The whole story

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2005
Arrival in Buenos Aires
My first two days were a little difficult. After over 24 hours of flying, I got a cheap hotel in Buenos Aires. If you like cities, I’m sure it would be a fantastic city but it was a bit too much for me. There are about 13 million people there, and the streets were very crowded. Ironically, it was the worst air I have ever experienced, worse than being at Syncrude. The only thing that I really like was watching a man who was about 60 dancing the tango with young, beautiful girls. They improvised, each time and it was really cool, about half the time their noses were touching as they did all kinds of moves. One time the girl kissed the man fast and hard. He jumped back and uses a kleenex from his pocket to wipe off the lipstick, all to the music of course.I found out the buses to Mendoza left at night, and lasted 14 hours. The busses here are superior to Canadian busses. They have two levels, and in first class, you get a chair that fully reclines into a bed. A person could do well with these buses in Canada. I went back to the hotel, packed my stuff and got the hell out of the big city.Unfortunately I was too late for first class, and had another crappy night of sleep on a 14 hour bus ride. As soon as I got off the bus, a young guy with dreads (the only dreads I’ve seen) asked me if I wanted a hostel. Tired, I said yeas right away, and he took me to a hostel in Mendoza. I like Mendoza. The weather here is perfect. It almost never rains, but the city is irrigated by water and is like an oasis in sage country.Argentina seems more like Europe than Latin America. I haven’t seen much poverty and most of the people are of Spanish or Italian decent. I think they killed almost all of the Indians here as I have only seen maybe 5 and people have relatively fair skin.Tomorrow is my first day of skiing. I forget the name of the hill. It’s a smaller hill, 3 hours away. The day after, I will travel to Malague to ski Los Lenas. It’s an expensive resort, but it’s supposed to be good. After that, I will go to Chile, maybe ski for a day and then I will bus or fly over the desert to Bolivia or Peru.

Mendoza
Two days ago, I skied at a resort called Penititas. It is a smaller resort, with few foreigners. Unfortunately, I got there at the beginning of bad weather, and it was icy and hard to see. There are no trees there, even in the bottom of the valley. The only places were there were trees are at towns and military bases. If Chile was to invade, they would only have to bomb where they see trees.It wasn’t a huge ski hill, but it was steep enough and the backcountry potential was limitless. There was a lot of amazing terrain right from the side of the road. The storm closed the pass to Chile and I passed hundreds and hundreds of trucks parked on the side of the road all the way to Mendoza. The storm was expected to last days and rather than wait around, I decided to abandon the region and head for Bolivia. This means I won’t see Chile, but I’m sure I will return for a ski trip in the future. Mendoza is a fantastic city with thousands of beautiful women. It is a contrast of a sophisticated university city and a gateway to the rugged mountains and wine country. I think I could even be happy living there for a while. The Hostel I stayed at ¨Andino Hostel¨ had really nice staff and was clean. I haven’t seen much poverty in Argentina, but people live off a fraction of the income we make. I’ve also been impressed with the city parks and large impressive statues that show pride and values that I wish we had in Canada. Having said that, I doubt that I would want to live the rest of my life there.Last night I took a first class us to Salta which took 17 hours. My chair reclined almost into a bed and the trip cost about $40 can. When I booked my flight, for some reason I thought Rio was further north in Brazil. My plan now is to fly from Ecuador, Columbia or Venezuela to Rio close to the time to leave. I looked into booking a flight in advance, but the travel agent said it would be cheaper to do it in the country I am leaving from. It’s cold here in Salta, about 5c. I hope some better weather hits Bolivia when I get there as the extreme altitude can bring bad weather. I think that the Capitol, La Paz is over 10000 feet.One funny thing happened to me the other night. I was eating in a restaurant with a Aussie, and a couple of Brits who I didn’t think much of. A beautiful American girl came to our table, chatted a bit and asked us to joined her and her 7 friends. We played it cool, and then another beautiful girl from Belgium came and invited us as well. We were pretty shocked. When we went to the table, we noticed that they seemed a little young. After talking to them for a bit, we found that they were all high school exchange students, maybe two of them were 18 at the most. I suppose you had to be there to see how strange and funny it was, the American girl wanted to get into our pants really bad. I actually had a good conversation with an Austrian girl about politics. She was ashamed that her father owned a factory that paid low wages and we talked about the exploitation of foreign workers. She was almost crying as she was telling me this. I told her that as long as the factory stays there, it actually does benefit the community and that the real problem would be if the factory moved somewhere else where wages were even cheaper as so many do.I don’t think I will spend a lot of time in Bolivia. I’m most excited about Peru. Once I get there, I want to relax, and not worry about moving on as much. I may stay in a place for a while if I can get some Spanish Lessons. I was actually learning faster at home with my audio CDs. I know enough to get by, but I really want to learn Spanish now. Very few people here speak English. 95% of the time my Spanish is better than their English. I felt a need to get out of Argentina because it is a bit like Canada, and I do think that I will be back to ski. The back country looks so good. The Mountains are big, and the terrain were I was really nice for skiing. It was steep, but there weren’t as Many rocky cliffs that are impossible like the ones around Banff. I’d have to rank the Mountains at home a little better just because you can go in the trees if there is a white out.That’s it for now. I can’t wait to get to Bolivia. Argentina seems more European than Latin American - not that it´s a bad thing, but I really wanted to be in the tropics and observe some of the native culture.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2005
Salta
Salta seems more impoverished than the rest of Argentina. I passed some slums on the way in although they weren’t nearly as bad as the ones I saw in Mexico, and I’m sure people here are much better off than some of the places I am about to visit.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2005
Crossing into Bolivia
Well, I’m not sure of the name of the town I am in again. I had a good day at the border town, Across from La Quinca or something like that. I should really know these things. The weather was nice, and I really like Bolivian people. It’s interesting how the older women get here, the more attention they pay to the way they dress. I don’t think that any two hats in Bolivia are alike.Yesterday when I crossed the border, I got my exit stamp from Argentina, but walked right past the Boliva office. I realized what I had done today and that I needed a visa card so I went back to make things right. They were surprised that I walked right in, but didn’t give me any trouble.The hotel I stayed in cost less than $4 Canadian and was worth every penny if they pay property tax. The bed sagged more than a hammock, and it took an hour for them to get the propane water heater going for me in the morning. I was just about to leave when they did.People really like to talk politics here, and a few had all of the patience in the world for me to look up words in the dictionary. I was surprised how well they understood that the CIA is buying the most drugs and at the same time trying to stop production. One guy I talked to said that it is so the price of cocaine they buy goes up.I met a girl from Israel, and she has some friends that are meeting her tomorrow in a town called uyu something. I decided to go with her as her friends are getting a jeep to the worlds biggest salt flat, something I wanted to do, but it would be to expensive for me to do on my own. There still might not be room, but I don’t really care which way I go. I didn’t even think that busses ran through this part of the world.


WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2005
South Bolivia
Well, here’s a first. I have the next 4 days planned. I am in Uyuni in Southwest Bolivia. I'm about to leave on a 3 day tour of the worlds largest and highest salt flat and some other sights that are supposed to be spectacular. On Saturday, I return here to Uyuni and Take the train to Oruro. It’s a 24 hour trip. I am going executive class for about $11can. Traveling here is cheap. I thought that $60us was a bit steep for a 3 day all inclusive tour, but it has been recommended by many people. I can’t believe I am in the tropics. It’s damn cold.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2005
Frigid Tropics
My energy has been run down a little over the past few days. Bolivia is cold. I can't believe this is the tropics. It resembles a June Morning on Baffin Island. I did a 3 day trip through some remote parts of Southwest Bolivia. There is very little life there. I saw the largest and highest salt flat in the world, and lots of mountainous, landscape with wide valleys in between. There was small, sparse vegetation in about 1/3 of the area, the rest was rock, snow and sand. Where there was vegetation, there were lamas, the odd deer like creature, and the odd Shepard with sheep. The big surprise though was some very shallow, salty lakes with thousands of pink flamingos. The wind was relentless.I'm sure that it was a bit colder than normal. We couldn't do part of the tour due to too much snow. I think Bolivia would be an amazing country to dirt bike, mountain bike or ride horses. Because most of the eastern part has no trees, you can see and go anywhere. There also seems to be some great places to ski tour if you can handle the altitude. Most towns I have been to are higher than the highest mountains around Banff.Bolivia should be hailed as one of the worlds greatest societies. The people are friendly and embrace their own unique culture. There is a lot of graffiti, but 99.9% of it is political. I ate lunch in a town that couldn't have held more than 10 people and the restaurant had about 50 pages of leftist political propaganda posted on all of the walls that seemed to be put up by miners. The most amazing aspect of Bolivian society is that nobody begs for money. The majority of people live on about $2 a day, but nobody expects to get anything for nothing. I did see two people begging here in the big city, but they looked to be in their 80's or 90's and unable to function. It really makes me look down on my own country for having such an incredible amount of wealth, and all of the problems we don't or only pretend to address. I can see why Che Guevara died for these people. I have nothing but respect.La Paz is a pretty cool city. It's in a deep valley, and the streets go up the sides of the mountains. Who ever is in the buisness of selling clutches here is probably the richest in town. I'm going to stay here for a couple of days, then it's on to Peru. I haven't heard many good things about Peru from other travelers, so I might make my way to Equador, and then slow down. People whop have traveled Latin America seem to like Columbia the most. I wasn't going to go, but now it is high on my list. I think that most of my time will be in Columbia and Venezuela.




SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2005
Bolivia to Peru
Hi It´s been a while, so there is quite a bit to remark on. I was sure glad to get out of La Paz. I tried to get out the night before I did, but I missed the last bus to Copacabana that left from the cemetery. When I was there, an old lady told me leave or I would be assaulted. I didn't feel unsafe, but took her advise, and jumped in a cab. I had a few drinks with some people I had met earlier which may not have been the smartest thing to do as I felt a cold coming on. Apparently the new school thought in psychology is that people’s actions are largely irrational.The air in La Paz isn’t just polluted from only a few smoky cars(Hey driver, get a piston ring), but there isn’t much of it. It is the world’s highest capitol city at about 12000 feet. It’s Noisy too. There are very few private cars (about 1 in 30). Most of the cars are Toyota minivans that hold 9-15 people. The driver honks his horn about every 30 seconds in a vain attempt to keep things moving. The person who collects the money yells the route out the window. All you hear, day and night is honking and yelling. The only real bonus is that it only costs between $0.13 and $0.17 for a ride and you should have to wait more than a minute to find the van you want. It should be noted as well that nearly everyone turns off the motor while going down hill - you either go up or down, no streets are flat.I woke up at around 8:30am to firecrackers. I was feeling pretty sick, the cold had fully set in, and I decided that if I was to recover, the first thing I needed was cleaner air. I went to catch a minivan, and had to walk quite a ways because downtown was closed to traffic for national police day. The firecrackers and music were too much. I wanted out now. My prayers were answered at the cemetery. The bus to Copacabana was just leaving as I got there, and I flagged it down.The bus went along the beautiful, clean, enormous, Lake Titicaca. This is the highest Lake of its size at 14500ft. It appears very much like Lake Okanogan, with the rolling hills around it, sparse vegetation with some trees. It is far more developed in area, but you really have to look to see that it is being farmed by hand and the small huts are made from bricks that are the exact same colour as the earth around them.There was a short ferry ride that was a little scary. The Bus took quite a while to ease on to a wooden boat hat was just big enough for one bus. It kind of looked like it was made by a 12 year old kid out of drift wood. The engine looked to be about a 30hp outboard. I was surprised to see the first part of the trip was powered by a man with a pole, pushing us along. Once we got into the deep, it felt like the hole thing would tip as the busses suspension made us sway twice as much as one would expect. It was obvious that there were no lifejackets.Finally, the bus got me to Copacabana. It’s a really nice town by Lake Ticakaca, near the Peruvian border. There was a lot of pale skin there, which was probably why it was the only town in Bolivia where I felt people were trying to rip me off. The pace was a slow as the sleepiest Mexican town and even the cars that would pass about one every half hour drove slow.It was in Copacabana that I was able to heal. Clean air, beautiful surroundings and great food. I only ate trout while I was there, and it was prepared but doing the standard ass to thought cut, but then it was opened right up, kind of like a buttery chicken breast. The only juice you get in Bolivia is freshly squeezed, and I drank lots of it. The coca tea would numb my sore throat - kink of like cloraseptic, only not as powerful and a heluva lot more natural. I’ve really come to like coca tea but the stuff in the tea bag is no good. You need fresh whole leaves. It doesn't give you as much of a buzz as coffee or conventional tea, but it is much healthier.I tried chewing coca leaves, and it did have some effect, but it was kind of a gross thing to do. Many Bolivians have one cheek as full like a chipmunk all the time. 1/3 Bolivians are employed in the coca industry. Much is sold domestically for chewing, religious rituals and tea. I suspect that the majority is for cocaine. I've been told that it takes 3 pounds of Bolivian leaves to make one gram of cocaine and 4 pounds of Peruvian or Columbian leaves to do the same. It's too bad that the leaves are illegal in Canada, but I suppose anyone could make cocaine then, seriously cutting into the enormous profits the CIA makes from it and severely crippling the drug dependant American economy.I only spent one night in Copacabana, then I was off the Peru. I got ripped off by the office that sold me my bus ticket. It was supposed to be 1st class to Cusco, but was at best economy and went only to Juliaca. This turned out to be a blessing because I ended up having 5 hours to kill in a town I never planned to visit, but the timing couldn't have been better. I took a strange taxi that was a motor trike that could do at best 15km/h. He took me downtown, and the streets were lined with people, waiting for a parade.Now comparing a Peruvian Parade with a Canadian parade really exemplifies the difference in culture. In Canada we decorate cars, in Peru, people where costumes and dance. There must have been about 40 different groups, each representing indigenous tribes, trade unions and schools. They all had dancers, most of whom were in their early teens and the costumes were very unique and brightly coloured. Following the dancers, each group had its own marching band. The parade went on for about 3.5 hours. The end was amazing as many of the bands played together and there must have bee over a dozen bass drums, pounding out a beat that was so powerful, I swear my heart had to beat with it just to function.Now I am in Cusco, the oldest city in the Americas. It used to be the capitol city of the Inca. The architecture is really nice, and the streets are geared towards people more than cars. Apparently it is quite dangerous here as far as theft goes. There are hordes of ginkgos like myself looking to go to Machu Pichu. I might not go it if costs too much. I will see if I can take the train and stay at one of the smaller towns closer to the site. I almost decided to Venezuela through the Amazon with a Japanese guy I met on the bus, but he wasn't even sure if he would be able to. It involved taking boats that he wasn't sure existed.Please excuse the mistakes in this email, the keyboard really sucks, and some keys are in different places.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
Machu Pichu to the Hospital
I’m sick. I felt great yesterday, visited the great lost city of Machu Pichu. My mistake may have been drinking water from a high mountain stream. Speaking of stream, I’ve never had diarrhea like that before. I saw the doctor 3 times today. I really like him his name is pronounced ¨wanka¨. He doesn't speak any English and it was a miscommunication that cause my 3rd visit. He told me to eat chicken soup, but I missed the part when he said it must be only chicken and water, nothing else. I'm also drinking some rehydration juice. I thought it was ok to drink coke - no.I'm feeling much better now, and I don't suspect I will need to go back. I’m still on the medicine juice chicken, a couple of other pills to force my stomach to function and antibiotics. I'm going to stay here in Aquas Calientes. There are no cars except the busses that go up to the ruins. The only ways min and out are train, foot and helicopter. I’ve met some nice people that work at a bar who delivered food to my hotel when my energy was really low.The Hospital is older and dirtier than my $7 a night hotel. The equipment looks primitive. The doctor gave me the anti puke injections in his bedroom. When I get home and have access to the rest of my money, I will surely make a donation. Maybe I’ll even try to raise some money from other people.Machu Pichu was more inspiring than I expected. It really makes me wonder how people with less technology than we have now had such an incredible vision to do the absolute maximum they were capable of. In Alberta, with all our wealth, there is no such vision. In fact the public art in the smallest towns in Bolivia is much more grand than the big cities in Canada. I remember in high school, I had an idea of raising taxes 5% and making the most spectacular castle in the world. Of course in our give me society it would take a hell of a lot of charisma to launch such a project. Maybe Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys has what it takes.Peru is really eating up my money. Most things are quite cheap, but the government has hefty fees. $25 to see Machu Pichu. $20 each way taking the shortest route on the train in Backpacker class. The doctor’s fees were quite small, about $7 a visit to the hospital, but I paid a lot for the drugs. Of course relative to Canada, these ¨high fees¨ are still below par. I will stay here at least another day as it is a great place to heal. No cars, nice people and ancient energy.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2005
The Easy but Expesive Road to Machu Pichu
Well, Peru has sure had it’s ups and downs. I’m feeling a lot better now, but I lost my wallet today. I didn’t have much as far as ID goes, but there was about $150 cash. Peru has sucked a lot of money out of me although the last mistake was entirely mine. Some Peruvian housekeeper at some hotel I only took a shower at isn’t going to have to work for a few months.I was only really sick for a day, but really sick I was. The antibiotics worked well. It’s funny that coca leaves are illegal in Canada, but here, the doctor told me to drink coca tea, and everyone who knew I was sick told me to drink it as well. A really nice girl took good care of me and taught me some more Spanish. I lost her email with my wallet, but the chances of seeing here again are next to none anyway. It was pretty cool how much we could talk about with my limited vocabulary. I taught her some English too. Her job was to get people into the bar, ¨Hey mister - Happy Hour 3 for 1 - c’mon chicko 5 for 1 drinks special for you.¨ That was the extent of her English. The 4 other bars nearby had girls doing the same thing. It was pretty civilized though as last call is at 11pm in that town. Most of the staff and the owners lived in the bar with their children. And man do Peruvians pump out the Babies. The population should double here about every 15 years.I find myself writing these emails a lot because there is always some time to kill, waiting for a bus or train. Right now, I’m in Cusco, waiting for my airplane ticket from Caracas to Sao Palo. It’s on the 27th and gives me 5 days to get to Rio. Tonight, I will take a first class buss to Lima. From there, I will go to a smaller town, and on to Ecuador.The thing that stands out most in Peru so far is the stone mason work. Some of it ancient and still standing, some of it defying belief, some cut so perfect, you´d think they used lasers, and some all of the above. I saw one wall that was about 200 ft tall, and there were some stones near the top that had to weigh at least 10 tones. I have no idea how they got up there hundreds of years ago, or how it would be done today. Here in town I saw a big wall that was made entirely of 2 tone stones.I’m still enjoying my trip, and I’m kind of glad that I got to experience a Peruvian hospital, but I´m starting to feel cursed in Peru. I think that happens to a lot of people here. I can’t wait to get to Ecuador and especially Columbia. Everyone seems to love Columbia for it’s people and incredibly diverse landscape.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 03, 2005
Up and down in Peru
Well, Peru continues to have its ups and downs. Just before I left Cusco, I had the good fortune to see it at night. I never knew a city could be so beautiful at night. They really put some thought into their lighting.Putting thought into things is nothing new to the Inca people. There is obviously a lot of pride in their past and present. There are many grand statues of past Inca leaders as well as more recent war heroes. The Inca flag is more common than the Peruvian flag around Cusco. Much to their dismay, the gay community has decided to make the Inca flange their own.  I’d be insulted as well, they could at lest change one of the 7 colour.NEVER TAKE A BUS FROM CUSCO TO LIMA!!!!!!! It took about 20 hours and twisted like no road has twisted before up and down mountains with almost no vegetation. The day I left, I took my anti Malaria drug which gives me nightmares the same night. After the first nightmare on the bus, I was afraid to fall asleep. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. I could see that I was on the bus through my eyes moving in REM, built felt like an evil spirit had entered my body and I had to fight it. I was trying to scream for help, but I don’t think it came out, some sounds may have. I heard try what I trying to say in my head as if it was 20 voices speaking at the same time. I kind of knew that I was dreaming, but could not wake up. It made a terrible bus ride horrific.The last part of the bus ride would have been ok if it didn’t smell of BO and if my joints didn’t ache from being still for so long. It was a vast desert, mostly without any sign of life whatsoever that extended to the ocean. I don't know how it doesn't ever rain right next to the ocean. In some places there were a few cacti and there were a lot of places where they were experimenting with agriculture in the desert. I think it involved mostly chemical fertilizers although I saw the biggest compost pile I have ever seen in one place.It’s interesting how much more the land is used for agriculture here. You may not even notice at first glance, but the land is used much as possible. Nobody would think of mowing a lawn. That would be wasting a valuable resource. You can turn those lawn clippings into wool and lama steak. In city parks, even at Machu Pichu they have lamas grazing, keeping the lawn nice. Their little dear-like turds keep it fertilized as well.I haven't been in a national park where there were more than 5 people who live in the park, but there are many sheep, cattle and lamas grazing. Every where else, if someone can grow their own food, they do. The deforestation is unfortunate, but it's not like in Canada, where it is done only for money. Here, it is done so people don’t go hungry. Wood isn’t used much at all here, all houses are made from mud or brick.Lima was the most dismal city I have ever seen. Despite being sick of the bus, I got another ticket to get out. There is a permanent fog that blocks out the stars and sun, and every block looks like the last. I got a hotel room for a few hours because I didn’t even want to walk the streets. To save$1 I washed my shorts in the sink, broke it, and paved $20 to have it fixed.Now I am in Huaraz. It's a small mountain city, and you can see Peru’s highest mountain from here. I did a couple of tours the past two days that were nice. I met a girl from New Jersey who was with her mom, sister and friend who live in Lima. It was sure nice to have her to translate for me, and just nice to be able to speak English to someone. They invited me to Lima, and it was tempting, but I need to move on, not back. When they were leaving, I didn’t have any liquid cash whatsoever, and owed the tour company and my hotel money. It was really hard to get a traveler’s cheque cashed here. I went about 20 hours without food and little water that I was rationing. I was really getting dizzy by time I did manage to get some cash. I went straight to a orange juice stand and had a couple of glasses of fresh squeezed juice.  It was a lot more expensive than Bolivian orange juice, but I forked out the 35 cents a glass. Oranges sell for about $.50 a kilo here.One of the tours I did with my adopted family was called Chavin. It was made in1200BC. It was largely in good shape until about 1945 when rain destroyed a lot of it. I some ways I like it more than Machu Pichu because you could go inside the temple and there was a large maze of halls and rooms. It’s hard to believe I was in such a building that was made over 3000 years ago. There were tunnels made for carrying voices long distances, and complex water canals as well as fantastic carvings. What made Machu Pichu great was the that it was near the top of a mountain, and the views were spectacular. It was in about the same shape a Chavin, but Chavin is about 2000 years older.Another cool thing in the tour the day before was a natural spring. There were lots of bubbles coming up with the water and to drink the water was like drinking carbonated water. I don’t like carbonated water much, but it was an interesting natural thing to experience.I’m going to make it to Ecuador as quickly as I can, then hopefully I can slow down, maybe spending some time on some nice Columbian beaches. Maybe I’ll even have time to see Angel Falls when I am in Venezuela. I bought a plane ticket to fly from Caracas to Sao Paulo at the end of October.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 06, 2005
Peru to Ecuador
Well, I got sucked into a scam. When I was in Tumbes, a guy asked me if I was going to Ecuador. I said that I was and he told me that I had to go that night because the border would be closed due to protests the next day. He told me he was going too. We got in a taxi and headed for the border. Everything seemed fine, but he told me I should watch my stuff because there were thieves at the border. Now the border check points are about 10 km apart. I suspect it may have something to do with disputes over it's boundaries though I read that they were resolved six years ago after some deaths on both sides. The guy asked me for $7 to pay the police to let us through. He paid the police and away we went. We made a tight turn into an alley, and that's when I knew something wasn't right. It was very dark. A police man came out, and talked to the guy I was with. I was told I had to pay the driver $10, not 10 sols as we had agreed to. I also had to give the cops a bunch of money to get out of this place that looked like some kind of temporary jail. Oh well, $50 isn't too bad considering I had another $600 in my hidden pocket. It's pretty spooky walking around with that kind of money, but I lost my bank card and traveler’s cheques are a real pain in the ass down here. Some want as much as 10% commission and you have to pay commission when you buy them. I'm happy to be in Equador. The first night, I stayed in a city called Machala that was ok, but nothing special. There were really nice parks and people, but it seemed like everything was built for function rather than having any meaning or style.Today, I took a bus from Machala to Cuenca. It was such a beautiful trip. The banana plantations were homogeneous, but very green, and the bus went through places that had wild vegetation but were not parks. It was almost like my first taste of the jungle. The houses in the countryside were much nicer than those in all of the other countries I have visited. Another thing that surprised me was the number of privately owned cars - most of which are newer and nicer than mine. Cuenca is the most beautiful city I have seen in South America. Many of the buildings are hundreds of years old, and the gardens and parks rival those of Victoria. There is a little more traffic than the rest of South America, but nothing you could compare to Canadian cities. I had some fantastic ice cream and pastries. It was a real treat considering the only food I have really enjoyed so far is the juices. Tomorrow, I'm headed for the town of Banos. The name sure doesn't sound good if you know any Spanish, but it's supposed to have good access to the Amazon Jungle. It seems that Ecuador is going to be my last chance at the Amazon as Columbia and Venezuela are supposed to be a little dangerous in those areas.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2005
The Jungle
Finaly, I got to the Jungle. It really is amazing how life can’t seem to stop here. There are so many different plants insects and birds. Today, I took a bus from Baños to Tena. It was one of the most scenic trips I have done. I even saw some wild parrots. I suspect I dropped in elevation a bit as it is slightly uncomfortably humid and warm at 8:30 pm. Back in Baños and Puyo, the temperature was perfect as it has been most of the places I have been. In fact other than Bolivia, which I was slightly underdressed for, the weather in Western South America is close to perfect. Daytime it’s usually about 15 degrees.I was in Baños when Ecuador tied Uraguay in a soccer (futbol) game. People were ecstatic. All of the taxis had Ecuador flags, some covering the whole hood (bonnet for Brits) of the car. About 1/3 people where wearing the jersey of the national team. Some women had Ecuador flags painted on their cleavage, making me excited for the country as well. The reason they were so excited about a tie was that it secured a spot for Ecuador in the world cup. I have come to appreciate watching soccer although it’s nothing like a good hockey game.I sure wish I had more time. I guess I have to come back. Two months seemed like a lot, but Now I think that an average of one month per country would be more realistic. I’ve seen the Jungle, now I have to get to the beaches. I’m going to do this primarily on the Atlantic side of Columbia and Venezuela. I hope my passage is safe. I’m going to have to be smart in Columbia. I wish that there was only one kind of militia in Columbia, but both the left and right are represented. If it was just the FARC, I could wear a Che Guevara shirt and feel a little safer, but there are right wing militias as well. I’ve been told that grungy backpackers are rarely a target and that the vast majority of the 8000 kidnappings a year are Columbians with a minority of foreign oil workers. To put things in perspective, it’s estimated that 8000 people die in car accidents in Brazil each year. I’m sure very few of the kidnapped find it to be their final story.Having said that, Columbia boasts the greatest variety of plant, bird and animal species per unit area of any other country in the world. I’ve also been told that Columbians are among the friendliest and most outgoing in South America which is really saying something. Some of my most enjoyable times have been on the busses. If I do more than 8 hours, it can be too much, but I have met so many wonderful people on busses and seen incredible landscapes. A couple of days ago, I was fortunate enough to have purchased a reserved seat on a bus that really filled up as we went. There was a mother with her one year old that was being squashed against my leg. I picket him up and put him on my lap. He Quickly feel asleep. Later on, I think the mother went to the back to go to the bathroom. Later still, I saw her walk past me and off the bus. I don’t know if she forgot or was just putting her bags down. The driver started to pull away and I yelled, ¨¡Alto, Alto!¨The bus stopped and the mother ran to me and grabbed her child.Ecuador hasn’t been to eventful so far, but it has been very pleasant. I don’t need any excitement here. It’s nice to relax after the ups and downs in Peru. I would recommend this country for travel to anyone. My hotel in Baños was $5 a night for a really beautiful room overlooking the town and the valley. I’m sure the room would be well over$100 in Canada. It even met Canadian hygienic standards. I wish I had time to go deeper into the jungle. It’s good to keep time precious though. Every moment is a gift.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2005
Ecuador to Columbia
Well, I am now in the country that people have either told me is the best in South America or not to go there. My plan is to steam through most of it right away as time is short and I want some quality beach time. It took some time to get through the border. There was a long wait for my exit stamp from Ecuador and then another wait for my entry stamp to Columbia. On the Columbian side, there were a lot of police who looked like they were from the future. The Equipment they had on was all black and looked like the hockey gear from ¨Strange Brew¨ or ¨The Running Man¨. The military presence is big too. I walked from the border to the nearest town and passed soldiers patrolling on foot. I wanted to get to Popayan, so kept asking directions to the bus terminal. There aren’t many grinkos in Columbia. There are a few people with pale skin and brown eyes, probably of Spanish blood. I haven’t seen any eyes other than brown yet. People look at me as if I am different, not in a bad way, just in a strange way.The bus ride to Popayan was the most beautiful drive I have done yet. It quickly switched from fields were cut all different shapes and sizes on rolling hills to massive mountains. For about 3 hours, the road was etched into the side of a cliff. It was probably the most amazingly engineered road I have been on. The cliff was so steep that it was rare to see the river in the valley bottom thousands of feet below.The ride was a little scary too. True capitalism exists in the third world as people try to make a buck anyway they can - and the government permits this unlike at home. On busses, this means picking up anyone on the side of the highway that flags you down. It also means that if there is a bus in front of you, you had better pass it to get that flag before he does. It also means that you don’t let yourself get passed. Usually as soon as the bus would pass another, someone would ask to get dropped off and the race is on again. When there is a military check point, there is no attempt to pass, but things don’t slow down much. The military doesn’t seem interested in busses much, but about half of them look alert like they are working. The one time I have been searched was in Ecuador, and I could have had a gun and a pound of cocaine and he probably would have missed both. The bus I was on had a special light that would flash when passing on a blind corner. People think I should watch out for crime here. I think that the bus rides are the real danger. Most criminals let you escape with at least your life. If the bus goes off a road like the one I was on today, there is absolutely no chance anyone would survive.I can’t get over how beautiful the first day in this country has been. In half a day, I have passed through many different mountain formations and many different types of vegetation. We passed a lot of Wan Valdez looking people either riding horses or donkeys, the trailers they pulled, or leading them with goods on the horses backs.There has been a sudden change in the appearance of people when I crossed the border. Most changes in people’s appearances is more defined by region and takes distance to manifest. Columbians are much taller and tend to have more European blood. There are also a lot of black people. Most people of all races are tall and slim.Columbia has left a fantastic first impression. I wish I didn’t feel the need to speed through. On the other hand, I think that I have got a basic feel for each country I have been to which is good though. If I speed through to the Atlantic beaches, then I can take my time for the rest of my trip. From what I hear, the Columbian beaches are the best.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2005
Long Road to the Beach
Popayan was incredibly beautiful. Most of the buildings downtown are hundreds of years old. The parks were fantastic. I suppose when you have an ideal growing climate and such diverse vegetation, the only real limit is a gardener’s imagination. In the main park, I watched one of the Andean Indian bands I’m sure you have seen at a festival or in a shopping mall. Lots of people gathered around as if they had never seen a traditional Andean band before. Although many people have some native blood, pure blooded Indians only make up about 1% of the population in Columbia. The band made their money by selling bracelets, necklaces, dream catchers and instruments in between songs. It’s quite a contrast to Peru, where mainstream.
I can see how British Columbia got its name. There are many similarities. Although much of this country is pristine, unspoiled wilderness, even the areas that are used appear quite natural. The farms here are incredibly beautiful. Most are a bit larger than in other South American countries, looking more like plantations with surfs doing the work. With the exception of some large sugar cane fields, the mixture of banana trees, coffee, pineapple, orange, lime, watermelon, bamboo, cattle, and a bunch of other plants that must be useful made every farm look more like a garden than a business. I’m sure it is no accident.
Last night was spent in Cali. I didn’t like it much. It was noisy and busy. Prostitutes followed me as I walked, begging for a little business. They all looked like they were decaying. They would have to pay me a lot of money to get any action.
In contrast to Cali, the city I am in now, Medellen seems culturally rich. After I checked into my hotel, I went for a walk, and there were a lot of people in a park watching a concert. There were a lot of different bands that were quite good. I’m not sure if they were playing for free or if the town was paying them. It was a little strange though because my hotel is in prostitute central, but just half a block away is the park full of families. The prostitutes don’t hassle me, and some of them don’t look diseased - quite refreshing after last night. It was the first time I have felt that my safety was in jeopardy on this trip. They really were freaky. All of them. At one point there were about five of them following me.
I still can’t get over how beautiful this country is. I really wish I had more time here. Today’s bus ride from Cali to Medellen was 9 hours, but I enjoyed the scenery so much, it seemed like no time at all. Even the cows were beautiful. They were almost all pure white and had white cranes following them around.
It’s such a shame that there is so much violence and political unrest in this country. Though the only evidence of this I have seen has been the heavy police and army presence, it sure does keep travelers away. I still haven’t met anyone from a country other than Columbia here. In Popayan, I wandered the streets for quite some time looking for a place to exchange American money. I had to ask directions 4 times to find the one place in town. It was pretty formal too. There was a big form I had to fill out and I even had to give a fingerprint. It’s the first time I have given a fingerprint and now CSIS and the CIA probably have it. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to wear gloves when I J-walk now.
Tomorrow is the last of my long bus rides. I’m going to take the 13 hour trip to Cartagena. It’s supposed to be about the most beautiful city in the Americas. From there, I will take it slow across the coast, hanging out on beaches. I hope there aren’t many tourists there either, but I suspect I will meet some. This kind of reminds me of my trip in the north where people are excited just to meet someone from somewhere else.
This country must be the most beautiful country in the world. It’s too bad that hardly anyone knows it. I hope they find peace here, but apparently now is the most violent time since La Voilencia in the late 40's and early 50´s. I haven’t heard a gunshot or seen a dead body yet though.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2005
Cartagena
I survived something I was told not to do in Columbia - I took a night bus. I was ready to go, but I didn’t have enough pesos to but the ticket and they wouldn’t take American dollars. I had to go downtown to change my money, and it was quite the process. I asked a taxi driver where I could change money. He lead me to the Police who took me to an apartment building and there was a guy on the third floor that changed my money. Medelin was supposed to be the cocaine capitol of Columbia, you’d think American dollars were all over the place. Anyway, the last day bus left at 7:30 am and I had to wait until 5 pm to take the first night bus. It did seem like the people on the bus got a little edgy every time the bus would stop. The bus was searched by the police twice while I was awake. I think one of the times was by a private militia. They only looked in the luggage compartments under the bus. I don’t think they were interested in finding anything somebody could fit in the carry on compartments. My big regret though was not seeing the scenery well. The moon was hope night before being full, so I could tell that it was pretty damn nice out there, but it would have been nice to see it better. Today, I finally swam in the ocean. The water was the perfect temperature. I could live in it given the right facilities. I’m in Cartigena, a city that resembles Quebec City as it is surrounded by a wall and cannons. It’s a lot older than Quebec though which shows in the decaying wall. The city inside the wall has been kept well, most of the buildings are hundreds of years old, and the streets are mostly closed to traffic other than taxis. The beaches here are nothing special though, so I will move on tomorrow after checking out a fort that along with the walls to a couple hundred years to build.I finally have met some people other than Columbians here. I met a couple of American guys with big heads and some Germans with cold hearts. Fortunately, the locals are very friendly, but they have a hard time understanding my Spanish as Columbians aren’t used to hearing someone speak Spanish with an accent other than Columbian. They don’t understand that they have to speak slowly either. I’m really glad to be at the ocean. The rest of my days will all be spent on beaches unless I decide to go inland in Brazil which isn’t likely as I have only 5 days there.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2005
Two more days in Cartagena
What a couple of days I have had. Yesterday, I went to a mud volcano. It was a 15 meter high volcano of mud. You climb up it and there is warm mud to soak in the middle. It was amazing how high it made me float.I met some good people there. We went for drinks after and a couple of us ended up dancing for quite a while in a really cool small club with some nice local folks. I think there were 6 of us in the club, the size of crowd I like.After the club, I was walking a fantastic woman I met in the hot springs back to her hotel. We decided instead to get something to eat and go for a swim in the ocean. Then the night took a nasty turn for the worse. One of two street kids who were harassing us for money stole her wallet that she had tucked in her skirt. A mob of local street people caught the kid and turned him over to police. He had gotten rid of the wallet somewhere in the chase which thankfully only had cash (about $25us).Quite a fuss was made over it, but my new amiga was in tears and just wanted to go back to her hotel. The small mob didn’t want this kind of thing happening in their community and wanted justice. I told the police that we don’t want the kid to get beaten or anything, just to scare him a little. I walked her back to the hotel with a quick cab ride to avoid some people following us who didn’t seem to happy that a hungry kid was being persecuted for steeling some gringka’s money out of desperation.I woke up in the morning with a bit of a hangover, but what really made me feel bad was the realization of the kids desperation. I realized that when you look at the big picture, he was the real victim and resolved that I had spend some money on food to feed homeless people that night.After being stood up by a smoking hot local girl I actually felt pretty good. Now I could go by chicken for the poor. On the way to the poor part of town, I saw some incredible afro-caribbean dancing by kids of about 12 or 13 years of age. Seeing it gave me a big high as the beats were fast, and the dancing was the fastest I have ever seen. It really was great.I went to a fast food chicken joint and ordered a lot of KFC style chicken and some other cheap starchy potato like vegetables. I walk around the streets and parks where people were sleeping and handed out the goods. I thought it would make me feel going, but I felt terrible doing it. I got some big thank-you’s, but most of the people just had desperate, bewildered looks and took the food quickly and quietly. There wasn’t nearly enough to go around. I gave some money to people digging through the days garbage telling them it wasn’t necessary tonight. I also found the kids one of whom stole Charlette’s wallet and gave them money as I was out of food. Oh, one decaying hooker I gave the a potato type thing to offered me a blow in return - I declined.After I’d given out the food and all the money I could part with, I walked back to the rich part of town, looking for this internet cafe. I was so disgusted by the fake boobs, fancy clothes and expensive wine. I couldn’t even look at the people I was so disappointed in them and myself. I like them have just been walking over the poor.It may sound like I’m a good man for doing this, but it really was nothing. Most of these people will be hungry tomorrow and some will die soon. I offered no solution. I wish I had the cash to do more. You can feed people here for about a dollar a day, but I have to watch my money so I can go back to my world that creates this poverty by screwing 3rd world countries out of their resources and ensuring they stay poor so there is a place for cheap labour and God forbid some kind of South America Socialist revolution.I’m sure I will feel better tomorrow. Writing has already lifted a lot of weight off my chest. I hope I return home more determined than ever to rise up against the western world’s Paul Martin Steven Harper Tony Blair George Bush WTO G8 Halbitron and the rest of the cartel’s neo-liberal war against the poor.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2005
Tricks and Trees - Santa Marta to Tayrona National Park
Santa Marta seems to be about prostitutes, cocaine and marijuana - in that order. The first night I was here, prostitutes outnumbered other people 10 to 1. I ended up having some beers with some girls who I figured out were prostitutes after a short time. They were nice people with tough stories. One gave me a ride on her motorbike. She was new to the business, freshly divorced with children to feed. I liked her. There wasn’t much I could do for her though. It seems like there is a culture of prostitution here. I wouldn’t be surprised if husbands have to pay their wives. It seemed like the entire singles scene was based on prostitution.I left in a hurry for Tayrona National Park. The girl running the hotel managed to get a taxi driver to drive me for about $4 Canadian. The ride took an hour and a half and would have cost more than $200 with a proper tip in Banff. Tayrona National Park was the tropical paradise that I always dreamed of. I stayed at two different campgrounds that offered hammocks for $2-3. Each had a small restaurant that cost about $6 a meal as everything had to be hauled in by mule. The beaches were mostly small and cozy, separated by massive outcroppings of rocks. In the Jungle, it was hard to see much wildlife other than the numerous lizards hunting on the path. I did see some poison dart frogs and a lot of ants. The amazing thing about the jungle was the sounds of all of the creatures that I couldn’t see. I had some fantastic sleeps as the sound of the waves and the jungle are so much better than anything pop music has to offer. On the second night, I awoke to a chicken that hopped onto my hammock. It might have been the one day I didn’t eat chicken. The next day, I awoke to a puppy messing with my pack under my hammock. Both were a delightful surprise as it was time to get up anyway. It sure was a lot different than Banff. There were only a few family run businesses. The place I stayed at for two nights had a generator that they fired up and sundown and it turned off seemingly when their favorite TV show ended. After that, you had better have a flashlight or at least a lighter to find your way to your hammock because the moon wasn’t coming up for a couple of hours. I did do a moonlight swim one night.I’m back in Santa Marta now and will head to Venezuela as quickly as I can. I met my prostitute friends, kissed them on the cheek as is customary here, but they seemed busy. When I left for Tayrona, I had a bad feeling about Santa Marta. This time, I feel a lot better. I was greeted by I guy with an eye infection that I bought some drugs for last time. The woman who gave me a ride on her motorbike pulled up beside me and another guy I had a beer with greeted me all in the fist half hour. A girl I met in the park from Peru checked into the same hotel as I. I met some other good people here and on the street.I hope my prostitute friends aren’t too busy. They were earlier as the town is really busy tonight. I really enjoyed my time with them last time - it was their stories that left the bad taste in my mouth. If not, most of the other travelers here are really cool. It seems that for the most part, only cool people go to Columbia.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2005
Weapon Inspection at the Venezuelan Border
Well, my prostitute friends were to busy to hang out with that night. I at least I managed to say a proper goodbye. I’m not sure if they were smiling because they were making good money, if they were enjoying their work or both. I suppose with the right mind set, prostitution might have its good nights. I tried to be a gigolo once, but too many guys are giving it out for free. I hung out with some good people I met in the hotel. The tourists that go to Columbia are much more interesting that the other places I have been. I even met a fellow cab driver from Portland. She was a real character.I could no longer linger in Columbia. Father time put his hand on my shoulder and said that it was time to go. He couldn’t stop me from leaving part of my heart there. By far, Columbia has been the best part of my trip.Leaving Columbia would have been a tough trip had I not met the most beautiful girl in the world on the way out. She even has been looking at emigrating to Quebec - something that would benefit the whole northern hemisphere. She spoke English which is very rare for a Columbian. With some luck we will have a couple of hours together in Caracas.Everyone on our bus got searched at the border. They went through everything. I got taken into a room that was a little uncomfortable. I had to unbutton my shirt, then my pants. I wasn’t wearing underwear and when I showed him my weapon, the search suddenly ended.After crossing the border, we all had to show our ID at police checks 4 or 5 times. This was so the police could collect money from Columbians who don’t have proper ID. The last time, we each pitched in about 1000 Boliviares to get though the checkpoint quickly as it was known for being infested with bugs. That one still took the longest.Venezuela is full of V8´s. This is probably because of the extremely low fuel prices. It costs them as much to fill a tank as most of Europe pays for one liter. Although I know it’s not the best for the environment, it is really cool to see all of the 70's and 80's big luxury cars. Most have big mags. By far the most common car is the Chevy Caprice. The other down side is that there are a lot of cars here and walking is much more difficult. It's the same disaster that has infested North America. Venezuela hasn’t left a good impression so far and I don’t have much time to change that.Today, I arrived in Coro on my way to Caracas. The buildings are prettier than your average South American town, but the number of cars really brings down the enjoyment level.Today was really hard. I woke up early to the housekeeper knocking on my door several times, trying to get me to pay a little more to sleep in until a reasonable time. I left without a shower into the sweltering heat. It is so damn hot here. I took an uncomfortable bus to Coro, a good place to stop before Caracas. When I got here, I went looking to change my Columbian Pesos to Boliviares. That proved to be a nearly impossible task. After barking up every tree I was told to - every bank and even a trip to the airport, I was beginning to accept the fact that I had to sleep in the park. Finally I went to a shop that said they bought gold. The guy ripped me off big time, but I got enough for a hotel and maybe enough for a bus to Caracas tomorrow where I know I can change Pesos.I’m sure glad I'm not sleeping in the park tonight and my hotel has air conditioning. I wouldn’t be able to sleep without. The average temperature here is 30 c. Way to hot. I'm looking forward to freezing my wang off in Canada.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2005
Screwed by Brazil and the Credit Union
So I went to the Brazilian Embassy here in Caracas to get a visa. My Lonely Planet said that it was easy, took less than two hours and I needed a passport and a proof of onward ticket or bank statement to show sufficient funds. Maybe they didn’t do their research or maybe it was a typo, but ¨or¨ should have been ¨and¨. Ok, I went to a call centre and called Taxi Taxi and got my boss Jeremy to give me the phone number for my bank. I then called my bank and gave them the fax number and told them I needed 4 months of back statements to be safe. I told them that it was urgent as the embassy closed at 1pm here which is 11 am at home. They told me that they had a lot of bank business to take care of and would do it in an hour. I went to the embassy and waited and waited the statement never arrived. At least two hours had passed and they kicked me out of the embassy. The woman working there had a wicked grin as if she almost reached orgasm in flexing her power denying a lower class gingko entry into her country. I hope the devil is sharpening his pitchfork for her. I had a good wad of cash to show her, but that wasn’t enough. Furthermore, Canada is one of about only 5 countries of who’s citizens require visas for Brazil.Now I have to do what I should have done in the first place and buy a ticket from Caracas to Dallas to hook up with my flight home. Between that, buying the ticket from Caracas to Sao Paulo and how much I would have saved in the first place if I would have flown out of Caracas instead of Rio, it was a $2000 boondoggle. Thanks to my mom for coming to the rescue. I’m thinking of changing banks as well, but I can’t think of a bank less evil than the credit union - can you?Damn banks making the rich richer and foreclosing on the poor. Taking the family farm and selling it to Tyson or Cargill foods. I bought a Hugo Chavez shirt today and he looks mean on it - like he’s ready to fire a scud missle at the World Bank. Every time I walk into the Bow Valley Credit Union, I’m going to wear it and hold my right fist in the air while I wait in line. Viva Chavez.Last night was pretty cool. I watched El Empirio - I think it’s Roma in English at a bar owned by a Columbian. I was going business to business, trying to sell my Columbian pesos for some Venezuelan Boliviars. It wasn’t an easy task after bank hours, the same crap I went through the day before in Coro. This fellow was a proud Columbian and traded the money at par, giving me an extra 7% on the mid-market rate.After that, I watched the Chicago White Sox win against the Astros. It was a big deal in Venezuela as the White Sox manager is Venezuelan. There were random fireworks, horn honking and even some guns fired into the air. It reminded me of when I was in Bolivia and an Israeli guy ran into a restaurant when he heard firecrackers to avoid falling bullets he thought were being fired. He explained that many people in Israel die every year from guns being fired into the air, mainly at weddings.Anyway, tomorrow I buy my ticket and head for the beach. I’m not sure where I’m going but I hear Venezuela has some great beaches. I might go to one of the 6 national parks near Caracas.Caracas is a lot like a Canadian city with maybe a few more cracks. Actually it’s like a big downtown Edmonton (about 4 million people here) There is some very modern buildings and some road infrastructure that is pretty complex. It’s strange to see parking lots at restaurants and stores like at home. Normally in South America, a big department store will have about 6 to 10 parking spots for cars, but here, Hooters has a bigger one. It’s hard to walk most places as the sidewalks are very narrow and each is filled with street vendors. It’s even hard to cross at lights as they are very short and almost every change still allows cars across your path. There is one giant pedestrian street that must have about 10000 people on it at any time during the day.I just ate a fantastic chicken sandwich there where I met an author born in the States, but a long time resident here. He wrote a book about Chavez and Venezuelan society and told me to go to the presidential palace and talk to people in the park there about politics. I think I’ll do that after the beach. I’m a bit worried that hotels here might be really full. I was told that I can only stay tonight in mine.Man I’m mad at Brazil. At least I don’t have to spend any money there or pay their outrageous entry and exit taxes. If you have been thinking of going to Brazil, go to Columbia instead. It’s so nice in Columbia. If only I had more time there. I have to go back sometime. Columbia is the best. I hope I can travel there in my malaria pill dreams tonight.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2005
Venezuela says Yes to Crack
There’s a lot to tell about the past few days.When I was getting my money at the Western Union, I met two girls from Germany. They were in jail for narco-trafficing, but only had to go there at night, had a key to get in and out and had free internet. One of them told me it was a five star jail. I sure seem to meet people closer to the bottom of the totem pole, but they are the people I like. Life is real down here, and with out the bottom of the pole, there would be nothing to hold the top up.I bought my plane ticket which holds me in Dallas one night against my wishes. It’s going to cost a lot for that one night I am sure. I hope things go ok because the number I took to be in line at the office was 666. As soon as that was out of the way, I headed for Henri Pittier National Park. The name of the town I quickly saw in my Lonely Planet was Playón. I later saw that it wasn’t by any means the most highly rated spot in the park, but it turned out to be good for me.I went hotel shopping and the cheapest ended up being right by the beach. Most of the rooms started at $30, but they had one for $13 that I took for two nights as I was worried that the town would fill up Saturday night. It was the first time I booked a place for more than one night at a time even though I wasn’t too impressed with the town.After that, I went to the beach which was ok, but nothing to write home about – oh, that’s what I’m doing. There weren’t many people hanging out for a Friday night at the concrete square just off the beach, but I chatted with a guy who said he painted clothes and sold them for a living. It’s nice when people take the time to understand my Spanish. He told me to go to another beach the next day which was a 15 minute bus ride away.I took his advice, and it was a nice beach. There were hundreds of people there, but there was room for everyone. I didn’t find people very chatty, but I really enjoyed swimming in the turquoise water and looking at the spectacular scenery which brings me to today’s title. About 1 in 5 women here wear thong bikinis. Surprisingly it is a style that transcends the age and size of the ass the thong is in. It seemed most popular with mothers, but some women over 40 would wear them as well as children that were just entering their teens. It must have something to do with the name of Venezuela’s capitol, Caracas.I find the cultural differences relating to sexuality peculiar between Canada and Venezuela and South America in general. For instance, no girl I know in Canada would wear a thong to the beach, but some don’t mind letting the boobies hang free whereas no girl would let the girls out here. Hugging in Canada is really common between men and women. Here, girls flinch more if I try to give them a hug than they would if I grabbed their ass. If a girl gives you a hug here, chances are you will be going for a roll in the hay in no time. Teenage pregnancy is as much the norm as it isn’t here. I met one proud mother of 6 who was 21. I now see teenage pregnancy as a natural current that we strongly swim against at home. Here, society drifts on down the stream.I noticed the most beautiful girls on the beach were walking up and down, selling handmade jewelry. They stopped where I was swimming and played a popular game, batting a ball back and forth with paddles and then took turns swimming. They were far too beautiful for me to try to say something cleaver in Spanish to. I thought they had the perfect life, doing some easy work and taking some great breaks on the beach. There was a big storm starting to roll in so I headed for the bus stop.By time the bus arrived, it was raining as hard as I have ever experienced. When I got to Playón, it was still raining. I took shelter under a roof of a store than hung out into the street and bought a beer. The cute beach vendor chicas were there too. Some guys were trying to make time, but the girls didn’t seem to happy about it though they did show some grace. To my surprise, one started talking to me. Yessica and Nairobi were to become good friends of mine in no time. They were cousins from Caracas and had been in Playón two months. They were going back to Caracas in two days because they liked living there more. That statement baffled me. It rained for a while and after some time I offered to buy them beer. They wanted something called Malta instead. It was cheaper and darker, but similar to beer. I tried a sip, and it tasted like beer before it is fermented, really sweet. I didn’t like it much. When the rain stopped, we arranged to meet at the beach later that night.When I got there, they had a table of stuff set up with a local guy that was about my age named Israel. He was a real character with lots of latino energy and a voice that sounded like it came from a vibrator for people who had their voice box removed. It seemed like he was helping and looking out for Nairobi and Yessica as they were only 18 years old, freshly away from home. The girls went to bed a bit early as they had a big Sunday planned for sales the next day on the other beach. Israel asked me which girls I liked here. I said that the nicest ones just left. He really showed his latino spirit when he said, I like them all.¨I hung out with Israel and bought a boar tooth necklace off of him. He really had some nice work, particularly a talent for bending wire. He might have been the only guy in town who spoke a little English which was nice. After a few beers, I was ready for bed. He was talking to a cab driver friend of his who was really drunk. When I said good night, he told me I couldn’t leave because some girls from Caracas that he knew had just shown up. When he told them I was from Canada, they screamed and danced around as tourists seem rare in Venezuela and there weren’t any foreigners in Playón.It was time for a whiskey run, so Israel insisted I jump in the cab. He probably wanted me to chip in, but I think he was more afraid to leave me alone with the chicas. He probably thought that I might be in my hotel with all three before he got back. The liquor store that was still open wanted too much for a 40 in Playón, so we went to the next town where it was the same price anyway. The driver was Israel’s friend and had a drunken permasmile and his eyes were so squinted that I never did see them. It was a little sketchy, but no more so than most of the bus rides in Peru and Columbia. It didn’t seem to be a problem with the police as one officer was right there when he was getting in his car and it was obvious that he was really drunk and he had some whiskey on the rocks in his hand.It was a cool beach small town scene in Playón. There were about 8 or 10 teenagers with moto scooters looking cool – some with shades. Other taxi drivers were drinking by their cars, taking the occasional fare. There were some guys playing percussion instruments on the beach and had great beats going. They took long breaks so then we would dance to whatever music was being blasted from the car with the loudest stereo. Israel sure was a good dancer. When he started dancing with the cutest girl, she had bedroom eyes at him that lasted the rest of the night except when she was trying to hide it from her friends. One girl wanted my necklace really bad. I told her that I wanted 20 babies for it, but pointed to another Israel had for sale that would be hers for only 3 babies. I figured this was probably a typical South American negotiation. One time when I told a guy I was 30, he said, ¨Well you’re young in Canada, but your old here.¨ The cab driver was too drunk to walk, so he drove home. Twice, when I said I was leaving, Israel gave me a big hug and said that I can never leave. Finally I managed to escape.The next day I got to the beach at about 11. The girls were getting ready to go to the other beach. I think that they stuck around longer to watch Israel. I don’t think he went to bed or stopped drinking because he was a mess. He had his table set up, and people jumped back from the smell of his breath when he would talk to them. A couple of other guys that were there the night before were in similar condition, but Israel was a disaster. I felt a little crappy, but a couple of hours swimming in the ocean had me feeling a lot better. It was a crowded day, but there is always space in the ocean. When I got back to the square, there was a cool jeep with the hatch open, blasting Spanish hip hop from a wall of speakers pointing at the beach. Israel, was singing and dancing to the music and introduced me to the jeeps owner, a huge black guy who was a Venezuelan boxing champ. He was cool and relaxed and told me that he liked Canada because he beat a Canadian in the Olympics. I felt like I was in a Snoop Dog video or something. Some other guy was passing a 40 of some Sambuca type stuff around. I was surprised that I was enjoying it again as a rarely drink two days in a row.I had enough of the hip hop and went for another swim. I left my shirt and camera in the care of the vendors. When I got back, my shirt was gone with the hotel key, shades and camera in the pocket. Nairobi and Yessica were back and explained that Israel was in jail. Another person told me he was in my shirt when he was arrested. Apparently he was caught peeing on the beach so he deserved to be in jail but my shirt was entirely innocent. A guy went to the police station which was right beside the square and they told him that Israel was in Jail in the next town and would be out tomorrow. Nairobi offered to go with me to get my stuff as she had to ask him what he wanted her to do with his stuff that was still on display. It turned out not to be necessary as a cop dropped off a bunch of stuff to us including my shirt with all the stuff in it and Israel’s pants. I wish I would have had a chance to say goodbye to him. Maybe he will be there next year.I chatted with Yessica most of the rest of the evening. I really liked her. She understood my Spanish better than anyone else, and knew how to repeat things with different words in a way I would understand. She was also really mellow for a latino and had a big heart. As the night fell, the girls took their jewelry back to their house for the last time in Playón. They said they were coming back and we would swim together. It was really nice watching the stars, and swimming with the girls. None of us wanted to leave as we were going to Caracas the next day. They left early in the morning, I slept in. I think there plan was to go right back to work when they got home. I don’t think many people take days off here. When I would ask them how business was, they always smiled and said they sold lots. We will probably have dinner together tomorrow before I leave. They insisted I call.What a great time in a sleepy little town. It was the perfect mix between experiencing culture (travel) and having good times (vacation). I really want to come back to Columbia and Venezuela, but spend at least a month in each country. The people on the Caribbean cost have been the warmest people I have met. It’s really cool how the beautiful girls who I expect to be cold turn out to be really nice here. When you look at them, they look away and kind of put their nose in the air. If you talk to them, the perceived wall crumbles and from behind it emerges a warm person. Even the tourists, though few, are a lot more interesting and fun than those in the other countries. There are a lot of other places I have been told to check out in Venezuela including an island called Margarita. There are also a lot of national parks.I’m looking forward to being home. I have a lot of insect bites on my feet and there won’t be any bugs in Canada in November. Two months was a good period of time. I think that I would be more comfortable if I didn’t travel so fast and would have had more time with the good people I met instead of needing to move on. I’d really like to be back here in a year. I sort of feel like this was a learning experience for how and where to travel in the future. I also have more desire to learn Spanish. When I am using words I am familiar with, I feel like a more passionate, expressive person when I speak.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2005
Texas says No to Venezuela
I was told not to change my money at the airport in Caracas as they give poor rates. Well, it's a lot better than what I got at the Dallas Airport. The exchange place would not take my Venezuelan Boliviares. In fact, no bank in Dallas will. Because there are a lot of counterfeit notes? No - that's a much bigger problem with U.S currency. Because they are uncommon? No - There are flights from Caracas to this airport every day of the year. It's because of the political situation. We don't like Hugo Chavez I was told.The whole thing is so childish. When Condoleezza Rice was what issues the U.S. government has with Hugo Chavez, the official response was, "We simply don't like him."I hope there is a hell. If then I at least know that the people causing my problems will burn in it, particularly Mr. Danger as Chavez calls him. Maybe it's a response to Ozzie Guillen, manager of the Chicago White Sox. When his team finished off the Houston Astros, at that very moment he shouted, "Viva Chavez." You will have to look hard to find any media reports of this in the United States. I was in Caracas at the time. Most of what I thought were fireworks were actually guns being fired into the air. I knew some were guns, but I talked to a guy that said he made sure he stayed inside too, avoiding stray bullets. Chicago won, but the whole country of Venezuela felt like they won too. I know Chavez felt like he won as I'm sure it was a factor in the latest poll that puts his approval rating at 77%. Imagine Calgary Flames manager, Darryl Sutter shouting, "Viva Paul Martin" after winning a playoff series. Even to think it is a big joke. If he did, I wonder if it would be as hard to change Canadian money in New York.It's funny how hard it was to find this internet computer. In South America, there was pretty much an internet cafe on every block. Most of them had very good equipment including web cams and head sets for an average of 40 cents an hour. I don't know how they paid for it. Anyway, the computer here in Dallas isn't up to South American standards, but it's free at a hotel I'm not even staying at.I have to say that people are very friendly here. The information people couldn't believe my problem and made quite a few phone calls and walked a few different places to try to find me help.I even chatted with a few soldiers at the airport. One said that he didn't have any problem changing his Iraq money. I guess the political situation there is fine. About half the people in the airport were soldiers in desert cammo. I wondered which ones wouldn't be coming back. They certainly didn't all seem like the most excellent human beings. There were also a few degenerate inbred looking types cheering for the ones arriving. I felt pretty strange as I was whisked through customs by a surprisingly friendly U.S. Customs officer to find myself the only civilian walking out the secure area with a battalion of soldiers. I didn’t feel much like the cheers were for me. The soldiers didn’t seem to care much, but showed polite grace to the freakish looking folks.I can't wait to be back in Canada tomorrow. It's going to be hard to know what I want to do once my debts are paid. I want to buy a motorbike, start a business, and return to Columbia and Venezuela - probably with a trip through Central America as it now seems pretty small. I also want to get to Cuba before Castro croaks. Want Want Want. Welcome back to western society, Chris. Life is much simpler in the third world - Need Need Need. I already miss it. I enjoyed trying to speak Spanish to a couple of people at the airport. I started speaking in broken Spanish to the guy at the desk of the hotel out of habit - it is what I have done every day for the past 2 months.Chao South America, see you in a year and in my dreams.




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