Sometimes when you're in a country, you feel that there is a bit of
You-vs-Them.  Of course, we don't want this:  Harmony and piece are
the way to go.  But people and places and countries are different -
by no fault of anyone's - things will be different.  Different isn't
always bad - and it sometimes makes you think a bit differently.

Take for instance toilet paper - some countries believe in it - and
some don't.  Is toilet paper really a good thing?  Have you ever
thought about it?  I for one, am a big fan of toilet paper, but that
is only because one large manufacturer of toilet paper (the veritable
Charmin) paid my way around the world for a few years.

But of what use is toilet paper? The answer, I suppose, like all
things in the world, is that "it depends."  I'd wager that some 80%
of TP in the world is used by women doing "Number One," and in that
instance, I have no experience.  The other 20%, well, we all know
what that's for.  And is it best?  Feel free to comment.

Anyway the point of this wasn't about TP.  The point was Me-Vs-
Morocco.  And Morocco is a tough place - the people there are very
aggressive and are always looking to rip ya off.  If you know how to
bargain, well, this is the place to do  it, and bring your A-game. 
You'll need it.

So with all the hustle-and-bustle (a nice way of saying everyone will
ask you "what you look for" and "hello look my shop") sometimes you
want to retreat to the safety of your own bedroom.  This trip was a
bit of a test as well - I brought along my laptop so I could journal,
edit and upload photos, and start on that Great American Novel that
I'm always pining that I'll get around to writing.

So there it is, at the end of a fulfilling touristy day of rocking
casbah's, avoiding snakes being thrown around my neck, eating strange
looking food that I hope was chicken, not getting run over by some
crazy form of transport, and (being Morocco) only drinking Coca-Cola,
I set down to charge my iPod and look at pictures on my computer back
in my room.

Alas, the room has no electricity.  I look about for an outlet - no
outlet to be found.  I was all ready - I had the proper conversion
plug - I knew the local voltage - and in all my worldly travels to
far-off places - I've always managed to charge my batteries.

Until now.

Jetlag kicks in.   First, it appears, I sleep.

Anyway, I didn't like my room, so I decide to switch hotels. 
Switching hotels is easy:  wake up early, walk around without your
pack, find a place, check out of old place, and you're set.

As I looked around, no one had electricity!

Ok, I'm not being completely honest - these places had electricity. 
In fact, they had electricty in the room.  There was a light bulb. 
But as I was staying in the "Mecca" aka Casbah aka Old-Town aka
theseplaceshavebeenhereforever, they don't have quite the amenities. 
And as you get what you pay for, and I don't pay much, well, there ya
go.

So I check in, but I have a new plan.  I called it the Shock the
Casbah.  So I wander looking for a hardware-store-cum-electronics
shop, and sure enough I find one.  There is a doorway with all manner
of stuff hanging from it, plugs, adapters, things that light up,
things with LEDs, so I walk in the door, which immediately runs me
into the counter.  I look for what I want on the wall.  No dice.

The conversation goes like this:

Me:  "Speak english?"

ShopKeep: <Puzzled look.>

(note, rest of conversation is pantomime)

Me:  Scratch chin.  Touch nose.  Point to my chest ("Me need"). 
Point to light bulb in room.

ShopKeep:  Face lights up.  Puts up index finger in a "ah-ha"
gesture.  Moves hand in a back-and-forth motion that is the universal
symbol for screwing in a lightbulb.  Starts mulling around

Me:  "No!"  Wave finger back and forth.  Then wave palm in a twisty
motion that means "almost" (or I'm sick, if you are Padi-certified). 
Stick out first two fingers in a V and do an in insertion gesture. 
(This whole thing would have been easier if I had brought along a
plug...alas...).  Then, I make UnivsersalLightBulbGesture then
immediately after I make the two-finger insertion gesture.

ShopKeep:  Touches chin.  Thinks.  Mulls about, and pulls out a drill
bit.

Me:  Wave finder back and forth again.  He's close.  Pretend to have
drill in hand.  Make gesture of using drill.  Then follow drill down,
pretending to find the power cord, and pretending to find the plug at
the end.  Then again, UniversalLightBulbGesture, then V-plug
insertion gesture.

ShopKeep:  Touches chin again and smiles.  Makes
UniversalLightBulbGesture, then holds his hand in that Bill Clinton
thumb-grasping-something-we-can't-see gesture.  Pushes thumb towards
imaginary wall.  The Universal-Gesture-For-Plugging-Something-Into-
The-Wall.

Me:  YES!

ShopKeep:  Nods.  Very satisfied.  I made his day.  Mulls about and
pulls put a thing with a light-bulb screw on one side, and a plug on
the other.

Me:  Wave palm in twisty motion.  Close but not quite.  Put up index
finger.  Gesture up with index finger, then
UniversalLightBulbGesture.   Then make an upsidedown V with my first
two fingers, like the legs of a person.  With my other hand (and
probably the wrong one, as they're quite into their RightHandIsRight
and I tend to be LeftHanded) I make a V again and do the insertion
gesture to both of legs.   Then I point to the, ahem, groin of my
imaginary person, and to the UniversalLightBulbGesture.

ShopKeep:  Eyes light up!  Touches his forehead quickly.  Mulls about
in his gear and pulls out this, the magic tool to defeat Morocco and
Shock the Casbah.

The combination plug and light bulb receptacle adapter!

The rest is, of course, history.  We make the deal - I don't bother
to bicker on the price because I think he enjoyed the experience so
much that he didn't bother to raise it too high.  It was about $3.  




Worth every penny, as my camera batteries were almost done, and I was
off to the Sahara to ride some camels.

And finally, hotels in the Casbah seem to be made of zero percent
wood and one hundred percent rock hard concrete.  Flammability is of
no concern - you could sooner burn down the sidewalk in front of your
house.

But your home is different, so please, don't try this at home....

Friday morning I rolled into the Czech Republic. 

I arrived at 7am and while I had a sleeper on the train, first class no less,  I didn't sleep too well.  

Rolled into the Old Town square and wandered taking pictures.  Finally rolled to the hostel I wanted - but what I really wanted was a nap!  

They were full and wouldn't be able to let me know 'till 10am, so off for Breakfast.  A little food and coffee and I was ready to go!  Roll back to the dorm, I'm in they tell me, but checking is between 1-6pm.  After 6, I'm SOL.  So off I go!

I wander the streets and call up my friend Pavel that I came to visit.  We planned to meet up later.

So I wander and get lost among the hordes of tourists and the twisty winding little streets.  I'm looking for a bar I went to the last two times I was here, the Marquis de Sade, a not at all sadistic place.   Couldn't find it - appears it is kaput!

The square is hopping tho!  People everywhere, and all of a sudden I hear bagpipes and look around and sure enough, the Northeast corner is just PACKED with guys wearing Kilts!  I remember seeing some bars were going to show the football game tonight, Scotland v Czech Republic, and it looks like they came for the game.  Guys in kilts, drinking beer on the town square!  I'm in!

So I go buy a beer and figure I can mingle my way into their little party.

I take some pics too.  They're half in the can, so don't mind being photographed.  Check out this guy - I managed to get him digging in his nose!

The Scots are quite a sight - this lassie wants a picture with them.

There's an empty seat next to this guy, so I sit down, and we get to chatting.  Turns out he's here with his wife, and she's off getting him more beer!  Genius!  

So they insist I sit and tell them all about "American Tailgating."  "

"So I don't get it, you just pull up in your car, and pull out food from your, what do call the boot?  The trunk?"

So I explain in great detail the tradition of college football on Saturdays and tailgating.  

The Tartan Army is what these guys are called.  The "Army" invades a town when they have a "friendly" or even a real game.  The Scots aren't too good at football tho.  

They took me around to their friends.  You get a pin for each game you attend, just like the players get one for playing.  The guy on my right here had a huge bottle of Johnny Walker that he was working on.  Been to a few games he has, although I couldn't understand half of what he said, the Scottish accent being a pretty rough one.  

Well, by this point, I was their new best friend, and it was decided for me that I was being captured and taken to the game.  

I even got to wear the hat!  

The Scots were quite a scene in the town square.  Must have been a thousand of them.  They were singing, and like I said, bagpipes were piping off, and everyone was having a great time.  The Scots remind me of Wisconsin fans - friendly, happy, just here for a good time.  They are everything the English aren't when it comes to being fans.  They even picked up their trash!  

These are two of my favorite pix from the day:  Check out the guy with the blue arm-band.  Hey, what's he doing!?  Well, it sure looks like he's taking an up-kilt picture.  And true to form, just like the song Donald Where's Your Trousers.  The Scots were quite up front, telling me that the men of the Tartan army aren't wearing any trousers.  Hm, I thought that a myth.  Alas, my friends, it is not.  And best to avoid the conversation of disbelief, as they are eager to demonstrate by showing you a full Scottish moon, as I learned the hard way!

So that was the scene.

It was 90 in Prague yesterday - insane hot!  So the guys were topless a lot.

The police rolled in, but the Scots were just having a loving peaceful time.  I ran back to my hostel to check in real quick, then back for a last beer before we began the "March".  We all start walking, the cops close the streets off and off we go, singing songs.  Well, songs is a stretch.  They have one song:  Doe a Deer.

Yup so there we are,  people waving flags, loving life, Scotland this and Scotland that, and singing their one song.  It goes like this:

Doe a Deer a Female Deer

Ray a tropic golden sun

Me the name I call myself

Far, a long long way to run

So something something

La something something

And that (and it gets really loud when they get to this part) BRINGS US BACK TO DOE!

I tried teaching them the beer song (Ya know, "Dough the stuff that buys me beer, Ray the guy that sells me beer.   Me, the guy, who drinks the beer.  Far, a long run to get beer.  Soooo...I need another beer...."

Ah yes good fun.  I had a riot at the game, learning soccer chants, singing, talking about football, drinking cheap Czech beer, and learning all about International Soccer.  The fans are separated by walls!  We had the entire corner of the stadium, the rest of the stadium sparely filled with Czechs.  They weren't as much fun as We were!  

The Scots got their ass handed to them - but they did score a really lucky goal, and that made everything OK.  Lots of singing and chanting, and after 90 minutes, it was a great time.

Then off to meet Pavel and his friends, for a night on the town with the Czechs!  Ah wonderful Prague!  

May 9 Friday: Fez, Morocco

I'm in the Fez. I'm not sure what Fez means in Arabic, but I'm pretty sure that it means Big, Huge Giant Maze of Amazing Sights and Smells

I rolled in on Wednesday, taking the train from Marrakesh. Ah, wonderfully crazy intense Marrakesh. Home of the most insane square I've ever been to.

Big huge center squares are one of my favorite places. A place to see and be seen. To sit back, relax, and take in the world. And in Marrakesh, in the Jeema Fna, there is much to take in.

Check out the pictures here:


Then grabbed some food from the multitude of food grillers. Lots of smoke, lots of Kebabs. Lots of food. Lots of good pix :)

After Marrakesh, it was time to hit the Sahara - and some camel riding, some 150 miles from the border with Algeria, full on in the Sahara desert! Ah yes, it was quite hot, but we were driving most of the days, and had our little camel ride as evening was settling in.

We rolled into our Berber camp after the stars came out - and had a traditional meal inside the main tent. It was a motley krewe in our Caravan: A Dutch family,two Italians, some Polish, and two 21 year old girls from San Diego of all places. These girls hadn't a clue of anything: born and bred Southern California Girls. They just about screamed at every bug they saw, and got all the attention from the local boys. Just like out of a movie. Anyway, the look on their faces when the camels stood up is priceless. If you've ever ridden a camel, you know the mount/dismount of incredibly disjointed and jerky. Hold on tight!!

Then off to Fez, where I rolled around the Casbah yesterday. Ate some tasty street eats, tried to peer inside some mosques, and met a few folks that told me "Obama good!" and "Bush, bad, very bad." Perhaps with a new guy in charge, things will get better with our Middle Eastern relations

Tomorrow's my last here in Morocco, then off to Germany. Amazing to think I'm in a country with virtually no beer, and certainly no pork. Tomorrow, I'll be in a country with more beer than any other, and full of the ultimate Pork sausage: the Bratwurst.

Cheers!

Riding the Marrakesh Express!  May 3, 2008

After a really long journey from San Diego (13 hrs of flying, 5 hours of layovers, and three different planes!) I finally made it to Marrakesh!  I even arrived early - I thought I was landing here around noon but in the end, I had a much earlier flight out of Casablanca and landed here in Marrakesh around 10

The airport was one of the strangest ever - why?  Well, not one person tried to sell me anything.  Usually walking out of the baggage claim area is a huge throng of people vying to be the first one to rip you off!  Well, here, there was no one!  Was no one going to even try and rip me off?  It didn't make any sense. 

I knew Morocco was going to have a little bit of that type of hassle.  What I didn't know was that I'd get it in NYC.  My flight was scheduled to depart @ 8.20pm, so at 7.40 I wander past my gate just to see if they had started boarding.  Yessirre!  In fact, the screen was flashing "Final Boarding Call."  40 minutes early.  The guy looks at me, and says, "You must be Mr Newman!  You are late!  You have to board immediately."  I tell him its way early....and he replies that they are very much planning to leave early.  Such things I've never known before....but like I said, its Morocco, and you just have to go with it.

So yeah, I had to walk all the way up to the Taxi guys before they got interested.  Their interest consisted of looking up at me.  They then quoted some outrageous price for a taxi to town, so I walk away looking for the bus, and of course one guy follows after and we get a price that I pay.

Then we had to walk all over the parking lot to get to his cab, all the while the other taxi drivers are all animated, talking as if something wasn't right.  Who knows.  Was my price too cheap?  Are they always like that?  Did I still pay too much?  Who knows!  

Rolled to Hotel Alley, which in this case is literally an alley with a bunch of hotels.  Took a room for $8 and decided to take a quick cat-nap.

So I'm pretty jetlagged.  My usual plan of "stay up late the night before so you can sleep on the plane," didn't work as planned.  I never sleep well on planes, and the flights weren't long enough to take a sleeping pill.  So I'm kinda tired.

After my nap, I hopped up to a little roof-top restaurant overlooking the Jeemah el Fna.  I have no idea how to pronounce it.  Centro seems to work.  

Seems like everyone in France is here.  Morocco is an ex-French colony and French is the co-national language.  So french menus and french people.  Us Anglophones are curiously neglected....there is some english but less than I'd expected.   It doesn't matter anyway what language they have tho, for they have no street signs anywhere!  So being able to or not being able to read them is moot.  Genius!

Wandered around the Medina this afternoon, thru the Souks markets.  Again, a strange experience as no one is hassling you to look at their stuff, as I expected.  This is quite a touristy town, which ususally means more hassle, but perhaps they know if they're too aggressive, they could lose the tourists.  We'll see how the rest of the country goes....

I'm sitting in a Cyber-Park.  Free Wifi on a park bench - genius.  These guys know what they're doing.  It was awfully hot today - but cooling off nicely.  The centro, aka the Jeemah, goes off once the sun goes down.  Night market.  Snake charmers.  Acrobats, dancing, story-tellers, street food.  So that'll be awesome to watch come to life.  

Beer is also tough to come by here.  I expected it to be like Egypt, but its certainly less common to have beer here than in Egypt.  On the other-hand, the women seem to be dressed (in general) more Westernly than Egypt.  Go figure.  

- Ryan

Guess who is wearing brand new Havianas?

Me! Thats who! Its their famous flip-flops. Those of you who call them thongs, well, apparently they make those out of dental floss here, if anyone wants one I guess they sell them in Rio (for cheap) and I can pick one up. :) ]

Things going well down here in Brazil! I spent 1.5 days in Sao Paulo and flew today down to Foz Iguazu which is the worlds largest waterfall. Getting here was insane, the airport was pretty crazy. Got into town, grabbed a room, and somehow got the time mixed up and thought it was an hour earlier than it was (I think the watch of the guy at the hotel was wrong) so I went to the worlds largest dam which amazingly not on the same river as the worlds largest waterfall - and missed the last tour by 20 mins. So I go back later but I did get to check out the Ecomuseum which was kinda their way of saying the dam is a good thing, and all the environmental stuff they do to make sure it doesnt damage the local ecosystem. Kinda cool - a neat intro - and look forward to seeing the real thing! You cant get close to a dam and not check it out

Had a fun afternoon in Mexico City, met a few travelers on the town square. Caught my flight out and chatted Spanish with a brazilian that speaks spanish, which had me thinkging I could talk down here but Portugese is killing me! On top of that, I erased my ipod right before I left by accident so I dont have my portugese training tapes! Ah well....another traveler let me use their laptop to download new music, so now I have a bunch of stuff that I dont really care for, rap, hip-hop, but itll do till I find another laptop! Ç:)

Have a few days here - one day on the Brazilian side of the falls, another in Argentina. Trying to decide if I spend a few days in ARgentina....it is supposed to be quite cheap and fun, and they speak Spanish! Ah, I miss it! Spanish and Port are soooo close but the pronounciation and the differenes are tough...I figure after a few more days i might be good to go.

Probably fly out of here back to the coast areas....the Foz are in the middle of nowhere and it is many many hours on a bus, instead of many many hours on a plane and in airports... :)

Another weird thing down here is that I dont stick out. I look Brazilian I guess, because the people here are about the most diverse of anywhere Ive ever been. The only person who might not be considered a brazilian would be a dark skinned indian. Everything else (Including blue eyed white skin guys) seems well represented! Good for them! But it is weird when people look at me and start talking Portugese at tourist places....when all the other tourists speak english....now if I could just respond better!
Salude!

Ryan

December 22 2005 - Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam

Greets from Vietnam!!

Its Thursday in the big city - 8 million people live here - but it doesn't seem that big. Traffic is insane!! Everyone here has motorbikes and cruising around is nuts! At an intersection, there is no waiting to turn left, you just go, and everyone just weaves around everyone else. It wouldn't work with cars but it works with motorbikes.

I haven't gotten on any of them yet - waay to scary dangerous for me....:)

Just got back from the Mekong Delta - what an awesome trip. I was a bit leery at first, as it was some weird organized trip with a guide, and a bunch of foreigners crammed on a bus. I always snicker when i see the tour groups going by, all in line one-by-one, with the guide up front carrying an umbrella or something - but this time it was me!

Well it was weird at first, but not a huge deal. Most of the trip was all sorts of boat tours so it would have been tough not to stick out as a tourist, and really tough to do it completely on your own.

So yeah, the Mekong Delta. Its giant - dunno how big, but it must be thousands of square miles big - and we just caught a chunk of it and the rivers we were on were huge and there were so many of them.

This morning we got up kinda early and hopped on a little boat and cruised to an amazing floating market. We went to a different one yesterday but it was nearly noon and out of steam. The one this morning was amazing. It was a flotilla of boats, all selling stuff to all these other little boats that were cruising around. They have a 30ft long bamboo pole that sticks out of the boat and at the top they hang the stuff they are selling, so poised atop these poles, you'd see squash, or tomatoes, or carrots, or even pineapples! We didn't do any buying or bartering - I think the market is more geared for large transactions, as you'd see people pitching pineapples from one boat to another by the, ahem, boatload :)

The really cool thing was seeing the river culture. River culture is something really really different. And universal. You read Huckl Finn and the same stuff kinda goes on - the boat engineering is kinda the same, the kinda lazy hot and humidness is kinda the same, and the people lounging in their boats in hammocks all kinda seems the same. But its still all somehow different, and lots of these boats were homes for people as well as their storefronts. They have their clothing hanging off the back on hangers, blowing in the wind (and how I'd hate to be the kid that messes with the laundry and causes it to fall in the muddy river water and get smacked around by M&D). Every boat seemed to have a little plant, or baansi tree or mini garden or something - some sort of religious item or superstitious charm or who knows.

It was really cool to see the people and wave at them. I wouldnt be too keen on seeing crazy tourists taking all sorts of pix of me as I sell my wares, but these guys didn't seem to mind too much - some owuld ignore, lots would wave and smile.

Then we took some backwater cruises thru little canalish type areas, thru palm trees and under little footbridges made sometimes of just one bigish bamboo pole, for walking on, and one littleish bamboo pole for a little railing - Monkey Bridges they'd call em. Others were more substantial - but it was a little weird island network. I really zoned out and enjoyed the cruise thru the canals - it was so peaceful (if you could ignore the diesel chug chug chug of our motor...) with the trees and palms reaching over the water. The sun finally came out for the first time since I arrived here, and it was a great day.

We stopped at a few factories and saw how they make rice paper, and banana candy, and rice grains, and even the famous Rice Budda. Well, the rice budda isn't so famous, but our guide had the most awful accent - so bad that we all kinda just stopped listening to him b/c you could kinda understand but even when you knew the words, they didn't make sense. Weird. But he didn't mind - he just kept blabbing away, with his "Ok, Ladeees and Geinteeelmen," and all of a sudden we're going to visit the Rice Budda factory, and it finally clicks that budda = noodle, or noodah as he said. Kinda disappointing - the Rice Budda would have been fantastic, I'm sure...

Been great catching up with my friend Bryan, who has lived here for just over a year. Ho Chi Min City is such a dynamic place - reminds me a lot of Thailand, but also bits and pieces of all sorts of other palces. Food has been awesome - Vietnamese food is really tasty - and the best of it seems to be from little stalls on the street. Cafes abound - a legacy of French colonial days - and they make some seriously tasty coffee - I'm not much for coffee but see myself downing a ton of it while I'm here. They sock it to ya with this super thick cream that you can barely stir on the bottom of the cup, and just a little of it but ya need it all cuz its a seriously potent tasty brew!

Tomorrow I'm off to visit the Chi Cu o Cu Chi (I can never remember the order) tunnels - some sort of war tunnels where rebels lived during the War. I visited the War Remnants Museum (or American War Crimes museum, if you like to be a little less PC). One of my less favorite tourist events - right up there with Auchwitz. Its stuff you gotta see - to remind you how horrific war can be. This was was especially tough as it was about all the horrible things Americans did to Vietnamese. There is no excuse for such barbarism.

Then Sat we're off to the beach for Xmas, and from there up to Hanoi for New Years. I hope to get some Scuba and hiking in.

Merry Xmas!

- Ryan
Ho Chi Min City.

Well I am down in Bolivia now. Biked 11000 ft down yesterday on The
Worlds Most Dangerous Road. And of all the roads Ive ever seen, this is
certainly the most dangeous. On a bike not so much, but in a car, phew,
one lane, traffic both ways, and a 1000ft drop off on the side. Yikes!
Pretty fun time riding mountain bikes downhill for 5 hours! Crazy even!
The biking is pretty safe, but I sure didnt like the drive back up.
But going up is safer than doing down since you are on the moutain side,
not the cliff side. Ah well, survived that one.

What else is up? Lesse, we did the big trek and then left for Lake
Titicaca which was rainy and cold and a really nice place but I didnt
get to hike the Isla del Sol like I wanted becauce the weather was so
bad. Finally the last day we took a boat over, but the weather was bad
so it went slow, we had an hour to hike up to the top in the rain, and
then back to the city of Copacabana where we stayed. Got off the boat
and there was snow on the dock! BRRRrrrr! Coooold

Got to La PAz and did some amazing hiking in the mountains around here,
wen tto this place called the Vally of the Moon and it was like being in
a cave with all the stalagmites and tites except they chopped off the
roof of the cave. Wild. Then hit the zoo which was pretty amazing -
very active animals.

Anyway, the cold front seems to have passed over and the weather here in
La PAz (and likely in Copacabana too) has warmed up. Great weather for
the bike yesterday. Tomorrow we head out to Lake Suliya or
something...this dried up lake that is the largest salt bed in the
world. Otherworldly it looks like. And coooooold. Got a great package
deal on the Lake trip and the bike trip. Then we probably head up to
the jungle for some jungle trekking. Then back to peru for Machu Pichu.
We wanted to do it earlier but they put up all these new restrictions
on trekking the Inca Trail and now there is a one month waiting list!
So we have our trek on the 28th of July.

Hit some museums today and will probably wander the markets here in La
Paz today. Pretty chill place for being a big Latin American city. I
think the food in Peru was a little better, but the beer here is just
awful. Stocco has taken to buying Two Buck Chuck, basically whatever $2
wine he can find....preferably Chilean if we can find it. Works for me.

Thats about it! Keep me posted on the vida americana!

June 25, 2004 Ariqupa Peru

Well I've been in Peru now for a little over a week and its fantastic! Been having an amazing time.

Landed Tuesday night and swam through a sea of men shouting TAXI AMIGO? at me over and over. Got a good deal on the taxi (a local I met was impressed I got it so cheap) to town and then met a few Americans and we had the national drink....a pisco sour. Its a tasty concoction of Pisco, which is this weird liquor made from grapes, with lime juice, sugar, bitters, and, get this, egg whites! Ah yes, who would have thought to add egg to a drink? Gives it a nice frothy merinquish (is that how you spell it?) head. Pretty tasty....kinda like a mojito or margarita but with its own Peruvian twist.

Tooled around the big dirty city of Lima....population 8 million. Not much to say about it...its got some pretty parts but mostly just dirty pollution and lots and lots of people. They were nice though. For being a big city, its very relaxed and chill.

Stocco arrived Thursday night and the next day we bombed off to Pisco. Pisco is not where pisco is made...go figure. But it was the site of a great day trip. First, out to Isla Ballestras, which is the site of the worlds most expensive shit. Yup. Guano. Bird shit. Doesn't smell too good, but you could not believe the hundreds of thousands of birds flying around this island. We cruised in a 12 passenger speedboat around the island and saw lots of birds, and lots of crap, and the islands are these rocky crags. Apparently, this stuff is sooo valuable that it was their most important export for awhile, providing the cash to build their first railroad and instigated a war with Chile over who owns it! Nuts! Now, I guess they just get a little of the stuff....and chage $60/lb for it. Damn!

In the afternoon we went to Paracas national park and cruised thru the desert and saw staggering cliffs hanging over the ocean, and then sand. Like an unending beach. Really gorgeous. Striking. Had a tasty lunch there with one of the typical peruvian dishes....ceviche! Ah yes, ceviche or cebiche as its sometimes written (although prounouced the same since B and V are the same) is realllly tasty. Its fish and or seafood marinated in lime juice with some spices. Awesome! And really really good when you can see the fishing boats that caught the sea bass that I was munching on. Its probably soemthing that could easily get ya sick (its not cooked with heat, but with the acids), but they seem to know what they're doing.

Ah well that great trip finished, it was time to be off again, this time to Huachachina! Ah and this place is great. Its an oasis, a little lake almost completely surrounded by desert. Desert is not quite right, because this town is rringed by huge sand dunes. And everyone is there sandboarding on them! Brilliant. You throw some wax on the board and strap in, and woosh, you are cruising down the dune and destined to pick sand out of your pockets and ears for about a week! Awesome!

Oh, so that isn't quite enuf. We took a dune buggy trip out into the desert. Kinda a Lawrence of Arabia on a gasoline fueled testosterone trip. Phew! Flying around the desert, down sand dunes like a roller coaster, and sliding around. Great great great fun. Scared the hell out of me though! And it was our 'lift' for sandboarding, shuttling us to the top of the dunes....since climbing 500ft high sand dunes is tough work.

So that was amazing. And the desert was just sooo gorgeous. Like all the pictures you see of the really sandy nothingness with dunes with their sharp edges on the top. We watned to take the 'twilight' trip and catch sunset out there but it was Father's Day in peru....seems that Father's Day is the same day in all countries of the world!

Well, after all that excitement, we left for Nasca, home of the famous Nasca Lines. Took a plane ride and saw them for 30 minutes....pretty cool. 2000 year old lines in the sand. Did a little hiking in Nasca and gut stuck there when a general strike rolled through the state. Got to see some interesting protests, but no big thing....strikes are really common in Peru.

Then off to here, Ariquepa, which is the second biggest town in Peru and its really nice. Has a gorgeous old town where we're staying, packed with tourists, and lots of good places to eat and hang out. A nice break from our running around. Sunday we're off on a three day trek to Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world....twice as deep as the grand Canyon. CAn't wait! We get to relax in some hot springs and hike around and enjoy the views! Then we are trying to book our 4 day Inca Trail trek, but there is some insane wait of a month or something....so we will set that up while we're here and then go to Cuzco when our number is ready. Good thing I didn't come for 2 weeks or we probably wouldn't have been able to do that hike.

Weather here is chilly. Amazing that we're on the equator and its so cold. Sweatshirt is a mandatory piece of equipment if it isn't sunny out. Food has been great and cheap. I like to hit the "Chifa" which somehow is what they call their chinese restaurants here....and they are everywhere. Get a big bowl of wonton soup and some chichen chow mein for $2! Toss in a tasty coke in the glass bottle (a treat not available in the US) or a cold cerveza, and you're set!

Well, thats all from here! Hope all is well back home

- Ryan