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!
Saturday, February 8, 2003
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
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