Our Super Bueno South American Vacation

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur

2010-02-02T06:36:00.001-08:00

Ok, I apologize for the lack of postings, we had a marathon exit from South America, 5 cities in 5 nights and 4 countries but we're safely tucked into paradise in Cabo San Lucas so here are a few photos and I'll post more later, honest.Angela does some shopping in the Tequila section of the local grocery store.

Fun with the underwater camera.

Booze cruise, never did it before but it was actually a lot of fun, I highly recommend it. This one included dinner as well which was a good thing and the sunset was excellent. We're off to the beach...

Huanchaco- number huan surf destination

2010-01-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

We flew from Arequipa to Lima to Huanchaco in an afternoon and went from the mountainous Andes to utterly laid back beach life in no time. Turned out flying was a good call as the buses went on strike the next day and are only just now running again.
The first hotel we stayed in was called Huankarute but it was a bit pricey so we moved to My Friends but it was a bit too cheap and now we're at Hotel Oceano which is just right. Extremely clean, right on the beach with WiFi and just 4 other rooms. Perfect.
The locals build fishing boats out of reeds and head out each morning to fish. The boats take about an hour to build and last about 6 weeks before they become too waterlogged to be functional. They use a split piece of bamboo as a paddle and ride the waves with ease. I took one out for a spin and they float and handle much better than I thought they would. When they're first built they weigh about 70 pounds, once they're waterlogged they weigh about 300 pounds.
We've taken some more surf lessons and are improving but there is still a long way to go. Our instructor is the oldest of 3 brothers, all of whom have been Peruvian surf champions. The youngest is 15 and competing in New Zealand this week. When we came in from surfing the other day Channel 35 Peru News was waiting and they ended up interviewing us about our surfing and we were on the 6pm news. I'm sure my spanish was terrible so my apologies to all future travelers as I'm sure I added to the gringo stereotype. Sorry about that.

Arequipa - La Ciudad Blanca

2010-01-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

The view from our room in Los Andes B&B; the city of Arequipa with the volcano Mt. Misti in the distance (5,825 meters)Leaving Puno was not hard to do. The city does not have a very pleasant feel to it and other than Lake Titicaca it does not warrant much of a stop. The drive to Arequipa was another 6 hours in a decent bus although the weather was miserable through the pass and we couldn't see anything but rain and sleet. At one point some slush was accumulating on the roadside but we shot right past it and on to Arequipa.

Plaza de Armas by night:

Arequipa is a nice city, the second largest in Peru, but it doesn't feel like it. The colonial style buildings are attractive and it was fun to walk around. We found some nice places to eat and Angela did a bit of shopping.
Plaza de Armas by morning:Then we hit a travel agency and booked a flight to Lima and then on to Trujillo. I think it cost us about $20 more to fly rather than bus. We won't get to see the coast south of Lima but we will also save 3 days. Nice.

Puno, Lake Titicaca and Arequipa- to infinity and beyond.

2010-01-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

We caught an 8 a.m. bus out of Cusco and headed south to Puno, on the banks of Lake Titicaca. The drive was gorgeous with a stopoff at a high mountain pass to look at tables of handicrafts and baby llamas.
Our double decker bus was comfortable and air conditioned and we watched pirated copies of "The Godfather" and "Up." Something happened to the Godfather DVD and it quit about 2/3 of the way through. No one seemed to mind.Here's the faded sign at the side of the road saying 4,338 meters above sea level (14,232 feet).
And the obligatory market stop. I'm glad we didn't take the night bus, it was a gorgeous ride.The next day we took a tour of Lake Titicaca. The city of Puno is quite unremarkable so if you aren't interested in seeing the lake or some of the ruins in the area, I say skip it. We went on a 9 hour tour that started with some floating islands and ended at Taquile Island which offers stunning views and supposedly a look at isolated island people. Aside from the fact that they see 1,000 tourists a day they are wonderfully isolated. The floating islands were cool and made entirely of reeds. Angela and I went for a ride in a reed boat like the one above. I'm quite certain there were jetskis and other high power water craft hidden in the reeds but I was unable to spot them.
Here's the view from the lunch table on Taquile Island. It was a gorgeous spot overlooking Lake Titicaca but package tours are so lame it was hard to get past the herding and the prodding which I detest. "Titi" means puma and "caca" should actually be pronounced more like haha (means grey or stone colored) but the Spanish screwed it up so the sacred lake of the grey Puma does not come across so sacred anymore. If you look at the shape of the lake and turn it upside down it supposedly resembles a puma chasing a rabbit. Once again you may need to hit the coca tea before this becomes evident.The islanders are all about these stone arch ways and there are several of them as we walked from one side to the other. This little girl was gawking at all the white people, but she looked great in her traditional dress so I took this shot. It was nice and hot after lunch so I went down to the docks and jumped in the lake with two other tourists. Everyone looked shocked (the water was about 48F) but it felt great and I was surprised more people weren't doing it. I talked to the two other guys who jumped in and it turned out they were both from Fairbanks as well. Small world.
The ride back to Puno from Taquile Island took almost 3 hours but was hot and sunny the whole way. We chatted with some other travelers from Scotland, Germany and Australia and had a great time.
Today we caught an 11 a.m. bus to Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru. Once again we drove through a high mountain pass but this time it was pouring rain, fog and snow so we couldn't see anything. The movie on the bus was Castaway dubbed in Spanish. Who decides what we will watch is beyond me. Now we're tucked into a nice hotel on the edge of the main plaza and will set about exploring the city tomorrow. We are surrounded by 3 volcanoes and a few hours away is a canyon deeper than the Grand Canyon. Probably won't check it out though as it's the rainy season and rain and canyons just don't mix.

Random travel tip of the day: Peruvian faucets do not have aerators (the little thing at the end that gives you a nice bubbling stream of water when you turn on the tap). So when you turn on the water a high pressure stream comes out, hits the sink and sprays all over your crotch effectively making it look like you have tragically embarrassing incontinence. You will do this at least 3 times before you learn to turn the faucet on slowly.

Machu Picchu- The Not so Ruined Ruins

2010-01-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

This posting shall be a direct accounting of our assault on Machu Picchu.2 days before: purchased tickets on PeruRail from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. Train is the only way into Aguas Calientes and PeruRail is happy to bend you over with their little monopoly. We booked the "Backpacker" in at 5am for $34 and the "Vistadome Valley" out for $60 because the "Backpacker" was already full. The trip takes less than 2 hours. Considering we have been paying about 30 cents an hour on all other transportation this is equivalent to getting a colonoscopy at McDonalds (unexpected and irresponsibly expensive).

Day of: Wake up at 4am, crawl down the road to train station, buy shot of heavily sweetened black coffee from 400 year old lady enroute. Get on wrong train car, wait until University of Iowa shows up (all in sweat pants), realize we are on wrong car, transfer to correct car. Fall asleep. Wake up at Aguas Calientes, stagger out of train with contacts stuck to back of eyelids. Make it to bus ticket lady first (in front of 400 sleepy gringos). Pay $15 for 15 minute bus ride. Experience colonoscopy dejavu.

Begin to wake up on bus as it ascends Machu Picchu. The wheels are inches from steep ravine into boiling river. The bus route is one lane and descending bus drivers vie with ascending drivers for space. There is no apparent right of way. Somehow we make it to the top to buy tickets. The ticket lady has NO CHANGE. Tickets are $45 each, I pay $46 dollars and say keep the change. She will not. I have to go to the toilet guy for change. He says I must use the toilet if I pay. I look around for the hidden camera crew that is obviously making a reality tv show out of me but they are well hidden. Finally we have our tickets and are inside the gate. We have been told that there is a stunning hill overlooking all of Machu Picchu called Wayna Picchu and we must climb it but only the first 400 ticket holders are allowed to do so. I tighten the laces on my Nikes and we take off at a dead sprint across the ruins. Rounding a corner I take out an entire Japanese tour group. Angela rear ends a Llama that tumbles into the ravine. We soldier on and make it to the Wayna gate on the other side of the ruins. There is mass confusion and a sprinkling of hysteria but half an hour later we are through the gate, #'s 148 and 149 for the day.It is then that we realize Wayna Picchu means "vertical rock tower from hell." Recall the scene from Lord of the Rings when Frodo, Samwise and Golem must climb the rock wall near the gates of Mordor. That was childsplay in comparison. In place of Orc's we are menaced by panting tourists from around the globe, gasping for air as they claw their way to the top. Each step is approximately 4 inches wide and made of polished stone. There are no guardrails. I use one hand to steady myself, the other to beat back the vultures that circle in the mist.

An hour later we make it to the top and see Machu Picchu in all it's glory. It is an amazing sight and we marvel its placement, construction and surroundings. To our left and right endless peaks of green are visible in the ebb and flow of morning mist. We sit and have a sandwich and a chocolate bar. Food is highly illegal for some reason and there are no bathroom facilities in the entire 10 acre site. Our sandwiches are delicious, the chocolate hits the spot. (thanks Jim and Jamelle!)An hour later we begin the descent and while I expect to see the surrounding ravines strewn with bodies they are not. We get back to the Wayna gate and sign out and head into Machu Picchu proper. It is rapidly filling with tourists but we are visiting in low season and apparently seeing only 1/3rd the normal traffic. I can't imagine what high season would be like (June-Sept.)
The ruins are spectacular and we make our way towards the Sun Gate for the view one sees in all pictures of Machu Picchu. By 1pm we have our fill of old rocks, tourists and Llama droppings. We head for the exit as the clouds fold in over Machu Picchu and a heavy rain begins to fall.Angela is losing consciousness at this point, snacks have run out and we are dangerously close to a meltdown. I fight my way to the next bus off the mountain and we clamber aboard. We hurtle back down to Aguas Calientes for spaghetti and a chicken burger. I prop Angela's head up with straws until the food arrives. We eat like starved wolf cubs and stagger to the train station.

Angela regains full function as the "Vistadome Valley" pulls into the departure gate. We step aboard oppulence and a self-proppelled single car train that seats about 100, there are barely 30 people aboard as we pull out. Two icy cold Cusquenas later and we are enjoying the mountain views. Soon music blares over the speakers and the train staff puts on a fashion show of local alpaca knitwear. (This really happened.) Then they take a cart down the aisle and try to sell the clothes. We don't buy anything but strike up a conversation with 4 americans from L.A.

We agree to share a minibus back to Cusco and so it is that 2 hours later our train pulls into Ollantaytambo, we haggle for half and hour, and end up in a plush 2008 minivan private charter for $4 each for the 2 hour drive back to Cusco. It is pouring rain the whole way and the driver tells me about all the accidents he has seen and that one should not be out on a Sunday (today) as that is considered "drunk driver day." Nice. We reach Cusco safely, the streets are running with water, we jump into a taxi and return to Bright Hostal for the night. I kick on a pirated dvd of "The Hangover" and then it's off to bed.

Next up: Escape to Lake Titicaca

Random travel tip of the day: Always travel with two (2) mix cd's for your minivan taxi or you may be forced to listen to 80's Euro Hit Parade. I think this is the real reason for South America's high road mortality rate.

The Ruins of Ollantaytambo

2010-01-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

The hardest part about this town is pronouncing the name. We spent yesterday in Pisac hiking the ruins there and then minibused our way to Ollantaytambo. O little town of PisacIt took 3 buses and 2 and a half hours and cost $1. Public transportation is crazy cheap here if you don´t mind riding with 20 people in a van that should hold 6. It´s all about the front seat next to the window. Muy importante. Ollanta is very cool with ruins right outside our bedroom window. We´re staying in KB Tambo and its a great place run by a very cool american dude. Last night we dined on wood fired brick oven pizza and when the power went out the place was full of candles and the wood fired oven kept cranking so it didn´t even matter. We just ordered more mojitos and then ran home in torrential rain. We´re off to Machu Picchu tomorrow by train and then return to Cusco in the evening and then plan to head south to Lake Titicaca.

Adios amigos!

Cusco, Peru - narrow streets, little people, llots of llamas

2010-01-06T06:18:00.000-08:00

I don't know why but I thought Cusco was going to be a seedy little backpacker slum where everyone gears up for Machu Picchu. A sort of Katmandu of Peru. I couldn't have been more wronger.
Here's Angela in Plaza de Armas as night falls on the city. We landed at the airport at 7am, went out and caught a taxi to a little place called Bright Hostal, then took off to explore the city. We went from surf level to just over 11,000 feet in less than 12 hours, not so bueno. We started drinking Coca tea and lots of water, I didn't have any affects but Angela had a splitting headache by bedtime. She slept it off though and has been fine ever since.
There are Llamas and brightly colored people that roam this ancient city and I often stop and can't believe that I am here. Cusco has done an amazing job of holding onto its past, providing an international destination for millions, and packing the streets with delicious cafes, cool bars and textile stores. Two thumbs way up.
This is the second time on the trip I paid for a picture. I cringe to do this but Llamas are much more funny looking in real life and I couldn't resist. And if my hard earned Soles go to people who walked the streets with their families and their Llamas is that such a bad thing? I think not.

Happy New Year from Peru

2010-01-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some quick pics from the end of the year in Colombia. I'll update more in a bit, we're in Cusco, Peru now.
This is the stuffed man who gets burned at midnight, he´s full of sawdust and firecrackers and it´s kind of creepy.

New Year´s feast by candle light and the full moon.

Beachfront property with sound of crashing waves set to repeat and shuffle.

Surf + camp = Surfcamp

This was a store in the Lima airport. We spent 4 hours from 1-5am at the Lima International, the best time to be in an airport. Angela was impressed someone used her last name to start a botique store. Then she fell asleep in Starbucks and drooled on their couch while I surfed the net and drank too many americanos.
P.s- Calle Ocho and Pitbull is on the radio as I type- what´s with this guy??? Dejame en Paz!

Santa Marta- hometown goodness

2009-12-28T19:17:00.000-08:00

Santa Marta has won me over. Initially I wanted to get in, get online and get out but after wandering the streets for 2 days I like this little place. The people are very friendly, the town is easy to navigate and every other street is a little pedestrian zone where kids play and old people sit in plastic chairs outside their doorways. Early in the morning coffee vendors stroll the street yelling "Tinto!" "Tinto!" and selling little shots of heavily sugared black coffee for 25 cents. Good stuff. People take pride in what they do, whether it's shining shoes, selling cell phone minutes or pallets of bananas. They look like they have known each other forever and there's lots of shaking hands and smiles.

There are churches conveniently sprinkled throughout the city as well so there's always a place to duck in for shade or stop and watch a wedding.
The beach is mobbed right now with Colombians from Bogota and Medellin, which is fine because we've been taking a break from the sun and there's no way I would hit a beach with this many people. Crazy.
The streets have a nice colonial feel, but lived in, not polished up like a museum. We have accomplished our goal of planning the next phase, which will be a flight to Lima, Peru and on to Cuzco to put us within touring distance of Macchu Picchu. That won't happen until the 3rd of January though so we're headed back to do some surfing until then. I am very much looking forward to that.

Surfing at Costeno Surf Camp

2009-12-27T04:57:00.000-08:00

Angela and I are currently in Santa Marta to heal our sunburns once again. We spent the last 3 days at Costeno Surf Camp and had a great time but our sunblock couldn't handle the wind, water and waves as well as we hoped so the backs of the legs got torched as we learned to surf. Angela got it worse than me so I let the sand flies chew on me for a few hours to make her feel better. I have 17 bites in my right forearm alone. Luckily Alaskan mosquitoes turned my blood to steel long ago and the bites don't itch but it looks like I've been attacked by a forgotten Colombian jungle tribe with serious blowgun skills.To get to the surf camp I experienced the hottest one-hour bus ride of my life. Sweat beaded on my forearms which only happened once before when I got my sauna up to 180F so it's safe to assume the back of this bus was at least that hot. I am also apparently pillowy soft because any Colombian near me on a bus instantly falls asleep on me.
This is Mario the mascot of the surf camp. He is a boxer that turns 1 today. He is very sweet and likes to sleep in the sand.
And this is day 2 of surfing. The water is so hot I actually wished it was cooler once or twice. The black stuff on our faces is zinc oxide, Angela didn't know it but I put hers on in the form of a Zapatista mustache for the day. Her face didn't burn but the backs of her knees sure did.

The surf camp is run by two Canadian brothers and they showed us the theory of how to paddle a board and then they paddled out with us and yelled at us until we caught waves and stood up. It was awesome. Then we ate fried fish and plantains under the palm trees.Now we are trying to figure out the best way to Peru. The Galapagos will have to wait for another trip, it would be too much of a rush job at this point. Of course we could always go back to the surf camp for another month... Such a tough call...

Thunder, lightning, wind and rain- in Taganga

2009-12-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching a lightning storm for 2 hours. It's still going but I had to quit and go get something to eat. It was fantastic. The clouds started building in the late afternoon and by 4:30 heat lightning was lighting up the sky in huge white flashes. As the evening wore on there were a few forked strikes, but mostly it was big blasts of light. I tried to take some pictures but I haven't shot lightning before and didn't have a tripod so I was pretty disappointed in the results. I'll have to google methodology online and hope for another great storm like this one. It was also nice to watch a good lightning storm without worrying about forest fires which is a constant fear in Alaska. Not only is there nothing to worry about here, halfway through it started pouring rain. Angela and I took cover in a little restaurant called Bitacora here in Taganga. It is outrageously delicious in a town of very average food. We have eaten there 3 of the last 4 nights. Tonight I had filet mignon with a bacon and mushroom sauce that melted in my mouth. Angela had vegetarian lasagna and a mojito that was top notch. As you eat here in Taganga people come by and try to sell you jewelry or play music and pass the hat. Everyone is very polite and it doesn't get out of control. There are a lot of beach dogs and their population is growing fast. I think something will have to be done soon. I saw a pack of 9 dogs today and even if they are all just 25 pounds or less, that's a lot of dogs. So Bob Barker, if you are reading spread the word.Tomorrow we are going to a surf spot called Casa Grande about an hour north of here. It's run by some Canadian brothers and they are going to pick us up from our hotel tomorrow morning since they'll be in town. We may spend Christmas there or hike off to a beach somewhere, we'll see. We are currently agonizing over how to get to the Galapagos. There are 19 different ways, none of them are very cheap and there's no good info out there. Unless of course you want to take a cruise and we are weighing the pros and cons of that. We shall see.
I saw a guy the other day with “Time will tell” tattooed across his upper back. I suppose he's right. I also want to leave you with this music video, it's all I hear on the radio in this country and it should be stuck in your head too.

I wanna Taganga

2009-12-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

We bid a fond farewell to our new friends in Cartagena and caught a minibus to Taganga on Saturday morning. If you are going to travel by bus in Colombia then travel by minibus. It was new, airconditioned, and the driver picked us up at one door and dropped us at the next. Perfect.

We spent the first night at Casa de Felipe which is an amazing hotel set back into the hillside and a bit off the beach in Taganga. Of course we didn't have reservations so we took what was left which was a little room up the road from the hotel a bit. The neighbor had a 4am ranchero music fetish so sleeping was impossible for Angela. I can sleep through an air raid so it didn't bother me any. The room was also about 104F which didn't help.

We initially thought the town was named Taganga because that's the sound a toilet makes when it flushes, and if you buy smoothies from the wrong vendor (which we did) you may become uncomfortably familiar with the old "taganga" sound. But it's 24 hours later and we're all better.So we moved to Casa Blanca and this is the view from our hammock. Amazing. The price is double for the holidays so we pay a whopping $30/night. Not too shabby. Down on the beach are vendors selling fresh mango and papaya juice and anything else you might want without getting off your towel. We also found a custom bikini seamstress and Angela is having 2 and a half bikinis hand stitched for her and ready in 24 hours. In Alaska you can't even get your internet hooked up in 24 hours and all someone has to do is throw a switch. This place rocks. We are extending an extra night and then heading farther north to beaches with nothing but sand and perhaps a surfing school, stay tuned. Grilled fish here is also amazing and all we've been eating. D lish.

2009-12-17T21:17:00.000-08:00

Cartagena is a crazy little town of contrasts. If you wander inside the old city walls you step back in time to a place much like Cuba, well, at least what I've seen in pictures of Cuba. There are even guys on the street who try to sell you "Cuban" cigars. They don't look very good.
The streets are narrow, the buildings are colorful, and the heat will melt you into the ground. But all you have to do is slip into a cafe for fresh empanadas and a lemonade and your ready to go again.
The city walls that used to keep invaders out are now the main attraction for attacking tourists. They wander the area by the boatload but Cartagena does a good job of spreading them out and taking their money.We found an authentic Bavarian bar and had Paulaner dunkel weissbeer, my absolute favorite in the world.
Another way to escape the heat is to enter one of the churches in Cartagena. This one was having a sermon so we sat down for the part where you are forgiven for all your sins, it's just extra credit after that so we went back into the heat.At the end of the day we joined forces with some other travelers from Tennessee, Germany, Israel, Italy and a local Cartagenian and hung out in a Salsa bar. It was a delightful way to spend the evening. Tomorrow, more Cartagena and we'll decide whether to head north or go for a mud volcano tour.

Bogota in the rearview mirror.

2009-12-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

As the plane circled low over Cartagena this morning it was hard not to think of Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone. Even though it was a bit of a Indiana Jones ripoff I still enjoyed that movie as a kid and to now be in the stone walled city of Cartagena is pretty cool. Of course the damn movie was not filmed anywhere near here so tune in to see how reality cracks up.

Overlooking Bogota from Monserrate, a church that is built on the top of a 10,341 foot peak and as close to God as I'll ever get in this life. We cheated and took the cable car to the top which was good because the view alone made my lungs burn. The church was built in the 1600's which surprised me because I didn't even know they had Christmas lights back then, the place is lit up like a bonfire at night. Inside is peaceful and understated, with a gory statue of Christ collapsing to the ground, cross in hand, at the head of the cathedral. Just outside the cathedral are about 25 booths selling souvenirs the way God intended and I nearly bought a shot glass made from goat hooves. Perhaps on the return trip.

Leaving Bogota was tough, first, because we had such a great time with our new friends, and second, we had to get up at 4am to catch a cab to the airport. Then sit and wait for the fog to clear until 9am and now here we are in 88F with birds and sea air and the Carribean lapping at our feet. Our gracious host Andy at his family's home in Bogota as his mom sets the table for a scrumptious tamale dinner.More awesome grafiti in La Candalaria district. I dig this urban art form. In rush hour traffic it took us nearly 2 hours to go the 6 miles on the city bus to Andy's home.

But we're in Cartagena now and a cold cerveza Aguila beckons...

It burned, burned, burned, that Bogota sun.

2009-12-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

This is Plaza de Bolivar in the Candalaria district of Bogota, which is the old town and fantastic. There are little cafes everywhere, the streets are narrow and full of color, and to the north the mountains beckon. We spent the morning walking around enjoying the 70F weather.

There is some great graffiti in the area as well.

Here are some funky old toilets in a renovated house that will be turned into a botique mall. We met Andy, a local, through Couchsurfing.com and had drinks with the Bogota chapter that gets together every day of the week for some kind of meeting or another. Monday is English night, Tuesday is French, Wednesday is German and there are poker and soccer meetings as well. Great people. We had a great time and then crashed on Andy's couch, well, his floor anyway, and met his family and they are all Angela size and very sweet.
Today we are badly sunburnt and headed out to see more of the city, a few museums and churches and eat some delicious empenadas. Saboroso! We have sunblock now and wish we had it yesterday because we look like red faced idiots. Viva los gringos de Alaska!
Tomorrow we fly to Cartagena which burns with the heat of 10,000 suns. It has been suggested we find a hotel with a pool of sunblock to swim in. Very funny Andy, come to Alaska and we'll show you -40F you little punk.

Got the feeling, power steering, Pistons popping, ain't no stopping now! Panama a a a o o o o

2009-12-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

Copa Airlines rescued us from the cesspool that is LAX. What a lame aeropuerto. The only thing good was Alaska Airlines sent me a Boardroom pass so Angela and I kicked back there for 5 hours and had free beers and watery chili- but no free WiFi, what is up with that? SEATAC airport has it going on with swank cafes, massageries and free WiFi. Govmn't ought to mandate that action.

So we touch down in Panama and I hoped they would play Van Halen as we landed, but they didn't so I hummed it while we deplaned. We found a $30 minibus tour that took us to a swank mega mall full of Dolce and Gabanna stuff that was at or slightly above american prices. Weird, but air conditioned which was nice. Then through the middle of the city as the driver rattled off sites of interest, Donald Trump's latest high rise being built and then slum areas not gringo safe. These ladies agreed to pose for $1, I've never paid for a picture before but their stockings had to be documented and I also think they could command crows to peck my eyes out so I figure the $1 was karma donation. So far no crows...And then the Panama Canal viewpoint at Miraflores. For $5 you go to a deck overlooking the canal and it was freaking awesome. A 3,000 passenger cruise ship "Amsterdam" was going through beside an oil tanker "World Harmony" and we got to watch the whole thing and wave at saggy europeans. A few didn't even get out of the deck top pool as their moving city went by. Can't say I blame them.
I believe an oil tanker named World Harmony is about as ironic as I get. Unless of course it rains on your wedding day or you have 10,000 spoons and all you need is a knife, or you meet the man of your dreams and then his beautiful wife. But I digress. It was interesting to learn the cruise ship pays by the berth, not the passenger so their bill was $280,000 USD to pass and the tanker pays by the liter of oil it can hold and so he probably paid a lot too. I think a gajillion USD.
Then we headed back to the Tocumen Airport in Panama City and I thought how cool it was that they sell you a $5 tourist day pass to check things out, really it was worth it. I mean I wouldn't specifically make a layover in Panama, but if you're stuck there, by all means get out and about.

Leavin' on a jetplane

2009-12-11T22:56:00.001-08:00

It's almost 10pm, -25F outside, and we just finished packing. Tomorrow our flight leaves at 7a.m. for Seattle, 3 hour layover then on to Lost Angeles and a 7 hour layover, then on to Panama City and a 10 hour layover, then finally, Bogota, Colombia. The Panama City layover is 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. so we'll head into the city and perhaps check out some sort of canal system I've heard mentioned before. Whatever.

36 hours of travel with 20 hours of layovers. Yikes. Angela has a sinus cold that is flowing like a river so she's hopped up on Theraflu and trying to pack pots and pans from the kitchen. I shall remain vigilant.
We have allowed ourselves 2 - 30 liter daypacks and it looks like we'll make it. I have my D200 with an 18-200 lens and a 12-24 lens and a 10" Acer laptop and a buttload of charging cables. Angela has 20 pounds of makeup and hair care products, 13 different pairs of shoes and 9 sets of sunglasses. First order of business is to hire a sherpa in Bogota.

Become a follower and stay tuned! At the end of this trip one random follower will receive an authentic South American keepsake. It could be you!!