Walking Up & Down Memory Lane at 8,000 feet

Walking 1.8 miles uphill, achieving an elevation change of 1,040 feet in that distance, at altitudes of 7,500 to 8,500 feet just about did in the lungs of this sea level fellow! Today I walked up & down memory lane, basking in nostalgia, as I did the above in Mill Creek Canyon. This canyon has always been my canyon of choice. It is the closest canyon to Westminster College, in the Wasatch Mountains. Within 15 minutes I was traveling up the canyon from the eastern shelf of the Salt Lake Valley, moving from below 5,000 feet to over 7,000 feet in my car (I pitied the poor fools trying to make the climb on their bicycles!) The only hitch in the day was the fact that the first half of my hike took place in a steady, light rain shower. It was hard enough though to require me putting on my jacket (as much due to the cooler temps from the rain and altitude) and to carrying my umbrella, since I was concerned for my camera in my "supposedly" rain-resistant backpack. (Camera survived fine. Backpack is a good one.) I am sure I was quite a sight in my black tennis shoes, white socks, tan shorts, black jacket, backpack, and black umbrella! Oh well, everything stayed relatively dry and it did make it a little more enjoyable!

After surviving the climb in the rain, I was blessed by the rain stopping and the sky clearing to blue on my descent. Along the way I took lots of pictures of mountains, trees (both pines and aspens), tons of wildflowers, a squirrel who was quite agitated by my presence, and the stream that runs down the canyon alongside the trail. After descending and enjoying lunch in a picnic area, I took some photos of the Salt Lake Valley from the mouth of the canyon, which afforded a wonderful panoramic view from high on the eastern shelf.

Mill Creek Canyon was where I spent most of my hiking and canyon time when I attended Westminster College. One winter a friend and I attempted to snowshoe, on rented, plastic snowshoes, in this canyon and struggled through 10 feet or more of snow. Not very successful. Another friend and I did some low level rock climbing in this canyon, and I took at least one or two girls up the canyon for some romantic hikes. (I also took my wife, Dianne, up this same trail to Dog Lake 14 years ago when we visited Salt Lake City on our "Grand Western Loop" via car.) I remember visiting the trail heads one June and it was snowing at that altitude! It was a wonderful way to end my "Sabbath Time" visit to Salt Lake City. Paul is ensconced in Westminster College. I have enjoyed a deep draft from the well of Zion (as the Mormons call it), a locale I dearly love. My body is tired, but my spirit is refreshed. I am ready to return to Miami!

The photos are from my hike!

An Ode to Salt Lake Valley

I am so JEALOUS of my son! The Salt Lake valley is such a truly beautiful place to live and he will have the opportunity to live here for the next four years as he studies at Westminster College. Yesterday I said good-bye to him, probably for four months, until Christmas time. He is ready for this adventure. He has matured before my eyes, even in these past two days as I observed him begin to settle in to his new home, meet new people, take in all the rules, regulations, and information of orientation. He is becoming a man, and one whom I am proud to say is my son. It was a difficult moment to say good-bye and hug him for the last time for quite a while. I will miss him a lot. In the past four years, as his sister had gone off to college and begun building her adult life, he and I have had the gift of significant time together, traveling together just the two of us, enjoying movies together, getting much better acquainted. Now he is embarked on his own adventure. I have done what I can as his father. I have brought him as far as I can. Now I begin to move into a more supportive role from the wings of the stage. Center stage in this drama now belongs to him. He is ready and I know he will grasp the role and perform marvelously.

As to my jealousy: it has nothing to do with his going to college. I do not wish to repeat those years (although the two years I spent at Westminster were two wonderful, marvelous, exciting and happy years in my life. I cannot say they were the best years, as I have had many other wonderful years in other places, too. But they certainly rank in the top five time periods of my life.) No, my jealousy relates to this place, the Salt Lake Valley. Since the day I first laid eyes on it (which was the day I arrived with my parents when they brought me out to begin my stay at Westminster. I had not seen or visited the campus before that day, having applied and enrolled without ever having visited!) I have been in love with this place and believe it to be one of the most beautiful homes in the mountains anywhere. (I must admit, having lived for two weeks last September, winter in Argentina, in San Carlos de Bariloche in the Argentinean Andes, that place gives Salt Lake Valley a run for its money.)

What makes this place so beautiful? It is surrounded by mountains which can be viewed from almost any spot in the valley. Unlike Denver, where the mountains are not even visible from the majority of the city, the Wasatch Mountains loom over the city on the east, and to the west of the valley there is another range of mountains, both of which seem to converge together (even though they really don't meet) to the south. The only open space is to the northwest end of the valley where the Great Salt Lake is found. In addition, the Salt Lake Valley is high desert, which means the climate if very dry. Thus the sky is usually bright blue with a burning sun, even for most of the winter. The snow is very powder-y, very light and fluffy due to the low moisture content. And all the temperatures, weather the 95-100 degree heat of summer or the 30-40 degrees of winter, due to the low humidity, is much more bearable and less oppressive than the temps in more humid regions. Finally, Salt Lake City itself is a beautiful, clean, well maintained city, with wide streets (designed originally so that a team of four oxen, pulling a cart, could make a u-turn without any problems), lots of trees, and even though it is an urban area, maintains a small-town feel.

In my 24 years of living on the coast of Florida I must truly admit that I have sand between my toes, I love the 12 months of summer we enjoy in Miami, and I love living there. I really do not want to live full time anywhere else. But sitting in the Chinese restaurant tonight, enjoying my Moo Shoo Pork, all the while staring out the window at the imposing peaks of the Wasatch Mountains, my heart felt fulfilled and at home. Someday I would truly like to return to this city and spend 3-4 months living here and enjoying the view, the outdoor recreational opportunities, the parks, the cultural events, and fully soak in what has always been one of my favorite spots on earth.

The pictures above include some shots of Westminster College campus where Paul is now living and going to college, as well as some views of the mountains which contribute to the lure and beauty of this place.

Echoes of South America in the Midwest U.S.

Located in south-central Missouri in the beginning of the Ozarks is the small town of West Plains. After driving for 3 hours from St. Louis I stopped in a local McDonald’s to get some lunch. As I approached the counter my jaw dropped in amazement. There on the menu board, in bold lettering was the title “McCafe.” Underneath the title was a listing of the variety of coffee drinks – cappuccinos, lattes, espressos, etc. – available for purchase. Was I back in Buenos Aires, Argentina?! As I shared with the young woman working the counter, I had never seen a McCafe until I saw them in the McDonald’s in Argentina. She related that they were proud to be the first rural community to have a McCafe. As far as I know, they are the first McDonald’s in the United States to have one. (Although my brother who lives in St. Louis tells me they have been appearing in the St. Louis McDonald's restaurants for the last six months or so.) And just a few months ago, I thought I had discovered something unique which McDonald’s had added just for the South American culture!

That was not the only echo of South America I experienced on that drive, though. As I drove through the Ozarks in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas their appearance reminded me of the drive through the Sacred Valley from Cusco to Ollantaytambo in Peru. That landscape was intriguing because it was clearly an agricultural area, yet the colors were all various shades of yellow, brown and tan. Driving through the Ozarks I was greeted by a palette of various shades of yellow, brown and tan! The trees were bereft of leaves, except for the stands of pines. Mindful that it was winter time and the fields were fallow and dry here, it dawned on me that the fields in Peru were evidently dry and showing the colors of late winter, early springs, before the rains. More than that, though, the topography was also similar, for this was the foothills of the Ozarks with the road running along the tops of a ridge and gentle rolling hills spreading out all around. The Sacred Valley in Peru is a high plain located in the Peruvian Andes, providing a vista of rolling hills spreading out to the mountains that surround the valley.

When Dianne and I were experiencing the Sacred Valley I remember commenting to her how much the views reminded me of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Now I have been reminded of those views in another part of my homeland and it reinforces for me the truth of how much more similar our experiences are throughout the world than different; how similar are our lands; how similar are our dreams; how similar is our world. When we see wonderful sights in our homeland we often yawn at them. When we see similar wonderful sights in another land we label them exotic. Of course they are similar, for the same God created all the world, all people and nations, all the universe. Our similarities as well as our differences should be celebrated. Our common experiences should bind us closer together in common understanding. And we can learn to celebrate the exotic all around us and treasure the beauty we have right outside our doors.

The pictures above illustrate the similarity between the Ozarks region of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas and the Sacred Valley of Peru. The first picture is a lake in the Sacred Valley and the second picture is Lake Norfork in northern Arkansas. The third picture is the rolling hills of the Ozarks in southern Missouri and the last picture is the rolling hills of the Sacred Valley. As you can tell, my time in South America is still very alive for me.

From the "magical" Ollantaytambo

Sitting at a balcony window overlooking the Plaza de Armas (the main plaza) of Ollantaytambo with a huge mountain overlooking the town from the other side filling most of the window, I bring you another post from Peru! Dianne and I have truly been transported into another world, and it even feels, another time. This little town is at the juncture of two river, three valleys, would be extremely hard to approach in secret, and fairly easy to defend. It is completely sensible that this place has been settled by human beings for tens of thousands of years and still today. The mountains surround the town, almost embracing it in their arms, providing a true sense of divine protection.

We spent the morning climbing up and down more than 200 stone steps to visit the palace/fortress/religious sanctuary of Ollantaytambo. There is evidence of at least three different construction techniques, indicating most likely at least two other civilizations or cultures pre-dating the Incas in constructing this place. There are also marvelous examples of Inca construction, with the uncompleted Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon. We had a wonderfully informative impromptu history and archaeological lesson from Eugenio, one of the docents, or guards, at the ruins. The knowledge of the stars, the movement of the sun and moon, of geometry, algebra and other sciences involved in the construction is amazing. And so much of what they knew appears to have been lost! How sad for the rest of us.

After the morning climb and tour we had a disappointing lunch before visiting the local market with the people selling their handmade jewelry, woven crafts, etc. Much of the work is beautiful. Dianne purchased a few souvenirs and I practiced my Spanish. We then hung out in the main plaza waiting for the electricity to return so we could visit the Internet cafe and check email and I could post to the blog. Again, I am really sorry there are not pictures, but promise by late Sunday or early Monday there will be some added. So keep checking back for them.

Last night we had a truly gourmet dinner at the little Bed & Breakfast where we are staying. Dianne had a chicken dish that had a sauce which included the muña herb of which I wrote yesterday (the one that also is good for headaches!) I had an Alpaca Tenderloin in an elderberry sauce. It was pretty good (though not as good as Argentine beef, of course!) The meal was delicious and we plan to eat there again tonight.

The Bed & Breakfast is, literally, right on the train platform so when we leave at 7:00 a.m. for Machu Picchu tomorrow we do not have far to walk! Again, we have no idea what our Internet access will be in Aquas Calientes. Supposedly the town is very small and very primitive, although we did make hotel reservations on-line. But if there is no post until Sunday night or Monday, you will know it had been a difficult thing to do in that town. (Either that, or we were too physically tired after visiting Machu Picchu!)

Here are two Kodak Gallery Album links. The first takes you to pictures of the town of Ollantaytambo and the little Bed & Breakfast where we stayed: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.2avaio92&x=0&y=3ehek9&localeid=en_US

The second takes you to pictures of the ruins at Ollantaytambo: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.7i5a09ra&x=0&y=2ytn8q&localeid=en_US

Finally, word from Peru!

Ollantaytambo is the name of the pueblo from where I am finally writing a post. We left Buenos Aires 3 days ago (was it really only 3 days), landed in Lima, made it through immigration and customs and connected with our flight to Cusco, landed in Cusco and made it to our beautiful hotel, El Balcon, on the slope overlooking Plaza de Armas and Cusco. It was a long, tiring travel day (made longer by Alberto, a very nice tour organizer who met us at our hotel, greeted us as though he was the host of the place, and proceeded to talk to us about how long we were staying, what were we planning to do, offering us several tour options, catching us with his "used car salesman pitch" while we were still reeling from the flight!) We did book a half-day city tour with him for the next day, and arranged transfer back from Ollantaytambo train station by car upon our return on Sunday from Machu Picchu. Anyway, we finally made it to our room and collapsed! I took some beautiful night photos of the city from our balcony, including of the brightly lit white statue of Jesus high on a hill overlooking Cusco with his arms raised in blessing! (Talk about a neon cross!)

The next day we went to the Perurail Train Station to trade our Internet voucher for our tickets on the train to Machu Picchu, found a bank to change some dollars into nuevo soles, walked around some lovely squares visiting some shops for Dianne to browse and shop. We picked up lunch to take back to the hotel, ate and got ready for our tour. While we are not fans of group tours (yes, it is amazing that we took this tour!) the tour guide Puma (yes, that is his first name, he is Quechua, which is the proper term for the native people we know as Inca) was excellent and made the tour extremely worthwhile. Cusco lays claim to being the longest settled and populated city in the hemisphere, with its roots dating back possibly 7,000 years. The Inca Empire was only about 100 years long, though it was probably the high point of construction and settlement. Of course, most of what the Inca built was destroyed by the Spanish conquerors, beginning with Francisco Pizarro.

One fascinating fact we learned was that while most Inca structures have been destroyed or damaged, it was all by human hands, not a bit by earthquakes. The Inca, or their predecessors, figured out a way to construct stone structures that would move with the earth and not topple or crumble. So, for instance, in 1650, when there was a massive earthquake in the region of Cusco, all the Spanish buildings constructed on top of the Inca buildings crumbled, but the bottom portions of the buildings, which were the original Inca construction, all remained standing! To this day engineers from Japan, San Francisco, and other earthquake prone areas, have visited and studied the Inca construction but have not figured out how to duplicate it.

While it is only a small portion of the vast gold and silver wealth of the Incas, we were amazed at the opulence in the Cathedral. The vast usage of gold and silver plating on altars and various structures was stunning. Just the wealth exhibited in this one, huge, structure (actually it is three churches joined together, with the Cathedral in the center and two "smaller" churches on either side) is mind-blowing! Plus we saw the blackened Christ on the cross known as ¨Lord of the Tremblors" which was the crucifix they finally, in desperation, paraded around town in 1650 when the earth was shaking and the earth stopped! Finally, we saw the Peruvian version of Davinci's "Last Supper" which depicts Jesus and his disciples about to dine on cuy, guinea pig!

After the Cathedral we rode the bus up 1,500 more feet, to the impressive stone ritual site known as Sacsayhuaman. It is huge! With huge stones in the walls that are still standing. One Inca historian who wrote shortly after the conquest by the Spanish wrote how he got lost in Sacsayhuaman it was so huge and labyrinth-like. We also visited several other interesting Inca ruins before returning to the main plaza about 7 p.m. Growing tired, Dianne and I went looking for a "simple" dinner. We went to a restaurant recommended to us by the Hotel manager, La Retrama. Located on the second floor overlooking Plaza de Armas, it was a lovely, elegant restaurant. We were the only patrons for about 30 minutes before two tour groups (they sounded German) joined us. But the food was delicious, the staff extremely attentive. One waiter named Emilio, not our main waiter but very friendly, discovered I had a headache and brought me some sort of green herb in a small container to crush and deeply inhale the aroma. (Dianne just found the name on the web, muña.) And it worked! Not immediately, but within a half-hour or so my headache was gone! Dianne even shared and we both testify to this natural healing wonder!

It was not a "simple" or short dinner, though. The food was delicious, but more than I was looking for (actually Dianne was ravenous) and then about the time we finished a Peruvian musical group, with flutes, drums, a guitar and mandolin set up in tradition garb and began playing. They were then joined by four dancers in very colorful costumes, who were very energetic and performed 4 different dances. It was at least an hour-long floor show, and the musicians were still playing when we finally left! It was a much later night than we had planned, but extremely enjoyable.

This morning after breakfast I walked to the Instituto Nacional de Cultura to buy our entrance tickets to Machu Picchu before we were picked-up by Edwin who drove us through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo. The drive was amazing. The panoramas, the vistas, the scenery, both fascinating, stunning, awesome, breathtaking, I could pile up the superlatives and not do it justice. I am sorry I do not have pictures posted (I took many of the last 3 days) but it turns out there is not WIFI at our hotel in Ollantaytambo so I won't be able to add pictures for several days. Maybe this weekend in Aquas Calientes, where we are spending Saturday night during our visit to Machu Picchu. Otherwise, I will definitely add pictures to whatever posts I share, beginning with this one, by Monday. Sorry! Know we are safe and having an amazing visit in Peru!

Here are the Kodak Gallery Album links with more pictures of Cusco. This first link will take you to pictures of some of the ruins in and around Cusco: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.ayd2yio6&x=0&y=n5wvig&localeid=en_US

This second link will take you to pictures of the Folklore Show we enjoyed at dinner: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.57sw3pfq&x=0&y=ky1jw8&localeid=en_US

Sensory Overload in the Jungle

It is truly amazing the power and effect of millions, probably trillions, of gallons of water rushing over a cliff! Sensory overload was the affect on Dianne and I as we toured Iguazu Falls in Misiones Province, Argentina, on the border with Brazil. (At one point we realized that much of the day we spent looking at Brazil, which was the land we viewed across the river as we walked the cliffs of the falls and the catwalks constructed on the sides of those cliffs and over the rushing water. We did not get into Brazil, but we did view the Brazilian jungle!) Iguazu Falls are truly one of the natural wonders of the world. The power of the water is phenomenal! The visual spectacle continually takes your breath away! The sound of the water rushing over the edge of the cliffs and pounding into the rocks below is deafening. It becomes your constant background noise and you do not even notice it after awhile, until you are standing directly over a rushing cataract, or at the base of a particularly grand fall, and suddenly it surrounds you physically. Or, you are walking in the jungle, several kilometers away, and it slowly creeps back into your awareness that the sound you are hearing is the falls off in the distance. There was so much to absorb that our senses just could not take it all in.

Besides the waterfalls there is so much life surrounding you: numerous birds and myriad of flowers. We heard far more birds than we saw(we even heard a "Chili" type parrot calling off in the distance), and we saw a lot! The flowers sometimes stood out and at other times blended into the landscape. At one point I was about to stop and take a photo of a small purple flower when Dianne called me over to look at some yellow iris-type flowers. When I went back to take the purple flower I saw very close to it some yellow orchids that I had not noticed the first time. As though they had instantly sprung up in that place, though I realize they had been there all along. There was just so much to absorb! We saw coaties on the path, pulling fruit off a palm tree, one even cleaning up the lunch remains someone had left on the table outside the small cafe. There were a small band of cai monkeys, lots of lizards of several variety, capybaras (a small hairy rat-like critter). Oh, and the butterflies - mariposas - were everywhere: large and small, white and black and blue and orange and scarlet, bark colored, black with red and yellow markings, too many to catalogue!

Our two days began with an afternoon trip to the Park. We first visited the information center which had a very nice interpretive display on the rain forest. After grabbing a nice lunch at the local cafe we caught the "Green Train" for the ride out to the Garganta del Diablo, "The Devil's Throat." There is a rather lengthy walk across 12 branches of the river on a metal catwalk to the edge of this huge horseshoe shaped falls. As you approach you see the mist rising above the tree line and begin to hear the roar of the falls. Once there you are standing on the edge of this cliff watching billions of gallons of water rush over the side, some of it directly beneath you. One of the guidebooks said "it must come closest to the experience that ancient sailors feared" of reaching the edge of the earth where the water rushed over into oblivion. There is so much water concentrated in one spot that there is a constant mist rising up from the base of the falls. This obscures the view of what is going on down there, but instead it presents a constant, gorgeous rainbow for viewing. Every so often the mist rises up high enough and the breeze shifted so that the viewing platform was drenched with a brief rain shower. We spent somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour just staring at the falls. Everywhere you looked there was a different aspect presented, so that you had the grand scope and then hundreds of smaller snapshots presented for your viewing pleasure.

Our second day was spent walking through the jungles, viewing the rest of the falls (of which there are many), first from the Upper Circuit which takes you on metal catwalks again over the tops of the falls and right along the edge where the water plunges over the side. After lunch we walked the Lower Circuit which descends via metal stairways and catwalks down to the river with numerous viewing platforms presenting a variety of views of the falls from a lower perspective. And every time they came into view the picture was more spectacular than the one before. (I know I am gushing and overwhelmingly using superlatives, but trust me, there is no way to do justice to the grandeur, the glory, the beauty, the awesome experience presented by Iguazu Falls.)

At the base of the lower circuit (right before the final descent to the river bank) there is a viewing platform that approaches the base of one of the medium sized cataracts (which when you see the picture will give you an idea of how immense are some of the other cataracts!) If you are brave enough, or foolish enough, to walk out on this platform, you will be soaked to the skin (Dianne and I had our rain jackets to put on), but you will also experience the immense power of the falling water. It creates a constant spray which soaks you. There is a constant breeze blowing from, I assume, the air being displaced by the force of the falling water. It feels like a pretty stiff wind blowing. The deafening sound, like a train rushing by, totally surrounds you. And there is a constant rainbow present. It is an amazingly awesome experience!

I first posted this from an Internet shop in Puerto Iguazu while we were waiting for our afternoon flight to Buenos Aires. I have added some pictures to the post and now finally have added links to Kodak Gallery albums with many more photos for you to enjoy. I shot over 700 photos at the falls and it has taken some time to organize them so I could share a portion of them!!! Don't worry, I did not upload all 700 to the albums. There are quite a few, but you won't want to miss seeing more pictures of the falls, the butterflies, the birds, the animals, the flowers. So much! I promise you will be amazed!

This link takes you to pictures of the falls themselves: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.bdtpijt2&x=0&y=-ppfui6&localeid=en_US

This link takes you to pictures of the wildlife: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.72stird2&x=0&y=-1c509w&localeid=en_US

This link takes you to pictures of the flowers: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.5gl04rye&x=0&y=4zns0m&localeid=en_US

This link takes you to pictures of the butterflies: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.ai7j9ocm&x=0&y=q1ipkx&localeid=en_US

Finally, this link takes you to pictures of the birds: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.8ppldzs6&x=0&y=kvy7da&localeid=en_US

Returning to Buenos Aires felt like coming home!

I experienced a very interesting feeling upon my return to Buenos Aires yesterday. It felt like I was back home. I don't mean Miami, but that I had returned to a very familiar place. On the taxi ride from the bus terminal to the apartment I recognized streets, sights, and just the feel of the city was very familiar. It was a much different feeling than the one I had six weeks ago when I landed at the airport and rode into the city in a taxi. That day I was a foreigner in a strange land. I was overwhelmed by the large city, by the strangeness of it all. This time, I was a traveler returning to a very familiar place, a place I knew (at least to some extent.) It was surprising to feel this way, but it was also very nice, very comfortable.

In the afternoon I walked around my Palermo neighborhood and found the very large park system (I say system, because it is not really one park, but several very closely situated, but divided by busy streets, some extremely wide (one street must have had a dozen lanes, most headed into the city.) The parks include a large botanical garden, a zoo, a Japanese garden, a park around a lake with pedal boats and row boats for rent, a park around a planetarium, a tennis complex, a golf course, a huge rose garden (currently under rehabilitation), and two or three other parks that were just primarily green spaces with trees, statues, paths, etc. I discovered that this is the place all the people in Palermo must go on nice weekends. The parks were PACKED with people, especially families, playing, enjoying picnics on blankets, walking dogs, enjoying the boats on the lake, visiting the zoo and the other gardens (the Japanese Garden was completely filled with people. I view a Japanese Garden as a place to go for a quiet experience that is reflective and meditative: not possible in this garden yesterday! It looked from the outside more like a Disney World experience! I will go back on a weekday for my visit.

I also stumbled upon the US embassy. After six weeks in the country I finally found it. Actually, I stumbled upon the Ambassador's residence. I was coming out of the northern half of the large park complex when I noticed this very ornate, building in a Parisian style of architecture with a US flag at half-mast. I assumed it had to be the Embassy and I walked over to inquire of the guard "who died?" since we usually only fly the flag that way when someone of significance to our nation dies. Turned out not to be the Embassy, but the Ambassador's residence. The Embassy was three blocks further south. So, I headed there just to check it out. I must say, the Ambassador's residence is much nicer looking than the Embassy, which looks like a concrete structure primarily built for security. (I learned the flags were at half-mast for 9/11.)

The bus ride from Bariloche was uneventful. It was a very full bus this time, with several groups of people returning to Buenos Aires from holidays in Bariloche. The landscape looked totally different from two weeks before when we drove through it entering Bariloche in a heavy snowstorm. The sun was out, the sky was a bright blue with no clouds, and it was gorgeous. There are very few trees, mostly low growing scrub type vegetation. The mountains have some amazing rock formations. And the water in the river and large lakes was a glorious turquoise shade with, at times, a touch of green color. The pictures above are from the bus ride. If you would like to see more photos, follow this Kodak Gallery link to the album: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.40vjvpva&x=0&y=q5w079&localeid=en_US

My trip on Lago Nahuel Huapi

I know I mentioned this briefly in an earlier post, but let me tell you more about my marvelous excursion on Lago Nahuel Huapi. I had not planned to go, as it seemed a bit expensive, and a day on a boat on a mountain lake in winter did not sound like an enjoyable day to me. But, I rethought it, and on the bus trip out to that end of the Lake (which is the prime trip to take as a tourist, known as Circuito Chico [The Little Circuit]) I decided to see if I could get on the boat. I could and it turned out not to be that expensive: $110 pesos for the boat and $20 pesos for entry into the national park (which they don't tell you about when you buy the boat ticket!) for a total of $130 pesos which sounds expensive (and is if you talk to Argentinos) but translates to $43 US. For six hours on a boat, with guided tours at the two stops, in an amazingly beautiful location, really not that bad as I recall such excursions in the States.

Anyway, I started out on the top deck (two decks total, top exposed, bottom enclosed) and lasted about 15 minutes into the trip before the cold wind while the boat was moving drove me below. You could still see very well through the large window and the pictures as you will see in the Kodak Album prove how amazingly beautiful it is up here. The first stop on the tour was Isla Victoria. This large island in the lake was turned into an experimental tree farm in the early 1900's by someone (I don't remember his name) who was looking for lumber trees that grew faster than the native Argentine trees. They produce an extremely hard wood and are excellent for lumber, taking a lot of wear and tear (the guide showed us the oldest house on the island, over 100 years old, which has fallen into disrepair, but still has the original wood shingles on the roof and siding on the house and still basically protects the interior.) The problem is, the trees grow so slowly that it takes 100 years before producing a tree which can be harvested for the lumber! So, they started bringing in trees from other parts of the world to see how they would grow in Argentina. Two such trees were of great interest: Oregon and Ponderosa Pines, from the Western US. In the US they grow to maturity in 40 years. Well, it turns out, in Argentina they grow to maturity in 20 years! And they grow tall and straight, excellent for lumber. So, now they use them for most of their lumber needs.

On this island though, about 15 years after the first pines were planted, it became a national park, protecting all the plants and animals. Therefore, the trees were never harvested. And these pines, not only are exotics (it was wild to hear them described as exotics!) but invasive exotics. That means, like the Australian pines imported to Florida to protect the orange groves and the kudzu imported to the southern US, they have no natural enemies and they grow like wildfire, taking over and killing the indigenous species! So the pines are now being harvested by the rangers and they are finally beginning to manage them to protect the indigenous species on the island.

The other interesting tree on the island was the Sequoia, from California. They were very interested in them and they, too, grow much faster in Argentina. They have 80 year old trees over 50 meters tall, which is how tall they grow in about 300 years in California! They are not invasive, though, because they need fires to help them propagate, and they do not have fires on the island. So the seed pods do not open up and spread the seeds, which only happen with the heat of a fire.

The other stop on the tour was the tip of a peninsula where a forest of Arrayanes Trees has developed. These are a member of the myrtle family (I assume that makes them a relative of the Crepe Myrtle) and usually only grow as bushes. But in this location the conditions were such that in their competition with other trees for survival, they won and became the dominant tree in the forest. This is the only known location in the world where that has occurred. They have a striking appearance and have created quite a fairy-land forest.

Enjoy the pictures by following these links to the Kodak Gallery Albums. This link will take you to views from the boat: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.2283bj9m&x=0&y=-xmvuwj&localeid=en_US

This link will take you to views of Isla Victoria: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.7wlzk50q&x=0&y=-qpmwto&localeid=en_US

This link will take you to views of the Arrayanes Forest: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.6i38cstm&x=0&y=d1a6ho&localeid=en_US

My New Home in Bariloche

I have moved! On Friday during break the Headmistress of the school needed to talk to me. She informed me it was necessary for me to move. Senora Valentina’s niece was arriving unexpectedly this weekend and needed a place to stay. So, the school had arranged a new home for me. She assured me it was a very nice place in a good location with a very nice woman, and she was right! I moved on Sunday morning to an apartment on the sixth floor of a building located two blocks from the lake and four blocks from the very heart of downtown. I have a magnificent view looking west up the lake with the town cathedral squarely center in the view. The apartment is owned by a very nice woman who is taking care of her 95 year old grandmother. I can still walk to school if the weather is nice (it is only one kilometer further and the road along the lake is actually better for walking, wider shoulders.) I don’t have to deal with the killer hill going back up to the house from downtown, which is very good since I have to visit the bank each day to draw out enough money for my apartment rental in Buenos Aires on Sunday. (You can only withdraw up to 600 pesos per transaction in Argentina. This is a federal law passed a few years ago to prevent a run on the banks. I have not tried to make more than one withdrawal per day, partly because I worry about triggering a security hold on my Visa debit card. Which probably wouldn’t happen, but I don’t want to have any problems this far from home.) This will also be a very good place for me to spend more time in quiet reflection and in study. The view helps me with this, and the fact that I cannot get on-line in this apartment. There are only secure networks sending signals in this area which means I will need to do my Internet work on battery power in some local café/restaurant which has WI-FI availability. I can work with the situation.

One of the lessons this experience of living in a foreign land and culture for 5 weeks and with four different families has taught me is the importance of flexibility and adaptability for life. I have always prided myself on being very flexible and adaptable, not requiring a lot of creature comforts to be comfortable; willing to eat almost anything; able to make most any space I inhabit feel like home. I think my experiences camping in Boy Scouts helped me develop this attitude and skill. I am sure my leaving home for college in distant Salt Lake City, Utah, far from St. Louis, Missouri helped with this ability. I became very independent pretty early in life. I know my other travel experiences have shaped this as well.

But as I have aged I worry that I will become more rigid in my needs, likes and dislikes, so that I will be less flexible and adaptable. Either this trip has proven that fear baseless, or it has been a good booster shot to restore this ability. This is an important attitude and skill, not only for traveling, but for life in general. We like to think we can control our lives, but my experience is that we really control very little. Life always throws us a curve when we least expect it and how we react and deal with those bumps along the way can seriously affect our general enjoyment of life. When we are more rigid, we are less able to go with the flow. As a result, life becomes more of a burden and less enjoyable. When we can adapt with some flexibility to whatever situations arise in our lives, then we can find the good, even in the bad, and we can continue to see the beauty and blessings in life all around us. This is not why I came on this trip, but it is a lesson I am glad to have reinforced. It is a lesson I hope I have passed on to my children.

If you wish to see more pictures of the view from my new home, follow this link to the Kodak Gallery Album: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.6rsukd7u&x=0&y=8ee63o&localeid=en_US

Amazing Views from Cerro Otto

On Friday I left the house early to walk an extra kilometer past my school (4 in total, which is about 2.5 miles) so I could ride the Teleferico to the top of Cerro Otto Meiling. (Cerro in Spanish means "hill", but this "hill" was 700 meters higher than the city of Bariloche, which is about 2,100 feet.) It offers spectacular panoramic views of the area, from the entire Lago Nahuel Huapi spread out on one side with it surrounding mountains, to the mountains even higher where ski resorts are and where tons of snow was sitting on the other. The snow on top of the "hill" was about 3-4 feet deep. There is a revolving restaurant, along with small souvenir stands, snack stands, and several places to take in the view. There is even a most unique art gallery, dedicated to Michelangelo. It houses replicas of three of his most famous statues: David, the Pieta, and Moses, in full-size replication! In a very small room in which it is most difficult to get a picture of David! It also contains about 25 pictures of other works of art by Michelangelo, such as photos of the Sistine chapel, etc. Why this art museum is housed at the top of this hill I have no idea. But it was interesting.

There are also several winter activity options at the top of the hill, such as sliding down a packed down area sort of like a luge. They rent you these little plastic sled seats that look like they were made by Tyco (I think that is the huge plastic toy manufacturer in the States) and you sit on this and slide! There were two tour buses of older teens visiting and that was their main focus.

Anyway, the views were spectacular. I spent about two hours just drinking them in. There are amazing places all over the world and whenever I visit them I continue to stand in awe of the creative power of God in fashioning this marvelous world. It is a shame more people are not able to travel and witness the amazing glory of the earth. I am totally baffled that so many of those people who hold power and who actually make the decisions that are affecting our world in terms of energy policy, conservation policy, recycling policy, etc., are people of means who do travel widely. This earth is such a treasure, such a precious jewel, and we continue to be so arrogant, or so petulant, to think that the lifestyles of 6 billion people are not affecting the climate, the ecology, the environment that is necessary not only for our own survival, but for the survival of all the other living creatures with which we share the planet. I know the earth is an amazingly resilient ecosystem, and I am convinced that until the sun explodes or dies that the earth will survive, but we may not survive and the majority of the species that have evolved to date may not survive, unless we change our practices and lifestyles.

Enough preaching, if you wish to see more of the stunning views from Cerro Otto, follow this link to the Kodak Gallery albums: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.2yr3x4yy&x=0&y=7jwxdv&localeid=en_US

My Walk to School in Bariloche

When the weather is nice, as it has been the past three days, I can walk back and forth to school. Today was the first day I actually walked to the school, but I have walked home from school each of the past three days. It is 3 kilometers from the house where I am staying to the school, which is about 2 miles. On the way to school it is a nice easy walk, since most of it is on a downhill grade. The walk back is a bit more strenuous, not real steep, but definitely most of it going uphill enough that I notice it. All in all, it good exercise, the sort I would rather do than work out in some gymnasium. The reason I did not walk to school the first two days was I went to the city center first for lunch and that is a bit more strenuous. It is only a kilometer from the house, but all down hill (which is not bad going into town, but coming back, it is a killer and to add that to the walk to school seemed a bit much, so I took the bus.) Riding the bus in early afternoon with people going back to work after their long lunch and with teens going home from school is a bit like riding the subway in Buenos Aires at rush hour: packed in like sardines! So it is actually more enjoyable to walk. Especially when the sun is shining in a bright blue sky with no colds, little wind, and the gorgeous views I have posted above and in the Kodak Gallery link below.

Also pictured above are the school, and the people with whom I am studying. The tall woman in the center is Antonia Morris, the other student this week, from Australia, who is on her "gap" year (a practice in English commonwealth countries evidently where most students after finishing secondary school take a year off before heading off to university.) The woman on her right is her teacher, Carina Falappa, and the woman on her left is my teacher, Ani Kanter. Both teachers are very good, very patient, and very gentle as they assist us in our learning and our practice.

One reason I walked to school today is that I had identified an Italian Restaurant near the school that seemed to have very good prices and I went there to eat lunch today instead of in the city center. The prices were much better, although I ended paying as much, because I went for a special, Ravioli de ciervo con salsa de tomate. This is venison stuffed ravioli, a specialty of the region, as we are in the mountains and deer are plentiful. It was good, although stuffed in the pasta, covered in tomato sauce, there wasn't much of a distinctive taste to the meat. But it was good and I enjoyed lunch very much. Another evidence of the quaintness of the town was the horse tied up outside the restaurant, which is on a rather busy main road and not really out in the sticks at all. It was the owner of the restaurant's horse, and evidently he rode in to work from somewhere. I wanted to ask him had he used the horse to go shoot the deer in the mountains, but that was way beyond my Spanish ability to converse. I was able to ask him what the animal was called, which he explained it was a caballo (a male horse) not a yegua (a female horse) and I was able to ask if it was his.

My Spanish is improving daily. I am becoming much more adept (still far from expert) at using past tense verbs and I am actually beginning to comprehend the use of adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns for direct and indirect objects. I still struggle to create sentences, but I did tell a small chapter of a story which the teacher began and asked me to finish. And I am becoming more adept at understanding conversations to which I listen. I find I do best at reading. Probably because I can take more time, I am able to recognize the words and verb tenses easier by sight than by ear. I would not say I am able to translate very expertly, but I certainly can pick up the primary sense of what I am reading. I took a tourist newspaper to lunch with me today to look over while I waited for my food order and I actually surprised myself in my ability to read it and comprehend what I was reading. I must say, I truly believe I am learning this language and will be able, with practice, to communicate with others and understand others in Spanish. I am amazed!

Enjoy the pictures of my walk to school by following this link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.50t05coq&x=0&y=-frqww&localeid=en_US

Beautiful Bariloche

Yes, that is really me posing with St. Bernards! I know people back home don't think I like animals (I love animals, just don't want to live with them and prefer to let them have their own space in the world, preferable in the wilderness or on a farm.) And I know some people will be shocked I did something so touristy as to pay someone to use my own camera and take my picture (it was actually three pictures for 10 pesos [about $3 US]) while I held her dogs, but that was the only way to do it and they were her dogs, after all. Evidently this is one of the known touristy things to do in Bariloche, sort of like having a picture in Miami while parrots perch on your arms and head!

Anyway, the sun has come out, as I said yesterday, and it is much more enjoyable in this mountain hamlet. As you can tell from the pictures, the views are incredible. Bariloche (formally San Carlos de Bariloche) is located in Argentina's Lake District on Lake Nahuel Huapi. Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is one of Argentina's most visited national parks and occupies 750,000 hectares in mountainous southwestern Neuquen and western Rio Negro provinces. Lago Nahuel Huapi, a glacial remnant over 100 km long that covers more than 500 square km is the park's centerpiece. To the west of the lake a ridge of high peaks separates Argentina from Chile. The tallest is Monte Tronador, an extinct volcano that still lives up to its name (meaning "Thunderer") when blocks of ice tumble form its glaciers.

Bariloche is the main urban area in this region and nearest the park, so it is the main destination spot for tourists. It has a thriving ski industry with several resorts very nearby and is becoming known for other sorts of eco-adventure travel, such as whitewater rafting (not in the winter, of course), fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding, paragliding, mountaineering and hiking (which the rest of the world seems to call "trekking.")

Other than the vistas of lake and mountains, the other set of photos attached to this post are of the Centro Civico. It has beautiful log-and-stone buildings designed by architect Ezequiel Bustillo surrounding a central plaza. The buildings house the municipal tourist office, one of the country's best museums, the Museo de la Patagonia, the city library, and other city offices. It is also the location the St. Bernards hang out.

Bariloche was officially founded in 1902, but did not really grow much until the southern branch of the railroad arrived in 1934 and, evidently, brought with it architect Bustillo. Bariloche is now known for its alpine architecture, which is given a Patagonian twist through the use of local hardwoods and unique stone construction. While it is a very quaint town. (It is so quaint and wild that the other day while I was walking in downtown, where all the shops and tourists are, I encountered some sort of hawk on the sidewalk. I don't know what type it was exactly, but it was brown and it was definitely a raptor!) At the same time it is becoming very commercialized, I assume in response to the tourists. Prices reflect that, and the type of shops and available goods reflect it as well. Even so, it is a pleasure to visit, a much more tranquil place than either Buenos Aires or Cordoba, and it is refreshing to my spirit.

To see more pictures of the lakes and mountains and of the Centro Civico, follow these links to the Kodak Gallery Albums. This link takes you to pictures of the lakes and mountains: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.9twp8xi2&x=0&y=-24b27v&localeid=en_US

This link takes you to pictures of the Centro Civico: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.cmszvhp6&x=0&y=-dihu24&localeid=en_US

The 22 Hour Bus Ride!

I am still snowed in here in Bariloche. Actually, I did get out in the snow again today for several hours and soaked my feet in all the slush. I has snowed for 3 days and there is about a foot or more of snow on the ground, yet today even while snowing, it began melting and the streets were a mess! I remember well why I prefer warm and sunny Miami, even with the heat and humidity and hurricane season of summer. I went out because I needed to get my own lunch, (it is not part of my board package) and I was supposed to go to school at 2:30 p.m. So I went downtown for lunch, which was good, treated myself to 4 little pieces of chocolate from Mamuschka's the finest chocolate store in Bariloche (which is saying a lot because the town is known for, and prides itself on, having the best chocolate in the country.) It was divine! Unfortunately they do not ship! Then I tried to find a taxi which was not easy today with all the messy streets. I finally flagged one down and he took me the 5 kilometers to the school, which was closed. I just figured they were not open yet and so I waited. About 45 minutes later, about the time I was supposed to arrive, someone opened the door and told me the school was suspended. He then called the headmistress who explained they were closed because they had no electricity and they had tried to call me, but for various reasons I did not get the call. So, I had basically spent the day exploring where the school was located and how to best get there. (Which I learned is the bus, which I can get very near my house and get to school in very short time. And it is much, much cheaper than a taxi ride.)

Anyway, this post was supposed to be about the bus ride from Cordoba to Bariloche. It was a fascinating trip, very comfortable and peaceful. What was so fascinating was that the landscape all looked so familiar. The first 8 hours or so were through the flat Pampas grasslands of central Argentina. When I say flat, I mean FLAT! There is lots of space and not much there except cows and the gauchos who herd them. It looked just like the flat prairies of the Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma. The stars in that flat, empty land were glorious, filling the night sky. I could not recognize any constellations, which I believe was to be expected since I am in a different hemisphere.

I awoke before dawn and was able to watch the sunrise and take lots of photos. When the daylight exposed the terrain, it had changed dramatically, but was still very familiar. It was high desert and looked just like southern Utah, Nevada, northern Arizona & New Mexico along with southwest Colorado. I have driven through those areas many times, and this felt just like that. This too changed as we climbed higher into the mountains. The weather began to deteriorate, turning into rain and then snow. It was interesting that are first the landscape was still desert like, but it soon changed to more trees of all sorts. There were beautiful mountain lakes, a mountain stream that had become a small river, overflowing from the snow melt and rain. The rest of the trip into Bariloche looked ghostly, with a heavy fog, or cloud, or heavy snow blanketing the region. It was fascinating to me to be half a world away and again to feel so at home. It was just as though I were riding through areas in the Western US I have visited many times before, most recently last summer. I realize even with all the variety in the world, there are still certain similarities in climate zones and geological zones. Still, we tend to fantasize about the rest of the world as being more exotic than our home region (at least I do) and when we get there and discover it is more familiar than we imagined, it is just surprising. That was my primary emotion on the 22 hour ride from Cordoba to Bariloche.

If you want to see more photos of this landscape, follow this link to the Kodak Gallery album:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.6ensj3ai&x=0&y=-seie2r&localeid=en_US