Mark Travelling

Holy Shmokers

2009-04-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been way too long since my last post. I have done and seen so many things since that last post.

I traveled through Nicaragua and really enjoyed it. Highlights include Leon, where I went Volcano Boarding and just generally enjoyed the town. Volcano boarding is like sledding down a volcano, it is a whole lot of fun.

Ometepe island is a cool island formed from 2 volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua. Beautiful island and I hiked up on of the volcanoes. Was quite difficult!

Tortuguero. Very neat rain forest town in Costa Rica accessible only by boat. Lots of wildlife here and just a cool, laid back atmosphere to boot.

The How to guide to taking cold showers.

2009-03-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

So here in central America most of the showers have been cold ones. One would get used to this if it wasn°t for the fact that every few weeks, an amazing hot shower comes along. So with this in mind, you have to develop strategies on taking cold showers, because although packpackers are dirty, we aren°t that dirty!

1- Take showers late in the afternoon. This helps 2 fold. First, you may be warmer froma day in the sun and not mind a cold shower and secondly, many of the water tanks are big black aluminum things on top of houses, so that the sun and the heat of teh day warm the water slightly.

2-Get in quickly. There is no use waiting and psyching yourself out for a bad shower. Just get in!

3- Get completely socaked, then get out of the water and apply all your sopalike rpoducts at once. If you do your soap and shampoo at the same time, you save rinsing time in the coldwater.

4' Rinse thoroughly

5-Repeat as necessary!

Scuba

2009-03-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

I am currently doing my PADI open water certification course in Utila, Hinduras at an outfil named Captain Morgans dive center. So far it is goign really well. I am the only on ein my class as one girl unfortunately had to drop out due to panic attacks.

The first day was filled with reading, watching videos and then a confined dive just on the end of the dock. This was to get used to the feeling of being underwater and practice some skills like losing your regulator and mask and what to do if you run out of air.

The next day (yesterday) was to finish my theory exam (96%) and then I was on the boat with my instructor to go over the skills again but this time in open deep water. all went very well!

I continue the same thing this afternoon and I should be done my certification today! It is so much fin and something I would reccommend to everyone!

Garifuna Death Rituals.

2009-02-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

So our death rituals and ceremonies are very tame compared to those in the Garifuna community of Livingston in Gautemala. WHne someone dies, they have a big party a few days later in the Cemetary, with music, drinks, and bright coloured paint to paint the gravesite, which is usually a concrete box. They invite everyone to the party like a giant wake in the cemetary.

Also on All saints day in the beginning of November, they convert the graveyard into a Dance club with 2 dance floors, bars and again brightly coloured paint to paint the graves. The colour does not matter and your grave could have a new colour every year. They also decorate the graves elaborately with flowers and motifs, very intresting indeed.

the Bay islands

2009-02-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

These last few days have been pretty tough. The hardest decision today was to snorle or just to swim. We were on Jewel Cay, a small cay off of the island of Utila. It was beautiful, the water was a great blue colour, and the locals were very nice. I do not really have any funny stories from this part of the trip, it was just stunningly beautiful and very relaxing, which was much needed after almost 3 weeks of non stop going. I will post here again soon with more interesting stories.

Tikal and Semuc Champey!

2009-02-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

Wow these were 2 great sites to go visit, and some definite highlights from the trip so far.

First was Semuc champey, which is an underwater river which flows under a natural limestone bridge that accumulates runoff water to make pools! complicated I know. It was very beautiful and the pools on top are deep enough to swim and even dive into. Good times. We also had a guide who brought along a rope ladder and helped us climb down into the tunnel with the underwater river, perhaps a little sketchy climbing down a waterfall using only a rope ladder but hey, it all worked out nicely and provided an experience I will not soon forget.

Tikal are Mayan ruins that are very impressive. Just the setting of the jungle with Monkeys everywhere and Toucans is amazing. We once again decided on taking a guided tour and do not regret the decision whatsoever. Our guide was funny but very knowledgeable and I learned a lot and had fun...crazy concept I know. We were able to climb a few of the temples t get awesome jungle views. My favorite complex was one they had fully uncovered which showed 2 big temples with a cleared out plaza in the middle where ceremonies including sacrifices used to take place. The mayan are a very interesting people and I am determined to learn even more about them.

Guate Guate Gaute

2009-01-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

Back to the blog now that I am back in travel mode. I am here in guatemala with Marina and enjoying every minute. Some highlights of the first week include.

- Roasting Marshmallows over lava on a volcano. Pacaya was the volcano.

-Climbing another volcano and seeing others erupt. Santa Maria was this volcano. This was a tough climb bu tdefinitely worth it at the top.

- Seeing a 3 or 4 year old chop a coconut with a machete.

-Chicken busses. One trip between 2 cities that should have taken about 4 hours took us 7 busses and 7.5 hours to do. Included on this was the crazy guy who would climb over the bus while it was moving to talk to people at the back or collect money.....NUTTY! I would have died several times. Of course this was the only way for him to get back and forth as the bus was so packed.

- Lake atitlan was really beautiful and the boat ride was quite relaxing.

- Pineapple soda...man it is so good.

More to come!

A couple examples of travel fun

2008-12-06T07:25:00.000-08:00

One of the coolest things about travelling is of course meeting people from all over the world and here are 2 fun examples of what can happen.

4 of us were hanging out in the hostel, laughing having a grand ol time when someone asks us where we are from (she assumed as she told us later we were all travelling together). we kind of chuckled and had to ay, France, Sweden, Canada, and Holland. I love it.

I was in el Chalten in the hostel on a rainy day and met a french girl, so we spoke in french, then met an American girl, so we spoke in english, and then the 3 of us spoke together so we spoke in.......Spanish.

Cheers
Off to the pool.
Bus tonight is heading into Brazil

futbol game

2008-12-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

sorry for the delay in writing folks!! I am now in Uruguay, enjoying the sights and sounds, but what I really want to talk about is the soccer game I went to last week.

It was a championship game for the copa sudamericana. It was packed at 50 000 people, and everyone was wearing red, I had to go through 2 security checks to get in and there was no place to move, it was rush seating, and we had troubles finding a spot even 1 hour beforehand. The atmosphere was electric right from the get go and did not stop. The fans from the opposing team were cordoned off in one section, with sections left empty around them for security, with 3 lines of police on either side to prevent intermingling. These fans were also not allowed to leave right after the game, they had to wait for everyone else to leave first.

During the game, we stood up the whole time and sang songs, the entire game, we did not stop, it was nutso. The game unfortunately ended 1-0 for the wrong team but was still a great south American experience!

Free Hugs

2008-11-16T06:18:00.000-08:00

So yesterday in Santiago, Me and a couple of friends were walking downtown, having a great day with ice cream and what not, and ran into a group of people giving out free hugs. When asked why, they said simply to bring good cheer to Santiago.......sweet. I think there should be free hug groups everywhere.

Argentina

2008-11-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Argentina!

So , the first few days in Argenitna have been a little bit of an opposite culture shock. I feel like I ma back in the developed world now.
The shock came rather quickly, on the first bus-ride into Cordoba.

WHAT? no garbage lining the roads?
WHAT? organized farming with Tractors?
WHAT? Seats on the toilets?
WHAT? No vendors hounding you at every turn?
WHAT? A taxi-meter?

All things that have changed drastically from my first 3 countries.

ANother shocker is he time frame here. Let me explain.
People here go out ridiculously late. In fact, you cannot even eat dinner here until after 9pm. Most restaurants will not serve dinner until that time. SO you eat dinner until 10 or 11, then go home and get ready to go out, start pre drinking, and then actually go out around 2am. That is correct folks, people go out after the bars back home would close. It makes for an evening that stretches to 6-7 am....kinda kills the next day but is super fun.

ANother difference here in Argentina is the accent. I was doing great in Bolivia with conversing in Spanish but this accent is goignt o take some getting used to . WOW they speakl fast. It is like the Newfie of South America. (sorry if any wonderful Newfoundlanders are reading this)

Cheers

Bolivia

2008-11-05T04:07:00.000-08:00

IS very beautiful!, Some highlights,

Death Road. Man this was cool, from 4700m to 1100m on a bike, with cliffs and waterfalls and rivers, pics soon I hope!

Halloween in La Paz. Big Party in the Hostal, everyoine was dressed up, it was quite cool, a nice halloween seeing I was away from the real halloween parties.

Markets. You can buy ANYTHING in the markets here, I mean anything. Electorinics, Irons, Food, Clothes, anything.

Salara de Uyuni, mind boggling amounts of Salt.

Why are there no seats on the toilets?

Why are there no toilets on the busses? Why does the bus without toilets only stop once in a 12 hour ride?

Why do the fake tourist police have to have robbed sooo many people (not me luckily...knock on wood)?

A few random thoughts

2008-10-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

Oddest bathroom so far.
So of all he bad bathroom swithout toilet seats or utterly gross or just a hole in the ground, this next one is the strangest. We were at a restaurant in Chivay, Peru, for lunch. This restaurant had obviously been an afterthought and a roof added as there was a water spout that entered into the restaurant. SO as a solution, they had a plastic bag divert the waterspout into the mens washroom. Into the sink you may ask? Nope, onto the floor. So it was of course raining when I used this washroom. Imagine standing up, doing the normal business, but your feet are getting wet due to rain being funneled in.....odd experience, makes you second guess your aim a little bit.

Awesomest Dinner of the trip so far.
For 7 dollars (roughly)- Steak, Pork Chop, Chicken Breast, Sausage, Hot Dog, Fies, Salad, Drink.........I love South America.

Other random thoughts.

So many Beatles (the car) here, it is nutso.
Thought I got my bag stolen today after a quick bus switch that seemed really sketchy, luckily, all was legit and our bags made it.

Condors are large.

Machupicchu!

2008-10-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31366522@N08/

Wow another little while since my last post!
I checked out hte Nazca lines as promised in the last blog and quite enjoyed them. It was a little pricey to get in the plane, but I think it was definitely worth it.

On to Cuzco! Cuzco has been a beuatiful town although I have spent too much tim ehere now and am excited to move on to the next spot. The reason I spend so much time here first off was to acclimatize before doing the Salkantay trail to Macchupicchu, which reaches an altitude of 4800 meters. In those few days I checked out a few ruins around town, along with some old spanish churches. Very cool. The best named of all the ruins was Saqsaywaman, you say it...yup it is exactly what you think!. SO after a few days in Cuzco bumming around it was time to head off to Slakantay!

Woot. This was a 5 day trek and for a beginner trekker like me was great. Not easy by any means, but not too techinal either, and with our own cook and horeses to carry our gear, my life was made easier, I just had to walk. I will post pictures of the beautiful scenery on flickr later today, or tomorrow, I promise.
The toughest day of the trek was day 2 with 800 meters straight up to the hight point of the trek...in a snowstorm and then 1600 meters down to our campsite. Really quite touch but rewarding when it was all said and done. Did not really get cold in the snowstorm because e were working so hard but as soon as we sat down for lunch....wow were we cold and wet! But we made the most of of it by not drinking our coca tea, but merely holding it as long as possible to get warm.
The other days were tough but seemed easy in comparaison to day 2 so I will not bore you and simply post pictures later times. I loved every minute of the trek, even in the cold, me and my trekmates were able to find humour and have a good laugh. Speaking of my trekmates, we got a long super well and I hav eformed even more friendships to take with me through the rest of South America, I am running into people everywhere!

Once we arrived to Machupicchu on day 5, I was in awe. I loved it, it was more than I could have imagined. You see the pictures and read about it, but it is way different experienceing it yourself for sure. we also did the extra hike to waynapicchu.
so to leave off this kind of scattered post, so point form highlights of the trek.

-Meeting great people
- Awesome scenery
- Lots of altitude.
-PLaying Loup Garou with the group
-Our guide Nico
-Lots of laughing! some morning my stomach hurt more than my legs.
-Machupicchu
-Hot springs! woooot

Time for an Update. and pictures?

2008-10-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

So Alot has happened since the last post. I am still in Peru, travelling along happily. I am writing from Nazca, where tomorrow I am hopping in a plane to check out the Nazca Lines.

First dump of pictures is http://www.flickr.com/photos/31366522@N08/page4/

I spent a few days in Lima and I did quite like it (more than expected) but I was culture shocked by the traffic and use of horns. It was unreal. 3 lane roads turned into 4 or 5 lanes, being cut off every turn, not even slowing down for stop signs, just honking to hope people stop. It was madness. To cross the street, you risk your life every time. Also, the cabs honk if they think you need a ride, being as non peruvian as you can get, I got honked at A LOT. It was funny for about an hour, then just annoying.

Other than that, I tried to be cultural by checking out a few museums, churches, catacombs, I will not bore you with the details, but it was interesting and informative.

Then came the adventure part of the current blog. I took off to Huacachina, where I proceeded to sandboard. This was basically snowboarding but on sand. I really quite enjoyed myself, but a damper was put on the event when a guy from Brazil broke his Femur.....bad news. Nonetheless, we were still able to go dune buggying afterwards and that was the best part. Like a rollercoaster ride on sand. So cool. The dunes stretched for miles, as far as you could see , very neat. And high, some were hundreds of feet high. Quite a sight to see.

Last but not least in this installment of Markdownsouth was a tour to Isla Ballestas. I quite enjoyed it. We got to see Dolphins, Sea lions, penguins, seals, and a whole lot of birds, that proceeded to poop on us of course. I thought it was worth it, except for the poop. I will wear a hat next time.

The Last few days.

2008-10-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

So the last Few days has been pretty awesome as all the days have been so far. No major complaints. So here are a few highlights. No pictures yet but in Lima that will be my goal, so check after teh weekend for photos. Those who have me or Eric Manraj on facebook can see some pics from the first few days of the trip.

1. Train from Riobamba to Alausi. So amazing, the scenery was incredible. We sat on top of the train and the train even derailed once. Good times. Went on it with a few Dutch whom I met in Riobamba,

2. South Americans know how to do markets. You can buy anything at the market from car parts to toiet paper. Like a grocery store, but over several blocks in the street and with bartering. You could also buy playstations at this market in Riobamba.

3. I am now in peru, in Mancora, soaking up the rays and swimming in the ocean, woooot. Taking a day or 2 to relax before an epic busride to Lima. Also gettin gused to the Soles here after having 3 weeks using the American Dollar, things seem expensive at 25 soles but thats less than 10 bucks so its cool.

4. 3 weeks already here......crazy! It has gone by ridiculously fast.

Latacunga!

2008-09-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

So I was lucky enough to stumble upon the town of Latacunga for a huge festival. It had a continuous parade, music, vendors, Dancers, and was really quite a sight to see. IT is called the mama negra festival (from what I understand) and has to do with celebrating unity while being tied to the mother Mary.
The coolest part of the parade were men, with giant pigs strapped to their backs, and with bottles of alcohol and food hanging on the pigs. Really a sight to see and must have been darn heavy. The biggest one I saw must have had 40 bottles of alcohol, full! that is a lot of weight.
It really was a huge party in the town and cool to be a part of.

The next day consisted of Quilotoa, a Volcanic crater lake. AMAZING. really great views and a nice little hike to the waters edge. The hike back up was more difficult being 4000 meters up and me having come right from sea level, but it was not so bad.

Random things

2008-09-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

1- Death showers. Showers that have the heater built into the showehead. So the wires actually run into the shower. When you tun on the shower, the lights go dim in the room.

2- Most people who ask where I am from subsequently ask if I live "on the french side or the english side of Canada" heh, like the division is that solid.

3- Surfing is hard work (paddling) but rewarding, catching that first wave is exhilerating.

4- The pineapple here is the best ever.

5- Whales are Big. Turtles are Big. The fish are big. All the animals seem big here. And colurful, so much diversity in the species here. Blue footed boobies are my favorite bird so far. They dance to court. although tucans are friggin beautiful as well.

6- Example of friendliness. I got a reccomendation fo a restauant from a guy that woks at a hostel. I subsequently got ill from the food. He walked down to the restaurant to tell them I got sick and let them know and ask them if they knew why. Nice guy

The trek so far.

2008-09-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

wow, so far, so awesome.
It has been a great trip one week in and uber busy, as eric only has until tomorrow, so we have been going non stop.
It all started in quito for a day, where we saw the mitad del mundo equator monument, and went to a crater called pulalahua. Very pretty indeed.
One thing I love so far are the busses. SO extremely cheap and vendors jump on them or hang outside the windows to sell all sorts of things like fruit, bread, meals, even rubiks cubes. In terms of cheap, for an extended bus ride, the cost is 1 dollar per hour of bussing. Amazing.
They also play bad spanish music at loud volumes the whole time, even on overnight busses. Luckily I have the Palmer gene of being able to sleep anywhere, anytime.
After our one day in Quito, we went to a jungle lodge named Yuturi. It was an adventure lodge where we had 3 activities a day, like treks, canoe trips, etc etc. Some of the highlights include seeing tons of spiders, like tarantulas, capaveras, caimans, Tapuirs, and other wildlife. Other highlights include the food, mmmmm and the ridiculously sweet pineapple. We also met some neat people who referred us to our rafting guide for later in Banos. All in all, a pretty successful jungle trek, oh and I learned to use a blowguun....so watch out!
Banos is a cool little town set in the mountains with waterfalls around and has hot springs. so we stopped there, used the hot springs and went rafting. Rafting was a highlight for sure, some people fell out but all were well and have a story to tell for the future.
Ecuadorian spa treatment. So everyone should tak ea traditional ecaudorian spa at some point. You sit down in this box with only your head sticking out, and the steam starts in the box. Your own personal sauna, but after ten minutes, you get out, and are patted down with a freezing cold towel *BRRRRRR and then put back in te steam box. after another 10 minutes youa re taken out again and this time cold water is poured over you with a jug, then back in the box. Another 10 minutes goes by and you are asked to sit in a freezing cold bath for 5 minutes. after that, back in the box for you, to be finished off with a hose down which is oddly massage like and relaxing. So great. It was followed up by my first massage ever, and lets just say, it mya be my last, so painful, not relazing at all. But the spa part was incredible.
After that, off to Puerto Lopez where I am writing now, which is a laid back beach town. Maybe too laid back as I got sick -food poisoning- but am recovering nicely and should be good to go tomorrow again. Today was a day of rest. note to self, the squid should be eaten with caution.

Cheers all , I miss you guys and if anyone has news, laisse moi savoir.

Here we go

2008-08-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

So everyone, as promised I have posted a blog to hopefully be updated often on my travels abroad. I will try and post regularly with stories and pictures outlining where I am, what I am doing, etc etc tec. so here we gooo!!!!!!!