Paul - Peregringo

The Open Arms of Cochabamba

I took to the welcoming city of Cochabamba almost immediately. With friendly and unperturbed locals, an even-tempered climate (it is lower than La Paz, resting at a comfortable 2,825 m / 9,268 ft) and far less congestion with its tree-lined thoroughfares and ample gardens, I felt more at ease here.

Cochabamba, nicknamed the “Garden City” and the “City of Eternal Spring”, decidedly lives up to its reputation.

After the first couple of days I was already in the swing of things of this culturally active and socially progressive city.

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Peter’s Picture Show: A Bus Ride Through Bolivia

Here’s a 3.5 minute video of our eight-hour journey through the Bolivian mountains from La Paz to Cochabamba. We saw all sorts of inclement weather, beautiful terrain and unfortunate accidents during the trip. Thankfully we arrived unscathed.

Lake Titicaca: At the Copa… Copacabana!

After a chokingly long week in congested La Paz, Paul arrived and at our first chance we were off in search of cleaner air, a less-harried town, and some water in land-locked Bolivia. I had finished my first week with Kiva, happily making friends at the Emprender loan offices and completing a couple borrower visits. It was time to celebrate my recent success with Paul!

So off we went to Copacabana on the shores of the magisterial Lago Titicaca. Standing at 3,812 m (12,507 ft), the lake is the highest navigable body of water in the world. The Copacabana region, or kota kawana in Aymara (which means “view of the lake”), was considered by both the Tiwanaku and Incan empires strategically, economically and spiritually important. Consequently Copacabana was settled long before the Spanish arrived.

Today it is a quaint town of 6,000 residents and a tourist hub for both backpackers and Andinos alike. The Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana, a hallowed shrine dating back to the 16th century, is home to the patron saint of Bolivia. This so-called “Dark Virgin” purportedly has magical healing powers. Her reputation is so great that pilgrims flock to the cathedral all year long. Revered far and wide, the Virgin even inspired the naming of a now-famous beach in Rio de Janeiro.

Paul and I instantly bonded with Copacabana. Laid-back, friendly and geographically and culturally interesting, we both relaxed within minutes of getting off the bus from La Paz. On the ride there, I couldn’t remember if I passed through this town back in 1999 when I made my first Andean circuit with my brother Erik. At the time, I recall, I was quite ill from the flu and my recollection was fuzzy at best. But as soon as I saw the distinctive Basilica, fashioned in the mudéjar style of Islamic Spain, I instantly remembered being here.

One tidbit I do remember from my first visit was changing $100 USD at a local bank since Copacabana was my first stop in Bolivia, having just arrived from Peru. There were no ATM’s in the town then and the bank teller patiently counted out a pile of small-denomination Boliviano notes. I made my way back to my hotel with a stack of bills as thick as a brick, what a feeling!

The first afternoon Paul and I just wandered idly around town, poking about the markets, climbing the Cerro Calvario which has great views of the town and the lake. We enjoyed a cold beer as the sun sank on the western shores of Lake Titicaca and delivered an almighty sunset. The vote was unanimous — Lake Titicaca was a perfect place to be for a few days.

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A Farewell to the Best Companion Ever

Yesterday was a sad day for me. My travel companion and mate, Paul, left to return to the USA.

This past month we spent practically every moment together. We shared meals, enjoyed amazing sights, dealt with frustrations and moments of hilarity, entertained each other on long bus and train rides, watched countless sunsets, hiked/cycled/paddled through some of the world’s most spectacular scenery, looked out for each other as we made our way through city after city, sat together over coffee and beers, helped each other through illness and injury, planned logistics and shared the mundane burdens of travel, and kept each other sane and grounded day in and day out through Vietnam. His company will be sorely missed in the weeks to come as I move on to Laos and Cambodia.

I look forward to the freedom and independence that solo travel entails, and I know from past experiences that this is surprisingly satisfying for me. But I will at times pine for the comfort and companionship of being with a travel partner. And as partners go, Paul is the best there is.

Thanks, Paul. You made our superb journey through Vietnam a sunny and gratifying joyride!

$Paul\'s fave street food: hot pot in Saigon, Vietnam$

Dispatch from Paul: Mr Toad’s Wild Ride… Vietnamese style.

If you are seeking that adrenaline rush which traditionally is only available at a theme park there is now another alternative. No need to hand over thousands of dollars to Mr Disney for an amusement park getaway… now you can just take an 18 hour flight over to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and then take a bus ride up into the mountains. It would probably be cheaper in the long run given that one could easily subsist on $50 a day in Vietnam and that modest sum would be almost impossible to spend in one day there whereas in the theme park one would hardly be able to even purchase lunch.

Our particular bus ride was an eight hour journey from Ho Chi Minh City up into the Central Highlands to a town called Da Lat, a charming alpine town catering mostly to Vietnamese tourists looking to escape the heat of the city. The driver seemed at first glance a nice enough fellow although he did run over someone’s motorbike whilst pulling into the boarding area… red flag missed!

Funnily my mother being a bit nervous about my travels to Vietnam continually warned me about the undetonated land mines still scattered about the countryside here. What she didn’t warn me about however was the much bigger threat for tourists: the bus rides in Vietnam. That would have been much more useful information to me. Just to share a statistic with you it seems that approximately thirty people die from vehicular accidents in Vietnam everyday. After boarding the bus I did a rough count of the passengers as I walked down the aisle looking for my seat. I came up with about thirty or so of us. Just wonderful I thought. So after our bus careens off the side of a cliff we will fill the quota on accident fatalities for today.

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Ho Chi Minh City (née Saigon) – Metropolis of Market Socialism

Crossing into Vietnam airspace from the South China Sea with the infamous Mekong Delta below us, our flight from Hong Kong landed easily in sizzling Saigon. After waiting an hour for our visas to be issued, we breezed through customs and immigration and soon were afoot in Vietnam. Still it was hard to believe: Vietnam… VIETNAM!

This country, looming so large on my childhood and all of America in the 1960’s and 70’s, this city Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the Viet Cong’s successful capture of the South Vietnamese capital). Unreal. Yet here I was, extracting Dong bills from the ATM, purchasing an iced tea, freely walking outside of the airport.

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A Hong Kong Visual Feast

City of Contrasts: A striking city of calm and chaos, emerald mountains and soaring towers of steel, families picnicking on soft green grasses just steps away from packed tramways and bustling walkways, neighborhood markets with tiny family shops just around the corner from luxurious shopping galleries with haute couture fashion. In our two days in Hong Kong we saw the many beautiful faces of Hong Kong.

$\"Symphony of Lights\"display on Hong Kong Island as seen from Kowloon peninsula$

Fine and Fun Moments: We found surprises and delights every step along our way through Hong Kong.

$Guest house in the \"mansions\" in Tsim Sha Tsui, the room was not much larger$

$Loving the Mah Jong shops in Hong Kong! Too bad they weren\'t so heavy, otherwise a set would be in my backpack!$

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iPad Fever Hits Hong Kong

Our first morning in Hong Kong was greeted with unusual excitement as Apple unveiled its new iPad 3. After crossing to Hong Kong Island on the Star Ferry, we happened upon an Apple store teeming with frenzied employees and consumers craving the hot new product.

We fought the crowds to enter the store and finally got our hands on the new iPad. Frankly it is a nice device featuring a slim design, wicked performance and an exceptional display. 2-3 times per minute or less the blue-shirted employees would cheer as a new purchaser would run upstairs to receive the coveted iPad. There was more energy in the store than at most sporting events.

We were amazed by the near hysteria, the consumer deluge bolstered by the many mainland Chinese who came to Hong Kong specifically to get the new iPad and waited in long queues before the store’s doors opened. Ironic really, considering the iPad is manufactured in China but is not yet available there for purchase. And it costs twice as much in Hong Kong as it does in the US.

Impressive debut, once again. Kudos to Apple for inspiring such zeal among consumers, an amazing feat and rare indeed for a company today. The wondrous wizardry of Steve Jobs lives on…

I love these guys, my crazy crew…

Fort Foster Cocktail Hour with Roberto

Our good friend Roberto visited this past weekend, returning after moving to North Carolina. With clear skies but a chill in the air, we headed to Fort Foster on Gerrish Island. It was a pleasure to catch up with him, reminisce about old times, and enjoy the setting sun and ebbing tide with a Havana Sidecar cocktail in hand. Nothing like spending time with old friends and new (in this case Lily, the Sheltie puppy who eagerly introduced herself).