The Coolest City

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
After two weeks in Ecuador and decades of thinking about this place, I had a certain expectation of what Cuzco would be like; a tourist trap with lots of locals cashing in; a pack-packer grotto full of younger people drinking too much and being loud.

What I didn't expect was to find, in the ancient city of Cuzco, a beautiful town with lanes and cobbled streets. A number of plazas beautifully hemmed in with balconies full of diners and candles. Up market boutique shops with great products. And I didn't expect a clean place with so much culture and class.

Cuzco is 3,400 meters above sea level and boasts the highest Irish pub (Paddy's) in the world, and very nice it is too. There is a constant air of expectation in the air as people arrive to prepare for Macchu Picchu and people return having walked the Inca trail and seen the wonder of the world.

I love this place and could stay another week. It reminds me of an Italian village with little lanes and bars everywhere. With smartly dressed, attractive people strolling about, enjoying life. You feel warm and safe and keen to explore the next cobbled lane to hunt out a different menu or boutique bar.

At 5am we head for Machhu Pichhu and a three day trek. Sorry to go but excited about the upcoming adventure.
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Tanjore Temples

This Summer vacation did not have any major trips, but it was dotted with short and interesting trips around Tamilnadu. It started with, visit to Madurai, followed by Nagarkoil, Thirupurankundram and culminating in Kanyakumari. It was a pleasant trip, and Nagarcoil being a relatively new place to us, was exciting to get acquainted with the little town, which seemed to be an interesting fusion of Kerala and Tamilnadu! Kanyakumari as always was awe-inspiring, and a sense of calm and peace descends, while you are there.

Another mini trip was made to Tanjore, which is hardly an hour's drive from Trichy. The highlight was, our visit to Saraswati Mahal Library and another museum nearby. The Library is a very old one, dating back to 16th century, started by the Nayak kings; but it was Serofji II, a Maratha king who out of his sheer passion for language and books, collected a huge collection (60,000 volumes), of old and rare books, in French, Dutch, Russian, Tamil and Marathi too. It was truly amazing to see the collection of old palm-leaf manuscripts, illustrated medical books, detailed maps of old cities, (London, Moscow, Tanjore - how they had such clear aerial perspective was beyond comprehension), caricatures of rulers, common man, historic monuments, all preserved for posterity.

The neighbouring museum was very interesting too, filled with ancient works of art, on stone and metal. The exquisite skill was amply evident and we were almost carried back into the world of the ancient dynasties. The mueseum was housed in an old structure as you can see here, which was used by kings or maybe noblemen as abode of residence, we presume. It was fun climbing our way up along the dark, narrow staircases, on either sides, all the way to the top floor. A multi-storeyed building with perfect architectural symmetry, and provisions for numerous carved windows and niches, which opened out to the lushy green fields of the Chola land. Could almost imagine the pretty princesses and maidens peeping out, and chasing each other down the stairs!

By evening, reached the Periya koil (Big Temple), or the Bragatheeshwar Temple, a renown structure in South India built by Raja Raja Cholan in the 11th century. The vimana of this temple is very special, as the14 storeyed structure does not cast a shadow at any point of time! The huge Nandhi idol found outside, is made from a single stone, which is said to weigh more than 25 tons.The place was teeming with tourists and local visitors, and as the sun went down, everyone seemed to be filled with a sense of being a part of history. And me for one, was glad, my children, were there with me to partake in this special moment!

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The Sunshine Coast to Vancouver

It rained late in the night and into the morning. I finally had a break in the weather and broke camp without making breakfast. The next ferry was only 25 km’s away. I did not see much of the coast after leaving my camping spot. It has been quite foggy which has also impaired my vision of the area. There are lots of large trees along the road and the traffic has not been too bad. But there is a fair amount of development along the road. There was also a good climb before my next ferry.

While waiting for the ferry I made a late breakfast and called about a hostel that was in Sechelt. The girl said Sechelt was 63 km’s from the ferry. I said I would do my best.

The ferry ride was almost an hour long. It started to rain and was very hilly getting off the ferry. Soon it was pouring rain and I was soaked. I now had to make it to the hostel as I was far too wet to get into a tent tonight. It seemed like slow going with all the hills and I

hit a monster of a hill in Halfmoon Bay. It was now getting dark and I still had about 20 km’s to go. I really hate riding in the dark. Getting into Sechelt I had to stop at a house to get direction to this hostel. It was real dark and I did not want to ride past the place. It turns out that Sechelt is a fairly big place and the hostel was in town. I don’t know how I did it but the ferry landed at 4:15 pm and I got to the hostel by 8:45 pm. With all the climbing and rain I must have passed through some worm hole.

So I guess I rode about 85 km’s today. I am not sure who named this place The Sunshine Coast but I have not seen any sunshine.

Friday September 16, 2011

Sechelt is a fairly heavily populated area. That being said I am so use to being remote that any kind of large town or small city seems massively overpopulated. The point is I am having a difficult time adjusting to so much cars, development, people and especially noise.
It was not a

long ride to the next and last ferry. But of course I missed the ferry by 15 minutes so I had to wait for the 2:45 pm ferry. I really feel like I rushed “The Sunshine Coast”. I think like a lot of areas that I ride through and they don’t get enough of my time; but that is the nature of cycling.

I got to the mainland at 3:30 and I got to my good friend Bob Dynes in Vancouver at 5:30 pm. I think I made good time riding through Vancouver and I never got lost or made a wrong turn. If I thought traffic was heavy in and leaving Sechelt it was nothing compared to Vancouver. Traffic is nuts and leaving the ferry feels like riding along the QEW just a lot of curves and a pretty big hill. There was lots and lots of cars zooming past me like crazy. I even hit some rush hour.
The nice thing is while it was cloudy I never did get wet today. I rode 25 km’s to the ferry and 25 km’s my friend’s house. So a total of 50 km’s riding today.

Saturday September

17, 2011

A largely uneventful day. A Walk to the park. Laundry done including my Gore-Tex Jacket. My laundry was really starting to smell real bad from getting wet on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Sometimes it is nice to do nothing. An absolutely excellent dinner. I had not had a good home made dinner since June 14th.

Sunday September 18, 2011

Another uneventful day. But I am not complaining. This is the nature of a cyclist’s day off, do nothing.

There are more photos at the bottom of this page

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Varanasi and the might Ganges

Day 1 - Waking as the train rolled into Varanasi, we were greeted at the station platform by the sound of drums. Exiting the station, the five of us clambered into two rickshaws and made our way to yet another Hotel Shanti. Getting out of the vehicle, we followed the driver on foot through a maze of alleyways until we reached the hotel. Once checked in we headed to the roof for breakfast and many hours of relaxation given that we had spent the last two nights traveling and sleeping on trains. Atop the roof we enjoyed amazing views of the holiest of holy rivers - the mighty Ganges. Come 6:30pm ourselves, Andy and Gill set out towards the ghats to watch the evening ceremony and set candle-lit flowers out onto the Ganges. After the ceremony we wandered around the market before attempting to find our way back to the hotel. This proved to be much more difficult than one could imagine given that Varanasi is one huge mass of identical-looking alleyways! With lots of help and pointing from the locals, we finally made it back to base. Back on the roof we spent the night playing cards and eating before retiring to bed.

Day 2 - Waking early we realised that John had left for Kolkata leaving just the four of us. Still in major need of some respite we decided to spend the day chilling on the rooftop once again watching the world go by as well as monkeys teasing the street dogs (hence the phrase 'monkeying around'). Later that day we decided to head out to the market in search of bed quilts and sewing materials. Exhausted from our days shopping we made our way back to the hotel, deciding to make a stop at the local Bhang shop along the way (medium strength for all!). Back on the hotel rooftop the Bhang lassi began to take a very heavy toll, leaving us in fits of laughter, incapable of conversation and game-playing, not to mention a serious case of the munchies and dry-mouth for all (ahh such a hard life). Eventually we decided it was time for bed so off we went.

Day 3 - Waking on our final day in Varanasi, we headed over to the famous burning ghats - this being the most sacred place where Hindus can be cremated before their ashes be

spread into the Ganges. For obvious reasons photography is forbidden around these ghats! After viewing the ghats and being informed of the traditional ceremony by a local man, we headed back to the hotel to collect our bags before heading to the train station to board our train to Kolkata.
There are more photos at the bottom of this page

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Vancouver Island

Saturday September 10, 2011
Ferries All Night And All Day Long

The ferry went well last night. The waters were fairly calm so I did not get nauseous like last time. I watched movies till late and then slept a bit but not long. The ferry got into Prince Rupert at 5 am.
The ferry to Port Hardy loaded at about 6:30 am.
Things were quite foggy first thing in the morning. But the fog lifted quickly and we had sunny weather for the better part of the whole day. No rain at all today. The view is nice enough; lots of mountains and trees. There were a few Killer Whales spotted but not a lot of action just the odd fin raised out of the water.

I have been a little sleepy with almost no sleep last night. I spent the foggy part of the morning watching movies. I spent the warmest part of the day out on the deck taking in the view. Later in the day I took the view from inside while I watched movies.

The ferry is scheduled to dock at around 10:30 pm. I will grab a campsite in town so I

can get supplies tomorrow as I am pretty much out of everything. I had planned to get supplies in Prince Rupert if I had been stuck in a layover; but that was not the case being able to get right on the Port Hardy ferry.

Sunday September 11, 2011

Do you remember where you were 10 years ago today?

I woke up to fog but it had not rained that night before. I also woke up rather tired from lack of sleep the night before. I rode into Port Hardy to pick up supplies and lunch. I got a late start but by the time I was on the go the weather was nice and sunny. I rode as quickly as I could to Port McNeill as I was told about a bike shop in that town. The store turned out to be closed for Sunday.

The day was a good day for riding and the riding was not too difficult. I rode 85 km’s today and camped just off a logging road.

Monday September 12, 2011

What a hot sunny day today. This is the fourth day in a row that

I have had no rain and only sun. It only took getting to September to get four days. It was hot too.

Today had a few bigger climbs and some nice long down hills. I rode to Sayward (junction). I decided to get a camping spot because I was a little desperate for a shower. The campground at the junction is neat and clean. They have an indoor lounge with a TV. I stayed up quite late updating my blog. There is a TV in the lounge; I mostly watched the news. I see not much has changed in the world and Canada since my ride started; everything is bleak. I am pretty sure I did 95 km’s today.

Tuesday September 13, 2011

The sky is cloudy today; in fact I never even seen the sun once today. But I never got wet either. I woke up sleepy after going to bed so late. I got a late start also; I wanted to give my bike a wipe down. My bike was looking a little dirty from Rennell Sound (on Queen Charlotte Island) and I needed to visit a bike shop today. There were some big

climbs getting past Sayward. Once I hit Campbell River the road smoothed out though.

Traffic has steadily been on the increase as I move south down the island. So far there are mostly no paved shoulders on this highway or the shoulders are in rough shape. I have stopped in a bike shop and had a tune up, replaced my back tire and replaced my back brake pads. My bike chain is still good.

I am leaving the main island highway and taking the Ocean Side Route. This is the scenic route and has a paved shoulder. The traffic is unbelievably busy. Campbell River seems to have a vision for the harbour and water front and the area is reasonably nice.

I found a place to camp outside of town. This was not easy though as most all of this area is built up along the road and ocean. I found a large undeveloped parcel of land to camp on. I only did about 70 km’s today due to a late start and my bike tune up. Not to mention how early it gets dark now.

Wednesday September 14, 2011

I did not sleep

right last night and woke up with a sore back and a kink in my neck. Again it is cloudy but the clouds seem to be moving on and blue sky is available. Traffic continues to be very heavy. I am not use to this. The Oceanside Route leaving Campbell River to Courtenay takes you away from the coast for this part of the highway. I rode into Courtenay to inquire about a bunch of ferry’s that take you to and connect you along the main land coast. This area is known as “The Sunshine Coast”.

I have decided to ferry to Powell River on the mainland. This area is connected by ferry’s that eventually get you to the City of Vancouver. From Vancouver I will have to take a ferry to Nanaimo to continue my ride on Vancouver Island. I don’t think I will be disappointed by this route.

I won’t get too far today. By the time I grabbed lunch and found the Info Center; got my information on “The Sunshine Coast” I had just missed my ferry across. Next ferry at 7:15 pm.

I didn’t realize how long this ferry was. The guy said

it was about 1 hour and 20 minutes. That puts me in Powell River after dark. As the ferry docked I asked a local about any place to camp. He said a few kilometers out of town was a place known as Myrtle Rocks. So in the dark I rode and found Myrtle Rocks along the ocean. I had a heck of a time falling sleep tonight. I am becoming preoccupied about the future once this ride comes to an end and I find myself become homesick for home (Belize).

There are more photos at the bottom of this page

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Vous croyez vous croyez pas c' est parail

Vous le croyez,vous le croyez pas,c'est pareil.C'est le premier moment que j'ai trouvé depuis le départ pour vous faire mon rapport.
Nous sommes vraiment en Chine nouvelle comme nos guides s'évertuent à nous le rappeler.Rien à voir avec le Vietnam bucolique et charmant.Non,ici c'est le moderniste qui prime,au détriment de l'histoire,du patrimoine et très probablement des individus(mais communisme oblige on est résolument tourné vers le futur pour le bien collectif)....au profit de qui ça on sait toujours pas)
Toujours est-il que la Chine est un immense pays surpeuplé.A titre d'exemple,hier lors d'une excursion nous traversions une agglomération,lorsque naïvement quelqu'un demanda au guide quelle était la population de l'endroit,elle répondit la population de ce village est de 850,000.quelqu'un à l'arrière du car fit la remarque qu'au Québec(avec un paquet de monde de même on fait une quinzaine de ville......cossé ça un village plus gros que la ville de Québec,aie on rit pu)
En partant de chongqoing une ville de 32,000,000 d'habitants qui en fait en contient 8,000,000 nous croyons que notre croisière sur le Yantze allait enfin nous permettre de découvrir la campagne mais la campagne est tellement bien caché derrière les villages qu'on ne l'a toujours pas vu.
Pékin(s'cuser si j'utilise le nom français de Bééejjjing c'est que j'ai pas l'orthographe exact),Xiam et Chongquing sont toutes d'immenses villes ou plutôt devrais -je dire d'immenses chantiers de construction.Le nombre et les dimensions des immeubles qui surgissent de terre dépasse l'imagination,c'est de la science fiction.Il y en a partout.
C'est simple on démolit tout et tout le temps et on construit du neuf.J'imagine que c'est ça  Chine nouvelle quoique je soupçonne qu'il y en a une vieille que nous apprécierions davantage mais qu'on ne semble pas trop pressé de nous montrer.....Va savoir...
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Volunteering Week Three

It´s crazy I am already halfway done with my time here, it went by so fast! I will again just summarize each day of my week, I still had spanish every morning and I was at San Judas Chico (the girl´s orphanage) every afternoon.

Monday (Sep. 12th)
I have decided to stay at San Judas Chicofor work every day this week. We just worked on homework today and I was with the older kids again. Turns out some of the math I was helping the girls with was for an exam today... oops. But the girls were so demanding for my help and some of them had no clue what they were supposed to do so I tried to teach them a little while helping, and I made them do as much work as I could. I realized I need to get better at asking the woman in charge of the room what the plan is every day so I don´t keep helping the girls with their exams. But it was actually a good day and I like to think I helped the girls at least a little bit with their understanding of math.

Tuesday (Sep. 13th)
The bus today from our house to San Judas took forever today (they are not on any real schedule) and they it finally came it was packed. So while I was trying to get in I put my hand on the part between the back sliding-door and the front passenger door (they are like mini vans, called combis) and lucky me my finger overlaped a bit into the passenger door part. SLAM. Right on my finger. I´ve had that happen before but this one was incredibly bad. The skin right under my fingernail was vut up and half my nail was black from the blood underneath, and it hurt like crazy. I wanted to just get off and go back home, but I had to go to work. Turns out work was kind of pointless anyways. The girls were practicing for a dance performance for tomorrow at their school so Vivi and I just kind of sat around and by the time they were done it was basically time for us to leave, and my finger was killing me, so we just left a bit early.

Wednesday (Sep 14th)
Although I was supposed to stay in one place this week I still wanted to visit Ccorca again. So I met Joao at 7 am to buy more oranges and then wait again for a taxi out to the town. This one was even more packed than the last with nine people (2 in the front seat, 4 in the back seat, and 3 in the trunk), and this is just a regular sized car, not a van. At Ccorca we went again to the market for some food (we were early this time) and, thank goodness, it wasn´t more sheep head soup today, just potatoes, rice, and chicken. We visited the preschool again which was even more fun this time because the kids were learning their numbers and shapes so I got to help with that, and they were adorable. Today at the elementary school we played futbol with the 4th graders which was a lot of fun again. The taxi ride home was a lot emptier which was nice but then right when we got back to Cusco it started raining. We made it to the spanish school without getting too drenched (I had classes in the afternoon) but it wasn´t unlocked yet since we were early, so we went down the street to a restaurant to wait. While we were there it started pouring. It was some of the hardest rain I have seen in a long time and it continued until the time we had to walk back for my classes, so by the time we got there I was soaked through my rain coat. I didn´t have another jacket with me, so I was freezing during classes and we finished early. When I got home I put on every piece of clothing I own to warm up!

Thursday (Sep. 15th)
My nail was still hurting a lot this morning and the blood had spread through most of my fingernail, so I emailed my personal doctor (my dad) for advice. To my displeasure he said I need to burn a hole in my nail to let the blood out and release the preasure. So now I have to find a paperclip to do this eventually and I am kind of scared. Today at San Judas the teacher for the younger kids wasn´t there so both Vivi and I were in the younger kids room to help out. They were just supposed to read some passages in their book and then they were free to play. Eventually most of them left to go to theater class so I went back over to the older kids room to see if anyone needed help with homework. I brought with me today some blank maps of South America to give to the girls since most know almost nothing about geography. My original plan was to have them color and name the countries and then cut them apart to make a puzzle, but it was a bit disorganized since I just gave them out to girls who were done with their homework. So I just had them color and label the maps to keep, and hopefully they learned something.

Friday (Sep. 16th)
My last day of spanish classes today was bittersweet. I really liked my teacher and I think the classes helped a lot, but now I will be able to sleep a bit more in the mornings I think. To celebrate I bought two slices of cake for us to eat during break and I gave her a farewell present. Back at San Judas this afternoon and it was the last day Vivi and I were here together (next week she will be working at a school for disabled kids in the afternoons.) It was a free day for the girls today, no homework, so they were scattered around, some watching TV, some playing outside, and some working with Vivi and I on the maps and other handouts we had with us. We could have organized the girls for an activity, but they were having a good time just hanging out so we just hung out with them and helped the ones who wanted out help (the little girls especially wanted to play with us which was a lot of fun.) When I got home tonight I did the dreaded deed of burning a hole in my nail with the paperclip. And it was actually incredible! I went really slowly since I was scared to burn too deep, but when the blood started coming out of the hole my finger felt a billion times better, it was amazing! I will probably loose the fingernail eventually and it still doesn´t look too great, but it looks better than before and feels sooo much better. Thanks dad, you´re a genius!

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