worldtrip

 I have a little free time now, so I thought Id try to post some pictures, and a brief description of what Ive been doing.  Im in Mancora now, on the north coast of Peru.  Its a popular surf town, but unfortunately there is no surf now.  Went kitesurfing the last 2 days at a place called Cabo Blanco.  Its where Hemmingway wrote the Old Man and the Sea, but the hotel where he stayed is abandoned now, and is the only building in the town.  Before coming here I did an 8 day trip to Manu National Park, near Cusco.  We managed to see quite a few animals – see pictures.  Almost saw a jaguar – the guide saw it, but by the time the boat stopped all that remained were the tracks.

After Manu, I did a fairly frightening mt bike ride down from a pass at about 14,ooo ft to about 11,000, then a much more relaxed but still challenging ride nearby.  My partner was an Australian guy who mt bikes every week, while Ive done it once in 3 years.  I managed not to fall, but it was very sketchy in several spots.

After that, I visited a Quechua village called Umabamba, near Cusco.  I thought it might be a typical tourist trip, but it was quite different.  My guide Wilfredo Huallpayunca  arranged it with the president of the town, Lucho.  It turned out I was the first tourist who had come to their village, and they kept referring to me as Patronera, which I think means something like a cross between employer and VIP.  They took me to their fields where we built an earth oven and dug up and roasted 3 types of potatoes and beans, then had a meal with other foods, including Cuy – guinea pig and Quechuan soup.  At the end they had a really sweeet ceremony, where they had constructed an arch covered with flowers and hung a cup from the top.  I was told that I was good luck, and I had to break the cup with a ceremonial hammer after they had poured Coca Cola into it. I really hope it brings them good luck in some way – they were really sweet people and the trip was very interesting.  The family I was visiting also showed me how to spin dye wool yarn – they are called the Association of Artesanos or Felix Puma.  I think anyone who visits Cusco, should do this trip or one like it.  So many people visit the area and leave without learning about how these people – the descendents of the original Incas – live.  It was quite amazing. The guide Wilfredo can be reached at incaswill_04@hotmail.com

Well, for some reason this site did not let me post my last entry – it´s actually quite obtuse, and the fact that that I have to do it on different computers each time, usually with Spanish instructions makes it even more so.  I´ll summarize my last trip:  It was really beautiful, and something I really wanted to do but I basically got talked into doing it much sooner than I should have.  The agency owner assured me that 2 days aclimation was fine, and he had done the trip many times, and that 3 other hikers would be joining us.  On the morning of the trip, 15 minutes before departure, I learned that he had gone on a different trip, and I would be the only hiker.  Furthermore, his replacement was a 23 year old kid who had done the 5 day hike ONCE before!  The hike was quite difficult w/ 3 of the 5 passes over 16,000 ft, and I had a lot of trouble sleeping.  In the end my equilibrium was so bad I had to ride a horse to get back – not fun when you have to ride at night on steep Andean trails, feeling like a punch-drunk cowboy!  Finally I returned to Cusco, and had to spend some time in clinic for altitude sicknesss treatment.

I´ve had similar experiences with tour operators in Africa who just want to get your money, but this was the worst!  Guess I´ll have to spend more time on research next time, but my next trip is to the Amazon in 2 days, and I think I should be OK there – at least all there is to worry about is mosquitos and snakes! 

Well, I thought I’d test this site out to see if it’s still working – it looks like it is!  I just posted my final grades for the 6 classes I taught this spring, and and am about to start a 3 1/2 mo trip in Peru, Ecuador, and Columbia (and possibly Bolivia thrown in for good measure).  I’ve been to the first two countries before, but I’ll be heading to different places.  First stop will be Manu National Park in the Amazon, and then hopefully the Galapagos, and a few spots in Ecuador.  I’ll try to post pictures and text to this site and Facebook when I can.  It turned out to be a good teaching tool for some of my classes and it helps to jog my memory about places I’ve been (plus, it’s free!)

Well, my world trip has finally come to an end.  I visited, in order, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, Greece, the Czech Republic, and Holland.  The pace was a little dizzying; there were definitely a few times when I would suddenly stop and realize that I had no idea which country I was in, the time or date, etc.  I guess compared to some of my fellow travelers, 4 months is not a long time to  spend on a trip like this.  I think I spent an average of about a week in each major stop, which is really only long enough to get a brief taste of a place.  One of the advantages, though, is that seeing such dramatic changes in culture, religions, and environments in a short period of time lets you compare things while they are still fresh in your mind.  Going from the temples of Angkor Wat to the temples of India in less than a day, for example, gives a sense of the continuity between these cultures; they were really created by different waves of the same people.  The religions and gods changed over time, but the style and magnitude of  the temples were similar.Another interesting thing about this trip was the chronology of the sites I visited.  During one part of the trip I went from the cradle of civilization at Olduvai Gorge in Africa  (about 4 mya), to the pyramids (about 3,000 yrs BC), to Greece (about 400 BC to 300 AD), to Prague (about 1400 AD and up).  Not to mention the ancient Khmer and Hindu civilizations, and all the hill tribes that still inhabit SE Asia, and the equally ancient Chinese dynasties.  Quite a lot to take in while you’re traveling- I’m just starting to read about some of the history I missed while I was taking photos.Another point regards the environment.  I’m a biologist with a particular love of the ocean, so I definitely enjoyed seeing the changes in fish species from the Gulf of Thailand, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean. I’m particularly interested in evolution, and it was great seeing the similarities and differences between species from region to region.  Seeing a whale shark in Thailand was a high point, but so was kayaking out with the Arab dhows in Zanzibar to snorkel on a distant island reef, or seeing the incredible diversity of marine life in the Red Sea, just yards offshore from seaside restaurants in Dahab, Egypt.Africa was spectacular of course.  Struggling to reach the top of Kilimanjaro was something I’ll always remember and I’ll try to convey some of the beauty and magnitude of that place to my students.  Also, visiting Serengeti, Ngorongo Crater, Uganda, etc. and seeing the animals I have looked at my whole life in books, TV shows, or zoos was an incredible experience, as was meeting some of the people that have lived in that environment for ages.  Another impression I had while traveling was the extreme heat and drought of many of the places I visited.  In India, I saw people plowing bone-dry fields and waiting for the monsoon rains to arrive, while they drew muddy water from a puddle 20 feet down a community well.  In Tanzania, the corn fields were dead and brown for as far as the eye could see in some places; one person told me that the people were starving because the normal rains didn’t come this year.  I certainly agree with the majority of scientists who feel that global warming is a reality that should be addressed immediately, but seeing these kinds of scenes was something that makes a real impact.  I haven’t looked at the statistics yet, but the people I talked to definitely seemed to think that things were changing rapidly, and this year was abnormally dry.  I get the impression that things will be changing dramatically in the near future for many parts of the world. As for my own future travel plans, I definitely want to continue to visit new places for as long as I can.  I’d certainly love to go back to Thailand, maybe visiting Vietnam, which I missed this time, and possibly getting over to Myanmar and Tibet.  Now that I’ve hit some of the major “must see” sights, I’d like to check out some of the more “off the beaten track” places.  I’ll keep this blog open (hopefully) and update it the next time I travel.  Cheers,  Phil Light      

I’ve been in Europe now for 2 days – it’s nice to finally see some rain again, after almost 2 months of solid heat and sunshine.  Prague is amazing, of course – I’ll send some pictures in a day or two.  Greece was quite spectacular, as you can see, but it was also incredibly expensive, mostly due to 2 factors:  1) I went during the heart of the tourist season, without reservations and 2) I let a tour company arrange the details, without shopping around for the best price.  I’ve actually never stayed in such luxury – my last place had 5 beds just for myself!  Anyway it was good to see the islands, and if I ever do it again I might know how to do it fro a reasonable price.  It has also been great seeing all of these cultures in such a short time frame – it gives some sense of continuity among these ancient civilizations.  Right now I’m surrounded by a city of medieval Christian and Jewish monuments – a lot of it pretty grim, but still fascinating.  My next post will probably be from Amsterdam, my last stop on this world trip – will send the Prague pix then.

  I’ve been here in Dahab, Egypt for about a week now – leaving tomorrow for Cairo and then to Greece the next day.  I have to say the best thing I’ve seen here has been the Red Sea, and especially the town of Dahab.  This place is the perfect antidote for the rest of Egypt; very laid back and relaxing.  I went kitesurfing all day today, watching camels walk along the beach while gliding over crystal clear waters.  The diving/snorkelling is really spectacular – the reef is about 100 ft offshore -you can sit in a bedouin style restaurant and look over the wall at the reef.  I also hiked up Mt. Sinai, the putative site where Moses received the 10 commandments and saw the sunrise -beautiful.  Also St Katherine’s Monastery, where there are parts built by Christians, Muslims, and Jews – quite an accomplishment! The gorilla and chimp pix are from a couple of treks I went on in Uganda – they were very expensive, but well worth it in my opinion. Next post will be from Greece!

 It looks like they may have given me some more space on this site, so I ‘ll try to update.  I arrived in Cairo today, and am just settling in – it’s pretty hot but not as bad as I’d imagined.  Heading to the pyramids tomorrow, and then down to Luxor and Aswan, then on to the Red Sea.  The pictures I’ve posted are just a sample of what I saw in Africa – all from my last week in Uganda. I’ll send a bunch more showing Zanzibar and Tanzania.  The wildlife is so unbelievable here it can make anyone a great photographer!  The gorillas and chimps were amazing to see in the wild, but real expensive – definitely a once/lifetime deal. We were able to get within about 15 feet of the gorillas, but the chimps stayed in the trees, and the lighting was not great, but they were still cool to watch.  The pythons (there were 2) were about 12 feet long – I wanted to catch one but the guide said no!  Also went rafting on the source of the Nile which was OK, but I guess I’m a little jaded from having done WW kayaking – rafting just can’t compare, but it was still a great experience (although expensive,of course).  Well, I’ll send a combination of Egypt pictures and older pix from Tanzania and Zanzibar in a a day or 2 – can only do this computer stuff for so long at a sitting.