Saying goodbye to a trip is always hard. Over four months later I am still writing about Bolivia and today is the very last post. Life has been so busy that it all feels sometimes like a blur. That is what has been so rewarding about having this blog. It has been a way to remember special moments in time and relive that experience through pictures and words.
As we left the Condoriri Valley after two wonderful successful hikes, I felt a sense of pride. I made it and wasn’t so sure I would given a hip injury that had kept me from running. But I did make it and I felt great, physically and mentally. Even more important is I made it with my dad.
Cerro Austria is stunning peak located in the spectacular Condoriri Valley a few hours outside of La Paz, Bolivia. At 17,698 feet it can be easily done in a day however you need to spend the night at the base camp to properly acclimatize before the hike. It took only three hours to climb up from our base camp at 15,500 to the summit of Cerro Austria at 17,698 feet (5,396 meters). Thankfully we had left early because a storm was moving in. If we didn’t get down soon we would be trapped.
The view atop Austria Peak were outstanding but the darkness in the clouds is what made us want to move fast.
I had never heard the eerie sound of thunder in the high mountains before. It is a sound you don’t want to hear. Every rumble and boom bounces off the mountains, echoing in a loud, frightening way. It wasn’t too close yet but it was moving in.
Last February, I was in Haiti as part of a #Bloggers4Haiti trip on behalf ofHeart of Haiti, a “trade not aid program” developed by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Willa Shalit in partnership with Macy’s to promote sustainable income in the arts for Haitians. Our trip began in Port-au-Prince and took us to the southern coast to the lovely ocean side town of Jacmel which is known for its papier-mâché.
While touring the different papier-mâché studios, I looked outside the window and saw this woman. There she was seated alongside the street, making fresh friend plantains one of my most favorite treats! As my mouth started to water, I grabbed my camera to capture the process of making them street side. For less than a $1 we bought a bag to share and they were just as fresh and delicious as they looked.
I was on the plane Friday morning heading to New York City when I opened my email to see that the weekly photo challenge was walls. Instantly I knew how I was going to spend my free afternoon in the city. A photo walk.
I did a google search and discovered that New York City has a tremendous wealth of street art along its walls, buildings and store fronts. I love street art and knew that it would be a great way to spend the afternoon exploring some of the back alleys and streets in the heart of Little Italy and NoLlta in search of street art.
I took the subway to Spring Street and got off with a map in hand and a few written notes of where to explore. It was a chilly early spring day yet the sun was shining strong and the city was alive as usual with activity. I could tell it was going to be a great afternoon.
Spring Street subway stop offers my first look at urban wall art.
There is no blue without yellow and without orange. –Vincent Van Gogh
As the dog days of winter draw to a close and daylight savings comes this weekend, it is a reminder that soon our colorless white landscape will come to an end. There is nothing more I crave this time of year than color. Any color except brown, black or white which have been the main hues here for months.
When I saw that this week’s photo challenge involves color, I was thrilled. I’ve felt so incredibly deprived these last few months that it was fun to go through my photos and search for anything the color orange. While going through my photos, I realized that I have relatively few photos that feature exclusively orange and not many more that have orange as a predominant color. That surprised me given my blog currently has over 10,000 photos stored.
It made me realize I need to search for more orange next time I’m out exploring the world. For orange is a color that invigorates, enlivens and brightens up the day. Here is a gallery of some of my favorite orange hues. Hope you enjoy!
“Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” – Anatoli Boukreev
There is something about leaving a big city and heading out to the countryside that truly shows the meaning of a place. Whenever I travel, I try my best to see both urban and rural parts of a country. While I enjoy the adventure and activity of a big urban city, for me getting out of it is the best part of all. I love the mountains, hills, and countryside. For it is within nature that I often feel the most alive.
Clouds thicken with rain at the foot of the Condoriri Valley in Bolivia.
Back in November, my father and I spent three days in La Paz, Bolivia acclimatizing to the high altitude and gearing up for our base camp at the foot of the Bolivian Andes in the Condoriri Valley at 15,500 feet. Landing in El Alto, the highest international airport in the world at a dizzying altitude of 13,323 feet (4,061 m), is not for the lighthearted nor is spending three days exploring the hilly, high altitude urban jungle of La Paz (which happens to be only slightly lower in elevation than her neighbor El Alto).
By the third morning, I was ready to leave the craziness of La Paz behind for a few days and go find myself in the beloved mountains. I’ve always loved the mountains as it is the one place in the world that I can truly find peace and reflection. Furthermore, I truly enjoy a good physical and mental challenge and that was just was I was about to get over the next few days hiking in Condoriri Valley.
When I first told friends that I was going to Haiti I got a lot of negative responses. “I would never go there” scolded a doctor friend of mine. “It is way too dangerous” warned another. Sadly the media has not painted a pretty picture of Haiti. Over and over again we have seen images and read articles about the devastation, poverty, political instability and disease, that makes Haiti sound like some kind of backwater, scary place. People thought I was crazy to go there.
As a seasoned traveler who has been to some rough places, I made sure I did my research. I talked to friends who had been there before and all of them said I had to go. That it would change me. And it did.
Now I want to share with the world the good things about Haiti. The stuff the media doesn’t cover because they want to sell a story. I’m not going to talk about the tent communities, the lack of infrastructure and health services. That will come later. Instead, I’m going to tell you about the spectacular art I saw on my trip visiting the artisans who work with Heart of Haiti.
Some of the amazing art produced in Haiti for Artisan Business Network.
One thing I learned is that Haiti is a nation of artisans. With a population of a little over ten million people, some estimates report that almost half a million Haitians rely on the handicraft sector as their primary or secondary source of income. No other sector employs such a high percentage of people in Haiti. Furthermore, art is an enormous part of Haitian life and culture and can be found nearly everywhere even in surprising, unexpected places.
The devastating 2010 earthquake that tore apart Port-au-Prince significantly hurt the artisan trade. Per Nat Tancrede, Executive Director at ABN (Artisan Business Network), the once thriving handicraft sector was almost destroyed. Before the earthquake it was reported that around 40-50 containers of artisan produced goods left Haiti weekly to the United States during the peak years of 1980-1985. Yet, in 2010 after the earthquake only six containers were being shipped a week. For a nation that depends on the handicraft sector, it had strong implications for the economy and the lives of the artisans. Today, the handicraft sector is continuing to grow and provide more sustainable incomes to both women and men, and Nat foresees even more opportunity down the road.
For a culture that is so strongly connected to art, Haiti is an art lover’s dream yet it remains relatively undiscovered. Art truly is everywhere in Haiti. Along the walls and sides of buildings and even on the side of the street lies handmade metal art, statues, papier-mâché and paintings. It was something that really surprised and amazed me.
The mountains are calling and I must go. – John Muir
In my opinion, there is nothing better than a good long hike to the top of the world. Getting there is half the fun and once on top, there is nothing more rewarding than a spectacular view. I have loved to hike my entire life and here are some of my favorite rewards through my journeys.
After ten days of hiking the world-famous Annapurna Trek, we arrived in gorgeous Pokhara, Nepal for a few days rest and enjoyment of the Diwali festival of lights. If only I had started my blog before this trip and understood the power of photography. Looking back my photos do not do Nepal justice as it is by far one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Pokhara, Nepal
Bolivia
I still haven’t finished writing my posts on our four day visit to the sensational Condoriri Valley in the Bolivian Andes. I hope to work on that this month because the photos are tremendous and it is a very special place. The pain of sleeping in a tent at 15,000 feet in below freezing weather was worth the incredible, rewarding views.
We arrived near the Champs de Mars in central Port-au-Prince a little after six for our night of music and light-soaked adventure at Carnival. Given the fact that there are very few tourists in Haiti, we had hired an additional security person for the night to help us arrive safely at our stand where we would watch the festivities from above. I admit that I was a little nervous about getting to the stand safely as the streets were already packed with people and getting across the street proved daunting.
We lined up in single file, placing our cameras and anything of value inside our shirts and wormed our way into the mayhem of a crowd-filled street. It wasn’t as bad as I anticipated but knew as time went by, the streets would only get more crowded and getting out of Carnival would be a challenge. But I decided to not think of it at the time and simply embrace the experience.
Getting across the street in this crowd proved challenging.
We made it across the street to the entrance of the Minister of Tourism stand, where we passed through a group of armed guards who insured we had our Minister of Tourism Carnival t-shirts on and a wristband. If you didn’t have one on, you were not let in.
The stand was already crowded with people and we found a crammed spot in the front overlooking the street below. By standing on a chair, I got a bird’s-eye view of the festivities and realized that it would never have been possible to attend Carnival if we weren’t in a stand. The streets were so crowded that it resulted in a lot of pushing and shoving and I’m shocked that more fights didn’t break out. The atmosphere was festive but intense. There were smiles across the faces but unfortunately my amateur photographic skills especially capturing movement and night scenes do not depict it.
“Piti piti, zwazo fè nich” –“Little by little birds build their nests” – Haitian proverb
Similar to the rest of Latin America, Haiti was colonized by Europeans who imposed their Roman Catholic religion on the people. While half of the island was colonized by the Spanish and became the Dominican Republic, the western, smaller portion of the island was colonized by the French and is officially known as the Republic of Haiti.
Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone nation in the Americas and also one of the only nations to practice Voodoo, a syncretic religion that blends African, European and indigenous Taíno beliefs. Haitian Voodoo originated in the Caribbean during the 18th century French Empire as a way for West African slaves to continue using their own religion and beliefs while they were being forced to convert to Christianity. About half of all Haitians practice a combination of Catholicism and Voodoo.
It just so happened that I was in Haiti during Carnival. In all my travels, I had never experienced Carnival before and given Haiti’s unique combination of Catholicism and Voodoo, I could only imagine what Carnival would be like. I had already seen a lot of religious influences within Haiti’s amazing art, music and dance during the first few days of my visit. I knew attending Carnival in Port-au-Prince would be one of those bucket-list life experiences.
As a stoke of luck, our Haitian friend Nat who is the Executive Director of ABN (Artisan Business Network) was able to get our group tickets to be in the Minister of Tourism’s stand. We would leave at six o’clock to beat the masses of crowds that would eventually make the Champs de Mars impassable until the wee hours of the morning.
As we left Pétionville and headed down the mountain into the heart of Port-au-Prince, traffic was intense and preparations for Carnival were well underway. Earlier in the day, we had stopped by one of the stands on Champs de Mars to visit one of the artisans that Nat works with at ABN. The finishing touches were going up all around us.
Going down the heart of Champs de Mars, where the streets are lined with stands for Carnival.
Last Sunday, I had the thrill of attending my first ever Carnival when I was in Haiti. It was a wild night like nothing I have ever experienced. Wall to wall people danced in the streets, while music blared and super-sized floats crept at a snail’s pace down the Champ de Mars in the heart of Port-au-Prince.
Thankfully we were able to get tickets to be in the Minister of Tourism’s stand or it most likely would not have been safe. Tragically the next night, one of the floats caught on fire spreading mass panic while 16 people got trampled to death and countless more were injured. It was more devastating news for a country still trying to rebuild after the near catastrophic earthquake five years ago.
It is even more tragic given the fact that Carnival is supposed to be a time of celebration and great joy. Even the protests over fuel prices (which almost canceled our trip) stopped the day before in honor of Carnival. Despite the numerous hardships most Haitians face, Carnival is a time to let go and have fun. To let the music mesmerize you and beauty of Carnival sweep you away.
When I arrived in Port-au-Prince last Thursday morning I had no idea what to expect. Danica, who leads the blogger trips for Heart of Haiti, handed each one of us a leather-bound journal with a personal note. My friend Leticia, A Heart of Haiti veteran brought along her eleven-year-old daughter Emily. Inside Emily’s journal was the Haitian proverb: “Dèyè mòn gen mòn” which means “beyond the mountains, more mountains.” Danica informed young Emily that her goal of the trip was to figure out what this proverb meant. She also said that it had not one but many meanings.
Entering the memorial at the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince where 100 people died during the January 12, 2010 earthquake.
