The Southernmost Point: Key West, FL

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Janette

Everyone has day-dreamed about living on an island at one time or another.  I’m no exception.  The thought of being far away from the main land and using an electric golf cart or bicycle as a primary mode of transportation will always remain extremely enticing to me.  For those reasons, Key West was one such place I had to seek out.

It’s been a while since a road trip had been taken, so I thought a small one was in order.  After spending a day and night exploring the greater Miami area and taking an evening dip in the hotel pool, I was ready to roll out of town the next day.

The vast expanse of water around the string of small islands was pretty cool to experience.  At some points there was either a few feet of land on either side of the pavement, or just huge bridges connecting the tiny islands.  Not very much protection from the beautiful jade-green water that’s patiently waiting to envelope you.

US 1

I planned on making some stops along the way to Key West, but high winds prevented glass-bottom boat tours and snorkeling excursions from taking place.  So, driving straight through to the end seemed like the best option.

I made it to Mallory Square just in time to see the evening ritual of the sunset celebration.  Hundreds of people gather on the waterfront to watch the sun slowly slip below the horizon.  The applause and cheering that came afterwards wasn’t thunderous or deafening, it was mellow and simple.  It’s almost as if the crowd was showing refined respect for the honor of witnessing such a beautiful spectacle.

The crowd eventually dispersed in every direction, slowly making their way to a bar or restaurant.  The night life was complete with live music, drunk college kids, street artists and lots of window shopping.  Then came the 20 min. drive to Sugarloaf Key and a good night’s sleep.

After some delicious breakfast, it was off to Key West again.  The day began with a tour of Earnest Hemingway’s house and then the Key West Lighthouse which was across the street.  They were both set in a beautiful residential area with a nice variety of flora surrounding the grounds.

A short walk down the street led to the “Southernmost Point” marker.  From there it’s only 90 miles to Cuba.  The marker itself is not very attractive, but the novelty of being there was fun and you can get a fresh coconut with a straw from a guy in a pick-up truck about 20 feet from the crowd waiting to take pictures with said marker.

Even though clouds were ominously approaching, my next stop was Zachary Taylor State Park beach.  The water was so green and the rocks on the edges of the water were huge.  The sand was a bit rough on the toes, but it was nice to lay out in the remaining sunlight for about an hour and watch as the small crowds of vacationers were slowly replaced by small flocks of seagulls.

The last morning in Florida began very early.  I made it to the Everglades National Park with just enough time to stroll around some of the trails for about an hour.  It would have been nice to really explore, but there was still much wildlife to be seen in that short time and I’m happy the quick stop was able to be made.

Another action-packed jaunt successfully completed.

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Viva el Peru

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Janette

” Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf.”                              -Rabindranath Tagore

I love firsts!

This was my first trip to South America, and  my first trip solo.  I’m talking about ten magical days of exploring and managing on my own in a place where many locals spoke no English at all…and I loved every minute!

This day was coming.  It was only a matter of time before my travel ambitions ran out of able-bodied companions.  So, this was my 30th birthday gift to myself.  I had my travel journal, my rough itinerary and my duffel bag, which was all I needed for the adventure.

From the beginning, there were many differences to note.  I knew this trip was going to be unlike any other I’d ever taken.  That notion was apparent on the flight from Miami to Lima when I noticed I was one of three caucasian travelers.  But I must also say that there was no reason to be uncomfortable either, especially when the entire cabin of passengers erupted with applause and cheers when the plane landed safely.  That celebration set the tone of the rest of my excursion.

After an overnight layover in Lima, I easily made my way through the Cusco airport, into a taxi and into my hostel.  It was located near the Cusco city-center, so walking around was very easy.

The church of San Blas was my first stop.  It’s a beautiful church that’s known for its elaborate wood carvings.  The audio headsets were all being used, so a nice young man offered to personally give me a tour…how sweet! (The blonde hair and green eyes got a lot of attention….)  After that, I had a chance to walk around the main streets, do some window shopping and make some travel arrangements for later in the week.  I also enjoyed a delicious pina/orange blended juice and some coca tea to prevent against altitude sickness…which was a serious concern. 

After 11 glorious hours of sleep, I was ready to begin my journey.  I checked out, hopped a group taxi to Ollantaytambo (1hr, 40mins), then caught my train to Aguas Calientes (2hrs).  The journey was amazingly beautiful, every minute of the way.  I saw so many people from all over the world in this tiny town at the base of Machu Picchu.  I only had one night there, so I decided to walk all around the town square, scope out the necessities for the next morning and treat myself to a delicious alpaca dinner.  The hot springs were a 10 minute walk outside of town, but I decided to forgo them.  I’ve been to enough hot springs in enough countries.  Plus, I wanted to conserve my energy for all the hiking I’d be doing the next day. 

Ahhh, the big day had arrived!  After checking out, eating my complimentary breakfast and getting my bus ticket, I was in line at about 5am to wait for a bus.  At 5:40 I was finally on a bus, switch-backing all the way to the entrance.  After showing my passport and ticket and picking up a map, I headed out (sans guide) to explore on my own.  It was a misty, foggy, chilly morning, but luckily it did not stay that way for very long.  I had about 1 hour to get myself to the entrance of Huayna Picchu.  (I purchased the combination ticket which let me climb both mountains.)  The gate opened at 7am and I had to climb up and back by 10am.  No small feat mind you!  Machu Picchu is already about 8,000 feet above sea level and many people get nasty altitude sickness and fatigue.  Just climbing around the site is exhausting.  Huayna Picchu is the large mountain behind Machu Picchu.  It’s an extra 1,000 feet taller which you are supposed to climb in about an hour!  I guess they figure an hour up, an hour to look around and rest, and then an hour down (which is not easier at all).  I can honestly say that was the most rigorous physical exertion I’ve ever been though, but worth the pain.  The entire experience was magical and something I’ll never forget.

Machu Picchu, with Huayna Picchu peak in the background

After I spent a few more hours at the Machu Picchu site and taken a ton of pictures, I got a bus back down the mountain, a train back to Ollantaytambo and a group taxi back to Cusco before crashing after an action-packed day. 

The day after Machu Picchu I was sick 😦  I think it was a combination of things.  I had a cold the week before my trip that may not have been completely out of my system.  Plus, I had done 5 hours of strenuous hiking at a high altitude in an extremely dry country.  I woke up, unable to move or breathe very well.  I think I strained every muscle from the waist down, plus I was congested and my throat was a little swollen.  I managed to drag myself out of bed and down three blocks to the mini pharmacy to get medicine and then went back to bed. 

After getting plenty of sleep and spending some time massaging and stretching my legs, I got up and went on a wonderful excursion the next day.  The first stop was the town of Chinchero.  It’s an artesian town where the families spin, dye and weave yarn into beautiful articles of clothing and pieces of art.  We saw a demonstration and got to talk with the locals before going to the next stop which was the Maras Salt Mines.  Very cool!  Apparently, a natural warm salt water stream was found flowing through the mountain.  Locals channeled the water through little irrigation chutes to fill up bays.  After about six days, the stream gets diverted so the water in the bays can evaporate and then the salt can be harvasted…awesome and beautiful.

salt mine

My last stop was the Moray ceremonial cite.  There are many stepped concentric circles arranged for unknown reasons, but the place was huge and fun to walk around.  During this excursion I met a really nice girl who took me out to lunch after our day was over.  She was a perfect example of Peruvian hospitality.

My time in Cusco was almost over and I now had to get myself to Puno, a little town on the edge of Lake Titicaca.  I signed up for a scenic bus.  I figured if I was going to spend a lot of time on a bus anyway, I may as well go for the longer bus route so that I could make a few nice stops.  I also recognized a couple from the day before.  It’s sad to say that I don’t remember their names, but the Chilean woman and Australian man were awesome and we had fun hanging out all day together. 

Our first stop was a quick one at a church in Andahuaylillas, which was called the Sistine Chapel of the Americas.  Next we stopped in Raqchi to see some beautiful temple ruins and got a sense of what life is like in the Peruvian countryside.  The next point of interest was lunch in Sicuani.  It seemed like the only thing in this town was the restaurant!  And it was perfect.  I had rice, curry potatoes, alpaca, and chicken with peppers.  My dessert consisted of white rice pudding (arroz con leche) and flan…two of my favorites.  Then we made our way to La Raya, where we literally stopped on the side of the road to take pictures with the beautiful snow-capped mountains in the background.  And finally, our last stop before getting into Puno, was to see a museum in Pucara.  There was lots of pottery being showcased, as well as intricate stone carvings that honored human sacrifice. 

temple ruins at Raqchi

After about 10 hours of bus riding, and sight-seeing, we arrived in Puno around 6pm.  I checked into my hotel, ate dinner with my new friends and called it a day.

Since I’m drawn to water, a lake tour was in order.  I went on a three-hour tour of the Uros floating islands.  We learned how the islands were constructed, ate some “island bamboo” and got to take a short ride in a traditional reed boat.  It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water, soaking up the 80 degree weather and enjoying friendly conversation with my little group.  There was quite a mix.  Besides me, (and Paul from PA), there were two Israeli boys, three people from northern Peru, and one from New Zealand. 

Lake Titicaca

After returning to dry land, I grabbed lunch at the “Sweet Cafe restaurant” which played American music videos only from the 80’s…awesome.  The Plaza de Armas is always fun to walk around to see people from all over the world.  Being near the water made Puno get chilly pretty quickly, so after my window shopping, I decided to get a cappuccino at a local coffee shop.  The town itself is a bit run-down with one real busy street in the middle that clearly thrives due to the tourists.  So, after warming up, I headed back early for a good nights sleep. 

I have to say that the Puno bus station is much less creepy when the sun is out.  I had my voucher, found my bus (a double-decker) and opted to sit in the front seat on the top level.  The trip was supposed to be a six-hour straight run back to Cusco, but outside Puno we stopped for an hour to have the bus tires changed.  The locals were not happy and it was funny to watch them get fired up.  We also ran into road work in the middle of nowhere which held us up.  Apparently, an entire section of road gets shut down for extended amounts of time when “work” is being done.  Reducing traffic to one lane doesn’t fly in Peru. 

I finally got in around 4:30pm and I was starving, and had to pee, (the bus bathroom was not open!)  I headed over to a little restaurant called Paprika and ordered a passion fruit juice and “curry” chicken, which was really just chicken in sauce that happened to be yellow in color, mixed with banana pieces, but it was still really good.  I also tried a mocha cappuccino and a fruit pancake, which was interesting.  I’m sure that altitude has something to do with it, but unless there is a sauce on your food, everything comes out dry…everything.

I took one last turn around the main square that evening to drink in the beautiful lights and sounds of this majestic area before turning in one last time. 

Since I still had unfinished business to attend to on my last morning in Cusco, I checked out and had the hostel hold my bag so my exploration could continue.  The first thing I did was get a taxi to the site of Saqsayhuaman (pronounced Sexy Woman).  I walked around for about an hour climbing the trails and taking some amazing photos.  This site had some of the best monolith construction, and you can easily see that the stones fit together perfectly without using any mortar.  The area is already high on a mountain overlooking downtown Cusco.  Since my legs felt back to normal, I decided to climb to the peak to see Cristo Blanco (the White Christ).  The view was great and it was cool to be at the foot of the statue.  Every evening it gets illuminated so that it is forever watching over the city.

monolith construction

The next taxi I hailed brought me to the Pachacuteq monument and museum.  It was 7 floors of history, artifacts, and interactive displays.  The observation tower at the top was a nice touch as well.  From there I walked up the main street to take some pictures and pop into the largest artesian market in town.  After grabbing some lunch, I had to retrieve my bag and begin my return journey.  It’s amazing how fast 10 days went and how easy it was to see so many things.  Adios Peru! Until next time….

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Wonderful Washington…DC

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Janette

Although I have been to DC before, I’ve not been there in at least a decade, so there were many places on my list of things to see.

There were also many things I’d forgotten about, since 10 years ago my attention span was a bit different from how it is now.  For instance, so many delicious gentlemen were walking around in uniform…that should be common sensical, but not something I recall seeing.

One place I’ve always wanted to visit is Arlington Nation Cemetery.  I had no idea how huge it is.  At the visitor center I took a look at the interactive map and was blown away by how many memorials it included and how much area it covered.  The tram took us around to most of the cemetery and I hopped off at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to see the changing of the guard (a delicious ceremony).  The stop after that was Arlington House, the residence of Robert E. Lee.  It is set atop a hill which has an amazing view of the cemetery down below, the Patomic River and DC in the distance.  And of course, in between the tram stops, all we could see for acres and acres were rows of solemn gravestones, lined up in military formation, constantly standing guard, so the living never forget their terms of service.

Changing of the Guard

so many graves

The Library of Congress is one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen and one of the best guided tours I’ve ever been on.  I learned so much!  I immediately had day dreams of working underground in the stacks of the library, helping to retrieve ancient maps and other national treasures for researchers making news-worthy findings…hey, it could happen 🙂  We also got to see Thomas Jefferson’s personal library collection and understood that a few hundred books that were frayed and falling apart due to surviving a fire could be beautiful, not to mention priceless.  This was probably the most awe-inspiring building in the US I’ve ever seen.

Library of Congress-typical decoration

Then it was on to the National Capital building.  I was so glad to be able to tour it without a reservation!  We learned about some art and architecture of the impressive structure, and had plenty of time to take beautiful photos of the inside as well as the outside.

National Capital Building

An unexpected stop at the Hirshorn art and sculpture museum rounded out my visit.  It is part of the Smithsonian museum collection, so it was free, like most of the museums in the city.  Not too shabby for a day and a half to poke around!  Now I have to think of another set of places to explore the next time I’m in town….

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The Big Easy

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Janette

That’s right, New Orleans, Louisiana!

Some charity work was long over due for myself, so my friend Ashley and I hopped some planes to New Orleans and got to work.

We were working and staying with “Hands on New Orleans,” a charity organization that helps put volunteers to work in a number of ways across the city.  In exchange for volunteering, we got to stay at their bunk house (which was stocked with food) for a mere $25.00 a night…an awesome deal if you ask me.

We wanted to stay busy and try a bunch of things, so our first day we worked at a mission making lunch for about 150 people.  After the food was prepared they needed our help reorganizing their food/supply pantries.  Organizational skills are in our blood, so we were in heaven.  We finished in no time and they didn’t have any other work for us to do, so we decided to drive to Baton Rouge for our free afternoon.  It took about 1 1/2 hours, but it was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive and I got to see another state capital!!!  Baton Rouge is a quiet little city, so it’s funny that the state house looks like a ridiculously huge sky scraper, but the view from the top is pretty impressive.  There was also a free state museum next door that we took advantage of.  We learned so much about the unique culture of the area, complete with local food styles, creole influences, jazz funerals and Mardi gras customs.

Baton Rouge, State House

Our “oil spill response” task was cancelled for the next day because the fishermen were going back to work, so there weren’t any boats to take volunteers out on the water.  We were bummed, but at least it was cancelled for a good reason.  We did some chores around the bunk house and then took the streetcar headed for the French Quarter to do some sight-seeing and shopping.  That evening we were helping out at a Halloween party at the children’s museum.  The kids were a handful, but we had fun and got out just in time to see the parade go through town.  The costumes and floats were pretty cool!

Our last day of service was spent at the Lower 9th Ward Village.  We were supposed to be rebuilding houses/yards, but we showed up so early, we were asked to help make t-shirts for the volunteers.  So we were taught how to silk screen and for 8 hours, that’s what we did.  They also fed us a delicious catfish lunch and got to meet a few of the other volunteers, some of which came from all over the world.

making t-shirts

We were pretty happy that in addition to doing some fun and diverse community projects, we also had plenty of time to explore, especially around the French Quarter.  It was a delicious trip.  Besides the local catfish, we also got to experience seafood gumbo, jambalaya, bread pudding, benyays, and fried alligator!  Mission accomplished 🙂

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The Land of 10,000 Lakes…Minnesota

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Janette

Ahhh, the midwest…a place not many people think to go on vacation, and a place I’ve only flown over, never to.

I had the chance to go with a friend from work whose family was from that area, and over the course of 6 days I saw so many beautiful things!

The first thing we did the day we arrived was tour downtown Minneapolis.  I got to see/experience the skyway system, which lets people move around 5 miles of the city by enclosed, interconnected walkways so people don’t have to go outside.  That helps during the heat of summer and bitter cold of winter.  I experienced Brit’s Pub, complete with lawn bowling.  We saw the view from the observation deck of the Foshay Tower, took a walk through the sculpture garden and made our way to the cantilevered observation bridge of the Guthrie Theatre.  All over the city one could see manicured gardens, clean streets, and nice people…a bit different from what most of us are used to. 🙂

Downtown

The next day, guess what I saw?  That’s right…I saw the state capital building in St. Paul, which is only a few miles from Minneapolis.  It’s a bit smaller, but still a gem.  The state house was beautiful, as was the nearby cathedral.  From there, we drove to Harriet Island to get a riverboat cruise down the Mississippi.  After that we toured the limestone Wabasha street caves where gangsters used to hang out!

For our day-trip, we decided to go to Duluth, which is a few hours north on the edge of Lake Superior.  We toured Glensheen, which is a large estate that overlooked the Lake, much like the mansions of Newport, RI.  We ate a picnic and continued on to the River Walk before touring the William A Irvin iron ship. We also got to see the aerial lift bridge in action, which was awesome.  Lake Superior is so huge that you can see it from wherever you are in Duluth, and even though it was foggy the day I was there, it was still awe-inspiring and perhaps a bit eerie!

Lake Superior

We had absolutely perfect weather for the entire trip and we made use of every minute.  Before leaving my midwest experience, I got to see many small lakes (naturally), a rose garden, Minnehaha Falls, the oldest church in Minnesota, the Science Museum (with omnitheatre Arabia show) and Como Park with its live butterfly exhibit, conservatory, zoo and Japanese garden.

Much ground was covered on this trip and has excited me to see other mid western states and cities.  Especially because nothing ever seemed crowded or congested, you always seemed to have space to breathe.  Minnesota was so comfortable and absolutely beautiful….

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