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Showing posts with label nazca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nazca. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Gap Adventures Peru - Day 3 - Nazca Lines, and Ica Sandboarding
The sand whips across the road, but I can hardly see it; my eyelids are pressed together. Particles of dust rip at my face, destructive here on earth as they would be for ships hurtling through the perceived emptiness. As if that wasn't enough, the bottom of my face extended to my lower lids are assaulted by the strands of hair growing wild, and in such numbers from my chin, and cheeks.For two hours, I've faced this unpleasantness, compounded by pretense of two boys sharing the same name, whose homeland seems to be England. In the back of a rusted taxi, we try to sleep – anything to dull the feelings coursing through us. But there is no respite. there is no sleep. There is only the wind, the dust, and the pain.
And the day started off so pleasantly.
Waking up in Nazca Peru is like waking up in almost any part of the world. One foot out of bed, then the next, maybe a shower, maybe a shave (not in my case – but in the cases of many, I'm sure.) Breakfast at the hostel was 4USD and consisted of bread and jam. No thank you. I can find hostels that will include a breakfast like that for 4USD and throw in a night's stay as well. I devoured an extra sandwich I had purchased the day before.
And then the waiting began. Waiting like I'd never waited before. I checked the sky; the sky was blue. I could see some clouds on the horizon, but they shouldn't have been a problem. The sun was out, the winds were still. And still I waited.
I waited until 8:40am when a car picked me up and took me out to an airstrip. There, I had to sit and wait some more. And so I did. I waited for half an hour. The skies were still clear, I checked. My feet would have tapped were I not commanding myself to just shut down and relax. A false state of relaxation, but better than running around as a child on Christmas morning, not able to open any presents until breakfast was finished. (Why parents do this is beyond me. They are cruel terrible people.)
Then I was called forward. I was detected for metal. I walked out onto the tarmac. I approached the plane. Being the heaviest in the group, as is often the case, you see, I was sent to the front of the plane. Others would have to take a seat to the rear. With their tiny windows. The little seven seater prop plane started up, and we were off. Flying high into the air, over top of the desert.And why? Why were we flying over the Nazca desert? Why was I so excited to be here? What was down below?
Some lines. That's all. The Nazca lines. It strikes me that most people have no idea what the Nazca lines are. I thought they'd be as well known as the pyramids, or stone henge, or other mysterious things of that nature. They're oh so closely related. But no – you tell someone you're excited to see them and they just shrug. They have no idea.
In the 1950s some people used the lines as proof positive that aliens existed. This may be a little bit of a stretch, but the fantastical nature of them is no less impressive. Well, ok, maybe it's a little less impressive than Aliens existing, but isn't almost everything? That comparison was hardly fair.
The Nazca lines are figures, pictures, and geometric shapes carved into the ground. The designs can be over 200 meters in size. And they can only be truly appreciated when seen from above. The thing is, these lines were created over two thousand years ago! Over two thousand years ago giant pictures of monkeys, and birds, and other such things were created never to be appreciated by the people who made them. Never really seen by those who made them.
Some of the more cynical people that I'm travelling with claim that perhaps they were made so that generations down the line the good people of Peru could charge tourists 62USD to fly over them. I find the possibility of Alien Interference far more likely.
Think of crop circles. Now think of then being made thousands of years ago in the desert. And think of them as being recognizable shapes rather than just pretty patterns. I mention crop circles because if they can be made without overhead observation, so too could these – which is why I think aliens? Not really required, thank you very much.
I will post images of all the shapes that I saw in a following entry. Hopefully others will be as impressed as I was. The only problem? There's no sense of scale. There's no way to really understand how large the objects are, until you're there, hundreds of feet in the air, and they're still filling your camera frame without needing to zoom.
Whatever their purpose, or however they are constructed, that hardly seems to matter. It's just art – beautiful, magical, wonderful.
As the plane landed and I wandered the gift shop the sky began to change. The winds picked up. The cloud cover had fallen. Had we left any later, I would have missed the sighting completely. Within an hour, the dust had blotted out the sun.
But blotted out sun is no reason to pack up and head home. No sir. That's just more reason to head out further into the desert. Two hours away, the town of Ica houses some of the best dunes for Sandboarding. Having passed it up once who was I to say no again? And for only 16USD, and dune buggy rides to the top, well it was looking pretty perfect.
Once the taxi ride ended, and we were released back into the wild, it became a far more tolerable existence. And once we boarded the dune buggy?
There's a section in Halo 1 where you can obtain two Warthog vehicles, and two rocket launchers. The game will auto save right before the moment when the two rocket launcher armed Warthog drivers are staring one another down on the beach. In first year University I may have avoided a class here or there by playing out this section of the level. What you would do is try to ram into one another as best you could, causing the vehicle to spin out of control. And once you'd knocked one Master Chief from his vehicle it would be a rocket launching battle to the death. This was a personally created mini-game that I've often wondered how many other people played out. This was quite possibly the most fun I'd ever had with Halo – a big shout out to Matty P with whom we at times would only leave the game for meals, before returning back to it (hey – it was University. That's what you do.) The only thing that offered us more reason to stay away from school was, perhaps, Yoko from Japan / Natasha from Canada.I'd always wondered what it would have felt like to be zipping around in those vehicles. Now I know. Thrashing through the desert in the worlds greatest off rails roller coaster – up and over the peeks in the dune buggy, ramping up the sides and then back down again like some real world modern Turbo Train. The between the legs seat belts were obviously designed by women as each bump was less than ideal, but plowing through the desert in one of these open carts was beyond any expectation.
And then you were at the top of the dune. I strapped the board to my feet, leaded over the edge, rode about three feet and then fell. Stood up again, and fell. Tried to stand. Fell. This was repeated until the bottom of the hill. But let none say that I did not try sandboarding! Perhaps some instruction, or some baby slopes would have been a good way to start? But no. Watching the skateboarders and snowboarders in our mix repeat with equal results made me feel much better about my own effort.
I had tried and then tried and finally tried some more. But I was in no mood for more pain. No. I would look towards the future- zipping down the hill, my belly on the board, picking up as much speed as I could. Though not as rewarding as my failed attempts to stand up, neither was it as painful. Each slope was cushioned by more zipping through the sands in the buggy.
Part of me wondered what it would have been like out here on a clear day. Another part of me loved the invisible expanse.
After our ride, the way back would be more harrowing than the ride there, and it would last an hour longer. The car that took us from Ica to Nazca had cracked windshield, a hose going into a pop bottle under the hood, and doors that could only open from the outside, or by reaching a hand through the window that could not roll up.
On the other hand it was more roomy.
The sand picked up to the point that cars directly in front of you became obscured. The sun lost its battle with the dust, and for one moment or two our driver decided to change into the wrong lane, while driving into a blind turn. Still, three and a half hours later we made it back.Standing in my hotel room, I emptied my pockets of sand, and attempted to shake out my clothes as best I could. I then focused on my hair. Knotted by winds, glued with dirt, face covered in dust. This was going to be a challenge. A lot of hair was lost in the ensuing moments. Still – by the end of my microcosmic war, I could brush straight through without pain, and so all was worth while in the end.
There was no more time to waste! We headed out to dinner. Dinner was cooked underground. It is now my opinion that the best food comes from underground. Underground corn? Suburb. Underground pork and chicken? The best. Underground potatoes? Sweet or regular – take your pick – both good. And tamales? No longer just a word to me – fantastic! Dinner was a delicious feast, cooked for hours by hot rocks in a pit buried beneath the surface of the earth. And it was absolutely marvelous.Then it was off to catch the night train to Arequipa. After Dukes of Hazard finished playing at 11pm the video system was mercifully put to rest. It was time for sleep. Day three of Gap Adventure's Peru on a Shoestring trip? Magnificent!
Gap Adventures Peru - Day 3 - Nazca Lines, and Ica Sandboarding
The sand whips across the road, but I can hardly see it; my eyelids are pressed together. Particles of dust rip at my face, destructive here on earth as they would be for ships hurtling through the perceived emptiness. As if that wasn't enough, the bottom of my face extended to my lower lids are assaulted by the strands of hair growing wild, and in such numbers from my chin, and cheeks.
For two hours, I've faced this unpleasantness, compounded by pretense of two boys sharing the same name, whose homeland seems to be England. In the back of a rusted taxi, we try to sleep – anything to dull the feelings coursing through us. But there is no respite. there is no sleep. There is only the wind, the dust, and the pain.
And the day started off so pleasantly.
Waking up in Nazca Peru is like waking up in almost any part of the world. One foot out of bed, then the next, maybe a shower, maybe a shave (not in my case – but in the cases of many, I'm sure.) Breakfast at the hostel was 4USD and consisted of bread and jam. No thank you. I can find hostels that will include a breakfast like that for 4USD and throw in a night's stay as well. I devoured an extra sandwich I had purchased the day before.
And then the waiting began. Waiting like I'd never waited before. I checked the sky; the sky was blue. I could see some clouds on the horizon, but they shouldn't have been a problem. The sun was out, the winds were still. And still I waited.
I waited until 8:40am when a car picked me up and took me out to an airstrip. There, I had to sit and wait some more. And so I did. I waited for half an hour. The skies were still clear, I checked. My feet would have tapped were I not commanding myself to just shut down and relax. A false state of relaxation, but better than running around as a child on Christmas morning, not able to open any presents until breakfast was finished. (Why parents do this is beyond me. They are cruel terrible people.)
Then I was called forward. I was detected for metal. I walked out onto the tarmac. I approached the plane. Being the heaviest in the group, as is often the case, you see, I was sent to the front of the plane. Others would have to take a seat to the rear. With their tiny windows. The little seven seater prop plane started up, and we were off. Flying high into the air, over top of the desert.
And why? Why were we flying over the Nazca desert? Why was I so excited to be here? What was down below?
Some lines. That's all. The Nazca lines. It strikes me that most people have no idea what the Nazca lines are. I thought they'd be as well known as the pyramids, or stone henge, or other mysterious things of that nature. They're oh so closely related. But no – you tell someone you're excited to see them and they just shrug. They have no idea.
In the 1950s some people used the lines as proof positive that aliens existed. This may be a little bit of a stretch, but the fantastical nature of them is no less impressive. Well, ok, maybe it's a little less impressive than Aliens existing, but isn't almost everything? That comparison was hardly fair.
The Nazca lines are figures, pictures, and geometric shapes carved into the ground. The designs can be over 200 meters in size. And they can only be truly appreciated when seen from above. The thing is, these lines were created over two thousand years ago! Over two thousand years ago giant pictures of monkeys, and birds, and other such things were created never to be appreciated by the people who made them. Never really seen by those who made them.
Some of the more cynical people that I'm travelling with claim that perhaps they were made so that generations down the line the good people of Peru could charge tourists 62USD to fly over them. I find the possibility of Alien Interference far more likely.
Think of crop circles. Now think of then being made thousands of years ago in the desert. And think of them as being recognizable shapes rather than just pretty patterns. I mention crop circles because if they can be made without overhead observation, so too could these – which is why I think aliens? Not really required, thank you very much.
I will post images of all the shapes that I saw in a following entry. Hopefully others will be as impressed as I was. The only problem? There's no sense of scale. There's no way to really understand how large the objects are, until you're there, hundreds of feet in the air, and they're still filling your camera frame without needing to zoom.
Whatever their purpose, or however they are constructed, that hardly seems to matter. It's just art – beautiful, magical, wonderful.
As the plane landed and I wandered the gift shop the sky began to change. The winds picked up. The cloud cover had fallen. Had we left any later, I would have missed the sighting completely. Within an hour, the dust had blotted out the sun.
But blotted out sun is no reason to pack up and head home. No sir. That's just more reason to head out further into the desert. Two hours away, the town of Ica houses some of the best dunes for Sandboarding. Having passed it up once who was I to say no again? And for only 16USD, and dune buggy rides to the top, well it was looking pretty perfect.
Once the taxi ride ended, and we were released back into the wild, it became a far more tolerable existence. And once we boarded the dune buggy?
There's a section in Halo 1 where you can obtain two Warthog vehicles, and two rocket launchers. The game will auto save right before the moment when the two rocket launcher armed Warthog drivers are staring one another down on the beach. In first year University I may have avoided a class here or there by playing out this section of the level. What you would do is try to ram into one another as best you could, causing the vehicle to spin out of control. And once you'd knocked one Master Chief from his vehicle it would be a rocket launching battle to the death. This was a personally created mini-game that I've often wondered how many other people played out. This was quite possibly the most fun I'd ever had with Halo – a big shout out to Matty P with whom we at times would only leave the game for meals, before returning back to it (hey – it was University. That's what you do.) The only thing that offered us more reason to stay away from school was, perhaps, Yoko from Japan / Natasha from Canada.
I'd always wondered what it would have felt like to be zipping around in those vehicles. Now I know. Thrashing through the desert in the worlds greatest off rails roller coaster – up and over the peeks in the dune buggy, ramping up the sides and then back down again like some real world modern Turbo Train. The between the legs seat belts were obviously designed by women as each bump was less than ideal, but plowing through the desert in one of these open carts was beyond any expectation.
And then you were at the top of the dune. I strapped the board to my feet, leaded over the edge, rode about three feet and then fell. Stood up again, and fell. Tried to stand. Fell. This was repeated until the bottom of the hill. But let none say that I did not try sandboarding! Perhaps some instruction, or some baby slopes would have been a good way to start? But no. Watching the skateboarders and snowboarders in our mix repeat with equal results made me feel much better about my own effort.
I had tried and then tried and finally tried some more. But I was in no mood for more pain. No. I would look towards the future- zipping down the hill, my belly on the board, picking up as much speed as I could. Though not as rewarding as my failed attempts to stand up, neither was it as painful. Each slope was cushioned by more zipping through the sands in the buggy.
Part of me wondered what it would have been like out here on a clear day. Another part of me loved the invisible expanse.
After our ride, the way back would be more harrowing than the ride there, and it would last an hour longer. The car that took us from Ica to Nazca had cracked windshield, a hose going into a pop bottle under the hood, and doors that could only open from the outside, or by reaching a hand through the window that could not roll up.
On the other hand it was more roomy.
The sand picked up to the point that cars directly in front of you became obscured. The sun lost its battle with the dust, and for one moment or two our driver decided to change into the wrong lane, while driving into a blind turn. Still, three and a half hours later we made it back.
Standing in my hotel room, I emptied my pockets of sand, and attempted to shake out my clothes as best I could. I then focused on my hair. Knotted by winds, glued with dirt, face covered in dust. This was going to be a challenge. A lot of hair was lost in the ensuing moments. Still – by the end of my microcosmic war, I could brush straight through without pain, and so all was worth while in the end.
There was no more time to waste! We headed out to dinner. Dinner was cooked underground. It is now my opinion that the best food comes from underground. Underground corn? Suburb. Underground pork and chicken? The best. Underground potatoes? Sweet or regular – take your pick – both good. And tamales? No longer just a word to me – fantastic! Dinner was a delicious feast, cooked for hours by hot rocks in a pit buried beneath the surface of the earth. And it was absolutely marvelous.
Then it was off to catch the night train to Arequipa. After Dukes of Hazard finished playing at 11pm the video system was mercifully put to rest. It was time for sleep. Day three of Gap Adventure's Peru on a Shoestring trip? Magnificent!
For two hours, I've faced this unpleasantness, compounded by pretense of two boys sharing the same name, whose homeland seems to be England. In the back of a rusted taxi, we try to sleep – anything to dull the feelings coursing through us. But there is no respite. there is no sleep. There is only the wind, the dust, and the pain.
And the day started off so pleasantly.
Waking up in Nazca Peru is like waking up in almost any part of the world. One foot out of bed, then the next, maybe a shower, maybe a shave (not in my case – but in the cases of many, I'm sure.) Breakfast at the hostel was 4USD and consisted of bread and jam. No thank you. I can find hostels that will include a breakfast like that for 4USD and throw in a night's stay as well. I devoured an extra sandwich I had purchased the day before.
And then the waiting began. Waiting like I'd never waited before. I checked the sky; the sky was blue. I could see some clouds on the horizon, but they shouldn't have been a problem. The sun was out, the winds were still. And still I waited.
I waited until 8:40am when a car picked me up and took me out to an airstrip. There, I had to sit and wait some more. And so I did. I waited for half an hour. The skies were still clear, I checked. My feet would have tapped were I not commanding myself to just shut down and relax. A false state of relaxation, but better than running around as a child on Christmas morning, not able to open any presents until breakfast was finished. (Why parents do this is beyond me. They are cruel terrible people.)
Then I was called forward. I was detected for metal. I walked out onto the tarmac. I approached the plane. Being the heaviest in the group, as is often the case, you see, I was sent to the front of the plane. Others would have to take a seat to the rear. With their tiny windows. The little seven seater prop plane started up, and we were off. Flying high into the air, over top of the desert.
And why? Why were we flying over the Nazca desert? Why was I so excited to be here? What was down below?
Some lines. That's all. The Nazca lines. It strikes me that most people have no idea what the Nazca lines are. I thought they'd be as well known as the pyramids, or stone henge, or other mysterious things of that nature. They're oh so closely related. But no – you tell someone you're excited to see them and they just shrug. They have no idea.
In the 1950s some people used the lines as proof positive that aliens existed. This may be a little bit of a stretch, but the fantastical nature of them is no less impressive. Well, ok, maybe it's a little less impressive than Aliens existing, but isn't almost everything? That comparison was hardly fair.
The Nazca lines are figures, pictures, and geometric shapes carved into the ground. The designs can be over 200 meters in size. And they can only be truly appreciated when seen from above. The thing is, these lines were created over two thousand years ago! Over two thousand years ago giant pictures of monkeys, and birds, and other such things were created never to be appreciated by the people who made them. Never really seen by those who made them.
Some of the more cynical people that I'm travelling with claim that perhaps they were made so that generations down the line the good people of Peru could charge tourists 62USD to fly over them. I find the possibility of Alien Interference far more likely.
Think of crop circles. Now think of then being made thousands of years ago in the desert. And think of them as being recognizable shapes rather than just pretty patterns. I mention crop circles because if they can be made without overhead observation, so too could these – which is why I think aliens? Not really required, thank you very much.
I will post images of all the shapes that I saw in a following entry. Hopefully others will be as impressed as I was. The only problem? There's no sense of scale. There's no way to really understand how large the objects are, until you're there, hundreds of feet in the air, and they're still filling your camera frame without needing to zoom.
Whatever their purpose, or however they are constructed, that hardly seems to matter. It's just art – beautiful, magical, wonderful.
As the plane landed and I wandered the gift shop the sky began to change. The winds picked up. The cloud cover had fallen. Had we left any later, I would have missed the sighting completely. Within an hour, the dust had blotted out the sun.
But blotted out sun is no reason to pack up and head home. No sir. That's just more reason to head out further into the desert. Two hours away, the town of Ica houses some of the best dunes for Sandboarding. Having passed it up once who was I to say no again? And for only 16USD, and dune buggy rides to the top, well it was looking pretty perfect.
Once the taxi ride ended, and we were released back into the wild, it became a far more tolerable existence. And once we boarded the dune buggy?
There's a section in Halo 1 where you can obtain two Warthog vehicles, and two rocket launchers. The game will auto save right before the moment when the two rocket launcher armed Warthog drivers are staring one another down on the beach. In first year University I may have avoided a class here or there by playing out this section of the level. What you would do is try to ram into one another as best you could, causing the vehicle to spin out of control. And once you'd knocked one Master Chief from his vehicle it would be a rocket launching battle to the death. This was a personally created mini-game that I've often wondered how many other people played out. This was quite possibly the most fun I'd ever had with Halo – a big shout out to Matty P with whom we at times would only leave the game for meals, before returning back to it (hey – it was University. That's what you do.) The only thing that offered us more reason to stay away from school was, perhaps, Yoko from Japan / Natasha from Canada.
I'd always wondered what it would have felt like to be zipping around in those vehicles. Now I know. Thrashing through the desert in the worlds greatest off rails roller coaster – up and over the peeks in the dune buggy, ramping up the sides and then back down again like some real world modern Turbo Train. The between the legs seat belts were obviously designed by women as each bump was less than ideal, but plowing through the desert in one of these open carts was beyond any expectation.
And then you were at the top of the dune. I strapped the board to my feet, leaded over the edge, rode about three feet and then fell. Stood up again, and fell. Tried to stand. Fell. This was repeated until the bottom of the hill. But let none say that I did not try sandboarding! Perhaps some instruction, or some baby slopes would have been a good way to start? But no. Watching the skateboarders and snowboarders in our mix repeat with equal results made me feel much better about my own effort.
I had tried and then tried and finally tried some more. But I was in no mood for more pain. No. I would look towards the future- zipping down the hill, my belly on the board, picking up as much speed as I could. Though not as rewarding as my failed attempts to stand up, neither was it as painful. Each slope was cushioned by more zipping through the sands in the buggy.
Part of me wondered what it would have been like out here on a clear day. Another part of me loved the invisible expanse.
After our ride, the way back would be more harrowing than the ride there, and it would last an hour longer. The car that took us from Ica to Nazca had cracked windshield, a hose going into a pop bottle under the hood, and doors that could only open from the outside, or by reaching a hand through the window that could not roll up.
On the other hand it was more roomy.
The sand picked up to the point that cars directly in front of you became obscured. The sun lost its battle with the dust, and for one moment or two our driver decided to change into the wrong lane, while driving into a blind turn. Still, three and a half hours later we made it back.
Standing in my hotel room, I emptied my pockets of sand, and attempted to shake out my clothes as best I could. I then focused on my hair. Knotted by winds, glued with dirt, face covered in dust. This was going to be a challenge. A lot of hair was lost in the ensuing moments. Still – by the end of my microcosmic war, I could brush straight through without pain, and so all was worth while in the end.
There was no more time to waste! We headed out to dinner. Dinner was cooked underground. It is now my opinion that the best food comes from underground. Underground corn? Suburb. Underground pork and chicken? The best. Underground potatoes? Sweet or regular – take your pick – both good. And tamales? No longer just a word to me – fantastic! Dinner was a delicious feast, cooked for hours by hot rocks in a pit buried beneath the surface of the earth. And it was absolutely marvelous.
Then it was off to catch the night train to Arequipa. After Dukes of Hazard finished playing at 11pm the video system was mercifully put to rest. It was time for sleep. Day three of Gap Adventure's Peru on a Shoestring trip? Magnificent!
Gad Adventures - Peru, Day 2
Today was a pretty laid back day, all truth be told. My greatest adventure was going to the super market down the street to get some shampoo. To you this may not sound all that important, but have you seen pictures of me? Do you understand why shampoo is such a key item? If this were the legend of Zelda, it would be a quest item, and you would need to unlock the chest that contained it with the big key. All those keys that just fall out of the last remaining skeleton? They'd do nothing. Nothing! You'd need the big key.
But that wasn't all I did today. No, I also surfed the internet – and again, you're thinking so what? That's nothing special. But in the course of replying to emails certain things hit me. Certain realizations came to light. Not the least of which is that I'm a big geek. It's true. I'm a nerd. It's obvious, I know – but I think I've been trying to push it to the background for a while now. Why I'm a world traveller. I'm cultured. Sure, maybe, kinda, depends on who you ask. But by the same tokens I also love comic books, and video games, and science fiction. And I think in extended metaphors that relate to them. I also think in extended metaphors which doesn't do much to give me street cred, or detract from the geek factor – but I think it does work well with the whole, “I'm and English Teacher” thing. Although right now I'm not really one.
Right now I'm more or less unemployed. We'll deal with that come September 2010 though, alright? Lets just focus on the here and now.
Months and months and months ago – before this trip, maybe during Edinburg, I stated that I as going to start writing for myself, and no one else. The thing is, that's really hard to do. It is. Try writing just for you – most of the time you don't even know what you want... but I'm going to start writing to that effect again. Will there be changes? Who can say. But it's time I'm a bit more honest with myself.
If I was at home right now, I'd be filling my time making these: http://www.cubeecraft.com/ or constructing perler sprites: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foglera/sets/1686827/ or even turning this: http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/a-boy-and-his-blob-wallpaper-2-1280x1024.jpg into a 3d piece of art. All these things I will undoubtably do months from now. But for the moment I'm not home. I'm in Peru, and that's spec-tacular. Not unlike Spider-Man in his pre-Brand New Day story lines. Now? Forget about it. Marvel? Why? Retcon your retcon of retcon – alright?
Anyway, enjoy your life where you are doing what you're doing – because if you don't it will pass you by, and there will be nothing but regrets later. All those things will be far more fulfilling in the future because I've enjoyed myself today.
So, for you, maybe shampoo and internet isn't a big deal – but for me?
Ohh I finished reading Red Rabbit too. Now I'm reading a book called Contagious by Scott Sigler. I picked it up at the hostel in Bangkok. It's abound aliens who are trying to take over the world – but it's better than that. It's well written - which is more than I can say about the Clancy novels I've been reading. It doesn't hurt my head to flip pages, or embarrass me to reading in public. So that's something.
The reason I couldn't really get up to much today was that at 1:45pm we all had to meet up to catch a six hour bus to Nazca. Fantastic, I know! Wait until you hear about what I did there. A-Mazing. (look – the letter I posted previously clearly indicates that things are being written out of chronological order. Sorry to break the suspension of disbelief.)
I'd like to take a moment to pause and address a new issue with my Asus netbook. The M and the U keys have been giving me problems (not registering 30% of the time when pressed) but now – a new issue appears. When I push the N key sometimes it activates the space bar too. What fun! Moving on!
On this bus I was subjected to movie after movie. There was no plugging in your headset to hear them – nope, they played over the speaker system in Spanish. But due to the wonders of DVDs they had English subtitles. I'd like to point out that Spanish Dubs of English movies are really well done. The lips seem to match, voices are similar, and emotion and inflection carries over. Much different that Asian dubs, I'll tell you that right now. Or some of the dubs that are just one person reading all the lines. I think those are often Italian, are they not?
What movies were they? Blood Diamond – which was alright until it started skipping, so to solve the problem the volume was turned up so we could hear the skipping even better. Muted, with subtitles it was almost still bearable. But loud? And we kept this up for an hour (30 minutes of movie time – 60 our skipping time) until near the end, where it was just turned off. Just turned off! I'm told Leonardo DiCaprio dies and that the father gets his messed up son back, but can I really know for sure? And the diamond, what happened to it?
Remember for that year when no one wanted to buy diamonds? Apparently the suffering is cool now – we have better flavours of the month to worry about these days.
Next up? My sisters keeper. Dug it. Honest and true. Really dug it. Other people on the bus, when recapping it, seemed to have missed the most important part which leads to a 100% wrong understanding. That was cute.
Finally? Waterhorse. Or Free Willy with Nessie. This movie? So depressing! Was it really necessary that Nessie dies at the end? I mean sure it happens off camera, and most people probably won't think of that aspect of the movie, but it's all there. That Waterhorse you came to know and love? Yeah – it's dead by the end of the film.
Also – Loch Ness is the most voluminous Scottish Loch – so when the shells started to drop into the lake? What the heck was the monster doing right under them? Do you know what crap odds you need to to be right under the shells on a 21.8 square mile loch? It's over 200m deep people!
Yes, that's right. That's when I stopped believing in the movie. Monsters, and little Scottish kids not being beaten for being as annoying as this one was, that I could handle. But the monster being right under the shells? Please.
And then we arrived in Nazca, checked into our rooms around 10 or 11pm paid some extra money (of course) so we could keep them until later on the next day. Nice of them to charge us extra when the hotel was mostly empty. And then we all went off to sleep. Ever so slowly, this trip is starting to pick up.
Yes, I realize I've seen a lot of movies in this country already.
But that wasn't all I did today. No, I also surfed the internet – and again, you're thinking so what? That's nothing special. But in the course of replying to emails certain things hit me. Certain realizations came to light. Not the least of which is that I'm a big geek. It's true. I'm a nerd. It's obvious, I know – but I think I've been trying to push it to the background for a while now. Why I'm a world traveller. I'm cultured. Sure, maybe, kinda, depends on who you ask. But by the same tokens I also love comic books, and video games, and science fiction. And I think in extended metaphors that relate to them. I also think in extended metaphors which doesn't do much to give me street cred, or detract from the geek factor – but I think it does work well with the whole, “I'm and English Teacher” thing. Although right now I'm not really one.
Right now I'm more or less unemployed. We'll deal with that come September 2010 though, alright? Lets just focus on the here and now.
Months and months and months ago – before this trip, maybe during Edinburg, I stated that I as going to start writing for myself, and no one else. The thing is, that's really hard to do. It is. Try writing just for you – most of the time you don't even know what you want... but I'm going to start writing to that effect again. Will there be changes? Who can say. But it's time I'm a bit more honest with myself.
If I was at home right now, I'd be filling my time making these: http://www.cubeecraft.com/ or constructing perler sprites: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foglera/sets/1686827/ or even turning this: http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/a-boy-and-his-blob-wallpaper-2-1280x1024.jpg into a 3d piece of art. All these things I will undoubtably do months from now. But for the moment I'm not home. I'm in Peru, and that's spec-tacular. Not unlike Spider-Man in his pre-Brand New Day story lines. Now? Forget about it. Marvel? Why? Retcon your retcon of retcon – alright?
Anyway, enjoy your life where you are doing what you're doing – because if you don't it will pass you by, and there will be nothing but regrets later. All those things will be far more fulfilling in the future because I've enjoyed myself today.
So, for you, maybe shampoo and internet isn't a big deal – but for me?
Ohh I finished reading Red Rabbit too. Now I'm reading a book called Contagious by Scott Sigler. I picked it up at the hostel in Bangkok. It's abound aliens who are trying to take over the world – but it's better than that. It's well written - which is more than I can say about the Clancy novels I've been reading. It doesn't hurt my head to flip pages, or embarrass me to reading in public. So that's something.
The reason I couldn't really get up to much today was that at 1:45pm we all had to meet up to catch a six hour bus to Nazca. Fantastic, I know! Wait until you hear about what I did there. A-Mazing. (look – the letter I posted previously clearly indicates that things are being written out of chronological order. Sorry to break the suspension of disbelief.)
I'd like to take a moment to pause and address a new issue with my Asus netbook. The M and the U keys have been giving me problems (not registering 30% of the time when pressed) but now – a new issue appears. When I push the N key sometimes it activates the space bar too. What fun! Moving on!
On this bus I was subjected to movie after movie. There was no plugging in your headset to hear them – nope, they played over the speaker system in Spanish. But due to the wonders of DVDs they had English subtitles. I'd like to point out that Spanish Dubs of English movies are really well done. The lips seem to match, voices are similar, and emotion and inflection carries over. Much different that Asian dubs, I'll tell you that right now. Or some of the dubs that are just one person reading all the lines. I think those are often Italian, are they not?
What movies were they? Blood Diamond – which was alright until it started skipping, so to solve the problem the volume was turned up so we could hear the skipping even better. Muted, with subtitles it was almost still bearable. But loud? And we kept this up for an hour (30 minutes of movie time – 60 our skipping time) until near the end, where it was just turned off. Just turned off! I'm told Leonardo DiCaprio dies and that the father gets his messed up son back, but can I really know for sure? And the diamond, what happened to it?
Remember for that year when no one wanted to buy diamonds? Apparently the suffering is cool now – we have better flavours of the month to worry about these days.
Next up? My sisters keeper. Dug it. Honest and true. Really dug it. Other people on the bus, when recapping it, seemed to have missed the most important part which leads to a 100% wrong understanding. That was cute.
Finally? Waterhorse. Or Free Willy with Nessie. This movie? So depressing! Was it really necessary that Nessie dies at the end? I mean sure it happens off camera, and most people probably won't think of that aspect of the movie, but it's all there. That Waterhorse you came to know and love? Yeah – it's dead by the end of the film.
Also – Loch Ness is the most voluminous Scottish Loch – so when the shells started to drop into the lake? What the heck was the monster doing right under them? Do you know what crap odds you need to to be right under the shells on a 21.8 square mile loch? It's over 200m deep people!
Yes, that's right. That's when I stopped believing in the movie. Monsters, and little Scottish kids not being beaten for being as annoying as this one was, that I could handle. But the monster being right under the shells? Please.
And then we arrived in Nazca, checked into our rooms around 10 or 11pm paid some extra money (of course) so we could keep them until later on the next day. Nice of them to charge us extra when the hotel was mostly empty. And then we all went off to sleep. Ever so slowly, this trip is starting to pick up.
Yes, I realize I've seen a lot of movies in this country already.
A 2nd Open Letter to GAP Adventres: Let's Still Be Friends, 'Kay?
Gap Adventures, thank you ever so much for the phone call, as I was sandboarding in the Peruvian deserts. Who would have thought? A phone call, just for me, in the middle of a very literal nowhere. It was as delightful and unexpected and receiving a handwritten letter in this day and age.
I'd just like to say, let's still be friends ok? As I wrote, I know the tour will still be good. There will still be lots to see. And your guides? They're always top notch! This is why I said that I'd still travel with GAP, and that I'd still recommend GAP. But it doesn't mean everything you do is perfect, nor will I agree with every choice. And I feel that I should write the good and the bad with tours, just like when I visit cities. Remember the floating marking in Bangkok? Skip it. No good. But that's just my opinion. That's just how I feel. Others may disagree.
It's nice to know every now and then you pop by my site when the company name is thrown down, which I assume is what led to the phone call making sure that all was well out here in the wonderful country of Peru.
Just as a reference I will post the original itinerary with the updated one so that those following along at home can see some changes.
Days one to seven are the same – 1. Lima, 2. Nazca, 3. Nazca, 4. Arequipa, 5. Arequipa, 6. Arequipa 7. Cusco
Day seven is where it changes. I'll mark #O for original and #R for revised.
8O Ollanataytambo
8R Cusco
9O trekking
9R trekking
10O trekking
10R trekking
11O trekking
11R Ollantaytamb o
12O trekking
12R Cusco
13O Machu Picchu
13R Cusco
14O Cusco
14R Cusco
15O – Fly out
15R – Fly out
You will notice that there are a number of more Cusco days in the revised. Now I'm willing to accept that maybe the February Trek is much shorter than the trek the rest of the year, and that those Cusco days would have always existed. It's possible.
Even still, when told on the phone that I was “only missing out on Machu Picchu” that almost made me giggle. But no, I did not. You see that would have allowed the blowing sands to enter my mouth, and the sand already on my face a chance to be sucked in through the laughter.
Again, you're a corporate entity, and I understand that you need to spin things, and by saying one is “only missing out on Machu Picchu” is an excellent way to spin it. It does make one pause and think, yeah, only one day out of a 15 day trip is altered. That's not so bad, is it?
It's like saying that Machu Picchu is just the cherry on top of the Sundae. But that's not entirely true is it?
Machu Picchu is a UNESCO world heritage site, it's one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, It is one of the most visited sites in Latin America; it is the most visited site in Peru. Cusco receives nearly one million tourists a year, and it's not to enjoy the historic capital as much as it is to make their way to Machu Picchu.
All spin aside, Machu Picchu is the sundae, and everything else is just topping.
Still – don't get me wrong, I'm left with the cherry and the chocolate sauce, and I would defy anyone to claim that a chocolate covered cherry is less than delicious. There is still more in this country, of course, but claiming that one is “only missing Machu Picchu,” well that's a bit of an understatement.
The words I've heard thrown around in response to this news are “gutted.” They are gutted to be missing out on the main reason that they signed up for this trip. They are gutted to not visit the one thing in Peru that makes the country stand out to travellers the world over.
I still have my chocolate covered cherry, and for that I'm greatful. But lets not kid ourselves. What I really came here for was the sundae.
And flights, tour costs, and other expenses considered this was a $4000.00 Sundae that I'll never have the chance, in my life, to taste. Yes, I'm left with a $3600.00 cherry – but somehow it doesn't leave quite as sweet a taste in my mouth.
And I know – you needn't have done even that. And I thank you for the monetary kick back we are to receive.
And while the trek is still a go, rather than thinking of the beautiful sunrise over the ancient city at the end of it, the tall drink of water at the end of a long dusty road, if you will, at the end of our two days of our hiking through the mud and rain and cold rather than receiving our drink, we'll simply be sent back to the beginning of the path, thirsty.
Once more I'd like to point out that I know that this was an act of god, if you will, and beyond all control. I know that there are worse things going on in the world right now – like the situation in Haiti that you are donating to – and that to you this may all seem small and insignificant.
But to me? This is my world. I don't live anyone else's life but my own. And for me? I'm gutted. Yes you do so much for the world at large, and you are a wonderful travel company, and I suggest people cancel their contiki vacations and pick up with you instead. But at the end of the day, right here, right now...
I'm still gutted.
I hope we can still be friends?
Sincerely Yours,
Michael Barltrop
feel free to contact me at oneyeartripblog@gmail.com
I'd just like to say, let's still be friends ok? As I wrote, I know the tour will still be good. There will still be lots to see. And your guides? They're always top notch! This is why I said that I'd still travel with GAP, and that I'd still recommend GAP. But it doesn't mean everything you do is perfect, nor will I agree with every choice. And I feel that I should write the good and the bad with tours, just like when I visit cities. Remember the floating marking in Bangkok? Skip it. No good. But that's just my opinion. That's just how I feel. Others may disagree.
It's nice to know every now and then you pop by my site when the company name is thrown down, which I assume is what led to the phone call making sure that all was well out here in the wonderful country of Peru.
Just as a reference I will post the original itinerary with the updated one so that those following along at home can see some changes.
Days one to seven are the same – 1. Lima, 2. Nazca, 3. Nazca, 4. Arequipa, 5. Arequipa, 6. Arequipa 7. Cusco
Day seven is where it changes. I'll mark #O for original and #R for revised.
8O Ollanataytambo
8R Cusco
9O trekking
9R trekking
10O trekking
10R trekking
11O trekking
11R Ollantaytamb o
12O trekking
12R Cusco
13O Machu Picchu
13R Cusco
14O Cusco
14R Cusco
15O – Fly out
15R – Fly out
You will notice that there are a number of more Cusco days in the revised. Now I'm willing to accept that maybe the February Trek is much shorter than the trek the rest of the year, and that those Cusco days would have always existed. It's possible.
Even still, when told on the phone that I was “only missing out on Machu Picchu” that almost made me giggle. But no, I did not. You see that would have allowed the blowing sands to enter my mouth, and the sand already on my face a chance to be sucked in through the laughter.
Again, you're a corporate entity, and I understand that you need to spin things, and by saying one is “only missing out on Machu Picchu” is an excellent way to spin it. It does make one pause and think, yeah, only one day out of a 15 day trip is altered. That's not so bad, is it?
It's like saying that Machu Picchu is just the cherry on top of the Sundae. But that's not entirely true is it?
Machu Picchu is a UNESCO world heritage site, it's one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, It is one of the most visited sites in Latin America; it is the most visited site in Peru. Cusco receives nearly one million tourists a year, and it's not to enjoy the historic capital as much as it is to make their way to Machu Picchu.
All spin aside, Machu Picchu is the sundae, and everything else is just topping.
Still – don't get me wrong, I'm left with the cherry and the chocolate sauce, and I would defy anyone to claim that a chocolate covered cherry is less than delicious. There is still more in this country, of course, but claiming that one is “only missing Machu Picchu,” well that's a bit of an understatement.
The words I've heard thrown around in response to this news are “gutted.” They are gutted to be missing out on the main reason that they signed up for this trip. They are gutted to not visit the one thing in Peru that makes the country stand out to travellers the world over.
I still have my chocolate covered cherry, and for that I'm greatful. But lets not kid ourselves. What I really came here for was the sundae.
And flights, tour costs, and other expenses considered this was a $4000.00 Sundae that I'll never have the chance, in my life, to taste. Yes, I'm left with a $3600.00 cherry – but somehow it doesn't leave quite as sweet a taste in my mouth.
And I know – you needn't have done even that. And I thank you for the monetary kick back we are to receive.
And while the trek is still a go, rather than thinking of the beautiful sunrise over the ancient city at the end of it, the tall drink of water at the end of a long dusty road, if you will, at the end of our two days of our hiking through the mud and rain and cold rather than receiving our drink, we'll simply be sent back to the beginning of the path, thirsty.
Once more I'd like to point out that I know that this was an act of god, if you will, and beyond all control. I know that there are worse things going on in the world right now – like the situation in Haiti that you are donating to – and that to you this may all seem small and insignificant.
But to me? This is my world. I don't live anyone else's life but my own. And for me? I'm gutted. Yes you do so much for the world at large, and you are a wonderful travel company, and I suggest people cancel their contiki vacations and pick up with you instead. But at the end of the day, right here, right now...
I'm still gutted.
I hope we can still be friends?
Sincerely Yours,
Michael Barltrop
feel free to contact me at oneyeartripblog@gmail.com
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