Marnie and Karla. Mark never got the email that we were meeting him, so you can imagine his surprise at seeing our faces as he went through customs! Being a world traveler himself, he could appreciate an unexpected ride in a car rather than have to figure out the bus schedules. We met up with Marnie and Karla, and then we all drove to Marnie's parents condo in Mt. Washington to go skiing and snow boarding. Her parents were just diamonds (my new British aquired compliment). They made us dinner, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company. I snowboarded in a blizzard, and Karla wiped out so bad she broke a pole. We also had to do a bit of sledding, later that night, with plenty of beer. What a phenomenal time! Everything you hear about Canada is true. They do have lots of snow (12 feet!) and say "eh" a lot.
After saying good-bye to Marnie's parents, Marnie, Karla, and Mark, we drove down to Seattle and Portland to sightsee, then on to the Oragon Dunes, and the National Redwood Forest. I finally got around to seeing the second Lord of the Rings-Two Towers movie, and enjoyed it more than the first since I recognized all the scenery in New Zealand!
Now we're back in San Francisco at my mom's. It's been good to be in the states and spending time with my mom and Jon again. After seeing Jon off, we'll be heading down to LA to spend some time with our friend Jeremy (who we met in Greece) and then off for South America.
I got so many Christmas and New Years greetings via email, it was just impossible to respond to them all, but thank you everyone for sending them. I have a mere 2 months left before I must face reality again. Your emails help keep me stay grounded and make me feel loved. Thanks!
Love, Carla
We were going to spend New Years in San Francisco but our party plans with fellow hashers fell through so we decided to haul on up to Vancouver and spend it there. Two days of steady driving, through blizzards and rain, we made it to the boarder. Jon learned how to put chains on tires, and then learned how to take them off a half hour later when the snow turned to rain. We had a most entertaining meal stop at Dirty Dave's Gay 90's Pizza Place, somewhere in Washington. How can you not stop to eat at a place called Dirty Daves? We had a long wait at the boarder, surrounded by cars filled with 18 year old kids heading to Canada to drink legally. Boy did I feel old.
In Vancouver, we partied at a club called Ginger (in honor of my sister-in-law) and drank fine margaritas until the year 2003. For once, Alison and I were dressed appropriatly for the occasion as we had bought cute new dresses and shoes just for the holiday. No jeans or black flip flops tonight! Highlights of the evening were the passing out of fortune cookies to random people, Alison pulling out fake money from between my breasts with her teeth, and finding the last cab in Vancouver at 3 am to get home.
The next day we picked up our Aussie friend, Mark, at the airport and all 5 of us drove to Victoria to meet up with Marnie and Karla. Mark never got the email that we were meeting him, so you can imagine his surprise at seeing our faces as he went through customs! Being a world traveler himself, he could appreciate an unexpected ride in a car rather than have to figure out the bus schedules. We met up with Marnie and Karla, and then we all drove to Marnie's parents condo in Mt. Washington to go skiing and snow boarding. Her parents were just diamonds (my new British aquired compliment). They made us dinner, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company. I snowboarded in a blizzard, and Karla wiped out so bad she broke a pole. We also had to do a bit of sledding, later that night, with plenty of beer. What a phenomenal time! Everything you hear about Canada is true. They do have lots of snow (12 feet!) and say "eh" a lot.
After saying good-bye to Marnie's parents, Marnie, Karla, and Mark, we drove down to Seattle and Portland to sightsee, then on to the Oragon Dunes, and the National Redwood Forest. I finally got around to seeing the second Lord of the Rings-Two Towers movie, and enjoyed it more than the first since I recognized all the scenery in New Zealand!
Now we're back in San Francisco at my mom's. It's been good to be in the states and spending time with my mom and Jon again. After seeing Jon off, we'll be heading down to LA to spend some time with our friend Jeremy (who we met in Greece) and then off for South America.
I got so many Christmas and New Years greetings via email, it was just impossible to respond to them all, but thank you everyone for sending them. I have a mere 2 months left before I must face reality again. Your emails help keep me stay grounded and make me feel loved. Thanks!
Love, Carla
Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Happy Holidays from San Francisco!
Hope everyone had a nice holiday hanging out with family and friends. I finished off New Zealand in Auckland with Neill, staying with my hasher friend Rod (Goldfinger) and his wonderful wife Ronnie. They were wonderful hosts and I particularly enjoyed the parties with them and soaking in their jacuzzi tub at 1am! We did a hash run in Auckland as well and I met up with Danish Bacon, a hasher I remembered from Copenhagen! Small world, eh?
After saying good-bye to Neill and hello to Alison at the airport, Alison and I were off to Tahiti for a week where my mom joined us and took us to Bora Bora! What a great Christmas present for me! Bora Bora was beautiful. White sand beaches, warm sun and water, lots of snorkelling and sailing, and great food!
I sailed a couple of times, on a Hobie Cat. I took a lesson at first, then Seb told me I was fine to go off on my own. Amazing how the skills come back to me after 10 years!
I also did a heap of snorkelling. The coral reefs aren't quite a beautiful as the Great Barrier Reef, but the fish are just as nice. I fed a moray eel raw tuna! I also got smothered with the sting rays who thought my fingers would be fish (they don't have teeth, so it didn't hurt), but I did give one a big kiss and have a photo to prove it! I got to see the magnificent Manta rays and a token Spotted Eagle ray. The depth we were swimming at was pretty deep. The local Tahitians would dive down so far I wouldn't see them anymore! No gear, only a mask and snorkel. They are quite the fish themselves.
The place we were staying at had shows every night so I got to see the Tahitian dances and the local Hakka war dances. It was almost identical to the Maori war dance (the islanders of New Zealand), and not to far off from the Hawaiians either. I think they were all from the same genetic pool at one point in history.
Alison and I were going to get ourselves a tattoo while we were in Tahiti, but it was too expensive for us to go into town so we bagged the idea. I'm sure our mothers are grateful.
After Tahiti we flew into LA (that's in the USA!) and met up with Alison's sister, Caroline. We rented a car and drove up north to San Francisco on route 1. We took three days to do an 8 hour drive! It was so much fun. We went bowling in Lampoc, "czeched" out the Hearst Castle, and took many photos of the beautiful coastline. We're spending Christmas with my mom here in San Francisco and it's so nice to be back in our own country for a while. Thanks everyone for all the Holiday greetings! It was wonderful to hear from you all.
All my love, Carla
After saying good-bye to Neill and hello to Alison at the airport, Alison and I were off to Tahiti for a week where my mom joined us and took us to Bora Bora! What a great Christmas present for me! Bora Bora was beautiful. White sand beaches, warm sun and water, lots of snorkelling and sailing, and great food!
I sailed a couple of times, on a Hobie Cat. I took a lesson at first, then Seb told me I was fine to go off on my own. Amazing how the skills come back to me after 10 years!
I also did a heap of snorkelling. The coral reefs aren't quite a beautiful as the Great Barrier Reef, but the fish are just as nice. I fed a moray eel raw tuna! I also got smothered with the sting rays who thought my fingers would be fish (they don't have teeth, so it didn't hurt), but I did give one a big kiss and have a photo to prove it! I got to see the magnificent Manta rays and a token Spotted Eagle ray. The depth we were swimming at was pretty deep. The local Tahitians would dive down so far I wouldn't see them anymore! No gear, only a mask and snorkel. They are quite the fish themselves.
The place we were staying at had shows every night so I got to see the Tahitian dances and the local Hakka war dances. It was almost identical to the Maori war dance (the islanders of New Zealand), and not to far off from the Hawaiians either. I think they were all from the same genetic pool at one point in history.
Alison and I were going to get ourselves a tattoo while we were in Tahiti, but it was too expensive for us to go into town so we bagged the idea. I'm sure our mothers are grateful.
After Tahiti we flew into LA (that's in the USA!) and met up with Alison's sister, Caroline. We rented a car and drove up north to San Francisco on route 1. We took three days to do an 8 hour drive! It was so much fun. We went bowling in Lampoc, "czeched" out the Hearst Castle, and took many photos of the beautiful coastline. We're spending Christmas with my mom here in San Francisco and it's so nice to be back in our own country for a while. Thanks everyone for all the Holiday greetings! It was wonderful to hear from you all.
All my love, Carla
Saturday, December 7, 2002
Wise Lesson From a Fellow Traveler
Neill and I meet a 50 y.o. Floridian woman has been travelling around the world for over 10 years, so Neill asks her, "What is one thing travelling has taught you?" She replies, "Letting go." I never got her name, but I will remember what she said for the rest of my life.
After our Thanksgiving in Nelson, we drove down to Christchurch for the weekend and visited the zoo (take note Jon and Tim!) so I could see the infamous Kiwi, and went to a rather cheesy Christmas music festival where nearly half the population of the south island attended. Any of you who have seen Monty Python's Meaning of Life and remember the scene when they sing, "It's Christmas in Heavan Every Day" will have an idea of what this festival was like. Neill and I also went clubbing with our new friend, Timo, a German who lives in Christchurch that we happen to meet in Queenstown. He speaks phenomenal English, and with a kiwi accent! He took us to a club called The Holy Grail. I go into the bathroom and see a woman there inspecting the deep scratches on her chest. "What happened?" I ask. She replies, "Oh, I got into a fight with some girl on the dance floor. You should see her, though." I exit the bathroom to witness the police escorting a bunch of people out. Rough place, but I had fun dancing with Timo and all his friends, especially lovely Rochelle. It was her 28th birthday that night.
We took the ferry from Picton to Wellington where Neill and I met the wise Floridian traveler, czeched out the Te Papa museum, and became honorary pilots of Fly By Wire. For those of you who don't believe me, I have a video to prove how I learned how to fly a jet propelled rocket!
We had to hash, as well, seeing as Wellington had a bid for the 2004 Interhash. Neill and I ran with the men's hash on Monday, and the Port Nicholson Hash on Tuesday. I made friends with a very friendly 13 year old hasher, Tax Man's Daughter, who had never talked with an American before. How cool is that? Thanks for the t-shirt TMD!
After Wellington, we drove up to Napier for a night, stayed at a hostel run by an American from San Diego, partied with the numerous German backpackers at an Irish pub that night (Neill talked German with them for over 3 hours!), then drove up to Te Aroroa to see the sunrise at East Cape, the most easterly point in the southern hemisphere. Neill and I cracked ourselves up by pointing out the most easterly cow pie in the southern hemisphere, damaged the muffler on the Moon Unit driving on the most easterly dirt road in the southern hemisphere, and got zapped crossing over the most easterly electric fence in the southern hemisphere. The sunrise was pretty spectacular though. We were the first to see the sun rise in the world on Dec. 6th, 2002!
After East Cape, we drove on to Rotorua, and stayed with my hasher friends, Norma and Roger. I met and chatted with them for, maybe, 20 minutes on the yellow dress run 3 months ago in Goa, India. Norma emails me and invites me to stay with her when I'm in town. So here we are! She's an ER nurse, so I'm filling up my brain with the knowledge from her nursing journals. Who knew I'd be starving for that stuff?
In Rotorua I just had to czech out the Waitomo Caves, famous for their glowworm displays. We rapelled down 30 meters to the cave entrance, blackwater rafted down the river inside the cave, and then got to rock climb out. The glowworms look like tiny blue stars on the cave ceiling. I spent some time pointing out all the constellations to Neill. It took awhile, as they kept moving around. Of course, no one was amused but me. Norma also took us to many of the hot springs here, and we got to swim and soak in a hot river, warmed by a nearby thermal pool. Rotorua is built on the edge of an old volcano, so there are tons of hot springs and mud pools. She said some people build their house, then have to move it because of thermal jets that suddenly appear under the house! The mud pools smell of sulphur and bubble just like the Bog of Eternal Stench from the movie Labrynth, with David Bowie.
We're off to Auckland next, to stay with our friend Rod (Goldfinger), a hasher we traveled around Rajistahan with. Hope all my family and friends on the East coast of the US are surviving the snow storms.
Love you all and miss you!
Carla
After our Thanksgiving in Nelson, we drove down to Christchurch for the weekend and visited the zoo (take note Jon and Tim!) so I could see the infamous Kiwi, and went to a rather cheesy Christmas music festival where nearly half the population of the south island attended. Any of you who have seen Monty Python's Meaning of Life and remember the scene when they sing, "It's Christmas in Heavan Every Day" will have an idea of what this festival was like. Neill and I also went clubbing with our new friend, Timo, a German who lives in Christchurch that we happen to meet in Queenstown. He speaks phenomenal English, and with a kiwi accent! He took us to a club called The Holy Grail. I go into the bathroom and see a woman there inspecting the deep scratches on her chest. "What happened?" I ask. She replies, "Oh, I got into a fight with some girl on the dance floor. You should see her, though." I exit the bathroom to witness the police escorting a bunch of people out. Rough place, but I had fun dancing with Timo and all his friends, especially lovely Rochelle. It was her 28th birthday that night.
We took the ferry from Picton to Wellington where Neill and I met the wise Floridian traveler, czeched out the Te Papa museum, and became honorary pilots of Fly By Wire. For those of you who don't believe me, I have a video to prove how I learned how to fly a jet propelled rocket!
We had to hash, as well, seeing as Wellington had a bid for the 2004 Interhash. Neill and I ran with the men's hash on Monday, and the Port Nicholson Hash on Tuesday. I made friends with a very friendly 13 year old hasher, Tax Man's Daughter, who had never talked with an American before. How cool is that? Thanks for the t-shirt TMD!
After Wellington, we drove up to Napier for a night, stayed at a hostel run by an American from San Diego, partied with the numerous German backpackers at an Irish pub that night (Neill talked German with them for over 3 hours!), then drove up to Te Aroroa to see the sunrise at East Cape, the most easterly point in the southern hemisphere. Neill and I cracked ourselves up by pointing out the most easterly cow pie in the southern hemisphere, damaged the muffler on the Moon Unit driving on the most easterly dirt road in the southern hemisphere, and got zapped crossing over the most easterly electric fence in the southern hemisphere. The sunrise was pretty spectacular though. We were the first to see the sun rise in the world on Dec. 6th, 2002!
After East Cape, we drove on to Rotorua, and stayed with my hasher friends, Norma and Roger. I met and chatted with them for, maybe, 20 minutes on the yellow dress run 3 months ago in Goa, India. Norma emails me and invites me to stay with her when I'm in town. So here we are! She's an ER nurse, so I'm filling up my brain with the knowledge from her nursing journals. Who knew I'd be starving for that stuff?
In Rotorua I just had to czech out the Waitomo Caves, famous for their glowworm displays. We rapelled down 30 meters to the cave entrance, blackwater rafted down the river inside the cave, and then got to rock climb out. The glowworms look like tiny blue stars on the cave ceiling. I spent some time pointing out all the constellations to Neill. It took awhile, as they kept moving around. Of course, no one was amused but me. Norma also took us to many of the hot springs here, and we got to swim and soak in a hot river, warmed by a nearby thermal pool. Rotorua is built on the edge of an old volcano, so there are tons of hot springs and mud pools. She said some people build their house, then have to move it because of thermal jets that suddenly appear under the house! The mud pools smell of sulphur and bubble just like the Bog of Eternal Stench from the movie Labrynth, with David Bowie.
We're off to Auckland next, to stay with our friend Rod (Goldfinger), a hasher we traveled around Rajistahan with. Hope all my family and friends on the East coast of the US are surviving the snow storms.
Love you all and miss you!
Carla
Thursday, November 28, 2002
A Thankful Thanksgiving in New Zealand
"I'm Australian, and don't know what Thanksgiving is, but I'm very thankful," says an Australian backpacker. We made our own Thanksgiving dinner here in Nelson, NZ. Couldn't get a turkey, apparently we would've had to special order it ahead of time. So we had kingfisher fish from the fish shop a hasher friend works at, and got plenty of beer from the brewery another hasher friend works at, and made do with what else we could find. There were so many American backpackers here, we had dinner for 10! Bob made FOUR apple pies and we ate them all. I made those sweet potatoes with the marshmellows on top. Alison made the mash potatoes, and Gary made the fish. Neill cleaned up, as he states he's best at that.
Everyone loved my sweet potatoe dish and wanted to know what it was called. I said, "sweet potatoes with marshmellows on top." The day got even better when we went to see Harry Potter (opening night here) after dinner. Brenda, I hope you have seen it too, it really rocks! Other stuff we've done here, glaciar hiking (I haven't worn cramp-ons in years!), mountain biking up to the center of New Zealand, and sea kayaking in Cable Bay.
We're off to learn how to carve bone today, they have classes for everything out here! I hopefully will be making some lovely trinkets for you all at Christmas time...
Car is still holding up, even with me driving it. Hopfully I can keep it in one piece by the time we make it up to Auckland to sell it. ha ha
Met up with the Nelson hash, as I referenced earlier with the beer and fish connctions. They were a really friendly, welcoming bunch, and there was a total of 8 visitors at the run. One of them, Crystal Tits, was visiting from Montreal, and Alison knew her already! They met at a hash in Ottowa one weekend last April. Talk about random meetings! Another couple I had met already at the interhash in India. They were touring around still just like us.
Well, I am thinking of you all, my friends and family, especially during the holiday season. I hope you are all well and had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Love, Carla
Everyone loved my sweet potatoe dish and wanted to know what it was called. I said, "sweet potatoes with marshmellows on top." The day got even better when we went to see Harry Potter (opening night here) after dinner. Brenda, I hope you have seen it too, it really rocks! Other stuff we've done here, glaciar hiking (I haven't worn cramp-ons in years!), mountain biking up to the center of New Zealand, and sea kayaking in Cable Bay.
We're off to learn how to carve bone today, they have classes for everything out here! I hopefully will be making some lovely trinkets for you all at Christmas time...
Car is still holding up, even with me driving it. Hopfully I can keep it in one piece by the time we make it up to Auckland to sell it. ha ha
Met up with the Nelson hash, as I referenced earlier with the beer and fish connctions. They were a really friendly, welcoming bunch, and there was a total of 8 visitors at the run. One of them, Crystal Tits, was visiting from Montreal, and Alison knew her already! They met at a hash in Ottowa one weekend last April. Talk about random meetings! Another couple I had met already at the interhash in India. They were touring around still just like us.
Well, I am thinking of you all, my friends and family, especially during the holiday season. I hope you are all well and had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Love, Carla
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
Driving the Moon Unit around Kiwiland
We had to leave wonderful Tasmania sometime to get our butts to New Zealand! I've always wanted to go ever since my friend Kaliko showed me her photos from her trip there 2 years ago.
We flew into Dunedin and met up with our British hasher friend Neill (Wet Nurse) who was in great need of a holiday and wanted to tour with the ever-popular crazyhappenings duo for a month. After enduring a very critical search by customs (they went through our bags, inspected our anti-maliaria medications, and asked us questions like, "Do you smoke cannabis?" Alison responds, "No, why? Do our bags smell like it?") We got a cab into the city by a very chatty southern NZ cabbie who kept interupting our conversations to tell us random facts about his country.
WE BOUGHT A CAR!!!! Alison and I now have something in our possession other than our backpacks. It's a 1987 Ford Lazer, in decent condition, and a manual. Andy K., are you scared for me to be driving a stick again??? Alison christened it The Moon Unit, and covered the stained shag pile (floor carpets) with piles of stones from the riverbed. It also has a Kiwi Crossing sticker on the backend. A Kiwi at the backpackers, Gary, helped us buy the car. It was heaps cheaper than renting something and we should have no problem selling it in Auckland before we fly out. Neill knows a thing or two about cars, like changing spark plugs and brake pads, so it's been great having him along.
We're in Queenstown now, home to the extreme sports. I'm not planning on bungee jumping or anything though, so no worries, Mom. The town itself is a trip and a half. Very tall, snow covered mountains right next to beautiful lakes and rivers. Have you all seen Lord of the Rings? I'm in the heart of Middle Earth. We're off to "czech" out the glaciars tomorrow and then on to Christchurch. Just letting you all know I'm fine and dandy out here! Off to meet friends at the bar, Winnie Baegos, now!
Love, Carla
We flew into Dunedin and met up with our British hasher friend Neill (Wet Nurse) who was in great need of a holiday and wanted to tour with the ever-popular crazyhappenings duo for a month. After enduring a very critical search by customs (they went through our bags, inspected our anti-maliaria medications, and asked us questions like, "Do you smoke cannabis?" Alison responds, "No, why? Do our bags smell like it?") We got a cab into the city by a very chatty southern NZ cabbie who kept interupting our conversations to tell us random facts about his country.
WE BOUGHT A CAR!!!! Alison and I now have something in our possession other than our backpacks. It's a 1987 Ford Lazer, in decent condition, and a manual. Andy K., are you scared for me to be driving a stick again??? Alison christened it The Moon Unit, and covered the stained shag pile (floor carpets) with piles of stones from the riverbed. It also has a Kiwi Crossing sticker on the backend. A Kiwi at the backpackers, Gary, helped us buy the car. It was heaps cheaper than renting something and we should have no problem selling it in Auckland before we fly out. Neill knows a thing or two about cars, like changing spark plugs and brake pads, so it's been great having him along.
We're in Queenstown now, home to the extreme sports. I'm not planning on bungee jumping or anything though, so no worries, Mom. The town itself is a trip and a half. Very tall, snow covered mountains right next to beautiful lakes and rivers. Have you all seen Lord of the Rings? I'm in the heart of Middle Earth. We're off to "czech" out the glaciars tomorrow and then on to Christchurch. Just letting you all know I'm fine and dandy out here! Off to meet friends at the bar, Winnie Baegos, now!
Love, Carla
Thursday, November 14, 2002
Ten Days in Tassie!
Ten days in Tazmania tearing around on the left side of the road in a copper colored Toyota was quite the experience! Thankfully, Alison did most of the driving, as I was more comfortable ordering her around as my title "Navigator" allowed. We traveled 2500 kms total, and saw the whole state of Tazmania. We hashed with 4 different clubs and were thrilled that every local we encountered knew of the hash ever since the interhash in Hobart in 2000 happened.
Highlights:
Getting crash space with hasher, Paul(Jerk Off), and him loaning us a key to his house and a spare mobile phone! Hiking in Frencynet National Park and seeing whales in Wineglass Bay. Alison puttig a rude Norwegian in his place in the kitchen of the youth hostel. Me locking the keys in the car. Having to drink my Chardonnay down-down tea bagged with my tacky Tazmanian tiger souvenir socks at the Chardonnay Hash in Hobart. Paul telling us to make sure we czech out Queenstown and call in on Phil, no, wait, Tim...the guy who runs the power plant there. He would show us around. Going to the movies TWICE in Hobart. We yearn for non-travel activities more lately. Hanging out with Juan and Sean, our army hash buddies that made the trip to Bernie with us and made me sound like my mother as they fought in the backseat of the car. "Don't make me come back there!" Grizzly taking the morning off from work to cook us breakfast the morning after the Bernie hash run. He knew all our new friends from Ragistahan! Going to the historic town of Ross, and getting heaps of Ross souvenirs for our friend Ross in Melbourne. "My friends went to Ross and all they got me was this lousy t-shirt..." Hashing with the Hobart Hash Harem, the first female only hash we attended. Their hash shirts are PURPLE! Alison says we should start one in Boston, but our shirts will be pink. Going to the Mayfield, (a uni bar) with Brigid's brother, Mark. We went dressed in our hash clothing and the bouncer commented, "Girls, try not to dress up so much next time, ok?" Sticky floors, 10 girls dressed in half shirts waiting in line for the toilet, shooters, and crowds of students packed shoulder to shoulder made us feel 10 years younger. ha. Talking about the meaning of life, love, and happiness with Alison and Juan in a bar until 4 am. A sign blows off a building and scratches the car 10 minutes before we return it to the Hertz rental office.
Highlights:
Getting crash space with hasher, Paul(Jerk Off), and him loaning us a key to his house and a spare mobile phone! Hiking in Frencynet National Park and seeing whales in Wineglass Bay. Alison puttig a rude Norwegian in his place in the kitchen of the youth hostel. Me locking the keys in the car. Having to drink my Chardonnay down-down tea bagged with my tacky Tazmanian tiger souvenir socks at the Chardonnay Hash in Hobart. Paul telling us to make sure we czech out Queenstown and call in on Phil, no, wait, Tim...the guy who runs the power plant there. He would show us around. Going to the movies TWICE in Hobart. We yearn for non-travel activities more lately. Hanging out with Juan and Sean, our army hash buddies that made the trip to Bernie with us and made me sound like my mother as they fought in the backseat of the car. "Don't make me come back there!" Grizzly taking the morning off from work to cook us breakfast the morning after the Bernie hash run. He knew all our new friends from Ragistahan! Going to the historic town of Ross, and getting heaps of Ross souvenirs for our friend Ross in Melbourne. "My friends went to Ross and all they got me was this lousy t-shirt..." Hashing with the Hobart Hash Harem, the first female only hash we attended. Their hash shirts are PURPLE! Alison says we should start one in Boston, but our shirts will be pink. Going to the Mayfield, (a uni bar) with Brigid's brother, Mark. We went dressed in our hash clothing and the bouncer commented, "Girls, try not to dress up so much next time, ok?" Sticky floors, 10 girls dressed in half shirts waiting in line for the toilet, shooters, and crowds of students packed shoulder to shoulder made us feel 10 years younger. ha. Talking about the meaning of life, love, and happiness with Alison and Juan in a bar until 4 am. A sign blows off a building and scratches the car 10 minutes before we return it to the Hertz rental office.
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
A birthday celebration overseas
I celebrated my birthday in Orange, a small country town, where Debby, Mike, and their friend Wayne live and work as teachers. They take me out for dinner for my birthday, we drink wine, eat pavolva birthday cake, and then we go out to a dodgy club in Orange to further celebrate.
Alison brings some shots, we all chink glasses to toast and I break my glass with my enthusiasm. I bring the broken glass to the bar, and report, "this is so unsafe. I want another." They oblige. I don't drink it though, think I poured it in someone's glass of water. Alison, Sarah, and I dance like Elaine from Seinfield to random music on the dance floor. Alison and Sarah have a "hair off" much like Zoolander, play the air guitar and dirty the knees of their jeans. I realize I may have drunk too much and escape the noise by going to the bar. Wayne finds me later, and said the sight of me sitting at the bar, appearing folorn, nursing a water, and surrounded by old men, looked like a scene from the movie Heartbreak Hotel. We left early thankfully, as a result of the "lockdown" procedure in Orange, where the bars all refuse to let anyone else in after 12:30 am. Not a bad thing as there were many student sightings by Wayne, "Why aren't you all home studying tonight?"
Well, we're in Brisbane now, and Sarah's mom took us to Steve Irwin's zoo, to see the famous croc shows. No sightings of Steve, but we did meet Harriett, a turtle from the days of Darwin that is 172 years old. Also got a phenomenal photos of the two of us with a python wrapped around our shoulders.
Fun fact: Steve and Terry's daughter, Bindi Sue, was named after a crocadile, Bindi, and their dog Sui.
We're off to the Gold Coast tomorrow, to see Surfer's Paradise and meet up with friends we made in Rajistahan on the tour. Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Sending you heaps of love.
Carla
Alison brings some shots, we all chink glasses to toast and I break my glass with my enthusiasm. I bring the broken glass to the bar, and report, "this is so unsafe. I want another." They oblige. I don't drink it though, think I poured it in someone's glass of water. Alison, Sarah, and I dance like Elaine from Seinfield to random music on the dance floor. Alison and Sarah have a "hair off" much like Zoolander, play the air guitar and dirty the knees of their jeans. I realize I may have drunk too much and escape the noise by going to the bar. Wayne finds me later, and said the sight of me sitting at the bar, appearing folorn, nursing a water, and surrounded by old men, looked like a scene from the movie Heartbreak Hotel. We left early thankfully, as a result of the "lockdown" procedure in Orange, where the bars all refuse to let anyone else in after 12:30 am. Not a bad thing as there were many student sightings by Wayne, "Why aren't you all home studying tonight?"
Well, we're in Brisbane now, and Sarah's mom took us to Steve Irwin's zoo, to see the famous croc shows. No sightings of Steve, but we did meet Harriett, a turtle from the days of Darwin that is 172 years old. Also got a phenomenal photos of the two of us with a python wrapped around our shoulders.
Fun fact: Steve and Terry's daughter, Bindi Sue, was named after a crocadile, Bindi, and their dog Sui.
We're off to the Gold Coast tomorrow, to see Surfer's Paradise and meet up with friends we made in Rajistahan on the tour. Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Sending you heaps of love.
Carla
Thursday, October 24, 2002
Down (under) time in Australia
Hello again! Having some down time in Australia is allowing me to log on to email heaps. So lucky for all of you, more newsletters! In Sydney, Alison and I did the bridge climb up the harbor bridge. It's only been open to the public since 1998, and they are so systematic about the whole process! We got full gear: climbing harness, jumpsuit, fleece jacket, hat, and they even had shoes if you needed them! If you show up to this place in only your underwear, it's STILL possible to climb the bridge! I thought it would be much more scary than it actually was. More of a stroll than a climb, as Alison said. We got some great photos of us, completely posed by the guide, of course. I suspect he's done it before...they are almost as ketch as the Taj Mahal shots we had done. Alison said they make us look like we should be announcing our engagement to be married or something.
The next day, we "czeched" out the Tarrango Zoo in Sydney. We were lucky enough to arrive in time for the koala's to be fed. I'd never seen them so active! Alison must've taken over a dozen photos of them. It was hilarious. We wanted to get our photo taken with the koala, but the booth was already closed. Ah well. Sarah's parents promised to take us to the zoo in Brisbane, where that can be done there as well.
So in case you felt my last newsletter was a bit dull, well, here is a classic story: We're on the bus, having a rather mundane conversation, for once, and the Australian guy sitting across from us remarks out of no where, "Oh my God, you have the strongest American accents I've ever heard! Are you doing that on purpose, because you're traveling?"
Alison: "No, this is how we really talk."
Rude Aussie: "But I have American friends in Japan, and they don't sound like you. You seem like you've turned up the volume on it, deliberately. Has anyone ever said that to you before?"
Alison: "No, not to our face, anyway."
Rude Aussie: "Well, I prefer the American southern accent. It just has a sound to it that is so pleasing, and the wide brim hats the men wear, I just love that! (he smiles and reflects fondly on this)
Carla: "Interesting, I think some Americans wouldn't agree with you on that one."
Alison: "So, do all Australians talk like you?"
Rude Aussie: "We just say it like it is, ya know? Put it all out on the table. Nothing beats honesty, I say."
He got off the bus at this point, which was good because Alison looked ready to smack him silly and I was biting my lip, trying not to laugh.
We're in Canberra now, with my penpal of 15 years, Sarah Kearns. This city is like a country version of Washington DC, minus the Smithsonians. Alison discovered there's an Erotica Museum here, though, so we're going to "czech" that out tomorrow. Sarah's brother, Scean, is taking the day off from work to show us around. When we told Scean where we wanted to go, he couldn't stop laughing.
Oh, in regards to my newsletter about the Indian burning man festival I went to in Delhi, but couldn't remember the name, my Mom sent me the following information via her friend Amy:
I believe she is speaking of Diwali (pronounce dee-vall-ee). It is the Festival of Lights representing (light over darkness or good or evil). It is the major Hindu holiday.
Hope that was as enlightening for all of you as it was for me! Thanks Mom and Amy!
Love, Carla
The next day, we "czeched" out the Tarrango Zoo in Sydney. We were lucky enough to arrive in time for the koala's to be fed. I'd never seen them so active! Alison must've taken over a dozen photos of them. It was hilarious. We wanted to get our photo taken with the koala, but the booth was already closed. Ah well. Sarah's parents promised to take us to the zoo in Brisbane, where that can be done there as well.
So in case you felt my last newsletter was a bit dull, well, here is a classic story: We're on the bus, having a rather mundane conversation, for once, and the Australian guy sitting across from us remarks out of no where, "Oh my God, you have the strongest American accents I've ever heard! Are you doing that on purpose, because you're traveling?"
Alison: "No, this is how we really talk."
Rude Aussie: "But I have American friends in Japan, and they don't sound like you. You seem like you've turned up the volume on it, deliberately. Has anyone ever said that to you before?"
Alison: "No, not to our face, anyway."
Rude Aussie: "Well, I prefer the American southern accent. It just has a sound to it that is so pleasing, and the wide brim hats the men wear, I just love that! (he smiles and reflects fondly on this)
Carla: "Interesting, I think some Americans wouldn't agree with you on that one."
Alison: "So, do all Australians talk like you?"
Rude Aussie: "We just say it like it is, ya know? Put it all out on the table. Nothing beats honesty, I say."
He got off the bus at this point, which was good because Alison looked ready to smack him silly and I was biting my lip, trying not to laugh.
We're in Canberra now, with my penpal of 15 years, Sarah Kearns. This city is like a country version of Washington DC, minus the Smithsonians. Alison discovered there's an Erotica Museum here, though, so we're going to "czech" that out tomorrow. Sarah's brother, Scean, is taking the day off from work to show us around. When we told Scean where we wanted to go, he couldn't stop laughing.
Oh, in regards to my newsletter about the Indian burning man festival I went to in Delhi, but couldn't remember the name, my Mom sent me the following information via her friend Amy:
I believe she is speaking of Diwali (pronounce dee-vall-ee). It is the Festival of Lights representing (light over darkness or good or evil). It is the major Hindu holiday.
Hope that was as enlightening for all of you as it was for me! Thanks Mom and Amy!
Love, Carla
Sunday, October 20, 2002
Greeting from Australia!
G'day mates! We made it safe and sound to Sydney, Australia. Alison and I were good and ready to take off from India. We were just so tired of being gawked at by the locals. We meet up with Baron for one last evening of the 2 for 1 happy hour at DV8, then we crashed out ourselves from sheer exhaustion. Not even the dreariness of the Ringos Guest House could keep us from sleeping over 12 hours straight!
Flew out of Delhi the next afternoon, back to Bangkok (for one night in Bangkok....) and then flew out of Bangkok the next day to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We couldn't leave the airport, since we didn't have a visa. So we passed the 5 hour layover with some furiously competitive games of backgammon. Jon, Alison has shared some tips with me, so she doesn't beat me every time anymore! We finally made it to Syndey, and checked into the most posh youth hostel I've ever seen. It's got a game room, pool, and a kitchen the size of a small cafeteria! There are signs all over it saying, "your food is protected by video surveillance." It's so nice to walk the streets and not get badgered by anyone.
No exciting news, just letting ya'll know we're both safe and still having fun. Joining up with the Sydney hash on Tuesday, then off by bus to Canberra to see my penpal Sarah on Wednesday.
Czech you later!
Carla
Flew out of Delhi the next afternoon, back to Bangkok (for one night in Bangkok....) and then flew out of Bangkok the next day to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We couldn't leave the airport, since we didn't have a visa. So we passed the 5 hour layover with some furiously competitive games of backgammon. Jon, Alison has shared some tips with me, so she doesn't beat me every time anymore! We finally made it to Syndey, and checked into the most posh youth hostel I've ever seen. It's got a game room, pool, and a kitchen the size of a small cafeteria! There are signs all over it saying, "your food is protected by video surveillance." It's so nice to walk the streets and not get badgered by anyone.
No exciting news, just letting ya'll know we're both safe and still having fun. Joining up with the Sydney hash on Tuesday, then off by bus to Canberra to see my penpal Sarah on Wednesday.
Czech you later!
Carla
Thursday, October 17, 2002
One more night in Delhi!
We have one more night left here in Delhi before flying out to Sydney next. Alison made the realization that we spent more time in India than any other country on our trip! Who knew it would be so fun? After the hash run/crashing Indian wedding on Monday night I hung out with Flipper and Baron on Tuesday and we went to the ninth day of the festival here. Wish I could remember the name of the festival, how ignorant of me! Anyway, they had these three huge paper men on a field and they set them on fire with fireworks. The park held probably a third of the population of Delhi and we were the only tourists there. The guards just let us in the gates, no fee, no tickets, nothing. I think they were just happy to see tourists interested in their culture, or wanted to keep us safe from the mobs that were forming outside the gates. The ninth day was supposed represent the fight between good and evil, ie, buring the evil men. I got some interesting photos of the carnage.
After the festival was finished, I pulled out my interhash photos to share with Flipper and Baron. The photos attracted quite a crowd of young boys hovering around us, giggling at the photos of men mooning me, of course. Thankfully I had no shots of harriets flashing me. That might have gotten rather excited reactions from those pre- pubescent Indian boys. The guards eventually appeared to disperse our audience. I was starting to feel claustrophobic.
Alison and Friar met me Wednesday morning as arranged, and we went sightseeing around Delhi, "czeching" out the Lotus Temple, that looks a lot like the Sydney Opera house, and the Red Fort in Old Delhi. We escaped the traffic and heat for the oasis of the bar DV8 I had discovered the other night. Missing Link, Baron, and Money King joined us in time to enjoy happy hour, "2 4 1 beer" as Friar kept reminding us everytime the waiter came over. They were nice and cold too!
Money King drove us and Friar to the airport to see Friar off. I hope he made it on his flight ok, he really enjoyed that happy hour special. We had loaded him up with all our souvies from India as well, so he had quite a few bags to keep track of.
Well, not much else to report. We're just chilling in Delhi, biding time until we fly to Australia. We're meeting up with the same group tonight, to see Baron off. One by one the hashers are leaving the country of India. Will it recover, I wonder?
Love to you all! Thanks for all your responses as well. I always enjoy hearing about how life is going for my friends and family.
Cheers!
Carla
After the festival was finished, I pulled out my interhash photos to share with Flipper and Baron. The photos attracted quite a crowd of young boys hovering around us, giggling at the photos of men mooning me, of course. Thankfully I had no shots of harriets flashing me. That might have gotten rather excited reactions from those pre- pubescent Indian boys. The guards eventually appeared to disperse our audience. I was starting to feel claustrophobic.
Alison and Friar met me Wednesday morning as arranged, and we went sightseeing around Delhi, "czeching" out the Lotus Temple, that looks a lot like the Sydney Opera house, and the Red Fort in Old Delhi. We escaped the traffic and heat for the oasis of the bar DV8 I had discovered the other night. Missing Link, Baron, and Money King joined us in time to enjoy happy hour, "2 4 1 beer" as Friar kept reminding us everytime the waiter came over. They were nice and cold too!
Money King drove us and Friar to the airport to see Friar off. I hope he made it on his flight ok, he really enjoyed that happy hour special. We had loaded him up with all our souvies from India as well, so he had quite a few bags to keep track of.
Well, not much else to report. We're just chilling in Delhi, biding time until we fly to Australia. We're meeting up with the same group tonight, to see Baron off. One by one the hashers are leaving the country of India. Will it recover, I wonder?
Love to you all! Thanks for all your responses as well. I always enjoy hearing about how life is going for my friends and family.
Cheers!
Carla
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
crashing an Indian wedding!
Winding up my last few days in India by doing much of nothing in Delhi. Alison went on with our friend Austin back to Jaipur to check out wholesale Indian jewelry and i opted to stay in Delhi on my own and rest. Hard to believe, but Delhi is very clean for a major capital city of India! I joined up with the Delhi hash last night and after the run we came upon a wedding procession. The tradition is for the groom to ride a horse through town with all his friends and family in tow. They end up at the bride's house where the two families meet and perform the ceremony. Most Indian marriages are arranged so it is not unheard of for the bride and groom to only have met once or twice before they are wed! Our local Indian friends assured us it was ok to join in and go on to the wedding ceremony! Dressed in our running gear, sweaty and smelling of the beer I dumped on my head, I met the bride and gave her my congratulations. We danced, ate the food, and chatted with the family members like we were invited guests! How strange is that???? Indians are very welcoming people.
Before arriving in Delhi, I visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was probably the most impressive sight I saw here in India. The craftsmen who built it had their hands all chopped off afterward so they would never make another one like it. All done in the name of love. The Maharaja's dying wife had three requests: that he not remarry, that he raise the remaining 7 children, and that she be buried in a tomb. Well, she got what she wanted and then some, eh?
We all have heard the terrible news about the explosion in Bali. My thoughts are with the friends and families of the victims. Please try not to worry about me out here. We'll be on to Australia in just a few days.
All my love,
Carla
Before arriving in Delhi, I visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was probably the most impressive sight I saw here in India. The craftsmen who built it had their hands all chopped off afterward so they would never make another one like it. All done in the name of love. The Maharaja's dying wife had three requests: that he not remarry, that he raise the remaining 7 children, and that she be buried in a tomb. Well, she got what she wanted and then some, eh?
We all have heard the terrible news about the explosion in Bali. My thoughts are with the friends and families of the victims. Please try not to worry about me out here. We'll be on to Australia in just a few days.
All my love,
Carla
Tuesday, October 8, 2002
Indian camels...watch out, they spit!
We are in Jodpur now, and I actually found a fast internet connetion! Of course, it's a billion degrees in here so this won't be long.
We went on a camel ride in the desert to watch the sunset. Riding a camel is a lot more comfortable than I thought! They don't guide like horses, but they sure last longer on long treks. They can go up to 80 kilomenters in a day without water!
The eggs here have white yokes. We're not sure why, don't know what the chickens eat, but hope it's not the same garbage the cows and pigs eat. Needless to say, I've been sticking to a veggie diet. I helped set a hash run this morning at sunrise and we had a lot of fun bringing the other hashers through a park, past a pile of broken razor blades, and around a palace and a temple. The ants wasted no time eating the flour we used to set trail.
Well, I was supposed to join the group in a shopping excursion, but I got tired of the street boys hassling me into their shops. I'm too hot to think of anything else to type. Don't know how these computers can stay functioning in this weather.
Love to you all!
Carla
We went on a camel ride in the desert to watch the sunset. Riding a camel is a lot more comfortable than I thought! They don't guide like horses, but they sure last longer on long treks. They can go up to 80 kilomenters in a day without water!
The eggs here have white yokes. We're not sure why, don't know what the chickens eat, but hope it's not the same garbage the cows and pigs eat. Needless to say, I've been sticking to a veggie diet. I helped set a hash run this morning at sunrise and we had a lot of fun bringing the other hashers through a park, past a pile of broken razor blades, and around a palace and a temple. The ants wasted no time eating the flour we used to set trail.
Well, I was supposed to join the group in a shopping excursion, but I got tired of the street boys hassling me into their shops. I'm too hot to think of anything else to type. Don't know how these computers can stay functioning in this weather.
Love to you all!
Carla
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