Off the bEaTen path

Wow, a year since my last post???

2009-07-09T08:28:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. A year since I have updated my blog. Let's see... since that little excursion to Puerto Rico, I have been to China, the Dominincan Republic, Vietnam, Italy, and Turkey. Wow, I will see if I can get some pictures and commentary posted. Soon!!

Puerto Rico

2008-06-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's been a long time in the coming: a new entry on the travel blog! Persistent people (like mom) check it every day, probably for months on end, and continue to see the same old stale entry about Costa Rica. So sorry... I will try to play catch up now.

My Puerto Rico trip last October was another spontaneous trip. I have an instinctive reaction to spotting a super discounted airfare. Immediately upon the find, I systematically check my calendar dates for any conflicts, circle by my supervisor's cubicle for clearance to leave work, and then go to work organizing the details. It's a thrill knowing that I can be that spontaneous and that I can just DO that sort of thing.

The airfare to San Juan was somewhere in the neighborhood of 230 USD round trip. I know, I know, that's just a crazy cheap airfare. Granted it was a red-eye flight, and my routing was through JFK, but that's a small price to pay for the promise of sunny beaches and tropical waters. Never mind too that it was hurricane season.

My coworker Shawn and his wife Billie were also coincidentally planning a trip there at the same time, so there was also the promise of some company for maybe a little bit of the trip. My intention though was to remain relatively independent and to do my own thing. Sometimes my trips are nice that way. It seems that when I travel by myself, I also have better luck at meeting new people... if that's what I feel like.

The weather was hot and muggy when I arrived. I had opted for a small, quaint inn close to the beach in a section of town outside of old San Juan, called Ocean Park. The location seemed perfect. I could walk to the beach in under 5 minutes, and the inn appeared to be a renovated villa that was fixed up nicely.

I spent the first evening with Shawn and Billie. We went to a restaurant in Old San Juan that laid claim to the discovery of the Pina Colada. We ordered, of course, Pina Coladas, which were just-- ok. Go figure... shouldn't they have been like the "best" Pina Coladas, since were were after all, at the source? hmmm... After dinner, while walking, we stumbled on a fun club called "Milk" in the upstairs of an old building. It was almost Halloween, so a number of people were in costume. After Milk, we parted ways and I taxied by myself to another club that I had read about in my preparatory reading for the trip. There, I mingled and talked to several people, enjoyed the music, and then called it a night.

The next day it rained and I hung close to the pool and my room, waiting for the weather to clear. It never did clear that day. The wireless Internet signal was very weak in my room, so I camped out for a while in the lobby, surfing the web, and chatting up locals in different chat rooms. (It's a tactic I've found to be a productive for meeting locals) I had an engaging chat with one guy in particular, Javier, a professional type about my age, congenial and normal enough. I agreed to meet up with him for dinner and some site-seeing around the streets of Old San Juan. Javier and I had a a nice dinner in an upscale restaurant and then we walked around while he shared some of the buildings and history of old town with me.

We then met up with a couple of his friends at one of his favorite hangouts, a lively little hangout, painted in bright colors. That began the late night club/pub crawl. At about 3am, we encountered on the street, several of Javier's friends from his apartment building, still in costume from a Halloween party. We went all together to a cozy neighborhood bar. It was one of those places that has been established for probably generations and is filled with dozens of pictures of people and mementos on the walls. Various currency notes from around the world were pinned up around the cash register and everybody seemed to know everybody else. One drink into our visit, the bartender spontaneously started the salsa music. The very next moment I was pulled away from the bar by Maria, a self-identified salsa teacher, for an impromptu lesson. It was fun. I like that kind of spontaneity and I seem to find it more often in latin cultures.

The next day it was rainy again. On the weather channel in my room, I watched Puerto Rico being soaked by the backside of hurricane Noel. No threat to me, except to my beach time, it was slogging across the Dominican Republic to the west. Finally, there appeared to be a break in the afternoon and so I promptly headed for the beach. It was quiet except for the surf and was nearly empty of people. I called my sister Jeralee to chat while I dug in the sand, watched the ocean, and kept an eye on the dark clouds. It wasn't even an hour before I had to run for cover from the rain.

I didn't really get much beach time or sun in Puerto Rico, but I did acquire some Don Q (Puerto Rican rum) on my way through duty free in the airport. I love duty free. Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep the rum for long, let alone drink any of it. Due to a security breach at JFK, the terminal where I was waiting for my connecting flight was evacuated. We stood outside the terminal for what seemed like hours, waiting to be called back in slowly, flight by flight, to be re screened bag by bag, body by body. Grrr... With no obvious way to check my "liquids", I had to abandon my Don Q on the Delta ticket counter.

Sorry, I didn't get any pictures of this trip. I took my camera, but I was so distracted by all of the rain that I didn't think to snap any photos. I did bring home something though- a dozen or so sand fly bites from that very short beach visit.

next up... China!!!

C O S T A * R I C A * * A U G 2 0 0 7

2007-09-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

This trip sort of "just happened".

I knew that I was NOT going to be sitting in the office punching a keyboard for the entire month of August... and I was really undecided on making a return trip to Cuba... so,
(long story, short version) I looked for some alternative... and well, the price to Costa Rica was very reasonable, I knew they had volcanoes, jungles, and lots of beaches there. I even rememebered that they had SOME scuba diving... so that was enough, and ... out came the AMEX.

Soon after, Mark and I found ourselves in lush, very very very WET, and friendly Costa Rica. We split our time between three places: San Jose (the big bad city), Drake Bay (on the very quiet Osa peninsula), and Manuel Antonio/Quepos (the Fort Lauderdale of Costa Rica)....
(Did I mention that it is wet in Costa Rica?)

Diving in Costa Rica

2007-09-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

The reported "best-of-Costa-Rica-diving" is what took us to the Osa Peninsula, the most remote part of the country in the southwest near Panama. It's obscure enough that the Costa Ricans we encountered in San Jose (the capital) had no idea where we were headed when talking about our next destination. (Costa Rica is smaller than West Virginia).

We flew into Drake Bay, a very small and isolated community only accessible by plane and boat. We had a very breath-taking flight into Drake Bay on a twin-Otter and then left 3 days later via boat transfer up the river to the town of Sierpe. The diving was so-so. Visibility was poor, but we did get to see some reef sharks, a very large stingray, and experience some strong surge. En-route to the dive sites we did manage to spot some humpback whales. There is both a southern and a northern migration that end up in the vicinity of Cano island on a yearly basis to calve and cavort and we just happened to have timed it well!

...and it rained so much that we were always just as wet out of the water as we were in the water...

Corcovado National Park

2007-09-17T17:18:00.001-07:00

Corcovado, the "crown-jewel" of Costa Rica's national park system is also found on the Osa peninsula. It's remote and receives fewer visitors. We accessed the park from Drake Bay by boating up the coast for about 45 minutes in very rough ocean.

Once there we did several hikes. Yes, it rained. Yes, it was muddy. Yes, we had to walk in streams. My shoes didn't dry out for days. (Did I mention that it's very wet in Costa Rica?)

At least...
The wildlife was pretty amazing. We saw all four of the indigenous species of monkey, loads of scarlet macaws, toucans, crocodiles. I was fascinated watching the little stuff too, like the leaf-cutter ants at work. Yes... all of these photos are ones I shot!
That crocodile above is one we found in a pool just down from some waterfalls. Just minutes before the guide asked us if we wanted to go for a swim. Evidently the little crocodiles are not a threat to people. Even still, as adventurous as I can be, I'm not ready to share water space with one of them.

Drake Bay

2007-09-17T16:52:00.001-07:00

This was the view from our room at Drake Bay. This area is where Sir Francis Drake reportedly landed back in the 1500's. Our room at Jinetes de Osa was one of the noisiest rooms I've ever had... from rough surf crashing 30 yards away, nearly continuous downpours on a tin roof and no windows. It's all good. The last morning in Drake Bay the weather finally broke and this was the view.... ahhh... paradise.

Manuel Antonio / Quepos

2007-09-17T16:44:00.001-07:00

After Drake Bay... we made our way up the Sierpe river by boat and then onto a taxi-transfer that drove us northwest up the coast though the palm oil plantations to Manuel Antonio/Quepos.

At Manuel Antonio I took surf lessons. Yes, I got up. Learning to surf was a lot of work and now I understand why surfers wear shirts and board shorts. My knees got scraped up from the many times I tried to quickly stand up. Surfing was not so much like snowboarding. It was more like water-skiing/wakeboarding, although it really has its own dynamic. The hardest part was timing and catching the wave.

Surf and Turf

2007-09-17T16:25:00.001-07:00

We got in A LOT of beach time while at Manuel Antonio. The water was bath-tub-warm, and the surf was on washing-machine-hi-cycle. I spent hours diving into the waves and being tumbled about like a rag doll. The wave pool at Raging Waters will never hold the same thrill again.

Oh, and Mark lost his bathing suit in the surf at one point.
Whoops.

H A V A N A * C U B A * April 2007

2007-05-30T17:34:00.001-07:00

Yep, that would be me at the Plaza de la Revolution in "La Habana".

After lots planning and months of anticipation, I made my foray into Castro's Cuba... the land of rum, cigars, and old cars. What I found was a very one-of-a-kind place.

My tour guide...

2007-05-30T17:27:00.001-07:00

This is my self-appointed tour guide, Osmany... He latched onto me about 10 hours into my trip in Havana and he never really left my side the entire trip. (I think he just liked my IPod) And, well, like most people I encountered, he didn't speak any English (nada) ... so, I can more or less say that my trip was a total immersion Spanish course... with some interesting twists.

Hey.. let's go swimming!!!

2007-05-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

Havana, the Malecon, at dusk.

E L M A L E C O N

2007-05-30T17:21:00.001-07:00

El Malecon is a 4 mile stretch of seawall along Havana and part of the soul of Havana. It's always full of activity... fishing, goofing off, walking, hanging out, whatever...

Colorful and lively

2007-05-30T17:19:00.001-07:00

Havana is full of colorful old buildings (many in need of repair). It's brimming with music, noise, and lots of activity in the streets.

Caribbean Blue

2007-05-30T17:17:00.001-07:00

Florida is right over there across the water... about 90 miles away ... can you see it?

I've stood on the other side, near Key West, looking for Cuba across the Caribbean blue. So close, and yet a world away.

(Photo taken at El Morro)

Floridita - mojitos

2007-05-30T17:15:00.001-07:00

The Floridita, a trendy tourist bar and former Hemingway hangout.

Me and Che

2007-05-30T17:13:00.001-07:00

Yep, there's me and Che... but no Fidel in sight.

The view from my room

2007-05-30T17:11:00.001-07:00

I stayed in a "casa particular", a private residence. My host was Aleido and his apartment was located on a pedestrian street in the center of Havana. Aleido's place was a social hub, with many friends and family dropping in throughout the day.

Can you spot the gringo?

2007-05-30T17:09:00.001-07:00

New friends, Osmany and Lino
... out on the town

T a x i !!!!

2007-05-30T17:07:00.001-07:00

Yes, due in part to the longstanding U.S. embargo, plenty of old cars can still be seen lumbering around the town, many in service as taxis. ... amazing mechanics, those Cubans... 50+ years and still rolling. This is a taxi I shared with a random handful of other Cubans coming back from El Morro.

... el Plan Bush..

2007-05-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

There was political propaganda posted on billboards and wall murals around the city. No capitalist advertising to be found here! Really, no sign of the outside world. Truly an island.

B A R C E L O N A - S P A I N (november 2oo6)

2007-02-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I know I'm long overdue in posting pictures from my trip last November to Barcelona. Well, here are a few!

As a reward for enduring a long hot summer on the roof, Mark and I took off for a week in November with a course set for Barcelona.
This picture is taken from Park Guell with a view over Barcelona and beyond to the Mediterranean. The park was designed by the catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi. We saw a number of very unique buildings by Gaudi around Barcelona.

Josep and Aitor

2007-02-27T21:01:00.000-08:00

Josep (right) is the reason we went to Barcelona. He's the guy I traveled with in Uganda and Rwanda the summer before last. It was great to see him again and also to check out his city. On the left is his good friend Aitor who while Josep was at work, spent his time showing us around and hanging out with us. We had a lot of fun.

Lots to do in Barcelona - Sagrada Familia

2007-02-27T20:55:00.000-08:00

There really was a lot to do and see in Barcelona. One of the best known sites we visited was the "Sagrada Family", a Gaudi project that's still under construction after 100 years. (Gaudi died in 1926) It's massive.

F R E I X E N E T - in the wine country

2007-02-27T20:52:00.000-08:00

On a day excursion we visited the nearby wine country of Penedes. Aitor and Josep drove us out and also arranged for a tour of Freixenet, a winery world famous for their cavas (champagne).

Sitges, beach town excursion

2007-02-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

We also took one day to visit Sitges, a small beach town on the Mediterranean just south of Barcelona. Normally a very busy place, we had it almost entirely to ourselves as the weather was cool and off season.

Salvador Dali Museum in Figueres

2007-02-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

We made a short train trip to Figueres, a small town close to the French border and home to artist Salvador Dali and his theatre turned museum. The exhibit was... ahem, very unique. This photo is just one external view of this one-of-a-kind museum. Dali is entombed in the basement.

Roatan, the Bay Islands, H O N D U R A S

2006-08-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Back in the water...
this time the Caribbean, south of Belize on the island of Roatan, one of the bay islands of Honduras.

I finally got around to buying a dive housing for my digital camera, so finally I am coming back from a dive trip with some PICTURES!!

2006-08-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

This is where we stayed... the Inn of Last Resort. There were only 4 of us for the entire week (they accomodate as many as 60 divers). It was very very very quiet. When I wasn't diving (we completed 18 dives during the week) I was sleeping, reading, or completing sudoku puzzles.

Brandon's first dive trip :)

2006-08-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

That's the best I can do for smiling under water.

Lots to see in the water...

2006-08-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

The animal life and coral was actually very good. We saw numerous turtles, different varieties of eels, several stingrays, and on the night dive spotted an octopus and the elusive (and alien looking) toadfish. And of course, we saw lots of the usual colorful reef fish.

S H A R K D I V E !!!

2006-08-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

We signed on for a shark dive offered by one of the other resorts on the other side of the island.

After being briefed on the dive, about 10 of us suited up and went down to about 70 feet to spend about 35 minutes on a "shark safari". The divemaster brought along a five gallon bucket with several fish heads sealed in it (and of course chain-mail gloves) and as we all swam along with the divemaster and feeding bucket in the lead, the sharks swam all around us. No, I wasn't scared...

Roatan's shark dive

Sharks, sharks, everywhere...

2006-08-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

I think I counted up to 15 sharks. It was hard to keep track of how many they were because they swam around so fast. I had one brush by me. These are Caribbean Reef sharks.

And then the lid comes off the feeding bucket.

2006-08-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

If you look closely you can count up to 8 sharks in this photo. That's the divemaster in the center with the bucket. The sharks know the ritual well... they come up from the nearby deeper colder waters to eat... and when the dive master eventually releases the lid, he backs off and the bucket gets pummeled by sharks.

Cruising over the reef

2006-08-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Moray on El Aguila

2006-08-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

The Aguila (see previous post) is home to several very friendly moray eels. This one came out to say hi. She's about 5 feet long.

2006-08-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

The El Aguila (The Eagle) wreck. One of two wreck dives off Roatan, this one was sunk in 1997 in 110 feet of water. The ship was a 230 foot freighter. In 1998, hurricane Mitch broke it into 3 pieces. The bow, on its side is visible as a shadow in the background.

Just having fun under water...

2006-08-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

Goofing off...

Ahhhh...

2006-06-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

And so I say goodbye again to Peru...

Huany Picchu

2006-06-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

I missed hiking up Huayna Picchu last time. Life handed me a second chance and this time I made it a point to seize the opportunity. Huayna Picchu is the mountain peak typically seen in the background of pictures of Macchu Picchu).

Macchu Picchu, (the light green area) can be seen down below.

And then Macchu Picchu

2006-06-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

And then, the trip culminates at Macchu Picchu where we spend the 4th day of the trek, arriving first thing in the morning.

On the trail

2006-06-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

Dad and Jer on the trail.

Hard work going...

2006-06-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Much of the trail is either up or down... We all spent time getting ready for the hike, especially Mom, who had trained hard for this particular and difficult part... ascending Warmiwanusca. Here she is after just having arrived at the top. That's mount Veronica in the background.

2006-06-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

The 4 day classic Inca trail covers about 26 miles, goes over 3 mountain passes, and is at high elevation most of the time. Sections of the original trail and stone work remain from Inca times. Here are mom and dad coming down a section of the trail.

Our trekking group

2006-06-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

Our group of 16 got along very well. We were all english speaking (Americans, Brits, and one Kiwi), and for the duration of the trek hiked mostly together. Here we are at Warmiwanusca, (Dead Woman's Pass) at an elevation of 13,650 feet (3400 meters) above sea level. This the highest point along the 4 day trail.

e l P E R U 2006

2006-06-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't think I would be back to Peru, especially so soon. It's one of those things you think you'll do once in your lifetime with so many places in the world to visit and too little vacation time and money... and yet, here I am again, this time with my mom, dad, and sister.
It was 5 years ago that I hiked the Inca trail the first time.

Off the bEaTen path

2006-06-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

Off the bEaTen path

U G A N D A - R W A N D A 2005

2005-08-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have so many pictures, but so little time to organize and write about them on here. But one thing I can't leave out are the matatus.

Matatus (shared minibus taxi) were a significant part of the trip since we traveled daily and covered a significant part of western and southern Uganda.

Though they were a very cheap mode of transportation, there were a serious number of disadvantages. Matatus didn't leave until full (and full could mean anywhere from 18 to 30 people) and that could mean waiting for hours. Travel was very cramped and severely overloaded; roads were mostly unpaved, bumpy, and dusty; drivers drove fast and erratically, and every single matatu I rode in had bald or nearly bald tires. I was actually more worried about dying in a matatu than I was about armed rebels across the border in the Congo.

We get very close

2005-08-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

We are allowed to get very close to the gorillas- even just a few feet away. Even though they are habituated to people and are generally very gentle creatures, they are still wild and can easily become stressed. There are strict rules for visiting the gorillas. Our guide keeps us in a compact group and, among other things, makes grunting noises to help put the gorillas at ease.

Remember Sigourney Weaver in "Gorillas in The Mist"?

The SUSA group

2005-08-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

We tracked the largest group of habituated gorillas in Rwanda, the Susa group. The group contains 38 members and just several days prior ot our visit, one of the females had given birth.

Pictured right is the Silverback, the alpha male and leader of the family group.

Tracking the gorillas

2005-08-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

Trackers follow the whereabouts of the various groups daily and guide our group of 8 to the location of the gorillas. The hiking time and difficulty varies day by day depending on where the gorillas have moved to. Our excursion took about 1.5 hours each way and required hiking through and around thick vegetation (lots and lots of stinging nettles) with a bit of elevation change.

The gorillas live in the Virungas, a series of 7 volcanoes (2 are still active) that straddle the international borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congo (DRC).

Gorilla Tracking in Rwanda

2005-08-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Josep secured two permits to visit the gorillas in "Parc National des Volcans" in Rwanda. Only 32 permits are issued per day to visit one of five habituated groups. Obtaining the permits is costly and increasingly difficult. We arranged for our permits months in advance. Behind me is the SilverBack, a female, and a juvenile.

Mukoni Village

2005-08-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Local village tour. Children are everywhere in Uganda with big smiles and excited to see a "Muzungu". (foreigner/white person)

Lake Bunyoni

2005-08-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

We stayed for several days on Bushara island in Lake Bunyoni. No electricity, no running water, just a quiet idyllic camp-like setting with beautiful surroundings and a birder's paradise.

transport by dugout canoe

2005-08-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Around the Lake Bunyoni area, transport is typically by dugout canoe. Behind in the photo is Bushara island where we camped for several nights.

Murchison Falls Game Drive

2005-08-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

We saw lots of wildlife on our game drive through Murchison Falls National Park. We saw elephants, lions, giraffes, waterbuffalon, hippos, and many other types of animals. At left is a lion cub.

Murchison Falls National Park

2005-08-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

This is me and Josep, hiking in Murchison Falls National Park.

But then...

2005-08-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

In "the Bad Place" we weren't so lucky.

Mostly our boat stayed up

2005-08-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

Mostly our boat stayed upright... even when it was under water.

Red arrow is pointing to me.

Don't even see it coming

2005-08-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I didn't even see it coming and the next thing I knew, was that I was underwater, trying to figure out which way was up.

Red arrow is pointing at my helmet.

In the rapids...

2005-08-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

The final call from Juma as we entered a set of rapids, was always to "GET DOWN!!". At that point, we get as low in the boat as possible, holding on to boat and our paddle as the waves bash us.

Holding on didn't always work. I found myself separated from the boat a few times without really knowing what happened.

Red arrow points to me. :)

Setting up for the rapids

2005-08-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

We worked as a team, with Juma, our guide sitting in the back yelling instructions to us, to get us set up just right before entering each set of rapids. That's me in the front of the boat on the left, and Josep on the right.

Rafting the Nile at the source

2005-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Rafting the Nile was definitely one of the highlites of the trip. After some basic instruction on paddling, exiting the boat and reentry, we started down the river, hitting first some class 3 rapids, then some class 4, and of course some very memorable class 5 water. We did see some class 6 rapids, but at those times we got out of the river and walked around.

U G A N D A 2 0 0 5 R W A N D A

2005-08-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't think that I would end up in east Africa for my vacation this year. Funny how things happen. It was a post for a traveling companion on Lonely Planet that was the genesis for this trip. I got in touch with Josep Iglesias, from Barcelona, Spain who was thinking of visiting Uganda... and well, it somehow went from there.

I've uploaded just a few of my pictures and added some comments. To follow the trip chronologically, just read from the last post first.