Southwest Circuit, Bolivia

We just finished a four day trip around the Southwest of Bolivia. It was spectacular. This blog post will not do justice to how amazing the sites were, nor will most photos. You´ll have to see it for yourself one day. The first day was pretty, but paled in comparision to the next three. The highlight was ´El Sillar´ a giant canyon full of what looks like gigantic rows of stalagmites, though there is no cave ceiling to have helped form them.




The second day we saw four lagoons, known as the yellow, blue, white, and green lagoons. The yellow one wasn´t very yellow, but all are made colourful by various mineral deposits in the water (below is the green lagoon).

Along the way to the lagoons, we passed mountain ranges that look like watercolour paintings, as the mineral deposits within them are green, red, yellow, etc, and all mixed together. We also passed les Rocas de Dali which, along with the hills served as inspiration for Salvadore Dali´s paintings.




And at lunch that day, we bathed in a hot spring which was not only the perfect temperature, but was situated to allow the best view I have ever seen while bathing. The third day we saw the most striking coloured lagoon, the Laguna Coloroda, which is a vibrant red. This lagoon, along with the other five we saw that day, are all swarming with flamingos, and the occasions llamas and vicunas (a wild cousin of the llamma) pass by.

Today, we spent the morning at the Salar de Uyuni, the largest accessible salt flat in the world. It is massive. All you see is salt in every direction. We drove over it for two hundred kilometers. It looks kind of like a snow field, but with small polygonal crests throughout. It also is a great location to take trick photos. I wish you all could see it, and hopefully I can post photos of it when I get back (I will add one or two next time we get a computer with DVD access).

Cordoba, Salta, and the Border to Bolivia

Cordoba didn´t get much better, though it had its moments. Our second day in Cordoba we did an excellent guided mountain climb. It took about 7 hours round trip, and the view from the top was spectacular.

However, the following day (when we were actually back in Cordoba) was not very good. We went in the morning to mail a package of souvenirs to Toronto. It took almost four hours to do, and not because we didn´t speak Spanish. We talked to Julio, a very pleasant gentleman in line before us, and he said the wait was standard. HE also correctly guessed our age within two years. He said he knew because we looked ´young, but with experience´. Because we took so long at the post office, all the museums were closed once again once we were ready to visit them, so we spent most of the day hanging out at the mall until our overnight bus came.

Salta was much nicer. The city was filled with beautiful buildings including a stunning church painted in maroon and gold. The highlight of the city was seeing an Incan era mummy at the museum. The mommy was of a child sacrifice entombed alive at the top of a Andean mountain. Because of the cold temperatures, the mummy´s skin and clothes were also perfectly preserved, only darkened. Unlike an egyptian mummy, the body looked pretty much like it would have when the child died. We also did a one day tour which took us to see coloured hills, the well-preserved remains of a pre-incan city, and the Argentinian salt flats.

At the end of the tour, instead of returning to Salta, we asked to be dropped off in the pretty (but touristy) little town of Pumamarqua, halfway to the Bolivian border. The main glitch we experienced in Salta was when we were getting ready for bed on the fist night. Evelyn closed the bathroom door while getting ready and the lock broke, trapping her inside. 45 minutes and a visit from the locksmith later, we finally were able to rescue her :-)

From Pumamarqua, we caught a bus to the Bolivian border. The crossing was super easy. Once we said we were Canadian, the customs officer sighned and stamped all the necessary forms before even asking to see our passport. We crossed the border into the small Bolivian town of Villazon and had to kill the afternoon while waiting for a bus. Happily, there was some sort of children´s festical that weekend so we watched rows of cute little children line-dance past, some while wearing fake miner´s hats or more traditional garb.

We caught a bus to Tupiza, a common stop on ´the Gringo trail´, and a starting point for the famous ´Southwest Curcuit tour´, which I will discuss in the next post. We relaxed our first day there, and met a couple of really cool American girls named Ally and Leila. They convinced us to join them the next day on a ´triatholon´tour which involved driving, horseback riding, and biking past the magnificant rock formations which surround tupiza. I found the horseback riding scary, but the girls all found the 16 km winding bicycle descent down narrow gravel roads terrifying.

The following day, we left for the four day southwest circuit tour.

Iguazu falls and Mendoza

Hi all,

We´ve had quite a time since my last post. The Iguazu falls are spectacular. I don´t know what the specific differences in size, height, etc are between Iguazu and Niagara falls, but Iguazu is, by far, the more impressive sight. The Iguazu falls go on for kilometers. You can easily spend a whole day going from viewing station to viewing station and not see them all. Moreover, the viewing stations bring you right up to the tops and bottoms of different parts. When standing on the platform for the Devil´s Canyon you are right at the edge of the falls looking down. For other falls, you can be right at the bottom. Moreover, the falls are surrounded by lush vegetation and wildlife. You constantly see Condors circling in the air, Couti´s walking around the park, and the occasional monkey swinging in the trees. We even saw some toucans fly past! So far, Iguazu falls have been the highlight of the trip.

The lowlight of the trip, however, has been the hostel we stayed in at Porto Iguazu. If you ever visit the falls, DO NOT stay at Hostel Sweet Hostel. There were many problems, including the fact we had to switch rooms from the first to the second night. But even worse was that, on the third morning, they told us we could not stay a third night because they had rented the room out from under us, even though we had reserved for three nights. Can you believe that? I have never been kicked out of a hotel room before because I better deal came along for the owners.

On our final morning in Puerto Iguazu, we walked to the waterfront monument representing partnership between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, situated at a river intersection which separates the three countries. From here, you can see all three countries at once. The highlight of the walk however, was a little dog that followed us the whole way there and back, which took over an hour. The bizarre thing was he never really acknowledged us. He didn´t make eye contact or wag his tail. He just stayed really close to us, would run off for a bit, and then run back. When he left, we didn´t even realize it until later. I wonder what was going through his head.

After Puerto Iguazu, we spent a day flying and bussing all the way across the country to Mendoza. We loved Mendoza. We found the best Hostel ever, called Hostel Confluencia. We originally planned to stay a couple of days, but ended up spending five days there, and could have easily spent more. Mendoza is in the heart of wine country, so we spent a day biking around to the different wineries, olive orchards, and chocolate factories doing tastings.

The following day, we drove to the Andes to do some trekking and ziplining. The hike was unremarkable, but we rappelled down a cliff at the end, which was a good first rappelling experience. Moreover, the views of the Andes were great. It is bizarre to be in a desert hiking in shorts and a t-shirt and see snow on the next range of mountains.

Much better than the trekking was the zip-lining. I had never been before, and loved it. It was surprisingly scary for all six rides, especially the last one, which was about 400 meters long over a river.We also visited Mendoza´s many plazas and huge public park. However, Evelyn was not happy with me after we tried to take the bus and ended up somewhat lost on the far side of the park. We found our way back though, but missed out on visiting the park´s zoo. Last night, we took an overnight bus to Cordoba, where we are now. We had a frustrating morning, as we walked around for about two hours trying to find a place to stay. The Hostels here are poorly signed, spread out, and busy for the weekend. We have a place to stay now though, and are going to bed after spending the day visiting old colonial churches and civic buildings, as well as the excellent weekend crafts market.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Hi Everyone,

I am writing fro Puerto Iguazu, on the doorstep of the world famous Iguazu falls, which I am told rival (and even surpass) Niagara falls. We´ll find out tommorrow. We arrived here today from Buenos Aires on an 18 hour bus, which was, by far, the nices bus I have ever been on. They gave you as much space as first class on an airplane, and we were sitting pretty in your gigantic lazy boys, while the server came by with snacks, meals, and wine.

This afternoon, we went to a wildlife refuge and saw, among other animals, almost 20 rescued hawks and Eagles, which are being rehabilitated to be realeased back into the wild. They were magnificent.

Buenos Aires was great. We went to a couple weekend markets, which were pretty and creative. Unlike most of the stuff we saw for sale in South East Asia, booths here usually are run by artists who produce unique crafts. You don´t see the same thing everywehere else if you don´t buy it the first time.

The highlight for me was the Ricolleta Graveyard, where Buenos Aires´ rich and famous are entombed in the fanciest Masoleums you´ve ever seen.

The other big highlight was attending a BOCA soccer match. BOCA is the most popular club in Argentina, and the fans were crazy. Plus, the star of BOCA scored a header from 40 Meters away, setting some sort of record. I´m not sure what record though, because I don´t understand enough Spanish :-). We also went to the zoo, walked around for hours looking at all the fancy buildings, saw some Tango, and ate like kings. We had a gigantic steak dinner, including salad, dessert, and a bottle of wine, for under $50. Yowsa! The main problem with Buenos Aires is that we were breaking the bank, and pretty much doubling our daily budget. Luckily, Buenos Aires should be the most expensive place we travel.

On our way to South America--Eitan and Evelyn

October 2, 2009

Hi there! Well, we have left and just to make sure we actually got to the airport, my mommy and daddy drove us there safely. Boy, are they great parents. See the picture of Evelyn and I and my parents.

Hiking in Cornwall--Val and Arieh

July 8 to July 11, 2009.

Our trip to England (Cornwall) was quite lovely. The car rental worked out well, we arrived relatively on time, only got lost a little bit trying to get away from Heathrow airport and eventually made it to Polperro in Cornwall (past Plymouth) around 7PM. Polperro (if you know where you are going) is about 4.5 hours drive (on the M highways) from Heathrow. We stayed in a B & B there for the 4 nights and drove (or walked) around the area. Very narrow roads, very windy (not windy--lelow ruach) and difficult at times (while driving in a car) see any views from the road. Most of these little roads have hedges along them instead of fences. And it is very difficult to see through a hedge unlike a fence!

Many of the towns are former fishing villages. While they still have small ports and boats the major income producers are tourism, retirees and working somewhere else. Most of these towns do not allow parking in the village but rather up the hill or slightly elsewhere in a car park. It makes for nice walking in the town and quite quiet also. The food in England was better than it used to be, although quite expensive. Of course, being fishing towns, there was a lot of fish on the menus as well as seafood (crabs, shrimp, etc.) and they do that well. We also indulged in English tea--scones, clotted cream and jam. Yummy.

Speaking of food, the B & B provided us with a "hearty English breakfast". I am "happy" to say that the breakfast has not changed (nor improved) since I was there in 1982. What does "hearty" mean? Eggs (scrambled or poached). BTW, I asked for fried one day and was told they don't have a frying pan. Sausage. I asked for "no meat" and was offered a "Diana sausage" as a vegetarian substitute. Very disgusting. Toast. They did offer some sort of brown bread. Presented in the same funny holder as in 1982. COOKED tomatoe. (They agreed on the second day to give me the tomato uncooked). Baked beans (from a can and sweetened). Hash browns (fried potatoes) from a package. (Remember "no frying pan". How do you cook hash browns, then?). Canned mushrooms. Good coffee or tea. Juice. The good part was yoghurt and some canned grapefruit (I think, unsweetened). While the B & B was quite pleasant, the breakfast was something to remember in my old age.

We did not go to Land's End. However we did drive to St. Ives (As I was walking to St. Ives, I met a man with 7 wives.........) and walked along the harbour from one end to the other (about 2 KM). Two other noteworthy events were going to the Eden Project and our 8 KM walk along the seashore. The Eden Project is an old clay quarry (open-pit mine) that was closed and transformed into a botantical garden. Beautiful local flora along the walls of the pit as well as at the bottom. They also had 2 big domes--one housing an eco-system from the Mediterranean (and California) and the other a tropical eco-system. Very beautiful and worth the visit.

Our 8 KM walk was quite nice. There is a 800 KM walking trail along the south west coast in Cornwall and around Land's End and then North. We did 1%. Up and down, a bit of flat, a coffee stop and beautiful views of the seaside. Sometimes we were on the edge of the cliffs and sometimes on the top. We passed peopl running along the trail, other walking for the day and one family with teenagers doing about 1/2 the trail for the vacation (Everything on their backs). Didn't rain for us until 30 minutes after we arrived at our destination (another town called "Looe"). Had a very nice seaside lunch (unfortunately in side) and then took a bus back to our town.

Here are two links to pictures of the route we took:

http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/walking/talland.php

http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/walking/hannafor.php

The trip back to Heathrow was uneventful. The best part was utilizing Bobby's Air Canada lounge passes a Heathrow. Quite civiilized, I must say.

Last Leg of the Philippines

While I was in Luplupa, I was the only guest at the Riverside Hotel excluding the night before the wedding. As a result, the family which manages the Inn did not open up the downstairs restaurant, and I just ate all my meals with the family. It was really nice to feel somewhat part of a family again and, as a result, I got to know the family quite well. Johnny, the father, had to make a trip to Tabuk, the provincial capital of Kalinga, to do some shopping and set up an email account, and asked if I wanted to come. We got there by overloaded Jeepney. Jeepneys are converted Jeeps that seat 20 people but often carry closer to 40, plus their luggage, and are the basic form of public transportation throughout the Philippines. They have also replaced the Smart Car as my dream ride, as they are so fun. The owners paint them up in bright, gaudy colours, then spray paint Superheros, dangerous animals, 'No Fear' logos, and whatever else they want on the sides. They then write funny names for the car and religious passages in various places. On the trip to Tabuk, I sat on the roof to better appreciate the view.



In Tabuk, we stayed with Johnny's relatives in a small village on the fringes which was founded when Luplupa became overpopulated. As a result, more or less the whole village was related to Johnny one way or the other. When we arrived, they asked if I liked goat, and I answered yes. We were sitting around talking, and the next thing I know they're bringing a live goat into the room, where they killed it, shaved it, and cooked it for the next couple of hours.



We returned to Luplupa the next day, and Johnny's relatives from Baguio offered to give me a ride back to Baguio with them. The next day, we left for Baguio, a trip that theoretically can take only 6 hours. It took almost ten, however, because there was a typhoon, so it was very rainy and, at one point, we had to wait for a landslide blocking the road to be cleared.



When we finally arrived in Baguio after dark and in the middle of the storm, the family insisted I stay with them, and I wasn't going to complain :-). I spent the next day meeting their very large and incredibly friendly and hospitable extended family, and then a couple of days touring around Baguio, which wasn't especially exciting.



After Baguio, I caught a bus to Subic Bay, where I stayed with one of the friends I had met in Sagada named Chris. In what seems to be a general Philippino trend, his family was also incredibly nice, and invited me to the Deboo of Chris' niece. A Deboo is a big party Philippinas have when they turn 18. At the party, they dance with 18 guys who each give her a rose, and then receive 18 candles from 18 girlfriends. This got me to thinking whether I had had 17 female friends when I was 18 whom I could have asked to dance with me (the first dancer is a relative), and I'm pretty sure the answer is no. The party was fun, and the food was good, except that it ran too late, so there was no time to eat the cake :-(.



While in Subic, I saw a surprisingly good presentation where a local tribesman explained how to make dishes, cooking pots, find water and shampoo, and prepare your food if you are stranded in the jungle. He even made me a special 'western' style cup with a cut out on the rim so my nose wouldn't get in the way while drinking from the bamboo. Perhaps most impressive was when he made fire just using a piece of bamboo and a knife in under five minutes.



The Iboy (?) tribe of the area used to train US marines to survive in the jungle, and now the camp is a major Subic Bay tourist attraction. After the camp, I went for a short jungle trek, where the guide explained the various uses of the plants in the forest, and showed me how to make a wild chicken trap. He said that the villagers joke the jungle is their supermarket, because they can get everything they need from it.



My last day in Manila I just did some shopping, packing and then hung out with two more friends from Sagada in the evening. The next day was a grueling 20 hour commute to Canada, during which I unexpectedly visited another country. I bought a bottle of duty free alcohol in Manila after confirming I could take it all the way to Canada, despite the fact I was changing planes in Tokyo. They didn't exactly lie. In Tokyo, they told me I could keep it, but only if I cleared customs and put it in my checked baggage. I didn't really have anything else to do during my four hour stopover, so I spent two hours clearing customs and then reentering the airport. So, I have also officially been to Japan for about 20 minutes.



After a quick visit to Vancouver, where I was pampered silly by my friends Heather and Matthew and got to see Ernest and Anna, I am now in Seattle visiting my cousins. Seattle is a very pretty city, with an excellent market and bike paths. It also has an incredible new library that would interest anyone who likes architecture, electronics, or books.



Despite assuming that North Americans are not nearly as friendly as Southeast Asians, I've met some good people. A 7-11 owner who gave me the wrong directions gave me a free slushie when I came back to use the pay phone, and another guy biked with me for 15 minutes to show me the way home when I got a bit lost on the bike paths.

Well, this is the last entry in my blog. I am still technically traveling for three and a half more weeks, but it won't be any place new for me and the main reason is to visit family and friends. I had a great trip, and no serious regrets about the choices I made while traveling. I was very lucky to be able to go on this trip, and very lucky it went so smoothly. I wouldn't say I got particularly homesick, though I am glad to be back in Canada. I also realized a lot of the highlights for me where the trekking and the natural attractions I visited, which Canada has an abundance of, but which I never visit. Maybe next time, instead of travelling halfway around the world, I'll look for nature trails closer to home...

Thanks for all the emails, and the surprising amount that told me they actually read the blog and liked it. The only reason I kept updating it relatively frequently is because you actually cared :-). I wish you all success until I see you in person again. Enjoy the summer .

Love,

Eitan

The Cordillera, Philippines

Hi everyone,

Before I begin on the Philippines, I have two more Thailand stories. The first is about the club I went to in Thailand. I forgot the best part. In Canada, when the clubs close there is a line of cabs waiting outside to take home those without rides, so we all assumed that would be the case in Thailand. It was not so. The nine of us were stranded in the sticks with no way to get back. After a few minutes, one guy leaving the club offered us a ride in his regular four door. We thanked him, but pointed out there were nine of us, but that didn't phase him at all. Since we didn't really have a choice, we all tried to pile into his car. Not everyone was tiny like me, either. Three of the guys were around 6 feet tall. We managed to get 8 of us in (two in the front plus driver, 5 in the back, 1 in the trunk), but try as we might, we could not get in the ninth. Luckily, two motorcycles came by and offered a lift to two of us, and we all made it back.

Secondly, the Khoh Son tourist district in Bangkok has stands and stands of my main clothing weakness: Decal t-shirts. Almost all of my clothes have been bought for me by my mom or Evelyn. The only real exception is a bunch of t-shirts from Value Village and other places with iron-ons that I think are funny or clever. I have so many at home that a vowed not to buy any in Bangkok. The second time I was there though, I couldn't help myself and ended up buying four :-). Oh well.

Now for the Philippines. The Philippines is a sweet place to travel. All the locals speak English, and it is relatively well developed, but lacking in foreign tourists. I would say at least three-quarters of the tourists have some connection to the Philippines; they have a Philippino significant other or parent, they work here, or they are Philippinos from a different city or country. As a result, most of the tourists I have been hanging out with have actually been locals. As an added bonus, some of them have put me up when I visit their cities.

My first day in Manilla was overwhelming. Manilla is hot, crowded, noisy, congested, and expensive, and it didn't help that I had hardly slept on my overnight flight to get there. Nika was still in the Philippines, and we made plans to leave that night for Banaue in the Cordillera, the mountain provinces of Northern Luzon. I spent the day unsuccessfully extending my visa, successfully getting an adapter, and becoming even further overwhelmed as I tried to decide what to do during my month in the Philippines. There is a ridiculous amount to see and do here, way too much for a month. I decided to beat the heat for two weeks in the Cordillera, and then head to a beachy Island after.

Nika and I caught up on the bus ride to Banaue, which was really fun, and I met her cousin Richel, who joined us. Banaue is the starting point for treks into the nearby rice terraces, which are spectacular. They were built over 2000 years ago and are cut right into the side of the mountains. They are commonly referred to as the 8th wonder of the world. The first day we did a one day walk through the most famous ones, and then left on a two day hike to some other villages and terraces the next day. Interestingly, our guide told us that foreigners often pay LESS then locals for their guides, because the local tourists don't like to bargain.



Nika had to go back to Manilla to catch her flight, so the next day I left for Sagada. I found a sweet hotel in Sagada called 'the Greenhouse', run by a wonderful women named Atte Nora (Atte is a sign of respect). The first two days I was there were a weekend, so the hotel was full, and I went on a walk to Echo valley and a waterfall with other guests. Sagada is known for its hanging coffins, as the local tradition is to place the coffins of the dead in caves, preferably high off the ground. We saw a few of these as we toured.



The next day I went with other tourists on one of the highlights of my trip, the 'cave-connection' tour, which is a four hour underground spelunking expedition where you go in one cave and out another. It involved, climbing, rappelling, wading, and swimming, all by lantern light. After the weekend, it was just me and one couple, who had been living in the hotel for two weeks already, who were around.



I spent another 4 days in Sagada just doing day trips to other sights with the couple and with Nora, who didn't have to much to do. The best one was to a nearby big waterfall, which also involved a walk through rice paddies. Sagada is very high up, so the foliage looks a lot like Canada. The cool thing is that the pine trees are next to rice paddies, which you obviously never see in Canada.



Around this time, I decided to just spend the rest of my time in the Cordillera and Northern Luzon, and forgot about going to a different Island. So I decided to go further North to a more remote village called Luplupa in Kalinga province. There wasn't much to do there, and I hardly did anything that the guidebook did mention, yet I stayed for a week :-). I just really enjoyed relaxing. The first day I did a trek to nearby villages led by Victor, the Barangay (village) chief. I think he smoked too much dope over the years with tourists, so he wasn't the best guide I've had. However, because he's been chief for over 30 years, everyone knows him, so it was cool meeting and greeting everyone we passed. Apparently, most of the 'tourists' nowadays are really marijuana dealers, so I was constantly asked how many kilos I wanted to buy.



I also was finally offered a food I couldn't bring myself to even try. Normally, I'll eat anything offered to me, partly out of curiousity, partly to say I did it, and partly because I don't want to be insulting by turning down food. However, at one village, I was offered pieces of boiled pig's face and skin, which is more or less globs of fat with the hair still on it. Luckily, Victor bailed me out by saying I was vegetarian.

The next day in Luplupa there was a wedding, which was a lot of fun. I also saw many tatooed old ladies. Traditionally, married women were supposed to cover their arms in bracelets. Just in case they weren't wearing bracelets, they tatooed bracelets on their arms so they would never be bare. As a result, many of the older generation still have them.



After that, I more or less hung out. The Riverside Inn family felt bad for me because I was alone, so they made sure someone was always visiting me to keep me company, or showing me around to a nearby Barangay. I was supposed to go on a two day trek into the jungle with a hunter named Gill and sleep in a cave, but the weather was really bad, so we had to turn back on the first day. There was also a peace pact celebration with a neighbouring village, but I was sick, so missed most of that.



That's all I have the energy to write about now, so you'll have to wait a week for the rest. Lastly, you have all likely heard about the deadly cyclone that hit Myanmar a couple of weeks ago. If any of you were thinking of donating, but were afraid the money would not go to the right place, I recommend HOPE international as a good NGO to donate too. They are the ones I worked with a bit in Cambodia, so I can vouch for there quality, or you can research them on their website. You can go to http://www.hope-international.com/ to donate or to find out more.