We left Ranong yesterday afternoon to catch Train #86 in Chumphon, which arrived safely in Bangkok main train terminal at around 6:30 AM, this morning. Per recommendations from Austin friends, Lili and Aaron, we scored 2 berth seats in the Air-Con, Second Class cabin. The beds were extremely comfortable and we were excited with how nice the experience went. When we were able to calm down, we both slept really soundly — Mary on the bottom (read: darker/roomier) bunk and me up topside. We both really look forward to tomorrow’s longer adventures on the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai!
Also, I’ve added a Google Map of our Geo Feed, which is a mash-up of Yahoo’s Fire Eagle, BlogLoc.com and a service called GeoUpdater. Check out the pinpoints of where we’ve been thus far on the journey.
The day is here. I am going to update this post as best I can during the day as I see new things.
I was awoke a little after 7am this morning by people chanting. The area outside was packed with people. Here are a few pictures.
An early look at the parade route. They had not yet let the parade views access to the route.
This is the view from my perch looking North along 7th St. NW.
President Obama was sworn in around 12pm. Like most, we watched on TV to get the best view. The difference is that We could hear the crowd roar from the Mall. The energy was flowing everywhere. His address had many powerful broad themes.
Around 2:30pm we went up to the roof to watch the parade. My first observation was the temperature. It was COLD up there. All of the law enforcement and security men protecting this event are owed a debt of graditude. With the wind, it feels like 16 degrees.
We had a nice view from the roof, and were able to grab a few shots. More will come when I get them off my good camera. Until then, here are a couple from my point and shoot.
The Presidential Limo. This is a brand new vehicle. The security package around him was very impressive.
Here is an early shot of the President and the First Lady in the parade.
Hi there. I am pretty excited that Patrick and Mary asked me to share my first hand experiences from the 56th Presidential Inauguration.
I arrived here in Washington on Monday afternoon, and quickly got settled. I am staying right in the middle of the action on Pennsylvania Ave, right in between the Capitol and the White House. I stepped out with the intention of picking up the mail and hitting the deli for some food. Instead, I went on a three hour tour of the area with my camera. This is a sampling of what I saw.
First, to say that people are excited about President Obama, is a huge understatement. Emotions are running high, and people are happy. Spontaenous “Obama” chants were the rule, not the exception.
I walked out across Pennsylvania Ave. on 7th street toward the mall. At this point I think I realized just how much media is focused on this event. Its easy to say the world is watching, but seeing TV trucks lined for blocks along the mall from cities across the country really brough it into focus.
Now in the middle of the National Mall, I saw the MSNBC booth. They were broadcvasting live from the Mall. A huge crowd had gathered to see the production, and maybe get on TV. This is where I heard the loudest “Obama” chants.
At this point, I thought about heading back, but became inspired to see how close I could get to the Capitol where the Oath would be given in the morning. It took me a while, a bunch of walking, and a few fences hopped, but I got very close, and was able to get some excellent shots if the building after dark. It was very grand, and again, you could feel the excitement in the air.
With this goal reached, it was finally time to head back. I decided to Penn Ave. back to where I am staying. Security had closed it to cars, but I was still able to walk down it. It was a pretty cool experience to walk down the street that President Obama would walk down just the next day.
I don’t know much, but I know that Tuesday is going to be a special day.
Note: I will update with pictures soon. I left the cable to get them off my camera at home.
Wow, what a time we’ve had in Peru. We walked across the border into the country on October 20th and fell in love almost immediately. We’ve spent 62 days here and have really enjoyed the diversity of topography, the friendliness of the people and the amazing historic sites. Here’s my list of thoughts from our time here:
1.Spanish is the national language and is necessary for lots of the day-to-day business, but a little bit of Quechua could also come in handy.
2.The Andes will take your breathe away, literally, they’re up there.
3.Chachapoyas is well worth the hassle to get there – everything cool is nearby. My advice is to skip Gocta, but definitely see Kuelap.
4.Dogs are everywhere and probably out number people 3:1.
5.Peru has tons of varieties of food. They can grow tropical, high altitude and everything in between. Also, Peruvian chicken, papas and salad can go a long way towards Thanksgiving abroad. Take it easy on the Chaufa and don’t have the Aji twice a day for a month.
6.Seeds of Hope, Peru… great organization. Volunteering was the single greatest activity of our trip.
7.Machu Picchu is worth the hype. It does not disappoint and arriving by foot is pretty dramatic. Hike up to Winay Picchu, too. Want more? Check out our Machu Picchu page and the PeruTreks company.
8.Trixie was absolutely a Peruvian street dog.
9.Beards are fairly novel. For some reason, kids want to touch a buzz cut and facial hair all the time.
10.Four pairs of underwear is definitely enough, but I did pick up another T-Shirt in Peru.
11.Peruvian buses are really nice, peruvian roads are not. When we sprung for the full cama on Crux del Sur, I was living the lap of luxury.
12.The cure for nearly anything can be found in a well placed movie.
We’re glad to be heading back to the land of the free, but will leave a part of hearts and minds here in Peru. We’ve both been captivated by our time in the Andes. We were able to visit several Inca and pre-Inca sites, learn about the having of the good techniques and make some great friends along the way.
The numbers look like this: 58 videos and 519 photos from Peru (not including the 150 photos from the Inca Trail and 105 photos from Machu Picchu). 2 long treks and countless hikes and day trips to see mountains, lakes, waterfalls, ruins, artisans and even our future dog.
And here’s the picture to prove it:
It’s the highest we’ve both ever been before. The sign says 4450 meters, but we had to walk down to get there… hence, we’re calling it 15,000 feet above sea level.
Last night, everybody got together at the Seeds of Hope volunteer house to wish Kenya a safe voyage back home. He’s been in Huaraz, working as a volunteer for a year and half. Before dinner, we shot this video that shows what folks were up to after a long day working with the kids:
Friday Night at Seeds of Hope
After a week of helping to kids, this is the calm before the storm at the Seeds of Hope volunteer house. It’s the last night in Huaraz for long-time volunteer Kenya and we’re all excited about the dinner he’s made.
Kenya made pasta with pesto sauce and papas with a yellow/spicy sauce… delicious! We all shared some wine and beers to offer toasts to the upcoming concert and thank Kenya for his work. After dinner, we headed over to a local bar, 13 Buhos, to watch Kenya, Yury Grande, Yuri Pequeño and Josh from Colorado play some music. Good times were had by all!
On Saturdays, there are no classes for the kids, but we went over to the school to finish a project with Isabelle (our ‘boss’ and S.O.H. volunteer coordinator). We’re prepping for Christmas already so that all 50 kids can get a present this year. In addition, there are donated clothes to sort and divide up for the kids depending on sizes and need.
Tomorrow, we’re going to try a hike that we read about in the Rough Guide to Peru. There’s a large glacial lake up at about 4800m (or roughly 15,840 feet) that offers spectacular views of the valley. Afterwards, we can relax in the natural saunas in nearby caves heated by hot springs. Monday, we’ll be back to work for week #2 with the kiddies.
We found a great chicken place for Thanksgiving Dinner in Peru. A whole (peruvian) chicken, fries (AKA Papas/Potatoes), salad and sauces for $10 USD. We also drank our first wine (not from a cardboard box) of the trip, too. Delicious! For dessert we had a huge slice of apple pie with a scoop of ice cream, of course. Not at delicious as the feast in Rochester, but REALLY good Peruvian food!
Mary and Patrick at the dinner table:
Staring things off with some Chilean wine…
Rotisserie chicken, salad, fries and wine… an excellent choice for an ex-pat Thanksgiving.
Almost ready to call it quits…
Apple Pie (of course you can find Ice Cream in Peru).
We have a surprisingly good Wifi connection at our hostel and have been busy waiting for the sunshine by uploading pictures and videos from our first 2 weeks in Peru. During the time we spent in Chachas and trekking, we took 175 photos in the Peru 2008 set on Flickr:
Also, we’ve posted more videos onto YouTube from our time so far in Peru. Here’s a couple videos to whet your proverbial whistles:
Kuelap Peanut Fiasco
Mary and Edgar making peanut butter in Kuelap… Patrick is only interested in having a snack.
Mary and her Mule
Mary rode a mule (named Macho) up a mountain, they became fast friends.
Cows in the Valle de Belen
Cows being crazy in the Valle de Belen, drinking our water and saying hello.
Caught a WiFi signal here in our hostel and have been able to upload 3 videos of our final days in Ecuador (below). Also, I added 66 pictures to our flickr photos under the Ecuador 2008 set. Some of my favorite photos (from the new additions) are the ones where we’re on the train and then the train off the tracks:
Also, Mary + Patrick in front of a huge, hidden waterfall (also seen in the third video below):
We are moving through Ecuador and have posted (to date) 150 pictures and 18 videos of our travels. To see the pictures of our adventure, thus far, check out the photoset on Flickr:
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