To the list of ways that open source ideals have impacted the world beyond computer software, add travel: the Hospitality Club is an online community of people willing to provide free accomodation and advice to travelers visiting their part of the world. A really interesting way to find a place for that trip over to the next continent or the next town.

The Shower Dilemma, a mini-story

There's the seemingly pointless question of whether to take a shower as part of personal hygiene. However, my experience with visiting at high altitudes has me wondering whether it should be more in the "life or death" category.

At high altitudes, the ambient temperature is usually a lot lower. None of the places I've stayed have had central heating, and most of them had nothing at all. This means that a room at a typical hostal is not likely to be very warm. Most places have hot water for at least part of the day though.

After you take a hot shower in an otherwise cold room, and the moment you get out of the shower, you're likely to start shivering. The problem is that shivering counts as exertion, and exerting yourself is one sure way to get altitude sickness. There's a limited supply of oxygen, and shivering uses up more of that oxygen while your body is still trying to adjust to the altitude. So, the dilemma is: do you take a shower and feel dizzy and keel over and die, or stink a little longer and cause others around you to keel over and die?

Hey everyone! After a couple of days of living in buses and airplanes, I arrived back from Peru yesterday. I hope to have more photos available within a few weeks - there are over 2000 to sort through. It was definitely an interesting trip of a lifetime, and I'll have to write up some of the stories that happened along the way. Thanks for all your e-mails while I was gone.

Travel Images, a perspective

Having had the opportunity to take a whirlwind tour of a foreign country
while toting along some cool camera stuff, I've learned a few things:

1. If you really need to get superb photographs for a particular
   purpose, don't count on shooting them through the grimy window of a
   moving vehicle. I can't count the number of times I have thought "wow,
   that'd make a nice photo, if only I could stop for ten minutes, set up a
   tripod with camera, and get the composition and exposure right". It's
   not that it's impossible to get good photos while "on the run", but in
   order to guarantee it, you need to be in control of your transportation.
   That's aweful hard to do in some locations (such as the very beautiful
   train route between Cusco and Machu Picchu) but it's a choice between
   shooting a hundred shots and hoping that one of them will turn out
   right, or shooting ten shots and knowing that one of them will turn out
   right.
   


2. On a related note, photography/videography while travelling can be
   very hard to get right because you find yourself too tired from the
   basic survival and sightseeing tasks to really put all your energy into
   things like composing a really nice shot. It's easy to get into a
   routine of pointing at random nice-looking stuff, hitting the shutter
   button, and checking for blown highlights, but that's not really art. If
   you want to get good photos of a particular place, imagine the amount of
   time you'll need just to do sightseeing there, triple that, and double
   it again if you will be working in unusual situations (e.g. having to
   cart a lot of gear around, or in an unusual environment). The reason for
   this is not just to have more time to compose shots and think
   artistically, but to avoid dumb mistakes caused by fatigue (like the
   many photos I have ruined by having a lens hood that was not fully
   rotated into place). Those numbers are just made up, but that type of
   rule is something to keep in mind when planning a trip and deciding on
   its purpose.
   


3. If you carry much camera stuff into Machu Picchu, you will get
   hassled. I think they had a TV crew sneak onto the site at night a few
   years back, and in the process of filming their beer commercial they
   marred the "hitching post of the sun" stone. Since the Machu Picchu
   management was commenting something about tripods when I got pulled
   aside, my guess is that tripods with spiked feet sometimes get used in
   all the wrong places. Be sensitive to the fact that it's more than just
   a great photo op, and that people do visit these places just for the fun
   of taking them in. (Overheard, a husband speaking rather loudly to his wife: "Check your histogram. Is your histogram good? Then the shot's fine!")
   


4. You can be sure that you won't use all the gear that you take, but you can't predict which gear that will be. I brought four pairs of batteries for my camera, and after the first week of shooting hadn't even finished one. On the other hand, gear like the photo tank and four memory cards has been invaluable.
   

With those points in mind, here
is a gallery with a few photo highlights from the trip so far.

The Great Repack, a mini-story

Some people know that I have brought way too much stuff along with me on
this trip. It mostly consists of photo/video gear, along with a few
personal necessities. When I got done packing a week ago, I had two
large duffel bags (approximately 45 lbs/20 kg each), plus a carry-on
backpack (just under 40 lbs/18 kg). Needless to say, this move has been
widely viewed as crazy by many people in both hemispheres.

For the first portion of my trip, I chose to only carry around one pack.
This is the part where I unabashedly promote the Kinesis Gear system that has been
working very well so far. The system is targeted towards photographers,
but the basic idea is that you can buy various packs, pack frames,
belts, harnesses, and cases that you then arrange in a multitude of
configurations.

For this trip, I have mainly used the Kinesis pieces in two
configurations. The first one is the "everything in one big pack" setup.
This consists of hanging the backpack and a compression sack from the
pack frame, with my tripod on one side, and a video camera piggybacked
on the backpack in a smaller pack. The whole setup including a few
liters of water has to easily weigh over 65 lbs/30 kg.

When I got to Machu Picchu, I had planned to use my full pack with frame
for the day, but holding only water and my camera stuff. However, the
rules prohibit backpacks over 20 liters. Thanks to the modularity of the
Kinesis system, I was able to quickly store the pack frame and backpack,
and convert to a harness and belt setup, with camera holster and lens
cases hanging off the belt, and my small video camera pack and tripod
hanging on my back. I've been using variations of this second
configuration ever since when I go out on picture-taking expeditions.

For peace of mind I'm using the Pac
Safe to keep my pack secure when it's not in my room or on me. The
duffel bags got the same treatment when I stored them at the airport.
Which brings me back to the main story - the great repack.

Obviously I wanted to travel the first half of the trip with this
monster backpack, and obviously that monster backpack would not be
something you could possibly carry on (or even check without extra
charges). So last Monday morning at around 6am, I pulled two large
duffel bags and my carryon backpack into a bathroom stall in the Lima
airport. The goal: create the superpack that I would carry around the
next ten days.

A bull in a china shop would have a better time manuvering than I did in
that tiny bathroom stall. I had planned in advance to have all the
additional superpack stuff in one of the duffel bags, but it still took
me the better part of two hours to get the pack frame out, attach all the pieces to it, and get stuff back into the duffel bags. It didn't help that I hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night, or that the bathroom
attendant seemed to be confused by this person who kept making sounds of velcro ripping without ever emerging from the stall.

When I get back to Lima on Wednesday, I will try to "undo" this repack by putting most of my big pack back into one of the duffel bags at the airport luggage storage. I'm currently getting good practice by
unpacking and repacking the superpack as I move from place to place.
Still, this is all relatively easy compared to the "great repack", and I think people will be hard pressed to beat my record of the most luggage crammed into a bathroom stall at once.

A Story About IF

Yesterday (August 4, 2006) I took the bus from Cusco to Puno here in Peru. Puno is a Peruvian city on the edge of Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake at around 4000 meters (13,000 ft) asl. I was worried that when I arrived, the altitude would be so bad that I wouldn't be able to walk my 30kg pack from the bus to a taxi. Fortunately, there is still some air around here, and after a few rest stops, I managed to make it to a taxi and to the hostal I had planned on staying in, Hostal Pukkara.

IF I had known that I had to confirm my reservation at that place, I wouldn't have had to have been very kindly punted to another hotel a few blocks away. The man at Hostal Pukkara was nice enough to come along with me in the taxi and help me with my bags - an extremely helpful guy with no reason to be. So my new digs were at the Silustani Hotel. The Silustani is a bit more uppity (i.e. hot water around the clock) for $5/night more, and is nicely situated between the Plaza de Armas and the Pi–a Plaza.

Every town here has a Plaza de Armas (aka "Plaza Principal" or "Plaza Mejor"). It usually has a police station, courthouse, bank, city government office, and other "main area place" type of shops, all surrounding a nice little park area with benches and maybe a fountain. In more touristy towns such as Cusco, the Plaza Principal includes a small supermarket and tons of tourist-trap restaurants around its periphery. And there is always a Catholic Church on one side of the plaza. By Peruvian law, each town must make land available for a Catholic church.

But anyways, here I am at the conveniently located Silustani Hotel. I wanted to make sure I had food all ready for Sabbath and all that, and I was feeling a little adventurous, so I got directions to the area's supermarkets. Finding a North American-style supermarket is unlikely in most Peruvian towns. Lima has E.Wongs that are bound to be just as good as any North American supermarket, but that's just Lima. In Puno, there is the Supermercado, which means a big marketplace with rows of stalls selling a wide variety of products. The first floor has a row for "cereals", "frutas", and "verduras" (vegetables), as well as a whole butcher section. The second floor has clothing stalls where you can buy a new pair of trousers from Se–or Pantalones. Near the Supermercado is a storefront that has a variety of Americano foods such as loaves of sliced bread, snack chips, and ice cream.

So anyways, I got plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and a loaf of bread, all for about S/.13 ($4) total, and headed back to the hotel with my finds. IF I had not been returning to my new hotel, I would not have noticed the bakery next door to the hotel advertising empanadas. (If you're wondering what an empanada is, it's kind of like a small calzone that you put salsa on.) Some of my friends at Red Hat will remember going to Sarah's Empanadas restaurant near the old office location, and I have a lot of good memories of that food.

IF, after depositing my purchases in my room, I hadn't decided to go back to the bakery, I wouldn't have been told that they only had chicken or beef empanadas. However, there was a restaurant down the street that might be able to help me. The woman at the bakery even walked me down the street when I didn't quite understand where she was pointing. I found myself at a vegetarian restaurant, which was cool with me because I happen to be "una vegetariana".

At this vegetarian restaurant dive, I would have liked empanadas con verduras, but that wasn't on the menu. I tried ordering the vegetarian ceviche, ceviche been something close to the national dish of Peru. I think it's like the sushi of South America - normally made with raw fish and all that. IF the restaurant hadn't been out of ingredients then, I wouldn't have disappointedly requested "una plata authentico" (authentic plate) instead. It took a long time to make, but a waitress was nice enough to bring out a glass of apple juice on the house. As an aside, drinks and desserts here in Peru seem to be a lot less sugary. I've had lemonade twice, pi–a (pineapple) juice once, and then this apple juice, and every single time they have been very frothy, not very sweet, and with a little pulp, as if someone decided to just blend the fruit up and put it straight in a glass. It's nice to not be in a nation of sugar addicts (probably due, sadly enough, to the poor state of dental care here).

When the plate of food I had ordered finally arrived, I devoured it in short order and asked for the check. After paying and thanking, I commented to my waiter that "yo returno ma–ana noche por ceviche" ("I'll return tomorrow night for ceviche"). IF I had not been sufficiently intrigued by ceviche for my introverted self to make an offhand comment like that, I wouldn't have gotten the speech from se–ora chef about how the place wouldn't be open then because they didn't work on "Sabado" (Saturday). And IF that hadn't raised my curiosity enough to ask about their religious preferences...

So there you have it. I got to meet a bunch of cool people who have the same beliefs as me, who gave me the directions to church services today that I had been worried about finding, and who invited me to lunch after services (score!). Add to that the subsequently revealed fact that they had only been operating the restaurant at its new location for ten days (previous location: the street where my previously scheduled hostel was), and you have a story that amazes me. What are the odds of meeting family, a million miles from home?

I'm in Aguas Calientes, Peru at the moment. Even though my first post just showed up, it was regarding the first few days of my trip. This is the first time I've had Internet access since I left.

Tons of stories to tell, and none fatal so far. I think it will not be possible to post most of the photos and any of the video until after the trip, but I'm getting some great stuff. I went up to the Machu Picchu ruins today and got some nice stuff, including a couple of panoramas. My only question is why President Bush doesn't boycott the totalitarian regimes of history - this stuff is sort of impressive, and it wouldn't have happened unless some ruler guy was enslaving millions for his terrorist empire.

The pictures don't do Machu Picchu justice because (a) you don't really see how "on the summit of a mountain" this place is (b) you don't see the 3rd dimension that helps you understand all the climbing you have to do to just get around the city. Someone needs to invent a good 3D camera that takes Canon lenses... :)

Instead of taking the bus back down, I hiked back down from Machu Picchu after closing, and had a pretty scary experience trying to make it back through the dark. Main problem was that I was already very tired, after getting 5 hours of sleep, taking photos all day, walking up and down the steep slopes of Machu Picchu City this afternoon, etc. God deserves the credit for guiding me back when I could have broken my leg or fell many times. More details on that story later.

I'm heading back to Cusco tomorrow evening on the train, then to Puno (on another bus!) on Friday morning, assuming Ramon has picked up the ticket I paid him for. S/.30 (30 soles, about $8) for a first-class bus ride of about 6 hours. Not bad.

Stories I still need to tell from the past few days:
. More on dealing with the altitude, aka yesterday's evening in Cusco.
. More observations on the differences between here and North America.
. Details of the "great luggage repack" at the airport on Monday morning (this one's a good one!).

Anyways, enough rambling - I apologize for not having a nice photo-summary for today, but that will come soon enough. From a very tired guy, in a very touristy town on a satellite Internet connection in an Internet cafe listening to odd Beatles covers, "buenos noches!"

Way High Up

It has been a crazy few days, but I am alive and well! A lot has happened since Sunday evening.

After flying into Miami on Sunday afternoon, July 30, I waited at a food court where I had to save the world from a very large cockroach. And then I had to find something to eat at the same food court.

The flight from Miami to Lima was delayed because the computer double-booked a seat, and as a result six people's luggage had to be pulled off the plane.

When the plane landed in Lima around 04:30 Peru time July 31, (one hour behind the Eastern coast of the USA), it hit me that I was really there. I got the red light at customs, and when they searched my luggage they gave me a hard time about my second video camera ("solo uno, señor!"), but let me through. I hung around the Lima airport, resting, restocking my water supply, and trying to get over the culture shock. It is just so mind boggling to be in a place where you can't communicate easily, even though the airport is otherwise pretty much like any airport in North America. with the Brunch was two Papa John's personal pizzas at the food court - this was my only square meal so far.

My bus from Lima to Cusco was scheduled to depart A taxi driver named Carlos found in me a willing victim to overcharge (S/.50, or $15) for a ride to the bus station. I didn't really mind though - it felt so good be outside on the move, and he came inside the bus station to help me pick my ticket before he left.

Note to the curious: If travelling out of Lima via Cruz Del Sur, book your tickets out of of Cruz Del Sur's Javier Prado station instead of the one on Jiron Quilca. The Javier Prado station is much nicer, and in a nicer neighborhood.

One thing I noticed about Lima was all the private security around the place. There was an armed guard outside the supermarket (which, admittedly, is something mainly for rich people). Another interesting thing was the difference in scale of everything. In the USA, people who are going to open a store will at least find a good-sized place to stick it in. Here, all it takes is a room that opens onto the street. Peruvians just don't seem to have delusions of grandeur.

Anyways, the bus ride was a very interesting one. This was Imperial-class bus service (urinal at the back, seats that reclined a good ways, plenty of DVDs to watch, and a bingo game that turned out to be good Spanish practice for me :). I knew I was pretty much going to be OK when I managed to ask the luggage guy at the bus station in Spanish whether I could carry my whole backpack at my feet, or whether I need to check it.
Fortunately, the modular Kinesis backpack system made it easy to pull out some essentials and check the rest of my "equipaje".

The bus left at 13:15 on Monday, July 31 and after picking up passengers at the other Lima station, it drove south to Nazca/Ica well after dark. Then we turned east into the foothills of the Andes. These are pretty high foothills though - my GPS recorded an altitude of 4200m at one point during the night. In addition to a few stops for the driver to urinate or switch off, at about 05:30 on Tuesday, August 1, we stopped in Abancay to pick up passengers.

It was really hard to sleep when the bus kept going around curves - for those of my friends that have been on the New River Gorge rafting trip, this was a "class six bus ride" It wasn't quite as fast driving as the NRG bus, but there were a lot more sharp turns.
I managed to doze off at some points in the night, but at about 06:45, everyone on the bus was awakened by a very loud thump that. This leads to

the first photo of the day - the bus had collided with a truck holding "Peligro Combustible". The bus mainly got a bent fender and busted front left tire out of it, but while it meant a delay of an hour or two, I really didn't mind because I got to see scenery like that shown in the second photo of the day.


We eventually made it to Cusco around 11:30 today (instead of the expected 08:45), and Ramon, the guy from the Hostal Cusi Wasi where I'm staying, was still waiting for me at the bus station. Talk about service!

Anyways, I'm hoping to go out to pay for tomorrow's train ticket, buy Friday's bus ticket, and pick up a Claro SIM Chip, although my Cingular one has been roaming down here OK. I have to be careful not to exert myself too much or my lip tingles - that's a sign of the 3400m altitude here right now, and if I'm not careful it could lead to altitude sickness. I've been on Diamox (a diuretic known to help with altitude sickness) since Saturday, so as long as I'm willing to pant when my muscles don't feel tired, I hope to adjust in time for the coming weekend in Puno (where the altitude is 13000 feet or so).

I have plenty more pictures already, but I can either run tons of pictures through workflow or get out and get to the activities of the afternoon!