One Giant Step…Is All It Takes

Inti Raymi is celebrated near the winter solstice on June 24th every year. It is an Incan ceremony that is performed in the native Quechuan language rather than Spanish.

We arrived in Cusco 2 days prior to the actual ceremony and the city square was already abuzz with people and bands and general merriment being made. Apparently the festival has expanded over the years to include the weeks leading up to June 24th also.

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The plan was to take our time getting to Cusco from Lima. We were going to spend a few days, stopping along the way at Nasca and Arequipa to split up the journey.

Then we learned that the Inti Raymi festival was happening in Cusco on June 24th so we thought we would head straight to Cusco instead and visit Nasca and Arequipa after that.

We checked into flights and buses and decided that, at 1/3 the cost, the bus it would be. Sure it was going to be a 22 hour bus ride but I had heard that South American buses were ‘da bomb’ and so thought that 22 hours wouldn’t be so bad. Read the rest of this entry »

We had heard plenty about Lima before arriving, most of it negative. People told us that it was dirty, and big, and dangerous and menacing – that we should spend as little time as possible there.

We ended up staying 5 and a half days…and we quite liked it.

Sure it’s big (>10 million!) and somewhat dirty, but there are plenty of parks and squares to explore and with the current ‘recuperacion’ of the city occurring, there is renewal everywhere. It is much cleaner than I expected. In both Miraflores (the tourist district) and Barranco (it’s more bohemian neighbor) there are roving bands of cleaners, street sweepers and gardeners, all in uniform, generally spiffing the place up.

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I have a confession to make. I hate flying. Yep…I, know…around the world…gonna have to fly.

The idea of this trip was to do something unusual. To experience new cultures, hear new languages, see new things…step out out of our comfort zone. ‘One Giant Step’ refers to that leap of faith required to step out and make ourselves uncomfortable. Flying makes me uncomfortable so mark one check mark in that box.

I have thought a lot about how I am going to handle it. I know it’s all in my head. I know all about the statistics and how ‘safe’ flying is. I know about the physics and how planes stay in the air. Intellectually, I have it all covered. Emotionally, I’m usually a mess.

I tried hypnosis. Nope…didn’t work. I had high hopes for it and still think that it could work – the subconscious is a powerful place, but apparently my conscious being is more powerful and would not let it happen.

I had a back up plan…pharmaceuticals.

We were flying from Toronto to New York then onward to Lima on an overnight flight. Having some time to kill at the airport, we did what comes naturally and headed to the bar for a drink – that always helps smooth things out.  We boarded the flight in Toronto and I popped an ativan to relieve the anxiety. We then proceeded to wait on the tarmac for 4 hours (damn, wasted an ativan!). It wasn’t too bad though – the plane was new, they turned on the entertainment system and the very nice staff served us free beer. I’m in a plane, but it’s not in the air, so I’m happy. The residual effects of the ativan and the beer easily get me through the barely one hour flight to New York.

The late take off meant that we no longer had any significant layover in New York so we had to scrap our plans for the fastest NYC tour and instead headed to the bar to have another beer. You’re not surprised…are you?

The New York/Lima flight was an overnight flight. My plan was to pop a sleeping pill and wake up as we landed in Lima. No such luck – although I’m exhausted I just can’t drop off to sleep as any little bump in the air has me waking up.

And so the final plan evolves…

Put my favorite song on eternal repeat on the iPod (currently ‘The Mission’ by Puscifer), get as comfy as I can, tap my foot and move my head in time with the music (this masks the movement of the plane) and imagine myself on my bike riding down CBC on the North Shore. It doesn’t get any better than this.

And that’s how I find myself riding my way through it all the way to Lima.

Victoria may be the ‘City of Gardens’, but I think that Brockville’s tagline should be the ‘City of Lawns’.

Seriously, the lawns here are amazing! I can’t imagine the time that people must put into them, but I surely can imagine the pride that they take because every single lawn is beautifully cut and manicured with an equally beautiful garden to accompany it.

I haven’t seen any un-mown, weedy, gone-to-seed yards…I think they even mow the vacant lots! It certainly makes for a beautiful little town.

Here I am trying to do my part to keep up the standards. Although I have   to admit that the very last thing Don did before we left for the hospital was mow the lawn himself. He kindly explained that it was so that I wouldn’t have to do it again before the weekend but, really, I think he was trying to fix up the job I did. I’ll show him though as I am the designated-lawn-cutter while he is away….I’m definitely getting better.

We  have been traveling a lot between Ottawa and Brockville. It’s a scenic drive even from the 4 lane highway – even more so when we take the back route. I love the country-side with the fields and barns and farm houses. The crops are just starting to push up and show themselves in neat little rows of that fresh green that only spring can bring.

The drive also shows the marshland that is prevalent in the area. Grasses and reeds dominate as the greenery, providing roosts and feeding area for birds, many of which I have never seen before. The birds here are certainly more colorful and melodic than the ones I’m used to back home. My favorite place in the house is the sunroom downstairs where I can look out to the backyard feeders and see all the birds.

We also managed to get some boating activity in while here. There was one last sail on the boat in blustery, but manageable, conditions – and J and I caught a bit of the hydroplane races this past weekend.

Soon, our time here will be finished. Although we hadn’t planned to come here, it has all turned out okay – we’ve had a chance to see family and friends we wouldn’t have and we feel good setting out knowing that J’s dad is on the mend.

We have a flight booked for Monday to Lima. Time to get that Spanish book out and start getting excited again!

Meet Roland.

He heard that we were about to embark on a journey around the world and contacted us to ask if he could join us.

He comes with great credentials, having traveled much of the world already. Iceland, India, Malaysia, Norway, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Japan, and Jordan just to name a few.

In fact he has already traveled to more countries than we plan on visiting on this trip. And, because he has already been to some of the countries we’ll be visiting, he’ll make an excellent tour guide.

It’s true, it can be difficult traveling with a third wheel but, even having met Roland only briefly, I think he will fit in just fine. He’s quiet, likes to read, doesn’t complain much and enjoys a good beer. All the things required of a good travel partner.

We hope he likes us too. He has traveled with many people so we definitely have to measure up. Luckily we’re quiet, like to read, don’t complain too much and we love a good beer.

I think we’re going to get along just fine.

An early lesson in being flexible and ‘going with the flow’ has us visiting lovely Brockville Ontario for a couple of weeks before we head out on the world tour. We learned last week that J’s dad is having some surgery and so decided to head out east for a few weeks to see him through it and help J’s mom get him back on his feet.

It adds another stop onto our tour, gives us a chance to visit with family and friends we weren’t going to see, and teaches us early on to not be married to plans and itineraries – everything can change.

Consequently, this stepped up our departure date by five days so this last week was a whirlwind of finishing work, packing up, visiting, partying and saying good-bye. It went by quickly, which is good…I’m a rip the bandaid of fast kind of girl.

The parties were amazing – I was overwhelmed by how many people came to see us. And all the nice things people have to say. It is a great feeling to be leaving and know how many people are proud of us, and support us, and love us, and will miss us.

We will miss you all too and will think of you all often as we travel. We’re excited to be on our way, anxious to see what the future holds, and lucky to be able to find out.

Japan is the last place to visit in our current itinerary. I say current itinerary because, although we have a plan as to where we want to go, the itinerary is certainly subject to change. A plan is only necessary to know what we are deviating from should we change our mind. 

Japan is expensive. Certainly far more expensive than any of the other countries that we’ll be visiting so, I imagine, that it will take some serious planning to be able to afford it. So this is just a loose idea of where we would like to go - in the end we’ll see what the budget allows.

Japan is also one of the countries that I am most interested in visiting. It offers such a dichotomy of technological advancement and ancient tradition. I think our route will show us both.

We’ll start with the technologically advanced portion of the tour…in Tokyo. Here, Shinjuku Station is the electronically-jazzed, neon over-loaded, crazy-busy Japanese version of Times Square. Two million people a day pass through this square - and they all seem to know where they are going!

Not that Tokyo doesn’t have its share of tradition too. The Tokyo National Museum is here and offers a budget friendly free guided tour. There is also the Imperial Palace to learn more about the Royal Family and plenty of temples and toriis to visit too.

Two food favourites will be visiting the Tsukiji Fish Market early in the wee hours of the morning and then one of the many yakitori-ya’s late in the evening for a bbq snack and a beer (Anthony Bourdain loves these back alley watering holes!).

And we haven’t even touched on sumo, Harajuku, Kabuki theatre, shopping, and baseball…all that only if we could possibly navigate Tokyo’s extensive subway system…wish us luck!

We’ll leave Tokyo (maybe by bullet train?) and head into the countryside to see the other side of Japan. The goal is Kyoto, but first we’ll head to Fuji-Hakon-Izu National Park where Mt Fuji looms in the horizon. It is possible to climb Mt Fuji!! I’m not sure the weather will be permitting in May but maybe we can get part way up anyway. The park itself is beautiful, complete with hot springs, lakes and plenty of hiking paths.

Kyoto is the old capital of Japan (and was the capital for more than 1000 years). It shows the more traditional side of Japanese life with traditional architecture, temples, shrines and palaces. Here, it is possible to visit the Gion District to see geishas on their way between teahouses and stay in a traditional Japanese ryokan inn with shoji screens and futons.

As I said at the beginning, Japan is expensive. If anyone has any suggestions, recommendations, hints, tips or tricks as to how to visit on a backpackers budget, please let us know.

I used to think that everyone that came into my life was there to teach me something. I still think that…kind of, but have refined the theory a little.

Now, I think that it’s parts of people that teach, or inspire me.

I believe that there are pieces of people that we emulate. There is no one person that I want to be like, but there are pieces of many people that I want to take in and be part of who I am.

• Passion. Man, I love passion. Whether I agree with their cause or not, I admire people who believe vehemently. Recently someone told me that they wish they were not so emotionally involved in everything and I replied that I wish that I was. It seems that even in this, the grass is greener on the other side.
• Confidence. I believe that confidence can take a person a long way. I admire people who are confident in themselves, their abilities and their possibilities. If you don’t think you can do something then why would anyone else think you can?
• Willingness. A willingness to try new things is another trait that I admire. Sure, I may not like every new food or new experience, but  I want to try new things all the time. People who are not willing to try, or who make up their mind before trying, test my patience. But someone who is up for anything is an inspiration in my book.
• Peace. I admire people who are at peace. And no, I don’t mean dead. People who are at peace with themselves, who aren’t in turmoil, who are calm and settled with who they are. They have reached a place where they aren’t searching and reaching but just are.

What does this have to do with a travel blog?

Well, specifically, it’s about the people I have know that have traveled, and how they have inspired me to travel. Well, really I don’t know how they have inspired me, I just know that there is something about those people that made me want to be like them.

I think it’s because they have ’stepped out’ and visited unusual places, made themselves uncomfortable and yet still seem so…like me. They make me believe that I can do it.

Quietly, without knowing it, they have inspired me.

Indonesia is a country of 17,000 islands! Of which we plan on visiting 5…maybe.

Bali is the main reason for visiting Indonesia. A small island that, although it has grown in popularity, is still laid back and relaxed.

There is Kuta in the south leading to the Bukit Peninsula which houses the luxurious tourist resorts in a manic whirl of activity. It is unlikely we will see much of this part of the island as it will be out of reach of our backpacker budget - but maybe a visit just to see how the other half lives.

Lovina is likely more our style. A string of villages along the nothern coast that are laid back, relaxed and low budget. Gazing out to the Indian Ocean from our classic ‘hut on the beach’ with barely a care in the world.

Ubud is the artsy, crafty, hippie heart of Bali. I think I will love it as I like it when there is plenty to see and do, but also lots of places to relax and just take it all in. There is also plenty of hiking around Ubud - out into the countryside to see the spectacular views of the rice paddies  and temples.

And then there is Gunung Batur. A volcano in the center of Bali that must be climbed to catch the first glimpe of the sun at sunrise. I love volcanoes, and the thought of being able to trek around it, and climb up it is exciting - apparently there are even heat vents!

Lombok is just to the east of Bali. It is, apparently, even more relaxed and laid back than Bali. There are more volcanoes here to explore, but likely we’ll stay on the western side of the island and primarily use it as a jumping of point to the Gili’s.

Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan are a trio of idyllic islands of the north western coast of Lombok. I think this will really be the ‘getting away from it all’ locale. White sand beaches leading to snorkelling off the coral reefs and swimming in the crystal clear water…really, does it get any better than this?

Visiting 5 islands out of the 17,000 hardly allows us to say we’ve visited Indonesia at all. But these 5 will offer all that we are looking for…and may entice us to come back one day and visit more.