— 9 Comments

Llegar: To arrive

20120304-221214.jpg

Photo above taken this afternoon on bus ride from Guatemala City to Xela

I made it. I’m here in one piece. Barely. I forgot how exhausting travel can be especially when you barely speak the language. I chose this picture for my first post on Guatemala because it illustrates how I feel. Completely disoriented.

I will write more later about the trip. I am extremely tired. Just wanted to send you a little postcard from my day. Of course I took tons of photos from my front seat in the bus. There will be an entire post on my first day no worries. It was that interesting.

Yet now it is time to try to get some sleep before I start my spanish classes tomorrow morning. I obviously need it. I could not understand a thing being said tonight at the dinner table. It was a lonely feeling. Thankfully my host family is wonderful and I don’t think they thought I was an idiot for my poor mastery of the language. Oh well.

Stay tuned….it is a lovely city surrounded by haunting volcanoes! I may just have to take a side trip….

Guatemala TRAVEL BY REGION
— Leave a Comment

Day trip to Akaroa

With one day left on the South Island and yet another spectacular blue sky, Paul and I decided to hit the road and take a day trip to the nearby village of Akaroa, located about 54 miles/87 kilometers from Christchurch.  Akaroa is the oldest town in Canterbury, founded by French settlers in 1840, and is a wonderfully quaint, beautiful village nestled in the heart of the Banks Peninsula.  We had also heard that the area offered many opportunities for excellent “tramps” (or hikes as we call it) as well as ocean cruises to see New Zealand’s unique marine wildlife.

We headed out early in the morning choosing to take the “scenic route” in our rental car.  Apparently there are two ways to Aakora:  One easy and relatively straightforward, and the other more spectacular, yet rugged.  We took the latter.  It wound up being a harrowing hour and a half drive from Christchurch but well worth the incredible views.

Here is the description of the route we followed per the New Zealand Tourism Guide:

There are two routes to Akaroa. State Highway 75 takes you via Lake Ellesmere and Lake Forsyth before it climbs over the hills to Akaroa Harbour. The other route is very scenic, but longer and more difficult to drive. It takes you through the Lyttelton tunnel and around Lyttelton Harbour before making the rugged, cross country journey to Akaroa.

Photo taken during our “tramp” in the Banks Peninsula with the sheep looking on. 

Adventure Travel New Zealand TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking
— 10 Comments

In search of Beijing’s Hidden Hutongs

While waiting in the American Airlines lounge at Chicago O’Hare to catch our international flight to Beijing, we found ourselves talking to a China “travel warrior”, one of those successful American businessmen who had either the luxury or the headache (depending on how you view things) of traveling overseas constantly to Asia.  Since I never got his name, I’ll call him the Chinese Travel Warrior as it seemed to fit.  He’d been to China at least 40 times and was well versed in the ins and outs of traveling and doing business there.  He’d informed me gleefully about the preparation of Peking duck as well as showed me a picture on his cell phone of what you’d get in China if you ordered Chicken Soup (yes, a real dead chicken foot sprouting out of the top).  He told me the good and the bad, the nice and the dirty and helped get me excited about the adventure ahead.

Probably the best piece of advice that the Chinese Travel Warrior gave me, however, had to do with sightseeing.  He told me that I had to spend some time in Beijing’s infamous Hutongs or “narrow alleyways” that mysteriously thread through the heart of old Beijing.   He told me that the Hutongs are where the history, culture and life of old China can be seen, if that is, you can find them.

Not knowing or understanding at all what the Hutong are, I opted to search my beloved Lonely Planet China and here is what I found about Beijing’s Hutongs:

The spirit and soul of the city lives and breathes among these charming and ragged lanes where a warm sense of community and hospitality survives.  Criss-crossing chunks of Beijing within the Second Ring Road, the hutong link up into a huge and enchanting warren of one-story dwellings and historic courtyard homes.  Hundreds of hutong survive but many have been swept aside in Beijing’s race to build a modern city.

The description of the hutongs obviously grabbed my attention and lead my father and I on a three-day search in finding the best and the most colorful hutongs in all of Beijing.  Here is a collection of my photos taken during our explorations of Beijing’s Hidden Hutongs. 

Finding the Hutongs was half the battle and half the fun.  Our first day in Beijing, I was on a mission to find them.  We walked until we dropped, for over eight hours, pounding the pavement of Beijing.  I had read in Lonely Planet that all the Hutongs are marked with a historic sign.  Yet finding them on a map was another challenge all together.  We realized that the best way to find these hidden treasures was to walk without a map and explore.

Eventually after lunch we found our first section of Hutongs located directly behind the Forbidden City.   Before I saw the red sign (photo below), I noticed a dramatic change in the architecture of the buildings and most notably the roofs (photo above).  They looked old.…could these be part of the Hutongs I was searching for? I wondered.

This sign confirmed it:  Our first Hutong spotting!  

Yet this Hutong wasn’t too inviting.  Perhaps it was being renovated?  We decided not to walk down and explore it much further than this picture.  I knew there would be more.  Many more.  We would just have to find them! 

We continued our walk down Beichang Jie, one of the main drags located behind the Forbidden City, in search of more Hutongs.  We saw lots of interesting photo shots like the one above which I adore.  I love the old bicycles and the cool buildings.  

We walked a little further and came across this lovely Hutong.  I found a splendid alleyway but there was not much else back there but quiet courtyard homes.  

I was fascinated by the Hutongs and could have explored them all day long!  Here is my dad going under the electrical boxes that provide electricity to these ancient homes.  

The Hutongs are narrow thus all bicycles are normally parked outside the entrance.  I love this picture.  For some reason, it is one of my favorites from the trip.  

During our second day in Beijing, we discovered an entirely new area of Hutongs located by Qianhai Lake in North Dongcheng.  These Hutongs were more than residential and had stores, bars, restaurants and even chic boutique designer shops.  Here is a more lively Hutong that we found the second day which snaked around in many different directions.  

I found it hard to not get lost.  Yet getting lost was probably the best aspect of our search for the hidden Hutongs.  That meant you discovered new things that you probably would have missed.  Sometimes traveling without a map is the best way to travel.

If you did get lost or not want to get lost, you always had the option of hiring a rickshaw to show you the way.  We found this line up of eager rickshaw guides in a more touristy section of Hutongs (now what it was called still remains a mystery to me!  Again, it is a hutong that we managed to stumble upon and never found it again!).

Comparing notes and trying to work a deal. 

After hours of walking and exploring, we finally came across this trendy Hutong that had tons of cool bars, restaurants and shops.  This time we made a note on how to get there and find it again! 

Some of the beautiful boutique shops found in the Hutong. 

By lunch time, we were ready to take a rest and found the perfect place, The Passby Bar, located on Nanluogu Xiang, which was a great place to eat and watch the world go by.

Above is a picture of all the restaurant’s Lonely Planets!  Apparently the owner is an avid world traveler! 

As we entered the Passby, it felt like entered some kind of English pub.

I LOVED their motto:  BETTER TRAVEL THAN DEAD!  It seems like it was written for me! 

After a delightful lunch with of course a glass of wine, it was back to it.  I was determined to find more of Beijing’s hidden Hutongs and the more we walked, the more we discovered.

The architecture was a photographers dream.  

We left the Hutongs feeling excited about what we’d seen and looking even more forward to coming back to experience them at night, when they come to life with people, lights and mystery.  

The Chinese Travel Warrior was right….you can’t possibly see Beijing without finding the hidden Hutongs which are the true heart and soul of the city and its magical past. 

Stay tuned…next post will be on Beijing’s Hutongs at night! 

Adventure Travel China TRAVEL BY REGION
— 18 Comments

Fall on the Great Wall: Part II The Climb Up

Author’s note: This is part two of three posts on my visit to China’s Great Wall.  To read my earlier post, click here.

The fog nestled tightly around the mountains above, giving off an eerie, surreal setting for undoubtably China’s most spectacular man-made wonder.  I was perplexed and felt rather naive in my earlier belief that the Great Wall of China was built on flat land.

“You mean to tell me that the wall is way up there, built along the ridge of the mountains and lost somewhere in the clouds?” I asked Jackie, craning my neck upwards trying to find the hidden landmark.

Jackie, our 26-year-old Beijing guide (who seemed a little bit lost himself) just shook his head and said “yes” with a sigh.  I wasn’t sure whether or not he understood how far and difficult the hike would be.   His clothing (i.e. dress slacks, button-down pink shirt, light blue sweater vest and sneakers) seemed to give him away.  He was not a hiker.  He was not even the least bit athletic.  But he was knowledgable and that was the most important thing of all.  He knew his stuff like the back of his hand.  Facts, figures and historical perspectives were easily given and recited to our thirsty ears.

Above is a picture of the second hill we had to cross in order to get to the main mountain leading up to the wall.  I tried my best to take a good pictures of the steepness of the trail (it is in brown leading up the center of the “hill”) but I found it impossible to do in a short amount of time.  We had a lot of work ahead of us so we had to keep moving!  Plus it was so steep that there weren’t many opportunities to safely stop. 

We reached the base of the second “hill” and began climbing up.  From this point on, it was no longer a hike at all.  Instead, it was going straight up using our fingers to grasp large rocks and tree branches to literally pull ourselves up.  I could tell my dad was getting a little nervous at this point.  Not at all for himself:  He had already climbed more mountains than I can remember (and he is 69 years old!).  He was worried about me and having to explain to my husband, children and mother how I fell and broke my back trying to climb up to the Great Wall.  That wouldn’t do!

I could tell that Jackie was lagging behind yet he was desperately trying to be the good Chinese leader and guide that he aspired.  His face was drenched in sweat, his pastel blue sweater vest was placed into his backpack after much convincing and he continually questioned our age.  “You’re in your mid-twenties, right” he asked, almost desperately.   He seemed completely mystified that my father at his age was having no problem at all climbing up the side of a dirty mountain.  Jackie believed most Chinese men at his age would be withering away in bed!

“Ah, you Amercains are strong.  So very strong!” he raved, encouragingly and slightly embarrassed by being passed by two people well over his age.  “Us Chinese are not strong” he said, convinced in his belief that Chinese people are not athletes.

I found Jackie’s viewpoint and ongoing compliments to be hilarious!  Weren’t it the Chinese people who made this very same wall by climbing up these very same steep paths over 2,000 years ago with stones on their back?!   Perhaps it was just him who was out of shape!

Jackie in the lead, waiting up above as we pried our hands and fingers into the dirt and grabbed rocks to pull ourselves up the trail.

Looking down at my dad as he climbed up the trail.  Now, who told us we were doing “rock” climbing?  That definitely wasn’t in Lonely Planet’s description!!!!

Picture above of last hill leading up to the Great Wall.

We finally made it to the top of the second hill, feeling tired and a bit weary.  It was extremely steep at the top with sheer cliffs tumbling down below.  There was a wee bit of panic and emergency when I realized during our water break that we were surrounded by bees!  I am somewhat fearful of bees because I am allergic and of course had no epi-pen with me!  I had a brief dancing panic on the top of the mountain and my dad nearly had a heart attack that I would fall.  We abruptly climbed down the peak and headed up the third, and last mountain to reach the wall.  No wonder there was no one else on the trail!  You would have to be crazy! 

Here is my dad making it down a very steep part of the “trail”.  Are we insane?

By the third hill, we were feeling relieved to be passed the worst, or so we’d hoped.  We now had to climb down the valley between the two mountains and it was VERY steep.  Even I was a little worried about breaking a leg.  I’d broken my foot before it was the pits.  (I was in a boot for five months and had a baby and a toddler to care for!).

It was getting close to noon and there was still no sign of the wall.  The smog had not lifted as we had hoped.  Jackie looked like he was going to pass out during the last thirty minutes of the hike.  His face was the color of cotton candy and dripping with sweat while his breathing was like a smokers’.  He was also still wearing that darn pink button-down shirt over a t-shirt!  Why he didn’t take it off during one of his many breaks, I don’t understand.

Finally, my dad and I had to pass him by.  We knew that the hike had taken a lot longer than we’d planned and if we wanted to have any time hiking on the wall itself, that there was no time to stop.  Jackie haphazardly gave in to our pleas and followed slowly up behind us.  The hike wasn’t really that challenging given other hikes we’d taken (such as our 100-mile hike last year in Nepal).  But the conditions were prime for an accident.

We walked on for another ten minutes or so, feeling like we were on a path to nowhere, and then just like a dream, we finally saw it.   There, laying precariously atop of the ridge of the mountain, was one of the most spectacular things I’d ever seen:  The mighty, impressive Great Wall of China.

The Great Wall of China at Jiankou, one of the relatively unknown sections of the wall that is not frequently visited by tourists, mainly due to its isolated location.  The only way to get there is to hike. 

At Jiankou, there are three routes up to the wall and we took the longest and hardest route.  Yet, once we arrived I realized with joy and elation that the best part of seeing the wall was the journey itself, climbing up just like the Chinese did thousands of years ago. 

For as Chairman Mao said:  “He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man” (or woman in my case!).

Me, taking the final steps up on the ladder to the wall.  What a feeling of accomplishment to be here!  

View on top the wall.  It was so startling and impressive that I could hardly breathe.  I only wished the clouds would have been gone.  To see the wall snake around the mountain ridge until the eye can no longer see would have been sensational.

We did it!  My dad and I on top the Wall!

Stay tuned…part III of “Fall on the Wall” will be up soon.  I will show you favorite pictures from the wall as well as provide some insight into what I learned about its magical creation.  Plus you’ll get a sneak preview of what it was like to be a “movie star” surrounded by Chinese paparazzi for my moment of fame and attention as a thirdeyemom blond on top the wall. 

Adventure Travel China TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking
— 18 Comments

Fall on the Great Wall: Part 1

He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man. – Mao Zedong

Photo above of the Great Wall of China at Badaling, the most heavily visited and fully restored part of the wall.  Photo credited to Wikipedia Commons (Free images). 

As a diehard wanderlust whose main goal in life is to see the greatest and latest of this amazing world, I’d always set my sights on leaving my footprints across the Great Wall of China.  Like Machu Picchu, Ancient Rome, the mighty Himalayas and the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China was something that could not be missed.

Seeing the wall was so important to me and my dad, that it was one of the main reasons why we both wanted to go to China.  If there was nothing else we liked or enjoyed during the entire trip, we would be satisfied to have walked along the Great Wall, known as one of China’s greatest engineering triumphs and perhaps one of the most remarkable manmade structures in the world.

Given my unique, thirdeye perspective to traveling, our visit to the Great Wall would be anything but normal.  Most tourists choose to sign up with a Chinese tour company, jump on a huge, overcrowded tour bus and take a long, annoying day-trip to the Badaling section of the wall (which is the most-photographed and most-visited “tourist” trap in China).  Most tours to Badaling start at the crack of dawn, waking unsuspected tourists out of their warm, cozy beds to lead them on an eight-hour nightmare expedition to the Wall that includes multiple stops.  Instead of spending the entire time at the wall, the tour herds the tourists off like a flock of sheep to the famous Ming Tombs (who really wants to see a bunch of boring tombs?) followed by several stops to nearby jade, silk and porcelain stores where everything is way over-priced and the sales people are totally in your face.  In my opinion, a visit to Badaling sounded like going to Disneyland!  Who wants to ride a bus up to the fully restored wall, walk along this magnificent piece of architecture to be surrounded by loads of tourists and ride a toboggan down?  It sounded like a complete joke!

So, instead of doing what most or some would say “normal” tourists would do, I decided singlehandedly to do the complete opposite.  I convinced my dad into booking our own tour guide and driver through our hotel, to visit a relatively unknown, unrestored section of the wall, called Jiankou (which of course I found out about through my beloved Lonely Planet guide.

Lonely Planet describes Jiankou as follows:

For stupefying gorgeous hikes along perhaps Beijing’s most incomparable section of wall, head to the rear section of the Jiankou Great Wall.  It’s a 40-minute walk uphill from the drop-off at Xizhazi Village….Tantalizsing panoramic views spread out either direction as the brickwork meanders dramatically along a mountain ridge; the settings is truly magnificent.

After reading the inviting description, I was hooked.  I just needed to pry my dad a little bit which was fairly easy after a few glasses of wine.

We woke up early Sunday morning, our second day in China, to have a full breakfast and prepare makeshift sandwiches at our hotel.   We knew there would be no food options available and we were more than happy to use the hotel’s french baguette and cheese (a rare find in China!) for our meal.

By 8:30 am, we were introduced to “Jackie” (of course his western name), our twenty-six-year-old tour guide who was drastically inappropriately dressed for a hike.  While we were wearing hiking shoes, pants and dri-fit shirts, Jackie was dressed in slacks, a pinkish colored button down shirt, a sweater vest and sneakers.  He looked like he was off to teach Sunday school, not hike the Great Wall.

We met our driver, who did not speak any english, and climbed into our four-door sedan (with no seat belts) and headed off on our forty-five minute ride to the Jiankou section of the Great Wall.  The drive was our first real experience outside of crazy, congested, polluted Beijing and I was pleasantly surprised to find the road conditions to be excellent.  We passed through several suburbs, villages and farms, talking the entire way long about China.

I discovered that Jackie was a wealth of information (I took several pages of thorough notes that I will use on my upcoming posts) and highly educated.  He is a first generation university graduate and comes from rural China.  Both of his parents are farmers and are illiterate.  He is one of two children and is hopeful about the future of China.   Like most Chinese, Jackie is very proud of the enormous economic changes that China has made in his lifetime.  Jackie’s parents grew up wearing only one of three colors:  Blue, Black or Gray.  And, they ate meat only once a month.  Now, many urban Chinese proudly dress like most westerners and eat meat every day.  In his eyes, this was a great leap forward.  Jackie believed that China was a long way’s off having a democracy.  As long as the average Chinese life is impoving, the rest can wait.

We arrived in Xizhazi Village around ten o’clock.  There wasn’t much there as it is very small and quite rural however we did manage to find a squat toilet and a small farmer’s market where I found a supply of dried fruits.  The most notable thing I saw in the village was this fish farm below as well as the bag of Chicken’s feet (see earlier post on Chinese Street Food):

After a few minutes of asking around, Jackie finally identified the unmarked trail leading up to the Great Wall.   This should have been a sign but unfortunately it was ignored.

The trail was nothing special.  Just gravel littered with trash (something I still will never understand:  why people litter so much on hiking trails!). The day was unfortunately overcast and the mountains were covered in China’s telltale blanket of smog.  My earlier elation at being here faded fast once I realized the smog was probably here to stay.

As we hiked up the slowly escalating path, Jackie filled us in on the main details and history behind the Great Wall.  The Great Wall is not one continuous wall but a collection of walls that were built and rebuilt starting in the 5th century BC through the 16th century by various dynasties.  The “original”, most famous part of the wall was first built between 220-206 BC years ago by the Qin dynasty, yet little of that wall remains.  The majority of the existing wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) and that is what most tourists see today.

The wall was built to keep the Mongolian and other various nomadic tribes out of the Chinese Empire.  As winter set in and food became scarce, the brutal Mongolian warriors headed south in search of food, and in the process terrorized the native Chinese.  Thus the wall was built as a defending line from east to west to keep these northern invadors out.  Unfortunately it didn’t always work.

The statistics behind the wall are mind-boggling yet inconclusive as nobody truly knows the exact length of the wall and most figures vary.  Per Wikipedia, the wall itself is measured at 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 miles) and includes 359.7 km (223.5 miles) of trenches and 2,232.5 km (1,387.2 miles) of natural barriers.

Map of the Great Wall of China (Wikipedia Commons). 

As we hiked, I became infatuated with the history of the wall and what it took to build it.  Slaves, indentured servants and other poor souls from the lower peasant class were forced into constructing one of the largest, most impressive engineering projects in the world.  Thousands of people died and it is said that their remains were mixed in and used as building materials in the construction of the wall.  Each stone of the wall was carried by hand or on the backs of the workers over 2,000 years ago!  It was hard to grasp.

Fall is the perfect time to visit China’s Great Wall.  The crowds are less, the temperature is good and you have a 50% chance of a relatively clear day (unfortunately we were the other 50%).  The fall foliage is also quite stunning.  We were at the tail end of the colors yet it was still quite beautiful. 

I became so enamoured in the historical significance of the wall, that I didn’t notice the lack of fellow hikers on the trail or the thick beads of sweat dripping down Jackie’s young face.  I was still severely jet-lagged and had “Sichuan” pork stomach after the questionable hot ‘n spicy meal the night before.  Perhaps that was why I was lagging behind?  I was tired.

As we hiked away from the village we saw a few birds and could hear the echo of dogs barking from down below.  We had hoped the smog would lift but unfortunately it was there to stay. What a pity!

As the time passed, and the forty minutes guaranteed that it would take to reach the wall per Lonely Planet, I begin to wonder where in the heck we were going.  The mountains were still covered in smog and the wall was no where in sight.  The trail kept heading up up up and into the mist.  I was starting to sweat myself so I stripped down to a t-shirt and wished I had worn shorts.  The exertion of the hike was getting to me as I realized that the lackadaisical trail was becoming more steep and more unkept.

After an hour of wondering where in the hell we were, we finally passed another small group of Chinese.  The sun desperately tried to peek out of the clouds and then I saw it.  The first of three large “hills”.

Where is the wall?  I asked Jackie.  “Up there?” I said and pointed at the first large, steep hill.   “No” Jackie replied, short of breath.  “It is there” he declared, pointing up behind the first hill.  That was my first realization that we were in for a ride.  This was no forty minute walk in the park.  It was a hike from hell.  A real live adventure.  Was I ready for it?  You bet!

Stay tuned….next post will be about our “climb” up to the Great Wall.  Yes, we were actually using our hands to grasp rocks and tree limbs.  If my mother would have known, she would have freaked.  Would we make it to the top?  You’ll have to wait and see!

Author’s note:  I decided to break this post down into parts due to my high level of photos and commentary.  I thought it would be easier and better to read.  Stay posted.

Adventure Travel China TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking
— 25 Comments

Chinese Street Food 101: How to eat like a Chinese without being grossed out

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home.”  – James Michener

A sign posted on the outside window of a Chinese restaurant near our hotel in Beijing.

One of the best things about traveling the world is experiencing the world through your stomach.  Taste, of course, is one of the five senses and you cannot possibly leave home without it.

Food is an integral part of every country and culture around the world whether it be for mere subsistence, pleasure or some of both.  It is often said that one of the best things about traveling can be trying and eating all the different kinds of cuisine a new place has to offer.  However, that said, one of the worst things about traveling can also be the food.  It is all a matter of how you interpret things and of course how adventurous or non-adventurous you are.

Let’s take me as an example.  I am a relatively adventurous eater who loves to eat ethnic food.  My favorite cuisines are Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern and recently Ethiopian.  However, I do not eat red meat (sorry folks, I had to drawn the line twenty years ago when my grandfather fed me a hamburger that was stone cold frozen down the middle!  I haven’t had the desire to eat red meat since then).  I also am weary of any other types of odd meats (donkey, venison, dog to name a few) and “meat parts” such as organs (eye balls, hearts, livers, etc).

I can’t stomach strange kinds of uncooked fish such as fish eggs or scary looking raw creatures (I lost 10 pounds when I traveled to Japan as a teenager).  Yet, When in Rome I try my best to try the local cuisine, especially if it is vegetarian, cooked fish or poultry.  Therefore, I’m not a meat an’ potatoes kind of gal but I do steer clear of McDonald’s and opt for Pad Thai.

Before my big trip to China, I was extremely anxious about the food.  I had tried the Americanized version of Chinese in the States (and even went to have Dim Sum in Chinatown) but I’ve always left the restaurant feeling sick.  It was too greasy, too fried, too MSG’ed and too much.   I had high hopes that perhaps I’d enjoy the food in China much more than the terrible Chinese American food I’ve tried here.  Unfortunately, I proved my fears correct:  I hated the food.  (Note:  I am certain there is some Chinese food that I would have enjoyed if I had more time in China.  Each province has their own unique kind of cuisine.  As a tourist who couldn’t read any Chinese, I was at a severe disadvantage thus I am perhaps being a little unfair in my judgments).

My first lunch in China proved to be edible.  I had cashew chicken with no rice (never figured out where the rice was!).  It was gooey, relatively bland and so-so.  It left me feeling incomplete and unsatisfied but at least I kept it down.  That evening, I tried Sichuan pork at another Chinese restaurant and my mouth was on fire.  The fire raged all throughout my sleepless, first jet-lagged night and I woke up at 4 am with a burning stomach-ache.  From that point on, I simply threw in the towel and gave up.  I know, lame lame lame!  But given my past history with parasites and other unmentionable stomach ailments, I didn’t want to risk it for bad food.  So for the rest of the trip, instead of eating Chinese food I found myself taking picture after picture of the various types of Chinese cuisine I saw along the street.

Never before had I ever seen such a wide variety of street food in my life!  You could find anything you wanted, any time of day and the price was right.  It was beyond cheap.  So cheap that most Chinese prefer to eat both breakfast and lunch out everyday on the street!

So, without further delay here is thirdeyemom’s Chinese Street Food 101:  How to eat like a Chinese and not get grossed out.  Time to get out your chopsticks and dig in!  Hope you’re hungry!

Scenes from the street:  Every evening this enormous line of street food vendors would set up shop on Donghuamen Daije (a busy thoroughfare in the heart of Beijing) and sell plates and sticks of food to hungry passerby. 

Raw meat was selected and cooked up on the spot.

As well as other types of raw foods (fish, pig’s feet, beef).

Candied calabash and other delights were for sale on a stick for a quick and easy dessert.  These were extremely popular and I frequently saw locals slurping them down.

Stir fry and noodles were made to order (obviously this Chinese vendor thought I was interested!).  All the ingredients are fresh yet the pots, pans and plates are not very clean or hygienic.

You could also find fish fry around town.  You would simply pick your fish, then they would kill it for you and cook it right before your eyes all in a matter of minutes. 

Smelly green sea cucumbers are also cut up fresh and served in a plastic container to go. Mmmmmm.

And one last time (I promise, I just can’t get enough of this picture) you can buy live scorpions, beetles and seahorses (supposedly have a medicinal quality per a fellow reader of my blog) to be cooked up live on the spot and eaten.  I did not see any tourists eating this stuff as it was strictly in a Chinese side street.  Thus I cannot confirm who does eat the live scorpions on a stick and why! 

Outside of town, you could find peasants selling their excess produce.  I still have yet to determine what these are (a fruit? a vegetable?) but I saw them growing in the trees en route to the Great Wall (thus they must be a fruit!).

Fresh nuts, figs, dates and other dried fruits were for sale as a tasty snack which even picky me enjoyed (they made a great treat for our  2.5 hour hike up to the Great Wall!).

Being measured are the mixed goodies I purchased.  They were delightful!

I had been warned not to be alarmed if I ordered Chicken Soup in China.  Apparently the Chicken’s foot is often sticking out of the soup!  Needless to say, I did not order Chicken Soup.

Shanghai eats:  Shanghai had much better food in my opinion which was a thankful relief.  It is an extremely cosmopolitan, modern city and is the complete opposite from traditional, historic Beijing.  Yet I did still find plenty of interesting street food!

Here are some of my favorites:

Dried fish parts, raw fish pieces and other yummy, smelly things.

Up close and personal.

Ahh….I found my Moroccan dried fruit cart, in the midst of central Shanghai! 

Ok….these steamed buns MUST be good because every time we walked by, the line was a mile long. 

 Freshly grilled Peking duck, head included.

A local specialty from Shanghai’s water village community, Zho Zang:  Bean sauce pork. 

Toes and feet included!   (Had to take it sideways to get up close and personal).

There are rows and rows of this bean-based pork delight. Seems like it would be a messy kind of food to eat while walking but many do.

Zho Zang is also known for its seafood, notably fresh crayfish as seen above.

Here are fresh oysters which are caught in one of the many fresh water lakes outside the water village.

Here is the traditional, local Hairy Crab, fished right outside of the water village.  The crabs are still chirping as you pass by. 

 The dumpling queue….must be good!

Street food and eating in action.

 Cookin’ it up.

All this talk about food is making me hungry!  But I’m glad I’m back and eating what I’m used to.  It is all a matter of our tastes and what we are accustomed to.  There is no right or wrong with cuisine.  I just wish I could have liked the Chinese food better!  Thank god for western hotel food!  (I am so embarrassed to admit!).

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER, AS IS FOOD!!!!!

Stay tuned….next post details my exciting “climb” up and hike on the Great Wall of China.  Needless to say, it was a great adventure!

Adventure Travel China TRAVEL BY REGION
— 10 Comments

First day in Beijing: A jetlagged photoblog

Jetlagged, disoriented, confused, and culturally overstimulated are the three main adjectives that describe our first day in China.  (For earlier post, click here:  East versus West:  My First Bout with Chinese Culture Shock).

We walked the entire day and night, absorbing everything we could of this brilliant, unique city and I captured all my thoughts of my first day in China on film.

So without further ado, here they are, a hodge-podge of pictures taken throughout our first chaotic, marathon day in China.

First thing after breakfast, we walked the short distance to Beijing’s premier walking street, Wangfujing.  It wasn’t too crowded….yet.  But there was plenty of eye candy!

The sun was desperately trying to come out.  Yet the thick blanket of smog made it difficult.  This was the sunniest day we had in Beijing.  Note:  China is noted for having several of the most polluted cities in the world.  I’m not sure where Beijing fares on the list, yet I wouldn’t want to see the cities that are worse off.   Obviously their incredible rise and development as one of the world’s economic powerhouses has come with a price.  A big one.

Plenty of nick knacks to buy….all of course “Made in China”.

If you are hungry, there is also stall after stall of street food available.  These things below are extremely popular.  Kind of like a Chinese lollipop.  I tried to find out exactly what the red glossy ones are.  I heard they are candied calabash on a stick.  I decided to pass.

Freshly cut sea cucumbers are also quite popular.

Little Chinese fast-food joints with happy hour beer to flush it down. 

We entered our first touristy shop which was loaded with Chinese gifts.  Bin after bin of cheap, Chinese trinkets await the weary tourist.  Sales ladies also eagerly await their prey, ready to pounce on the next unsuspecting tourist and offer you a deal.

We meandered around the shop marveling at all the strange things for sale.  Being easy prey, we wondered over to the Chinese stamps to take a look.

Here we met “Daniel” (the Chinese all pick a Western name) who was the store’s one and only Grand Master Seal Carver.  Before we knew it, we were convinced into buying a stamp for my son Max. 

Max was born in 2004, the year of the Monkey.  Apparently this means he is clever, witty, happy and smart.  Hmmm…this guy seems to be on to something.   Daniel looks up Max’s name and translates it into Chinese characters which is carved gently on the bottom of the stamp.   According to Daniel, carving your name in Chinese is good luck. 

All in all, we were out fifty bucks.  Yep, we were had but oh well.  The memories!

Next it was time for some comparison shopping.  Here is a picture of my dad walking out of a leather store.  I tried to capture the thirty sales associates, all dressed in matching pink outfits, yet it was impossible.  I was in too much of a hurry to get out of there!  Talk about capitalism in the making.

At the end of the shopping street, tucked away behind a corner we found the real treat….our first introduction to Chinese street food.  Here a lion statue flanks the entrance to the market.  Lions are everywhere in China as they are symbols of power and protection.  There is always a male lion on the east and a female on the west side (given the east side of a building is the most important.  It is the direction of the rising sun).

This is the section of town where I first encountered the live scorpions on a stick.  

Lunch time…scorpions, sea horses, beatles and bugs plus any fresh, raw meat grilled to perfection.

For dessert, you can try these sugary treats…

After the walking street, I had a case of “Peking knees” and decided to take a short break…

Lunch was at no other than the “Red Lantern” which was across the street from our hotel and known for its Peking Duck. 

Thankfully the menu was translated into English and included pictures (a big thank you for me!  It talked me out of ordering several things!

After lunch, it was time for more walking.  We headed the short couple of blocks past our hotel to the center of Beijing:  Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  The Forbidden City is surrounded by a huge moat that in my opinion was not that clean.  But it didn’t stop the fisherman from trying to catch their lunch.

I loved this view of the backs of the old Beijing homes reflecting on the murky water.

Again, I was distressed that it was so smoggy as it was annoying on my lungs and also for my camera.  It was hard to capture the true beauty of the massive complex of ancient buildings which make up the Forbidden City.

Yet another lion, the symbol of ancient dynastic China.

I could not stop marveling and snapping pictures of the exquisite Chinese architecture.  It was so intricately detailed and beautiful.

I was mesmerized by the glory of the Forbidden City and could hardly wait until we had time to check it out in full.   That would be saved for another day.

We got lost many times throughout the day.  Beijing is not that hard of a city to navigate yet we were tired and in a new, foreign land with oddly named streets and monuments to our western eyes.

We continued wandering until we unexpectedly came upon the entrance of Jingshan park, one of the premier parks in Beijing that offers a panoramic view of the Forbidden City from above.

We followed the hordes of people up the steep steps and arrived on top of the hill to be stunned to see the entire 800+ buildings of the Forbidden City laying before us.  Unfortunately as we climbed up, the thick layer of smog intensified giving the Forbidden City a forbidden, ghostly and surreal look.  I can only imagine what it would have looked like on a clear day (is that possible?).

Oh…the pollution (which the Chinese liked to call fog).  What a pity! I was so sad that none of my pictures turned out.  Yet this is the reality. 

For ten bucks, you could dress up as a Chinese empress or emperor…yet it felt a little too cheesy for me. 

The Buddhist temple on top was a delight to my weary eyes. 

The happy Buddha…

By five o’clock, we were back at the hotel for a quick happy hour and then off for our next adventure:  Dinner. 

We grabbed a cab and ended up on a wild goose chase all throughout the lights of Beijing.

We finally reached our destination, Ghost Street, an hour later. The brightly lit red lanterns were everywhere, just as the guide book had promised.  Yet the throng of people and endless amount of Chinese restaurants seemed to overwhelm us and make me want to hide.

Finally, we found a restaurant to rest our tired feet and were treated to live Chinese music.  What a way to ring in our first day in China!

Stay tuned….next post will be about my favorite subject:  Food!

Adventure Travel China TRAVEL BY REGION
— 3 Comments

Who would have thought that trees could be so amazing?

Yesterday was my last hike in the White Mountains of Arizona. It wasn’t the hike that I had imagined or wanted to do. Not the 16-miler haul to Mount Baldy. Instead, it was a much shorter hike to a different part of the White Mountains where perhaps we would be able to see some wildlife and scenic views.

We left early in the morning and unfortunately the monsoon clouds were already forming and turning black. It was not a good sign yet we were already in the car and on our way. Plus I’d been offered a free babysitting morning from my mother so I couldn’t pass that up.

My dad and I pulled into the trailhead for the Blue Ridge Trail around 9:30 am hoping it wouldn’t rain. We were mainly going on this hike to view wildlife as I still had not seen a thing since I’ve been here except for a giant bullfrog and a jackrabbit hare the size of a small dog.

The mountains of Arizona is known for a huge variety of both big and small mammals as well as a very diverse assortment of birds. I was hoping to avoid the big mammals such as the Black and Cinnamon (very rare) beers that range for 300 mile territories. I also had no desire to see a Mountain Lion, Coyote or Wolf lurking around. Yet I did want to see a Rocky Mountain Elk or a Mule Deer. That was the main reason why we selected this trail.

We set off walking against lingering clouds and stillness in the air. I also tend to talk a lot and walk with a nervous gait when I know there are bears around. I know they generally are more afraid of you yet I wouldn’t want to find out the hard way, especially if we surprised a mama bear with cubs.

We walked for an hour or so through the trail and saw absolutely no wildlife or views. We were quite disappointed. However, I did see something that was spectacular: The trees. The trail hosted the craziest, spookiest, and most beautiful trees I’d ever seen beside from the firs. Some looked like ghosts or monsters while others just looked plain old weird. I also thought that the alligator junipers with their scaly grey trunks were wild.

Here are some pictures of what I saw. Hope you enjoy!

Also, at the end are some photos taken to another short hike we did that day to a scenic view of the Mongollon Rim. The Mongollon Rim is the dividing line between the Colorado Plateau and the Gila-Salt River watersheds, and contains the largest grove of freestanding Ponderosa Pines in the world. It is quite a spectacular place.

20110826-041032.jpg

20110826-041040.jpg

20110826-041046.jpg

20110826-041104.jpg

20110826-041054.jpg

20110826-041122.jpg

20110826-041129.jpg

20110826-041136.jpg

20110826-041143.jpg

20110826-041148.jpg

20110826-041202.jpg

20110826-041154.jpg

20110826-042302.jpg

20110826-042314.jpg

20110826-042321.jpg

20110826-042327.jpg

Adventure Travel Arizona Minnesota TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking
— 6 Comments

In Search of 300-year-old Firs

Note to readers: I am here on vacation in the White Mountains of northeast Arizona, home to the largest freestanding Ponderosa Pine Trees in the world, thinking that I would be writing my next few posts on a past trip to Australia. Before leaving, I uploaded all my pictures from Australia and prepared some of the posts. Yet, when I arrived here in the small, hilltop town of Show Low, Arizona, I realized that I was missing the “third eye”. There is plenty of incredible awe-inspiring nature, beauty and culture here to write about. I just had to use that “third-eye” approach and get out there and find it.  So instead of Australia, I’m going to write my next few posts on this relatively unknown area of the world: The White Mountains. I will write about the firs, the pines and the most beautiful monsoon clouds I’ve ever seen. Here is my first post in this series. Hope you enjoy! thirdeyemom

We rose early to the morning sun lighting up the pine tree tops lining the White Mountains. The morning sky was azure blue with not a single cloud in the sky. That would surely come later. For we are in the tail end of monsoon season in Arizona where the magical clouds slowly appear, form and become bigger, whiter, brighter and then darker before they release their angry water.

Three generations were going on a hike today. My father, myself and my six-and-a-half-year-old son. We were off to see the tallest mountain in this part of the state, the sacred Mount Baldy. At 11,4000 feet, Mount Baldy is home to some of the oldest, most beautiful Douglas Firs in the world. Some of them dated from 300-350 years old! We were going to find them.

We took the White Mountain Scenic Byway for a little over an hour, driving through some of the other small towns along the way. We passed through meadows, fields of wildflowers and lots and lots of Ponderosa Pines (some dating over 700 years old!). It was a beautiful ride that took us through some unbelievable scenery. I had to pinch myself to remember that we were in Arizona as we had left the desert and cactus long ago.

The last stop before entering Mount Baldy is the huge White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation. There is the usual casino followed by a stark poverty which is very sad. Even the casinos have not been enough to help them here, in this remote part of the country.

As we drive up to the start of the hike to Mount Baldy, we admire the gorgeous, fragrant pines that dot the landscape. These pines could have all been swallowed up in the most recent and largest wild fire in the state of Arizona. The May 2011 Wallow Fire which was started by some careless campers, engulfed 525,000 acres of ancient pines and took over six weeks to put out. It was stopped before reaching Mount Baldy. It would have been even more of a tragedy if these incredible trees were all destroyed.

Here we are at one of the entrances to the trail. Roundtrip the hike is 16 miles, way too much to do with my young son. So we would just hike an hour to the wall and back. We would be certain to find lots of nature and firs.

I had to take a picture of Dad’s notorious backpack with his Nepal patch that we got sewn in when we were there.

Picture of my son and I on our first hike together.

Grandpa and Max setting off..

Entering one of the trail heads to Mount Baldy.

The once cloudless sky is no longer as the monsoon glistening white clouds begin to form above the pines.

Entering the first part of the forest which is mostly pines. You can hear the distant woodpecker searching for food and the bees buzzing.

There are three meadows to pass through before we hit the deep woods. We don’t see any elk just lots of wildflowers.

More clouds are forming. We have until eleven to get off the mountain before the monsoon starts and lightning flashes.

Finally we are inside the fragrant, deep forest searching for 300-year-old Douglas Firs. We found one!

The size of these trees is unbelievable.

When you look at the bark, you can see years and years of fire damage. Yet, somehow these trees have managed to survive and even thrive.

Looking up to the Gods.

Our destination: The wall. Here is where you start heading up but for us it was the perfect lunch spot.

Grandpa and Max sharing a picnic.

After lunch, it was time to head back. The monsoon clouds were forming and getting darker and darker. Along the way, we saw lots of beautiful, special things in the forest. It was fun teaching Max about how things grow.

Here is how the Douglas Firs start….

And lots and lots of colorful mushrooms!

Me saying goodbye to this lovely tree.

The beautiful things I found in the forest…

Showing Max how to count the rings and age the tree:

As we leave, just on time, the clouds continue to form and develop into magical, white, marshmallows…

We are out just in the nick of time….for the clouds begin to darken and the unavoidable afternoon storm began…

Adventure Travel Arizona TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking United States
— 8 Comments

The unforgettable hike to the flagship “Torres” del Paine

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson 

Today was it.  The final leg of the “W” trek to the infamous, mysterious las torres, the towers, which are the trademark of this incredible park.  It was going to be a long, tiring hike taking over 8 hours of our day.  But I was ready for the challenge as I always am.  We prayed that we would have a clear day so that we would be able to actually see the towers and the Gods must have been watching us from above.  When we woke up in the morning, the sun was shining brilliantly against an azure blue sky.  It was a postcard perfect day, a rarity in Patagonia.

Morning view outside our Eco Tent.  A few fluffy clouds floated graciously against my favorite colored sky:  Blue.

We felt so incredibly lucky.  Cristian told us that a group of Irish travelers had attempted the trek to the towers three times over two days and had never seen a thing. Since the towers are the most famous and unique feature in the park, we really wanted to do the hike and more importantly, have decent enough weather so we could make it to the top and see las torres unhidden by the clouds.  The thought of such dedication, persistence and perseverance of the Irish trekkers intrigued me.  What a pity, I thought reflectively yet secretly hoped we would not be faced with a similar fate.

After another large breakfast of an all-you-can-eat-yet-not-feel-the-slightest-bit-guilty buffet, we headed out for our big hike to las torres.  The first forty-five minutes were relatively tiring, knee-breaking work as we ascended from 0 to 1,500 feet rather quickly.

A few more clouds trespassed into the sky.  Yet so far so good.  The view was still promising. 

The hike was a lot of ups and downs through a huge river valley that afforded spectacular panoramic views of the park.  The pure air was so fresh that my lungs were overjoyed and at ease.  I tried to enjoy each and every step with my eye on the prize.

Here is a picture of the heavenly Valle Ascencio beneath our feet.

I was amazed how well my body was doing given all this hiking.  No major aches or pains.  I felt like I was on top of the world both physically and mentally, nothing like how I felt healing my old battle wounds for six months after completing my first marathon a year before while working a job that required a ton of tedious travel and unwanted stress.   I could feel each part of my body as it worked to move me forward, methodically and purposefully, towards my goal.

There were lots hills in the hike.  At times it felt like hiking over a rollercoaster track. 

The hike was gorgeous.  Our views of the surrounding mountains and the massive glacial valley were phenomenal.  I took it all in as best as I could, knowing that today was our last day in the park.  We also hiked through a beautiful Patagonian rainforest that had patches of snow on the ground leftover from the previous day’s storm.  Thankfully the storm was yesterday and not today as I would have been extremely disappointed to miss this hike.

The blossoming red flowers within the Patagonian snow-covered rainforest.  Somehow, Spring had managed to arrive.

The windswept trail showed years and years of trees that had faced the wild forces of Mother Nature in Patagonia.

Cristian pointed out a tree that was recently damaged by the wind.  There were remnants of snow scattered across the ground from the previous day’s storm.

The last hour of the hike was the most difficult.  We hiked one hour up on terrain peppered with large, slippery rocks left over from the glacial age.

Going up and hitting the glacier Moreno. (No…I’m not falling over with exhaustion or tripping….just bending down to tie my shoe!  Thought this picture demonstrated the difficult trekking conditions.  I’m seriously not that clumsy!).

At this point, the snow was up to our knees so it was quite exhausting work, taking up all our energy and effort to continue up.  We also had to be extremely careful because the rocks had become slippery and we didn’t want an accident to happen hours away from camp.

As we got closer to the top, I had a surge in anticipation.  The sky was still clear and we had an excellent chance at seeing all three towers.  We knew that this was a rare opportunity so we hurried up as fast as we could.  We finally reached a huge boulder, which marked the last ten minutes of the hike to the top.  We still couldn’t see anything and were forced to keep our heads down the remainder of the way due to the treacherously slippery and steep conditions.

Almost there!

We continued up and then all of the sudden they appeared, three stunning blue granite towers soaring majestically up in the sky.  The sight was so extraordinary that we felt like we were on another planet.

And finally….here they are, all three of las torres, in all their glory jetting up to the sky.

We hiked up to a flat plateau with a superb view of the towers and admired their spectacular height.  At almost 10,000 feet high, the towers rose above us in an intimidating manner and it was hard to grasp their true magnitude.

I made it!  Yeah!!!!

Paul and I, thankful that we reached the top, got to see the three towers before they disappeared into the clouds.

Getting windier and colder.  It was time to put on more layers.

After taking several pictures, we found a perfect spot for our last Patagonian picnic lunch with arguably one of the best views Torres del Paine National Park has to offer.  As we admired the view, we felt truly lucky to have seen all three towers uncovered by the clouds, knowing quite well that this rare opportunity was truly a special gift.  We stayed for over an hour despite the strong, cold winds that were penetrating our multiple layers of clothes.  It was hard to leave knowing that this would be our final trek of the journey.

Me marveling at the towers and reflecting on what this week meant to me.  It is amazing how utterly relaxed I felt.  It was if my body, mind and soul became one for a last fleeting moment in time.  Soon, regretfully, I’d have to go home and face reality.

The knee breaking descent…

As we hiked back to the camp, I took in each awe-inspiring view as much as possible, trying to seal it into my memory as best I could.  Despite my fatigue at this point in the trek, I somehow felt a bit lighter with each step as if all the stress in my life had finally been released, up into the sky, chasing after las torres and dissolving  into the heavens.

As we made our final approach to the Eco Camp, I at last understood what utter freedom truly meant.  When the only thing that matters in life is life itself.  I felt so happy and at peace with myself that I didn’t want this trip to end.  I wondered why we need so much in today’s world and why our lives are so stressful.  It didn’t make any sense to me.  In nature, none of that stuff matters.

Almost there…

We arrived at the camp filled with a glorious feeling of accomplishment and deep satisfaction.  We had reached our goal and even surpassed it beyond expectations.

Photo of Paul, me and our wonderful guide, Cristian.

That night, we celebrated the end of our journey with our guide Cristian and all the other members of the fabulous Cascada team.  We indulged in a fantastic send off dinner and this time the three of us split two bottles of wine.  We shared stories of our trip and laughed a lot more freely with our Chilean friends.  It was quite a memorable evening despite my lingering headache the next day.

View of the towers from the Eco Camp.

One last look before we went to sleep.

Stay tuned…next post is my last one of Torres del Paine National Park.

Adventure Travel Chile TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking
— 4 Comments

A Drive to the Far End of the World

“A mere glance of the landscape was enough to make me realize how entirely different this was, of all what I had ever seen until then.”

Charles Darwin “The Voyage of the Beagle”.

Our morning in Punta Arenas ended up being quite startling. The wind conditions in town were so abhorrent that there was not a soul in town except us, the two ugly Americans, checking things out. The wind gusts were like nothing I’d ever experienced. You would be in the midst of walking and all the sudden, an enormous gust of powerful, vicious wind would literally strike you and sweep you off your feet. I was shocked at how intense the wind was and finally understood why there were rows and rows of ropes and metal chains lining the sidewalks in Punta Arenas.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, there was not much at all to do or see in tiny Punta Arenas. However, we did learn a bit about this bizarre, windswept place during our stay.  The town of Punta Arenas is about twenty miles from the airport and located right on the Straits of Magellan.  It is a wind-beaten town, once known as the southernmost city in the world, awash with history but not much else.

Per Wikipedia, “Two early Spanish settlements attempted along this coast (on the Straits of Magellan), including the first (1584), called Nombre de Jesús, failed in large part due to the harsh weather and difficulty in obtaining food and water, and the enormous distances from other Spanish ports. A second colony, Rey don Felipe, was attempted at another location some 80 kilometres south of Punta Arenas. This became known later as Puerto Hambre, sometimes translated as Port Starvation or Famine Port. These Spanish settlements had been established with the intent to prevent piracy by English pirates, by controlling the Straits of Magellan. Ironically it was an English pirate captain, Thomas Cavendish who rescued the last surviving member of Puerto Hambre in 1587″.

The main industries of Punta Arenas, or “Sandy Point” are fishing, petroleum, tourism and livestock (namely cattle and sheep).  WIth a population of a little over 150,000 hearty souls, Punta Arenas’ economy is thriving and it is an amazing testament of the will of people to succeed in this extreme climate.

A little after noon, our transfer from Cascada Expedicionnes, Rodrigo, arrived. We were both taken aback when we saw him, as he was much younger than we anticipated. We shook hands and asked the burning question: How many people were coming along on the trek? Rodrigo replied, “None. You two are it for the week”. Shocked, I asked if this was unusual and Rodrigo said that it had never happened. The week before he had a big group of a dozen trekkers and this week there just happened to be only two signed up. We couldn’t believe our luck! For the next seven days, we would have our own private guide, chef and a complete staff graciously attending our uttermost needs. This was unheard of!

We had a five-hour journey to the park, with a few stops along the way. I sat up front so I could take in the view and more importantly, talk with Rodrigo about Patagonia and our trip. Most of the staff at Cascada is from Patagonia. Rodrigo grew up right in Punta Arenas and was extremely knowledgable about the region. His grandmother was a descendant from England so he spoke perfect English, which was a relief given my lack of Spanish.  There are also many descendants of Croatia, Germany and other European countries who came to work the farms.

The route to the park takes you through remote pampa, also known as Patagonian desert land, where you are rewarded at the sight of Patagonia flamingos, horses, guanacos (a type of Patagonian llama) and many species of birds, including large ones. The landscape is dramatic, windswept and wild, yet also stunningly beautiful. It is so incredibly vast and unique that you feel like you are on another planet. In the distance, if you are lucky to have a clear enough day, you can see the snow-capped peaks of the majestic Andean mountains, which reach their terminus in Patagonia.

View of our drive to Puerto Natalas:  The pampas and the glorious snow-capped Andes beckoned us.

The drive was long and tiring so we were thankful that there were stops along the way. Our most important stop was at the Cascada office in the town of Puerto Natalas, a sprawling town of 15,000 residents, mostly known as the main stepping off point for the surrounding parks.

Paul and I outside of Puerto Natalas, where we picked up our guide for the trek.

At Cascada’s small office, we met our guide for the trek, Cristian, and loaded up the van with our backpacks and the supplies for the week.  Like Rodrigo, Cristian is also from Patagonia and is a true outdoorsman.  His love and understanding of nature gave him a certain kind of intensity and zest for life that was infectious.  Although his English was not as perfect as Rodrigo’s, his ungrammatical phrases and use of words seemed to add to his charm and always made us smile.  We got along great over the week and in some ways, his personality had the same kind of mystical feel as the park itself.

Our drive from Puerto Natalas to the park was fascinating.  Cristian had studied birds for the last few years so he pointed out different species along the way.  We saw buzzard eagles, Chilean pink flamingos, nandues (ostrich), black-necked swans and on rare occasion, the magnificent Andean condors.  Throughout our trip, the condors were by far my favorite sight.  These spectacular creatures are one of the largest birds in the world, with a wingspan of up to ten feet and weight up to 33 pounds.  They are not easy to spot since they spend most of their day soaring thousands of feet above the ground thus we considered ourselves lucky every time we caught a glimpse of one or two of them.

As we approached the park, the drive became more spectacular.  There was the typical Patagonian cloud cover so we did not see the full magnitude of where we were headed, but occasionally we would get a glimpse of the majestic snow-capped mountains bursting through the clouds.  It felt like the whole park was hidden, which added to its mystique.


At 5:30 PM, we finally arrived at the entrance to the park.  After so many hours of travel, we were relieved to finally be here and were anxious about the week ahead of us.  As we drove to the Cascada camp, we were greeted by a group of grazing guanacos and we were in awe at the incredible beauty of our surroundings.  At that point, we knew that our research had clearly paid off and that we were in for a trip of a lifetime.

Entering the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine….our first sight.

Paul and I thrilled to finally arrive at the main entrance to the park.

Stay tuned…next post will feature the one and only Cascada EcoCamp…the way to travel in Patagonia!

Adventure Travel Chile TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking
— 6 Comments

The magic of Torres del Paine

Greetings from Patagonia…wish you were here!

Photo taken in November 2003 during a trek in the famous Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia Chile.

Hidden at the far southern tip of Chile is home to Torres del Paine National Park, one of the most insanely beautiful parks in the world.  In this remote, windswept region of nowhereland, you can experience four seasons in a day and winds so powerful that they knock you down.  It is one of the most spectacular settings possible for trekking yet extremely difficult to reach.

As you drive through the barren pampa land without seeing much of any sign of civilization, the park magically appears out of the sky.  When you drive along the long, gravel round entering the park this is the view you see:  Unforgetable.

Stay tuned….my next series will be on Torres del Paine National Park starting with a day visit to Lima, followed by a trip south to Puenta Arenas an unusual town that is extremely windy, followed by a visit and trek through the world-famous park. 

Adventure Travel Chile TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking