nuestro unico problema es que nos falta chicha

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

IDIEM, Cochabamba, Bolivia

Here are a few pictures of the institute, they are no good and I will take better ones in the future. The first is out the window of my classroom, and the second is from a garden where I can study.


from my classroom


outside study/eating area

There are mountains in the background, you just can´t see them well through the trees inside the institute.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Estoy Aqui, Cochabamba, Bolivia

I am here. It is great. I have to eat lunch, but will hopefully hit up a computer station a bit later today. Short messages are sometimes better, especially when there is too much to say.

Que Rico.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Stranded in Miami, Miami Beach, FL, USA

There were severe delays in Houston last night. This meant that american couldn't get me into miami until 2am, over 5 hours late. I missed my connection into La Paz, and my subsequent connection into Cochabamba. I leave for Bolivia tonight at 2320, and hopefully will get a boleta to Cochabamba for an arrival of 1540 tommorow.

I did get to sleep in front of a explosion containment case for potential airport bombs (hello CIA keyword grabber software). It was quite exciting.

I also have the full day to spend in Miami, so I am writing this post from a library in Miami beach--just a 1.50 bus fare away from that hellish airport and its overpriced commodities (though food is no cheaper out here, but there's a beach). There is definitely a huge cubano population here, most people seem to speak spanish. The highlight was getting out of the airport in time to see the sunrise over the ocean. So not a terrible layover, but still an unwanted hassle--even if it was to a supposed "tropical paradise."

Can't wait to actually get to Bolivia...

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

false color infrared

I had a bit of time this morning to play around with photoshop and came up with this false color processing of an infrared from monument valley. I wanted to subdue the red added by the filter.



Also, I watched a few episodes of the BBC's "Planet Earth" on Sunday and it's one of the better documentaries I've seen. It's out for rental now and certainly worth it.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Four Corners Area, AZ-UT-CO-NM, USA

We drove to the four corners area next, which allowed us to continue our scenic overload and recuperate from the canyon. First stop was Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, which was incredibly windy yet serene.


infrared shot of the totem poles



the mittens


the three sisters


forgot the name, but a nice picture


sunset


We drove through the four corners on our way to our next stop, being sure to stand on the cardinal axis that divides the four states. It cost 3 dollars a person, but we did get some fry bread (for 6 dollars). Not bad.



We arrived at Mesa Verde National Park--home to one of the densest groupings of ancestral pueblo ruins yet found. The park homepage has more about the detailed and interesting history. We were able to see a multitude of these sites.




Spruce Tree House


Spruce Tree House

The circular opening in the ground you can see in the above picture is an example of a kiva, which served as a religious ceremony site for ancestral puebloans. The park service restored one of these kivas, as they normally have a sealed roof (which since has eroded away on unrestored sites). We could climb down into it.


inside a kiva


spruce tree house



That night we went into town for the oft-loved pizza and microbrew combo at a local brewer--main street/mesa cerveza. They made a great one called schnorzenboomer doppelboch and sold it to go.

The next morning we woke up and took a guided tour of balcony house, another ruin at mesa verde. One must climb up a long ladder to reach this secluded ruin.




the balcony, for which this ruin is named, is visible in the foreground


exploring balcony house


balcony house kiva


balcony house


balcony house


the tunnel leaving the "house"

After we left Mesa Verde, all that remained was a long drive through New Mexico and a stop by REI for new boots.

Hermit's Trail, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, USA



Emily and I just returned from our trip to the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Mesa Verde, and other select four corners locales. We arrived late Saturday night at the canyon, just in time to catch a beautiful sunset.



Looking down into the canyon through a strong sense of vertigo, we could barely make out the Colorado River--which would be the destination of our backpacking trip to the bottom of the canyon via Hermit's Trail. With a touch of nervousness, we went back to camp to pack for the next day's hike.



With 15 liters of water between us, we set out after jumping the car battery (the death of which enabled both our packing and the previous photo). We hit the trail around 7:30, unfortunately an hour and a half late.


about 1/8 of the way down the trail

We made it about half-way down the canyon wall by about 1130am, when the intensely hot sun forced us to rest through the heat of the day. Due to our late start, we were stuck on a length of long traverses with a cliff above and below us. We found a rock ledge for some shade and pitched the rain fly when the we lost that.


hot


We left our shelter around 3 or 4 when the sun became obscured by clouds and moved on down the wall.



This left Cathedral Stairs and a few miles of canyon floor between us and our campsite.


me above the stairs-essentially a switchback down something like the cliff immediately across the expanse


the cathedral stairs

We got into camp around 9, after the sun had gone down--no pictures. We set up camp alongside a chilly stream and soaked our very sore feet as we made dinner. Of note was a chorus of several thousand tiny frogs croaking.

We awoke to the rise of the moon over the canyon rim. It was nearly full, and so bright it casted distinct shadows. We were able to pack and hit the trail without lights at 4 in the morning.

The next day was essentially a reverse of the first, only this time with very sore legs and feet. There were several large boulderfields to navigate but this time we couldn't see the target like on the way down--the continuing trail over with a difference of several hundred feet in altitude. This, and some misplaced cairns by previous hikers, lead us off the trail from time to time. Though never as bad as another group of three hikers who brought too much trash to leave on the trail and not enough water--a pair of Canadians we ran into in the morning told us those three had gotten lost and dehydrated the night before. We had encountered them going up the day before but they didn't ask for help--we had plenty of water we would've shared had we known. We saw them getting evacuated by a helicopter on the way back up.



This was a particularly hot day, and we felt it. We realized quickly we were getting way too hot and stopped for the afternoon on the supai--luckily we found a ledge to hide under during the worst of it.


even hotter

The rest of the day was hard, and as such we didn't take the time to get any pictures to share. A nice break was found at Santa Maria Springs, where we refilled our water bottles (my msr miox kit worked great for cleaning our water both here and the night before).

We hit the canyon rim exhausted around 9 pm after 9 miles of linear distance and over four thousand vertical feet. Notes for next time: early start (4am), good boots (I'm loosing at least one toenail), it's hot enough to skip carrying sleeping bags and a tent (in the summer anyway), be sure the cairns you're following aren't taking you to labyrinth boulderfields, bring more than enough water (something we did right), don't leave your half-eaten beef jerky and smuckers bottles on the trail--the canyon will kick your ass for that, empirically proven.

leave no trace