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Valle de Luna
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Neena’s reflections
Anniversary - Why? - Time to reconsider - Learning - Crisis
The 1st year anniversary of our trip was on Oct 20th, 2007. Last year, at 10pm this day, we left our apartment of 11 years to head North toward the Arctic circle, before turning around for the long drive south to the tip of the Americas. A year later, we are making an assessment, what did we expect from this trip and what have we learnt?
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On the road
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Shreesh’s reflections
A year gone by - Change - Big changes - Overcoming Fear
I would like to say that “Gee, I can hardly believe a year has gone by!” but I cannot. It definitely feels like a year, if not more. Does time fly by when you are having fun? Yes, if it is an abandon mindless kind of fun I do think it does.
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In the rubble
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Not so interesting - Diamond in the rough - Welcoming people - Herd instinct - Shades of gray
There is usually a reason why certain spots are off the beaten path. Most of the time this is because there is not much of interest to be gained at that site or the trouble involved in getting there does not merit the payback in entertainment value. On the other hand, going to sites mobbed with tourists can be quite off-putting and most places cannot handle the large volumes of people wanting to see them. Rare is the site like Machu Picchu that can handle hordes of visitors and still feel uncrowded and spacious.
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Turbulence within
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Brief history - Drug running - New markets- Neo-prohibition - A modest proposal
No discussion of Colombia can be complete without touching on the topic of the FARC or Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia. Founded during the turbulent period in Colombian history known as “La Violencia“, FARC reached its zenith in the 1ate 1990’s with an estimated 15,000 members and free reign over 40-50% of Colombian territory. Despite its now reduced strength, estimated at 7,500 combatants, it remains one the most powerful illegitimate army organizations.
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Expensive laundries - FJ gets a chassis wash - an unimposing UNESCO site - Parking in Panama City
“Lost in Translation” was not one of my favorite movies. While watching it, it seemed slow and boring. However, this movie has been more often in my thoughts than ever before. Our situation just begs for misunderstanding on a grand scale. The cultural differences, added to the language difference, are the perfect recipe for disaster.
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Hot but happy
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The role of fortune in our daily lives. A meeting with a nuclear engineer and a WW II vet.
“You are so fortunate to be able to take the time off for this trip” is one of the most frequent comments we get. We are fortunate, yes, for being born in relatively well-to-do families, for having trained in an area that is in high demand, for getting the lucky breaks that enabled us to hold well paying jobs and most importantly, for being so well matched that we enjoy taking long vacations together without stress or compromise.
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