tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58294910247613296582024-03-21T12:05:10.987-07:00Travels of NoteDerek Bomback is a guitarist playing aboard cruise ships that travel to the far corners of the world and everywhere in between. He explores exotic locations by day, and entertains thousands of passengers by night. Read on to hear about his latest travels!Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-8366851058431653122015-04-15T15:54:00.001-07:002015-04-15T15:58:44.418-07:00A Love Letter To A Penguin - Stanley, Falkland Islands<div class="p1">
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<span class="s1">The ride out to the penguin rookeries was one of excitement, wonder and concern. “were we going to actually see any penguins this late in the summer?” was the question being recycled in our minds. Rumors from veteran crew members established that it was in fact too late and we would see nothing but sand and old feathers. The guide though gave a “guarantee” that we would see penguins, so for a measly $20, what did we have to lose? </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The landscape in the Falkland islands is one I’ll never forget. The sky was washed a clouded dark, eerie grey that cast only subtle shadows on the ground. Large hills and rocks as far as the eye can see and the most curious thing: not one tree can be found in it's landscape. Small bushes and tall grass is the most you will see grow on the island. Tree’s can not grow naturally here because of its harsh conditions. The lack of tree’s only add to it’s mystique.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">We finally reach Gypsy Cove where we told that we were “guaranteed” to see penguins. I prepared my camera (with its new SD memory card which I had to pay 40 British Pounds to get at some small electronics shop in town because I accidentally left mine on the ship), and started on the trail towards the cove. I only had to walk about 5 minutes before I saw them.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">A black huddled mass on a white sandy beach, the magellanic penguins in fact were here. A group of about 50 of them. Mostly standing, some lying in the sun and few having fun in the water. The charm of these animals is incredible. There is something about a penguin that captures the curiosity and imagination. Maybe it’s in the awkward way they waddle or maybe the fact they wear tuxedos to the beach. Either way, they are a wonder and I could myself getting lost in their interplay. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">I walked further down the trail to another section of the cove and there, along the hillside, in the grass, several more lied in the grass only about 20 feet from the trail. I was able to get in close and with my zoom lens, get even closer. The pictures I was able to get were outstanding and once again, I felt so much excitement to be able to be so close to these creatures. Something you experience once in a lifetime. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">I was in awe the entire time at the cove and savored every moment. It was until the bus had to honk its horn several times at me, I finally had to leave. These animals really are a natural wonder. I was really impressed with them and all of the Falkland Islands. Its unique landscape, flora, fauna and wildlife are something to be marveled. I hope one day to come back to the Falklands and visit my friends in white and black. -DB</span><br />
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After 5 long sea days the question still remained: Are crew going to be allowed off in Brazil? Brazil is infamous for not letting crew off in their country and even though I had already got a Brazilian Tourist visa, I was told they can still keep me on the ship. <br />
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In the morning, a sheet of paper was sent under my door reading: “ Happy to announce all crew nationalities are allowed to go ashore today in Salvador. Please stand by for Santos and Rio de Janeiro clearance, as the requirement might change from one port to the other.” Excited, I hopped in the shower and after, I messaged a friend of mine who happened to be in Salvador at the same time to meet up. He gave me a location that was a little vague but I figured I could talk to the locals to get directions. <br />
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I grabbed my stuff and got off the ship and into the terminal. There was a few tourist information booths so I figured I’d ask about directions. The first booth I showed the lady working the booth my instructions on my phone; but she replied in Portuguese something along the lines of “uh, use the other booth” so I walked over to the next booth. I showed the gentleman working at the next booth my phone instructions and in great english he gave me a map and told me how to get there. I had to take a large public elevator and walk down a few streets and I’d be there. <br />
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So off I went on foot. Immediately after leaving the terminal, I was bombarded with locals try to sell me fruit, hats or water bottles. After giving some of my classic Pop Warner football jukes, I was able to break free. I walked down the street which was dirty and broken. I kept my hand on my camera bag very close. This seemed like an area that some one would cut the strap of my bag and runaway with it. I had to keep my head on a swivel if I wanted to make it out of this. Along the way I realized that taking my camera was probably a bad idea. Taking it out would only make me a target for theft. So the photos I did secretly take, I used my phone for which I thought was marginally better.<br />
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I eventually bumped into the ship's drummer Ric who was wandering the streets by himself. I invited him to come along as my friend was also a drummer and they could have some things to talk about. We made it to the elevator which takes you up the cliff and into Pelourinho which is the tourist area. Once we got off the elevator we were bombarded again with locals trying to sell you things or give you “gifts” which later they ask for money for. We raced by them and made it to the streets. I took out my map to navigate our position. I had an idea of where we were but I wanted to make sure so I asked one of the military personnel who was on every street corner. I told them the name of the church and they pointed in the direction and gave me a few words in Portuguese that I assumed meant “over there”. I walked over and made it to what called Jesus Square. <br />
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There we saw the Church Sao Francisco which was the location that my friend told me to meet him. There we looked around and finally decided to sit and wait for him at one of the outside Cafes. I looked at my phone and saw a message from Mike that said lets bump it to 11:30am instead of 11:15. I looked at the time on my phone and it said 11:20am. Rick and I walked around and killed some time before sitting down for a cold drink while we waited for Mike. 11:30am came and went and so did 11:45. By 11:50 we were wondering where he was. Were we in the right place? Was he running behind? Did we just flat out miss him? We then were trying to decide if we should start walking around and see some of the town when I finally saw him walking up.<br />
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I waved him down and shook his hand. I introduced him to Ric and we started walking. It turns out that Mike is here playing in one of the Samba Schools and has been here for two weeks. As we walked he gave us some history of the town and history of the musical importance of Salvador. The pothole filled cobbled streets had been decorated for carnival and they were filled with locals decorating, setting up stages and even some rehearsing for the great celebration. We eventually got to a part of the town where it looked like the locals were about to play. We sat on the curb and chatted and waited. Mike and I caught up and talked more about the music. We sat on that curb about 15min and decided that these guys weren't going to start anytime soon. Mike explained that people here on “Brazilian Time”, which meant nothing goes as scheduled and everything runs behind. We got up and walked down the street some more.<br />
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At one point while we were walking, Mike bumped into someone he knew. He introduced himself as Kurt and Mike explained that he was a UCLA professor and also an author on a few books about music/samba schools in Salvador. So in other words, the dude was an expert on the music of this area. They chatted and I chimed in with an occasional joke. They swapped Samba stories and Kurt told a story of how he was waiting around for the march to begin (again with the Brazilian time), and when they were about to finally march, he noticed his shoes were untied. He bent down to tie them and the leader I guess shouted at him and gave him every bad 4 letter word in the book. Now he wears sandals.<br />
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We left Kurt and went to a little restaurant where we could have lunch. It was a cafeteria style where you take a plate and put whatever you want on and they weigh the plate and you pay after. I grabbed some rice, chicken, friend plantains, sliced guava, mango and papaya and a cup of Guava juice and took a seat. The food was nice, especially the fruit, It was cold and fresh. While we ate, Ric and I told Mike about cruise ship life and all the wild stories we had. <br />
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After lunch, Mike had to get back to where he was staying which was out in the Favelas which is basically the ghetto. We thanked him for coming out to meet us and showing us around. We left him and Ric wanted to find Wifi somewhere. We wander the streets for about 20min with no success. We decided then to head back to the ship and call it a day. <br />
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My first time in Brazil was an interesting one. Not the safest I’ve ever felt in a port but it had a lot of culture behind the old buildings. I wish I had the time to stay in the evening but thats ship life for ya. My friend Mike really helped us and showed us thing we normally would have never found. He proved to be a good host. I hope to have an even better tim in Rio de Janeiro which we dock in 4 days! We’ll see what happens then… -DB<br />
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<br />Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-43694205182643712652015-03-05T09:07:00.002-08:002015-04-21T10:17:34.321-07:00Almost Relaxed - Grenada <span id="goog_781767386"></span><span id="goog_781767387"></span><br />
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Bright and early, I made it down the gangway. The port here is so much more beautiful than previous ports. The land jacks up a hill and the small, vibrant houses look down at you as you exit the pier. I met up with my tour guide and after waiting for the other members of the tour, we were led into small buses. I stayed in the back and one of the gentleman pulled out a collapsible chair and the metal bar feet slammed right into my big toe. I gave out a loud “Shit!” and the guy didn’t bat an eye. He had no care that he damn near broke my toe. As the bus got moving I was almost sure that if I didn’t break it, i would at least lose the toe nail. It was throbbing and the guy was just talking to his significant other and not caring that I was behind him holding my foot and whispering obscenities under my breath. <br />
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We made it to Fort George which had a great view of the town and the fisherman’s marina on the other side. We walked through it and was told the history of the fort as well as the place where the prime minister Maurice Bishop and 15 others were executed in 1983 when the U.S. had to take the island by force to prevent it from becoming a communist state. The bullet holes are still in the walls and as we walked by, several people out there fingers in them to “feel the history” I guess. As I hobbled back down from the fort, I got back in the car and made sure the same guy didn’t slam his seat on my feet again.<br />
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We drove to the next fort which was Ft. Fredrick. The drive was a scenic one and we even stopped at a few places along the way to take photos. The interior of the island is mostly jungle with a few houses spread through out. The island is known for it’s spices that they grow here which include Nutmeg, Vanilla, Honey, Jam and Chocolate. In fact its nickname is “The Spice Island”.<br />
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Eventually we made it to the fort and out side was some steel drum players performing. I walked into the fort but it was nothing special really. Just some stone walls and arches with nothing too spectacular. It had a nice view so I took a few photos and headed back to the bus.<br />
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Once we got going, we drove around the island and I was able to see several tropical neighborhoods and business along the way. I saw that they were building a new port to get more cruise ships to come in. It seemed like Grenada was primitive, yet had a lot going for it. In about 50 years, I can see it being a second or even first world country. <br />
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We got to the Holiday Inn Resort where we were able to get to a nice, clean beach and get a free rum punch. I sat in the shade and relaxed with my rum punch and slid away into tropical inebriation. A relaxing act indeed. I didn’t care to jump in the water, I didn’t need to worry about locals trying to hassle me; just drinking and relaxing. I relaxed for what have been over an hour when It was finally time to get back. I stumbled over to the buses where they took us back to the ship.<br />
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After getting back to the ship I decided to walk around a bit and see the nice fisherman’s marina area. I walked through a tunnel and into the neighborhood. They had decorated the streets as the following day was Grenada Independence Day. The streets were lined with green, red and yellow banners and flags. The buildings were colorful and old looking. It gave the marina a nice European charm. I walked around a bit and noticed a lot of people starting at me. I must of stuck out like a sore thumb and eventually my instincts told me I should probably turn around. On my way back a guy came up to me and was trying to give me a tour. I was short with him but polite. He asked where I was from and I said “L.A.”. He instantly perked up and I could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes. I immediately regretted telling him that. He continued to follow me and he noticed that I was by myself. I then decided to make my way back on the ship for safety sake. He followed me all the was back to the terminal where eventually ran off into a crowded area. <br />
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As much as you want to be able to relax in these places, you always have to keep your eyes open and never trust these people. If they could have it their way, they would just shoot you and take your money and leave you dead in the gutter. Unfortunately, with these poor counties, you can never completely relax… -DB<br />
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It must be in every profession that you find legendary people or places. You hear of someone who does something that gets remembered long after they’re gone or places that are so incredible that everyone talks about it for decades after. So incredible that stories that get told of them become legendary. Working on a cruise ship is no exception. One place that I have been hearing about since I’ve started working here two and a half years ago (where does the time go?), is the Boatyard in Barbados. Its a club on the beach that if you mention it to anyone who has spent any time there, you can watch there face turn to pure joy as they reminisce of their times spent there. So naturally, when I saw my itinerary for this contract included Barbados, I made sure that I visit.<br />
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Typically, I could give or take clubs. Excessively loud music, expensive drinks, snobby people, I could usually care less. When I came to the Boatyard, I expected all of these things. So I prepared for the worst. <br />
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After a “hang on to your seat for dear life” taxi ride, I waited in line to get into the Boatyard. A sign was posted at the entrance which stated for a $15 USD cover charge, It would include one free drink, a ride back to the ship, rope swings, free wifi and a few other perks. It seemed like a pretty good deal if you kept in mind that the drinks probably were $10 and the ride back to the ship was another $5. When we got up there, they decided that the admission price was now $20. Confused, I pointed to the sign which stated $15 and he snapped at us and told us we can basically take it or leave it. Figuring it still wasn't a bad deal, I swallowed my pride and paid the $20 to get in. They handed me a blank bill that had $80 written at the top (I also paid for a friend’s admission). I guess what what they failed to mention is that for the admission price, you get double the credit in Barbados dollars and you can use that credit for food and drinks. After my first free “Pirate Punch”, I discovered that the drinks were only 10 credits, so we each ended up with 4 drinks! What a deal for $20! I saw lots of friends from the ship and like the social butterfly that I am (after a few drinks), I went to all the different tables and socialized. <br />
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I eventually made my way to the water and dove right in. There was a pier on the beach and at the end of it was a rope swing. I eye’d the swing from a distance but was convinced that I wouldn't dare partake… That being said, It didn’t take much convincing from my friend Jake from the casino staff to get me to swing. I went to the end of the pier and anxiously waited my turn. After watching a few people doing belly flops off the rope, It was my turn. There was a large, local man monitoring the whole thing and told me to put the rope between my legs and let go when he tells me to. He also made it a point to make sure that I understood that there was absolutely no flips to be tried. I jumped off the pier and when I heard him say “let go”, I let go and found my self rotating backwards in mid-air and eventually landing in the water upside down and hitting the back of my head on the water. I got to the surface to hear everyone laughing and applauding. I guess it must of looked worse than it was… I was pretty convinced that that I was banned from the swing so I didn’t bother trying a second time.<br />
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After basking in the clear blue water and chilling on the white, powder sand, I caught wind of free shots at the bar in a few minutes. Being one to never turn down a free drink, I hurried to the bar. I chatted with some friends for a few minutes before the alarms went off. One of the bartenders jumped on the bar and grabbed to bottles of some sort of rum like drink. He then preceded to pour the drinks into peoples mouths to who ever would come up to him and open their mouths. Naturally there was a stampede of people rushing to the guy. I managed to find my way over there and got my free shot. It was delicious what ever it was and I couldn't complain since it was free. This happened for about 15 minutes straight and they were just giving it away! I mean, I had been there for 3 hours, I had 5 drinks, I was shit faced and had only spent $20! AND THERE WAS A ROPE SWING! I mean, I’ve never been to a bar that was that generous. I expected to walk out of there $100 dollars lighter; but man was I wrong. Take into account that it was right on a very nice, clean beach, the water was warm and so clear I could see fish at the bottom clearly swimming by my feet, and did I mention the rope swing??, the free drink credits, plus the shot o’clock free “fit as much liquor as you can fit in your mouth” gimmick and also the ride back to the ship was covered by the bar. What place have you EVER been to that supplied all of that for $20? NOWHERE! <br />
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I had a lot of fun hanging out at the Boatyard. More than I though I would. Would I recommend going there? Yes. When I come back to Barbados, am I going to go back? Absolutely. You won’t find a better deal on fun, sun and drinks in the Caribbean. -DB
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<span class="s1">Christmas on board can be very difficult. We are so use to being around our family and friends for the holidays, it can be very hard to be away this time of year. The best we can do is try to make this steel ship feel as much like home as we can. One thing that seemed to help was the entertainment department christmas party. A gathering of musicians, production, youth staff and the cast of dancers and singers for food, music and the White Elephant gift game.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The rules for the White Elephant gift game goes as follows: you can not spend more than $5 on the gift (although some went way over), Everyone grabs a random number out of a hat which accounts for every present under the tree, then you go in numeric order and you have a choice of either opening a gift under the tree OR stealing someone else's gift that they have opened. If the gift is stolen, then that person who’s gift was stolen has to open another present under the tree. A gift can not be stolen more than three times.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">This game is very fun because you see what people really want and sometimes it can be very humorous. Some things include a wooden penis bottle opener, vibrating toothbrush, travel amenities kit and pickled olives. One thing that seemed to be the hottest item this year was a stuffed dog on a sled with a santa hat that moved his head up and down roboticly. The dancer who got the gift initially was so happy when she got it she sat down and hugged it and petted for most of the party. Then one of the cruise staff on her turn stole that dog away. The look on the dancers face was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen at a Christmas party ever. Later, another one of the dancers stole the dog and gave it back to her. Everyone gave out loud “awwws” because she was SO happy to get it back. However, at the VERY end of the game, another cruise staff stole it away and gave it to the cruise staff girl who stole it originally. The whole party erupted in rage! People were jumping and yelling and stamping there feet. I almost thought were were going to have a cat fight on our hands so I jumped in the air and pumped my fist yelling “Je-rry! Je-rry! Je-rry!” Eventually everything settled down but it really was a tragic end for that girl who went home with some Godiva chocolates (not a bad consultation prize really). </span></div>
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<span class="s1">I ended up with a travel mug after getting a nice travel amenities kit stolen away from me. I then traded it for some nice art prints which I plan to put up in my room. The event was fun and it brought the department together. For a bunch of young people away from home for the holidays, I think it was as good as we could get it. Happy Holidays. -DB</span></div>
Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-81313964073560431632014-09-20T07:34:00.001-07:002014-09-25T11:12:57.179-07:00Sint Maarten vs Saint Maartin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">St. Maartin is a small island in the West Indies that has maybe more charm than most islands in the Caribbean. This schizophrenic island is divided into 2 parts. The south part of the island which is the Dutch side, and the North which is the French. While both are separated by a few miles of tall green mountains, the people freely commute between the sides and most of them speak both english and a caribbean dialect of french. Visiting both sides is a great way to see the differences and similarities and is a fascinating experience.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I started my day in St. Maartin by commuting to Marigot which is the main city on the french side. I brought along my friend David Juneau who had been here several times before to show me around. We got off the bus and walked into the heart of the town. It had great french type architecture but looked as if it had been hit by a half a dozen hurricanes… or possibly where old Disneyland sets go to die.The paint on the buildings was faded, cracked and peeling which added to the charm. You can walk down the street and look down an alley and find hidden cafes where locals and tourists sip on cappuccinos. David had a favorite cafe so we walked to it and stopped for some morning coffee. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The name of the place was La Lucriere and was decorated in bright pink wooded pillars that resembled a French Barbie doll house. We went inside and got 2 coffees and shared a guava jam filled croissant. A great example of traditional french cuisine meeting local, tropical flavors. It was fresh, soft and delicious. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">On this side of the island, they use the Euro as currency as well as US dollars. David had some left over Euros from a recent trip to Europe so he paid for the coffee so he could get rid of them. The woman at the counter was very friendly and spoke French as well as english. David tried conversing with her in French but ultimately gave up and resorted to english again. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">We sat and enjoyed the coffee and then a stray cat came over to us. One thing you have to know about David is that he is obsessed with cats. So as soon as the cat came over, he quickly knelt down to pet it as well as take many, many photos. After a minute or so, a second cat came over to play with David. He was so excited about that cats it was really humous. After I thought it couldn’t get any more funny to watch, we hear from another table a little girl’s voice say “Oh look, there are KITTENS TOO!” I watched David’s head snap around and said “Oh sweet Jesus no…”. I laughed hysterically as he ran over to pet them. It was a few minutes till David got his senses back.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">After the Cafe, we walked through the town and up a hill where there was a French fort named Fort Louie at the top. It was a small fort but had spectacular views from the top as it over looked Marigot and the ocean. The canons protruding from it were rusted, but still intact and the walls were old and cracked but still standing. We took some photos of the sensational views.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">After walking back down from the fort, we walked to the nearby marina. there we saw more cafes/restaurants and small boats docked by them. The marina circled back and was also lined with french clothing and jewelry stores. The marina was small but charming.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">We finally decided after walking through the streets for a while to hop on the bus again and take it to Philipsburg which is the main town on the Dutch side in the south. When we arrived after a 30 minute bus ride, I noticed that there were similarities to Marigot. It still had some french looking buildings and a few places with french writing but mostly it was all in English. It was also much more touristy as this was the side where the cruise ships dock. Lots of Diamond stores and jewelry vendors. Here everyone spoke english and accepted only US dollars. Philipsburg didn’t have the “pizzaz” that Marigot had but was still a nice place to visit.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Along the way we bumped into two band mates from the ship’s orchestra: Tony who played bass and Lance the drummer (who also is my cabin mate). They told us of a great shawarma place that gives you a free drink when you buy a shawarma. After spending about 45 minutes trying to find the place, we gave up met back up with Tony and Lance. At this point I was really tired from the walking and the sun was beating down hard on us all day. I was dehydrated and was ready to blackout. I NEEDED to sit down and drink something. After twisting Tony and Lance’s arm, we got them to walk over and show us the place. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The shawarma place was REALLY tiny and was nothing more that a 6 person bar table that was outside. I ordered the Lamb shawarma while David ordered the chicken. The Shawarma came and it was really fantastic. Just what the doctor ordered. Its meat was tender and the sauce was sweet and rich. I got my free coke with the meal and nearly drank the entire ice cold drink in a single gulp. The price was affordable and the service was excellent. We finished our meals, Tony and Lance ordered Shawarma to go, said our good byes and headed back to the ship. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">St. Maarten is a great port and has culture and charm which I find lots of islands in the Caribbean lack. Marigot is a great place to visit and relax. It has become one of my favor places to visit in the Caribbean. Philipsburg, although not as charming as Marigot, is still a cool place to hang out with its unique stores, restaurants, buildings and of course, Shwarma. -DB</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFWKBeddUXBD91jk64GcMjQVv5J03s_KSvmTPC6RnJsU184vcEP1zQ0SuKHG8_ttjAJSDbtAhhBj1z1rxZykhJJYuhpamqxi65rZ3jA892JFLmd51zJqmcoMK5sTHF_2JRxXCElvDYOu-/s1600/DSC_0978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFWKBeddUXBD91jk64GcMjQVv5J03s_KSvmTPC6RnJsU184vcEP1zQ0SuKHG8_ttjAJSDbtAhhBj1z1rxZykhJJYuhpamqxi65rZ3jA892JFLmd51zJqmcoMK5sTHF_2JRxXCElvDYOu-/s1600/DSC_0978.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Marigot from Fort Louie</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYC-MuKQvGLsQhawR-5pRVHC-tWVtlQbXeCby1ggFfuyJZE4B9sOu_D6UwA15Bq9vjglXa2pG0rVeODTkvM_ASSnK69aBuJoso2pfP0DoY1_7c1_lYoFb3w0ZLuFINuXDGSqcjI391CdY/s1600/DSC_0987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYC-MuKQvGLsQhawR-5pRVHC-tWVtlQbXeCby1ggFfuyJZE4B9sOu_D6UwA15Bq9vjglXa2pG0rVeODTkvM_ASSnK69aBuJoso2pfP0DoY1_7c1_lYoFb3w0ZLuFINuXDGSqcjI391CdY/s1600/DSC_0987.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Marigot from Fort Louie</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqcZwJyFy_eOCKQtweDapeNb2BEwEHTbPPN2HJK2G9Tw9IJ8kBWFrxpgUiJw1oNt0yux8lQRFI_mHd1bnmdLxdIKh52dtuQZzCEeeiyv578g-65ALfi8Gd14SCSXAke-WM-kyJ6SVHpE3/s1600/DSC_1040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqcZwJyFy_eOCKQtweDapeNb2BEwEHTbPPN2HJK2G9Tw9IJ8kBWFrxpgUiJw1oNt0yux8lQRFI_mHd1bnmdLxdIKh52dtuQZzCEeeiyv578g-65ALfi8Gd14SCSXAke-WM-kyJ6SVHpE3/s1600/DSC_1040.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marigot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1oZBtUIeBEZjSscPAS39BhdN4ICnyjH6WHFL5vurz96qz8eTdve2DCltWGd7WNiUQbU3poqwplZorVvUeiIn4UezCcnRPcvR15TFL3mCHEuPNL3pdQimKOiPEObtsn06unBQURVSNie0/s1600/DSC_0929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1oZBtUIeBEZjSscPAS39BhdN4ICnyjH6WHFL5vurz96qz8eTdve2DCltWGd7WNiUQbU3poqwplZorVvUeiIn4UezCcnRPcvR15TFL3mCHEuPNL3pdQimKOiPEObtsn06unBQURVSNie0/s1600/DSC_0929.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David in front of a street mural in Marigot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1v3POpdiWOGjN26VlHCoW_yYliGdcFEhs3SEyYnHcGLl-XEGsLItqcJHepMwNcywlOi0LaqQpJXQUFTybF2KehFz0FfUjGgjwa0LBSKyL-40wqwL2OOBHi7pThlnLKnD0XwhpNjdJ4JDR/s1600/DSC_0932+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1v3POpdiWOGjN26VlHCoW_yYliGdcFEhs3SEyYnHcGLl-XEGsLItqcJHepMwNcywlOi0LaqQpJXQUFTybF2KehFz0FfUjGgjwa0LBSKyL-40wqwL2OOBHi7pThlnLKnD0XwhpNjdJ4JDR/s1600/DSC_0932+-+Version+2.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street mural in Marigot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPx_oX6CppTW1XFVjBZzJRgKTEBChf4k441xYvz_X_Ut71uw-AjO0bkLaN62g8DbDCLkAvvoSHe3KD6FItORmTf4XILcke-C4or26CFOtFlAyI1TIkQS-icw8vUI-D2wvmfFd0Z5oTabp/s1600/DSC_0933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPx_oX6CppTW1XFVjBZzJRgKTEBChf4k441xYvz_X_Ut71uw-AjO0bkLaN62g8DbDCLkAvvoSHe3KD6FItORmTf4XILcke-C4or26CFOtFlAyI1TIkQS-icw8vUI-D2wvmfFd0Z5oTabp/s1600/DSC_0933.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street mural in Marigot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnbbws7UEsGKkTARF1F4Hhd_F7EADjVKF-KAtNQgwJg5HMEDtFDc0HjbYfzQvCzQTagGqfuvXYl04aNYyS_jAQoHXf9SOk2ZqrC7Tj8I82iEOkz5mhGP3svHL4FBhnRijMfkdOGHd6UfI/s1600/DSC_1016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnbbws7UEsGKkTARF1F4Hhd_F7EADjVKF-KAtNQgwJg5HMEDtFDc0HjbYfzQvCzQTagGqfuvXYl04aNYyS_jAQoHXf9SOk2ZqrC7Tj8I82iEOkz5mhGP3svHL4FBhnRijMfkdOGHd6UfI/s1600/DSC_1016.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mural in Marigot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkMmx77I1G5hFzlWwZvHcUvL0qJyZlhw0NUA0ggLublIyU-evme52pnNrACWkcRVCe2R9ajaSP1Q_95Y7bNaDZWfzKf4sN_uL1Do6HdFiWlK62hsBXstII8Fx3r5nrCmr71sKMhzIn35c/s1600/DSC_1017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkMmx77I1G5hFzlWwZvHcUvL0qJyZlhw0NUA0ggLublIyU-evme52pnNrACWkcRVCe2R9ajaSP1Q_95Y7bNaDZWfzKf4sN_uL1Do6HdFiWlK62hsBXstII8Fx3r5nrCmr71sKMhzIn35c/s1600/DSC_1017.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mural in Marigot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLav6JW78gR-tfX0GPJNEEBG8DU4fAI3FDaQAt03J4940B4RImxHGUuTrWo9TB07ruv4f3bts9US_wOYWQ1vpZvcP1YnvgcgIFjGanJ7rl4zKUQgek4wlOCd7H5K6_DSblxrGpbpSycVW7/s1600/DSC_1018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLav6JW78gR-tfX0GPJNEEBG8DU4fAI3FDaQAt03J4940B4RImxHGUuTrWo9TB07ruv4f3bts9US_wOYWQ1vpZvcP1YnvgcgIFjGanJ7rl4zKUQgek4wlOCd7H5K6_DSblxrGpbpSycVW7/s1600/DSC_1018.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mural in Marigot</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keepin in cool in Philipsburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Philipsburg mural</td></tr>
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Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-22550504669750684002014-09-16T08:45:00.001-07:002014-09-16T08:45:06.404-07:00I've Gone to Hell... - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Ok, well not maybe the Hell you’re thinking of, but it is Hell none the less. The small town of Hell on the island of Grand Cayman is one of it’s most popular attractions. The origins of its name is much up to debate and there are several stories about each of them. Some say its the eerie way the strange rock formations glow red at sunset. Others say that King George of was hunting in the area and shot a game bird which landed in the middle of the jagged rock formations. The servant who went to retrieve it took so long that the king said “Oh Hell with it!” and thats how it got its name. I think the truth will never actually be discovered but it adds depth to the legend. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The rock formations are actually old coral reef that had absorbed Dolomite when it dried up and gave it its grey color. Interesting as they may, to me, it looked like one thing- a fucking tourist trap. The gift shop encourages you to buy their hot sauce and t-shirts and send post cards home to your friends so that the postage mark says “Hell” on it. I’ve found that most of the attractions on the island are tourists traps and lack real culture. That being said, as cheesy as it sounds, I still kind of like the thought of telling people “Yeah, I’ve been to Hell and back.” -DB</span></div>
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Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-28340065130609734852014-08-16T08:43:00.000-07:002014-08-16T09:13:23.387-07:00The Ancient Mayan Ruins of Tulum - Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico<br />
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<span class="s1">The walk to the entrance of the ruins was a blistering one. With temperatures in the triple digits, I literally felt like I was melting away into the dirt. My face was dripping down into into my shirt and causing my cloths to be completely soaked. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The entrance was a stone wall with a short, rugged archway that looked more suitable for children than great ancestors. The Mayan people at the time were normally only about 5 foot tall so as we passed through the archway, we made sure to mind our heads. I walked through the entrance and the other side gave way to the spectacular remnants of the ancient Mayan city of Tulum.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The area was a large field that consisted of several stone buildings and temples. My guide, Juan, who was very passionate about Mayan history, gave me the history behind each building. Juan was originally born in this area and is one of the few left that can still speak the original Mayan language of this area. Needless to say, if he said something, I made it my business to listen carefully.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">He pointed out first a small building on the cliff next to the ocean which in spanish is called “Templo del Viento” which translates to “House of the Wind.” This small structure was not only an observatory, but also was used as a meteorology tool. There is a small window in the building that faces the ocean. As the wind increases, the window creates a loud, piercing whistling sound. When the sound gets to a certain loudness, it was an indicator that a tropical storm or hurricane was approaching. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Next to the building was a smaller structure standing only about 4 feet tall with openings facing the east and another to the west. Originally archeologists thought that it was suppose to be a lighthouse to bring the sailors in by night; and this made sense since Tulum was thought to be a important fishing village. However, on June 21st 1996, one of the security guards that was monitoring the premises noticed something spectacular. At sunrise, the light from the sun gleamed into the east facing portion, and then out the west facing side which then glowed a bright crimson red. It was something so spectacular and unusual that the guard had to report it to the Archeological society and the following year, witnessed the same thing yet again. It is now believed that the structure was not a lighthouse at all but indeed one of the very first sundials ever created. Phenomena was created to indicate the summer solstice.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I followed Juan over to the next building which was called “Templo de los Frescos” This building had a great carving of a jaguars’ face depicted on the corners of the building. Originally these facades would have been brightly painted over but with time, the colors have faded almost completely. The etching can still be made out and efforts are made to try to preserve what is left.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The largest building on the whole premises and the most remarkable was “El Castillo”. This structure was a temple dedicated to the sun god. I walked over to it with sweat dripping and burning into my eyes. Looking up at the building was blinding from the sun now looking at me directly into my eyes. The awe of the building was almost enough for me to forget about the heat. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">There were several large stone stairs which lead up to the temple its self. Inside, archeologists were originally stumped on what they found. Only a few frescos and clay pots; things that seemed to simple for such a large and dazzling temple. A few years later, an archeologists suggested that they were not excavating in the right places. What he suggested and what was eventually dug up and found was a second pyramid INSIDE of El Castillo. This was an exciting discovery and after years of excavation (which they are still doing to this day), they were able to find that second pyramid.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">To the left of El Castillo was a smaller, peculiar looking building that is directly connected to El Castillo. This building they have named “Templo del Dios Descendente” which translated mean “Temple of the Descending God”. This room is interesting because of the small window that faces exactly 21º West. The interesting part of that figure and its direction is that the Ramses II statue in Egypt faces the same direction as well as other famous ancient structures. It makes it a mystery how several cultures separated by continents, oceans and time periods can find something significant in that direction.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Tulum was the very first Mayan society discovered by the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century and is also the only known walled Mayan city to exist on the sea shore. Behind El Castillo is the Caribbean Ocean. You can take a small staircase down to the sand where locals still come and bring their children to play in the surf. The real estate of the ruins seemed ideal for a successful city of any time period. Its no wonder why the mexican people still come here bask in the sunny seaside of Tulum. </span></div>
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The site was an exciting place to visit. To be walking in an abandoned city of such rich history and significance was enlightening. With the sun blistering onto the the top of my head, it made the experience seem like a wonderful hallucination. I look forward to exploring more ruins of the Mayans here on the Yucatan Peninsula. -DB<span class="s1"></span></div>
Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-35889129959300594072014-06-14T11:03:00.000-07:002014-06-14T13:16:05.342-07:00San Juan: A City of Color - San Juan, Puerto Rico<div class="p1">
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Like a piece of old Spain picked up from the the European continent and dropped in the Greater Atilles, Puerto Rico is a beautiful union of old world meets new. While you walk around the vibrant streets of San Juan and are towered by their centuries old building crumbling slightly but holding fast. You can see an old city keeping up with modern times. Night clubs bumping the latest U.S. house music can be heard echoing through the narrow alley ways while young tourists zip by on Segues. This city is truly one of many colors.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The city of San Juan used to be a military town that had fought the Spanish, The British and the Dutch once upon a time, now has grown into a vibrant city. All the architecture of the the Spanish and some of the French from that time still stand. The oldest buildings are protected by the US law and are what bring charm in my opinion to the city. They are colorfully painted and usually stand two stories tall along the blue cobble stone street. Each stone on the roads are glazed a navy blue color and not one is exactly the same. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The warm, humid air, thick enough to drink, reminds you that you are still indeed in a tropical island. The tall, lush green jungle trees separate the buildings and droop over the streets to give shade. Palm trees of all kinds and sizes are common place and I can hear parrots roosting in their canopies as I walk deeper in the city. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">In all of of the parts of the city, you will see several feral cats sleeping and lounging around the city. These are the gangs of San Juan. They were brought to the islands by ships that use to keep them aboard for rat control. They now have become permanent residents and are beloved by the people. It was said that while most cats have five fingers, you can occasionally will see six toed cats and they are considered very lucky. These cats since then have been called ‘Hemingway Cats’ after Earnest Hemingway. The city neuters them which can be indicated (besides looking between their legs) by a notch cut into one of their ears. Volunteers feed the cats daily all over the city.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Local, modernist art work can be found in many of the parks and city squares all over town. While many of them are local artists, some of the works come from all over the world as gifts to the this beautiful city. Walking by them, you can see at sunset several of the young, beautiful residents doing photo shoots next to them.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The city had a lot going for it. It has the history, the scenery, the culture, the food and architecture and so much more. I look forward to many more stops at which has become by far my favorite port of call in the Caribbean. -DB</span></div>
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Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-53209280523176212252014-02-25T12:51:00.002-08:002014-02-26T15:55:14.710-08:00Maui Tropical Plantation - Maui, HI <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_AixQz7023d8Ze1t7ihO8R0gncHnkXtt-wndV8GWkF3TMfF6Js9ZvR7ETRWH-XY1UfXCfSsR2WIdtRFrlJCY3bpS7cW_zBKKbQgN291qdJhwmJowke149xONUytNLkI1STCj0-gqDgNL/s640/blogger-image--1375682638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_AixQz7023d8Ze1t7ihO8R0gncHnkXtt-wndV8GWkF3TMfF6Js9ZvR7ETRWH-XY1UfXCfSsR2WIdtRFrlJCY3bpS7cW_zBKKbQgN291qdJhwmJowke149xONUytNLkI1STCj0-gqDgNL/s640/blogger-image--1375682638.jpg"></a><div> As part of my little excursion to the I'oa Valley State Park, we stopped by the Maui Tropical Plantation. This plantation I though might be a nice stop and it could be cool to see a farm of tropical fruit and trees.<div> We arrived and the entrance to the plantation was a door which led you right into the gift shop. The only way to get into the plantation was through this gift shop which I thought was pretty tacky. I browsed around and took note of their products. Lots of coconut, taro and mango foods as well as many others. </div><div> I made my way to the entrance and noticed that they wern't only a plantation, they were also a low budget soap factory, a zipline service and also a chocolate factory. Upon seeing this I started to get the idea that this place might be a tourist trap. I held my tounge until I had seen the rest of the tour.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGc9K0aSpoqkm2CwqVS8h9nfR9Pn6b2YSmjB8UqWeLCsrI0E3F-2Q3aiq9OjXpaxnQ-prVS8P1z57rIpwaHeZoyq3vie2NbaXzULqMNRC4zYgNwzMFUwJJeAYMEhokEH8uan2rG3g0lJu/s640/blogger-image--1660667721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGc9K0aSpoqkm2CwqVS8h9nfR9Pn6b2YSmjB8UqWeLCsrI0E3F-2Q3aiq9OjXpaxnQ-prVS8P1z57rIpwaHeZoyq3vie2NbaXzULqMNRC4zYgNwzMFUwJJeAYMEhokEH8uan2rG3g0lJu/s640/blogger-image--1660667721.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qyYRln1n1s0NFygEEW6Zj5O0LwaUvAnoWSYrIX0ekVXigJkdeQ2aez2hilzyohFfPDl5Ky1_3b0nj_GV8NyWwJd_eLsygzWa8MXxa3yftCc_ujRNWs-g9agmp7HKZYpSyAtPIDFvt43C/s640/blogger-image--58902399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qyYRln1n1s0NFygEEW6Zj5O0LwaUvAnoWSYrIX0ekVXigJkdeQ2aez2hilzyohFfPDl5Ky1_3b0nj_GV8NyWwJd_eLsygzWa8MXxa3yftCc_ujRNWs-g9agmp7HKZYpSyAtPIDFvt43C/s640/blogger-image--58902399.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxFvsp2fo2mlKfWf9jf2eFLLqCelbNkaLqqK7fmgzg-OGaxTUdty25WQFDXNqnvSM-dG4pxAV_QDDKfx2cX-jaEtS5Hyzj78Cpk_gXqmHJPA1ECNl2K9ZJXmyR0_x18Nz23LHEJIGKxRv/s640/blogger-image--2135240344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxFvsp2fo2mlKfWf9jf2eFLLqCelbNkaLqqK7fmgzg-OGaxTUdty25WQFDXNqnvSM-dG4pxAV_QDDKfx2cX-jaEtS5Hyzj78Cpk_gXqmHJPA1ECNl2K9ZJXmyR0_x18Nz23LHEJIGKxRv/s640/blogger-image--2135240344.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div></div></div><div> I walked over to where the Tram Tours were suppose to pick us up and waited for it to arrive. Next to us was a table with several wooden Tiki scupltures on it. Next to the table, was a gentleman handcarving these idols. They came in all sizes and styles and in different woods. He was also offering a service where he could make any engraving into the sculptures for you at a price. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfngMUtoAdj7WXoBuFssJi3r2AW2-jHp-Tj82xWPZdOaJGQ9fzIKcYmGf-tzbPtIBW_Jp76xZM0YI5Z_MIsKV5NGUd2ft2lx27dQ7bKd2HbKfiPdlQF8VI7QMfPRzizqGErH2XYSqtbhXs/s640/blogger-image-1688660623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfngMUtoAdj7WXoBuFssJi3r2AW2-jHp-Tj82xWPZdOaJGQ9fzIKcYmGf-tzbPtIBW_Jp76xZM0YI5Z_MIsKV5NGUd2ft2lx27dQ7bKd2HbKfiPdlQF8VI7QMfPRzizqGErH2XYSqtbhXs/s640/blogger-image-1688660623.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhw9Qzwb7LXqRDQEF16wk4A16tYNZ9T3wB-fUNoNRU7LwTgM6FUoxxrb59LCioCult1isvJnegmEs15Kt5UZlKVeaz3MMbhyphenhyphen9-047UqUV6pqmWUFx1eJlSb1gfP1Gd6W78rkBoC9DQprer/s640/blogger-image-226239570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhw9Qzwb7LXqRDQEF16wk4A16tYNZ9T3wB-fUNoNRU7LwTgM6FUoxxrb59LCioCult1isvJnegmEs15Kt5UZlKVeaz3MMbhyphenhyphen9-047UqUV6pqmWUFx1eJlSb1gfP1Gd6W78rkBoC9DQprer/s640/blogger-image-226239570.jpg"></a></div></div><br></div><div> While I was watching the gentleman carve another figurine, the Tram pulled up. It was a small tractor which was pulling several pea green, plastic compartments for passengers. It looked like somebody disassembled the tea cups at Disneyland and shipped them to Hawaii. I hopped into the very back compartment and took a seat. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMIzvViWl3IZV679AI-cjNo4sT5eakIkQJt0lQuZzQiMd8KwVIdV-AQu6AAeWcYzixusYnPdbwFMlLtRU6_REPpEvJvBE2XHtxDIxY-cU-dFCEjEBqxT23S8qNiNoEMaxDCa_VkSE4Ppl/s640/blogger-image--1094988432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMIzvViWl3IZV679AI-cjNo4sT5eakIkQJt0lQuZzQiMd8KwVIdV-AQu6AAeWcYzixusYnPdbwFMlLtRU6_REPpEvJvBE2XHtxDIxY-cU-dFCEjEBqxT23S8qNiNoEMaxDCa_VkSE4Ppl/s640/blogger-image--1094988432.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div> The driver was a young-ish Hawaiian fellow who introduced himself as Eon. He wore dark sunglasses and as he went to take a head count, I figured out the guy was high as shit. He was making some strange noises as he took the head count and came off as kinda dopey. I crossed my fingers as the tram pulled out.</div><div> At a snails pace, we were taken through the Papaya plantation first. The trees were fairly small at only about 8 or 10 feet high. They looked like sticks out of the mud with the green and yellow fruit dripping out of the top like sap. At the very top were a few darker green leaves growing outward. The trees were kinda silly looking; like something out of a Dr. Suess illustration. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi307OV6_wOB7zUfv11UODvORs92GluvkO1A-NhvLWfdfiobzlS6fb3NxWRyQbi0D32D4UJEOfAt_8igzAY1NEDzsntuh4R1YmZ58spJfi2bllz58plsCRAAIq9I0Rfm7-UDSfoLlIFKsWz/s640/blogger-image--630074208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi307OV6_wOB7zUfv11UODvORs92GluvkO1A-NhvLWfdfiobzlS6fb3NxWRyQbi0D32D4UJEOfAt_8igzAY1NEDzsntuh4R1YmZ58spJfi2bllz58plsCRAAIq9I0Rfm7-UDSfoLlIFKsWz/s640/blogger-image--630074208.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfPsJFuaJ93jKIC5kl8O8vKGVFRoj_5xr-NBM1_y11rHCcH7U0oKDSlhc0bcFRAvh_NbCSdgTHI0sNvXJKN3Dl_Y8sPctqJ6si71HjfHZq8-cVAMBSdH1a-RRK7b2GXfOEhl68fA7qARY/s640/blogger-image-171372920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfPsJFuaJ93jKIC5kl8O8vKGVFRoj_5xr-NBM1_y11rHCcH7U0oKDSlhc0bcFRAvh_NbCSdgTHI0sNvXJKN3Dl_Y8sPctqJ6si71HjfHZq8-cVAMBSdH1a-RRK7b2GXfOEhl68fA7qARY/s640/blogger-image-171372920.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div></div><div> Moving on to the next plot, was a small area for the Pineapples. Red little bushes that almost ressembled Aloe Vera plants. We saw only one small Pineapple growing from them. Eon said that you can only get three good harvests from them, the third being the best, before you have you tear them out of the ground and replant. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdmWZ5lYPQ__cESsKiqBHFA8MVHMZoswLLoOanB8VQpEApBNsRwGKxO0KSZBCEcXy4AxLNcT3xzgue6we3d6igYDCSR0vy5tkicZAZ8KAKfVP7WHpiwGQeD7wAvdAMDa8wcTO6LanF29U/s640/blogger-image-1552859192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdmWZ5lYPQ__cESsKiqBHFA8MVHMZoswLLoOanB8VQpEApBNsRwGKxO0KSZBCEcXy4AxLNcT3xzgue6we3d6igYDCSR0vy5tkicZAZ8KAKfVP7WHpiwGQeD7wAvdAMDa8wcTO6LanF29U/s640/blogger-image-1552859192.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLaH4Ph2XPyBcea_tpleFGczmY4-GMR3RaMm0BRGVFFvgu4a-Ee9bf6m82WcwNn7uTJpOV466-cz6ikTmlK8PzVvi2SlenivzJCOp4LoY4H5wDuSMtseryTHj3-Q_uD6zYmfKrzzUgr8g0/s640/blogger-image--728216820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLaH4Ph2XPyBcea_tpleFGczmY4-GMR3RaMm0BRGVFFvgu4a-Ee9bf6m82WcwNn7uTJpOV466-cz6ikTmlK8PzVvi2SlenivzJCOp4LoY4H5wDuSMtseryTHj3-Q_uD6zYmfKrzzUgr8g0/s640/blogger-image--728216820.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div></div><div> We pulled forward a little further to a gazebo where we stopped and were asked to get out to observe a coconut husking demonstartion. We all gathered around and Eon grabbed himself a coconut and stood next to a table in the Gazebo. A young girl who was leading a seperate tour, asked for our attention and began to describe the coconut husking procedure. While she was doing this, Eon would go through the steps with the actual coconut with some help of a "Lowes pick axe" head bolted to the log stump table. The procedure I'll admit was entertaining but at the end when Eon finally cracked the hard interior and exposed the water and meat, we were dissapointed to find out that they were not going to let us try the meat or the water and poured the water onto the ground. We all got back onto the Tram and continued on.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGE8H37LOTce-FJeXkJXLIr1iQWJgFwriCF7aAoZooBErI_LIHoESj-jmOydrComJFn1O8Pe-wRfESkHP8fpwPGNXT9ohJDKUyp5_6KgrkBkR6Ea82SFhK5DcJZDwQXe_1Ej1KPXi4THM/s640/blogger-image-1479232109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGE8H37LOTce-FJeXkJXLIr1iQWJgFwriCF7aAoZooBErI_LIHoESj-jmOydrComJFn1O8Pe-wRfESkHP8fpwPGNXT9ohJDKUyp5_6KgrkBkR6Ea82SFhK5DcJZDwQXe_1Ej1KPXi4THM/s640/blogger-image-1479232109.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4Dcz4epdsQSOcD5DkkeERJEW27aBNwkaZQf5h0Nw_wWlmfIoDw9Tp-ooeViC5iXJoagtad7tdJi-5UOjSgqlszEKqDpkgrOdg_VHI-QRBJCF6p1ySOarJyUwY_ufHlbD7zNWL6VDMr8Q/s640/blogger-image--145457052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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Not the most exciting part of the tour. You could fit more plants into a suburban backyard. </div><div> The Tram moved on to the mango trees which were relatively small compared to the other mango trees that I had seen on the side of the road and peoples backyard. Eon described that these are a small variation of the mango trees and that they are easier to pick the fruit from. It being February, there were no fruit on any of the trees. </div><div> The last part we drove by was the macadamia nut trees. These were much larger than the mangos and on the ground, were hundreds of macademia nuts lying about. We stopped for a short while and some people stepped quickly out of the Tram and picked up a few off the ground. The actual nut was encased in a hard brown shell. In manufacturing, they would roast the nut until the hard exterior cracks and then they can remove the meat inside. </div><div> We pulled away from the Mac Nut trees and it dropped us off in the parking lot in front of the gift shop entrance. Even though some of the sights were semi-entertaining to watch, a lot of it was not very entertaining and I felt like it was really more of a tourist trap. The funny thing is though, is that your still in Hawaii - and even though the place pretty muched sucked, the fact of being in Hawaii and being surrounded by plants and tropical fruits had its own unique appeal. I would'nt go back.... or even recommend it, but any time spent in Hawaii is still time well spent. -DB</div><div> </div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSx5W34VylmJDN4qWNpQfWSPyIuBbT06eNLJy5ti-IQP1CWBPlB4kcU1elbJRe4Acca8gVgGx2sa4YKUECwIHPzM0KQf4U7ckpoOl3KopulIvUTcpSeshu4kK6TWGUl2eSeF_GihQDXJy/s640/blogger-image-1260709309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSx5W34VylmJDN4qWNpQfWSPyIuBbT06eNLJy5ti-IQP1CWBPlB4kcU1elbJRe4Acca8gVgGx2sa4YKUECwIHPzM0KQf4U7ckpoOl3KopulIvUTcpSeshu4kK6TWGUl2eSeF_GihQDXJy/s640/blogger-image-1260709309.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_qEtZsMK3DIT3U2NtR3uHH450MeuIiLQbKsfd7IY6ubLFjCvrvh_2-Il35CFlbgy9fWM4sLuMfK8GFdx63finuVy7uhvmcT-dw8NePa2FzgHXG55fPJM2eI8D1GlQ_wX1t-TCl3dsSzn/s640/blogger-image--293271074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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I'm sitting in the bus this morning barely hanging on. I've had maybe 4 hours of sleep the night before and had to be up at 6:00am to get ready to catch the bus to go to the Wailua River cruise. I'm sitting in the back of the bus to avoid conversation with anyone else because I just don't have the energy. What was a 20 minute bus ride felt like an hour one when we finally pulled up to the dock on the Wailua River.<br />
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The Wailua River is the widest river in Kauai and I'm going to take a boat to the Fern Grotto. The Fern Grotto is suppose to have a large preserve of Flora and Fuana that is exclusive to the island. I get off the bus and get in the line and eventually get into the boat. The boat had several large wooden benches for people to sit on so I made sure I chose to sit on one that was on the edge that faced the river.</div>
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As we pulled out of the dock, it started to rain. Not an unusual circumstance being in Hawaii. Especially since Kauai is the most wet place on earth so the rain didn't phase me too much. We cruised down the River and enjoyed the constantly changing landscapes. I almost felt like I was going down a Jurassic Park ride and half expected a T-Rex to come out and start chasing us.<br />
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While we were going down the River, the "captain" was giving us a little information on the area. He pointed out these flowers that we're growing on the bank of the River. They have a 24 hour life span and when they first bloom, they are a yellow color. As the day progresses, they turn a orange color and then before they die, the turn a dark red. The whole processes happens in a day and as we rode along, we could see the flowers in both their yellow, orange and red states.</div>
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Before we knew it, about 30 minutes had passed and we reached the Fern Grotto. They had grass and wood huts for a dock and looked almost like a primitive ancient Hawaiian structure. We docked and were greeted by some very beautiful, young Hawaiian girls in flower dresses. I exited the boat and they greeted us with a "Aloha" and showed us the way to the trail which led us to the grotto. </div>
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I walked into a lush, dark green jungle which had a concrete trail to lead the way. The jungle was thick and had a variety of trees and bamboo which dripped water onto my head as I walked through. </div>
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I finally made it to the grotto which was a waterfall that had ferns that grew from the moist rock and hung from them. The state had made a wooden platform so spectators could get close and take photos. On the platform was a group of musicians performing Hawaiian songs for us as we arrived. I took some photos and while I was doing so, the guitarist made an announcement. He told us to make room not he platform as they were going to play the Hawaiian wedding song while a woman danced hula to it.</div>
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They began and an elagnt Hawaiian woman came out and began dancing to the musicians who also sang. The dance was gentle, romantic and fascinating to watch. I managed to capture a short clip of the dance. The aloha spirit on the islands are just that. And it seems like it doesn't matter what island I go to, that spirit is in its ecology, it's art and also it's love. -DB<br />
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Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-61112476795117124612014-02-16T17:48:00.001-08:002014-02-16T17:57:03.193-08:00Bus Ride to 'Ioa Valley State Park - Maui, HI<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2DVyv3MGNisec-HMY9BjTTzYyLG5oXR5DiDUqvxVI8KTGktHP8XFm9uJZG6OpzrtleDL8XD-ajiZZX55sWFVXrXA5KUiCTq26Y4X9h7urW083D9eCW1pkjpJnZK9NyRIS2t9gLxXDEZMu/s640/blogger-image--1694128112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2DVyv3MGNisec-HMY9BjTTzYyLG5oXR5DiDUqvxVI8KTGktHP8XFm9uJZG6OpzrtleDL8XD-ajiZZX55sWFVXrXA5KUiCTq26Y4X9h7urW083D9eCW1pkjpJnZK9NyRIS2t9gLxXDEZMu/s640/blogger-image--1694128112.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div> It seems like it would be impossible to imagine exactly how the ancient polynesians reacted and felt when they stepped foot for the first time onto Maui. The cascading green mountains above the glowing red dirt. Prestine and beautiful. However, for me to see it, even after being here a dozen times, I still feel in awe as the ancients must have also felt.<div> Drving through the country in Maui is a vaction with in its own. I'm on a tour bus headed for the 'Ioa Valley State Park for a little sight seeing. Looking out the window and driving in and out of small towns, I admire the lush landscape as it whizzs by my window. The tour guide/bus driver is narrating the ride but her voice is so mono-tone, I find my mind drifting off. The ground and mountains behind them are covered in small, light green brush. Almost every inch seems to be covered only intill the reddish-orange dirt bleeds out from under it. </div><div> As we start up into the Mountains and closer to the 'Ioa Valley, trees seem to become more rampent. Large tropical trees start to cover the bus. Mango, Bread Fruit, Avacado, African Tulip and Banyans are some of the larger ones as well as the Hawaiian state tree: The Kukui nut. Flowers also start to close in on the bus as we gain more and more elevation. Finally we reach our destination. </div><div> I climbed out of the bus after about 25 slow moving senior citizens slowly shuffle their way to the exit. We are in the pit of the Valley here and on both sides of me the green monsters shoot up very quickly into the bright sky. To the right of me is a particular mountain formation which is unusual and different from the rest. Its skinny peak resembeles a mossy falic symbol but the sign in front of the park entrance states it as "The 'Ioa Needle".</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Qv-HMsEPejIZ4_-232ukEorMdM6CWIZkDB4QBFYm9XoRAWm0AE2Eqm6X57pQ5o268vckWwk7MqQgZ8bNC_6erTQgBQ26p6-VXxU_7exdvnGMAdcHnBnCGQAUzSPW0qLF9vbUCpfILMXD/s640/blogger-image--2145168944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Qv-HMsEPejIZ4_-232ukEorMdM6CWIZkDB4QBFYm9XoRAWm0AE2Eqm6X57pQ5o268vckWwk7MqQgZ8bNC_6erTQgBQ26p6-VXxU_7exdvnGMAdcHnBnCGQAUzSPW0qLF9vbUCpfILMXD/s640/blogger-image--2145168944.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTkOpAdcaulmyFhJbodSbzCbAfYrvQGmIKl0EBBGgn2ru9-8dx0xKVVVk67SjF5N7GigRYlHVl-BPQmjHRkZeIDwdJ2-HcnPssmf86zG8-fRUVBHC1evwRbgaDVN6AYmNrKvN4r-SKuz0/s640/blogger-image-873972424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTkOpAdcaulmyFhJbodSbzCbAfYrvQGmIKl0EBBGgn2ru9-8dx0xKVVVk67SjF5N7GigRYlHVl-BPQmjHRkZeIDwdJ2-HcnPssmf86zG8-fRUVBHC1evwRbgaDVN6AYmNrKvN4r-SKuz0/s640/blogger-image-873972424.jpg"></a></div></div><br></div><div> I walked up one of what seems like several different trails. Trying to get by these geriatric, slow moving obsticles, I skip steps two by two, trying to get to the top as soon as possible. Before I knew it I was at the top. Just a look out at a slightly higher elevation. Nothing too exciting although it did give me a closer view of the needle for me to photograph. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyeQSgy3jsxpjRkVOesRLFiDA_Ym1RUt0bPPWC1NBIkLJkpwPq0-fhA5P33IPTwRZRcHRwpZwPj_xLOeT8d7lCnJnFQWeREwqavR3wrRJkE1ZDXlZNjLjak5AqnxEUvDCIhRSmbHh9fVt/s640/blogger-image--1999914775.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyeQSgy3jsxpjRkVOesRLFiDA_Ym1RUt0bPPWC1NBIkLJkpwPq0-fhA5P33IPTwRZRcHRwpZwPj_xLOeT8d7lCnJnFQWeREwqavR3wrRJkE1ZDXlZNjLjak5AqnxEUvDCIhRSmbHh9fVt/s640/blogger-image--1999914775.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div> I made my way down the steps when I was suddenly stopped by a old man in a baseball hat. He reconized me from the ship and as I tried to humor the man's coversation, I tried my best to cut it short so I could continue with other trails. He kept talking at me for a while and started somehow to talk about his horses. Right as I was about to strangle the guy, his wife sneaks up from behind me and asks me to take a photo of them infront of the valley. I gladly take her camerea/phone and take a photo. I give them back the camera and as the look at the photo, I ran back down the stairs with nothing more that a distant "Bye!".</div><div> Once again, jumping down the stairs two by two, I finally come to a fork in the trail and head down the other trail. It gets down lower into the valley and suddenly the large shade trees cover the sun. It startks to get dark. In the distance iI can hear running water to I make my way to it. Finally I make it to the streams edge and there are several people swimming it. I walked beside it slowly as to enjoy the sound and look of this beautiful stream (minus the dirty people washing their feet in it).</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnIa9177KigSiQhhDRHPMrD5BTL1-qPXwgdC0zPfaNi7RnE5D80fNdCsfAggbRIQCcMrOzzxKz5np41z20-15PerHb1MQVL_nWrYajppHMbz2hCEWxFqRYM-katFBRXEbfJvBZJc40fvt/s640/blogger-image-1971309572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnIa9177KigSiQhhDRHPMrD5BTL1-qPXwgdC0zPfaNi7RnE5D80fNdCsfAggbRIQCcMrOzzxKz5np41z20-15PerHb1MQVL_nWrYajppHMbz2hCEWxFqRYM-katFBRXEbfJvBZJc40fvt/s640/blogger-image-1971309572.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIr8hVWAJ9rpko8ebmyDYQ-5WRNlGP0wNGY4Upi6tWrYawx6d6edlWr7UPuoWxGTB3MuxeKJeeMayK6OaiwiUQNQ76J4LMO2iedY8Iu6hsYDx4VsUVKII3rAK3nhOxavy0oRwSNu07WT34/s640/blogger-image--267190173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIr8hVWAJ9rpko8ebmyDYQ-5WRNlGP0wNGY4Upi6tWrYawx6d6edlWr7UPuoWxGTB3MuxeKJeeMayK6OaiwiUQNQ76J4LMO2iedY8Iu6hsYDx4VsUVKII3rAK3nhOxavy0oRwSNu07WT34/s640/blogger-image--267190173.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-TReQc0RoMTmCX7g9ouoPIf21Inm5j1kizfzR4lANku28hstPxWQG0hxjNnNV1OCajauNvFMOa3svMSHiYyLYgB3yVekKgNlPqOkVAY5tZYscyNT7ouZByaoTGoZ-ofKjGwfVt1p6aTi/s640/blogger-image-1039969870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-TReQc0RoMTmCX7g9ouoPIf21Inm5j1kizfzR4lANku28hstPxWQG0hxjNnNV1OCajauNvFMOa3svMSHiYyLYgB3yVekKgNlPqOkVAY5tZYscyNT7ouZByaoTGoZ-ofKjGwfVt1p6aTi/s640/blogger-image-1039969870.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div></div></div><div> The trail by the stream is short lived and before I knew it, I was heading back up to the main trail. I got up to the main trail again and took the third and final trail down into the botanical garden. The first tree that I saw was the Kukui nut tree with a few ripe Kukui nuts still on it. The nuts were onced used a fuel to light candles in the early days of Hawaii. The forigners used to call it the Candlestick Tree as they were used to make candles and torches. They are also used as powerfull laxatives so needless to say, I didn't try to pick one up and eat one. </div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWwCAgKZpLqDMEbHR1ILDJpZ14DvWQVIT_yOe1XoI1ihYRNs3C0imV7vlk53O2kKVhIvFfNxrWbWHhhHY3x_OIUYniAND2FjxAmGvJbe24S-79LsyIo_ZgGy955-p93xJlAFnkVpKfyOx/s640/blogger-image--597336302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWwCAgKZpLqDMEbHR1ILDJpZ14DvWQVIT_yOe1XoI1ihYRNs3C0imV7vlk53O2kKVhIvFfNxrWbWHhhHY3x_OIUYniAND2FjxAmGvJbe24S-79LsyIo_ZgGy955-p93xJlAFnkVpKfyOx/s640/blogger-image--597336302.jpg"></a></div><div> Kukui Nut Tree (Candlestick Tree)</div><div><br></div><div> The rest of the garden had a variety of Taro, Ti plants and Plumaria trees. The garden was very pleasent an peacefull. I had wished I had gone to this one first. It was a place you could imagine yourself living if you ever flipped out from the constant chaos of the modern world and needed a place you could put yourself back together. I spent a few minutes taking photos of the beautiful plants before I headed back for my bus. The visit was short but worth getting a glimpse into how the ancients may have seen the island for the very first time. -DB</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMfAKPUiRgjrzzrVGydGVtaG1QHGjUbDd2HUrQvJhJNFXmOyPg8oKzo5H7laUn5hauhZc8sp03o0R9CSmFD8WskY-Q0xI9SOvM3l4oJYsc6jiSwvWpwKJiNNWHRQXD1gWoKJV4okJ0KZ2/s640/blogger-image-1698909964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMfAKPUiRgjrzzrVGydGVtaG1QHGjUbDd2HUrQvJhJNFXmOyPg8oKzo5H7laUn5hauhZc8sp03o0R9CSmFD8WskY-Q0xI9SOvM3l4oJYsc6jiSwvWpwKJiNNWHRQXD1gWoKJV4okJ0KZ2/s640/blogger-image-1698909964.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOV9tM4ITZqeBGQnTBLabQZ77yZ8QHHrufrFVYbkPk3ToAJQEzZyuVEVp60LR9JsAOdlSf_HJ5s0mLhyphenhyphen99aWxH1ouXKbA-xsoQ909cx0jcDF03PSEE4_SzyI1aVKBYKY8zy3UakPlTi3F/s640/blogger-image-541229025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0Wcmi3t_qRMLkZnFAVkatuuCcgHTARu0w6yy6IvO1k9sfsOluxEQ16kKSV67oVEgAQK68XO52RSXFuP1KxLeDDctJH5rpEJMcGxdpGI7dq6vXawH37IBEuI4zYTRCorOC530QCj2YdPR/s640/blogger-image-1772381786.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Taro Plants</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCVDLHddbn7RMSfnhMCFbWHFODlLiCI8VFFM-ubutL0XKE2G3_xDqYoplP8ATWljWJj3A1X7cz0MHCCPaUHb9QfYdlC3gsopRfBRZ2iZddPfH4H14quhEei5AjaVp5YNvKIbRFf3kcowO/s640/blogger-image--1778896675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCVDLHddbn7RMSfnhMCFbWHFODlLiCI8VFFM-ubutL0XKE2G3_xDqYoplP8ATWljWJj3A1X7cz0MHCCPaUHb9QfYdlC3gsopRfBRZ2iZddPfH4H14quhEei5AjaVp5YNvKIbRFf3kcowO/s640/blogger-image--1778896675.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Taro</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-EsLIalv0LbGApum6RKKtBQQzaxvr4vVecEkxhmkRkpyy9ZB2kwfp3IVVOLSpuEH0G95csuXitPsvjaluK0gPkqBS1QynoZ20eX8yhIva8pVNbUdmGTORePLbJ9xxFeGQ6bd4kgU31D2/s640/blogger-image-605318958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-EsLIalv0LbGApum6RKKtBQQzaxvr4vVecEkxhmkRkpyy9ZB2kwfp3IVVOLSpuEH0G95csuXitPsvjaluK0gPkqBS1QynoZ20eX8yhIva8pVNbUdmGTORePLbJ9xxFeGQ6bd4kgU31D2/s640/blogger-image-605318958.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><div><br></div><div> </div>Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-76883782311427485462014-02-03T11:22:00.001-08:002014-02-03T11:52:56.775-08:00Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Gardens: a Photo Journal - Hilo, Hawaii<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kAGaGKD1EFZ7Hihe_L777dwHP7zvHhYuO5o8aMu9_QNYLFkv2ErzM5aHdp09UHwaRZ4x7z72P4Oasv1_Vs0vakuSWnSjNDrJ2kNdPMxOMruE8m85CJ6S4gm73iPknD3hNO7ictJ1nn23/s640/blogger-image--1567891051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kAGaGKD1EFZ7Hihe_L777dwHP7zvHhYuO5o8aMu9_QNYLFkv2ErzM5aHdp09UHwaRZ4x7z72P4Oasv1_Vs0vakuSWnSjNDrJ2kNdPMxOMruE8m85CJ6S4gm73iPknD3hNO7ictJ1nn23/s640/blogger-image--1567891051.jpg"></a></div></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I spent today at the beautiful Hawaiian Tropical Botanical a Garden just outside of Hilo. Here they have a large selection of palms, orchids and other rare plants. Here are some photos from my visit! </span></div><div> -DB</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvxzLRhLXBACzM9F5yiNwtrVBsME1ABLHLVtrhXP2tgsltdChrYo_Y1-7HLQbxDJ-6HsrJeLcdA4c0UVsntF2mVQh_1JxAr6mW5NrrZjouIF7tgyqBBnCJdlow1IWIEm-UYax_ECuVFBdh/s640/blogger-image--679691515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvxzLRhLXBACzM9F5yiNwtrVBsME1ABLHLVtrhXP2tgsltdChrYo_Y1-7HLQbxDJ-6HsrJeLcdA4c0UVsntF2mVQh_1JxAr6mW5NrrZjouIF7tgyqBBnCJdlow1IWIEm-UYax_ECuVFBdh/s640/blogger-image--679691515.jpg"></a></div>Flowering Ginger.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHT1Zkwg3_2ZaQooXVt4pZEy0hsjVG7F-u3O7jiQnyvbqnc8fejiBxXtNefxxEjRQt6SgvO_vkuxtNSgUiLUrokqkq5LGdFp8eepLQ4snykxppm329TYmz4ozqO1XK8QHQMUFJ4bVIIWU/s640/blogger-image-923531933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHT1Zkwg3_2ZaQooXVt4pZEy0hsjVG7F-u3O7jiQnyvbqnc8fejiBxXtNefxxEjRQt6SgvO_vkuxtNSgUiLUrokqkq5LGdFp8eepLQ4snykxppm329TYmz4ozqO1XK8QHQMUFJ4bVIIWU/s640/blogger-image-923531933.jpg"></a></div>Flowering Ginger (Pink)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzogTgj6BoYMy7x2PWyutZj-wv0V2GxMglhfjP9zVTZYN84UobfmPPfUzmRInt-figQlZ2whCOmnQTY0hwmHabo1rImx9SU81FnPiIGW-0_i1-HTV4JZ8OhESZwzDUTLDetDtqM8nh5DT/s640/blogger-image-1339176074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzogTgj6BoYMy7x2PWyutZj-wv0V2GxMglhfjP9zVTZYN84UobfmPPfUzmRInt-figQlZ2whCOmnQTY0hwmHabo1rImx9SU81FnPiIGW-0_i1-HTV4JZ8OhESZwzDUTLDetDtqM8nh5DT/s640/blogger-image-1339176074.jpg"></a></div>Flowering Ginger (Pink)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzB_8Dy-IkWuG-E32FHI8NvbF2nkeMNXqmXtn5TTTm9MyaSi0XVyeBphu8f_3SKcm6vpw1txnXvbPj66W-qjP7SVTFlshC_Wb-RODvO8jvagsXSPoZUNOIMKx6AdIgqMalfpI4A2MjIb83/s640/blogger-image-1073174370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzB_8Dy-IkWuG-E32FHI8NvbF2nkeMNXqmXtn5TTTm9MyaSi0XVyeBphu8f_3SKcm6vpw1txnXvbPj66W-qjP7SVTFlshC_Wb-RODvO8jvagsXSPoZUNOIMKx6AdIgqMalfpI4A2MjIb83/s640/blogger-image-1073174370.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZz-0gPizL_azxAlQAeht2hh1kCqLouBAAKPMn6vWQh_DuPx7qMGjFl8gy7r4CsbBIjDS2fQ7fuJtWQ-BNkS8LXPu8wH1hbr0dt_hlr798RWr0MDHBWYKLjeGjSDnZ0RpaMxd1W7c2L8H/s640/blogger-image--942480551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZz-0gPizL_azxAlQAeht2hh1kCqLouBAAKPMn6vWQh_DuPx7qMGjFl8gy7r4CsbBIjDS2fQ7fuJtWQ-BNkS8LXPu8wH1hbr0dt_hlr798RWr0MDHBWYKLjeGjSDnZ0RpaMxd1W7c2L8H/s640/blogger-image--942480551.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pXVgSkt_JhnZ2PMdm2o2JdzmBAagDvEtxfb9o7-8JSmVfAOI04eNZJh9RgAZ25-XSoFBsXtKqroNHf9qt65s3pLi9pzFsqO3jdynArFkKo-KsaJox14g8-ZkGxCcS11hbBB9I6b4y-b5/s640/blogger-image-841411074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pXVgSkt_JhnZ2PMdm2o2JdzmBAagDvEtxfb9o7-8JSmVfAOI04eNZJh9RgAZ25-XSoFBsXtKqroNHf9qt65s3pLi9pzFsqO3jdynArFkKo-KsaJox14g8-ZkGxCcS11hbBB9I6b4y-b5/s640/blogger-image-841411074.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ClpZJW0JbJepc3xJOba_A3dYAQ2nrzYgCWNMzbx3j14Rv36ZC-sDQOFRbTxiC5_wFte5fDKLQjUkucT8Di80phbV9f6c86tH7u5d61v3uafkCg3cQJSj-m0Kkvtzm8Cw_ybXtLOhbTkO/s640/blogger-image--968050930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ClpZJW0JbJepc3xJOba_A3dYAQ2nrzYgCWNMzbx3j14Rv36ZC-sDQOFRbTxiC5_wFte5fDKLQjUkucT8Di80phbV9f6c86tH7u5d61v3uafkCg3cQJSj-m0Kkvtzm8Cw_ybXtLOhbTkO/s640/blogger-image--968050930.jpg"></a></div>Some Scarlet Macaws.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdaMakmjK_ulYDQpdsCvXkDUVOocR6u8tjBojlLCU_iEY5cetrQSLiXPLQ4Y-XC4dGycn0iVuIG-vOLgfx7EjqvBIPCnFHWkd9Im-k-vp-mXLQVs2yEwqHcNIza7_tkTM5bqVd9vJigD7/s640/blogger-image--19804449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdaMakmjK_ulYDQpdsCvXkDUVOocR6u8tjBojlLCU_iEY5cetrQSLiXPLQ4Y-XC4dGycn0iVuIG-vOLgfx7EjqvBIPCnFHWkd9Im-k-vp-mXLQVs2yEwqHcNIza7_tkTM5bqVd9vJigD7/s640/blogger-image--19804449.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWkIuXtSvvRDw3tv8Ehbl0XUS4Zq0hPViptcEa6kFI0GBXQrQLasvewClc0LEoLqW3v7WcCFVsuAyyHcjkmM0iikaliLmYgQjBLsmXrP4mZBSBJztX2gBHdpfCiiJ95wqImJYcWoKNJe3/s640/blogger-image--1342547221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWkIuXtSvvRDw3tv8Ehbl0XUS4Zq0hPViptcEa6kFI0GBXQrQLasvewClc0LEoLqW3v7WcCFVsuAyyHcjkmM0iikaliLmYgQjBLsmXrP4mZBSBJztX2gBHdpfCiiJ95wqImJYcWoKNJe3/s640/blogger-image--1342547221.jpg"></a></div>Monkey Pod canopy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOx7RnBVI5FaSgctiRDJLw0jM0vPyHCZDQYRazhjm5gujYf2bpW_3xdnbUzG0300g2TeDZlXmyQBqZ15bV570j18C4hrbuN36NiJCT2Y769Pds0z4N6L6m6eJXPfpnc-S7k6H80GULLL-i/s640/blogger-image--79261426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOx7RnBVI5FaSgctiRDJLw0jM0vPyHCZDQYRazhjm5gujYf2bpW_3xdnbUzG0300g2TeDZlXmyQBqZ15bV570j18C4hrbuN36NiJCT2Y769Pds0z4N6L6m6eJXPfpnc-S7k6H80GULLL-i/s640/blogger-image--79261426.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguizLOjZi1VOoUboqzrzhtloYn5p8FfqOuSKN9RPumbKqFQezr174udOBaQr1AwkBDZ4gFXcz0Umpis90YPq1vGs4gUlK3YOUHqqvWdmmTV3p8odH9Cr6XxGd3csLfmDqWhEeX5xeJtXK7/s640/blogger-image-407219488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguizLOjZi1VOoUboqzrzhtloYn5p8FfqOuSKN9RPumbKqFQezr174udOBaQr1AwkBDZ4gFXcz0Umpis90YPq1vGs4gUlK3YOUHqqvWdmmTV3p8odH9Cr6XxGd3csLfmDqWhEeX5xeJtXK7/s640/blogger-image-407219488.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAui3isAktKQ5RhrMPOzaXRLE-7xMW_nlJhK3GvivVs2SXsNvG7Um38V45mZZZVjPQKlp4M3v255Mb_-gj8GYfZ14wkudvmm_RfYQUbJsVcd7ToXaC8Sq15qRSVbT0u1GzYIUeZeo2ymPI/s640/blogger-image--2013955646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAui3isAktKQ5RhrMPOzaXRLE-7xMW_nlJhK3GvivVs2SXsNvG7Um38V45mZZZVjPQKlp4M3v255Mb_-gj8GYfZ14wkudvmm_RfYQUbJsVcd7ToXaC8Sq15qRSVbT0u1GzYIUeZeo2ymPI/s640/blogger-image--2013955646.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Very rare palm.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCemMohOw0ByxVOeriJPb1tI751DdG2mplEtlGKi_CeEhcT_XGHDAnrqB0ClegI_EvNLW9cNZ-CHu0gKUZ5NdVisMrLLeV4D_8BaU4RtOoNIdl1aMMz8LJzDALly1LkF1FroErB5GbCjTp/s640/blogger-image-544775956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCemMohOw0ByxVOeriJPb1tI751DdG2mplEtlGKi_CeEhcT_XGHDAnrqB0ClegI_EvNLW9cNZ-CHu0gKUZ5NdVisMrLLeV4D_8BaU4RtOoNIdl1aMMz8LJzDALly1LkF1FroErB5GbCjTp/s640/blogger-image-544775956.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Pemba 1.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bp9qUJ4-tg9rn6KApDFiOfLDcay9Lceojs_uKedodZMkSCFEHfzK7_KHEIr37HNf2Xxh8nHwebGDzMxfeHm1WHBu8WFL0wrfKhjeoKKn-j5FdJF7nStLCwULZQ0YUwxlrmO9o4t1tgYj/s640/blogger-image--870376727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bp9qUJ4-tg9rn6KApDFiOfLDcay9Lceojs_uKedodZMkSCFEHfzK7_KHEIr37HNf2Xxh8nHwebGDzMxfeHm1WHBu8WFL0wrfKhjeoKKn-j5FdJF7nStLCwULZQ0YUwxlrmO9o4t1tgYj/s640/blogger-image--870376727.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Pemba 2.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPbgsOTkyxU3SKrJsqVYinBTxHCBBX6hM1iAedFRciohw0CQnL-8_QRF8e9y3RdsMZJE1OindttogvJ6VwL07Z5-FJ_Po4bRi7MEovkQnukXPwCxuFyJqKlK5PlhngrN-koCmydwravJg/s640/blogger-image-121192809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPbgsOTkyxU3SKrJsqVYinBTxHCBBX6hM1iAedFRciohw0CQnL-8_QRF8e9y3RdsMZJE1OindttogvJ6VwL07Z5-FJ_Po4bRi7MEovkQnukXPwCxuFyJqKlK5PlhngrN-koCmydwravJg/s640/blogger-image-121192809.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And Pemba 3.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpcYHgvCjh4aDCLJZL466GnTuhcUnSkYZQhyphenhyphenP9GaaDWUZAdp_ps_2RSn-zxkSlR5A8aSCZ66AOTMNqfDS3RjwPlNuoIrcNuWCludBS5RdwLVdvlArM39DcXtou5nrQjqSF9b2xyF83gop/s640/blogger-image--66633129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpcYHgvCjh4aDCLJZL466GnTuhcUnSkYZQhyphenhyphenP9GaaDWUZAdp_ps_2RSn-zxkSlR5A8aSCZ66AOTMNqfDS3RjwPlNuoIrcNuWCludBS5RdwLVdvlArM39DcXtou5nrQjqSF9b2xyF83gop/s640/blogger-image--66633129.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQvjxR828kTAxO4MKtUoYwav1w20QGm9WQxpive5jZdpq1U9Ppxev_vOmWtFpSN2VVA8RUKfkxUr0ECrg_7UroIcT0YjbNXUhG_O3-CwgXC-D0Ix_eu8BnF3u1wk6hRmLMxtrDrPo8w0m/s640/blogger-image-2085636733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQvjxR828kTAxO4MKtUoYwav1w20QGm9WQxpive5jZdpq1U9Ppxev_vOmWtFpSN2VVA8RUKfkxUr0ECrg_7UroIcT0YjbNXUhG_O3-CwgXC-D0Ix_eu8BnF3u1wk6hRmLMxtrDrPo8w0m/s640/blogger-image-2085636733.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmA2e3OsIrV4hIwoVZ3FtI42kHpu3PoyG32YKP7biTwe_Ffs-d7P1LO9LJyPPyvKgX3QZld3y_8fLj9-2rJmxMGAP56Or_epZYu7yb-81gQQZBofMMO2SaUyVlrCM2ZEE1YhWhLxgwGaE/s640/blogger-image--1611625884.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmA2e3OsIrV4hIwoVZ3FtI42kHpu3PoyG32YKP7biTwe_Ffs-d7P1LO9LJyPPyvKgX3QZld3y_8fLj9-2rJmxMGAP56Or_epZYu7yb-81gQQZBofMMO2SaUyVlrCM2ZEE1YhWhLxgwGaE/s640/blogger-image--1611625884.jpg"></a></div>Flowering Ginger (Pink)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMwiY31oMv3kaq6Z7ueTRZ7IjOe7VuWvc8JdSPsDDjgZ4MmoRuKCA-AJTJkRR0uDIFxikEFqSr8B2CnH8L8iC2r36m-i3ITJrrnFUDgCFlT6yXk-hsRq0IgSKo61vP7V9hF2DP62d5HbD/s640/blogger-image-551032589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMwiY31oMv3kaq6Z7ueTRZ7IjOe7VuWvc8JdSPsDDjgZ4MmoRuKCA-AJTJkRR0uDIFxikEFqSr8B2CnH8L8iC2r36m-i3ITJrrnFUDgCFlT6yXk-hsRq0IgSKo61vP7V9hF2DP62d5HbD/s640/blogger-image-551032589.jpg"></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Narrow Leaf Birds Nest Fern.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlT_LK4AiN4GkNjmoqh3agnSf2l3TbOCbU6iFbQ_EMh7428uAQX5KWXks_TP3akQtAaJIV0QcNDRiyeCCTMuBPJ56_7Y3lr2vRq2Jt-lIastU8ct5HdO7OhpEiX30vZtcZDV0vkNXs-y_l/s640/blogger-image-1788437517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlT_LK4AiN4GkNjmoqh3agnSf2l3TbOCbU6iFbQ_EMh7428uAQX5KWXks_TP3akQtAaJIV0QcNDRiyeCCTMuBPJ56_7Y3lr2vRq2Jt-lIastU8ct5HdO7OhpEiX30vZtcZDV0vkNXs-y_l/s640/blogger-image-1788437517.jpg"></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Heliconia Longissima 'Red Wings'</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgV7RF-PBoGtcWF9hxfUNswb-sh0Ev8GZr0Pn6KJO4CLXthji9cs1jykpUX8fza7tvHx3mB6K0pwMCubh6OwHKDpRh3OTjKgljJDRz2du6sbf7W8W7SRzsDqG1wuo_Io6bwM_7ohyphenhyphenyPHo/s640/blogger-image-1773611859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgV7RF-PBoGtcWF9hxfUNswb-sh0Ev8GZr0Pn6KJO4CLXthji9cs1jykpUX8fza7tvHx3mB6K0pwMCubh6OwHKDpRh3OTjKgljJDRz2du6sbf7W8W7SRzsDqG1wuo_Io6bwM_7ohyphenhyphenyPHo/s640/blogger-image-1773611859.jpg"></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Heliconia Longissima 'Red Wings'</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1N1dwnjeCeIrKPYd5ZphFKEsdOZWeoXxcQev2M3ytVB2nlNzxHpJEKczhwrljWbwJz9z2xHfV_9y0cl_n6MdwESH3ZrUZ0roQj_qisso1D1A5ovthyphenhyphenBx0uiQa40qKx908qbp_p7TcUyV/s640/blogger-image-230754077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1N1dwnjeCeIrKPYd5ZphFKEsdOZWeoXxcQev2M3ytVB2nlNzxHpJEKczhwrljWbwJz9z2xHfV_9y0cl_n6MdwESH3ZrUZ0roQj_qisso1D1A5ovthyphenhyphenBx0uiQa40qKx908qbp_p7TcUyV/s640/blogger-image-230754077.jpg"></a></div>"Hanging Lobster Claw"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxvDgg9rUZFVHnInuH14VEBVBUAqgwtzBP7ITmknyB2bsu-leZIAOdQJgocUWTUU7lR3fmM3BKTfTcjDx8agxJAg47QgVh8fvDRsVmKUQkQ3PWBvBJO2TDty0OjwGFWoWByZ2MOrJE8Lv/s640/blogger-image--577577150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxvDgg9rUZFVHnInuH14VEBVBUAqgwtzBP7ITmknyB2bsu-leZIAOdQJgocUWTUU7lR3fmM3BKTfTcjDx8agxJAg47QgVh8fvDRsVmKUQkQ3PWBvBJO2TDty0OjwGFWoWByZ2MOrJE8Lv/s640/blogger-image--577577150.jpg"></a></div>Alexandra Palm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MDfWinmdT3H_sn01QZg9Y-X50inhMN_ZQcBhF9OPEY5fB6bcdIj2OZCix0nJL8U1ZE2zHXv92i7V4dre4kWaHNeDeOAPAJeA89vLBB5R6otoSHTAFTlgO7mguj_G17B1DrJN-So0Zj-f/s640/blogger-image-970996508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MDfWinmdT3H_sn01QZg9Y-X50inhMN_ZQcBhF9OPEY5fB6bcdIj2OZCix0nJL8U1ZE2zHXv92i7V4dre4kWaHNeDeOAPAJeA89vLBB5R6otoSHTAFTlgO7mguj_G17B1DrJN-So0Zj-f/s640/blogger-image-970996508.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div><div><br></div>Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-37044128724032074822014-01-19T11:23:00.001-08:002014-01-19T12:19:23.694-08:00Diamond Head Hike - Oahu, Hawaii<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzk9QFyfotD5JBd6A6OLW0AOLz-8D1mX_WNDUjGwYnermSlVrP9v-JhK4TFAtnPdUuK3NH3QaL4Oi96uk43RLq78Tr2HBe13hVqgUFFStb2UX22IiCwsZaY5Z52H1enJLUKzOtXAWB6Rsv/s640/blogger-image--1010319133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzk9QFyfotD5JBd6A6OLW0AOLz-8D1mX_WNDUjGwYnermSlVrP9v-JhK4TFAtnPdUuK3NH3QaL4Oi96uk43RLq78Tr2HBe13hVqgUFFStb2UX22IiCwsZaY5Z52H1enJLUKzOtXAWB6Rsv/s640/blogger-image--1010319133.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div> We were sitting on a bench at the Aloha Towers when the rain came pouring down. We were covered by an awning so luckily we didn't get wet. I thought to myself "maybe today isn't the best day to go hiking..." With me, was my friend Corrine. I mentioned the thought to her and she agreed that hiking in the rain wasn't a good idea. We were waiting for my old friend from high school to pick us up. She has been living in Oahu for a few years now and always jumps at an opportunity to entertain visitors to the island. </div><div> </div><div> I looked to the Southwest where I could just see the top of Diamond Head and it looked less rainy. I figured if its clear down there, it might still be do-able to make the hike. Just as I had the thought, Mindy pulled up.</div><div><br></div><div> We got in the car quickly to avoid the rain. I introduced Mindy to Corrine and we then we drove off. On the way to Diamond head, Mindy and I played catch up. We mentioned she moved out of the city and now lives in a town in the middle of the island. She was able to get cheaper rent and avoid the chaos of the city.</div><div><br></div><div> As we were talking, she kept taking "short cuts" that would not always work out. She would talk to herself out loud as she tried navigating the busy streets. She would take one side street and realize that it wouldn't go through and have to take another street to get to where she needed to go. She apologized and said that since she had moved out of the city, she sort of forgot how to navigate through the city.</div><div><br></div><div> After a few minutes (and wrong turns), we made it to the Diamond Head State Monument parking lot. We got out of the car and luckily for us, the sky cleared up and was actually sunny! My greatest fear was that I was going to have to hike up the muddy trail in my sandals. Now I get to hike up the dry trail... in my sandals.</div><div><br></div><div> The three of us started hiking up the trail. The trail for the most part was a paved sidewalk. Mindy told us the hike will take about 30-45min so it's really a simple hike. I admired the green scenery around us as there were several tree groves around. As we gained elevation, we got better and better views. When we got to the first look out, you could see the Southeastern part of the island and a view of Koko Head (another popular hiking spot on the island).</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcORnnuSZ6MqrLjFTFv3WWQOQfF27BU_WheXSUiGiISm8SXiAxqt8T8eflpxec8s0_vOpbOYU5d20H4crasGAJm2aqZuO5M7FzndoKmpJCqb4d266xFNhyphenhyphenP7LdGSumk3MR-bZeUxjL1Lk/s640/blogger-image-363235192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcORnnuSZ6MqrLjFTFv3WWQOQfF27BU_WheXSUiGiISm8SXiAxqt8T8eflpxec8s0_vOpbOYU5d20H4crasGAJm2aqZuO5M7FzndoKmpJCqb4d266xFNhyphenhyphenP7LdGSumk3MR-bZeUxjL1Lk/s640/blogger-image-363235192.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div> I took a few snap shots and moved on. The concrete trail gave way to uneven dirt and felt finally more like a trail. The trail then went through a dark tunnel which went through a section of the side of the hill. At the other end we came to a fork in the road. on the right, was a 99 step staircase that would take us to the top which looked VERY steep and unpleasant. To the left was a continuation of the dirt trail that took us around the hill to the top. The trail that went around look slightly longer but in the back of my mind, I had already decided: we're taking the long way. I didn't want anything to do with those stairs. We took the trail for maybe about 10 minutes and just as I was started to get a little winded and heavily perspired, we made it to the top.</div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The view from the top was everything people described. A grand panoramic view of Waikiki Beach and Downtown Honolulu. In the far distance you could see the other islands in the distant fog. The sun was shinning and I couldn't be happier (Probably running on the adrenaline high from the hike). I took a few shots from my phone and then noticed I had full cell phone reception at the top? What trail do you know has full cell phone coverage at it's summit? Awesome! I immediately posted a few shots right to Facebook.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYj0hRwOY3xoHClU2pNdzhV3vJSqb0-yX2YY2ttaFZwQYqEjCArVuq8YdJb142SwZu-G_pQ6_Qkr_8OvXf-sUkuLS__Vra_2AAl23p1X7jVbC21R629shoulfrJhfLoOJwdiii6lv3qd7J/s640/blogger-image--1574664053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYj0hRwOY3xoHClU2pNdzhV3vJSqb0-yX2YY2ttaFZwQYqEjCArVuq8YdJb142SwZu-G_pQ6_Qkr_8OvXf-sUkuLS__Vra_2AAl23p1X7jVbC21R629shoulfrJhfLoOJwdiii6lv3qd7J/s640/blogger-image--1574664053.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After taking a few minutes to soak it all in, I was ready to head back down. Underneath the lookout was what use to be a military look out. We went inside and all that was left was some concrete slabs that were heavily cracked and discolored. Through a doorway in the lookout, it took you to and old metal spiral staircase. We walked down it and managed to squeeze by a gentleman who was coming up it. The staircase seemed to only be built for one person at a time.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5HJ73pbYEEGzsLCJ3B6xNhDmOqDBSerZsj5LkH6FT4ud-jR3a08xX5unfUCNtQauQEy2VYSMzsWc7fGknsNRFvDZseJml4lTxTkgpLy8cuD7s-FMqN0vH2vdFRcK8-VRE2kTqvDpPaPW/s640/blogger-image-1996841322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5HJ73pbYEEGzsLCJ3B6xNhDmOqDBSerZsj5LkH6FT4ud-jR3a08xX5unfUCNtQauQEy2VYSMzsWc7fGknsNRFvDZseJml4lTxTkgpLy8cuD7s-FMqN0vH2vdFRcK8-VRE2kTqvDpPaPW/s640/blogger-image-1996841322.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5RXVVMCD4VnKQ16S_GGlywavbfgrzcpZp-x1Ixh28HhDtkdHXPP0BqXusOIJSViDzaB9vqtVnXWGKTOK85opMZft55E48leagXhSkZc2324blLmXu11x4XeyGQrwXq8FrCwpC-VkPFpEl/s640/blogger-image--23411258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5RXVVMCD4VnKQ16S_GGlywavbfgrzcpZp-x1Ixh28HhDtkdHXPP0BqXusOIJSViDzaB9vqtVnXWGKTOK85opMZft55E48leagXhSkZc2324blLmXu11x4XeyGQrwXq8FrCwpC-VkPFpEl/s640/blogger-image--23411258.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>At the bottom the staircase, it emptied out to the top of the 99 staircase of death that I saw earlier. I carefully started to make my way down and always kept my weight on my heels out of fear of losing balance and falling down and breaking my spine and skull. When I made it to the bottom, I said out loud to Mindy and Corrine that going down the stairs reminded me of that scene in the Exorcist where the priest jumped out the window and tumbled down the stairs to his death. Right as I finished the statement, a fellow hiker who was a 60 something year old woman turned to me and said "Oh great, thanks a lot!". I apologized to her profusely but couldn't contain my laughter. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKQ4taDkEoDf3cmM_dDG8whKJsKYQPHVxMimRwUTaxlG5H-AedihqyflrucjtKWNzvnXeRIm8Zh2ncUn0lusf7PpXQ_-JyMfaX8F3DNGIlfzbM5VUEo6Pm10ZNv4hRPU03NylVPYC0XXq/s640/blogger-image--289031374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKQ4taDkEoDf3cmM_dDG8whKJsKYQPHVxMimRwUTaxlG5H-AedihqyflrucjtKWNzvnXeRIm8Zh2ncUn0lusf7PpXQ_-JyMfaX8F3DNGIlfzbM5VUEo6Pm10ZNv4hRPU03NylVPYC0XXq/s640/blogger-image--289031374.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We made it down to the car within about 15 minutes. It was a very enjoyable way to spend and afternoon. A nice short workout with a great payoff at the top. I can see why the hike to Diamond Head is such a popular thing to do when in Honolulu. The warm sun on your back and a feeling of accomplishment, adventure and culture all rolled into one. -DB</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCNCYmtUH04yStzMmTOEh7VoOivSLje2UsN82Ilfxr4fwb7Uc08vzm2DSDo0A6I7Ir3Q2AXtrWRDn_AqNI2ZBPVvaT_fABtTVpZZtcAAu80TXeO7LEI5IrtW8bUXdbZaarjHCPZWfjWCg/s640/blogger-image--920752505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCNCYmtUH04yStzMmTOEh7VoOivSLje2UsN82Ilfxr4fwb7Uc08vzm2DSDo0A6I7Ir3Q2AXtrWRDn_AqNI2ZBPVvaT_fABtTVpZZtcAAu80TXeO7LEI5IrtW8bUXdbZaarjHCPZWfjWCg/s640/blogger-image--920752505.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVs57pLmjl4dl5YYuQchIBrSI1oSnUCgdUcexOa3qbP5B2LsbKJjHnSu3mc8BsIdz7i5D_Vrn044jLU5oGJickziv49kNiXxBuvNy9x3bq-PUQ4zzH-GZjdHVVS-cWebedISn5kFHK81bi/s640/blogger-image-771258970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVs57pLmjl4dl5YYuQchIBrSI1oSnUCgdUcexOa3qbP5B2LsbKJjHnSu3mc8BsIdz7i5D_Vrn044jLU5oGJickziv49kNiXxBuvNy9x3bq-PUQ4zzH-GZjdHVVS-cWebedISn5kFHK81bi/s640/blogger-image-771258970.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKORSPJE3LTqaOYl9sgZbH_gov8GWStTycF3y-MjwQV3V-jaIqLyhOy7z1T2OEkUSZ0Y5gbK8PWSg1A3CAcC6N3UHlb1RcHOP7TQ3Ifysv2xUysvj9FzpQMwQJlMlX-uSfUiaelbhB19LL/s640/blogger-image--374830889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKORSPJE3LTqaOYl9sgZbH_gov8GWStTycF3y-MjwQV3V-jaIqLyhOy7z1T2OEkUSZ0Y5gbK8PWSg1A3CAcC6N3UHlb1RcHOP7TQ3Ifysv2xUysvj9FzpQMwQJlMlX-uSfUiaelbhB19LL/s640/blogger-image--374830889.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0THM9hfpHMeEFdUM7wW_H3LYy8x7bI1KDRXVpja3sBVsc0E7u7eeaBWl86QQM3Ic6GgD1gwnjNL-GEuYsPR14hBBMVYBsek1PMnYNWaYIcZObmbTUQzsQVcqeVTlRpBsDs412hUUWDTW/s640/blogger-image-1329651554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0THM9hfpHMeEFdUM7wW_H3LYy8x7bI1KDRXVpja3sBVsc0E7u7eeaBWl86QQM3Ic6GgD1gwnjNL-GEuYsPR14hBBMVYBsek1PMnYNWaYIcZObmbTUQzsQVcqeVTlRpBsDs412hUUWDTW/s640/blogger-image-1329651554.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodRAro75I9DS6zBn85r-QDHWCBeRaQKS7bX124r9s1qlANgS_H7WvbmwXM_3OqpM4pJRF4jnQw3aPFX-4GBZWHkr4ZCKqrvxNdt_lCa34KFeUx3ydstoQkwWbB1MFbKwEUekPv7dR8RmE/s640/blogger-image-1040986073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodRAro75I9DS6zBn85r-QDHWCBeRaQKS7bX124r9s1qlANgS_H7WvbmwXM_3OqpM4pJRF4jnQw3aPFX-4GBZWHkr4ZCKqrvxNdt_lCa34KFeUx3ydstoQkwWbB1MFbKwEUekPv7dR8RmE/s640/blogger-image-1040986073.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU1Hg_H7HMeaCuhzTWk_upzcqJpfKxzy1T4boQshuOPIqg8M_pToWKy4C78CL1HW0w7x7DRgP2UVcW34HmBcS8mj19tRq5KtX4gFJprgi60g3HL7hb27yIDwv3diOrjLrJXhtQQai2NPA/s640/blogger-image--1480817494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU1Hg_H7HMeaCuhzTWk_upzcqJpfKxzy1T4boQshuOPIqg8M_pToWKy4C78CL1HW0w7x7DRgP2UVcW34HmBcS8mj19tRq5KtX4gFJprgi60g3HL7hb27yIDwv3diOrjLrJXhtQQai2NPA/s640/blogger-image--1480817494.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div></div>Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-48778370613626322292013-12-17T13:54:00.005-08:002013-12-28T22:21:30.148-08:00Searching for Moose in Chiltak River - Haines, Alaska<div class="page" title="Page 1">
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"> Since being to Alaska last summer, my ultimate dream/fantasy here was to see a moose.
Maybe it’s from all those Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons that I watched when I was a
kid. It perhaps slipped into my unconscious mind and are now re-emerging and giving
me the strange desire to see a moose. So when I saw that Haines, Alaska is one of the best
places to spot a moose in the wild, I had to go and take a chance.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"> At 7am I walked off the ship to see wonderfully eerie sight. The port town of
Skagway was covered in a great morning fog like something out of a Halloween tale. The
neighboring cruise ships were engulfed in the soft, smeared clouds. I met with my guide who led me to the express boat that would take us the 45 min through the Chilkoot inlet into the
town of Haines. I boarded the boat and as we left the dock and trotted along the inlet, we were able to see some
great views of waterfalls and misty mountain formations being caressed by the early
morning fog. After a short while we made it to the dock of Haines.
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"> Walking off the pier, I was faced with the town in front of me. A quiet little town
which had simple houses with simple coloring. It was almost spooky how neat and quite
it was; something almost out of a Tim Burton film or something. I proceeded to the end
of the pier where the buses were there to take me to the location. I was met by “coronel”
Karen who I was told by my Skagway guide to salute when I saw her. I looked at her and
she said to me “Didn’t someone tell you to salute me?!” I gave a quick two fingered
salute and then she laughed and pointed to my bus. The buses were old; from the 70’s
probably. I definitely saw them in some old 70’s horror movies and now they have come
to Haines to apparently retire and die. I got on the old piece of scrap metal and took a seat.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPp7VokN9gz9Zb7GLCfsclwqvm-x-KdN7k_l00gToIPQ1mpI26SMVPYfpT1B4NK8bPhPj6VQBkBJPeddDxumhPN_q29U3-WeAIgnSCJOcFToloNGhYykcGGz_FO9ZXa54hk9hCxv5KC5O/s640/blogger-image-581097010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPp7VokN9gz9Zb7GLCfsclwqvm-x-KdN7k_l00gToIPQ1mpI26SMVPYfpT1B4NK8bPhPj6VQBkBJPeddDxumhPN_q29U3-WeAIgnSCJOcFToloNGhYykcGGz_FO9ZXa54hk9hCxv5KC5O/s400/blogger-image-581097010.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"> The bus got going and as we passed through the sleepy town, the driver gave us
some narration and history as well as the way of life of the people in the town. The deeper
we got into the wilderness, the more excited I got. I just had a feeling that today I was
going to see a moose. I kept my eyes on the side of the road, scanning frantically hoping
to see a large brown figure on four hooves or even better, some antlers. We drove alomg
side the Chilkat River and were explained that it is the most shallow river in the world.
The driver joked that If you fall in, don’t panic, just try not to get your life </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">preserver wet
and just stand up. The river in most parts is only 9 inches deep!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Finally we reached the site that was nestled along the river. We got off and met
Sierra, a young 30 something year old guide who I was going to get on a flat bottom boat
with and she was going to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">show me along the Chilkat river. After putting on some cold
weather gear, I got onto the boat and we </span><br />
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">took off. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;"> From the boat I could see the
amazingly rugged skyline. The mountains ripped into the deep blue of the sky and the
heavy clouds masked the rest. This day out of most days I was told was </span><br />
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">unreal. They
rarely get days like this. They also told me that all of last night It poured rain. The thin frail
trees whistled in the ice-cold wind. On top of a few of them, were bald eagles resting.
They perched there, majestically scanning the land and water for food. They would fly off
when we got too close and it would soar to some far off destination. After being wowed
by the views, I remembered my true purpose of being here: the moose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">I tried looking through the brush to see something that resembled a moose shape.
We floated by some open fields and hills where I thought for sure we would see
something- a moose, a bear, a sheep.... Something! But we saw nothing. She pointed out
a part of the bank where moose commonly eat and had eaten the grass down to the nubs;
but they were gone now. My hopes were dwindling about seeing a moose. I was getting
ready for the eventuality of failure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">We got a great glimpse of the near by Takshanuk Mountains which had
two small valley galciers on them. The glaciers had a light blue hue to them which
gave the colossal mountains some character.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">As we headed back to the site and the tour came to an end, I gave up hope. It looked like once again I came to
Alaska for the second year in a row and have missed seeing a moose. I will say though
that all was not lost. I still had an amazing time boating the Chiltak river and
experiencing its very wild scenery. -DB</span></div>
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Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-77446147032579823852013-12-17T13:54:00.003-08:002013-12-28T22:58:04.414-08:00Tea at The Empress - Victoria, B.C.<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02U0UnhWQoS8wvjHzmPhtLuG8qmYJ8sAx5C6eGaOf5f1OlaBx3iScytTJxdVvEQD8NrUrRTTp5HS5fsf2cLYVbItumPhcyB-UUw7Sc55ZAt1LJSn9NVut_HIWlNPc2dMQTlN8KI5PyJtV/s640/blogger-image-1958676428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02U0UnhWQoS8wvjHzmPhtLuG8qmYJ8sAx5C6eGaOf5f1OlaBx3iScytTJxdVvEQD8NrUrRTTp5HS5fsf2cLYVbItumPhcyB-UUw7Sc55ZAt1LJSn9NVut_HIWlNPc2dMQTlN8KI5PyJtV/s640/blogger-image-1958676428.jpg"></a></div><div><br></div> "Another cup please!" as the server came by and poured another round of tea for the table. This was a REALLY swanky hotel. The Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Colombia, once a popular hotel for the english royalty, is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. The Victorian stye building brings in hundreds of thousands of toursist in each year and the most popular thing to do is to sit down for a cup of its home-grown tea. <div><br></div><div> In front of my at the table is a three story little tower filled with scones, finger sanwiches and tasy pasteries. I take a bite of the finger-sandwich and take another sip of the warm tea. I'm sitting with 4 other passengers from the ship. To the right of me are two older ladies who hail from Kentucky. They were sweet old ladies who were very excited abut their cruise.</div><div><br></div><div> The other two are a young couple from Ottawa Canada. The guy who works for an insurance firm, is on his very first cruise. His girlfriend is a long time cruiser as that her parents have also been cruising for decades and would frequently take her along.</div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">As i am enjoying the conversation at my table I also take notice at the beautiful decorations around me. The giant white colomns and deep red curtains that give the room its intensity. Elaborate crystal chandeliers as well a large fireplace with a portrait of a Victorian gentleman above it. </span></div><div><br></div><div> Out the window we have a clear view of the city hall building which has lights surrounding the whole thing: 3,333 lights to be exact! </div><div><br></div><div> After tea, our tour bus drove us back to the ship but not before giving us some nice views of the city. Victoria still has the royal feel to it as it did back in the 19th century. The Empress Hotel is a great example. I look forward to my return one day<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> so I can live the life of luxury at the Empress Hotel all over again. -DB</span></div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtpKdhlgmiWncsigfH8rGaC4xjKlFbul_MZbiB8h3eqESpHLQuKioCq8ugSRvv6mnsWuew7fEwdHE0jZ4p8844FE1HzYkUyC_Dy3AHpYqLyUw20dpCpcz6Lcp20yZPBWhtiXbU132Sr5a/s640/blogger-image-1972788466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtpKdhlgmiWncsigfH8rGaC4xjKlFbul_MZbiB8h3eqESpHLQuKioCq8ugSRvv6mnsWuew7fEwdHE0jZ4p8844FE1HzYkUyC_Dy3AHpYqLyUw20dpCpcz6Lcp20yZPBWhtiXbU132Sr5a/s640/blogger-image-1972788466.jpg"></a></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxz2NFLQoDSTI8TwjVPslXtxmv2Iaa7DHGEmZQHQia1vEMyFyBt19uH5BJd6anXDjyyXku47S1TQZ2bhqj-8yvKX-FQBtqVfdosU0J2BNprkmeSdz-Iu13PsavXrQ-iqMpJybbNPVV9hFT/s640/blogger-image-591507680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXZYJRcZvzuw-1aDgdiyCN0C4R1eS8qab6Al7Tvgbf6KmFpP5udMyluqdBeOxHcG7ths16Eey-ul1bG0h6LWmA_5nT_kFMXYhgs9JEiE-0NlsyDxBpodXK_gw7nbuQpZt-LJpUXWjU2Bg/s640/blogger-image-483009093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXZYJRcZvzuw-1aDgdiyCN0C4R1eS8qab6Al7Tvgbf6KmFpP5udMyluqdBeOxHcG7ths16Eey-ul1bG0h6LWmA_5nT_kFMXYhgs9JEiE-0NlsyDxBpodXK_gw7nbuQpZt-LJpUXWjU2Bg/s640/blogger-image-483009093.jpg"></a></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"> It looked like something out of Disneyland to be honest. Large wooden train compartments
with olde style text painted on the side. The many compartments were connected together
by a steel pin which was once painted black but has started to corrode slightly and is now
more of a burnt orange. The conductor, who looks like some extra from a spaghetti
western, yells “All aboard!” I walk back briskly to the very last compartment and go inside. This was no Disneyland re-enactment train, this was the real deal. This is
what Disney modeled their trains after and now I was about to embark on a scenic train
ride through White Pass and climb to its summit.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"> I take a seat next to a familiar face. Its another musician from the ship. I sat
down next to him and we chat till the train gets going. As the train pulls away from the town of
Skagway, the views from out the window change drastically in a matter of minutes. Over
the intercom, the conductor narrates all the points of interest along the way. We pass a 49er's cemetery and some old run down trains that they put off to the side for the
passengers to look at. I decide that I want to get a better look at everything so I head to
the back of the train and go outside on the open chain linked ledge. After nudging my
way through some people that were already there I managed to get a good spot to
observe. Looking over the side and looking at the railroad tracks leaving the
compartments below us, I wondered how many people probably drop their cameras over
the side by accident. I bet there has to be at least like 20 cameras a month that get
dropped and never seem by their owners again. I looked along the tracks to see if I could
spot any but I had no luck. The railroad company come by and clean it up daily I bet.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"> As we gained elevation, the views got better. The mountain sides were covered in
large Fir and Spruce trees that seemed like they were rolled out like fresh new carpet over the
hills. Where there weren’t trees, there were jagged rock formations that were equally
impressive. This day in particular was cold and over cast. While I didn’t enjoy
necessarily the brisk, piercing winds shooting through my jacket, I did enjoy seeing the
never-ending evolutions of the cloud formations that gave the ride a mystic quality that
made the ride more exciting.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"> After going through a few tunnels and over a few wooden bridges, we made it to
the summit of White Pass. At the summit was the U.S./Canadian border so we had to stop
and dislocate our caboose and have another one attach on the opposite end where it
would pull us down the mountain again. The peak was really cold. In the last 10 minutes
before reaching the peak it had to have dropped 10 degrees in temperature. The many
trees that I had seen before have now completely disappeared and all you see is cold grey
rocks, some water dribbling and a few spots of moss. It seemed like a bleak, desolate place
that only a few living things dared to live.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"> We started making our way down the mountain and saw everything again but now
on the other side. Sitting back in the compartment, I was thinking that it would be nice to
get some tables in here, a few cocktails perhaps being served. Maybe even some nice
cheeses to be served as you drove by. That’s the only thing that might make this a little
better. I mean, if your going to be on a train for 3 hours, at least get some refreshments
going. Some old rugged scenery from a 19</span><span style="font-size: 8.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; vertical-align: 6.000000pt">th </span><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">century train with a glass of Glen Fiddich in
hand would be tops. Being as cold as it is, you would’nt even need to put an ice cube in it! I guess I have no room to complain though since the ride was very enjoyable (not
that I was complaining or anything). -DB</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"><br></span></p></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkT_B3hLSYopQnhl7BAI8apPF1OPbAwdMDTFt9fxtvsFUks_5tJWelfE4CpZav70HPC5uGRXLhtWe7S9X-wlBRVOpkcEB0bvg_iDEg7tsj4LYylE0z2M-5eCIpEQHcGCeqj8euymUoDjk/s640/blogger-image-1548156710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkT_B3hLSYopQnhl7BAI8apPF1OPbAwdMDTFt9fxtvsFUks_5tJWelfE4CpZav70HPC5uGRXLhtWe7S9X-wlBRVOpkcEB0bvg_iDEg7tsj4LYylE0z2M-5eCIpEQHcGCeqj8euymUoDjk/s640/blogger-image-1548156710.jpg"></a></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcx4xYifGtmL_cW6X4i2mz51azUZaO7DqO0An9uUhQgivdBQPYu1auUKZM9LL50PeGPbrWoPYiV_amclAd68lGR-4pOAvobbflwRbrfi8hWe37IB3TQq0Mo3O1trc_HhOoqKJaiQ2wNFx/s640/blogger-image-1817484096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">Its pretty fucking cold out. Its not snowing quite yet, but the rain, drizzle and wind make
it pretty miserable. I was really hoping that for my hike today to the Mendenhall Glacier
would have had better weather, but lets face it - Alaska isn’t known for its warm and
sunny weather. I strapped my backpack on and walked with my guide to the trailhead. I
tried keeping a stiff upper lip and to man up through the miserable, frigid cold. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">My guide was Kellie and she has had years of hiking/survivalist experience. She
mentioned as we walked closer to the trailhead that she organizes outdoor survival camps
for kids coming for troubled homes at her year around home in Montana. She does lots of
these charity things for kids and it is immediately apparent that it is something she is
passionate about.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">As we starting up the trail she pointed out some bear scat (poop), which she
mentioned is common in this area. The bears I guess come and munch on the salmon
(which are still currently running) that go upstream to spawn. She assured me that she
had some bear spray with her and that she knows the procedure to defend us from a
grizzly bear charge. After she tells a story about how some hikers that were recently
attacked by a Grizzly, and I’m starting for get slightly nervous as the trail starts getting
deeper and deeper into the forest.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">The forest floor is very wet and covered with moss, lychens and berries which I
guess were edible since Kellie just scooped up a few as we were walking past and just
popped a few in her mouth. The trees were massive Sitka and Alder trees that shot
straight into the air and covered the skyline that took most of the rainfall that was coming
down upon us. The moss that covered much of the ground, looked a lot like a pea-soup
green shag carpet. It was so abundant and thriving, that often it climbed up the trees
trunks and onto a few of its lower branches.
</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJpOpvvPsxSggdGgaoTCpxTdbsbTFm5Mi9N8d3dVqk4hpc5DgqmK3x-HC-R6KUYad8eypgHDKEG88AX8ZBogaa00xgihGtzPa6qy9mcA2E0w_HU4_CqBegAq2taaH0Tdmxt7mPJyUN9ET/s640/blogger-image-754610739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJpOpvvPsxSggdGgaoTCpxTdbsbTFm5Mi9N8d3dVqk4hpc5DgqmK3x-HC-R6KUYad8eypgHDKEG88AX8ZBogaa00xgihGtzPa6qy9mcA2E0w_HU4_CqBegAq2taaH0Tdmxt7mPJyUN9ET/s640/blogger-image-754610739.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGS17P09ox3E1FX7fCG4FdP1mkmoNofYBQa0oBRyOoA6nZ5DczDKfToJvbAcQPde8EtCs5ymurmVLk6TLQICuovz53oM_wxYfmlTzGBdYh3w6gNfrkhyatsUxl0PD1VSjs9XhuDomszFDY/s640/blogger-image--1779002738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGS17P09ox3E1FX7fCG4FdP1mkmoNofYBQa0oBRyOoA6nZ5DczDKfToJvbAcQPde8EtCs5ymurmVLk6TLQICuovz53oM_wxYfmlTzGBdYh3w6gNfrkhyatsUxl0PD1VSjs9XhuDomszFDY/s640/blogger-image--1779002738.jpg"></a></div><br><p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">When we finally got to some higher elevation, we were able to see some of the
neighboring hills and rivers. The smeared grey sky set an eerie backdrop for the river and
mountains. Kellie said that its days like this that the ice from the glacier tends to glow a
deeper blue than usual. Excited by this, I pressed on further.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">Unfortunately, the higher in elevation we got, the colder it started to get. I realized
that my long sleeve shirt and windbreaker were not enough; especially when you are
starting to get soaked. I tried keeping my hands in my pocket for warmth, but water
started getting in them and it only made it worse. I tried to keep my mind off of it but it
became more and more difficult as we gained elevation.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">Finally we reached the top and were able to over look the vast land of Juneau’s
rain forest. It really was like something out of a National Geographic special. In the river
you could see little blue icebergs that had broken off the Mendenhall glacier and were
slowly drifting away. We were on the wrong side of the mountain to the glacier yet, so
after a little rest break, we headed down the other side of the mountain to get a better look
at it.
</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qwoTYuxWUgTGRy0u4SXYQTceuXksDLmdeem_mMsCzT_cAON05NdU8kDqjk-JnQFwNdWu8V0515KioHmxNBAdyXRO9qiH_HV-m1cttGFYeS62eDrc3pGb6pHYBRsSoTNkX-lmt_EaaUVP/s640/blogger-image--960591050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qwoTYuxWUgTGRy0u4SXYQTceuXksDLmdeem_mMsCzT_cAON05NdU8kDqjk-JnQFwNdWu8V0515KioHmxNBAdyXRO9qiH_HV-m1cttGFYeS62eDrc3pGb6pHYBRsSoTNkX-lmt_EaaUVP/s640/blogger-image--960591050.jpg"></a></div><br><p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">It only took about 15 minutes down the mountain will we came to a look out for
the Mendenhall Glacier. It was really an awesome sight. The massive slab of ice, which
had to be several hundred feet high and probably a half-mile wide, indeed glowed a sky
blue, which seemed serial. Never in all my years of getting ice out of the freezer have I
seen ice be naturally blue. Next time I order a Blue Hawaii, I’ll have to ask for it with the
blue ice.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"> </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt; ">On either side of the glacier were huge jagged mountains that had been deeply cut
and scathed by the slow moving ice. Off to the left, of it, was a massive waterfall that was
dumping thousands of gallons of glacier water per minute into the river below.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt; "></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnLf850gGn6X0BvGTWxYWOHB4uknORHIJA9nY6Qtila727V4ZjK32j5JyE2PL3vZyoc7Ig1hvAY71l6sA9iuZozzTUYsg8L2PGCv772HfiUfbPeePz-bVY-onS9yGI7kp9aKgAK7wmbqU6/s640/blogger-image-1531993224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnLf850gGn6X0BvGTWxYWOHB4uknORHIJA9nY6Qtila727V4ZjK32j5JyE2PL3vZyoc7Ig1hvAY71l6sA9iuZozzTUYsg8L2PGCv772HfiUfbPeePz-bVY-onS9yGI7kp9aKgAK7wmbqU6/s640/blogger-image-1531993224.jpg"></a></div><br><p></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">After I took some photos, we continued the short hike down the rest of the
mountain and to the Mendenhall Glacier National Park. There were several other tour
groups there taking photos as well. We walked past them and found the restrooms where
I was able to relive myself. Once I met back up with Kellie, we took a detour on our way
back to the car; an area that is known for its bear sightings. So we walked over in that
direction, hoping that we could get a glimpse of a bear eating some salmon or something
similarly cool. As we were just about to walk into that area, a park ranger walked out of
the area. Kellie asked if she had seen any bears but the ranger said that they hadn’t seen
any. Just my luck... We walked through anyway and was able to see by the stream where
bears had just been because of all the half eaten salmon that were chucked all over the
grass near the stream which made it reek of rotting fish flesh. After a few minutes of
hope, and no bear sightings, we decided to head out.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">On the way out, a woman in front of us and her husband were pointing something
out in the bushes. Was it a bear perhaps? A Moose even?! It was neither; it was a baby
porcupine trying to flee from the woman’s loud voice and blaring camera flash. I
managed to see if for a little while before it trotted its way into the nearby bushes and out
of sight. It was too young to have proper quills so it was mostly covered in brown, wirery
fur; but at least I was able to see some wildlife finally!
</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntSTrlOXM1CQ-85olDZiPUFgo3hKLwIWhykKPjeGZSJchmbQInEII5sq47prGehiKjsspzzIZfjDxX1tqfyMJaHrX_SO7ilBnE0NWD-2sETSz-qZ8QQPDEVAtajUXt0TTh65dCW4gmngN/s640/blogger-image-224588954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntSTrlOXM1CQ-85olDZiPUFgo3hKLwIWhykKPjeGZSJchmbQInEII5sq47prGehiKjsspzzIZfjDxX1tqfyMJaHrX_SO7ilBnE0NWD-2sETSz-qZ8QQPDEVAtajUXt0TTh65dCW4gmngN/s640/blogger-image-224588954.jpg"></a></div><br><p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">The rain forests in Alaska are so vast that it boggles my mind. It just seems like
we have thousands and thousands of miles of trees and unexplored land up here in
Alaska. Its exciting to know that there are still places like this. Places that are so wild and
beautiful and unexplored, that it could make someone all their life exploring these lands,
and they would have only seen just the tip of the iceberg. -DB</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyILoiBhR1Nw0R0Al04iV-ouJYwHtZ4ve7OGBY4pOudP3UheSO-1s5HtbARifsezBguV-QHEWV08w5v3G07N8GBOk5k_Q83DC_5W18m9RofrYUMylAeBRdfDqJkZxC4Z4bNkw-suwvBsT/s640/blogger-image--645647839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyILoiBhR1Nw0R0Al04iV-ouJYwHtZ4ve7OGBY4pOudP3UheSO-1s5HtbARifsezBguV-QHEWV08w5v3G07N8GBOk5k_Q83DC_5W18m9RofrYUMylAeBRdfDqJkZxC4Z4bNkw-suwvBsT/s640/blogger-image--645647839.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51dUePKRcbe_s_O6RZJmmiMjEly2Hx4gd82xO_6FIOkqKa3HOAZAF94PN6-r8vqvDs4y4tUta061RoVikZDH5__cslmW0_NgJmeMi-5uTk4Bv5hQ6QhknOAFmv1G0BClLIEKDsk-6Bs3D/s640/blogger-image-314586738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51dUePKRcbe_s_O6RZJmmiMjEly2Hx4gd82xO_6FIOkqKa3HOAZAF94PN6-r8vqvDs4y4tUta061RoVikZDH5__cslmW0_NgJmeMi-5uTk4Bv5hQ6QhknOAFmv1G0BClLIEKDsk-6Bs3D/s640/blogger-image-314586738.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br><p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-4367366262793801312013-08-20T10:27:00.001-07:002013-08-20T10:27:10.772-07:00Indian Independence Day
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<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPdLeQpnnrvDXDvkvu0gpICS4kz8Dr53tNXksWvVBpFp-weKtAn197DKYBVdOfniBklZAAWI7jGwWHv8698USErPtL0e2u5JvZ-MDo9ksVDiB8I07LPo9h14FuPRJBh6x6YVES3Y4ma9u/s640/blogger-image-274658594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPdLeQpnnrvDXDvkvu0gpICS4kz8Dr53tNXksWvVBpFp-weKtAn197DKYBVdOfniBklZAAWI7jGwWHv8698USErPtL0e2u5JvZ-MDo9ksVDiB8I07LPo9h14FuPRJBh6x6YVES3Y4ma9u/s640/blogger-image-274658594.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>I sat waiting patiently for the food to arrive in the crew mess. A long table
covered in a faded white table cloth awaited its servings. I watched as cooks brought to
the table portions of freshly made Indian cuisine to the table. Today marked on our ship
Indian Independence Day and the Indian crew had prepared a feast for the crew to
celebrate and enjoy.
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">Last year I had an amazing meal on my ship for Indian Independence Day. The
chicken curry that I had, which I gave the nick name the “blood curry” because of its dark
red color, was one of the most amazing and delicious foods that I’ve ever had. So when I
saw signs around the ship advertising Indian Independence Day, I knew I was in for a
treat.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">Watching, I saw the variety of foods being brought in. The vat of white liquid
drink was a curious addition as well as a display of brown, doughy dessert balls that was
carefully delivered on a 3-towered tree.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">As more food that came into the mess, a crowd of the curious as well as the
hungry crowded in the mess hall. Finally, as the last of the food came in, the room was
filled with people to not only celebrate, but also partake in the delicious festivities.
Photos were taken with the head chef with his labors of love surrounding him. The cake
was centered on the table where people could see as well as take photos of.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">The proceeding 25 minutes was the chef and his crew taking photos of the food
and them standing in front of it. I asked one of the chefs about the meals that he and his
fellow cooks prepared. He proclaimed that it took EIGHT hours of preparation and
cooking time to make. The cooking process was long but well worth the wait he assured
me.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">I told him that last year that I got some great food on another ship and I was very
excited to have it again. The chef started to apologize to me for the meal he and his team
prepared. He told me that a lot of the spices and food was prepackaged so it would never
taste the same as a homemade Indian cooked meal, which of course they would normally
make fresh.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">After the captain came down and had the first plate, the head chef and his cooks
crowded around and began to sing Indian national anthem. They stood in front of their
dishes smiling and proud. All 20 of them stood by their dishes and expressed their love of
not only their country, but also their craft by singing loudly; some with their hands over
their hearts.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'">After they were finished I went and stood in line and grabbed a plate I filled it so I
had food cliff hanging off the sides of the plate. I tried to get a little bit of everything, but
managed to fit on my plate some Jainga Malai Curry (coconut shrimp curry), Chicken
Masala, Pork Vendaloo, Beef Rogan Josh as well as some flat bread. The taste was some
of the best that I’ve experienced - even in India where I visited only a few months ago.
The colors and textures were a delight and felt inspired after finishing my tasty plate. The
strange white liquid tasted sort of like a mix of milk and Sprite that I wasn’t particularly
fond of but was still glad that I tried. If there was ever a time to be glad to be stuck on a
boat, it would be during Indian Independence Day. -DB </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9luFxwCdUFBnTIpuZdkJ89unrMBGju0HZC87XVbZhM_qewaXL8H6JOT5IgVWl0pfEqvebtq2x_HmcVPruo9qAxkW9w2zbSm-zCNx2sVBF4pviw6J9sSkmkXN7iq1eqLWekHT1UupBqtDP/s640/blogger-image-1220443163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9luFxwCdUFBnTIpuZdkJ89unrMBGju0HZC87XVbZhM_qewaXL8H6JOT5IgVWl0pfEqvebtq2x_HmcVPruo9qAxkW9w2zbSm-zCNx2sVBF4pviw6J9sSkmkXN7iq1eqLWekHT1UupBqtDP/s640/blogger-image-1220443163.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPLoG2xKqs-bhB-8j1uEpPPOE0kkhmdfwG_haNQuqxqhNMXPiQ3IXNSdoL3lTWSNYM2LLoUNl7uEFQzy8gdLaYNrM8J4fDrus7CscOT6Qc-xO4vuhkzxwTMGiguZpr9JfoGkoPgn4e0ju/s640/blogger-image-1637461928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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</div>Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-76254217228825659252013-06-03T13:29:00.002-07:002013-06-03T13:29:48.727-07:00Cannes International Film Festival - Cannes, France<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
morning the clouds rolled over the hills and took their position above the
town. The festival was just starting and even though all the tents and stages
were set, they were only a few people walking around them. I exited the dock
and walked down the long road out of the parking lot, and into the town. I
passed by what was going to be the area where they were going to screen the new
movie “Gatsby”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The red carpet led to a
massive black entrance where above the doorway, two large, spectacled eyes
looked forward towards the town. I wanted to get a closer look but 2 large
security men were watching me closely. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I took the
road into the town and tried to get a feel for the city. Cannes is a small
seaside town that has the term French Riviera written all over it. The shops
and buildings were multi-colored and looked aged and slightly worn, which added
to its charm. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Walking
closer to the main center of the festival, I started to see more people. Most
of the people were well dressed and wore expensive cloths and jewelry and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I noticed that they all followed a certain
look. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an artsy look that gave me
the impression that they must have been filmmakers or at least working in the
film industry (after all, it is a film festival!).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I walked by
several tents and poked my head into a few. Each tent featured its own company
and/or country of origin. I saw the film society for New Zealand, Austria,
Canada and several others. They had mounted up small billboards inside the tent
with the latest movies they were trying to promote to the industry. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After
walking past a few of the tents I reached the main theaters. The red carpet was
rolled out and blocked off by red velvet ropes. There were a few people with
plastic passes around their necks that were allowed in; otherwise the security
was strict. Several spectators took their photos in front of the red carpet
outside of the velvet ropes. I snapped a few photos myself and walked past.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The shops
around the area were high end. The manikins in the windows seemed to display
the latest fashions with high price tags. Some of them looked very nice as some
of them seemed kind of silly. One style in particular that gave me a laugh was
a high-end tuxedo that had tuxedo shorts instead of tuxedo pants. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I finally
reached the other side of the festival and decided to go on the other side of
the road and head back. I passed by the glamorous Ritz Carlton hotel that was
decorated for the festival. It had some advertisements as well as a bright
yellow sports car on display on their front lawn. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I finally
passed the other side of the festival again and reached a small park where some
older gentleman were playing Bache ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were several parts of the park that were boxed off using woods
boards to separate the different courts. The men, shouting in French, were
throwing the balls at the other balls on the court. I watched as they would get
excited and also their reactions after every careful throw. I watched for a few
minutes and then proceeded to walk back to the dock. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On my way
back, I walked through some small roads to see what I could find. I found some
apartment buildings that were nestled along side the hill which over looked the
ocean. I also found a building with an amusing mural on its side. It
illustrated the history of the film festival with animated characters of past
films, actors and directors. Some of the characters were Charlie Chaplin,
Jessica Rabbit and Marilyn Monroe. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OOXum5Od7wike5uSFgQV_B_Sr2MJhFbbOr6rh41QQec9JeN1dzRb1iIn9gnC0xzKTXudlWREnOb-aflg7X_dzkqChVeNA577FKYXiQ2qvIufTJuB4iWtpDOYdJDjyi9rOb86UIj2FKnz/s1600/DSC_0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OOXum5Od7wike5uSFgQV_B_Sr2MJhFbbOr6rh41QQec9JeN1dzRb1iIn9gnC0xzKTXudlWREnOb-aflg7X_dzkqChVeNA577FKYXiQ2qvIufTJuB4iWtpDOYdJDjyi9rOb86UIj2FKnz/s320/DSC_0046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The excitement caused by the film festival
electrified the air. The town was buzzing and I felt fortunate enough to get a
small glimpse of it. I wish I could have stayed over night to see how the city
would of transformed. The town itself was charming and also displayed a sense
of history, high class and a shit ton of money. The streets were almost
exclusively lined with BMWs, Mercedes and other high-end cars. It seemed as
only the rich and/or famous lived here. It was fun to walk around see the
sights but I don’t know if I could have afforded to stay too long!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-DB<o:p></o:p></div>
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Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-52406032014459327142013-06-02T14:56:00.002-07:002013-06-02T14:56:35.914-07:00Country Roads and Other Places - Portofino, Italy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After getting some last minute
recruitments, Frank (the drummer), Robynne (Shop-ey), Neo (dancer), Carl
(another Shop-ey) and myself, got the bikes from out of the crew bike area and
headed out to bike to the beautiful Italian town of Portofino. We needed to
take a tender boat from the ship to the town of Santa Margarita where there was
a small port. So after awkwardly loading our bikes into the boat, and riding
for about 15 minutes in the boat, we got onto the dock in Santa Margarita and
began our bike ride to Portofino. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Following
Carl, who had been here before on a prior ship, led the way through the small
town. The buildings along side the road stood tall, usually three stories. They
were brightly colored in a variety of reds, yellows, pinks and lime. They had a
charming look that gave all of us something to marvel as we biked further along
the road. We hugged the right side of the small road and tried our best to stay
clear of passing cars and Vespas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The town
eventually gave way to barren coast. We could now see looking out into the bay,
a beautiful view of the other side of the bay, which housed several small towns
and also several marinas with hundreds of small sailboats. Every curve in the
country road gave us another view of the coast, which ranged from small resorts
to unusual rock formations to secluded beaches. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stopping
only a few times for photos, we made it into the town of Portofino. The first
building we saw was an old, pink colored church. As we approached it, the
church bells rang for 12 noon. The ringing of the bells sounded as if they had
been in the church for 400 years and seemed like an appropriate soundtrack for
this old town. The road dead-ended into the parking lot for the Portofino
marina. We locked up our bikes and walked down the old stone road into the main
marina plaza. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The road
into the plaza was narrow and on each side were several shops and restaurants. As
we walked further, we agreed that we would like to sit down and have lunch at a
restaurant with free Wi-Fi. We walked further until the road emptied us into
the gorgeous marina. It moored mostly small sailboats and on each side was
green, natural hillside. Looking out we could still see the other end of the
bay. Along the marina were more restaurants to choose from. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We tried
sitting at one restaurant, but as we tried to log onto their advertised free Wi-Fi,
the waiter told us that no more that 4 people were allowed to log onto the Wi-Fi.
He explained that there we already two people logged on so only two of us could
log on. Annoyed, we got up and left. We walked around the town like lost ants
with our tablets and phones trying to pick up networks with little success.
After about 15 minutes, we decided to give up and just sit down anywhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We found a small pizza place and
after the waiter arranged the tables so all of us could sit, we sat down and
browsed the menu. We each ordered some pizzas and waited for only a short while
before they arrived. I ordered a 4-cheese pizza with hot salami and it was
pretty good. For one of the cheeses, they used Brie, which I’m typically not a
huge fan of. The pizza though was still excellent and with the view of the
marina on a bright sunny day, how could you possibly complain?</div>
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When we got the bill, we realized
that the restaurant was a cash only establishment and none of us had cash.
Frank, from the U.S., tried to withdraw from an ATM but for some reason would
not work. Neo, being from the U.K., managed to pull out enough cash to cover
all of us. While this was all happening, the waiters were growing impatient as
we were taking a long time and the restaurant was filling up quickly. Neo paid
the bill and we thanked them in our absolute best Italian accents and got out
of there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Most of us being completely
stuffed, Robynne still wanted to get some Gelato before we left. We walked down
the road a few feet and found a nice little Gelato stand. As she ordered and
got her Gelato, I watched and realized that maybe I should get one too. With my
last 5 Euro, I got a Nutella and Pistachio flavored Gelato. I had never tried it
before and was sort of under the impression that it was just like normal ice
cream. I got my cone and licked the green pistachio side. I was instantly blown
away. It tasted exactly like pistachio and made the top of my head tingle. The
Nutella was also excellent and as I started to mix the two together, it made a
perfect compliment to each other. I couldn’t stop smiling from top to bottom of
that cone. This wasn’t just ice cream, this something far, far better. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuhnoywpYBIythSvP8rMN2XlWIyx9Dp8MHc20iK0QbG6dheTe0PJhYVosHSySxgYebJCE00jWgKpzgN4Tfn5FtN6fDk_p3t_5oANuqOXIuKCngqfV_pS8W-Y7tON5w23XHgtlWTGlOwYb/s1600/IMG_1172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuhnoywpYBIythSvP8rMN2XlWIyx9Dp8MHc20iK0QbG6dheTe0PJhYVosHSySxgYebJCE00jWgKpzgN4Tfn5FtN6fDk_p3t_5oANuqOXIuKCngqfV_pS8W-Y7tON5w23XHgtlWTGlOwYb/s320/IMG_1172.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilato makes Robynne very happy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We walked back up to the parking
lot to where our bikes were locked up. With the Gelato melting on one hand, I
managed to unlock my bike and get on. Robynne went to the bathroom and we
waited till she got out to get back onto the road. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The way back was equally scenic as
it was going into the town. We stopped more frequently this time to take photos.
We made it back to Santa Margarita in only about 20 or 30 minutes. As I looked
back I saw that we lost Robynne and Carl along the way. We waited for 15 minutes
and decided we needed to just head back to the ship for a rehearsal. As the
tender boat pulled out of the marina, I looked at the road that we rode and was
amazed that that is were I had just road. It was like out of a magazine. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Portofino was such an amazing little
gem in this Italian country coastline. The road leading to the town was
probably as exciting as actually getting to the town. It was an amazing
experience and to share it with some awesome people made it even more
enjoyable. I recommend if you get in the area, grab some friends and a few
bikes, and see where the small country road will take you. I guarantee it won’t
disappoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-DB<o:p></o:p></div>
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Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-72671804156723005052013-05-25T05:13:00.000-07:002013-05-25T05:13:35.018-07:00Adventures in Tuscany, Florence and Pisa - Italy<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I got the
call at about 7:59am when I rolled over in my bed and reached for the phone on
my desk. Being pitch black in the room, I knocked an open can of ginger ale on
the floor, which poured out onto the carpet. I ignored it and picked up the
phone. It was Monty, our bandmaster. He said to me “How long are you going to
be?”. I replied, “I’ll be ready in about ten more minutes”. He then asked, “how
far is the car rental place from where we are docked?” I confidently told him “
it’s in the harbor so it shouldn’t be very far. I will bring a map of the
harbor with the Avis car rental place highlighted. You better give me 15
minutes then” He then said “just knock on my cabin door when you’re ready” and
he hung up the phone. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I jumped
out of bed and hopped into the shower. I took what had to be the quickest
shower in human history as I cleaned the bare essentials and dried off
immediately. I called Frank our drummer to check if he was up. The phone rang
about a billion times with no response. I figured he’s either sleeping through
the rings or he’s in the shower. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I get all
my things together and knock on Monty’s door. He answered and invited me in. He
asks if I have heard from Frank this morning. I told him that I tried calling earlier
but nobody answered. He said he did the same with no answer. I decided that I
was going to knock on his door. Frank’s cabin was right next to Monty’s so as
soon as I opened Monty’s door, Franks was right in front of me. I loudly knock
three times on his cabin door. I waited. No response. I knocked again, this
time even louder. I waited. Still no response. I then noticed that his door was
open slightly. I decided I would just barge in. I open the door and in the dark
room, I see him asleep in his top bunk. I say loudly “Frank, get up. We’re
going to Tuscany bitch!” One of his eye’s open widely and he mumbled into his
pillow “Ok, I’ll be there in a second”. I shut the door and go back to Monty’s
room.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I tell
Monty that I woke him up and he’s getting ready. Monty seemed very peeved. A
half an hour goes by and we still don’t hear from him. I go back across the
hall and open the door. He’s back asleep in his bed. I shout “Frank! Get your
ass up!” I then reach in my pocket and pull out a few Euro coins. I then
proceed to throw them at his face. The first one over shot and hit the wall
behind him. The second landed onto his chest and the third was under shot and
hit the mattress in front of him. He then made a moaning noise and finally got
out of bed. I then returned to Monty’s cabin and told him what happened. Monty
once again got more annoyed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Finally
another half hour later, Frank comes out of his cabin ready to go. I could tell
instantly that Frank had pulled an all night-er and was still drunk. He put his
hands in the air and yelled, “let’s go to Tuscany bitches!!!” I nervously
laughed and looked back at Monty and he just shook his head. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We got off the gangway and looked
around to get our bearings on where we were. I noticed that there was an
information booth near us so I walked over there to ask for directions to the
Avis building. The woman working the booth told us where it was and then asked
if we wanted her call them and book the car for us. She said that they could
even pick us up. We agreed and waited by the booth for them to pick us up. 20
minutes later the car arrived and an Italian man got out who spoke good English
and asked us to get in. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
He drove us to the Avis building
and we filled out the proper paper work and we were ready to go. He gave us a
GPS system and logged our destinations into it: Livorno to Florence, Florence
to Pisa, Pisa back to Livorno. As we approached the car, the topic of whose
going to drive finally came up. I reluctantly agreed to drive. The car was a
manual transmission and it had to have been about 10 years since I’ve used a
manual transmission car. I got into the Fiat and started it up. After everyone
got situated, I pulled the car into first gear and off we went. At the first
stop sign I applied the brakes and the car jolted forward. Everyone’s heads
jerked forward and then looked at me with concern. I looked at them and said
“well, looks like the brakes work pretty well… hehe” After a few minutes, I got
use to the car’s handling and next thing we knew, we were on the freeway. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I soon realized that the
speedometer was in kilometers and it might as well have read in Wingdings font
because I had no idea what it meant. I just kept looking at the speed limit
signs and made sure it was under that number. I also realized that people love
to speed. I had several people along the way tailgating me. I would always pull
to the right lane to let them pass but some just decided to pull into the right
lane as well and tailgate me there too. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Once we reached the countryside, I
got to see the real Tuscany. Rolling hills with Spanish villas and lots of vineyards
and olive orchards. It’s exactly how I remembered all the photo’s and TV
documentaries portraying it. It was unreal to see it in person. I really wanted
to just pull off onto one of these roads and just get lost. Find some old
country road and see how far off the beaten path it goes. As I imagined this,
something familiar came to mind. I looked at the houses, I looked at the lay
out of the land and something seemed very familiar to me. I then realized what
it was. It reminded me of home. It reminded me of California! The vinyards, the
hills, the Spanish style homes. It reminded me of different parts of
California. Some of it looked like Napa, some looked like Palos Verdes and some
reminded me of Santa Barbra. I was home! Just then, I large billboard came in
front of us that read in Italian and then I realized I was no where near
California and I came back to my senses.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
After an hour drive through the
beautiful Tuscany countryside, we reached Florence. After navigating through
some narrow, cobblestone alleys, we found a small parking lot and the last
vacant parking spot. I pulled in and we climbed out the windows into the
streets.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We walked down the street and
decided that we would like to sit down and have a drink. Next to us was a nice
looking bar and restaurant so we went inside. Monty did his best to use what
Italian he knew and ordered us a drink. We sat down and chatted, waiting for
the drink to come. After a few minutes arrived with a bowl of peanuts and salsa
verde tortilla chips. We sat, ate, drank and talked about a variety of subjects
ranging from music to our childhood memories. I would look outside the window
and watch people walking past, noticing the look of the Italians both naturally
and fashionably. People watching I think is one of my favorite things to do. It
doesn’t take any effort and it also lets your thoughts sort of wander into
unknown territories. From one interesting looking person, you can deduce or
even just make up and entire back-story for them. I then realized that I was
starting to get kinda drunk. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I then looked over to Frank and
Monty and saw that they were arguing about alleged mistakes that Frank had made
in previous shows and I decided that maybe looking out the window some more was
a better use of my attention. Monty then bought us one more round and after we
finished, we decided to try to find the Statue of David.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We stumbled down the streets and
tried to navigate or way to where we thought the museum was. We would ask
people where it was and showed them a black and white map of Florence that Avis
had given us. Each person we asked had their own idea on where they thought it
was. It looked like we were left to our own devices for this. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We finally reached an amazing
church. The sign in front of the massive doors read “Opera Di Santa Maria Del
Fiore”. The large church was colored only by a bright white, green and an
orange-ish color with several Byzantine patterns all around it. On the front
towards the top was a large circular stained glass window, right above the
churches doors. Towards the back of the church was a large, decorated dome.
There were hundreds of tourists coming in and out of it and taking photos from
the outside. We walked by and marveled at the density and detailed decorations
on the outside.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We walked further down looking for
the museum that housed the Statue of David. We walked through narrow streets
that had small café’s where locals came and drank coffee and smoked cigarettes.
Finally we approached a large square that had large museums on both sides. I entered
one of them and asked someone where the museum that had the Statue of David and
she told me it was in the building opposite of this one in the square. We
walked around the square and found the entrance on the opposite side of the
building.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The entrance was packed with people
waiting in line to go in. It stretched outside and down the alley. We looked
inside for a second to see how long the line was (and to see if we could sneak
a peek of the statue from the lobby) but it was taking forever. We decided that
maybe we should get back in the car and get to Pisa. It was already 1pm and we
needed to be back by 5pm to have a rehearsal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We got back into the car and this
time Monty drove. We got out the GPS and set it to lead us to Pisa. As we tried
to navigate our way out of town, the GPS basically got lost. It would tell us
to go down streets that either didn’t exist or go down streets that were
one-way in the wrong direction. We finally decided to ditch it and use our
memory to get out of town. Luckily there were a few signs in the city that showed
us the way to Pisa so we followed them and next thing we knew, we were back in
the countryside.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Not driving this time, I had the
opportunity to admire the Tuscan countryside in greater detail. Driving past
more small towns, I was able to see the smaller details that separated the
California landscape from Tuscany’s. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Once we got into Pisa, there was
heavy traffic. We would look frequently down at our watches and noticing that
we were running out of time. We were afraid that we might not make it back to
the ship in time. However we were so far into town already, we figured we might
as well just see the leaning tower and split. We were able to see the tower
from a distance and we followed it to the base. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
After looking for parking (which
was no easy task), we walked to the tower. The large white cylinder from
certain angles didn’t look like it was leaning, but as you walk around it, you
can see the exaggerated lean. Around the tower, you can see almost every cheesy
photo pose in existence displayed from tourists from all walks of life. Some
are trying to push the tower up, some are trying to pull it back, others
putting the tip of their index finger on the top of it. I figured I’d come up
with my own and do as the tourists do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVlYbCMQ1Ar9HR77-N9lmjs76Duzu0c6MZNKFx6oGwan8vtZoNDzdsfxiqol9cLGVSxyp2qRK2g5fp17mZrDQ9TlwQYXSH3wum_vN_ssxUyF0fHhloiWkJbljy2zYZ70oTyWIdp6Zjx8g/s1600/DSC_0109+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVlYbCMQ1Ar9HR77-N9lmjs76Duzu0c6MZNKFx6oGwan8vtZoNDzdsfxiqol9cLGVSxyp2qRK2g5fp17mZrDQ9TlwQYXSH3wum_vN_ssxUyF0fHhloiWkJbljy2zYZ70oTyWIdp6Zjx8g/s320/DSC_0109+-+Version+2.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The picture was crooked so I straightened it out with iPhoto.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Seeing that we were out of time, we
walked quickly back to the car and with Frank driving this time, we tried to
make our way back to the port. We tried to navigate our way back out of the
city but we failed miserably. We kept hitting dead ends and there were no
streets signs to help us. At one point we ended up in a courtyard and we
couldn’t figure out how to get out of it. It was the blind leading the blind in
that car and at every wrong turn we made, we would look down at our watches and
see the time slipping away from us. Finally we followed an ambulance and he
lead us out of the town and onto a major street.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We finally found signs for the
freeway and as we were following them, we encountered several very beautiful
Tuscan prostitutes who lined the roads getting onto the freeway. Usually
prostitutes are very dirty looking, however these Tuscan prostitutes looked
clean and almost like super models. One of them lifted up her skirt and turned
around and showed us her posterior wearing a black g-string. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally on the freeway, we sped our
way into Livorno. At the last minute we realized we needed to leave the car
with gas in it. We pulled into the nearest gas station and put what ever we
thought would be enough money into the tank. Since the gas was sold in liters
and sold in Euros, we really had to guess. Eventually we put enough in and
pulled away. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We had maybe 5 minutes to spare as
we pulled up along the ship. We left the car by the ship where the Avis guy had
told us and ran back on the ship where we barely made the rehearsal. Overall,
the Tuscany region was full of surprises and I really enjoyed just observing
the similarities and contrasts to my home in California. For anyone who wants
to seek adventure and see old cities and sip great wine, I recommend these
amazing Italian cities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-DB<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-58879004307240856692013-05-22T14:57:00.002-07:002013-05-22T15:12:06.323-07:00When In Rome.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Showered,
shaved and changed, Frank (the show band drummer) and I were ready to head for
the gangway to explore the eternal city of Rome. We head down the stairs and
nearly get onto the gangway when Franks stops. He tells me that he has rented a
bike and he wanted to take it with him. I was feeling a bit uneasy about the
decision because that would leave me with out a bike and he would surly leave
me in the dust. He looks on the bike rack, which was just off to the side of
the gangway and looks for an unlocked bike. He manages to find one. We take it
off the rack and consider just running off with it. The crew office was closed
today so we would be unable to properly rent the bike out. However, the lady
who runs the crew office was standing near by so we figured we might as well
take a shot in the dark and ask if we could take the bike off the books. Frank
politely asks and she looked at him and laughed and simply stated “I don’t
really care”. Before she changed her mind we booked it down the gangway with
the bikes and rode off.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ship
was docked in Civitaveccia, which was an hour train ride from the city of Rome.
After a few wrong turns, we made it to the train station. The small room at the
station was packed with people. We shoved our way through with our bikes and
made it to a ticket kiosk. We booked or departure and return tickets which ran
us roughly 20 Euros. The tickets said that the train leaving for Rome was on
Track 1 so we wheeled our bikes out of the building and onto Track 1 which was
right outside the building. The train was already in the station so we got into
a compartment with our bikes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The
compartments were small and there were no hooks to hang our bikes on so we
figured we may have to just stand by the doorway and hold them for the entire
trip. The train filled with people and as we were waiting for the train to leave,
I saw a familiar face sitting in the seats in front of us. It was our friend
Sara who was working on the ship and was going home today after a 7 month
contract. She came and stood with us and chatted. The bus finally got going
after a few minutes the next thing I knew, we were in the countryside. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I came in
and out of Sara and Frank’s conversation as I looked out the train window at
the green hills and farms outside. It reminded me very much of places like Napa
and Santa Barbra in California. We were passing several wine and olive orchards
and I would watch the farmers working the land as we whipped by in the bullet
train.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The train
made a stop and a few people got off but a lot of people got on. I had stepped
off the train with my bike to let people on and off and when the train started
to fill up, Frank warned me to get back on or I was going to lose my space on
the train. I quickly got back on and barely fit into the now overly crowded
compartment for the door to close.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The train
powered forward and after a few minutes it stopped again. This time a lot of
people got off. I stepped of the train with my bike to let people off and I
watched a father take his toddler off of the train and set him onto the
platform. The dad untied his pants and opened up his diaper where about 5
gallons of urine splashed onto the platform. The dad simply put the diaper and
pants back on his son and put him back onto the train. I got back onto the
train and wondered if the dad was going to leave the mess there. Sure enough,
he did. As the train got moving, I look onto the floor and saw that his feet
tracked urine into the train floor right next to we were standing. Luckily, it
didn’t create an odor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After
chatting with Frank and Sara, we made it into Rome. We said our final good-byes
to Sara and we stepped off the train. When the train shot off again, we could
see the dome to the Vatican from the platform. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We jumped
onto our bikes and rode towards the dome. After navigating through some narrow,
cobblestone streets, we made it to the front of the Vatican. Today being
Saturday, there were thousands of people in front of it. We had to eventually
get off our bikes and walk them because there were so many people. The line to
get into the building was a half-mile long and my thoughts about trying to get
inside soon disintegrated. The building was massive with several white marble
statues of men in togas and robes lining the decorated roof. The building faced
a large open area that had a few small fountains and statues. Surrounding the
large open courtyard was large roman pillars that surrounded it in a
semi-circle. On top of the pillars were more marble statues of Saints and
religious figures. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The place
was busy and had tours, religious groups of all sorts and locals coming and
going in all different directions which made it dizzying. Realizing that there
was no way we were going to be able to wait in this line to get into the
Vatican, we decided to bike further down to the Coliseum. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTxnzeLUSEtkp02rUBxcyu_FMc756Jp6mhNo53_dO1Dcu8sXMnJR73xA5j_Rsbkv1CcR5wMI7bZeV2MrdaSrzTdDomWkYyjCiA4N47IkRd_vg2biwKlCDEukPdUjriAjvrZRI5WAkcX7J/s1600/DSC_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTxnzeLUSEtkp02rUBxcyu_FMc756Jp6mhNo53_dO1Dcu8sXMnJR73xA5j_Rsbkv1CcR5wMI7bZeV2MrdaSrzTdDomWkYyjCiA4N47IkRd_vg2biwKlCDEukPdUjriAjvrZRI5WAkcX7J/s320/DSC_0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUj6AiR2VVPp_65dx5q-tWczw63YmPcw7oIo-IPQSkutLia2NWjMzwyv9SFgBbV_N1R4y0iP0M0-9wq584icN4lqKidWoMSEaTb1A9PnBw5dd6fAISJDkjoAIcEcp-JoXdyi93L8IQFVV/s1600/DSC_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUj6AiR2VVPp_65dx5q-tWczw63YmPcw7oIo-IPQSkutLia2NWjMzwyv9SFgBbV_N1R4y0iP0M0-9wq584icN4lqKidWoMSEaTb1A9PnBw5dd6fAISJDkjoAIcEcp-JoXdyi93L8IQFVV/s320/DSC_0007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once again,
we took a few wrong turns and after asking a police officer that luckily spoke
English, we headed in the right direction. We had to pass under a tunnel and
over a bridge that took us over the Tiber River. We cycled through the city
that had many older building and still retained its ancient Roman architecture.
I kept one eye on the road and another looking up at the buildings and also
watching the people on the sidewalks. After biking for at least 20min, and
starting to get a little exhausted, we came to an impressive monument.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We came
onto the<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;"> Vittorio Emanuele monument. An impressive building
made from white marble with large roman pillars. In the front, stood a forty-foot
high bronze statue of a man on a horse and next to it, on both sides, flew the
Italian flag. To the left of it, was an archeological site that was digging up
old roman artifacts and buildings. Looking at all the old roman pillars and
part of building, I look past them and realize that I can see the coliseum in
the background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;"> As
Frank and I bike closer and closer to the coliseum, I can hear someone playing
a tango on the accordion and also there are street performers on either side of
the street. We pedal a little bit further and finally make it to the coliseum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;"> The
coliseum is massive. I mean REALLY massive. The arches and pillars are mostly
intact and it stands there over looking the city like a great grandfather
looking after his family. The stone from which it is made from is colored from
grey to black in some areas with even bits of red from it’s old age. Once
again, there were several hundred people standing around, waiting to get into
the building. I took a few photos and looked down at my watch. I saw that we didn’t
have 2 hours to wait in line to get in so Frank and I decided that maybe
getting some lunch and heading back to the ship would be the best use of time. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;"> We
biked a block away from the coliseum and found a nice little stretch of street
that had three café’s back to back to back. We locked up out bikes and look in
the first one. There we no customers so we figured that it was probably no
good. We moved to the second one where two Italian girls who were waitresses
asked us politely to sit down and have lunch. We saw that there were only a few
customers there. We looked at the third one and saw that there were a lot of
customers so we figured that that was probably the better café. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We sat down and ordered a pizza, a salad
and drinks and waited patiently at our table that was outside facing the
coliseum. The café had free wifi so we both took advantage of it and browsed on
our respective Apple products. The food finally came and it was pretty tasty.
We ordered a pizza with hot salami. The crust was very thin and crispy, as they
had made it in a brick oven. The salad was OK but nothing extraordinary. When
we finished we got the bill and were blown away how expensive it was. We
ordered 2 pizzas, a salad, a bottle of water, 2 Cokes and beer and it came out
to 78 Euros which came out to $100 US dollars. I nearly emptied my wallet on the
table. We looked at the time and realized that we were running behind to catch
out train. We paid our bill, unlocked the bikes and hit the road. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;"> We
raced down the streets and tried our best to remember where we came from. Cars
were zooming past us and some of them honking their horns at us as we made last
minute turns and swerving on the busy road. We made it back to the Vatican and
we gave those bikes everything we had as we had to pedal up hill to the train
station. We get inside and there seem to be no signs in the station, or on our
ticket, on which platform we should be. After flagging down a conductor, we
find out we need to go downstairs and out the other side to get to platform 5
to catch the train back to Civitavecchia. We pick up our bikes and run down the
stairs and make it to platform 5 with minutes to spare. The train pulled up and
we got into the train. As the doors were about to close, a conductor comes onto
the train and approaches us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;">He points to our bikes and starts speaking
something in Italian. Frank and I look at each other and shrug our shoulders.
He say’s something again and the last word of the sentence sounded like the work
ticket. Frank gets out his ticket and shows it to him. He says no and points to
the bikes and says ticket. Finally someone on the train says to us that he
wants to see our bike tickets. We told him that we had no idea that we needed
tickets for the bikes. The conductor reaches into his back pocket and pulls out
a pad of paper. I started to worry that he was going to write us a ticket for
not having one. He tells us (at least
what we figured he was telling us) that it’s going to cost 18 Euro for both of
the bikes. I reach into my wallet and hand Frank the last bill from my wallet.
He writes us a receipt and takes the money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We felt bad for not knowing but as
everything in the station was in Italian, we realized we had nothing to feel
bad about. We drove on and ended up meeting some American passengers that were
also traveling to the cruise port to join a Royal Caribbean ship. They were
from Kansas City and they were very excited to be going on the cruise. It was a
father and son and another person who was carrying a black F.B.I. duffel bag.
We chatted and when we finally got back to Civitavecchia, we said good-bye and
biked back to the ship just in time for all aboard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-fareast-language: JA;">As amazing as Rome is, I feel like you
need 3 full days minimum to see it properly. Unlike some of the ports I’ve
visited, this is one that cannot me fully explored in one day. I hope to return
one day to get a second shot of exploring the great eternal city of Rome. -DB</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-3178229762604193442013-05-17T06:02:00.002-07:002013-05-18T08:43:53.939-07:00A European Dream: Valetta, Malta
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<br />
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Sitting at
a small café in Valetta, looking at the old St. John’s cathedral and having
lunch with friends from the ship, I’m starting understand this whole European
lifestyle thing people keep talking about. The ability to take a moment and
enjoy it for all it’s worth is a common language I’m seeing as I’m making my
way from port to port in Europe. The capability to enjoy the culture, the
history, the religion and the food and still live a productive life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFkaejCEdWFMEouLBXF7Zul9Y3O1ExIYL8a2GJxL3nVzda7c_ad80ZSoDyX6qt5ApYWW1YFOeVlGmBokYWbMeWcB5C1L8VUGw9qE0yKnP9D5XBsJo28Ab5n-89CXjwAEI1jg9qd_-awqt/s1600/DSC_0024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFkaejCEdWFMEouLBXF7Zul9Y3O1ExIYL8a2GJxL3nVzda7c_ad80ZSoDyX6qt5ApYWW1YFOeVlGmBokYWbMeWcB5C1L8VUGw9qE0yKnP9D5XBsJo28Ab5n-89CXjwAEI1jg9qd_-awqt/s320/DSC_0024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivndo1x3GuD5XcBQiewCEmgDhyphenhyphenKZ3djScJTxbey51E858maOX0L-UhXX7prKEVA-tTDAz2zZgK8Gj4FgRBst5xU39vuUCpfaSR_vVYE6GpwEaVSI54CSAchoFXN4JgMVzGWleGJHrS-ozZ/s1600/DSC_0028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivndo1x3GuD5XcBQiewCEmgDhyphenhyphenKZ3djScJTxbey51E858maOX0L-UhXX7prKEVA-tTDAz2zZgK8Gj4FgRBst5xU39vuUCpfaSR_vVYE6GpwEaVSI54CSAchoFXN4JgMVzGWleGJHrS-ozZ/s320/DSC_0028.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From our
outdoor table at the café, I people-watch and take note of all the different
people, speaking different languages. I’m trying my best to guess their
nationality as the pass by the language or just their overall look. The bells
at the church ring at the top of the hour and I decide may it would be worth it
to go inside the church and peek around. St. Johns is an old church and could
be cool. I walk out of the café and maze my way past the busy people and find
the front entrance. I pay the 6-euro to get my ticket and enter the church. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Immediately
you are overwhelmed with the decorations. The ceilings are very high and are
covered in religious fresco’s that are incredibly detailed as every foot or so
has its own unique scene. The front of the church it decorated in gold colored
architecture and glows from the light entering from the stained glass windows. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrj3WjxbM5pHEamU5HaxUqs2Sx0iQ7yrZ4i1ShDypfEqe6uiGpOnrRPh8FusNz0r5cUsevEFx600bs3e3okfuocKeDHa5LD4kBok0qPDrZFNwTI0r2sCTmr0UNQ3AfLU1W1IfNZEXV4-y/s1600/DSC_0029+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrj3WjxbM5pHEamU5HaxUqs2Sx0iQ7yrZ4i1ShDypfEqe6uiGpOnrRPh8FusNz0r5cUsevEFx600bs3e3okfuocKeDHa5LD4kBok0qPDrZFNwTI0r2sCTmr0UNQ3AfLU1W1IfNZEXV4-y/s320/DSC_0029+-+Version+2.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HMQztx71u5QmcNJg35BK8LeNA0EErNFRyK0kGpay97YbIvBIb5haVQtkleccdQ7hhjTAdok-jQ6k9wMj8yYONhpiIyngMSgxKl3ola_An-u2aaWOdJ-lCFPqjR07qq9oj9Q2ggcVkyGg/s1600/DSC_0045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HMQztx71u5QmcNJg35BK8LeNA0EErNFRyK0kGpay97YbIvBIb5haVQtkleccdQ7hhjTAdok-jQ6k9wMj8yYONhpiIyngMSgxKl3ola_An-u2aaWOdJ-lCFPqjR07qq9oj9Q2ggcVkyGg/s320/DSC_0045.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looking
down, I saw large stone rectangles that each had its own décor and writing. It
turns out that all of the rectangles are graves from different knights. I
thought it was sort of a strange to have you step on dead people as you walk
through the church. From the few times I’ve been to a cemetery, I was always
told that you weren’t suppose step on graves. I guess if the bodies are still
in the church, that’s ok? (No idea)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIkRyytIPYHk87vtfFCxlM1YlZd6YJlMCPiQ4fNbbcTzfXRAA4E9a-hkSCxATO4NcxFSxO-pFTRHicI-NYqHxIjxQcDf5zQEhMrfo7uXtHUsnL9uT8JPUJDb27H1sJ2WiqYHkbIUFqSeJ/s1600/DSC_0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIkRyytIPYHk87vtfFCxlM1YlZd6YJlMCPiQ4fNbbcTzfXRAA4E9a-hkSCxATO4NcxFSxO-pFTRHicI-NYqHxIjxQcDf5zQEhMrfo7uXtHUsnL9uT8JPUJDb27H1sJ2WiqYHkbIUFqSeJ/s320/DSC_0033.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On each
side of the hall, there were rooms that seemed to pay tribute to different
things. I wish I had spoke Maltese so I would have been able to explain what it
was. Whether I could speak the language or not, I was still able to appreciate
all the elaborate artwork that detailed the church. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdY-UznDfLCH4oizvoHTrjpESV4LI8o-8e6r05_vuDEnM3cDrkZf6Q52t4aeh8KkhS0CbapPVYD0CTHT4xG7-ZrXZ9GOFrMwLrwbZTrtTF6Y6TKfhRiJcXqV-Lb5chC6SOjf770q5HsJP/s1600/DSC_0037+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdY-UznDfLCH4oizvoHTrjpESV4LI8o-8e6r05_vuDEnM3cDrkZf6Q52t4aeh8KkhS0CbapPVYD0CTHT4xG7-ZrXZ9GOFrMwLrwbZTrtTF6Y6TKfhRiJcXqV-Lb5chC6SOjf770q5HsJP/s320/DSC_0037+-+Version+2.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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It took me
about 20 minutes to see the entire church and I decided to leave and just walk
around the city. The city had a classic old European look that I could only
relate to a few shopping centers in Orange County, California that obviously
tried to rip the style off. It was exciting to see the real thing however. The
buildings were very old looking and each one had their own charm. Even the
McDonalds building looked like it had been there for 300 years! In the streets
there were lots of café’s where people were sipping cappuccinos and reading the
paper or chatting with friends. I walked past a guy singing Italian opera in
the streets for tips. The street life was very exciting to walk through and it
seemed like every few minutes I would bump into somebody because I’d be looking
around and not paying attention to where I was going. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As I walked
back to the ship, I came across a great view of the ocean and of the rest of
Malta. The density of old buildings yielded a stop for me to take some
pictures. Making my way down the hill to the ship, I passed several olive trees
and date palms. The whole city was like some European dream. It was kind of
surreal that there was actually a place like this. You see places like this on
TV or in a documentary but nothing will substitute the human experience of
traveling. I don’t think that airline or cruise ship industry could ever go out
of business because of that fact alone. No matter how many hours you spend on
Youtube or Google Images, nothing can replace the sight, smells sounds and feel
of a city. -DB</div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829491024761329658.post-89537911349507911542013-05-17T02:50:00.002-07:002013-05-17T12:39:44.697-07:00La Sagrada Familia: Barcelona, Spain<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The church
bells rang a melodic tune at noon at the La Sangrada Familia in Barcelona Spain.
Tourists whisked back and forth in front of the Catalan masterpiece as the
clouds above started to darken a deeper and deeper black. I walked up top the
main street with my tour and looked up at the massive structure. It was
surrounded by gigantic cranes and ladders as the church is still under
construction. The architecture looked as if a 6 year old child in arts and
crafts scraped it together out of recycled red clay. To see a church however
built in this size from a master like Gaudi, it was evident that this was not
constructed by no child. It was constructed from a master.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I followed
my guide into the church and was amazed by the heart stopping design on the inside.
The tour guide, who looked similar to a female Woody Allen, watched my tour
group’s faces as we walked into the church as all of us had a similar, yet
unique reaction to the beautiful work on the inside. Looking upward, my stomach
drops at the sight of what really is a masterpiece of Catalan architecture. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The posts
that lurched from the ceiling looked like a white, concrete forest that reached
down and grasped the granite floor and held on by the tips of its wooden
fingers. The shapes were anamorphic and were very inspiring to me. It inspired
me want to compose music on the spot in front of the several hundred tourists
buzzing around the church. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
I listened
to our guide talk passionately about the church and the madness/genius of the
famed artist Antoni Gaudi. The tour guide was maybe 40 with dark black hair
that had a single stripe of whit hair that ran down the off-center top of her
head. Her dark, black-rimmed glasses magnified her dark eyes and also drew your
attention to her face. Her face was multicolored, as she had blotched of white
skin mixed with normal olive looking skin. It was maybe a birth defect or at least
a burn scar from an incident. Looking past it, she was very beautiful and had a
quite, reserved, nerdy quality that I found slightly attractive. Her English
wasn’t the best, but she at least got her passionate points across.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
She started
talking about the history of each part of the building as we passed. I took
pictures along the way and found my self constantly getting separated from the
group as I marveled by the beauty of the church. I would wander and wait till
there were no tourists around and take a quality picture. I would then turn
around to see that the tour group was long gone and I would have to go look and
hope I could find them again. Luckily for me I always did.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The tour
guide would give us 15 min “on our own” time and I would go explore for my
self. I went underneath the church where there was a museum. I would wander
there and find fascinating exhibits about several subjects the related to the
church and Gaudi’s work. In the museum, I would encounter lots of your tours
that looked like they could have been high school field trips. I would lean in
and listen top hear the languages they would speak (all of them being foreign
to me). I would hear French, Spanish, German and so many others and marvel at
the diversity of people that get attracted to this church. They all come to
appreciate the brilliance of Gaudi’s work and soak up the local culture.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Outside the
church we waited outside for the rest of the group to meet up with us. We were
warned of pickpockets in the area and so I tried to keep my hands in my pockets
as much as possible. Looking around the front of the church, I would try to spot
any pickpockets. I would imagine my self jumping in and preventing someone’s wallet
being stolen and me being a hero. But then my logic would kick in and I would
imagine myself intervening and getting a 4 inch blade shoved into my rib cage.
I decide to just wait patiently for our guide to return. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After she
returned, we all pile back into the bus. The Spanish culture and especially the
work of Gaudi had sparked my imagination. It’s a great, creative mind that can progresses
forward to create new and exciting things. Seeing this church inspired me and
made me realize the power and influence of a creative mind. -DB<o:p></o:p><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Travels of Notehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892355174213755985noreply@blogger.com0