Kill The Wabbit

I went on an unofficial rabbit hunt, in order to stop the beasts from eating all the vegetables in the garden. With a 22, I shot a poor little rabbit. Then I skinned him from head to tail (it was easier than I thought it would be to take off the fur) and then....we ate him! Delicious! However, skinned rabbit smells like death; I don't really like it that much. But once cooked, all smells of death abate. Anyway, this is a photo of me and the poor headless, skinless bunny.

Go Car Go

Last weekend we had an Ice Cream Social for about 60 pre-war vehicles. Among them were many Packards, Cadillacs and Lincolns as well as one each of Nash, Franklin, Stutz, Bentley, Rolls and maybe one Chrysler. The oldest car there was from the early 20s and the youngest in the 40s. The folks in these cars, The Classic Car Club of America, did a tour around California and Nevada called the “Far Out West CARavan”, starting in Sacramento, going on back roads through places such as Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain and Reno, and ending back in Sacramento 8 days later. You can read about it in the Feather River Bulletin. You can find more photos HERE.

Too High To Get Over

Climbing Mt Shasta is something that not everyone wants to do. Sometimes I wonder why people, myself included, subject themselves to such pain and misery. I usually wonder this as I am trudging up an almost 90 degree hill, wheezing from the lack of oxygen, and tired from climbing since before dawn. 
 

We started the first day in good spirits. At 6,900 ft, it is easy to be in good spirits! We hiked until Horse Camp, which is about 2 or 2.5 miles and is the last source of water (fresh from Shasta Mountain springs…delicious!). After Horse Camp, all you can do is melt snow for water. So, we filled up on water, said goodbye to Buffy, Sierra and Levi, who had hiked up with us to that point, and headed up the hill. 

From this point on, it was snow the whole way. No trail, just straight up the mountain in the snow.

After hiking about 6 hours, we reached Lake Helen, which was where we were going to stay the night. Lake Helen sits at about 10,400 ft and is pretty much the only flat spot on the mountain, which is probably why it is a good place to stop. We set up camp and started making dinner. Shortly after eating, we went to bed. 

We got up at 3 am to start the climb to the summit. Randy and Matt surged ahead, while Dad and I kept up the rear. I thought the day before was hard, but this climb REALLY WAS straight up! Wearing crampons and using our ice axes, we crept up the mountain, rest step by rest step, finally reaching the top about 6 hours later. Once we reached the summit (14,179 ft), we knew why we did this. From the top you can see Mt. Lassen, Oregon and much of the Cascade Range. The 360 view is amazing. The day was sunny and mostly clear and the mountains around us were beautiful. We also saw some sort of fighter plane that whooshed RIGHT past us as we were standing atop the mountain. It can’t get much better than this!

We were tired, hungry and burnt (sooooo burnt!) but now we still had to climb down. Luckily, you can climb part of the way down and the other half you can glissade, which is like riding a big slide down the mountain. You just sit in the snow and cruise down on your butt. It is cold and wet, but we got down to Lake Helen in about 2 hours. You cant beat that!! 

At Lake Helen, we packed up the tent, took half hour naps and tried to stay out of the sun, which was burning us up from the top and the bottom. From Lake Helen back to Horse Camp took a couple of hours; we didn’t get to glissade as much as we wanted, but we did hit a couple of slides, and so it made going down a little quicker. We got back to Bunny Flats (6,900 ft) and the car around 5, starved, burned, tired and sore, but glad we made it.

See Photos HERE.

There's a Cornshop On The Corner

(Written June 9) I am leaving Iowa, and in my wake, I am leaving miles and miles of 6 inch stalks of corn. It is nice to finally see some greenery in Iowa; the landscape has been mostly brown and white for the last 6 months. The tiny little shoots are finally dotting the landscape and creating a feeling of Spring in the air.

I learned a few things about corn while in Iowa, some of it, ironically from a book that I just happened to read while I was here, called Omnivore’s Dilemma, and much of it from the farmers and locals themselves. For instance, did you know that pretty much all of Iowa’s corn is not eaten in it’s natural form by humans? By this I mean that most of the corn grown in Iowa is considered “type-2” corn, and is used for animal feed and processed foods, such as corn meal and corn syrup. Oh and of course don’t forget about Ethanol.

There is very little “sweet corn” (edible corn) that is grown in the state. Also, I don’t know if I was the only one that thought this, but I was under the impression that when the corn was harvested, the combine took it off as a whole cob. However, that is not the case. The combine strips the cobs off the stalk and then the kernels off the cob and distributes this into a trailer that drives along side it. The cobs, stalks and leaves get put on the ground and later get rolled into bales or put in a corn crib where they dry out and are either fed to cattle or put back on the fields later for fertilizer of sorts.

Speaking of fertilizer, the farmers in Iowa used to keep a few animals around in order to fertilize their crops (which were also a lot smaller back in the day). Until after World War II, when scientists were trying to figure out what to do with some of the left over agents of chemical warfare. Enter the man made fertilizer that we know today. After that was figured out, the farmers nearly stopped using animal manure all together. Until recently, when huge pig farms cropped up in the Iowa landscape. These farms each hold about 2,500 pigs each and are quite plentiful. I don’t know the exact facts, but there something like 2 or 3 times the amount of pigs to people in Iowa. There are about 3 million people in Iowa, so do the math. Anyway, some farmers get the pig manure and use it on their fields.

Anyway, I digress. While I was in Iowa, my main job was doing damage assessments for Drainage Districts. A drainage district is a district made up of 2 or more farmers who share drainage pipe or ditches. The farmers in Iowa used to use clay pipe which has holes in it in order to get water into it; they would run it a couple feet underneath their fields so that when there was excessive water, it would drain down through the ground, into the pipe and then get carried to a ditch and eventually into the river. At least two farmers have to share the pipe for it to become a “district”, otherwise it is considered privately owned. So I spent a lot of time while in Iowa looking at fields, ditches and pipes. Actually I learned a lot while I was there and the people of the mid-west were quite friendly and usually eager to answer all my annoying questions about corn and drainage.

Shasta hike

We went to the top! Avalanche gulch and Misery Hill were the worst!!!
But we made it! PS they just changed the elevation to 14,179.

NYC

Here is a pic of our recent trip to NYC. We had a great time... Went to see In The Heights, (Mr L hated it, I LOVED it!), went to a Yankees Game (the Yankees won, unfortunately... but it was very fun! The new stadium is COOL!) and went to Central Park for a nice walk. This picture is us and our friends, the Berreaux, whose wedding we went to in October. We met with them for some Vietnamese food and good conversation...They are expeciting a baby in September!! (Seth doesnt waste any time!) We had a great trip; it was too short as always... I "heart" NYC!!

Central Park

From our recent trip to NYC.

Still Life of my Desk

Courtesy of Kathy, Lea, Sara, Grant, Dad and Mr L. See if you can
find yours!!!

Pictures!

I finally put a few photos on the flickr site from the last couple of months...




Please enjoy!! www.flickr.com/photos/kyriaw

Good Times!!

Went to good ol' Wrigley Field this weekend!!

Proof

We went to the Cubs game this weekend...it was a great game, it went into extra innings and the Cubs ended up winning at the end...It was fun to see Wrigley Field and the weather couldn't have been better. And...the Yankees got beat 22 - 4!!! I was going to wear my Giants hat, but ended up trying to keep the locals cool, so instead got a cubs hat. Here is "proof" we made it (obviously we didnt buy the photo though!)

Clue...

K with the revolver in the museum.

Ore-GONE

We took a few days off a couple of weeks ago and went to Oregon...Portland, to be exact. It was 4 days of go, go, go...not much of a "relaxing" vacation, but very fun!!
The first few days we rented a car and pretty much covered the whole of north-western Oregon (and some of WA as well!!) The first day we went to the Columbia River Gorge and did some hiking. It was a little muddy, as it had just snowed the weekend before and had not totally thawed, but MAN was it nice to get outside, walk into the mountains and trees and to take a deep breath of fresh mountain air.
The next day we did a super-duper tour of Washington and Oregon... We started at Mt. St Helens, which was covered by fog, but was still a beautiful drive through the snowy mountains. I found my dream piece of land -- a plot up on the mountain overlooking the lake...only problem is that you could get a little eruption! Then we drove south and went through Warm Springs and Sisters, which are cute little mountain towns.
The next day, I re-introduced Mr L to the wonderful West Coast...we drove to the coast, went to the Columbia River Maritime Museum, which was pretty cool...Then to the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale, which has been stranded on the beach of Fort Stevens since 1906. We went house shopping in Cannon Beach (where the movie The Goonies was shot!!), just becuase it is so fun to dream of living in one of those beautiful homes on the beach...then we went to Tillamook, where there is a cheese factory. We ate free cheese and got out of there becuase it was packed (rainy Saturday, what did we expect).
We spent the next day exploring Portland, which is a very walker friendly town and has lots of fun places to eat and fun neighborhoods to explore. Tristan's recommendation of the Tin Shed for breakfast was probably our favorite place of all.

Now it is back to the old grindstone...and the flat plains of Iowa.

No Range at All

We went to the driving range today. I kind of suck but it's good fun.
The indoor range (it's still a bit cold and windy) is fun but you can
only hit it so far. Luckily I don't have to worry about that!!

I milked these goats!

Big tits on the right, little tits on the left.

Butt Grab at 6 MPH

And you wonder why I put up with him?? Sometimes I do too!!! There is at least one good thing about him however -- he has good timing!

And We Raaaan…We Ran So Far Away….

…As the Flock of Seagulls say. Except we did not, “run all night and day”. We only ran for two hours, 8 minutes and 18 seconds and two hours, 9 minutes and 19 seconds…which is long enough!

It was a beautiful day in New Bedford, MA….The temperature was perfect – about 50 degrees, with a bit of a breeze – great for running! We were ready; Mr L had 6 packs of “Goo” (like a squeeze power bar), I had peed about 4 times (I am always worried about having to go during the race)…

We set the pace right at the beginning with our first mile – about 9:40, which was all we were hoping for, somewhere below a 10 minute mile. After that it was all downhill…and then uphill…and then downhill….and finally flat. We pretty much maintained a 9:40ish mile the whole way.

We got to the end about 2 hours later. After a surprise hill at the 12th mile (those bastards) and a wave from Mrs. Bee at the end of the 12th (in her St Pat’s day green, which matched all the race crew), we sprinted the last .1 mile, just in time to make it just under a 10 minute mile!! Whew!

We had a marvelous lunch with Grandma Sue of typical New England fare (as well as a couple glasses of wine – woo hoo!!) then headed home for some family time (and dinner – go carb loading!) at the farm before heading to the airport to go home.

All in all, a successful weekend! Oh, I forgot to mention – I milked a goat. In doing so, I learned that it is easier to milk small tits than to milk big tits. Hurrah for small tits!!

30 is Not So Bad After All!!!

Last night I decided to do a "test run" - to run outside in the cold to see if I was going to do okay in Mass. If you don't already know, it snowed over a foot in the Boston and surrounding areas last weekend and the weather now is in the 20s...and I have less than two weeks until the race!! So...I decided to run outside last night. It was 30 degrees in Des Moines (with a windchill -- feels like -30! No, just kidding, it was in the teens with the windchill). My plan: Run 10 miles. I mapped out a route, I got off work early enough so it would be light outside. I went to my hotel and put on my test outfit: gloves, hat, pants, sweater and long socks.

I started off. The first mile was HORRIBLE!!! I knew I was never going to survive the cold of the race!! My lungs were on fire, my cheeks were numb, my feet hurt...I was running through snow and frozen grass. I decided that maybe I would only run 3 miles (the shortest loop I could do without just turningn around and giving up). I missed the treadmill for once.

At mile two, the wind was lesser (or I had gotten used to it?) and the sun started to set, leaving me with a nice view of the sunset. I hit a "hill" in the sidewalk -- great training for the race! It was getting better... By mile three, I decided to do another loop. It wasn't so bad afterall.

So, after my original thought that I was going to die, I decided that it may not be TOOOO bad after all. I hope!!! Pray for sun, that's all I can say!

Where Are My Pants?

I guess I have to drag out my long underwear for the race!!

I sure hope it doesnt snow...

Luckily in Iowa this week it is supposed to be up to the 30s and maybe 40s...so I will probably try to brave a practice run outside. Maybe.

Dinner Will Drag Me Down

Some foods NOT to eat before you go running:

1. Taco Salad

2. Anything with HERBS (ie. herb cream cheese)

3. Anything with SPICES (ie. Mexican food)

4. Anything with any flavor at all!!

All this I have learned from experience. Yet, somehow I keep forgetting. I go to lunch and it is sooooo good...and then I go running 5 hours later and I regret having a nice burrito for lunch. So, on the day of the race, I shall eat...something very plain!!!

So, Lucy and Gma are going to be there to cheer us on. Now we really can't flake, I guess.

Gonna Run Baby Run!!

I think the Kings of Leon said it great when they said, “Gonna run baby run like a stream down the mountainside…with the wind at my back, I wont ever even bat an eye.” There is more to the song, but I like that line, because when I am running, and I am feeling like not running, it makes me run just a little bit faster.

Maybe you have guessed what I am getting at; I am running again. Still not love-love-loving it, but somehow there is a peace to it once you hit a certain pace that is…pretty nice. And of course when you are done, it is great. And I don’t mean great because it’s over, but great because it does give you a certain high feeling which is nice. A long run and a glass of wine and I am toast!

All the experts say the best way to make sure you keep up with your training is to sign up for a race. That means you have to train, because if you don’t train you will either run really badly at the race, or skip the race all together. So, on top of that they tell you to sign up for a race and tell a bunch of people. So that way you will hopefully NOT skip the race OR do badly because now people are going to watch you and ask you about it later and you will want to save yourself the embarrassment.

Having said that, I feel the need to inform everyone that I signed up for a race. I signed Mr. Lovely up too, so now he can’t flake out either. He actually is the one that suggested it – the New Bedford (his home town) half marathon. He has wanted to run a half marathon for a while now and what better than one in his very own home town! So he finally convinced me to do it as well, although I have not been running for the last year and now I am in Iowa, where it is negative many frosty toes wind chill factor degrees outside!

Running in Louisiana was interesting – it was usually very hot, sometimes kind of chilly and once in a while (winter time mostly) perfect. There are running trails everywhere and when Mira and I needed a long run, we just ran from the office; it was about 10 miles to our hotel from there. Here in Iowa, in the middle of winter, there are not many choices. Apparently, from what I can see, they DO have a lot of running trails, but right now they are not really accessible. I did try to run outside one time – it was probably about 20 degrees outside. I ran for about 4 minutes, and then walked the rest of the 2 mile loop. I have not gone back there again. I have been running on the treadmill, which is a drag. It is already hard enough to run for an hour straight but on the treadmill all you have to stare at for an hour is the wall. Needless to say, I have been staring at the wall a lot.

Ironically enough, I am a little worried about the weather in Massachusetts; it will be cold. Perhaps I should go outside and run after all. Do a little “weather” training instead of strength training…

So, will my treadmill training pay off? I don’t know, but yesterday I ran 8 miles, so now I know that I can run 13 – once you get going, it gets easier and easier. So, I may not finish fast, but I will finish! Will I freeze before reaching the finish? Maybe I will, but if I do make it to the end, I expect a nice glass of wine waiting for me!

Homeward Bound

Tonight I get on a plane and go...home...yay! I am very excited to see the family and some long lost friends, get some work done and eat some real Mexican food! First stop will be Sacramento, which is just a jumping off point and a convenient place to buy groceries and to stock up on...well, anything really. Then a bit of a drive home to see my mom...yay! Dinner plans for Saturday night include Sara, Grant and Jay, games and pork loin, cooked by Mr. Lovely.

After putting Mr. Lovely to work, Mom and I will lay around and read and eat bon-bons... hehe... No, I want to show him around the local area etc... Then we will go to San Francisco, which I am very excited about as well, as I have not been there in...seems like years! When I was home last time I did not get a chance to go to the city -- I want to eat and eat and eat!!

Anyway, cant wait to see everyone!! California here I come!

January Ends

January....almost over! Happy Birthday to Mr. L, Karen M and Brandon D!!! I miss you all!

This month has been pretty interesting -- I have been living in a place with snow, which I have not done in about 12 years. It has been fun having it around, although sometimes one gets tired of the semi trucks who drive 70 mph in the middle of a snowstorm and then you pass them a couple miles later jackknived on the side of the road...and tired of trying to figure out things to do inside!! But, we have balanced this with a few snow days at work -- yes, SNOW DAYS!!!

Also, there has been a little bit of traveling in order to get away for the weekend -- I went to Mass, which was not really much warmer, but I got to spend time with Mr L's family (sorry, grandma!). We also went to Boston and took a very small road trip to Vermont, which was beautiful. The houses with their gables and dormers (I am learning about these...) really are postcard perfect, especially with snow on them, which there was.

Mr L and I also met in Memphis last weekend and had a great day exploring the city. Unfortunately, Mr L got sick on the second day and so we did not get a chance to go to Graceland and see Elvis. Ah, well, next time, I suppose.

This weekend is the Superbowl, which I suppose I may watch, but am not really very interested in... However, Dad is back! Hurray for the return of Dad!! So we will probably hang out inside somewhere...and why not a loud sports bar, right? (or my couch perhaps...)

Goodbye January...and now we are one more step closer to spring....

A Test: My Desk

This is to test my skills at photo taking and email blogging. Here is
a photo of my wall paraphanalia. It is hot in Iowa today -- 30 degrees!!

Signs: We Love 'Em!!

I am FINALLY starting to go through some of my pictures from South America/all of 2008!! As I was sorting them out, I noticed I had a lot of photos of signs. So, I compiled them. I have about 160 photos of various street, caution, elevation, food signs...and more! A couple of my favorites are shown above. Another couple dozen can be found here.

Bad Santa!

I have been MUY MAL at blogging lately....the only thing around here to talk about is the cold, which by the way, a quick update of -- today the high was minus 5. Yeah with a windchill of -38. Sweet!!

Anyway, I was just looking at Sara's blog and saw her marvelous pictures of Penelope (pronounce Peen-a-lope) and I just have to include a link for those becuase they are so fun! Click here to see our wonderful snow-woman. Of course all credit and copyrights go to Sara and Grant. Hear, hear!

Other than that, I am trying to keep warm, eating way too much and...training for a half marathon -- which I am scared about because I am doing it on the treadmill, which I hate. My big run so far is 4 miles, but I am supposed to be up to about 6 already...ug. Mr. Lovely and I are training together/apart, but he says he doesnt want to run with me at the half marathon because I will cramp his style.

My friend Lea has joined me in Iowa; it is good to have an old time buddy back in town. We are very creatively trying to figure out fun things to do when you can't stay outside for more than 10 minutes without getting frostbite. Needless to say, we have seen many movies, played indoor glow in the dark mini golf, gone bowling, played cards, had girl's nights and...eaten a lot (but I am pretending to run it off!)

Don't forget to check out Penelope! She is hottttt!

Slippin' and A-Slidin'

Steering into the skid is something that when you are driving and skidding, your instincts rebel against. You go around a corner and you start to skid. You want to turn your wheel the opposite way to correct it. Wrong!

This morning when I got up there were 6 new inches of snow on the ground. The roads were half plowed; they had probably been done around 4 or 5 o’clock, but it was now 6 o’clock. I have a Pontiac G6. The ironic thing is this: For work we are only allowed to rent a compact car. Many people I work with are from Florida, Texas etc…places that never get snow. So, you have a bunch of novice snow drivers driving around in compact cars in 6 inches of snow.

So I drove to work…slipping and sliding the whole way here… but I got lots of practice at steering into the skid!

Hell Has Frozen Over...

It is official; hell has frozen over. This morning it was -3 degrees, with a wind chill....feels like -25! Well, Iowa sure is showing us her stuff! Honestly, the negative 2 is not so bad, but when the wind is blowing it literally takes your breath away! Stay tuned for more...they say it gets down to NEGATIVE 35. Going home for Christmas, when it is only in the 30s is going to be like taking a vacation to Hawaii. I am very excited for the upcoming holidays; all my shopping is done!! Can't wait to see everyone!

Children of The Corn

After a long discussion with the United Rep, I made my way to Des Moines, Iowa. Via Omaha. Via Seattle. Via Tobin. Via San Francisco. Via New York. Via Massachusetts. Via South America.

I spent some time with K in Danville, eating and....um, eating. We had a list of places and types of food that we wanted to sample and we spent about 5 days living up to our dreams. The last day with her was spent in Berkeley, with her roommies and her Mom, going on a food extravaganza....for breakfast, chinese and tea, for snack pizza, and for desert, cupcakes and then....for another snack, chocolate. By 3 we were stuffed and so K dropped me off with my mom and we headed to Tobin.

I stayed in Tobin for a few weeks, visiting with Mom, Sara, Lea and Nadine and then headed to Seattle for our Thanksgiving up at Karl and Ruths. We ate some more (I even ate some turkey!) and we played lots of games and generally had a blast!

From Seattle, I was supposed to fly to Des Moines, but due to weather and a mechanical problem, I couldnt make my connection, so ended up having to go to Omaha instead (first time there, wow, its great *wink, wink*) and then drive to Des Moines. Luckily I had my Dad as company, as he had had problems getting his flight as well.

Now I am in Iowa; it was 18 degrees yesterday morning and snowing today. Welcome to work and welcome to winter!

Mawidge..its whats bwings us togetha today...

From Columbia, the first stop was in Massachusetts - to meet Mr L's family (all 400 of them...who turned out to be pretty nice *wink, wink*) and to see Grandma Sue, Aunt Lucy, Hannah and Nick as well as my friend Dave and his kids Emma and Finn (we missed Penny!!) We spent a few days there, meeting up with friends, eating, eating, drinking, shopping and eating... If you get a chance to go to the Roasted Pig in New Bedford, I reccommend it; it is very good! Also, Mrs. Bee's House puts on a very good lunch on Sunday! So, after cramming ourselves full of food and my having met about 487 new people, we decided to leave town for a respite....

We got on the train in Providence and took it down to New York City, where we had a nice hotel in Times Square. Wow, it sure is nice to be home and sleep in clean, soft beds and take real, hot showers!! The simple pleasures in life! Mr. Lovely and I spent the first night, which was our anniversary night (he has put up with me for a whole year!) having a very nice dinner in the City. There are such an abundance of places to eat...I think the eating binge in not even close to over! We spent the next day strolling the city and at night we went and saw Wicked, the Broadway show... If you get a chance, you really should check it out...it was Wonderful!

The next three days were spent doing Seth Berr wedding events, which were also wonderful. On Friday we had a meet and greet for out of towners which began at the Thai restaurant where Seth met his wife and ended at a bar with over 100 themed shots, where you have to wear a wig and play a song while taking your shot. Saturday we had the wedding at the Water Club, which is right on the East river -- great location, great food and very great company abound! Sunday, we had brunch at the Russian Tea Room, which was opened in 1927 by former members of the Russian Imperial Ballet as a gathering place for Russian expatriates and became famous as a gathering place for those in the entertainment industry. Again, it was top notch.

We spent the next couple of days just wandering around the city...We love Greenwich Village!! Eating, eating and eating again...I love the food here! Yesterday we split, Mr. Lovely went back to NOLA and I came to San Francisco. I am staying with K for a few days, then it is up North to hang out with Mom for a while...cant wait!

Last Day!!!

Today I sat in a speedboat coming from Playa Blanca going back to Cartegena and I felt like the lead character in a movie...who is sitting on a ___________ (pick your moving vehicle) looking out the window, reflecting on _____________ (whatever happened in the movie). Fade to black. Roll credits.

So, today I am fading to black on our 10 country, almost 10 month journey to the South of the Equator (and a tiny bit of North)...starring many main characters and many, many guest appearances.

Roll Credits.... Thanks to the Academy...and to Mr. Lovely, my parents and CK, without whom I would have never been able to make it through this trip. Thanks to S, Grant, KE, Rafe, M and HN who all joined us for part of the action and adventure and with whom I had a wonderful time and can't wait to see again. Thanks to all my friends and family for putting up with my long gaps in phone calls and/or emails. And for the crappy quality of them once they arrived.

Cartegena and Juice

We have finally arrived at our final destination, Cartegena. After walking around the old town area, which is fabulous, we had a fresh juice (there are so many!) and met up with another traveler to watch the Columbia soccer game. We spent the next day going to a mud volcano where you can actually sit in the mud and it is supposed to have many healthy properties. To me, it was just kind of gross. Sitting in a mud bath with 30 other people while not being able to move away from them is kind of weird to me. And there are these guys there that want to massage you and it just makes me kind of disgusted... Other than that, in Cartegena we admired the beautiful architecture of the old town and enjoyed the street food and juices...

So, from here we will fly out - Chris to Chicago and I to Boston and New York... The end is upon us!

Ciudad Perdida

Whew! We just got back from a 6 day hike into the jungles of Columbia, where we crossed the Buritaca River 9 times in seach of the elusive Ciudad Perdida (Lost City). It being the rainy season, we hiked in the mornings while it was sunny (mostly) and then (mostly) took it easy, chatted and swam in the afternoons while it rained. Our group was good, 4 kiwis, 1 scot and Chris and I. We all got along great, as well as pretty much hiked at about the same pace. Our guide, Wilson (fitting) was great, but only spoke Spanish, so those of us who spoke Spanish had to translate for those that didnt. It was actually great practice for my Spanish skills.

The hike was very difficult. Every day we went up a huge muddy hill and back down the other side of it, to end up campìng near the river. The next day we would do the same. It was about 85 degrees most of the time, with a humidity of about 98 percent, much like hiking in New Orleans would be if they had any hills. However, although we did have to carry our own bags, we did not have to carry or make our own food, so it was not as hard as it could have been. Nothing like carrying 20 cans of tuna on the Patagonia hike!

We arrived at the Lost City on day three and got to explore it a bit in the afternoon. It is massive! However, only about 10 percent of the city is uncovered for tourists to explore. I cant really even fathom how big the entire thing really is. The city was discovered in 1972, but unfortunately was raided by a bunch of gold seekers, who raided the tombs in the city (the dead were buried with their possesions, often gold and ceramics, to take to their next life with them). Finally the military intervened and people caught selling the relics in the nearby towns were punished. In the mid 80s, tours were started.

In 2003, 8 tourists were kidnapped from the Lost City by a Columbian terrorist group, who demanded government investigation of human rights groups in return for the hostages. Eventually they were all released, unharmed, and the trail as well as the site are both safely guarded by the military at the current moment. We even got pictures at the top with the military guys who are stationed there. They have some wickedly huge guns!

Now we are back in the real world, the not so lost city, and are enjoying a couple of half days on the beach (it is still raining a lot) before heading off to Parque National Tayrona for some hiking etc.

Mitad Del Mundo and More!!!

For the first time in about 9 months, we are back in the Northern Hemisphere! We spent one week in Ecuador, ending in Quito and visiting the Mitad Del Mundo, or Center of the World, where we straddled the equator and passed for the first time into the N. Hemisphere. Next we crossed over into Columbia, where we are now.

Columbia is not as scary as the US Government would lead you to believe, but there are still some precautions that should be taken. Buses have been known to be hijacked at night, so we have not been taking buses at night (obviously!) However, this means we have to do all of our travel during the day, which cuts into our time to explore the country. However, the scenery here is beautiful; the mountains are all green and they are in their growing season, so there are plants and vegetables and fruits everywhere!

We first stopped in Pasto, in a 7 dollar flea bitten hotel near the bus station. That was a 10 hour rest stop so we wouldnt have to travel at night. Then we went to a nice little colonial town called Popayan, where the streets are all numbers and you can get lost, but not in a bad way. Next we went to the town of San Augustin, which sits at the top of the Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range) and looks down onto the valley of the River Magdalena. We took a horseback tour to a bunch of old ruin sites which are from BC.

Our most recent stop is here in Bogota, where we are now. It is nice to be in the city, where there is semi decent internet, but it is just so big and everything is so expensive....we are looking forward to our next stop, Valle de Leyva, where we will go hiking and biking and nature watching.

Sicko

Whew! Well, I must have ate something bad, becuase I was pretty sick for a little while...Luckily, thanks to the F word and Mr L, I was put up in the Lima Sheraton for a few days, which allowed me to get better in style.

Then I met up with Chris and we headed up to Trujillo, which is the jumping off point for the ruins of Chan Chan. Chan Chan is an all adobe city, which is reputed to be the biggest adobe pre-Columbian city in the Americas. It was partly pile of dirt, partly cool old fortress.

Next we headed to Ecuador, where we are now. First stop, the city of Cuenca, where they make Panama Hats (go figure, Panama Hats are NOT from Panama). We went to a National Park and did some hiking, it rained on us a bit, and we sampled the local fare (really good buns!!) Then we took the bus to Baños, where we are now. Baños is the city of hot springs and massages, so we went to the hot springs (it was closed) and then got a massage (only 17 dollars - Ecuador uses dollars so it really seems like my money is going faster...is that weird).

Next is the city of Quito, where we will visit the ecuator and then head north to Columbia. Our trip (feels like it) is nearing the end....we only have a little over a month left!!! It will be strange to be back in the States, doing NORMAL stuff again...will I be able to handle it!!?? We shall see.....