Sweeping the dust off of my travel blog… tried upgrading to a more recent software version to no avail. This will have to suffice for now since I’m prepping for my trip in 6 days and still have nothing booked except my airplane ticket to and from.

On that note… a HUGE thank you goes out to MJ for alerting me to the super cheap airfare a whopping SIX months ago! “A deal that comes along once in a decade,” as she put it and she’s right! I have been in the habit of comparing everything to that airfare… my recent orthotics purchase which will hopefully allow me pain-free trekking in the valleys and canyons cost me 1.54 NYC-Lima Round Trip Tickets. (NLRTTs). My recent travel gear purchases at Paragon Sports added up to 0.68 NYRTTs. My passport renewal fee equates to 0.27 NLRTTs. My ability to hem my own way-too-long-for-me trekking pants for the cost of some thread: priceless. You get the picture… it was a great deal!

Hopefully I’ll be able to update anyone who cares with some tales from the trails along with photos and HD video via this truly neglected blog site. You are welcome to vicariously and virtually join me in my journey below the equator. (For those uninitiated, blog reading is a great way to while away the hours while away at the office!)

I bid you farewell for now so I can continue where I left off on preparation panic. As usual, I’ve much to do and little time to do it. When next we “meet” it may very well be from a museum in Lima, a sand dune in Huacachina, a plane over the Nazca lines, an Incan temple in the Sacred Valley or a 2-mile high lake on the Bolivian border.

Oh yeah… and don’t forget to wish me a happy birthday when the time comes!

This is a montage I put together after my Polar Bear Safari in November, 2000. The photos were either taken by me or my friend Lesly who I met on the trip. As some of you may recall, my video camera was stolen shortly after my trip along with much of my footage. Some of the images are grainy, but I love it anyway. Make sure your speakers are on. The soundtrack enhances the montage greatly, imo. I made the video as part of a presentation I made to my Spanish class at the time, hence the Spanish overlays. I still cry when I watch this. It was the best week of my life. (It’s best to go to the Google Video link and watch it in full screen mode, imo.)

SO much to tell, but the ABSOLUTE GREATEST news I can share with you MUST come first!I MADE IT TO THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT KILIMANJARO!!!!

I climbed 19,340 feet to Africa’s highest point — Uhuru, the highest peak of the giant volcano’s crater rim over the course of 3 1/2 days. The first three days beginning on June 30th were truly enjoyable. I loved every minute of them. That last bit, though — well, that’s a different story.

The most difficult part, the final ascent, began at 12:07 AM on Saturday, July 3rd — yup, that’s the middle of the VERY COLD night, folks! We walked up the equivalent of 9 Empire State buildings lying at perhaps a 60 degree grade (we’re still trying to find the exact steepness) for more than 6 1/2 hours to reach Gilman’s Point, our first glimpse of the volcano’s crater rim. We reached Uhuru, the highest peak of the rim 2 hours later. The views were breathtaking — oh, hold it, we HAD no breath by this point!
But seriously, the glaciers and the crater were absolutely magnificent.

After celebrating and picture taking, we began our descent. We had to go down back to Kibo, the base camp from whence we came. I passed through the gate of base camp at 12:07 PM, exactly 12 hours to the minute from when we started. After sleeping for an hour and refueling with food, we continued our descent of what wound up to be 12 kilometers (we took the longer scenic route!) to Horombo, our base camp for the night. Imagine how well we slept that night! [Read more →]

Check in here to read updates of my trip to Africa.

Rough itinerary:

• 4 days in London, hanging out with some old friends.
• Meet with rest of Africa group - fly to Tanzania via Nairobi, Kenya
• 10 days of safari through 4 national parks / conservation areas in Tanzania
• 5 days hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro, africa’s highest point measuring 19, 341 feet (give or take)
• 2 days recuperating in Africa
• return home to NYC via Nairobi and London

Check in later. I will update this blog when possible.

Greetings all! Or should I say ¡Saludos a todos!

I think it´s Friday — the day after Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t bet on it, though. You´re all Xmas shopping, I presume. Here I sit in Cuauhtémoc, a rather strange city full of Menonites and stores selling cowboy hats and boots in every color under the rainbow in all sorts of animal skins. I passed an occasional Tarahuamaran eating potato salad from KFC (yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken). Go figure. I think there are a couple of kids looking over my shoulder at the moment while I type. Hmmm… I think I´m an anomaly to them.

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Let’s see – it’s currently 6AM and my train which was supposed to leave at 6AM … drum roll please … actually left at 6AM!! Yea!! I’m on my way to the Copper Canyons. The sun is just rising and there is just a sliver of moon still visible. What a pretty sky right now: orange, yellow, pink and varying shades of blue with that moon as a focal point.

So, I made it through Mexico just fine so far – planes, buses, cars, and now trains have taken me to all sorts of places.

I left Chacala yesterday late morning to catch the taxi and 2 buses I’d need to get me back to the Guadalajara train station. There I reclaimed my checked luggage, rearranged my packing a bit and got a cab to the airport to catch my plane for Los Mochis. (BTW – the Guadalajara departure section of the airport is quite nice.) My flight was without incident and upon arriving in Los Mochis I got a cab to my hotel, Hotel Fenix. For $25, it’s a great deal. I’d be spending only about 7 hours in the place so I just needed a decent place to lay my head. The Bible recommended it and so do I. I woke up at 4AM today to get a cab at 5AM to take me to the train station to catch the 6AM train. I had all sorts of anxiety dreams that I’d miss my train or oversleep or something. There was absolutely no problem at all. Back at home, I had pre-arranged a seat reservation for the Friday morning train rather than assuming a seat would be available when I arrived at the station. I knew I just had to be on this train. There is only one first-class train per day and if tickets sold out before I arrived at the ticket office, I’d be up that proverbial creek! Winds up I didn’t have to be so anal about it. Oh well. Whatever.

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Yesterday, my only full day in Chacala, I awoke early and went for a walk through town and along the beach. I met a little puppy which followed me around for a while. I would have liked to have taken him home as a souvenir. So cute! I bought a couple of pieces of bread at a market and went back to my pad to make some coffee and enjoy a relaxing breakfast outside while I admired the surrounding jungle and ocean in the distance. I looked for my hostess Susana but did not see her around. I changed into my bathing suit and was off to catch some rays. First I explored the southern part of Chacala Bay where the two pricier accommodations lay. I had to walk through a somewhat steep jungle path to get to one hotel. I weaved through the walkways and made my way down to the beach which was covered with large rocks. I stood there for a while and enjoyed the breeze – it was already a hot day.

I went back to the main beach and rented myself a lounge chair and set up camp for the next few hours. I took a dip in the ocean – the water was like bath water. I loved it. I stretched out on my chair and read for a while, watched some kids play in the calm waves, and listened to the music coming from a jukebox at one of the palapa restaurants nearby. The beach was buzzing more than it had been the afternoon before but was by no means crowded. It was just right.

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After a 5+ hour trip consisting of 2 buses, a private taxi, a shared taxi and a walk up hill, I have arrived at Casa Pacífica in Chacala. I must say, so far so good. Susana, my hostess, greeted me. She is incredibly warm. I haven’t gotten her whole scoop, but her husband is Hawaiian and they apparently left Hawaii to start this B&B in another paradise. (She says most of Hawaii is too built up to be paradise for her.) Well, this B&B looked great from the pictures on the Internet, but in person it is even better. It is absolutely beautiful. Tomorrow I will browse around a bit more. There are 3 rooms to let here. I am in the “Sun Room”, a beautiful blue and yellow room with a sunflower theme which is not overdone at all. There are Mexican artifacts scattered about, shelves of books (hey, D², I see Nora Roberts on the shelf – hopefully one of these days yours will be there!), a kitchenette with all the fixin’s, a table and chairs, purified water jugs, a typical Mexican-style rocking chair, a couch and coffee table, towels up the wahzoo, two fans and plenty of light. Mexican tile floors carry through to the beautifully tiled bathroom. The walls are painted a cheery yellow and the ceiling consists of 4 curved sections of terracotta brick. It is exquisite. These folks have the right idea. I may have to grill them for some suggestions on how to pull something like this off. Oh, and I forgot to mention the best part – they have a beautiful cat named Tigre and an adorable and excessively friendly Jack Russell - Beagle mix named Chiquita who I fell in love with at first sight. (I know, that’s not too hard for me to do.) [Read more →]

Happy Half Birthday to me!

I’m due to check out of my hotel in Guadalajara within the hour. I’ll be off to the sunny shores of the Pacific. I can’t wait. I’m ready to leave Guadalajara. I liked it very much and would definitely return and I recommend visiting. It’s a lovely city. But, like most cities, it’s a hubbub of activity. People and cars are everywhere. I basically just walked around a LOT! (Actually, I’m a bit concerned because my knee is bothering me a bit.) People aren’t rude. In fact, those who have spoken with me have been quite nice. But I’ve encountered the same frustrations here as I do at home – people don’t move out of the way, there’s always someone who needs change for the bus or worse, to feed their family. I guess I’m just ready for some “intense relaxation” which is hopefully what I’ll find at the beach. Granted, I did not go to the museums here. Monday was my day to stroll the city itself and most museums are closed on Mondays. I did not partake in the nightlife, either. Being alone and more of a “day person” than a “night person” means I missed out on some fun stuff, I’m sure. I haven’t even had a cerveza or a tequila. Oh well – next time. Who’s going to accompany me then??!!

When I visit a city I like to spend a day watching what happens on a regular bustling business day. It’s fun to be a spectator while people are going about their business. Today I woke up and walked to a very large nearby indoor marketplace. The market consists of craft stalls, small businesses (lots of watch repair stands for some reason) and lots of food stalls, many with table seating areas. The Bible cautioned eating at these stalls due to lack of good hygiene, but I took my life (Ok, maybe just my digestive system) into my own hands and tried one on for breakfast. One thing I noticed about Guadalajara is that the peeps here love their meat – and ice cream. It’s not all that easy to find a satisfying meatless meal. Everything on this particular breakfast menu at the food stall in the market contained meat. I explained to the woman who served me that I don’t eat meat and she prepared cheese enchiladas for me, complete with rice and beans. It was good and SPICY! It woke me up. I’m not sure I needed the coffee which accompanied it.

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