All the way down South America

OK Blog followers, I know we’ve lost you due to inactivity but we’re going to give you a little glimpse into the last few months and then probably go into radio silence again.

Here's our picasa picture link if you just want to see our pics!  

http://picasaweb.google.com/dghubbard

Our highlights have been spectacular, on Ginny’s first real dive in the open water in the Galapagos she had a Hammerhead shark swim right up to her, take a peek and swim off.  I had already been diving twice in this spot and not seen a shark, go figure, she went and one comes up and introduces himself!  Along with the Galapagos Sharks and White Tipped Sharkes, we saw graceful alien-like spotted eagle rays, sea turtles, tortoises, sea iguanas fighting and then having make-up sex, flamingos, and countless fish.  In another rare event, we got to snorkel with Angel, our host, and help him catch an Octopus, which continued to latch onto our arm with its suction for 30 minutes after it was dead.  We then cooked it up into an amazing ceviche, garnished with cold beer and popcorn.

To squeeze each day out of Ecuador before our 90 days expired we went to Cusco to buy a Panama Hat and run down to Vilcabama the “Land of Longevity” where the Hostel Iztchacumba exists.  This place is a German run Spa for $10 a night, with stone showers, immaculate rooms, phenomenal views, stupendous food, and an $18 dollar one hour massage!  If you ever go to Ecuador, it is a must stay. Here we took a horse back ride through the forest and hiked to a beautiful waterfall.  It was on this trip that Dan was hand picked to ride the "unruly" horse.  Being the biggest guy in the group, the guides wanted Dan to make the horse work a little harder on the ride since it had escaped the night before to have a little romp with one of the mares.  Lisa, you'll appreciate this: on this trip we ate the best mango ever!

We left Ecuador on our 90^th day, avoiding having to pay any visa fees, for Peru.  After 20 or so hours on buses, we caught a quick flight from Lima to Cusco where we were greeted by unprecedented rains that flooded the valley and wiped out the trails that lead to Macchu Picchu. While waiting for the rains to subside and the state of emergency surrounding us to cease, we spent our time in the lovely city of Cusco.  We went to a Coca Shop that demonized America and deforestation, claimed that America was stealing the coca culture from the Andean people only to selfishly profit from it via Coca Cola.   We bought some chocolates made with Coca from the man who ran the shop…..who behaved as if he was constantly on cocaine! 

After hearing that MP had been closed to tourists for three months, we decided that we would have to hit the Inca ruins on the way back from our trip.  Onward we went to the city of Arequipa surrounded by 15,000 foot peaks and home to a convent, more like a Citadel, made for only the wealthiest families chaste daughters.  From there we did a four day trek to Colca Canyon, the second deepest in the world.  On the 1^st day, it was 5 hours of straight downhill under sunny hot skies.  On the 2^nd day, it was 5 hours up, and an additional 3 more to see a majestic waterfall; on the 3^rd day, we climbed for 4 hours down where we saw other travelers for the first time since starting the trek and swam in a super cold pool which you could see the whole sweaty hot hike down, making the swim glorious!  Our bodies were quite fatigued and sore after three intense days of trekking throughout the canyon, and on our final day, our climb was straight up, 1000 meters and 8,000 steps later, (I counted to keep my mind off the struggle) we made it to the top in 2hours40 minutes!  Afterwards, we went to a restaurant, and our guide had Ginny dress up in the local dress, and man she looked gorgeous in that multicolored magnificence!

 

Chile was the next great adventure where we had planned to plunge from the north into the freezing Patagonian south via the driest dessert in the world and the Capitol.  However, Chile kicked us out early with its 8.8 earthquake felt in San Pedro De Atacama where we were asleep at 3:30 in the morning of Feb 27^th.  Due to the craziness brought on by the earthquake, we had to switch gears.  While in the Atacama Desert I went sand boarding while Ginny watched and I firmly solidified my desire to never to do it again!  After a 20 minute walk up the windy sand dune, carrying your board which you have to use a candle to wax before each go, to experience a 10 second tumble down, leaving sand stuck to all the sweaty areas,  and 3 days of sand in the ears, it was determined that ever going again was out of the question.  After sand boarding, we did get to see one of the most majestic sunsets of the trip.  God seems to have made all the mountains and rocks here with salt, even the dirt is a salt mixture. We saw the Tatio Glaciers at sunrise and swam in hot springs, which were anything but hot!  We went to the Salt Flats to see the flamingos fly, which Ginny and I didn’t even know was possible! Yes, flamingos fly!  They also do a Flamenco dance in order to stir up the microscopic shrimp they eat.  When we arrived at the largest salt flat, it was unlike anything we’d ever seen.  The super white, super flat, salt flats looked like a snowy/icy covered beach.  Here we took a great picture, "Ginny in the palm of my hand!" We swam in a lagoon that had 3 times the salinity of the Ocean, making us float like a fishing bobber!  We toasted to the beauty and drank our pisco sours while floating on invisible lounge chairs.  No matter how hard you tried to push your shoulders under the water, they would instantaneously pop back up!  It was wild!  (A Pisco Sour is like a margarita so salt immersion was very convenient.)

Argentina has been amazing!  We took a gondola to the high point of Salta to enjoy the green views and had one of our best meals in the square: a Malbec wine, cheese, and Filet mignon wrapped in bacon, (EVERYTHING is better with bacon), starting our Argentinean experience off marvelously! Cordoba was beautiful with the Che Guevera Museum and a cute little City called Alta Gracia.  Che was quite the Champion of the people.

Buenos Aries had us run into an older gentleman how worked for a pesticide company. Instantly upon asking him his profession he launched into his defense of the importance of his work.  “It’s easy for the people of Argentina to say pesticides are bad but they are not starving in Africa, are they?” He told us to be careful because we had USA stamps on our forehead on account of eating lunch too early…11 am.  He was very nice though. He informed us that we eat way too early in the U.S.  “What, you eat around 6pm or 7pm, right? Here, we don’t eat until at least 9pm, but more like 10 or 11pm.”  We didn’t stay long in B.A, but we will be returning shortly.  We left some of our luggage here, so we could trek with all the new camping gear we bought for the tundra!!!!!

We were greeted by the beautiful Patagonia winds the minute we stepped outside! Although we started our travels in Alaska, we didn’t set up a tent in Alaska, only warm cruise ship cabins.  There is something to be said about pitching a tent in 40 degree weather with high winds and sleep on a ground WITHOUT mats, waking up, walking 3.5 hours and being at the foot of massive peeks with mini glaciers at their feet, of which are feeding into two lagoons with gloriously turquoise water that tastes like snow, to make you feel nature at its best. It wasn’t just the fabulous Fitz Roy that impressed us, it was the huge black woodpecker, a lush valley spotted with lakes and a river running through it all, and chatting with people along the way, always speaking English with an accent.  Prior to our trek to Fitz Roy, we took a bus to see the Glacier Perito Moreno where we got to see massive calving into the glacial lake below it.  The Glacier face was upwards of 240 feet and to see the ice chunks crash down was unreal.  There was even a warning sign posted about 30 people dying from being too close.  We made sure to keep our distance, but we were all ears and eyes awaiting the calving glacier.   

Puerto Natales and Torres Del Paine National Park

We were blessed with excellent weather! My Grandmother keeps saying that she’s praying for us and we haven’t had any major problems, but when one goes to Patagonia, knock down winds, rain, and possibly snow are expected. When we got to Natales, which is about 3 hours from the Park, there were wind gusts of up to 50 mph, pushing you every which way.  When we got to the Park, it was perfect! There was not a cloud in the sky!  We were graced with blue skies and minimal wind and it lasted until our last day.  The hiking was great.  The first day we headed towards the main attraction of “Torres del Paine,” which is the three towers three miles northwest of the first campsite.  It’s a nice hike that follows a river along the sides of mountains and through thick conifer trees, leading you to the side of a rocky mountain that you have to scale for 50 minutes before you get to the awesome towers, looking down at a glacial pool that bleeds off into a huge rushing river.  The water is drinkable and tastes just like snow! We stayed for an hour taking pictures, eating and drinking our plastic water bottle full of Bailey’s, which we brought to celebrate each time we made it to our goal!  Nothing like incentive to help you finish a climb! After our trek, we headed back to our camp site and made a crucial decision to forgo hanging out in our tent and head into the resort style hotel to have beers and a $20 plate of fries loaded with chicken beef and sausage.  We knew that it would be a few days before we could indulge, so we honored our first full day of hiking in style!  We went to our tent to go to bed where the birds had decided to eat the bread in the bag we had hung to a tree to keep the mice from getting into our tent in search of our food.  Sleep that night was interrupted with freezing cold noses and toes!  We woke up the next day and set out to conquer the "W" trek.

The scenery was breathtaking with the granite mountain walls standing tall, protecting everything below, the green perfectly shaped bonzai trees surrounding the lake with such contrasting colors no picture could ever do justice, the turquoise clear glacier water in the lifeless lake forming waves without anything solid detracting from the beauty of the translucent water, and the snow capped mountain peeks with their thundering avalanches, warning everything below of its powerful dominance,  made clear that nothing is more magnificent than God's amazing design.

Greatness in the Galapagos Islands

Hello Family and Friends,

We have not been diligent in our blogging, but we both figure we'll have plenty of time when we return to document our travels, probably while toasting to a glass of wine or an IPA saying, "Man it's great to be home, but that year ROCKED!"

This is our Picasa web page with all of our travel pictures.  We have also copied specific links for the Galapagos Islands.  If you just want to see  our pictures, go here!
http://picasaweb.google.com/dghubbard

November 18th-January 6th GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: San Cristobal until January 2nd and Santa Cruz and Isla Isabella

The following links are to our Galapagos pics only.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dghubbard/123009IslaLoboSnorkle#

http://picasaweb.google.com/dghubbard/GalapagosPics

http://picasaweb.google.com/dghubbard/122909SnorklingPlayaMan#

http://picasaweb.google.com/dghubbard/123009KRChannelScuba#

Holy Galapagos!  We were blessed to experience nature at its best! There are many small islands throughout the archipelago, but the main islands are San Cristobal, which was where we stayed the majority of the time, while also traveling to Santa Cruz, and Isla Isabella.  "Galapagos" means tortoise in Spanish; the islands namesake came from the what used to be abundance of tortoises, but today there are only a handful. Ginny made San Cristobal our home by getting in contact with a man named, "Teacher Willy," San Cristobal's mini-celebrity, known for trying to teach the people of the island English.  He is a really nice man with the best intentions for his community.  He lived in NY for 10-15 years, where he used to be a weight lifting 300 pound stud!  When we met him he was no longer the muscle built man he had once been, but we enjoyed listening to him tell us about himself. With his tatooed covered body, he was one of the only other people within an inch of my height, making him the other giant on the island!

On our travels, we have met several people who have been volunteering while traveling BUT they had to pay for it...at a premium!  (Most of the money going to the company, based in England, and not to the local project)
We both agreed early on that we would not  pay to work for free!  Through William, we were able to get our $100 dollar mandatory per person Galapagos Park fee waived and get introduced to a WONDERFUL family who we we lived with for only $250 a month while on the island. Angel and Jenet let us live with them, use their kitchen, practice yoga on their roof with the Pacific right in front of us, and lay in their hammocks!  Angel taught me how to skin dive, catch octopus bare handed, and make a killer ceviche!  For Christmas, they invited us to a really nice dinner at the house which included a champagne toast, beef, chicken, sausage, blood sausage, and a hot dog!  Who needs veggies and starches for La Navidad?

From Angel's home, we could see the San Cristobal Bay and the closest beach was a 10 minute walk.  We often went snorkeling where we swam with all kinds of fish, sea lions, and sea turtles.  Because there was no warm water in the house, Ginny took to running on the days she taught classes, so she could enjoy her cold shower.  On one route, she would run to a place where she was often met by a sea turtle coming up to the surface for air. I was working on getting my dive master, so many days she would run to see me while I was in the Bay on a shore dive.  Ginny received her open water and saw a hammerhead shark on her first dive, along with Galapagos and White Tip sharks! 

We both worked at the school in the beginning, but  I was busy diving. (Lucky me!)  On Saturdays, we helped out on field trips around the island.  On our first trip, William asked me to teach the kids yoga, after hiking to the top of dormant volcano with a crater filled lake.

With less than 6000 people on the entire island, 50% being under the age of 18, we couldn't walk 100 feet without running into someone we knew.  There was one stop light on the island, which we are certain was only purchased for the novelty of having one!  The cargo/supply ship only came on Tuesdays, so by Sunday/Monday, the main store in town was empty!  By "main store," don't envision a large chain type grocery store.  Rather, it is a locally owned store called, "Esperanza." On one side of the street produce is sold in an open building about 900 sq.feet and on the other side of the street, more packaged type products and bulk items are sold in about an 800sq. ft building. Sunday is the day to go to church and stay home with the family.  Everything is closed until 6pm!  We were pretty hungry the first Sunday we were there when we found out the hard way that nearly everything closes!  Luckily, the money-making shop owner on the beach had his dollar ice cream!  He informed us that he NEVER closes, other than the daily 12-2 siesta.

The dollar is the form of currency throughout Ecuador, and we were often quite annoyed that nobody ever had change!  We would pay with a 20 or a 10 and have to wait while the business owner ran to his neighbor to break the bill!  I began thinking that the reason why they never had change was because the ATMs all have 20 dollar bills,  because all the smaller bills are already with the people, so the new bills are always in quanities of 20, so anything smaller than that had to be brought to the island.  At Esperanza, we realized that the shop owner wrote down an itemized list of what the people bought, item by item!  Afterwards, the people would leave without paying???  We finally realized that these people were running a tab, probably to be paid at the end of the month...with a few 20s! 

Many things were done on the honor system.  In Quito, Ecuador, we had to double lock our doors, switch to a plastic see through bag to carry our things, leaving the thief enticing backpack at the house, and always on guard against the ladrones.  Here though, it was the exact opposite!  Angel advised us to not only leave the door unlocked, but wide open!  We would literally come home to an empty house with the screenless door wide open!  On one occasion, Ginny and I had run out of water, so I went to the store by the house to buy some.  There was nobody inside, and I didn't have exact change, so I just took the jug.  About two days later, I went by the store to pay, and the lady working said with a friendly smile, "Oh yeah, my son told me he saw you come in and get the water!"  There were several times where the people didn't have change or we didn't have enough money, and  the people said, "It's OK, come back later!"  We first thought..."Sweet...Hope we remember ;)"  Yet, we always did, and we gained an appreciaion for the simple system of honesty. 

Our New Years was toward the end of our stay and we spent it with Jennie, a doctor in England, her boyfriend Neil, a pharmacist, Dan K. from Chicago, a sky diving instructor, David, a young guy from Sweeden who had played semi-pro before getting injured, and two other girls.  New Years was crazy!  For the New Year, the locals make paper-mache life size bodies of important people in the year.  there was a Michael Jackson, Bart Simpson, the president, fisherman, singers, etc.  They're elaborate, resembling a float in a parade! They write about the year, both good and bad, and then, at 12, they pour GASOLINE on them and light them on fire!  At midnight, all you smell are the strong fumes of  gasoline and see piles of buring bodies in the streets!

After our New Years festivities we made a quick jaunt to the island of Isabella where we went on a horseback riding trip from the east side of the island to the west side.  Dan was the only one who got to ride a mule. Everyone else got a horse.  He looked just like Sherk riding Donkey.  Along the way we passed the 2nd largest volcanic crator in the world, some volcanic Vents and some recently made (2004) lava flows that have since cooled.  We also went to a little island about a mile from Isabel that was an Iguana colony. There were hundereds of Iguanas and while all they really do is lay there, we were graced with a battle between two big males where they showed dominance by pushing eachother back and forth using their heads. Think rams with out the dramatic charge and chrashing noise!  We also saw a male and female romanically intwinded in a blissful sleep after what we assumed must have been their honeymoon. :)

We will miss many things about the Galapagos, but most of all, we will miss snorkeling and skin diving with our wonderful host Angel, Lydia, the student who no matter where we were on the island, would find us, running full speed to greet us with a kiss on our cheek, the breathtaking views and sunsets over the crashing waves, our daily walks to see the smelly sea lion moms and their babies, whose presence made it clear to the people that the island was theirs first, the wise sea turtles in the bay, the bright Darwin finches, who have taught us that one must adapt in order to survive, the ridiculously weird-eyed hammerhead sharks who think we're an even crazier sight, the majestic and graceful rays that look like something from a sci-fi movie, the tenacious swimming iguanas, and the countless exquistie fish. 

Although eager and excited  to continue our travels, our hearts were heavy as we had to say good-bye to this beautiful place.

One Month!

November 16, 2009


We’ve reached our one month mark in Ecuador! Usually, when you look back over time, it goes by much faster than you realize, as is the case with our last month. It’s been full of moments of complete confusion and self-doubt: What were thinking by coming here? Why did we leave our family and friends, our routine, our life? These questions have not not gone away, and I think we both will continue to self interrogate, but there have been experiences that have allowed us to bond with people outside of our families and friends.  On our first weekend here, we went on a day trip to Otavalo, a huge outdoor market, where for five dollars you can buy two hand knitted ski hats and two pairs of hand knitted gloves. The local artisans sell artwork, jewelry, hand knitted items, and of course, food. It’s paradise! On this trip we met a woman, with long gray hair to her waist that she wore in a pony tail. We connected from the beginning. She was sitting next to us on the mini bus. Through our conversation we found out that she was working here through UNESCO, and that her IQ is double ours put together! She’s working here to analyze the constitution for the five Andean countries: Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Columbia. Apparently, the constitution is sound, but whenever a new president comes into office, conveniently enough, they’re allowed to change the constitution, not amend it, but change it. Her perception is that the constitution isn’t the problem as much as the lack of enforcement. (Ie. When a newspaper company puts out negative press on the President and it gets burned down, oh well!) Needless to say, when she presents her results to the powers that be, she will be making the strong recommendation that this document can not be changed every few years to the likings of the current president and that it must be enforced or it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

SO ALL THAT’S PRETTY INTERESTING, BUT HERE’S THE BEST PART: She’s a graduate English professor for WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY! GO COUGS!  She and her husband, who is a physicist professor, live on the Idaho and Washington border! They both teach at WSU!

We kept in touch after our day trip together, and she offered us a free ride to Mindo with her our last weekend in Quito. It’s two and a half hours from Quito in the middle of the Cloud Forest. We had been wanting to go there, not for the world renowned bird watching which was the reason she was going there, but for the zip lining and waterfalls! We went in the private van she had reserved and chatted the entire way there, with Dan every now and then admitting that she needed to translate, not that she was speaking in Spanish, but when one has a PHD in media law, the level of vocabulary is a bit above ours! She’s also a writer, so I’m sure he’s going to end up one of her characters in her book!

Once in Mindo, we got dropped off at our lovely little family run hostel and she went further on into a beautiful little reserve. In order to get to the lodge she was staying, you have to cross a river in a mini self-pulled cable car fifteen feet above the rapid water. There is usually someone there to pull the ropes, so you don’t have to do it yourself, so you just sit down, swing your legs over the side, and enjoy the swift moving water below! We will attach pictures of this, because it is a must see! Once on the mainland, there is only hydro-electric power, a huge garden to feed the guests, three cabins, a beautiful lodge/kitchen area with a thatched roof, surrounded by a lush green tropical forest. The man and wife who own it live there. He is a former biology professor from Mississippi and she is  Ecuadorian raised in a rainforest that was destroyed. Together, their mission in life is to live modernly yet in a way that causes the least destruction to the land as possible and educate others how to do so.

We were lucky enough to get to walk around and breathe in the fresh air. After spending a month in a city where the car exhaust makes you dizzy after only a few minutes walk outside, this place was heavenly. They offer alternative cooking classes to the locals, in an attempt to help change the diet of the people. They also offer an apprenticeship for bird watching, training the locals on how to be guides, allowing them an opportunity to make a decent wage. It was such a short meeting with the couple, but they’re mission is an admirable one. We left there hoping that one day we might return.

We made sure to enjoy the activities that help keep the city on the map, so we went zip lining! We went with two other ladies and one lady’s 9 year old daughter, who was hysterically dramatic about the whole feat of flying through the air across the canopy, hanging by a harness, getting a bird’s eye view of the forest. As if flying across the cables in a sitting position wasn’t enough of a rush, apparently no self-respecting zip liner goes zip lining without trying the “Superman,” where you are attached to the guide and you lay face down, with your arms straight out at your sides, flying through the air like superman! We didn’t chicken out, we agreed to fly through the air like superman, and it was amazingly fun!

The next day we hiked to a waterfall where they had a slide built into the cliff that dumps you off into the river below. The water was absolutely heart stopping cold. We couldn’t catch our breath when we landed in its frigidness. There was also cliff jumping, but neither of us had much desire to attempt it. After banging our feet on the bottom of the river with the 10 ft. high slide, we didn’t want to risk it off the 30-40 ft. cliff. We watched as one frightened guy would go to the edge ready to jump, and stop. Then he would go to the edge again, look over, and stop. It was incredibly painful to watch, and after 20 minutes, it was just too much. He had girls and guys passing him up, giving him false courage that he too could do it, and then he’d build up the courage to try again, looking determined to do it, and then he’d start walking fast to go off, and he’d stop at the edge. We spent at least 30 minutes watching from the rocks below, and he never did jump, but he stayed at the top! Seriously, it’s alright that you don’t want to jump, it’s really a dumb thing to do, but come down already! Watching him was torture!

We headed back in the early evening just in time for the Texas Hold Em’ game with the family and cousins. Dan walked in the door and the whole house went crazy with questions about our trip! They have really made this first month feel welcoming. Although it’s really made both of us miss our families terribly, it’s been so nice being here with them, and they’ve really included us as a part of their family.

We will be leaving on Wed. Nov.18th to the Galapagos Islands where we will work as volunteers for the New Era Galapagos Foundation. We will work with the locals on English, both children and adults, since tourism is the main source of revenue for the islands, the more English one knows, the more opportunities for higher paying jobs.

Dan has no problem impressing the people here, they ABSOULTELY ADORE him! He is a giant in comparison, and they look up at him with gaga eyes! Our Ecuadorian family, the teachers at the school, the cousins, EVERYONE just loves him! He will have no problem meeting the right people to allow us to work and travel through the Galapagos. Hopefully, he can trade work for free tours. For the first month, we have a family that we will be renting a room from, so we will continue to practice our Spanish and be a part of the culture.

Hasta luego a Quito y hola a Las Galapagos!

We Are Terrible bloggers but the pictures are public now.

So we´ve been a lot of place that we´ve not been able to write about but! I put some pictures of Cotapaxi and Otivalo and all of Germany on Picasa so you can at least see what we did.

I little bit about Cotipaxi. It´s a volcano in ecuador and it´s base resides at 14,000 feet. Ginny and I climbed to about 14,800 in just under 2 hours. That´s right less than have a mile took us 2 hours! We basically climbed for 20 to 30 seconds and had to rest for 2-5 minutes.  It was absolutely beautiful but that mountain was evil. Ginny had to stay at the 14,800 mark do to absolute exhaustion and I proceed up to the 15k mark to check out the "glaciar". It was quite tiny compared to those in alaska but nevertheless cool to say we were at 15K!  The day before we went to a pretty cool outdoor market where all the local crafts were sold cheaply. we bought a painting by Guayasimin which we love. Can´t wait to show it to you all.

LASTLY, we tried cuey OR GINEAPIG! Tastes like chicken looks like Gineapig. LITTERALLY!  they gut it, deskull it, fry it and serve it up!  I must say that I had trouble putting kiki´s thigh in my mouth and enjoying.  That´s right Ginny named the por little guy.  that´s it for now!  Enjoy the picks


Our pics so far

September 15, 2009 Seville Spain

From Algecirias, we traveled to Seville at 6:30am and got to Seville at 9:30am, to see the Bascilica de Seville and the Muslim influence from the time of the Moors. The Bascilica has the world’s largest alter. Southern Spain is referred to by the Muslim name, Andalucia, and this influence is recognizable in the architecture and décor. Much of Sevlille reminded us of the Alhambra. We were able to take in a small flamenco show where a very shapely woman entertained us with her quick steps to the Flamenco music. When she needed a break, an even quicker stepped young man took over, and he was awesome! We ended our last night in Spain with some really good sangria! Our last night in Seville was one of my favorite hostel experiences ever. Ginny and I got to sleep with two others in our 4 bunk bed room and when we got home from our Flamanco date night Ginny had the pleasure of walking in on our flat makes while they were trying to procreate. We gave them an hour or so while we checked e-mails and then ventured in again to find the girl spralled across him while he watched tv. Just as we were about to go to sleep, Seville decided to clean all the horse crap off the streets with the most foul chemical I’ve ever smelled. I am quite certain I’d rather have slept with a fresh loaf of horse crap deposited in the middle of the room than endure that poison in my lungs. By the time the smell had subsided it was 2 hours before we needed to wake up anyway, which was just about the time our flatmate woke us sawing logs and ripping some loud ones. (For the lay person that means snoring and passing gas loudly.) Luckily for Ginny, she manages to sleep through such things, but I was left to choke on the stale air. Off to Madrid and then Rome!

September 14, 2009 Morocco and Gibraltar

We had to rush around quite a bit but we were able to go to the main market in Morocco via a bus from Algeceras to the main ferry port that takes people to Tangier. (We decided that we didn’t want to risk having something happen to our precious camera, so we didn’t’ bring it with us to Morocco.) When we got to the port town where we were to catch the ferry, the first thing I saw was a guy dry heaving and his girl friend patting his back. Needless to say I shielded Ginny from seeing such a thing to ensure she didn’t have a change of heart about crossing the Straight of Gibraltar. We then had an hour wait for the fast ferry very due to some technical difficulties. When we arrived in Tangier, Ginny was really on edge. She had dressed that day covering everything, even bringing a scarf as a head cover. Although not all the women were completely covered, most were. I definitely had the upper hand that day! We ended up having lunch on the second story of a shack; it was some kind of chicken and rice dish. Other than the mini cockroaches and flies dinning with us, the food was really good. We hiked up to see what was probably the only Christian cemetery in the city and heard the 12 o’clock bell ring calling everyone in the city to prayer. We got to take a look in a mosque where everyone had their foreheads pressed to the ground and Ginny had a chance to buy a cool Morrocan plate. We missed the next ferry back to the port town due to a wrong turn at the massive maritime port of Tangier, but got to see what looked like a boat grave yard, that was actually where the boats were repaired. After we returned to Algecirias, we grabbed the camera and headed to the rock of Gibralter. With only 2 more hours of daylight, Morocco being two hours ahead of Spain despite being directly south, we had to hurry. The rock was immense! Of course we had to cross an airplane runway to get there, but that was an excellent opportunity to take our first pictures on an airplane road. Then we hustled our way right up to the base of the mountain where we could see no monkeys but could hear them chattering as the light was disappearing from the sky. We heard that there were tours that took you into the miles of natural and Britain made tunnels but just to see the rock in all it’s glory was enough for me. We also walked around the mini city and saw all the pubs. While I’ve never been to great Britain, I have to think that this was as close to being there that I’ve ever been. Everything looked British, the only thing missing was they did not drive on the wrong side of the road.

September 13, 2009 Granada, Spain: The Alhambra and the EESB

Granada, the Alhambra, and the Ever Elusive Spanish Bruha(Witch) AKA EESB.
This story actually begins just over a year ago when Ginny and I traveled Guatemala and made our rigorous Journey to the top of Antigua’s active volcano. When we came down we spent an hour riffling through our otherworldly pictures with great excitement. They were like something out of an old Star Trek episode, the one that might have had Kirk beaming down to a molten lava planet with no vegetation or life. It wasn’t until we sat to watch a movie that we realized the camera was missing, immediately, we took the steps of any ultra annoying tourist couple; the steps that ultimately led us to the door of the hostel that sold us our volcanic excursion, accompanied of course, by 6 Antiguan policemen. Needless to say when I uploaded our pictures to Picasa we had every day documented except our most adventurous: the pictures that had us standing at 3,000 feet above Antigua looking down at the city and the flowing lava not more than 10 feet below.
Fast-forward to yesterday please where you will find us traveling down a street that sucked us back in time, to say 1,200 AD when the Christians had finally gained a foothold on the city of Granada by thus erecting a gigantic medieval Cathedral/Fortress under the looming shadow of the Muslim Fortress: The Alhambra. The second we saw the massive cathedral Ginny requested the camera. With both of us downtrodden with 4 backpacks, exhausted from only 4 hours of sleep and a 5 hour bus ride, I suggested that we drop our gear, grab our camera, and come outside for an amazing nighttime picture of the gigantic edifice. As Ginny got directions to various bars and flamenco shows I began preparing for our photo shoot. When the camera was not in its “assigned” place in our bags, the clink of an unknown object sounded in my head. I’d heard the noise about 20 minutes before it was time to get off that incredibly long bus ride. I had given the floor a brief once over and decided it was nothing of importance. I flashed to the last time I had used the camera, which was to take the picture of the sunset on our 30 minute bus break at some arbitrary restaurant somewhere between Madrid and Granada. I must have put it between my legs rather than in its assigned spot. I was tired, sleeping and in a hurry to get off the bus. Those where my justifications as I performed a pointless and futile search through all 20 pockets of our 4 brand new REI bags, knowing full well I’d come up empty handed. “Do you have the camera” was how I interrupted my beautiful wife as she tried to get info on all the places we needed to go in the next 24 hours. With a quick pat-down of her pockets she said no. When she was done with our helpful hostel clerk she turned to me and asked all the questions she’d asked only a year ago. Satisfied that I was able to lose the same model camera again on some mode of transportation on the night before our most picture worthy day in Spain, she rushed off to call the bus station.
With the Alhambra online ticket office closed and the traditional “you can check with lost and found when it opens,” Ginny and I decided, once again, that we would take matters into our own hands. We were going to go back to the station and find our bus, of the hundred that were parked there, and we were going to recover our goods, because God knows if someone had found it before us, it was gone. When arrived back at the bus station around half past twelve, only to find it nearly empty. We asked a ticket window attendant if our camera had been turned in, “Come back tomorrow morning at 9:30.” Rather than leave, making all this work a complete waste of time, we decided we’d go find our bus since they were parked for the night. I found an open bus that looked kinda like our bus, got on, went to our seats, got down on my hands and knees and found it! Wait, that was the big sticky puddle of soda. Defeated again, we took the “Nocturnal” bus back to our hostel where we were able to get in a 4 hour nap before our day at the Alhambra.
We woke at 6:30 am to make sure we got two of the 2000 tickets sold daily to enter the Alhambra. As we drove towards the massive Muslim fortress with a picture worthy sunrise behind us above the Serra Nevada to our left, and the medieval cathedral to our right, I thought, damn it would be nice to have a camera right now, and this thought continued all day with the Alhambra, screaming with its 13th century armories, palaces, reflection pools, mosaic tile, and 12 foot wide wall. The only thing missing was the water from the moat that protected the palace from Crusaders. The architecture was absolutely beautiful. The amount of detail put into every aspect of its creation was most impressive - absolutely exquisite.
With the amazing Alhambra behind us, it was time to get to the bus station and head for a new city. Next stop Algeciras, so we can head to Morocco and Gibraltar. (But first, I’m going to check to see if anyone turned in our camera. Dumb. I know.) When we got to the bus station my poor bride was starving and drawn to the McDonalds by an almost supernatural force which would leave me to try to get the camera back by myself. As I stood in front of the 50 year old heavy set woman with a frown instead of a smile, I knew this interaction was not going to be pleasant. First I asked her if she could print out my tickets and she lazily said I could but it was not necessary. This is when I knew getting her to get up and check the lost and found was going to be a challenge. Through my broken Spanish, I asked pleadingly if anyone had turned in a camera. “No!” So, I asked her if she could check in the back to see, “POR FAVOR “and again, she said “NO”, then I explained to her that my camera was “muy importante para mi,” urging her to at least check. Ginny had our hostel call the night before, and supervisor of the station had already explained the lost and found process, which required the bus driver to turn any left items by 12 the next day. My pleas had finally reached her and she was forced to leave her chair, or she was trying to look somewhat helpful in front of her co-workers. NOTE: I was super nice and sweet to this woman as I needed her to do something for me…(I smiled extra big, showing my dimples, fluffed up my curls, and batted my eyes.) I knew the camera would not be back there but she was kind enough to bring the lost and found book out and show me that only books and phones had been found in the last 10 years! I gave her a very sad thank you and headed off to tell Ginny of the bad news and recommend that she go to a nicer bus ticket clerk, one last ditch hope on my part. As I sat 50 yards away from the ticket counter, I sent Ginny back after explaining that she hadn’t even looked. Ginny was somewhat reluctant to go, but since she was able to eat her cheeseburger while she waited in line, she agreed. Ginny later told me that she waited until the young cute guy was free, allowing others to go in front of her, until she could go to his window. Once there, I saw Ginny waving her hands and just chatting the guys ear off. After about 5 minutes of Ginny standing up there, I saw the guy hand her a book and a pen. Oh woopie-doo, they’re taking her info so that when they do find the damn camera they can kindly ship it to us when we’re in Rome…..False, that thing is gone! Damn it!!!!
As Ginny was heading back towards me, I realized she was carrying something in her hand. The camera? How? Huh? No way! She was urging me to get up in a panic nervous tone, so we could get the heck out of there before someone came and took OUR camera back away from us. I was stuck. I was in disbelief that in her hand was our camera, relived that I didn’t lose another one, and PISSED that 30 minutes earlier, I wasn’t given it. As I walked with her, I pressed her for answers, and through clinched teeth she said, “that lady had the camera the whole time.” I begged Ginny to let me go say something…..but all she would let me do was call her names from afar, which is where the scientific classification of “THE ELUSIVE SPANISH HOG” TESH, was formed. TESH had eluded me but was no match for my wife who used her powers of persuasion on a nice young man. While the man was helping Ginny, Ginny realized he was acting weird, like he was pretending to look while making eye contact across the station. He hadn’t said anything to the woman, when she started yelling at him about “la camera.” He yelled back at her, calling her “mala!” With her heavy heels dragging, she came to the window with the camera in her hand! Even after Ginny exhaled with elation, jumped up and down, shouting, “Yes, that’s my camera! Thank you!” She still didn’t let the man have the camera until he grabbed it from her hands, again saying, “Mala---the camera is hers!” Needless to say TESH had seen the camera and claimed if for her own, hoping nobody would show up to get it. She knew exactly what I was looking for, and I’m sure the rest of the workers did as well….SO all this just to say I have made a habit of losing things!
We bought postcards of our camera-less day at the Alhambra, so the pics we will post will be of postcards. As for the beautiful sites, breathtaking architecture, and intriguing history, we are in awe of it all. Now that I’m cooled down from my experience with TESH, it’s time to board the bus!
After our day at the Alhambra, we had to decide if we wanted to travel for another five hours to Algeciras where we could catch a ferry across to Tangier, Morocco, entering Africa, and also head to see the famous rock of Gibraltar. With both of these stops on my must see list, we headed south.