Below are the 13 most recent journal entries recorded in Indiana Phil's LiveJournal:

Friday, January 26th, 2007
4:42 am	site changes Well I see Snapfish was a total letdown for being a safeplace to post pictures- if you don't buy something, they junk 'em. So, I'll be putting up a neat travel site of my adventures with video, references, guides, etc. All my travel friends who are interested are invited to contribute their journeys and experiences as well. (It will probably be Walk this World.com) I'll keep you posted. Sorry the video and pic's from Thailand post-Tsunami didn't make it here. More problems with sites not wanting to use up to much bandwidth- but don't worry - it'll all be on the new site soon. So if we don't talk "Happy trails to you, until we meet again....!" Phil (Comment on this)
Sunday, February 12th, 2006
1:45 pm	Antartica & Argentina Journal 06 Wow, this year started out with a bang! Right after New Year's I was off to beautiful Buenos Aires. This is like a Euro capital placed in temperate South America. People from all over Europe migrated here in the last 150 years, so when you look around you see Euro's...Swedes, Italians, Greeks and more all speaking this beautiful Castillian Spanish. Love is always in the air in B.A. and you can see a romantic couple on every corner. People dress up to go out for dinner and everyone seems to have a little extra flair of passion in their view of life. Of course I got right into the tango lessons, but I didn't dare get out on the dance floor. I didn't care to be the only barbarian on display with my unsubtle moves. There's a quiet beauty that lies in the "Tango-connection", and once you have that, you can do most anything. I don't have it,yet, and would look like a slam dance if I were to dive in. With the going exchange rate ($3 to 1 Pesata) a three hour lesson with practice is about $5. They have continuous lesson blocks from 10 a.m. til 7, so one could literally get lessons and dance all day for $15. Pretty good deal. Argentines love beef, and from what I'm told they have some of the best in the world. Every, I mean EVERY restaurant has some combination of this menu; Beef, pasta, salad. Or, Pasta, beef, salad. Out of 20 restaurants, 18 will have the identical menu. It seems a tradition in South American countries for people to gather, hang out, and loll in the parks. Same here. In fact they even have a fenced-in park within the park where you can bring your dog to go and hand out with other dogs. How strange that is to see groups of dogs playing with a stick, others laying on their backs and others just sitting and watching or walking around without any people! A brief trip to Iguazu Falls; These are monsterous beautiful waterfalls between the borders of Argentina and Brazil. It takes quite a bit of walking (along nicely paved paths) to get to the falls and it's usually very hot weather (112 F) when I was there, but worth the effort- spectacular cascades of mountains of water exploding over the falls. Walked down what seemed thousands of steps to the river's edge and jumped in a power boat and went UNDER THE FALLS- wow, the cool water was so refreshing on my overheated body that I screamed in delight with others as we went back time and time again for another shower. I paid $20 or 30 bucks for a video which arrived at my hotel room later that day. There were a few brief clips of my boat gang in clear video and a bunch of old vhs clips of the falls transfered from Vhs to DVD on it. Ok for memories but certainly not for pro use. Another evening (Big) boat ride took me up the Parana River to where Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil joined. Probably would have visited the Brazilian side but they wanted $120 (for Americans only) for a visa just to step into the country. The jungle and the falls looked pretty much the same to me, so I let them keep their attitude, and I kept my tourist money. ANTARTICA: Flew to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. This is pretty much where the Andes Mountains end (though there is some trace of them in Antartica from a long time ago). Got aboard the Marco Polo, a 400 passenger cruiseliner that was designed to handle the icy seas around Russia. She'd been converted into a full cruise liner and is one of the few ships licensed to get close enough to Antartica to make landings. I had many creature comforts (including heat) that the outrageously brave (or stupidly egotistical) explorers of yore did not have. If one of the nasty instant weather changes that Antartica is known for occurred, I'd take the cold for a few minutes and go inside. Those early explorer's would just take it. Guess that's why so many of them died. Let's look at this: I crossed one of the most dangerous bodies of water on earth TWICE - the Darwin Passage/Cape Horn, and the Sea's were all like glass. I made 4 landings in a Zodiac across freezing waters to get onto freezing land and ice. If it tipped (by a playful Orca or whale) I'd have less than 3 minutes of swim time before freezing. All 12 of the people in my landing party were on edge as we'd wisk by the chunks of ice broken off of a distant glacier. I'd break the "ice" (ha-ha) and the tense uncertainty of that ride with a little song "There's no stoppin' us now..." They were sooo careful about the environment and not messing it up. OUr boots would be sprayed before we left the ship and before we returned just so swe didn't accidently leave something to upset the fragile balance. Saw lots and lots of whales, two groups of Orca, seals, lots of different penguins and birds. Poor penguins. Everybody eats 'em; Orca, seals (leopard seals are so evil, they toy with the penguins before they eat 'em), Skua's - it's a big nasty bird that just walks up, steals their eggs and defenseless chicks. The environment is not only the driest but one of the more surreal on earth. A small patch of brilliant blue sky gives way to misty grey clouds, then an ever looming strata of charcoal grey cloud, the white, blue-white of glacial ice, the greys and blacks of the land accented with the various red lichen, and the shimmering blue-grey water. Even when the sun was out a clash or mix of color was unseen. The sun would set at 11:30 p.m. and sometimes we'd see that "Golden light" of sunset. Spectacular billowing clouds would amass at sea level and wisp their ghostly arms over distant peninsulas. Pretty interesting to watch from afar. It's a rare sight one can see when floating around the inside of a partially submerged volcano. (Deception island). Though it last blew up about 40 years ago, I was happy to not be in the path of unexpected eruption. Patagonia: What a place of spectacular beauty! In Ushuaia I rode the "Tren de fin del mundo" - Train to the end of the world. A small steam engine train on real small gauge tracks that winds it's way into the forrest. Used to be used for transport of prisoners to work camps. Toured Tierra del Fuego" Land of Fires- named after the thousands of fires the seamen used to observe as lit by the native Yamana tribes to scare off the invaders. These natives would go around naked in the winter by rubbing Sea Lion fat on themselves! Brrrrr! Went to see more great glaciers in Calafate and went on a horseback trek across the plains and mountains. More details and pictures late. Goodnite and sweet dreams to all. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 15th, 2004
1:39 pm	New Year's down under fun Further Down Under >>On a whim I travelled to the very southernmost part of NZ to a >>college town, Dunedin. Stayed in a marvelously renovated old hotel >>named Leviathon which reminded me a lot of The Grey Moss Inn, a 100 >>year old hotel that I remodeled in Florida in the 1980's.The town >>itself had a New and Old enrgy mixture, combining 150 year old >>architecture and the power of youthful spirit from it's University >>of Otago- the primary reason for Dunedins' being.December is our >>winter in the Northern Hemisphere but it's their summer, although >>because of the various weather conditions changing from clear to >>cloudy to sunny to breezy, it seemed like it was always spring or >>fall there. >>I toured the southern coast through an area called "the Caitlins" >>in whhich there were Albatross, penguin and rare bird colonies, >>and they in turn were next to all type of sea critters like >>Elephant seals, sea lions, and seals. >I hoped (and hopped, too!) across a small strait of water to Stewart Island (pop. >300)on a double-engined commercial airplane whose pilot not only >issued my ticket but took it also while he wheeled baggage and guide >passengers to the plane. Landing the plane was a scene from the old >movies that have bush pilots lining their planes up with the slope >of hillsides so they can come in on an angle, due to lack of runway >space. I thought there would be a risk in leaving the place but the >opposite was true; the wind just about lifted us off the ground once >the plane started moving. Upon return from a tour of the bays and >inlets I encountered a BIG, fat elephant seal just parking his >considerable(2 ton) self up on the beach and made my way around him >to a waterside restuarant built over the pier. This was very >interesting dinner because while I was contemplating the awesome >sunset through wall sized viewing windows, a gale wind hit the >building and just about lifted it up with a "carumb!"sound. The >locals were used to it, and being from earthquake country myself, I >didn't give it a second thought, though there were several very >worried looking Brit's trying to clean the dropped scones off their >laps when I looked around. The chef and owner really went out of his >way to make sure I had an enjoyable dining experience and for a >while I thought I might have been in a writers character study >course. There was the chef busy with his prized "photo's of food" and dishes he >liked, the "adoring assistant manager" who cherished his every move, >the "uncaring waitress" that may have been there as a condition of her >parole, another who found great interest in discovering new things >on the menu was a small group of patrons in the corner discussing >the life cycles of certain bird species. I can't forget the biggest >character of all. "Sam", another colorful lokal yokel, about 6'5" with big >full wildman beard, of gentle voice and demeanor and dressed like a >fur trapper in fishing clothes, tells stories about just anything >that could have, would have or should have happened on that island. > It got dark at 11 p.m. that night and I went right to sleep with >the sound of wind and rain outside my little cabin. When I stuck my >head out the door inthe morning, I was pleasently surprise to see a >magnificent rainbow stretch across the sky above the island. > Ulva island was a paradise where I was dropped off >>by water taxi and left to my own. As a "bird sanctuary" it gave >>plenty of room for the birds to not be afraid of humans. The birds >>would walk right up to me to check me out! Nothing dangerous on the >>island so it opened all kinds of doors inside my head as there was >>NOTHING in the environment to be on alert for-no spiders, snakes, >>skorpion,etc. etc.-everything the way it was 180 million years >>ago-broken away from the other continents before creepy things.There was nothing at all to be fearful of on the outside, so it gave me a chance to totally let go, meet my inner self, and just enjoy the everything of nothing. >From the top of the island I could see other islands and the place >where the settlers of old used to set their fires to signal the post >man to come and pick up mail. >> >>Holidays in Wonderland >> >>There's nothing like clean crisp air, beautiful green >>countryside,babbling brooks and the scent of green forest to renew >>the spirit. >>On Christmas Day I went tramping -the Kiwi word for trekking-with >>some friends from Christchurch. We wove our way through sheep >>grazing land,over foothills and through country dales of green and >>gold. The high point was standing atop a mountain viewing a scenic >>alpine panorama of snowcapped peaks and feeling the ever present >>silence of the majestic Southern Alps.If you think the scenes from Lord of the Rings were beautiful, you would have loved this. The colors were all there without computer graphics and correction. >> I spent the next few days getting to know the parks and gardens >>of Christchurch and am still a bit amazed at what just a little TLC >>can do for a place. They have a park that could set the >>imagination wild--tall limbs, statuesque tree's all aligned as far >>as the eye can see, wrapping arounda simple brook and making it appear as >>a postcard setting. >>I made my way to the Northern part of the South Island and ended in >>a "great energy" little waterfront city called Nelson. Not only did >>it have great mountain and ocean views, but just over the hill was >>the place where many a famous photo had been taken of happy >>kayakers paddling away in crystal clear waters of Abel Tasman Park >>bay, their shadows being reflected on the sandy bay floor. >Later I took an air tour over the numerous sandy beaches and >beautiful valleys and then flew across the Cook Straight to the >>Capitol of New Zealand, Wellington. >>Flying Across those straits was really a challenge as the wind >>whips through at radically changing degrees and speed due to the >>clash of the Roaring 40's airstream coming up tfrom Antartica >>meeting with the warm offshore currents or the North Island. Both >>the airways and waterways become super-currents of opposing forces. >>Landing in Wellington was a special experience in addition to >>having my heart in my mouth and prayers on my lips the whole time >>of the approach-remember the radically changing wind's? They rocked >>the plane every which way-and it's normal for them! We were told >>that pilots who learn to fly in Wellington can fly anytwhere in the >>world. Anyway, coming into the main airport terminal one see's a giant prop >>of Gollum grabbing a Ring over the building. Inside is a museum >>display of the characters of the film Lord of the Rings and all >>their costumes and sets line the passageways. Giant Banners fall >>from the ceiling displaying the actors in the garb of their roles. >>Once in the city itself, one see's giant dragons over the theaters >>that are showing LOTR. This movie has certainly been the shot of >>adrenaline that got the NZ economy going and they are praying that >>it keeps going with more movies and touorism. >>Of all the cities in NZ this one has the big city culture, >>university city liveliness, small city friendliness and good >>transportation and shops. Trouble is, lots of Aussie and American >>yuppies have found out about it and bought up everything, making >>real estate double in the last few years and beyond reach of most >>of the locals to purchase. Everywhere in Australia and New Zealand >>meals were very expensive and 2 star hotels were rarely less than >>$60 (NZ) Time for Reflection >>The week between Christmas & New Year gave me a chance to >>reflectively introspect, not purposefully, but with compassion- and >>another reason to laugh at myself. >> Too often I've found myself seriously living the ROLE in life >>instead of light-heartedly Playing the part. Being the >>victim,instead of accepting what is and, being more of a problem >>with my own attitudes rather than constructively being part of the >>pro-active solution to things that happen. >>How long can one hold onto the past? >>How long can we keep others in the state of UNFORGIVEN by our >>righteous imperial ego's ? These deep and dark caverns of >>malcontent in our minds are the anchors that drown out our youth >>and spirit and give way to constant worry about things that don't >>matter. They only serve to block the light of the love that is >>before us. >>Is it reaqlly easier to hate and carry bitterness rather than just >>enjoy what we have right now? >>Make a conscious decision with me to look at the positive side of >>everything - no matter how much you disagree with it- and see how >>far it gets you into the new year. >>Forgive, forget, and get on with it. >>> >>>I really wanted to lie about this but the truth just can't be >>>altered in the case of New Zealand >>>The beauty and atmosphere of New Zealand is second to none, the >>>people, in many places, still unspoiled, and the whole energy >>>--"special". >>>This time I travelled the South Island extensively. I even went >>>south of the south island to a place called Stewart Island and >>>then to a more southerly island called Ulva Island where only >>>chirpy little birds lived. When someone says "Phil's gone south" >>>they aren't fooling. >>>New Years eve was a surprise and it's probably the best one that >>>I've ever had. >>>On a last minute notice I learned that the local casino had no >>>less than 4 swing bands playing this New years Eve. But when I >>>went there I quickly learned that almost no one in this place knew how >>>to do the dances of the 30's and 40's-and the band was starting to >>>slip a lot of more recent cover hits in to please the hundreds of >>>people in the audience- SO WHAT GOOD WAS IT??? >>>I was saved, though. Four girls from the local Jitterbug club >>>had ventured out on thier own for the night and chose to spend >>>their time with a gangster the likes of me(the only lead in the >>>place that knew more than basic steps. Thus, to protect the guilty >>>aliases will be used; Trixie, Priscilla, Bambi and Talullah were my >>>Moll's for the night. And for a little extra spice to this Dream >>>already come true there were 7 "Flapper" showgirls dressed in the >>>garb of the 20's who found me to be the most interesting >>>counterpart in the whole place when they saw me burning a rug with >>>the other girls. -----It's just amazing how much attention a >>>Fedora and a little Swing dancing will get for a guy! Beauties >>>waiting on the side while I Charleston with all the Flappers while >>>the crowd watches -envious men and wishful women- I'm a guy that >>>doesn't normally like to go in a Jam Circle, but now I know why- I >>>just never had 7 showgirls who thought I was the "Cat's Meow" to >>>go in there with me!!! >>> >>> >>>My 4 molls and I went a few blocks down to the harbor to watch a >>>spectacular fireworks display and called it a night. Auckland was >>>a very good place for New Years Eve and take up with a fresh new >>>viewpoint after experiencing a very introspective preceding 10 >>>days. BASKING IN PARADISE I had a a little detour on the way to Bangkok. While making a side trip to Singapore, the airlines mistakenly took my return flight ticket to Bangkok. This left me with some time and as a result,I went on an excursion tour around Malaysia. Quite by accident I ended up in a little island paradise off the coast of Borneo and Sabah- a place called Sipadan, one of the very top diving places in the world. I stayed in The Sipadan Village Waterfront resort, a village completely and cleverly built over the water. Had some of the best diving and also really got the idea of what it means to chill-out. Perfect sky's, waves and weather...and great service from a smiling and welcoming crew. After about a week I went back to Malaysia, went to Penang(the home of my favorite curry) and saw how 9 different races and religions can live together in peace!. More diving in Payar and now I'm getting ready to head home.I'm afraid you're going to have to wait for pictures until then. See you soon! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>talk to you in a few weeks >>>>love to all >>>>phil (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 16th, 2003
12:10 am	NO Cheesey Snakes, Please! BACK TO DOWN UNDER Well, I had a really nice tour of the southern part of the Island of Tasmania. Flew in in a private plane and landed on a barren airstrip made of old seashell powder. There was N-O-T-H-I-N-G, not a soul around. If you can imagine the remoteness of some of the Great White NOrth, with trees and lakes and the only life around being the local animals, well, that's what was in this part of Tasmania. The lonely cabin of two generations of tin miners, a boat dock, but that's about it. Deep brush, rare birds and even what we thought to be blurred tracks of the rarest of all animals, the Tazzy Tiger. A group of five that accompanied me on the airplane took this adventure with me as we cruised in a small fishing boat along a pristine and quiet river, through forests, and open plain and button grass brush. Had lunch on an island in the middle of nowhere and trekked over hills and valleys that few eyes have seen. The plane trip back was spectacular- a view of untouched beaches ,with and without surf. Found my way back to Melbourne and found a Brazilian Ju-Jitsu club-something I've always liked and got right into it. Wish I had more time there as I became an accelerated student and probably could have gotten to a good intermediate level if I had more time. This was an intense experience! A 240lb giant on top of me-I've got him tied up with my legs and arms and he equally has anything I can do in check. Literally, this is body chess where you subtly sense any weight shift and POW! One of the two people is flying with the other is like a mongoose on the offensive. With the techniques I was shown I was able to throw this guy, not only off of me -but bounding away, and in one swift shift end up on top of him applying a submission hold. I'm not in good enough shape for serious competiton with this sport but it certainly is exciting to experience. A funny thing happened to me on the way to Brisbane to catch my flight to New Zealand- I changed my mind and decided to go on a three day dive boat in a totally private area of the Great Barrier Reef. Divers will weep; I saw manta ray, nurse shark, white tips, hammerhead (and a tiger-luckily, from the boat!!!) Lots of typical reef fish, trumphet fish, loggerhead,leatherneck and brown turtles(who were on one of the islands laying their eggs) - just incredible conditions and beautiful waters with a remarkably competent boat crew who made us meals and safely got us to our locations amongst the coral atolls. This made up for the incompetency on the part of the three stooges who ran the dive shop and couldn't get anything right. With all these 3 days of dives available to me, I was unable to upgrade my license because of an admin snafu. All-in-all a good time was had by all and everyone came back ok and happy. Some of the divers and I got in the small boat and went ashore on Lady Musgrave Island. Saw lots of Boobies nesting at arm's length - it looked like the bird Condo Heaven with literally thousands of little tree nests and ground nests everywhere. Reminded me of a scene from Hitchcock's "The Birds", especially when they suspended themselves in mid-air, in front of my face, and would just yabber in bird language, "Go away!" After slipping out of the jungle (untouched by bird poop-they did it on everyone but me) and onto the beach, I felt like Tom Hanks being Castaway on this Island for years. Looking down the beach I saw turtle tracks and nests everywhere- only 2% of these incredible creatures make it back to their nesting grounds to breed- most are eaten when after swimming thousands of miles to Indonesia, they are heartlessly caught, slaughtered and turned into soup (and just about run to extinction). Again, man is the biggest predator and danger to this species. A fond memory of the PRISTINE water- green blue, turquoise, bright green - balmy breezes blowing and a general feeling of peace. Had a great time riding the high speed tilt train back to Brisbane and got back just in time for a blowout tropical rainstorm with about 4" of rain. Saw Steve Irwin, the "Croc Hunter's" place-the Australian Zoo, saw lots of croc's and more incredibly, a 160 year old land tortoise that was part of Darwin's study back when. HOW TO SPEAK AUSTRALIAN: If you don't know or haven't encountered Australians, they have a very different version of the English language - so different that a pretty little german girl just came up to me an hugged me for speaking English that she could understand. She had been down under for 3 weeks and most of the time had to just blankly nod when Aussie's were speaking to her because she couldn't get a word they said! She thought it was her fault as a foreign language speaker. Well I must speak a foreign language too, because with all their"eYea's" at the end of every sentence and lilts and abbreviations - they cut everything short and add an "..ie" or a "y" on the end- Bunderberg is Bundy, Brisbane is Brisie, anything pastry is pastie's and the "compressed drawl" they have makes Cheese snacks" sound like Cheesey snakes! I actually ordered "Cheesey snakes" to see if it was just the way I heard things, but no! That's the way they say it and hear it, because they gave me a cheese snack-not snakes! OK, I'm outta here and catching up to what I'll be doing in New Zealand. Really sorry you couldn't make it. Pictures later. I kinda doubt that I'll get another journal out within the week so I will wish you Happy Holidays right now-have a hot chocolate by the fireplace for me and kiss someone under the mistletoe for me,too!. much love to all Phil (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 26th, 2003
11:11 am	PUT SOME SHRIMP ON THE BARBIE! Hey mate, I've just recovered from 5 solid days of dancing after not gettin' any Happy Feet for the last few months. The Melbourne Lindy Exchange was a real success. Everybody works together here and there's little or no jealousy or "right of possession of students" on the part of teachers. The result, over 600 students active and taking weekly classes in the Melbourne area. You can find a good size Lindy crowd 6 nights a week and they are happy just to learn anything, regardless of style(though Savoy is 98% of the market).Teachers for the event included Zach & from Sweden, Manu & Denise from NY and a couple from UK. I don't know what the circumstances were but both US couples representing California didn't show-Tipp and Holly cancelled early but the event folks didn't know Kevin & Karla weren't coming until the day they were due to arrive. Hope this doesn't tarnish the reputation of all the other really great teachers we have in the Golden State as a connection across the ocean would be really a great thing for all dancers and teachers as the scene is booming Down Under. One nice thing about Lindy Exchanges is that the locals open up their extra bedrooms and "Host" out- of-towners with a bed and sometimes transportation. Colin Fee, a computer tech specialist at one of the local universitys, and his cat Spook, were host to me and an avid dancer and traveller from Seattle named Jason. We experienced traditional Aussie cordiality and were picked up at the airport and given all the info and help we could use to find our way around. Melbourne Touism was extra helpful by providing free trolly service and tour guides to all their favored locations. The tram service was pretty great compared to anything we have. A tram would come to just about any stop every 20 minutes at any time of day and could connect to anywhere through the downtown. As a result they have less traffic. Modern conveniences in an old style city-Melbourne is a friendly place for the tourist. Gormet vegetarian restuarants were scattered everywhere in the city, so I had the extra treat of culinary pleasure while there. I stayed in Sydney for a few days and found it to be a beautiful city, too. They have a seemingly endless harbour that stretches far inland which makes for lots of waterfront property. It's easy to take a ferry from downtown to the suburbs and to conveniently placed docks in every neighborhood. I did a 5 day specialty trek tour of the North and Eastern part of Tasmania. As there were only 5 members in the group and one guide, we got to see and do things that larger groups sometimes can't access in the deep woods or up steep mountains. After walking sometimes for 1/2 a day at a time, we'd reach lookouts of magnificent vistas of jagged coastlines, crashing seas, incredible surf, or just plain isolated beautiful beaches. Wallabies, wombats, rare birds..even the occassional Tasmanian Devil would look at us like incredibly odd creatures as we silently glided through their livingrooms of forest and grass. Wombats sort of look like big woodchucks and are real cute, but all ideas of "cuddly" disappear when you see one the size of a small bear munching grass next to a lakeshore. Another day was spent on a remote place called "Maria(pronounced Mariah)Island -40 km off the shore of Tasmania- quiet wilderness with remarkably "free" energy- if you just stood there, you feel light weight and free. But after a full day of hiking and rock climbing up to the highest point of the Mountain- we passed meadows of green, walked gentle inclines over seaside cliffs, up through shadowy forests, then started a mountainous ascent where the path narrowed and often became invisible over rocks and tree roots, up and over endless cascades of loose rock where we were never sure of our footing,- much less the whole slope coming down- finally reaching solid ground again we had to use what was left of our energy to scale rocks and leap over crevasses and pass endless holes where who knows what was living (and maybe didn't want company) -sometimes I'd have to break to catch my breath, other times just to cherish a sip of water but by the time I got to the top I wasn't sure what I felt- light headed, joyous at the conquest of the climb, tired and quivering muscles, blown away at the spectacular view of the island and oceans below- fossil cliffs and forests, dolphins dancing far,far below. It was so dizzying at the top of this mountain that none of us dared to stand more than just a few necessary moments to move from one rock to another. Our guide advised us to get on our stomachs and cautiously crawl to the edge and view downwards- ARGHHH!! WE was up verrah,verrah high and my body was verrah happy I wasn' standin' up and I had de big rock to hold onto when I look down!-- Even my memory is happy I was laying face down when I took in that view- sheer drop, 5,000 feet! Wish I had a hang glider to get off that mountain, but the way down was easier once we got past the shill( loose rock) and cliffs. This is a treasure Island- Tasmania- it still maintains native rain forest with old growth, but of course, greedy humans edge away at the historic and natural value and see it only as commercial value and make one big dent in it after another by scalping the last native old growth rain forest in this part of the Southern hemisphere by logging huge gaps in the countryside. The Green Party is getting very strong down here so there is a chance that the intergity of the islands natural resources will stay intact. Meanwhile, it's still a mostly unnoticed place where the touristy stormtroopers haven't invaded as yet. > I'm going to spend a little time setting up some remote photo equipment to see if some foreign problem wildlife are about and up to no good. I'll keep you posted on my adventures here in a few weeks. I'm off to swing dancing here tonight and tomorrow. best to all & happy Thanksgiving Phil New pictures will be at the site tomorrow http://www.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=7465023 Here's a live view of some of the places I've just been to http://www.tasmania.worldweb.com/WebCameras/OceansHarboursBeaches/ (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 13th, 2003
4:06 am	DR. LIVINGSTONE I PRESUME? Dr. Seiflein I presume? Buenas Aires ws much more than I expected. Based on what I saw in Lima I was prepared for another 3rd world city with poor housing shanty-towns and 1960 chevys spewing smog everywhere. Instead, I found a full modern city, very comparable to our Boston or Philadelphia having culture, class and cleanliness. Beautiful parks that are frequented by the city dwellers are everywhere. Museums, art & drama academies, opera, theater, symphonies and dance schools are a royal setting for the very varied and active nightlife that ranges from techno-rock and jazz to the ever present tango and milongas that this city is famous for. Though there are a few scattered beggars, they really aren't prominent factor because they don't push themselves on you or make you guilty as may happen in other cities. We could take some lessons from the modern Argentines: a- Making your political voice heard- A number of times(even from my hotel window) I saw peaceful and energized demonstrations by protestors speaking their minds while marching their way to the park in front of the Presidential Home(the same place where Eva Peron would address her throngs of devotee's from her balcony). b- Art in the Environment- Argentines allow the artistic passion to flow- in La Boca, a poorer section of the city, people got some spirit one day and started to paint their houses all different colors- the trend continued and today the area is one big piece of artwork-this, along with the artists creating their handicrafts on the grass and sidewalks makes a walk on a sunny day like moving through living art. Fine foods, classic hotels from oppulent era's gone by, sidewalk cafe's everywhere in addition to excellent cheap transportation to lots of cultural events are all available at one's finger tips in this romantic S. American city. After just a few sessions with the experts, I knew I'd have to start my tango over from scratch. I couldn't find any swing dance but I somehow got comped to the "Jazz, Swing & Tap" Broadway Show that was doing it's run while I was there. CAPETOWN- South Africa My round-the-world ticket provided me with Malaysia Airlines for my trip from Buenas Aires to Capetown. This routing was only available on the KLM-Northwest Air alliance and was my primary reason for choosing them. All the others wanted me to fly 14,000 miles out of my way to Europe then down to Africa- and then charge me for the inconvenience! Malaysia Air held true to form in quality of service and really went out of their way to make sure I was comfortable.Just the extra enquiry or two with a smile made a big difference. As we started our descent and got our first glimpse of the beauty of the Cape, an air of spellbinding awe seemed to captivate everyone in the cabin. If you can imagine the peacefullness of Hawaii combined with the crispness of "San Francisco city energy" and the majestic "mountain energy" and beauty of Sedona, Arizona, then you've begun to grasp the "land" feeling of the area that combines with the very balmy Indian Ocean as it blends with the icy and powerful Atlantic ocean. There's a beautiful Wharf which is the hub of tourist activity and information. With this as a base I sipped Greek coffee and nibbled baklava while plotting my next course. Table Mountain overlooks the City and, from the top one can view all of the different zones of foilage and fauna of the area and then on out to the two different oceans and the Cape, itself. A very steep running cable car ascends the slope and in a short while we arrive at the top of the most awesome view I've ever seen. The air is crystal clear and I can see the wine country off to the north, city and harbor are busy with activity below me on one side, the Cape of Good hope rises in the south and pods of whales can be seen feeding in the distant False Bay to the East. WOW, oh WOW. I loose my breath just thinking about it. The people: Later in the day I took the "City Cultural tour"- not at all what it sounds like- my tour guide took me into homes on the various and very distinct ethnic neighborhoods.(The "Hood",the G-hetto, and the Barrio in the US) After "Aparthied" was ended in S. Africa most of the 4 ethnic groups pretty much chose to stay in their previously "assigned " areas. There is a vast difference in these cultures and their backgrounds that can be seen just by driving across a main road that acts as a demarkation line between areas; recent immigrants and uneducated blacks take shelter in what can only be described as a tin shack shanty-town. Electricity is purchased with pre-paid cards and a common block of toilets is provided by the government to every block. Though the shacks appear trashy, there is no trash laying about and the surroundings are kept broom clean.Everyone that I was introduced to seemed passively interested in me and all were quite gentle in nature.This is an area I never would have ventured into in America, but it was quite different here. Across the highway is what is called the "colored " area- these folks are the melting pot of all the different races that have landed in the Cape area over the centuries; Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, African,Dutch, Spanish. This is a group that holds no stereotypes except for he lilty accent that mixes all of their earlier languages. Every house was identical in this part of town; 2 tiny bedrooms, living room and kitchen (all 9 x 12). Sometimes 3 generations shared the same quarters. My guide just stoppe the car, walked up to a random house, knocked on the door and introduced himself and me. Without question, I was offered a cool drink upon entering the house even though I was a complete stranger to them, as is their tradition.They told me all the religions there had the common belief that "life will bring you things- if you chase someone away from your door, who knows what won't be coming your way? So, treat everyne kindly, they might be an angel." The next day I ventured to the Stellenboch Wine country where grapes were brought from Europe in the 1500's. The beauty of this area is parralled only by our Napa and Sonoma counties. Like Sonoma, the second oldest city in S. Africa also acted as the base for the revolution and has a similar town square(but with Dutch buildings)and was a focal point for all early pollitical activities. The next day I toured the whole area via helicopter, in an old Viet Nam era "Huey" that had been meticuously refurbished. The ride was pure joy- seeing ships in the harbor, oceans crashing on the rocky coastline, a pod of whales feeding in the bay, farms, communities and endless fields of gold & green. What beauty God has blessed us with in nature--If only we could appreciate what we have been given, instead of counting the things we don't have! Later that day I was invited aboard a commercial Catamaran by it's 1st mate who was on the heli-tour with me. I asked him to take some pictures out of his side of the helicopter with my digital camera and we were instant best friends. I guess it's a guy bonding thing when you let someone use your digital camera. If women ever have a question about what to get for a guy, it's so simple- the newest digital camera with all the bells and whistles, simple! Anyway, a mild storm came in and created perfect sailing conditions as we bounded over the waves. Few things can equal the feeling of the ocean's salt spray and the wind against your brow while riding a 20 ft swell. I returned each night to my cell in the Breakwater Lodge, a former prison converted into a hotel. First Safari: I landed in Johannesberg and took a dual engine plane inland to a place near the beautiful national park and reserve -Kruger Park. On the way to my "Lodge", my driver filled me in on the fatalitie of the last week in the area; crossing a river, he points to a location and says ""A man in a small boat was fishing there and a hippo kncked it over and mauled him to death." A bit further he points out an area on the shore,"Right there a local wasn't paying attention and a Croc came right out of the water and grabbed him." And, while passing another lodge area he says, "There's a sad one, a game warden's 11 year old son was grabbed by a leopard right in camp...it only took a few minutes to track it, but by that time it already had him up on a limb like an animal carcass. The boy was dead on contact by the leopard." This was the wild, for real! I stayed at a unique African Lodge modeled after a village and small hotel. Open passageways and large rooms-huge walk-in fireplaces for the winter nights and high ceiling grass roofs on the main buildings. The room had metal roofs and my first morning I was awoken to the sound of what I thought was travelling thunder- after a moment I knew it was the sound of footsteps- somethng was chasing something else-maybe a leopard after a monkey? No, it was just thieving monkeys running with stolen fruit.. The guest rooms were only 300 ft, from the main building, but we were required to have an armed escort when we went to or from our rooms after dark due to the fact that we were in the jungle and there was no gate of any type separating us from the living rooms of all the wild animals. A woman from Brazil was mouthing attitude to to everyone about "I don't think there's any danger, they're just trying to scare us"- Oddly, it was her door that the leopard growled at that night. We found fresh lion and leopard tracks all around in the morning. That shut her up for most of the next day. I had a guide who drove our Landrover and a tracker who sat on a little seat mounted on the front bumper. Man, that guy could see anything! We buzz along at 20 mph and he'd yell, "stop!". Sure enough, there be fresh tracks in the roadside or an obscure animal in the bush. He could tell where they came from, what they did there, the age, and where they went. I came within 15 ft. of a huge male lion as the rest of the pride napped in the midday sun. Later in the day I got close to giraffe,zebra, gnu,nygala,and lots of antelope(the McDonalds of the bush-they have a little M on their butts and everything eats them!).That night I saw 2 momma elephants and one with a brand new baby! SO, cute! The next day I met up with the South American family and we all got a little too close to the rest of that lion pride for comfort.. A lion is pure killer muscle that can cross 60 ft, in less than 2 seconds if it wants to- we were less than 20 ft! On the way back we passed the remains of a huge gnu-probably the lion's dinner that night. A leopard mom allowed our vehicle to get very close that night as she just meticulously preened herself. The peaceful, the dangerous, the miracle of birth and the urge to survive and avoid death-all are captured in the stillness as the sunsets behind a purple mountain.. the last of the day's heat rises from the ground and reaches for a darkening sky of red ...the moon begins to shine and Mars appears before the first of many stars blossom in the African night. Here in this quiet life abounds and continues without schedules, bills or obligations. In the silence and the space I feel great peace and a part of it all, and much more "Natural" than I normally am as civilized man. That day Africa had seduced me, and I was left with a permanent memory of the very basics of life. I was up late that night and no escort was around walk me back to the room- I weilded a club and took cautious steps back to my room in case a predator was thinking of me as a midnight snack! My last day was capped with an on foot watch of 2 cheetah brothers and later a hippo, buffalo and an array of exotic birds. I said goodbye to Inoye Illala (Leopard home) and flew off to Durban. How I was surprised at the contrast of it to the other African cities I had seen. Many huge and towering buildings and hotels that had been a tourist mecca, but are now loosing ground due to lack of care and law enforcement make many tourist stay away. Over 40,000 pour into the country each month to escape tyrants in their own homelands. This has brought about a 35-40% unemployment rate.The outer city areas are safe but while in the town park and streets thousands of friendly Black faces sell their goods and kids play games and perform dances and songs, just a few blocks away Nigerian scum sell all forms of drugs, rob people and make the area unsafe for everyone. Though I didn't feel scared, I always felt my angels were on constant guard while I was there. Must have really sent them into overtime when I went on a Shark dive to see the raggy tooth shark in their breeding grounds offshore.(Picture with next journal) Riding through the surf in a scorpion like inflatible boat was adrenaline producing enough,like I was a Navy Seal on the way to a death encounter, but nothing will get your heart pounding out of control like the sight of a huge shark! I drove across the country back to Johannesberg and saw big skys-big lightning- big rain. Toured Johannesberg and wasn't impressed at all, just another dying big city with flourishing suburbs. Outside the city I toured a museum which honored the High School students who began the demonstrations that in the end, terminated Aparthied. Next was the gorgeous city of Pretoria where Jacaranda tree's were in bloom everywhere! All my frivolity paid off big with a treat of taking the Rovos Train- the most luxurious train in the world. Gracious and friendly staff took care of my every whim, never had to think about how to get something done, I just requested it. Luggage, press pants,special food at odd hours- all included- everything the way I want it without compromise or guilt for asking. It was good to be king, if only for two or three days. The dining car was pure elegance -silver of every type-and then some. Linen napkins,specialty china polished brass and crystal, imported teas, wines and chocolates and the finest foods and treats. Soft chairs and perfect lighting with everyone in evening clothes-class has it's real upside!. The bedroom had TLC and elegance everywhere; down pillows, weaved bedspreads, etched crystal windows. Screens of wood and temperature controlled environment, perfect mattress, mahogany writing desk and closet and recessed lighting.Linen and before bed drinks of my choice. The bathroom had everything you can imagine and more-including fresh flower pedals that would magically appear everyday. There was one staff member for every two people on the train, so you can imagine the attention we had. After a wonderful two days on the train we switched over to a magnificently restored 1955 ConAir dual engine airplane tht would fly us over the Victoria Falls. Leather and carpet everywhere, more crystal and snacks. What a way to finish the most remote and challenging land on earth. Flying into Livingstone airport and over Victoria Falls after traversing part of the continent on the steam train played with my sense of time. I could only imagine what Dr. Livingstone experienced coming from the granduer of London and practicing in the remoteness of the jungle. What a perspective. Later, I sailed on the Zambize River and watched crocodiles and hippos while the sunset. I happy to say that no malaria bearing mosquitos bit me while I was there. I managed to get some of the photos up, but none of the Capetown shots are in this batch. I am now On my way to the Melbourne Lindy Exchange and back to civilization I'm used to. later!Phil Look at the new photo alblum!! Just click on the blue address on the next line:If the following line isn't blue just open a new window and paste it (or type it in the browser address window) and hit return. http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=12321065140095648/l=18905476 (Comment on this)
Monday, October 20th, 2003
1:50 pm	Chile-Patagonia! I´ve covered a lot of territory since the last journal! After the incredible desert and Mountain sights of Northern Chile and Bolivia(Chungara)I found my way down to the south and boarded a transport ship in Port Montt. I traveled halfway down the Chilean interior coastline winding between islands and and glaciers and followed channels through a number of beatiful fjords- then headed out to sea after a view of the magnificent Andes.After a day of pounding at sea we return to the safety of the Chiloen galapagos and wind our way back inland through the thousands of islands that make up the western part of `Patagonia and finalize out journey in the small port of Natales. The ship was about 200ft long and had it´s upper decks converted into a dozen 3 and 4 bed rooms along with a 20 bed dorm with bunk bed for passenger quarters. I paid for a single bed in one of the double bunk cabins($300 was a great deal!)that had a private bath. Luckily for me it was the very beginning of the season and no one else wasin my cabin- so, I had a whole cabin to myself and a great porthole view of everything! This was primarily a truck transport vessel, so when the main truck elevator broke we were delayed for a day but at least had free meals and movies. On the deck below the cabins was a large main galley which also served as the primary social area for meals, movies and partytime. The crew also gave us informative lectures about the local fauna, flora and local geography. While we sailed the peaceful inner channels all was calm and cheerful. Brits, French,Germans, Isreali´s, Koreans a few Americans ad the occassional Chilean truck driver all spent time together. But, once we hit the rock and bop of the ocean waves at least 20% of our merry crowd sought out the privacy of their latrines.Amazing how the head count went down at meal times. I didn´t take my camera out this time, much to the relief of some of those who know me, I´m sure. View from the Ship: It was similar to the fjords of Norway with cascading waterfalls pouring down towering faces of granite mountains that had been cut by the glaciers thousands of years ago. There were snowcapped peaks of the Andes and extinct volcanoes binding the waterway on each side whilo the Andean gull sailed above us, seals and otters raced along trying to steal fish from the local penguins. We stopped at an unbelievably peaceful little place rightfully called Port EDEN. The presence of our ship brought 20 of the local 200 residences scurrying out on boats and barges to redeem their weekly supplies(which the ship was the ONLY source of). I spent several of the nights up on the bridge just watching the sea and the stars play in a constant symphony of close-up motion against cold and distant stillness...a play of power and peace all around...the memory of it still spellbinds me. The moon, the waves, the southern cross and a sky full of stars.... We arrived at our destination Port Natales a day late but under crystal clear weather conditions which really is a blessing considering how far south we were. This is where I really started to notice how favorable a chord southern Chile struck with me, perhaps because of some background familiarity with the climate- a little chill in the air, sunny days and cold nights. I´m really glad I bought a ZERO degree parka on sale a week ago because I needed it on the ship and in Natales. Everything is expensive here! The room is comfy but creaky and older(60´s furniture) and not what I´d become accustomed to for $50 a night.Buses and traffic rumble outside my window but everything turns to stillness at 10pm. That´s it, they roll up the town and everyone disappears. A nice room costs $150 here and I´m paying normal prices for meals(which is a lot in S. America). Food stores often have 1/2 empty shelves and most every restaurant seemed to serve the same thing. Forget about Chinese or Thai food..it´s fish or pizza or chicken. Luckily,they didn´t seem to have a ban on avocados and tomatoes, so I managed to get something to eat. You know the protein bars that are so common in the US? They´re scarce as gold here and when you can find one they´re $4!!! That´s like $12 chilean. One thing Port Montt, Port Natales and Punta Arenas has plenty of is schoolkids. There´s batallions of them everywhere..I don´t know why they aren´t in school,but I see them walking around with their uniforms and books in the malls, tourist places, parks-yeah, the older one´s are all in the parks kissing and smooching their spring fever away. Speaking of which, the glaciers seemed to have a romantic effect on the women onboard my day-tour boat to the glaciers. All at once, 3 out of the 6 women on board all started getting gushy and kissy with their men at the same time. I was wondering who started playing the Barry Manilow music? They were steaming up the windows and I couldn´t see the glacier! A local tradition is to toast the glacier with whiskey, I managed to slip ginger ale into my glass just to blend in. But there was no getting by the lunch scene for Phil the Vegetarian! I´ve never seen a meal like this one! We stopped at a cattle ranch resort-type place on the way back for lunch. It comprised of the following; One huge plate STACKED with a layer of each of beef, lamb, chicken,llama,duck and I think fish. Somewhere on the side of the plate was a morsel of tomatoe and lettuce. Damn, wish I sprung the $4 bucks for the protein bar, it would´ve come in handy here, cause I was HUNGRY! Next day was a real treat. We went to Torres del Paine-something like their Yellowstone-incredible Mtn peaks surrounded by awesome clouds, geysers and all types of wild life, Along the way we saw the too-real sight of a motionless baby lamb that didn´t make it through the terribly cold night and the line of condors peacefully waiting for their due. Herds of guayana(and their predator Puma), a huge fox, ibis, ostrich and lots of other wild birds. I had lunch at a classy lodge on the glacial plain at the foot of another glacier. The winds were so intense that I literally had to anchor my arms onto a girl that was on tour with us to keep her from blowing away. Hesitantly, took a bus to Punta Arenas, the last city of any size before the end of he world and Cape Horn. Weird Karma on the bus- a little girl had my seat and really seemed to want to keep it, so I just took the next empty one(which happened to be hers) as it had plenty of leg room. Somehow the bus driver went totally anal and insisted that we both keep our ticketed seats, leaving her without the window she wanted and me without any space. Punta Arenas: Oddly this place looks an awful lot like Ventura from the hilltop. however, it´s got lots of classic Euro style buildings and a real continental flair amongst it´s population. it´s a port for the Navy and central to everything going around the Cape. I was there just a little too early: no ferry to other ports, no boats or planes to Antartica. Almost nothing going on gor another few weeks. I went to the penguin nesting grounds and was amazed at how close these little creatures would let me get!There really cute, waddling along..sorta´reminded me of how some people I know dance, flapping their wings and all... Found a restaurant whose owner and crew just thought i was the gringo god and after making a few friends...got outta town. I´m off to Argentina and the land of tango-- talk to ya in a week or two. phil see some pictures at snapfish-the Chile file http://www.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=7465023 (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 2nd, 2003
6:48 pm	What began as a simple enough 12 hour bus trip from Nazca to Cuzco ended up as a 22 hour expedition. I was left at a tacky small bus stop on the ouotskirts of town by my jovial transfer agent at 8pm. the bus came an hour late AND I was told there wasn´t any room(even though I had a reserved ticket), but another bus would be along soon. Now this is the middle and lower class bus, so a lot of the bus drivers friends and relatives get seats before the paying passengers.The next bus rolled in some 5 (long and cold) hours later and I was finally on my way. But, whoa...this wasn´t lioke my last tour bus. I cramped into a 30" space , ja,,ed my knee´s in my mouth and statted counted the minutes until I´d be out of there becuse there just wasn´t any room for a person my size to move. We started ascending from the desert level and climb and climb and climb...around sharp curves and icy roads we rushed. At a mile high I was feeling a little light, at 2 miles I was a little sick, at 10,000 feet-headachy, and, when we went over a pass at 12,000 ft I no longer cared where we were going. All of a sudden that slight congestion I had was a major obstacle in getting oxygen. We took a break at 9 a.m. but I couln´t eat no drink.. I just wasn´t prepared for how the altitude sickness would affect me. i thought going up slowly on land would work in my favor ,but it did just the opposite. There were landslides along the way which forced the bus to use some older alternate single lane dirt roads - wasthat fun! Look out the window, straight down a mountainside for about 10,000 feet! made me wonder where the tires were if I could look straight down... After going on a few more alternative backroads (to drop off the busdrivers relatives ín rural farm areas, we returned to the main road only to be delayed for an hour or two again by road work on landslides. Watching the Moe,Larry and Curly roadworkers of Peru gave me a chance to recover my senses. It was a comical show of watching truly innocent idiots bang away at rocks, slipping and konking one another with shovels and slipping in the mud. The comedy turned to concern when I saw them start to work on a massive boulder perched directly next to and above our bus.. seconds made the difference between our bus moving and the stooges releasing the boulder. By the time I got to Cuzco, I could barely see through my splitting head.Fortunately, I had booked a transfer agent from the bus and was taken to my hotel with no trouble. Most of the Hotels in Peru do not eature heat, so be prepared to pay a lot more for that if you don´t feel comfortable in longjohns. Again, I got a nice room, with private bath, bed etc. and breakfast for about $10. It was an 18th century mansion, with high ceilings turned into a pensioñ. Every city in Peru has a Plaza or as we would call a Square that acts as a central park and meeting place. Cuzco has a magnificent cathederal overlooking the park and has significant Inca ruins just a few blocks away.It was the center of the >Inca Empire and has always maintained the heaviest population of Peru until the last 100 years or so. The Inca´s were engineering masters and mathematicians. They had building blocks that were earthquakeproof and designed to shift and sway when the earth did. Their astonomers paid particular attentions to the Pleides, venus and the southern cross AND COULD PREDICT RAIN,or the lack of it, within days. Their temples of the sun and moon accuratly reflected the sun´s rays at each solstice and even down to the minute each day of the calendar year. These were the Ecology kings of our age-they knew everything about developing the earth, irrigation, terracing, when to plant and what and how to give back to the earth. Amazing people. It´s so typical of europeans to have to irradicate what they didn´t understand. OFF to Machu Picchu! There´s a $50 tourist train and a $4 resident train that fgo to the same place. Since my tourist train was already paid for,I happily took the ride. Since I was a day behind from my recovery, I had a different guide who had a little bit of an English language barrier in his instructions to me.Just look for "Walters" group, he said. The result being that when I saw all the backpackers and everybody else in my car get off at a certain stop, I just followed the crowd and got off with them. Theere weree a lot of groups clustered outside the train and some of them just immediatlely bolted into the woods and across a bridge and headed for the rear entrance to the trail that lead to machu Picchu.Mot finding Walters Group at tthe tracks , i scurried to catch up with the other groups gathering at the gates about a quarter of a m,ile away. No Walters Group. Went back to the tracks where there was a handful of other straglers. I learned that, Unfortunately, for me it wasn´t the end of the line where I was supposed to get off--it was way early, and the people that went into the bush were doing the whole Inca trail trek. I was reassured that there was another train coming and I could just catch upto my group in a 1/2c hour or so. The resident train train came and despiter my efforts to board, a serious Police contingent kept asserting "Prohibito!" and wouldn´t let this gringo tourista on the cheap resident train. With no other trains scheduled to go that way, my only choice was to hoof it with my bags. Lucky I left the big one at the hotel! The gatekeepeers wouldn´t let me into the park without my pass(my guide had it!)so I had to blaze a new Inca trail of my own. Probably turned out to be more realistice this way. What took the backpackers about 3 days of 3 or 4 hour treks, i did in about 8 hours with my bags. Cool,huh? Not really. The following day, professional guides and portere have a race from where I started and did it in 3.5 hrs--fully loaded with gear!Endless forrest of green, a winding riverwhich wispered , sang and roared. Mountains vibrating their mystic tunes and happy birds chirp everywhere. Fortunately for me this was a real oppertunity to reconnect to a lot of the spiritual things that seem to evaporate in the presence of "civilization". My return to that world was merrily greeted by two of the most brilliant butterflys I´ve ever seen, and, THEY ACCOMPIANED ME THE WHOLE WAY like little angel guides to show me and protect me where I went there!. i really believe that there are NO Accidents and that everything has a purpose. This long walk in the unknown did more for me than a comfy tourist breakfast, I assure you! Machu Picchu- It´s more awesome than any picture can relate Commanding mouontains like the kings of the round table surround this pristine mountain shangri-la. Clouds surround the other peaks but the sun shines on Machu! Every stone perfectly in place, terraced gardens, views that startle and command awe, peace and energy everywhere. What could these people have been doing! Some say it was a vacation place for the royalty, others speculate that it was a place for the wife´s of the king.This alone was worth the whole trip. just 5 km away they´ve discovered a city about twice the size but becuse of the difficulty getting to it, no one goes there...yet. If it weren´t for the difficulty with the train and tickets I probably would´ve done my own trek there. I spent an hour in the nearby Hot springs at Aqua Caliente and slept well that night. Ran into a Whole earth Ecology group that met near Mach Picchu for the Solstice celebration. there were a lot of them from all of¡ver the world. Just plain eco-concerned people from every walk of life. Gave me a good feeling that the next generation really will take care of things. PUNO-Lake Titicaca An easy 5 or 6 hour ride in a Royal Class coach brought me to Puno, small city on lake titicaca. Nothing much to it except it was so small I couldn´t even get a new pair of treking boots in my size to replace the damage done on my RAW Inca trail. Thought I´d have to continue walking this world in my dance shoes! But, I got lucky and found a shoe repair place that re-soled and heeled my trek boots for $10!! Took a 30´launch to the Floating islands on Titicaca. Amazingly, peopple live on these things. The cut and dry reeds, stack them like mattresses and get living reeds to grow in the matts. The combination makes a bed so thick that it floats and they oonly get into trouble when they get in shallow water and the reeeds root. The atacama and Tiwanaku indians are the one´s that settled around the lake and never really gave over entirely to the inca´s, though they were ruled by them for 80 years before the inca came. They have really cool reed an balsa boats that were the model used by Thor >heyerdahl in his Aku-aku quest. If I ever get the picture up on a website you´ll be able to see them. Stayed in a guest room on a real island (named Taquile) in the middle of Titicaca. A seperate culture altogether. First thing a woman asks a man who is interested in her is"Can you Knit?" Men knit, women weave. Men wear hats that tell you about them; floded to the right= available and looking, folded back, not looking, black hat = official, another=married. Ladies have multi-layered skirts and detailed colorful blouses and hats of their own. Single gilrs have brightly colored pom-pomsand are shy but married ladies have a colorful sash,a small pom and are very outspoken.The mayor would assign a guest to each family, in turn. He did the same with assigning groups of day tourists to resturants for lunch. Every menu was the same, and every business got it´s equal share of tourists as the island was run as a co-operative the island itself was at about 4,000 meters and I gasped for air at everyone of the 1,000 steps that led from the docke to he town. Good thing the air WAS THE FRESHEST I´VE EVER BREATHED! After I recuperated I climbed to the top of the island(4,890 meteres// about 15,000 feet) to take in the one of the most spectacular view I´ve ever seen. Calm waters, majestic Andes to the east, the plains of Bolivia to the south and hills and vallys of Peru to the west. I truly felt like the world was going around me that day! I returned to a village stuck in time, thatched roofs on barns, cobblestone walkways and stone walls, goats and sheep and waeving people with ornate clothing... wow. Aerquipa 600 kms to the southwest- a nice bus but a wild ride up and down the mountains from 12,000 ft to 3,000 ft and back up again. We finally settle and <i visit the Colcha valley. Beautiful and enchanting the people here again maintain a culture all of their own.They mastered terracing and probably taught it to the incas. Even hydrualic wastering of crops in a place that gets just a few inches of rain a years. Another dip in the area hot springs and I was ready for Ethnic dancing and singing at the local easting place at night-pictures at 11-stay tuned! After visiting the natural home of magnificent condors and having them swoop right above me! We made our way back to Arequipa and prepared for the next part of the jouney. Lan Chile Airlines- I´m certain all of the airlines have a tacit conspiracy going which works quite in their favor. They advertise one thing, make it impossible to get,then sell you on something much more expensive. i tried to book a ChilePASS(three stops for $335) in the US and was told to see their local office. ´The local office said they couldn´t give me the pass but <i should get it when I arrived in Peru. Peru said they could give it to me but it would be cheaper in Chile. I get to Chile and they say they can´t sell it in the country-it has to be purchased in the US! To mmake sure it wasn´t just me I brought a travel agent with me to the Lan Chile office. The rep. offered me a ticket to Chile for $10 in the office or kindly said- you´ll get it for $120 on the internet, we need to charge more if you use the office.Not being able to get the ticket onthe net, we returned to the office less than an hour later and was told the same ticket was $270!But, I ould get it cheaper in Chile! It was $270 in Chile, but the Pass I wanted somehow increased to over $800. In the same day they pulled the same stunt with a different agent on my Easter <island trip by raising the cost from $800 to $1,100 when we were sending payment. So a word to the wise " Son´t trust these guys AT ALL. if you see an offer you want, grab it and pay for it right there or they will try to change it on you.- So now I´m sitting in an interesting little city in he north of Chile called Arica which is a key point between Bolivia and Peru for tourist traversing the deseert and goods heading for export.I´m arranging my tickets and transport through Patagonia and getting my Pass from a US company. I´m skipping Pataqgonia because I didn´t like the idea of having the price jacked at the last second and the only airline there is LanChile. Talk to you in a few weeks -after Cape Horn and when I get to Argentina! Much love to all phil (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 18th, 2003
6:48 pm	south America Arrived in Lima Sun 14 Sept on Continental Air. Should be called middle class air since that's the type of service <i got, even paying more than double in business class. They ceased "special meals" 1 Sept so as a Veggie I didn't get any food on the flight and relied on stuffing my pockets with the treats and snacks from the lounge(I was prepared for this from earlier trips)Since I don't drink, they got a pretty fgood deal on me. Lima was a little bit like Mexico City. Similar builidings and smog, but there were really nicer parts that have quite a European flair. The people are verty nice and will go out of their way for you if you just try a little. Booked a room through The Lonely Planet (a travel journal that no traveler should be without)website and found a room,even after procrastinating and waiting till the last minute. The Hotel Pukura is a residence turned hostel, in a really nice part of town. They gave me a "private " room(with 5 beds) all to my self, for get this, $10. It was clean and home for two days while I worked out the details of my trip with their travel agent. Atlastravel gave me a 12 day tour with all transport,room and tours for $750! ALL the qoutes I got from US agents were around $2,100 and up. Pedro, the agent spoke fluent English and convinced me to take the Luxury coaches they have here. <normally i avoid buses because <i don{t like having my knee{s squashed. But, he was right the Royal coach was very comfortable and while watching videos and sipping tea I got to view all the sights on the way down the coast to my first stop, Pisco. This place is in the middle of the desert.All of the south coast of Peru is a desert...who knew? Got a nice lean hotel room and had a great fresh dinner of avocados, tomatoes....the town is reknowned for it{s seafood because it{s the closest thing to the coast and the first place all the fishermen stop on their way back from the sea. My first visit to the Bellestros national Park wasn't all that impressive; I saw a few rare famingos at a distance, but the more intereesting part was what had been uncovered from some dig sites nearby. The first settlers in the area were 9,000 years ago, and a group called the "LOngHeads" was about 5,000 years ago. These folks were obsessed with shaping their heads into long shapes and would start on their kids at birth enacting a practice called trepanning.manip0ulating the skulls, performing surgery- 5,000 years ago! Who were they trying to imitate, some aliens? Crossed the desert, saw great cliffs of sand and when we reached the ocean, saw beautiful vista's . At a tiny village where there was only two buildings and a fleet of fishing boats I offered a seat to another tourist and was immediately taken in as part of a Peruvian family who was also on tour. Next day I rode a 20 ft. boat out to the Bellestros Islands(much like our Channel islands Nat'l Park). Heard the choir of sealions and seals, saw penguins, Boobies, gulls, condors,red necked somethings and about 100,000 cameroons who had arrived to breed.All That was worth the trip.Dolphins escorted us back. Took the bus to Nazca. Hotel was clean but weirdly designed. I could hear ever grunt (and other sound,use your imagination)from people on the next floor! Windows face the corridor and tile was everywhere.The receptionist switched my nice cable tv for a one channel clunker when i went to dinner. Took a plane ride over the nazca <Plains to view the images there. Lines carved into the earth that extend for miles, images of animals (and who knows what other things) so massive they can only be see from way up in the air. There¿s no good explanation of how these things got there. But, needless to say, it was awesome to view. Tonight I go on a regular bus straight up and inland to Cuzco, the stopping point before Macchu Picchu.I'm sure it will be 12 hours of agony but I was trying to arrange my tour so I ended up near the Chile border instead of back at Lima, which is the normal point of departure. This way after some time on the Inca trail, I can work my way down to lake Titicaca, do some white water rafting, go to Pun, the colca valley and Aerquipa and then find myself at the top of Chile. May skip the international Tango Festival just to spend more time on the way.I'm sure there are plenty of Tango teachers in Buenas Aires who will still be teaching a few weeks from now. So, catch up with you more later! I'll figure out how to post pictures by then. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 22nd, 2003
12:54 pm	On the Road Again Ok adventure followers, it's timeto ht the road again. This time i purchased a Round the World ticket from northwest airlines in Thailand. Why there? The ticket was at least 1/2 the price of a similar one in the States. I was sort of forced to choose Northwest -Lufthansa because Star Alliance(thai air, Singapore air, United...) didn't have a connection from South America to S. Africa without making me fly 12,000 out of my way to Europe-to-S. Africa. same problem with British Airways "One World' round the world ticket. It wouldn't have been too badd if I wanted to go to Europe this time, but I didn't. To make it worse all of the airlines run a scam of billing you miles for taking you out of your way and also billing you miles(against your allotment) for when they don't service an area and you have to travel by other ground or air providers. They blame rules made by the International Association of Travel Agents. My question is "When did a bunch of travel agents start making rules for the airlines?" My first experience in business class on Northwest was less than desireable, though they've been sincere in trying to make up for it by giving me 10,000 award miles. Here's what happened; I got onboard the flight, sat down and found my seat was broken after we were airborne. The stewards were so busy I didn't get to say anything ntil after the meal. Worse, I couldn't page them because the "Call" button was broken and the video tv didn't work either.I have special dietary restrictions and when my meals came, the meal was 100% the opposite of what I could eat-so, I starved for 12 hours. When the head steward finally got around to understanding my situation, he offered to bump another passenger out of their "employee" seat but having gotten considerably into the flight I politely declined to move all my carry-on around the plane.I also declined a bottle of wine(I don't drink) but finally accepted a 1,500 mileage voucher that they gave me. I didn't care to fly during the start of the Iraq war, so the agents at northwest told me there was no problem having "courtesy extension" issued which would allow me to re-ticket my flights without penalty. Of course, wwhen I sshowed up for the re-ticketing no one knew about the courtesy extension and they billed me $150. Customer relations gave me a "Flight credit" of $150, but I'm still sitting on a one year ticket that was cut short by 3 or 4 months wondering if they're going to honor the statements of if 'm going to be stranded somewhere when they cancel my ticket as a result of moving everything up a few months and going over the riginal 1 year time limit. Here's the upcoming itinerary; Peru-lima cuzco, water rafting, nazca plains, Lake Titicaca Bolivia, Sta Rosa Chile- Easter Island, Pattagonia, Cape Horn Antartica Argentina- Buenas Ares Then to S. Africq Capetown Johannesberg Then to Australia Brisbane to Barrier Reef Sdney, Melbourne Tasmania for research then to New Zealand then to Thailand by next may (Comment on this)
Saturday, February 1st, 2003
2:28 pm	Long & Winding Road Adventure in India- Well, it took an act of God to get by that Thai Airlines #!@?+*! ticket agent, but despite her, I got on my flight to India. For those of you who have never been to India, let me about the cultureshock that one from this area might encounter; the first thing ou'll notice is the stange burning smell that is constantly present in the air- thats people burning dung to keep warm- they're also burning any other type of garbage they can get their hands on, but it all gets burnt- everyday, and especially in the morning. So I land and sniff the air-ahhh, (cough)I've made it. Next, it's time to go and play with the taxi people. There are two choices, curbside hacks,who will try to jack the fare any way they can, or the State approved fixed fare booths- which I opt for. The fare to where I am going is 250 rupee's ($5) and a young guy is told to show me to where the cab is parked -and he immediately puts out his hand "My tip, sir?" I ask him "If you aren't my driver, what did you do to earn a tip?" and he ressponds that "I am very poor and if you don't tip me, I have no money." Any Indian would have told him to get lost, but being a travel weary foreigner I just handed him 20 rupees(25 cents) to go away. Of course the taxi driver made no bones about reminding me what a good driver he was and that he should get a tip,too. I've got two major destinations to get to in India- A spiritual center in the Punjab (North india) and a series of towns ad cities in the western area called Rajastan. On the train North, I met an African woman from Zambigwe who was enroute to the same place i was going. We took turns watching each others bags during the long overnight trainride while the other got some shut eye. The conductor didn't call our station, (at least he didn't call it in any discernable form of English or Hindi) so we ended up going to the end of the line in Amritsar, which was the next stop. We ran across the platform( luggage and all) and caught a moving train to get back to our stop. Had to bicker with the new conductor who thought we were freeloaders, but our tickets and persistance allowed us passage. We arrived just before dawn and walked through an ever present fog that surrounded the station and people. With our bags loaded onto a small bus, we were driven about 5 miles to our destination and escorted by a jeep full of armed soldiers. We werer no more than 20 miles from the Pakistan border and it Seems that any trouble that happens is at night - thus the escort- a preventitive measure. By the time we arrived, everything was in full motion. People come to this place to see the "Sant", saint, holyman, guru,master. There were about 1 million people there when i arrived. About 40,000 had come for the Free Eye Camp which is held once a year and open to anyone who can make it there. Surgeons from around the world come in for one week and donate their services to help these poor people get their sight back. This year there were 7,500 successful operations. I'm not he expert on these matters, but there must of been a lot of spiritually enlightened people in this place. There were sadhus (those who give up everything for spiritual pursuit), buddhist monks, nuns, farmerrs, businessmen, even the Dalai Lama and Richard Gere had shown up there just before I got there. Anyway, there definitely was something very, very different about the energy and the space. Coarse thought patterns seems to dissapate and a light, happy form of thinking just took over. They say what transpires with the spirit directly effects the mind and that in turn has it's effect on the body. I can't give an accurate analysis in words, but I'll leave it to say that the air was electrified in the presence of the God Realized one(s), and I find it difficult to express the bliss and joy that I witnessed in some of the eyes of those people. I was give a nice plain room with all the basica and full shower facilities and fantastic simple food everyday. They didn't charge anything as they figure anyone who makes it there is an invited guest that the Almighty intended to have there. They had a great library of just about every type of meditation and religious related book there is. I had a feast of learning and heard talks on not only the bible, the Koran and hebrew text, but also ancient poetry written by the likes of Kabir and Rumi. With my spiritual laundry cleaned for this year, My cup runneth over with all the good vibes in just over a week and I parted ways with my mystic friends of the north. Wow, leaving a place in heaven like that, and then going back to Delhi (probably the model for Hell) was a shock. I met a newly arrived couple from California and as we shared a taxi to go to lunch I noticed the wife looking out the window in awe of the common traffic scenes...a Brahman bull walks by and she asks the driver- "There's a cow there! Does it know where it's going?" and when She see's a sow with her litter of piglets walk by she ask's "There's a pig, does it know where it's going?" The driver assures her the pig and cow know what they are doing and where they are going. The California girl should hope for as much. I was referred to a travel agent that would arrange my tour of Rajastan. I wanted to take the "Palace" train but they wanted $400 a day from non-Indians. Try as I may, I couldn't get a better price in the time I had so I settled for my agents pursuation to go in one of his Limo's. It wouldn't be as cheap as the regular train, but it would be more direct to the places that I wanted to go. The limo turned out to be a sub compact but it had enough leg room for me for shorter trips. I went to Agra, saw the Taj mahal and gotthe whole story on it, the family, and saw the living quarters of the king and some major tombs and forts. The Taj really is a Wonder of the World- right out of a dream and more impressive thanwords describe. To see it now makes me wonder what the life might have been like then. I stayed at a 5 star hotel and met an interesting character. He was a U.N. inspector, as well as a Lt. in the Finnish army, who was on a short leave. He told me that Al-Queda types have massive bio-chemical and germ warfare facilities in the Kyber pass (north Pakistan) but the UN can't do anything about it because that isn't an area within the scope of their inspection. We both passed afew moments of reflective thought after that comment- the sitar and harmoniaum and tabla players kept playing, the magician kept doing his tricks and the waiters with the bright turbans kept an attentive eye ontheir customers. Perhaps life will just keep going on and the basic nature and goodness of people will prevail over the madness of the few. The next day we drive to the capital of Rajastan and i get a look at a city of pink buildings. Beautiful old palaces and fortresses. I was so impressed with the detail of one of the local artists painting that I bought an original. That night there were three hindi weddings at my hotel. Wow, talk about a party! Indians do the wedding thing for three days! The colors of the dresses for the ladies and the outfits for men-incedible food, dance,music and clothes. The Pandit(astrologer) of Joodipur gave me an unbelieveably accurate reading (at least for the past and present-I hope he's right about the future stuff becasue it was all good) Went to a fortress /palace built by Akbar the Great's lead general in Amber. Rode an elephant up the same road that the mogul kings of old rode on and toured the housing and palace. Meanwhile my guide is tring to get me to go into his favorite stores and buy stuff so he can get a commission. Stopped as some beautiful palaces along the way and stayed in one that was restored "Neem-Rama" fortress. Wow, i had a raja's room for a night. Elegant dining in a room lined with pluch curtains, carpets, attentive staff...I danced with the native Rajastan dancers while the musicians strummed their silky and rythmnic tones under the starry sky. That's the brief on India. I couldn't wait to get out of that car or off the Indian roads- every 20 seconds the driver was beeping the damn horn at some truck or donkey driven cart- extremely dangerous roads. Coming back to Delhi from the desert was going hot to COLLLDDDD! Couldn't get out of India soon enough after the travelling- A ticket snafu in Thailand had me stuck there for a while, but it lead to me setting up my next trip - so, it wasn't so bad . See y'all soon phil (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 18th, 2002
10:31 pm	Detouproblems at the gate Singapore was so incredibly Yuppieville! Everyone, I mean everyone was totally upwardly mobile motivated. Everywhere I looked there was another Saks 5th Avenue type store with throngs of clean smiley faces, and lots of clean sparkly Christmas decorations with lots of clean and shiney Infinitys, Mercedes and of course, Volvos. This also is probably the Vegetarian Restaurant Center of the Universe. I had a list of no less than 40 different restaurants to choose from . So, needless to say, I ate often. The meals really were something special for me as I usually get a very limited choice of food at home. The outdoor food court had the tastiest on only cost $3 Singapore(about $1.75 US) but an upscale place in the Mall charged me $40 Singapore for one of their specialty creations. Getting classy hotels at half price wasn't too bad, either. Went to a dance work shop and got totally burnt out doing very advanced Charleston with one of the Hot Shots- did think I was so out of shape but that proved it. Either that, or I'm finally going to have to admit middle age has hit. Met for lunch up with a friend I met on the New Zealand tour and introduced him to Swing dance crowd at the local studio. Oh, did I mention that I held basic swing classes for everyone on my tour each night before dinner? They had a great time... The folks at the dance studio here arranged for a Big Band and a Hot Shots demo at a New local bar. All that, along with a bunch of Lindy Hoppers taking over the place really caused a lot of attention from all the Mall crowds look-a-looing. I got a kick out of approaching one of the local dancers who didn't know me, and asking for a dance. I'm not a stereo-type Singaporean Asian by any means and I got such a look of "Are you just some bar-fly that wants to jump around on the floor?" that it made me come back with a "It doesn't look that difficult, let me give it a try." The reluctance changed to a curious astonishment after the first few swing outs. God, I just love fuckin' with peoples heads. ...The evening was great and I was up and out doing errands first thing in the a.m. so I could make my 4 o'clock flight. With a little rush I put it all together and got to the airport, early. At check-in I was told I couldn't fly because the the administrator at the Indian Embassy didn't write in the correct date on my visa. Had to check the lugage in storage, grab a cab to the embassy before it closed, got told they'd take a minimum of 5 days because they wanted to start all over since it was a different city than the issuing agency,and theere's no convincing him otherwise-no pay double for a same day pass or anything- I'd rather do something fun than watch hungry shoppers for the next 5 days so I go to the airlines and see if they will let my go through Bangkok and fix the visa there. I'm told OK, then (with lots more hassle get the ticket reissued and by 10:30 I'm off to Bk. Hotel has a room for me ($22 a night) and with a little effort the Embassy will clear me by Friday. But now the airline changes it's mind and wants to cancel my ticket because the rules say I'm not allowed to return to the start city until the end. One trouble maker (who has never heard of cthe notion of customer service keeps undoing every effort I make to smooth thing out- must be Karma- after some phone calls and a few well placed emotions , I get my ticket and I'm set to go on Sat. It would take too long to explain, but this type of thing is typical with Asian business that I've seen. They make a mistake and then try to bill you for it and never , ever, say they did anything wrong. They ended up telling me it was out of compassion that they let me fly...right.....I'll take what I can get here. So, this terrible delay is making me go on another dive trip to kill the time waiting for the visa. I'm off to beautiful Koh Samet tomorrow. Tough way to handle this inconvenience, but hey, I had to do something, right? See ya later (Comment on this)
Saturday, December 14th, 2002
8:37 am	Tour 2002 Hi! This is a little encapsulation of where I've been and where I'm going on this round-the-world tour. In the near future I'll start to fill in Daily journals backwards and forwards. If I can get a decent amount of server space somewhere I'll post mpeg movies and jpeg pictures that I've been taking. NOvember: Direct flight to the North Island of New Zealand. Had a great time at the Auckland Lindy Exchange-people here were realy glad to have an event and readily shared their joy of the dance. Groups from different towns all gave their own performances- great time was had by all. While in town I got the chance to be crew on an America's Cup yacht! Whooo,fun, but hard work! Proved I'm slowly going insane by "abseiling"(sliding down a rope) over 500' into a cave that I couldn't even see the bottom of. It was like that hole that Gandalf fell into in the movie-drop something into it and it doesn't make a landing sound for a long time... once on the cave floor went spelunking up and down all types of tunnels and underground rivers. A really amazing thing is the "GLOWWORMS" that are in these caves. Turn off the light on your helmet and the place lights up with glowworms like a thousand stars all over the ceiling! Then, I had to climb back out again, almost straight up...argggh! Adventure boy then went Whitewater rafting on the Kiatuna River which happens to have the highest commercial rafting waterfall in the world- of course, I went down this river and somehow survived all the rapids--it really was a thrill for the adrenaline junkies. I went to the place where the filmed the scenes fot the Shire in Lord of the Rings. In case you want a taste of what beatiful landscapes I've been seeing go see the Lord of the Rings (LOTR)movie. The South Island was a paradise all to itself. I went to a number of LOTR locations and made videos of me participating in different movie scenes. Just for fun, I'll edit these into the movie when I get back. I went on an overnight boat trip in Milford sound, a mystic fjord-like place that has it's own rare breed of dolphins and penguins. Towering waterfalls and curious ground parrots made up for being eaten alive by nasty sandflys-man, these things make our meanest mosquitos look like wimps. Long treks through elven forrests and jet boat rides in three inches of water capped my climb onto the Franz Josef Glacier where I played in ice tunnels of blue ice. Onto Tasmania in my third week. I just had to go to this place-I've wondered about it since I was a little kid that wass curious about places on the globe. It still has much of it's native beauty and hasn't been worn out by troops of tourists. The night I arrived they were having a street festival with a big band and I got to dance with the very enthusiastic locals. Went to the prisons where many naughty English were sent and later used to populate the colonies. A ghost tour left everyone chilled with the feeling of an eerie presence and a variety of emotions and feeelings, and I may have been lucky enough to get the image of one in a picture. Got to meet a lot of the critters living on the island as well; from the Tasmanian Devil,kangaroos, wombats aand lotsss of others that I can't spell. Going up cradle Mtn we started to get snow-Oh, forgot to tell you, I got on a "Connections" tour with 13 other crazies and we all rode around the island with a guide who showed us all the good stuff. Woke up to a complete ground cover of snow and had a snowball fight- this normally wouldn't be so remarkable but it's summertime in the southern hemisphere and they don't have snow during that season. Went to all types of honey farms, cheese dairy,a brewery, vineyards, and a chocolate factory! My group organized a heist of so many sample candies that we went the whole week around the country snacking away on the stash and there was still a bag left at the end. After that I went to Ayers Rock- a place that seems like the belly-button of the planet-located smack dab in the middle of the Australian Continent. A group of Huge rocks nearby (called the Olgas) had incredible energy vibrations eminating from them. Place was about 115 degrees, if the rocks weren't so awesome I wouldn't even want to visit this place. Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef were a different story. Didn't see as much of the reef as I would have liked as I trusted a travel agent to put me on a tourboat that was more like a cattle drive. Modern Catamaran gave great comfort in sailing, but because of the large number of passengers everything was "big group" mentality and truley lacked any adventure. Once I got overboard I was OK and got to see some of the splendors of this wonder of the world. If I go back to Australia, it will be to spend several days swimming this reef. Thousnads of varieties of fish and other sea life- spectacular! I took a hundred year old train up into the mountainss and into the rain-forest to an old outpost station. rom there I rode across athe tree tops on a Skyrail(cable buckets) and got to see the forest from the tree tops. After that went to an aborigine village where I saw their native dances, participated in spear throws and boomerang throws. A really hot Swing band (and one lindy-hopping follower to dance with from London made my stay complete. I was in Melbourne twice and despite it's having Swing somewhere every night, I just couldn't get to it on time. So, i missed the Swing capital of Down Under, but I got a lot in on the fringe towns. Today I'm in Singapore where the Rythm Hot shots are visiting Sing Lim, so I'll be cutting a rug this weekend. Then it's off to India, perhaps Bhutan and Thailand before heading home in January. Merry Christmas and Happy NEw Year to all. Phil (Comment on this)