Good bye 2008, hello 2009!

Yeah, it's been that kind of year! Some days the world seems to be spinning out of control, other days we are in (or above) the clouds, next day free fall...

Well, all joking aside, it's been a year since I left my corporate job. A year of contrasts, a comfortable winter in Latin America, a freezing cold March in Germany, and never-ending summer in California. Made a few new friends, mostly in the low-income bracket...

Autumn has been good!

Warm weather has made for great climbing and exploring on the Sierra Nevada East Side. I am writing from a comfy trailer with satellite internet in the Alabama Hills. No fear, I am not a trailer owner, yet! Many trees still have their fall foliage and there is a hint of snow in the mountains, but in the valley it's comfortable day and night.

Brad and I are ticking the 5 star climbs in the Hills. We found one of the elusive arches, visited Darwin, a "vibrant" mining town, and some Death Valley attractions off the beaten path.

More

Is there such a thing as a publishing artist? Well, we managed to get some photos published in More, Canada's Magazine Celebrating Women Over 40! Patricia Robertson asked us to shoot her, while participating in one of Susana Trilling's cooking classes in Oaxaca, Mexico. Quite a story how we got that gig.
Oaxaca is not high on everybody's travel plans, as it has been on the advisory list, too much friction between the locals and the federales. Nevertheless, the place is full of highlights from Mixtec, Zapotec and Spanish cultures. A few hardy souls make every year the long trek from Canada to spend the winter in warmer climates. For some, a campground above the city of Oaxaca serves as the final destination, for others it is an oasis and save haven on their journey further South. It was here, the San Felipe campground, were we met Patricia and Grant, two writers from Saskatchewan. One day we were all invited to visit a Mezcal distillery. We shot some pictures, they liked them and we parted ways. Some weeks later we get an email from them about the possibility of a paid shoot at a cooking class. Long story short, a few months later we fly into Oaxaca, spend 3 productive days in the city, and come November 08, we have 12 of our photos published. My lifestyle!

I had a dream!

It's Friday night, I come home from work, turn on the TV and it's all over the news: "Gas prices have dropped to a 20 year low of 31.3 cents per gallon because of low demand by consumers. Not only alternative technologies, but mostly the widely accepted use of public transportation in recent years has led to the demise of the single-occupancy car."



In other news the anchor woman announced that the last of the reality shows had been cancelled due to falling ratings. "Don't go away!"

Yawn! Time to get the mail. No bill, no junk? Wait there is a letter from Porsche, offering a free upgrade to the street-legal hydrogen-powered H2s. Hmm, that would come in handy for new high-speed freeways reserved for NoCo cars.

Back to the TV. Just in time to see the Dalai Lama congratulating by phone from his home in Lhasa the pope to the Noble Prize in Peace and Economics. The committee had awarded this years prize to pope Maria Magdalena III for her role in promoting contraception in third world countries.

"Next, Monday Night Football!" That's when it hit me! This was all a bad dream! It was Friday night after all!

I woke up in a cold sweat.

National Geographic?

This was exciting! The flower girl was featured by National Geographic in the Daily Dozen section during the month of June, but in the end some fly-eating birds were selected as being cuter.

The picture was taken at the artisan market in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. The market is spectacular. Most women and some men wear traditional, colorful clothing, and on Sundays the whole spectacle is enhanced by the religious ceremonies held next ot the market. Great to watch, but difficult to shoot, as the locals are not really into cameras.

Nevertheless, Marie was determined to use her charms and wits to get one these camera shy-girls in front of her lens. She invested into a flower arrangement and offered it to several "models". Most of them declined, none of them wanted to keep the flowers!

At least one girl, the one in the picture, agreed and we got a couple of nice shots of her, even smiling, which was not a given.

Finale - a great journey comes to an end.

In the last 6 months we have observed a world bobbing and bending in many directions around us, few things appear stable, just like us, just like this meadow near Paris, Texas.

It was the journey that was important, not the destination.

Car wash anybody?

After racing through the states of Durango and Chihuahua we have collected some dust! Body color of that car is arctic WHITE! What was most memorable? Western movie sets, that have been converted to permanent residences, amazing hot springs, the Tarahumira Indians who are in love with neon colors, the endless dirt roads...
Slowly our trip is coming to an end. It feels like we did not spend much time in any particular place, time did fly...

Barra De La Cruz - First Surfing Shots are up!

Hello Surfers!
On May 4, 2008, Marie and I took some pictures of surfers at Barra de la Cruz. The first 31 pictures are up! Please check at http://flickr.com/photos/1moment/sets/72157605151730505/

Private use is ok, please contact us for any commercial or non-private use.

Good bye Guatemala!

With some sadness we will leave Guatemala tomorrow, which was one of the most colorful, diverse and unpredictable countries we have encountered on our trip through Central America. We have met highland Indians that were very happy to chat with us, in the next village we would only get an icy stare. We witnessed Mayan ceremonies up close and were encouraged to do so, we had pigs roam around our car (in cities!) and we drove anywhere from 0 to 3012 meters above sea level in this country. The rainy season has started and we experienced some powerful afternoon down pours. We will miss this place, and may return sooner than we think.

For The Smiling People of El Salvador

In El Salvador, we discovered another paradise, Alegria. We stayed a couple of nights inside the crater of a volcano along the sulfuric-green water lake and the fumaroles. The place deserves to be the stage for a movie. The campground has a soccer field. Camping is $2.35/night. We were the only campers. We swam and relaxed. But the wonders do not stop there; the village of Alegria and its people deserve a mention. One can get carried away by the residents’ hospitality and the tranquility of this pueblo. It’s clean and safe, a rarity in Central America.



Marie is making friends wherever she goes!


We visited a few beaches popular for surfers; to us, the Pacific is too hot here. We are now driving the “Routa de Flores”, happy to have decided to drive through El Salvador.



In front of the town prison of Berlin, El Salvador that is.

The Forgotten Banana Republics

Back in Nicaragua and Honduras, we faced the poverty again, flagrant inequality between classes. We went to a few beaches, met local kids and tried to teach them a few English words. We visited Leon, Nicaragua because it’s supposed to be comparable to Granada, another colonial city in Nicaragua. To us, there is no comparison, Granada is s a jewel, Leon is not shining so much.

We did not spend much time in Honduras. We abandoned our plan to visit El Tigre island, which is described in the Lonely Planet guide book as being ferociously hot. BTW, when searching for campgrounds, we no longer ask for “agua caliente” hot water, room temperature is hot enough these days, thank you.

Costa Rica …. Costing Riva

Back in Costa Rica, we retrieved the VW Camper in Liberia and drove to Nuevo Arenal. We found a great free campground on the Northwestern shore of lake Arenal. I could have spent days there. To me, the Arenal volcano area is paradise because of its rain forests and its gorgeous fresh water lake at the foot at this pyramidal shaped volcano.

The following day we drove to the Volcano and stayed at a campground across the road from the entrance of the National Park. I wake up in the middle of the night with the enjoyable smell of guavas which grow wild in the area. At night, the volcano offers a light show; the lava comes down, dragging stones along and creating a roaming sound.

The following night, we spent at Sissy’s a noisy-cabin-campground in Fortuna.

We then drove to San Jose and slept in the airport parking lot because we had to fly early the following day to Oaxaca Mexico for a photo shoot. We took hundreds of pictures for a magazine called More for their November 2008 issue.

Back again in Costa Rica, we stayed 2 nights at the San Lorenzo de Belen trailer park and used our last days in Costa Rica to visit a bird zoo near Alajuela and to walk another trail in a rain forest near Tenorio, an active volcano. This 4 hour-trail is a real treat, apart from being a gorgeous rain forest, it offers swimming holes, waterfall, bubbling mineral springs and a unique blue-color river.

In general, our impression of Costa Rica remains the same as before; amazing nature at a steep price.

Kontraste

After traveling a few months in Latin America, visiting Germany in March is such a contrast! Germany is cold, clean, efficient and organized. There are no speed bumps on the autobahn, to the contrary, roads and cars are built for speed. Traffic signs and rules are obeyed, otherwise the men in green (soon blue!) will get you. Mother nature is reduced to parks and gardens, a good example for that is bear Bruno, who was shot to death after roaming outside his protected habitat. No space for a single live bear in this country, instead he is now on display, well preserved and with educational commentaries, in a museum. Garbage is diligently separated, contained and collected. Food? No worries here about contaminated food or water. Markets and stores are well stocked and examples of cleanliness. The choices of tasty treats from the bakery and the butcher store are overwhelming. All that without visible security. Where are the private armed guards, police, military checkpoints?

It seems the stereotypes are true.

But some things are the same, no? Money rules, gas is expensive, every village has at least two churches... Soccer fever, there are national league games twice a week, spiced up with additional cup contests, all live on TV during prime time, including the mandatory interviews of trainers and players before and after the game. Professional German soccer teams look more like delegations of the United Nations these days, but the fans stand behind their teams.
Soaps, yes German TV has adopted this phenomenon, too. And like their universal counterparts they are characterized by exaggerated herz, schmerz and multiple, parallel stories within one episode, leaving the viewer longing for resolution and... more!

On Different Continents

This month, the Eurovan VW Camper is stored in Costa Rica, Thomas is in Germany and me on the white sand beaches of The Bahamas.

I used to live here, on the small island of New Providence where Nassau, the capital, is located … such a contrast with living in a VW Camper in Central America. Here, the building has a swimming pool, great beach and other luxuries. Happily I don’t need that anymore; I am content with my “modern gypsy” lifestyle.


"Action" a professional limbo dancer in The Bahamas

Spring Break on Cable Beach, Bahamas

Which beach will you choose between Cable Beach and the Costa Rica beach in Thomas’ posting below?

And finally: The Beach!

After thousands of kilometers, many speed bumps, and only a few cases of la turista, we have finally arrived at our destination: The Beach. 3 days hanging around in hammocks, on sandy beaches and pleasantly warm ocean water. We picked the Playa Potrero, Playa Penca, Playa Azucra in Costa Rica, just North of Tamarindo. These beaches are at the borderline of major developments, good for swimming, not surfing. The coast line here is up for sale, everybody is hoping for the big investors and spenders to move in, yet the roads are still rough and dirty, empty lots are next to brand new condos. Cows and horses still make their daily trips on the beach to watering holes. Some communities have banned Quad-wheels, some resorts don't have waste water treatment. Food is bought in mom and pa shops. The good old Gold coast is still there, but changes are imminent. If you want to see parts of this unspoiled coast line, hurry!
It took us 3 months to get here and in a few days a jet will whisk us away back to law and order, steel and glass, schedules and deadlines, bread and potatoes.

No comment...

Honduras-Nicaragua Journey

We started our Honduras-Nicaragua journey with the Copan ruins. Our first impression of these Mayan ruins was from the admission booth; $7 to see the museum, US$15 to see the ruins plus another $15 if we wanted to see 2 tunnels. These are the most expensive entrance fees to visit ruins we have seen in Latin America. We chose not to pay for the tunnels; which was a good decision, we found out that one was not supervised and we visited it for free. In general, Copan ruins are impressive, but I still prefer Yaxchilan in the Chiapas (I am biased; I love the Chiapas).
We visited one National Park in Honduras, Azul Meanbar. We stayed at Los Pinos, a quiet campground with electricity and free Wi-Fi Internet. We took a 4 hour trail in an amazing rain forest with orchids, crystal clear waterfalls, giant ferns, birds, etc. It cost us less than $20 for the campground and dinner for 2 at the Park restaurant. Also included in the price was the security guard who stood at the gate all night with his shot gun. That’s the way it is in these countries, every gas station, every big store, every tourist attraction has an armed guard standing by, even the Coca Cola truck has one.
In fact, since we entered Central America, every night we sleep behind closed gates, most of the time, we can see the armed guard from our campground. We feel secure and we sleep well despite the constant barking from dogs and early roosters’ “song”.
We enjoyed the lake Yojoa area; we wished we had a canoe to go along the lake shores, which are covered with thousands of wild birds. In Honduras, we also went to 3 colonial towns recommended in the tourist brochures. Unfortunately, these towns, Comayagua, Valle de Angeles and Danli, failed to seduce us.
We are now in Granada, Nicaragua, a very charming city. We continue to experience a trip without bad luck and with relatively easy border crossings. So far, I prefer Nicaragua to Honduras and Guatemala to Nicaragua.
Today, we will enter Costa Rica. Our plan is to leave the VW in Liberia for one month. I will spend March in the Bahamas, while Thomas is flying to California and then to Germany. We will be back in Costa Rica early April and start to drive back north.

Sign at the entrance to a public swimming pool!

Infraccion!

That´s the last word you want to hear from any officer on the road, however we had to deal with it in the last couple of days. Police in Honduras and Nicuragua seemed to have developed a liking for the strange white van from Canada, or my driving style. Anyway we got pulled over three times in about 6 days so we slowly get used to it. Best story so far, driving barefoot, or driving with shoes that do not cover the angles (meaning you got to wear army boots to drive in Honduras!). All kidding aside there is actually a law against driving without a shirt, go figure! Marie has found ways to dissipate all travel stops, arguing, pleading, contesting, smiling, and other secret methods.
Adelante!

TOPE...

Mexican Driving Code
Here are the most important Mexican roadsigns, the “TOPES”. If you can’t recognize them, you car and you will become “air born”; your suspension, stirring and muffler will fly away, as well as your traveling companions. The Mexican speed bumps are the entrance gates to hell.
Never mind any other signs, such as ALTO (stop) or “DISMINUYA SU VELOCIDAD” (slow down) or “NO TIRE BASURA” (no littering) or “NO REBASER” (do not pass) or “PROHIBIDO ESTACIONARSE” (no parking), or “UTILIZA TU CINTURON DE SEGURIDAD” or “CEDA EL PASO AL PEATON” (give way to pedestrians ) which no one respects.
In Mexico, you will also see this sign: “NO MALTRATE LAS SENALES”, which seems to attract more graffiti than the other ones.
We wondered for weeks what this frequently seen sign means: “CEDA CAMBIO DE LUCES”. I will let you figure this one out.
"TOPE" is the road sign that Mexicans do not ignore for the sake of saving their cars from the nastiest speed bumps ever built. Unfortunately, half of the speed bumps are not marked…. So watch carefully and be ready to push the breaks.

Guatemala, a Mixed World.

We entered Guatemala at La Mesilla, on February 09. We found the custom and immigration offices somewhere in the middle of hundreds of street vendors, a typical Central America scene. Since then, we drove a few hours a day in the midst of gorgeous mountains and volcanoes, but we had hard time to enjoy them due to speeding and polluting buses and vans on the roads.
Guatemala is beautiful and diversified. Unfortunately, we entered the country after days of fever and antibiotics treatment due to a Salmonella infection we contracted in the Mexican jungle. As a result, the enjoyment is less spontaneous, the trip less magic, our relationship less warm, the food less attractive, etc.

We visited Lago Atitlan and Antigua, like any other tourist and we liked them. But what I enjoyed more, in Guatemala, were:
the road to aguas calientes Puentes Georginas as well as the hot springs themselves;
the Maya ruins, Mixco Viejo, specifically, our meeting with a local wood sculptor who has been restoring Mayan ruins for over 35 years. His name is Jose Alfonso Giron Mendez. Alfonso is a real artist with a broad knowledge of the Guatemala Mayan ruins and
the Biotopo del Quetzal, a national park devoted to the protection of the Quetzal bird, the Guatemala national emblem. The park is at 1700 m above sea water, in a rain forest.

Tomorrow, we will enter Honduras… to be continued…

On and off the road!

Guatemala has excellent roads, and some that need a little work... Or is it some drivers need a little refresher in their driving skills? After visiting Mixco Viejo, a beautifully reconstructed Mayan site near Rabinal, we decided to take a "shortcut" to the Quetzal Park near Coban. This smart decision turned into an adventure in dirt road driving and more...

After about 30km on a winding narrow dirt we ran into a truck, loaded with cement, that apparently had underestimated its turning radius or the stability of the non-existent road bank. Anyway, when we arrived, three women were shuffling dirt around, 4 police officers and about 50 kids were watching.

One police officer assured us that "equipment" was on the way to correct the situation. Well, we didn't count on that and used some tools that appeared, to remove mud from the road and dump it down the ravine. 2 hours later the road was clear, no equipment had arrived and the growing chaos managed itself into a temporary fix. I bet, the truck will still be there in a couple of weeks and passing the truck will be adventurous for some, impossible for others.

Along the Carretera Fronterra

We are now in San Cristobal De Las Casas, Chiapas (yes, still in Chiapas). Here, tourists, ethnic groups and other Mexicans mingle smoothly. In this trip, we are avoiding touristy cities, but San Cristobal is an exceptional place located at 2100 m above sea level.

In the past weeks, we drove parts of the Routa Maya and the Carretara Frontera (South-East part of Chiapas, along Guatamala).
For me, the highlights were:
Yaxchilan, Mayan ruins which I prefer to all the Mayan ruins I visited. This site is located on the Usumasinta River, a river splitting Guatemala and Mexico. The ruins can be reached by boat, no road.
The Lacandona rain forest with its waterfalls and rich flora.
Ethnic communities, such as the Lacanja Chansayab, the Tzotzil and Tzeltal peoples. We distribute color pens and papers to kids, in exchange for their pictures. In some cases, we print their pictures. We carry a color photo printer and our VW Camper can make electricity. The kids are blown away by our little camionnetta full of magic.

Traveling Companions

Along the road, we sometimes see locals waiting for a ride. We occasionally pick some up. A few days ago, we beat our record for the number of passengers we can fit at once; we had a family of 11 (with luggage) traveling with us for a couple of hours. It was a great experience for all of us.

Everybody loves peanut butter!

One of our 11 Indian passengers during a peanut butter break...

Jungle fever

The last couple of days we have been puttering along the Guatemalan border, visiting misty cloud rain forest, where we have seen gigantic trees covered with ferns, bromeliads and orchids. The best way to see orchids in bloom is when branches fall to the ground. Many times several species grow within inches on the same branch. We have also seen a large, orange roadside dendrobium that grows and blooms abundantly.

Another week in the jungle before we hit Palenque and San Cristobal. Life is good.

Now South and Going More South

Thomas and I finally reached Chiapas. It took us 33 days to drive from Monterrey, North Mexico, to here. It could be done in less than 3 days since it is only 1,700 km. However, we manage to drive more than 4,000 km to get here. Not that we were lost all the time, just that we enjoy going off track. The most enjoyable experiences we had and the most stunning sceneries we saw were along gravel roads, a number of them not even on the map.

The quality of the trails and eco-lodges that the Mexicans have developed is impressive. There are people here who care about the environment and do a lot to protect it. This is a strong contrast from areas where garbage are dumped along the road abandon cars.

The latest fantastic places we saw are (see pictures below):

Aguacero (West of Ocozocoautla, Chiapas state) a splendid canyon with cascade-waterfalls. We went further the gravel road to a small village. We stopped at the kindergartner, a modest hut, where we encountered the kids in the playground. We might have been the first tourists they met in their life time.

Hierve El Agua (East of Mitla, Oaxaca state) petrified cascades with an infinity swimming pool. A beauty that I had no idea could exist.

Chorreadero (East of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas state) a waterfall spewing out of a mountain through a cave. Entering the cave, we found an underground system that could take a full day to explore, we saw an underground lake fed by a waterfall. Thomas is not a fan of crawling in muddy tunnels; beside we are not speleologists, so we turned around.

Canyon of Sumidero (North and South of Tuxtla, Chiapas state).

Tambuque Balnerario (South of Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosi state) another river spewing out of a stone wall creating swimming pools.

Huasca (North-East of Pachuca, Hidalgo state) with its basalt walls and waterfalls.

Canyon de la Angostura and Puente de Dios on the Rio Escanela (West of Jalpan, Queretaro state) where the water springs from all over in a narrow canyon.

We went climbing a few times. However, we climbed only 3-4 routes at each places. Here they are, in the order I prefer them:
El Pena de Bernal (East of Queretaro)
Parque National El Chico (North of Pachuca, Hidalgo state)
Copoya (South of Tuxtle, Chiapas state)
Yagul (West of Mitla, Oaxaca state)
San Sebastian Tutla (East of Oaxaca, city)

We continue to avoid the cities, unless there is a festival. We visited a zoo with local animals only, a great cactus garden, a British man’s bizarre domain, a few ruins, monasteries, missions, churches and other odd structures. Hopefully Thomas will write something about them in his next update.

Next destinations will be: a coffee plantation at the end of some road, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Agua Azul, Palenque, etc.

We have decided to prolong our trip. Instead of returning North next month, we will drive to Costa Rica. Thomas will spend March in California and me in The Bahamas. We will leave the VW Camper in Costa Rica, where we will return and resume our journey for 2 more months. We plan to drive back slowly in April and May. After all, May is a much better time to travel in the Copper Canyon, North West Mexico in the mountains, naturally.

Canyon of Sumidero

Aguacero

A Car with a View