2009 Smokies!

It all comes down to preparedness.

I was prepared for Gatlinburg. Vaguely aware that it was a street or two of a thousand tourist traps stuck together, I wasn’t surprised to see that it was just that. Located just adjacent to one of the main park entrances, the main street of back-to-back Ripley’s museums, souvenir shops, curiosity shops, fudge shops and restaurants are squished together so closely that it’s almost comical. Traffic on the main drag is slow and bumper-to-bumper. At least it’s compact.

I was not prepared for Pigeon Forge. If Gatlinburg is the gateway to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, then Pigeon Forge is the gateway to Gatlinburg. Like Gatlinburg, it’s unavoidable when entering the park from the north, and contains tourist traps galore – more than I’ve seen anywhere. Unlike Gatlinburg, it’s not walk-able, and unlike Gatlinburg, it’s seemingly never-ending.

We managed to survive Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, explored the park just a bit and then met up with Veronica and Barry. Our log cabin is located just outside Gatlinburg proper, yet it’s up in the wooded mountains requiring the navigation of some very steep hills to get there. And it’s every bit as rustic and cool as expected. My morning runs would be challenging with all these hills.

Bookended by rainy days, Tuesday, October 13, the day we would spend almost entirely exploring the park, was a beauty. I had been aware that the Great Smokey Mountains National Park is our most visited national park. But one would think that even with the beautiful fall foliage, October would still be off-season. I was therefore definitely not prepared for the crowds and traffic.

If one can disregard the traffic, the park is stunningly beautiful - as wonderful as it gets. Between the lower elevations and the highest point, Clingman’s Dome, there are green deciduous forests, then deciduous forests with the changing bright yellow, orange, gold and red colors of autumn, and finally coniferous forests. Although the day was bright and sunny, some of the trails were still covered with running water and mud, and this caused us to change plans a bit. We walked the steep paved path to Clingman’s Dome, only to find a cloud had arrived at the top just before we did. That was ok; we’d seen some great vistas from just below the summit anyway. Then we hiked some other trails leading up to the Appalachian Trail and wound up once again at the still-cloudy top. Barry and Veronica don’t do as much hiking as Debbie and I, but this day’s hiking was fine for all.

Barry then drove is to the Cades Cove area, which is in the western part of the park. The road winds along a river, so it took much longer to get there than we thought. The traffic on the main north-south park road had been bad enough. Once again though, I wasn’t prepared for the traffic at Cades Cove. It was simply awful – bumper to bumper at about 5mph for the 11-mile loop. The scenery in the loop itself was quite beautiful however. There were huge fields and historic farms and churches. We’d also hoped to see more wildlife than a couple of turkeys in the woods. Back to the traffic for a moment: to put the icing on this particular cake, we had to follow a smelly diesel RV for about 20 miles on the way back to the cabin.

The next day was a rainy one, as predicted. We spent several hours at an arts and crafts exhibit at the Gatlinburg Convention center. Later we did manage to take a ride into the park on the Roaring Forks loop. That was another cool primeval type area with plenty of waterfalls.

On our last full day we drove through the park to Cherokee, the town, and center of Cherokee, the Indian Reservation. Just had lunch and then drove back. We did stop a few places, including a walk at the NC visitor center and sightseeing at Newfound Gap, the top of the ridge.

2009 Dan in Romania

“Maybe you will see beer.” I wasn’t sure how to respond when the guy next to me on the train said this. So I replied carefully: “Beer?” “Yes, you know. Big animal that lives in forest.” “Oh, yes,” said I, “bear”. The train had gotten into the mountainous area of Transylvania, and the forest was indeed thick enough for bear, deer, or possibly even beer. We talked for almost the entire 3 ½ hour trip from Bucharest to Brasov. We talked about how our lives were similar and how they were different. The biggest difference is that he wants to leave Romania to make a better life for his wife and himself. He’s a welder and believes he can get a job in America, Canada, New Zealand or the UK. But the trouble is, he cannot get a visa. When it was time to part ways, he said God bless you and your family, and of course I responded in kind. There were detailed instructions on how to get to it. And the taxi driver bringing me into central Brasov also gave me directions. I ignored them all. “It” is the tram ride up the side of the mountain to look down upon the town of Brasov. I was sure you’d be able to simply see it and then walk over to it in order to ride to the top. And I thought I’d actually do it, for the good view of this medieval city. Of course I was right about seeing it – you can see it from anywhere in town. But I spent most of the entire time I was there trying to get to it. And I never really succeeded. The medieval streets don’t go straight at all. I later got a map and still couldn’t make it. I did eventually get to a park that I THOUGHT was at the base of the tram, but by then it was time to head back to the train station. And even then, I still couldn’t actually see where to get on the darn thing. No matter. The joy is in the journey. That’s what I say to seven hours in hot, stuffy trains, and a few hours wandering around in Brasov in the hot sun. 

 I did get to see the “Black Church”, the important Brasov landmark built between 1385 and 1477, and “blackened” by a fire in 1689. I also saw Piata Sfatului, the town’s beautiful “Council Square”. Besides the square itself, there were several other charming medieval cobblestone streets that I wandered around on. I also saw some of the walls and other fortifications that still remain in the village’s perimeter. And the park in the hills above was very nice and shady on this hot day. So next time my brother asks, “How are things in Transylvania”, I can answer truly, “hot”. When I came to Romania in 2008, I went to Sinaia, which is also in Transylvania, on Saturday, and wandered around the parks on Sunday. Brasov was only about 45 minutes past Sinaia on the train. So on my Sunday in 2009 I decided to wander the parks of Bucharest once again. I actually had been running in them quite a bit, but now it was time to make some more serious explorations. In the morning I ran to a park that’s not too far away, but one that I’d not yet been to: Parcul Carol. There is a tall, stunning monument in the center. I’m not sure what it’s about, but I believe it may be dedicated to Romania’s dead soldiers because there’s an eternal flame there. I later walked back to take some pictures. I also made it through close by Parcul Izvor, where Madonna will perform on her Sticky and Sweet tour on July 26, two days after I depart (maybe I’ll bump into her at the airport), and over to Gradina Cismigio, the Beautiful Botanical Gardens. Just like last year, they had music in the park, even the same old guy dancing in front of the gazebo to get everyone else out there. The Bucharestians were out in droves on this hot Sunday afternoon. What a great scene. Not wanting to get too much of a good thing, after enjoying the music for a while, I got onto the metro and went north to Parcul Herastrau. Too bad this park is so far away – I think it would be by far the best place to run in Bucharest. It is quite large, and includes a good-sized lake. Not to mention a huge statue of Charles de Gaulle. I’m not sure if it’s related, but there’s also an Arcul de Triumf nearby. That, and the long, wide, tree-lined boulevards are why they call Bucharest the “Paris of Eastern Europe”. Veronica is currently in that other city in France, so I asked her to find out if they call that one the “Bucharest of Western Europe”. I walked another mile or two over to Parcul Kiselef. Last year they had had some wonderful folkloric music, including a guy playing Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody on a violin. This time they had some folklore music as well: a girl singing rhapsodic songs. And she sang extremely well. 

 There was one more stop, and it wasn’t a successful one. I wanted to finally do a tour of the Palace of Parliament. Yes, the one that’s close to my hotel. The one I can see from my hotel window. The one I’ve run around at least 12 times during this trip alone. Yes, that one. I’ve been repeating the Romanian superlatives about it’s being the largest public/administrative building in the world, and the second biggest building, overall, in the world after the Pentagon. Veronica disputed that with some Wikipedia information (I hate in pesky things like facts get in the way of a good story), but I found something else on Wikipedia that supports the Romanian view. Anyway, I didn’t get in – the next tour was too long to wait for, and too short to get something to eat and come back for. And I was beat. Next time I’ll need to plan this out better. For more on life in Romania from my strange perspective, see a day in the life, in my running blog.

2009 Canadian Rockies

Snow in June Some of us have all the luck. After a long, but not so long as going to Hawaii flight into Calgary, we got into our rental car and there it was: yuchy wet snow slamming into our windshield. And there was lots of it, too. The temperature was above freezing, so it didn’t accumulate much. Where were those famous Rockies, wondered Debbie? A la Denver, you’re supposed to be able to see them from Calgary. Not with the snow pelting down, however. Finally, about halfway on our 90-minute ride to Canmore, the snow subsided, and there they were.

 And they were as gorgeous as advertised. Canmore is a small town just south of Banff national park, and it’s where we were to stay for our first couple days. Surrounded by the mountains, it has a spectacular setting. We walked a long way into the central part of the town for dinner before crashing. We spent a great deal of time during that first day or two being confused. Maybe we’re just getting old, but there were just too many activities to choose from. After talking about it some, and wandering around the Banff Information Centre as well as the town of Banff for a while, we managed to come up with a plan. It really wasn’t all that tough – we knew we wanted to hike and to see the various other sights, so it was just a matter of which hikes and sights. In the end, we chose wisely… Banff Hiking 

We should begin by saying that there was plenty of great hiking just outside our hotel in Canmore. Canmore is about 15 minutes from Banff Townsite, and it’s every bit as nice. I did my running on the Canmore trails, but our hikes were all within Banff and Jasper National Parks. Our first hike was to the summit of Tunnel Mountain. At 3 miles with 800+ feet of elevation gain, it was moderately difficult. Accessible directly from Banff Townsite, it is probably the most popular hike of all in the Canadian Rockies. There were, therefore, many other people on the trail. But the views of the surrounding scenery were great, as was the cool mountain air. It took us about an hour to make the climb to the top, and then only 40 minutes to roll down. We had considered the Gondola ride to the top of a mountain, but since we hiked up another nearby one, we didn’t feel it was necessary. Afterwards, we did pay a visit to the famous Fairmount Banff Springs Hotel. It’s a castle to rival those in Europe. We had a nice lunch. For our next trick, we chose the Plain of Six Glaciers Hike in the Lake Louise area of Banff. We knew something was amiss as we were driving up towards Lake Louise and noticed that the cars coming back down were covered with snow everywhere except their windshields. Sure enough, it was snowing off and on as we arrived at the lake for the start of our hike. It was mostly off as we got going, but it sure was cold. Off for us, that is; it was still snowing on most of the mountaintops, and virtually all the trees were covered. The first part of the hike is along the shore of Lake Louise. Although the lake would have been beautiful on a bright, sunny day, the snow added its own beauty and enchantment. Did I say enchantment? This entire hike was enchanted; it was a wonderland the entire way. Once on the other side of the lake we began our climb, which would wind up being on the order of 1,100 feet up to close to about 7,000 feet. We walked through sub-alpine forests, along rocky cliffs, and over past avalanches. Those snowy areas made for slow-going, and they became more numerous as we neared the top. At some point there was more snow than non-snow on the trail. Finally, after two hours we reached the tea house. In the middle of the wilderness and supplied by people on horses is this famous teahouse where we were served a sandwich, soup and tea. 

What a great tradition this is. There was all snow at this elevation, and we were not able to continue any further because the snow was too deep to hike through. We had actually seen one or two glaciers, but not all six. In any case, it was time to turn back. We will remember this as one of our most wondrous hikes ever. One other thing about that Plain of Six Glaciers Hike: we saw a strange animal back in that wilderness. Could it have been a wolverine? It had reddish and light orangish coloring, and it walked funny, sort of like a skunk. After much research and discussion with park rangers, we decided that it was indeed a rare sighting of a wolverine. Incidentally, wolverines are so tough that they will attack a grizzly for food. Good thing we kept our distance. “Oh Canada, Eh!” was a fun show involving Canadians making fun of themselves, but also celebrating their heritage and arts. That was our cultural experience for the week. Icefields Parkway This drive through Banff north to Jasper National Park is as great as any drive anywhere. The mountain passes were cold and snowy, and we did a short hike at one of them, Bow Pass, to get a great view of Peyto Lake. After the passes came the Columbia Ice Field, a huge frozen lake from which there are six major glaciers. We got a great view of a couple from the Icefields Information Centre. At that point we had just entered Jasper National Park, and the terrain changed again. Now as we descended in elevation, the forests and rivers became more beautiful, as did the weather. It was actually warm for the first time on the trip. We did a nice hike down to the lower Sunwapta Falls – there were actually three more falls after the main one that everyone can see without hiking. Did I mention the wildlife? We saw a young black bear, several mountain goats, an elk, an eagle, a ptarmigan, not to mention beautiful magpies (black and white with a streak of iridescent blue), ravens, and tons of other birds. Jasper Finally, we made it to our destination: Pine Bungalows in Jasper Townsite. Pretty rustic place, but it’s a very nice location directly on the Athabasca River. Unfortunately they are four for four in the malfunctioning plumbing fixtures department. And it’s overpriced at $CN 140 per night. After the snow and cold in Lake Louise as well as on the Icefields Parkway, we were surprised by the 70+ degree warmth in Jasper. Although it’s 4 hours north of Banff, Jasper is lower and is therefore often warmer. In this case, I think it was getting warmer in Banff as well, but we were now out of there. The Pyramid Lake hike was supposed to be easy, but maybe we’re just getting old. Or maybe we’re over-doing the hiking bit. Anyway, this 2 ½ hour hike was indeed beautiful, just as all the others have been. The view of Pyramid Mountain in back of the lake was grand. We also walked to an island in the lake. Later that afternoon we drove to Malign Canyon for yet another walk down along the falls. That canyon sure is deep. On our second to last day in the Rockies we were pretty darn tired. We nevertheless wound up hiking the Bald Hills loop near Malign Lake. Listed as “moderate”, it wasn’t. Maybe it was just our sore muscles and tired bodies, or maybe it was the snow at the higher elevations. But methinks it was the effort at getting up to those higher elevations that did us in. Starting out at 5,500 feet, it was sunny and warm. About halfway up, and I do mean up, a closed gravel road we turned onto a small rough trail and continued our upward climb. The tree roots and rocks made it difficult, but as we climbed higher, it was the snow and mud that really slowed us down. At times we weren’t even sure where the trail was because of all the snow. But whenever we stopped to catch our breath, the scenery all around us itself was breathtaking. And eventually we did make it to the top. The view of Malign Lake and all the surrounding mountains was great. At 7,000 feet, it was pretty cold, so we hurried through our picnic lunch, giving crumbs to the gray jays who had asked for the handout, and then we headed back down. Altogether it was 6 ½ miles with 1,500 feet of elevation gain in about 4 difficult hours. 

During the ride back to Jasper we saw several bighorn sheep on one side of the road, and then later on a large black bear on the other. You may have figured out that Debbie and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the trails in Canmore, Banff and Jasper. Collectively, in fact, this has to be the best hiking anywhere on the planet. Yes, we’ve had great and memorable hikes in other places, especially Hawaii. But nothing comes close to the grandeur as well as the simple volume of great hiking in the Canadian Rockies. Besides all our great hikes on these trails, I had some wonderful runs on them as well. My running is, as always, chronicled in by running blog: danhorvath.blogspot.com. To do next time we come to the Canadian Rockies: • See nearby Yoho and Kootenay National Parks • See Miete Hot Springs and Mt. Edith Cavell area in Jasper • See Lake Minnewanka in Banff • Take a canoe trip on a river or lake • Take one of the gondolas to the mountaintops in either Banff or Jasper • Take one of the other million great hikes that we weren’t able to do this time • Avoid staying at Pine Bungalows (not so terrible – nice location, but not worth the price)

2009 Dan in Peru

Lima The first thing to know about Lima is that although it’s on the Pacific coast, it’s also in a desert. The second thing is that 9 million people live here, making it roughly the size of Chicago or LA. Like LA, the mountains to the east trap fog and the ambient air pollution from these millions of Peruvians has turned this into smog. The mountains themselves, the foothills of the Andes, crop up abruptly and are completely void of vegetation. That, along with the desert air, reminds one of Phoenix. But drive anywhere in Lima, and satisfaction is guaranteed that we’re not in Kansas anymore. Besides the pollution, there’s the traffic. It’s pretty darn awful. And then there’s the driving. Staying within lanes? Yielding to right-of-way? Watching out for pedestrians? Traffic laws in general? Mere suggestions. The architecture and various businesses are also unique to Peru. I’d had plenty of warning about the crime, including kidnappings. The warnings did give me pause. Maybe I’ve been lucky, but it doesn’t look so bad to me. It helps that I’m in, I think, a fairly safe area. 

The Hotel Golf Los Incas is built into the side of a mountain overlooking a golf course. It’s not far from the office of my client, and in all the driving back and forth, as well as my almost daily running, I haven’t seen anything to be worried about. Not that I’ll take any unnecessary chances, mind you. And my clients, as well as all of the other Peruvians I’ve met, have all been more than gracious. The Historical center of Lima is, in fact, quite historical. Founded by Francisco Pizarro in the 16th century, Plaza Mayor, the main square, hosts the presidential palace, the Lima Cathedral and several other historical buildings. The architecture here and in the surrounding blocks takes us back to the colonial times. There’s also Peruvian music everywhere. On one of the nearby blocks is the Cathedral of San Francisco. Below the cathedral are the famous catacombs, where 30,000 Peruvians were buries. It’s quite a labyrinth. They’ve unearthed the bones, and they’re on display. There’s a lot of them. Back to the Plaza Mayor, and people were lining up on the sides of the roads, so of course I lined up with them. As I suspected, a parade started up. It was a folklore parade, as dozens of groups of dancers, all wearing masks and extremely colorful costumes, came dancing by. Each dancing group was followed by a band, and each band appeared to be playing the same music. Quite the cultural experience for old Dan. My friends from the office, Liliana, Fernando and Fiorella, not to mention Fiorella’s beautiful 5-year old daughter, Rafaella were kind enough to take me to the Gold Museum. Interestingly, there wasn’t a tremendous amount of gold there. The Spanish Conquistadors had plundered most of it. What was left, death masks, chalices and the like, was certainly fantastic however. What there was a lot of, however, was weapons. I’d never seen so many knives, swords and guns of all types. There were also plenty of interesting archeological items. The highlight for me, however, was the mummies. They are extremely well-preserved, and quite fascinating. The nightmares will come later. My running in Lima is chronicaled in my running blog, including my first run in Peru, and other running in Peru, and finally, Running in Peru – My Final Run for the Trip and Sort of a Summary. 

 A couple days before leaving, Liliana and Fernando took Mary and me out to the Miraflores area for an evening. Located above directly on the Pacific, including the sea cliffs above, Miraflores is the tourist and nightlife center of Lima. It is noticeably cooler and more humid that the La Molina and Surco districts where I’ve spent most of my time. The area was quite lively. We had pisco sour drinks (good, but very strong!) at a restaurant in the Larcomar mall, which is built into the sea cliff. What a great evening out. It was wonderful of Liliana and Fernando to spend the time with us. 

 Pacachamac Pacachamac is an archeological site about 20 miles from Lima. I took a tour In order to get there. On the way I got to see some of the districts of Lima that are on the seacoast: Miraflores, Barranco and others. This part of Lima is quite different from the parts that I’d been used to. Here the haze/fog/smog is very noticeable. It hangs just above the ocean, hugging the surrounding sea cliffs. The Pachacamac site itself is, like many of the mountains, completely barren. It appears to be as much a desert as any you could imagine. There are a few somewhat green areas not too far away however – they can get water from a nearby river. This river is where the Incas, and those who preceded them, got their water to live on in Pachacamac, which was a fair-sized city in its time. The Incas who inhabited the area were the final regime/era; there had been three others before them. It turns out that Pachacamac was a god as well as this city, and the central focus is at the Temple of the Sun, which is high on a hill. From there one can see miles of seacoast (even with the fog) and a couple of nearby villages. 

 Well Being Unwell being is more accurate. Don't even think about drinking the water here. I didn't, but I still managed to get deathly ill. It's something I ate (not the water itself), but I'm not sure what. I'd been trying all kinds of new things, especially at the breakfast buffet. I had to see the doctor at the office's clinic. Now I'm on Cipro. It's killing me to not know what did it. Cusco and Machu Picchu Let’s say, just for fun, that you’re in Lima, and that you would like to visit Machu Picchu, the famous Lost City of the Incas. You may think: it’s only a few hundred miles away, and in the same country, so it ought to be easy to do, right? You would be extremely, hilariously, totally wrong. 

 First, you must get to Cusco (also spelled, Cuzco). Cusco, population 350,000, is in the Andes at 11,000 feet, and from Lima, it is 26 hours by car, and 1 hour by air. A long and winding road comes to mind. The cost of the air, we learned, was $430 for Americans and $172 for Peruvians, depending on where you are and what version of the website you use. With some help from Fiorella, I paid the $172. After you arrive in Cusco, you must get a train ($98 R/T) from nearby Poroy to Aguas Calientes. Once in Aguas Calientes, you have to buy a bus ticket ($14 R/T) from there to Machu Picchu. This doesn’t take into account the taxi rides (Lima hotel to airport, airport to Cusco hotel, Cusco hotel to Poroy train station), the need to buy the entry to Machu Picchu whilst in Aguas Calientes ($42), or other general confusion. Oh, and one more consideration: all this takes, at a minimum, three days. One day to get to Cusco, one day for the trains and buses and the visit to the site, and one day to get back to Lima. Not good if you’re on a five-day work week in Lima. But my colleague Mary, who would be my traveling companion on this trip, and I were in luck: Friday, the 1st of May was a holiday and the office would be closed. With the three-day weekend, and the relatively lower airfare, the trip was doable. At least it seemed so before the 3 ½ hour delay and general mayhem getting out of Lima. 

 Arriving in Cusco after being in Lima is akin to arriving in Oz after being in Kansas. The air is crisp, clear and clean, but unfortunately, there’s little of it. I’d been at high altitudes before, but never for more than a few hours. It was after a couple hours that I really did begin to feel the effects: difficult breathing, light-headedness and dizziness. It took the rest of the day, and a nearly sleepless night before I felt ok again. This is good because one would want to feel decent for the next day’s tough trip to Machu Picchu. Despite my difficulties, I just had to get out and walk around Cusco. It’s a beautiful mountain city. After some coca-leaf tea (it really is supposed to help, and is supposedly non-addicting) at our Terra Andina hotel, out I went. I hit the main market area, and that was fun. Crafts, fruits and vegetables, various meats, including whole pigs, various dining options, dogs running around, flies, all kinds of people, you name it, and it is there. The same scene took place on several streets that surround the building as well. Here the fruits and vegetables are very colorful in the sun. Tons of fun for a guy like me. The main square, known as Plaza de Armas, is also very nice. I saw it several times: daytime, nighttime, when it was nicely lit up, and on a Sunday morning, where there was yet another parade. This parade included folklore dancing once again, and was at least as colorful as the one I saw in Lima. Earlier I had seen the costumed groups marching and dancing into the church for Sunday mass. Even dinner in Cusco was memorable. I was tempted to have the guinea pig (they call it cuy), but it was twice as expensive as everything else. I settled for alpaca, and it was great. We had some good conversations with fellow travelers there, including some who would be doing the multiple day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I’m going to look into this for next time. 

 The train ride from Poroy to Aguas Calientes has to be one of the most spectacular in the world. For the early part we witnessed scenic farms and a couple villages that were framed by mountains. Then the mountains got serious. They went straight up to impossibly tall heights, sometimes with walls inches from the train cars. We had to pull ourselves into the windows so as not to get our hands chopped off. For other parts of the trip we went along the whitewater rapids of a rushing river that ran between the peaks of the Andes. We even saw the staging area and hikers for the multiple-day hikes of the Inca Trail. Upon our arrival in Aguas Calientes, a mountain village that’s in a beautiful setting and made specifically for tourists, we were greeted by mass confusion. Where to buy the bus tickets? Where to buy the Machu Picchu entrance tickets? Where to hire a guide? What order do we do these things in? Mary and I somehow managed to work it all out and get to Machu Picchu. 

 Machu Picchu was constructed in the 1400’s and abandoned about 100 years later. Although the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire did not include the site – the Spanish never found it – the Incas left nevertheless, perhaps due to disease. The primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Theories abound as to the purpose of the city. Some of them hold that it was a citadel to control the economy of conquered regions. Others say that it was a home to virgins of the sun, whoever they were, or a prison. Although it was known locally, it was brought to the attention of the modern world by the American explorer Hiram Bingham of Yale University in 1911. It was later named a World Heritage site and voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. There is now some concern that too much tourism poses a threat to the site. But then it can help too. We talked to volunteers who were there to clean moss and plants that grow on and between the stones. They sure help the preservation effort. Yes, Machu Picchu is everything it’s cracked up to be. And then some. Of course there was more confusion after getting off the bus and trying to get in. One of the points of indecision was: should we hire a guide? Naaah - $40 or so seemed like just too much. We set off on our own. The map was confusing, so after entering, we just started to climb the high-road path at the first fork. That’s when we saw it. The classic Machu Picchu view. It’s breathtaking. And not just because of the climb we just did. There had been the costs, the travel, the general hassle. But now suddenly it was all worthwhile, just for this one view. Now it was time to climb around all the stone stairs (lots and lots of stairs) and pathways to explore the place. The scale is deceiving; once you enter some of the lower buildings and open areas you realize how huge the site really is. Mary seemed to always know where she was, but I was happy to just wander around and gawk. We did manage to see most of the main stuff, and even relax a bit towards the end. It was later in the afternoon that we saw the llamas. First a mother and her baby, but then more and more. At one point several of them stampeded by us. Although I’d seen everything that I wanted to, it would have been nice to come back the next day. I’m still going to consider that hike. As it was, however, it was time to get back on the bus, and then back on the now uncomfortable train to Cusco. The next day it was back on the plane for Lima, where life would soon return to not so normal. 

The Good and the Bad Although the food was generally very good, with more variety than one can imagine, at some point I became sick from some of it. The drugs cured me of the GI problems, but I also developed a cold during my last couple days in Peru. So I’d have to say that although the Peruvian germs liked me, the feeling was not mutual. Lima is very large, busy and crowded, and at times exciting. The history is fascinating. The pollution and the squalor of the poor tend to detract from it however. Cusco, on the other hand, is a city in a beautiful mountain setting and is just what one might think of when conjuring thoughts of a city in Peru. The market there was very colorful. Machu Picchu is in a category by itself. Finally there is the Peruvian people. They are as gracious as anyone anywhere. Our hosts at the office, Liliana, Juan, Fiorella and Fernando, became great friends, and everyone else we met was congenial and welcoming. This is what I’ll remember best from Peru.

2009 Hawaii

ICan'tBelieveILiveHere.com
That's the name of Rita and George's imaginary website. They may actually register it yet, and I hope they do. We had the honor to stay with Rita, George and Chessie (aka Kitty in Paradise) for the first couple nights of our 2009 trip. We didn't plan anything big - just a visit.

Unfortunately, Rita had experienced a death and an illness in her family. It was a tough time to be visiting. She was in the midst of planning to go back to Ohio the same evening that we'd be leaving for Kauai. George was recovering (well) from his knee surgery. In spite of this, we had a nice visit. Rita prepared some nice meals, and we took a grand walk along all of the Kameole beaches in Kihei. A highlight was seeing a whale breach just as we took a rest at the farthest point. George said he could hear the thing flop back into the water. Dinner that night was at Cafe Ole - a wonderful place that we'd been to before.

Rita and I had a very nice run before we had to go on Sunday morning. Sad to go, but it was on to Kauai, and Rita had things to do to get ready for her own trip.

Nualolo/Nualolo Cliffs/Awa-awapuhi Trail Hike
This was some hike. We'd been planning it for months, and it was everything we thought and hoped it would be, and more.

The early part was extremely muddy, and extremely downhill. It was more of a climb than a hike. A climb through mud. After 3.8 miles of thick, slippery muck, and nearly four hours of hiking, we reached the Lolo Vista viewpoint. It was indescribable. Such grandeur to look out upon the Na Pali coastline from the top of the cliffs. It might as well have been top of the world.

After backtracking a bit, the 2.1 mile Cliffs trail was fine, except for one eroded section where we had to literally hug the side of the cliff to get by. Treacherous doesn't begin to descibe the feeling of being inches away from a 2,000 foot drop.

The lookout from the end of the Awa-awapuhi Trail was the most spectacular yet. Simply fantastic. Then it was time to go back up for 3+ final miles of the 9.8. It was a steady uphill hike, not as steep as the climb down. But we were extremely tired and had to stop often.

We made it out alive. It took us over 9 hours - that's about 1 mile per hour - and we were exhausted as I ran down to get the car. What a day.

The Lady Adventurer and I were pretty durn sore for the next day or three.

Island Cars
This was our car rental company. Hertz, Avis, National, etc. are all available, but I decide to save some money with this outfit. I did probably save about $150, but what an experience. We wound up driving a complete wreck. It was so bad it was funny. The guy did tell us that we could swap it for a better one in a couple days, and that we did. Even then we had a problem with the newer car over-heating. I found the loose coolant cap and replaced it after filling it up, and then it was fine. So I guess it all worked out, and we still saved the money.

General Sightseeing
We've been checking out some of the same stuff we've seen on other trips, and also some new stuff, like a waterfall we'd never seen before. The same stuff included home-of-the-magic-dragon Hanalei area (although we'd never before walked that particular beach), Kilauea Lighthouse and Haena/Ke'e Beach. Ke'e beach gets my vote as the world's most beautiful. (Trunk Bay on St. John is second.) We walked it and gawked at the nearby Na Pali cliffs all along. We couldn't believe that we'd actually been on top of them a few days prior. Whenever I see those cliffs I'm always amazed that such an other-worldly place exists. We also saw a couple endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals sunning themselves on the beach there.

Timeshare Presentation
Yes, we'll listen for money. $100 in this case. It was at the Marriott's Waiohai in Poipu. We'd stayed there 24 years back, before it was leveled by a hurricane. Interesting to see, but timeshares don't make no sense at all to me, no matter how nice they are.

Our Marriott
Speaking of Marriotts, ours in Lihue is as nice as ever. We've got a fantastic view of the ocean from our 11th floor room. As nice a home away from home as you can get. Great gardens too. You should see them feed the koi.

Other Hikes
Nothing as big-time as that first big time hike described above, but we're doing other stuff as well. Lots of walking around the resort area, and then some other dirt trail hikes as well. One was the Kuilau Ridge Trail, which was near the middle of the island. The very middle is Mt. Waialeale, the wettest spot on the planet. We weren't far - the mountain was, as always, shrouded in clouds only a few miles to the west of our trail. But we stayed dry for this very scenic and relatively gentle hike. I think I speak for both myself and the Lady Adventurer in saying that we'd happily do this one again.

The Pihea Trail to Alakai Swamp sounded like it would be great hike. Unfortunately, it was raining and very cold (54F) as we started out. And then there was the muddy downhill slope. Not this again. The mud, combined with the cold rain forced us to turn back. The view of the Kalalau valley along the way was awesome as ever, even in the rain.

Just a couple miles back down the road, it was sunny again. We started on a Waimea Canyon hike. The trail descended deep into the canyon, and we turned back after a half hour or so. The best views were from the top, but at least we got a workout coming back up.

The Weather
In general, it never got hotter than about 76 or so. Never colder than about 68 (except at the start of the Pihea Trail in the rain at 4,000 feet. I think that Kauai is best in the summer - for a tropical island, it feels pretty cool in the winter and early spring. And we've had some on and off rain. One day Debbie and I started off on a walk from the resort amongst very bright sunshine and perfect blue skies. Wouldn't you know it? By the time we were about a mile away, a sudden rain storm drenched us. A Marriott coutesy shuttle came by and courteously picked our drowned-rat selves up.

Another experience was sitting down to watch the movie, "South Pacific" on the beach at our resort - they had set up a screen, loudspeakers, chairs, etc. The movie was filmed here 50 years ago, so it was appropriate. After some earlier rain, the skies were clear and there was a pretty sunset. Just after the credits came an airplane scene followed by the song, "Bloody Mary", and with that, the rain. In we went, saying we'll rent it and watch it in our dry basement.

Debbie was really pissed. "Where are all the %#$^* rainbows?" We'd been here a week and hadn't seen a single one. And we'd had plenty of rain AND sunshine, often both at the same time. Last I checked, those ARE the main ingredients. Finally we did see a nice bright one from our lanai. Then another the very next day in the Kalalau valley. Maybe they've been around all along and we just hadn't seen them.

Sunsets have not been overwhelmingly beautiful; it's often cloudy in the afternoons and evenings. The sunrises, however, have been sublime. The whole sky has been taking on watercolor/pastel hues, much to my enjoyment during my daily morning runs.

Allerton Garden
$45 each for a garden tour? And it was worth it? Yes, and yes. The Allerton Garden was truly beautiful, and Wendy the guide made it an experience to remember. It shows what an extremely rich guy who likes plants can do. Also included were some of the areas filmed in Jurassic Park - watch out for those raptors!

The Ends of the Earth
We all know it's Polihale, the wind-swept, sun-baked 17-mile beach on Kauai's western shore. Looking west from here, there's absolutely nothing but blue Pacific Ocean for thousands of miles. That wasn't totally true for us this time, since we weren't able to drive to where the road goes through the park - it was closed. So we were actually facing southwest, and could see Ni'ihou from here. But this stretch of sand feels like the end of the planet no matter what. You can walk for miles and hardly see a soul.

We pulled into a parking area and began putting lotion and otherwise getting ready for our beach walk. No other cars around. After I closed the trunk I asked Debbie if she had the keys. You can guess where this is going: car open, keys locked in the trunk. After much consternation, Debbie was able, with me prying the seat away, to reach behind the back seat and use a hiking pole to snare her key-containing purse.

After our beach walk and picnic, we had shave ice for the first time. Not bad stuff.

Restaurants
Duke's is great. Portofino is ok. Roy's, which we remember as the best Hawaii restaurant chain, was good but not as great as we remembered. Buffets at our Kukui's were very good, but too much. Gaylords in Kilohana was the best all-around. Our last day we went to the hole-in-the-wall Lihue BBQ, and it was really great. And it was also a fraction of the cost of the other joints.

All in all, we had a great time. As always. Time to start planning our next trip back!

2009 Dan in UK (Again)

I went to the UK two more times in early 2009. A couple interesting things happened:

The first time I was there, I went to a little party. Call this part, "Dress Like an American":

I was in the U.K. on the day of the 2008 presidential election; I had managed to vote early. And now I find myself here once again on the 20th of January, the day of the inauguration. Last time I was overwhelmed at the interest and positive feelings about the election on this side of the pond. This time it’s the same, only more so. To underscore this point, here’s the story of the inauguration party I attended last night.

My client contact here, Kevin, invited me to an inauguration party at a friend’s house in Newbury. Newbury is about 55 miles west of London, and perhaps 15 miles west of the office location. He told me the theme was, “dress like an American.” I found all this a bit hard to believe, but I went along. After work, Kevin and his wife Allison took me to dinner and then to their house so they could stop to dress like Americans. Kevin came out with a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, shorts and a baseball cap, and Allison with a complete cowgirl look with boots, denim jacket and cowboy hat. I was starting to believe.

John and Caroline’s Georgian home was actually appointed with period furnishings. We were greeted by John, a former American who was dressed as Abe Lincoln. The lively group included another cowgirl, a football player, an airline pilot, a U.S. Marine (worn by another former American who last wore the uniform 24 years ago), a native American Indian and Joe the Plummer, among others. I believe I was the only one not “dressed like an American.” On the other hand, everyone kept telling me that I was fine because I was “authentic.”

We all laughed at the George Bush sayings posted all over. There were also American quiz questions – I think I got them all correct. The hostess explained the various American foods: celery and American Peanut Butter, cornbread muffins, Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, etc.

Then the place became quiet as we watched the speech. I think it was every bit as moving to the Brits as it was to me. Of course afterwards the party got loud again, but then it was time to say goodbye.

That was my January visit. I went again in February. Upon arrival, I had most of a day, so I drove out to Stonehenge. This are some pretty awesome rocks. I learned the entire history of the place: how the henge was rebuilt twice between 3000 BC and 1800 BC. About where the rocks came from (hundreds of miles away), and how they may have been erected. I also learned about the special location of some of the rocks to commemorate summer and winter solstice.

There was still plenty of snow around from Britain's now famous recent rare snowstorm. It's supposed to snow again in a couple days. Driving may get even more challenging.

Back to the henge, the place is mostly just wierd. Kind of erie. Even the wide-open general location is quite erie. I thought it was interesting that the narator on the ear-phone thought so too.