Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Mexico-

some display in park mayan village
Mexico, have been to Cabo san lucas (todo santos, la paz) 2009 and Dec. 2016 some 4 days Puerto Vallarta. My Smugmug gallery had pictures, ya right no writeup on blog abt. PV & Cabo 2009 / 2016 gallery

My first restaurant food after coming from India was Mexican and that too burrito trying.
Cabo was the first visit with most remembered was fresh orange juice which is thank god with pulp ( mostly i like fruits , yes but do try things when at place) and was amazing, did some water activities there , small detour to see todo santos for some weaving factory, hotel california and typical Mexican breakfast small store in village ( cheese, beans and tortilla), another first time try out and liked was jasmine water , tamarind water and salsas were of very different kinds. The two towns were very quite places with really hand counted people visible.
Then in later years Puerto vallarta for just some days, the boat to reach waterfalls and river crossing those might be most pointed out things among other. The murals and paintings were amazing. So food wise was quite aware of mexican food options fajitas, tacos and nachos and all time favorite being flan ( very similar to kharvas what we make in India, especially one with saffron.. ymmmmmmmm, been ages eating that, not looks wise but one very close to taste thing one can make is full fat milk boiled with lemon to separate milk fats and add jaggery and cardamam, saffron to it , I come from supra family tree with plenty awesome things eaten growing up, they make anything out of anything) .

Hilarious as it may sound but in Mexican I was learning for past year I got asked plenty times " when R u going to travel to Mexico" Even I was not aware of this some days of thing was going to happen post Colombia. My go to plan, may be plan or not (one can not call it plan as i just do it , don't care kinda) was for something different. Sick of the walls ( well that's for some other time to xxxxxxxxxxxx, Pay for no mistake of yours and who decided? ) Besides I write all these things just for myself.

This time was fun practicing my learnings and its really fun way post colombia to get more speaking practice , one can communicate and understand. "Necesito practicar mi espanol"  :) I have my own fun things here..

Chichen itza

Pyramids and ancient things and rituals and tribes , well they existed in every country and still do. Its
just that every tribes way is different. At one point travelling in Delphi near first Olympic stadium there is a museum where one can see in that era all around the earth / world what was happening.  More than any other history thing that i have ever seen it was really cool way to get the whole picture. The Map should be still there.Wish there was this kind of map about all ancient tribes all around, n'way. May be it exists, not aware of.

Driving down the streets one can not imagine behind all these trees  are beaches, caves, some
underground rivers and deep holes wells , Cenotes, pyramids and what not . The area is kind of covered with vegetation.




won't call it hiking just some walking around exploring ruins in "Tulum" Nice port city with beautiful beaches and plenty iguanas... Seems to have plenty marine life too.



Chechen Itza the place and pyramids are well maintained and one is not allowed to climb any ( one might feel bad but in sense its a good way.) The scale and thought process that went into building , the echos, ball game stadiums, locations, since calendar was around position of Venus ( the observatory) nd many other things. People would read sky for understanding everything. Lost skill anymore for individuals like u and me? The place is large scale and still under excavation.  Many vendors with real good carving skills and carvings adorn the complex. Beautiful place. 




Missed opportunity was caught in COBA:  was when climbed the pyramid and u get the sense, in the footsteps of kings as they would see their land from high up. Its very different than what u see from below.
The site too has many ruins and things spread out.


Under sea walk



Just some water things :Was long due since summer.
Jumping in middle of rough ocean with snorkel gear, life vest first time, had done submarine before but was nice with bigger coral reef and plenty marine life to see.... 




Some other things would be under sea walk (20 ft. below ), nice immersion jet boats glad to run there at last minute and the individual who joined for running. Explored the Mayan village alone, nice place. Seeing wildlife in their own natural habitat is what is most interesting, although i had as a kid fish tank nd later i just hated that concept of confinement (in a way its good for everyone to have an opportunity by visiting zoo or such places to see things but at the same time xxxxx ) The place was really nicely maintained and was complete collaboration of  Mexican culture & history right from dances to shows, all around everywhere really beautiful vocals and singers, Mayan villages the things they make and games played and food. Really good experience.
Video is nice too













The 2019 last sunrise walk I did on beach  would be a thing to remember , as i did it with remembering 2019 and all things since 2014 ( many morning walks did alone on beach , including afternoons in pools and ocean when was in hotel).....

New year started with ATV ride , night zip/ water zip, some other thing.... Could have done differently yes , may be ....



Smugmug gallery of Mexico
To see all other galleries click on home icon. All Pictures taken by me and if I am in picture one can find description below abt it.
Instagram Mexico



2019:
Jordan petra trek, Ireland coastal trek solo with group, Italy dolomites full circuit trek, Croatia hiking some other things, Colombia lost city trek solo with group, Mexico exploring water things, Rain run half , weighted 13.1, some challenges 175 miles, some 5k 10 k ....Night bike ride , Tour du lopez bike ride, Snow shoe hikes, fat tire biking , cross country skii, undersea walk, immersion jet, Jumping in middle of ocean, archery , slack line and other balance roll stuff ( didn't have much time just tried), camp muir solo with group that was my getting one more year younger thing for myself, some 18 milers, volunteer , spanish, greman, nature walks

Just started new year Atv, water night zips... The year sucked in the sense lost my aunt in ireland trek ( and ppl have more interest in garbage they created than ....) now my best school teacher)  Looking from 2014 the things  my neighbor died ( second to my father), my yoga teacher & more.....





Thursday, December 5, 2019

Colombia- Lost city Trek solo with grp.

Colombia : Lost city Trek + Small dist. biking
Dec 5 -16 2019

Nothing on thanks giving wknd. long story for a while now.  Next 5 some days I was alone in seattle in literal sense no one talks no one calls nothing , not sure what I did to anyone ever and I know , I don't deserve this kind of treatment. ( just went around for couple things & did packing and left on 5th evening in taxi to airport)

It happened so that while watching expedition unknown some episode, came across some lost city kind of thing not this in particular and just remembered had seen this kind of some trek, in a spur of moment thing gets booked only for me. In south America have done Peru Inca trek / section of amazon basin, Chile Atacama hikes / Patagonia trek and now was Colombia. another introduction for the country was from Ana ( long story but just the name is enough)

"Its Colombia and not Columbia" one can find many t-shirts saying that everywhere. Flight was for Medellin, city is little inside from the airport.Taxi takes almost 40 minutes passing through 8.4 km of tunnel. Looking out from window right side on winding road one
can see first glimpse of the place ( many trees and housing complexes). It was kind of late in the evening, dumped stuff in room and I just explored nearby park, nursery, some cafe place for sandwich and fresh juice stall. U walk little farther from hustle bustle and one is in some polished area. Given Christmas time, the decors were everywhere. Its always so that all the decors are made of natural materials or straws etc and for the displays in south /central America vs. other places one can find distinct diff. Both being nice.

Next morning was group meet and pleasantly all enthusiastic youngsters ready to take on new thing. The presentation with lunch hmmm first start of Colombian food ( plantains and mango and lot other stuff) and  right in time came the downpour lasted for short while just to clean the streets for you :).
Later the day was spent exploring the Medellin city, the noticeable diff bet areas 1 to 6, with various developments underway, the exemptions for lower income individuals and facilities developed for them, the gondolas, trains and buses , escalators and may other modes of travel, libraries, some skills development community classes. Some sections in the city are not gogo kind which is true for any place. River runs through & creates separation  and like plenty rivers everywhere massive cleanup is necessary as per locals. Communa 13 section was nice with beautiful graffiti and development underway, just reminded of Valparaiso section in Chile.

The El Penol and town of Guatape is really beautifully kept.Yes and there was small section of biking too. That was fun.


Many times its been said that when u " means I " visit the place its very different than when others do or U always write about positive things and skip the other bad experiences or stuff etc well ( I do notice like u do, its ok just travel like explorer and try to be like local, that will make your experience nice too. Little flexible, not too fussy if some thing is out of place (happens). If there are specific things / needs just be open to group members or guides or even locals and tell them. As a tourist everyone mostly would try to make your experience nice as that gets the revenue for any country. There is always a clear cut diff. bet when u live in that country and when u visit that country as a traveler ( u notice things which u wouldn't otherwise).

The area is very lush green with many mango and other trees and yes plenty street dogs :) Santa Marta and many places one can walk around to see. Food tastes different and nice everywhere. First time of trying Colombian food.

From Santa Marta it was some 4 days of trekking with refuge stays, when they say do carry bug spray please do and use it ( mosquitoes). They have all nets and nice bunk beds to sleep into, With showers,  rivers to swim into or waterfalls to enter into. It was interesting to see how ways of living are changing for some from their original businesses to this tourist business thing.

Top respected "Mamu"
The area was originally mainly for (and still is )four tribes kogi, wiwa, arhuaco, kankuamo .....though some reluctantly have adopted new ways to some extent. Its diff culture for them and would be nice to see it stays the same for future generations from both sides to experience ( tourists as well them). Often it happens that more the tourism happens they too change over time. Think the responsibility lies on both sides to set limits. They have definitely restricted areas where tourist can visit and others are sacred places for them and every September they close the lost city trek for some cleansing. (It was even noticeable in africa with masai people how they have set limits in a good way ) The lost city involves many terraces, the original map is carved in stones, the stairways to, some areas which are allowed for tourists and has military base, noticeable even on trek portions. Way to keep travelers safe.

In the Tribes typically boys and girls are differentiated using mochila the cross bags for boys and beads for girls. One would find them wearing all white clothing. One can differentiate bet. tribes by their hats.The top leader " mamu" and his family is allowed to stay in the sacred site vicinity and he wears special head gear woven by him which represents rivers flowing and many other things. It was nice of him to allow us to meet him and visit the area.

Every guy has mochila with coca leaves and for exchange for greeting each other. Special plant is used to make threads & natural dying process is used to make variety of things. Cows, pigs, horses , mules, many farming areas to grow things even coca leaves.


Tyrona national park and many other places have beautiful beaches and sure there is plenty wildlife in many other parks , that is for some other time. Some turtle nesting areas, anteaters, monkeys, condors, many other birds. Tropical fruits which really taste good. " mangoes, water melon, passion fruits" .. tamales with jackfruit.

  


Post trek just spent a day in Cartagena as the flights are kinda of odd timings & even got to explore the place for a day. Did old walled city exploring and waterfront was diff change. Its kind of smaller and different than Medellin. As is in every developing country or county there exists in nearby vicinity the stark contrast bet. the old city and the highly developed polished new areas. Its nice to see the preserved old sections of cities anywhere you go.

Ya I so wanted some beach kind vacation apart from treks and things I do during summer , it didn't happen. Just one opp. later got in croatia and got to hear plenty after swimsuit wearing, hence went really very conservative here ( now that I think of it , would have been fun in tyrona park... anyways) but post that also got to hear plenty things... so for the next which was kind of unknown to me till end of this trip, wore what i wanted ( for anything i do, there is always that some noise, which isn't even interested in any facts but just want to create chaos all the time, for their reasons whatever they may be ... I hardly care anymore)

Nice place and am sure many other parks have more things...
Besides they had their own photographer for this trip and given all things going around i made my smugmug picture site private long before trek. My taken some pictures are visible here (click to zoom) and had uploaded the next day on instagram of mine "rupsinthewa" besides i have album too on smugmug its private (was asked , so its open again)



this of me was taken by one crew mem.
Some pics from my cam & cell :-
Smumug gallery of mine

Pics : Instagram
Click to see




Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Colombia y Mexico

Nota corta en espanol:  Colombia y Mexico

Este decembre yo visito Ciudad Perdida en Colombia.
Esta area ofrece muchas oportunitidades para el senderismo en bosque bellos. Esta caminata es para cuatro diaz.En Ciudad Perdida  area hay cuatro groupo de gente diferente. ( kogi, wiwa, arhuaco, kankuamo). Hay un monton de militares en la caminata para la protection de las personas. Esta caminata es muy bonita.

Ciudad Medellin es grande. El centro de ciudad hace 45 minuto en el texi de medellin aeropuerto.
Ciudad Medellin es divido en seis grupo. Communa trece seccion es para beneficion a las personas de bajos ingressos. Esta ciudad tiene hermoso graffiti. Communa trece esta preciosa.

Despues de caminata nosotros visitamos el parque de Tyrona. Parque de tyrona tiene muchas animales diferente, tortuga, cocodrilo, mono, hormiguero etc.Muchas palayas con agua azul.

Pasado yo visito ciudad Cartajena para uno dia. Esta ciudad es pequeno en comparacion con medellin. La parte antiqua de la ciudad es muy bonita. La ciudad viejo tiene muchas tiendas pequeneas y restaurantes.


Despues de Colombia yo visito mexico. Yo no conozco sobre de esta viaje. En el pasado yo visito cabo san lucas y puerto vallarta. Yo visito Cancun este viaje.  Hay muchas actividades de agua en esta lugar : esnorquel, submarino,buceo, jet barco .

Yo visito las piramides y las runias de chichen itza, coba.  Palayas de cancun son muy divertidas.

Colombia y Mexico son lugares muy divertidos.

Para foto "click" aqui

Instagram
Colombia instagram "click" aqui

Mexico instagram "click"aqui


( 😂  at least wanted to start somewhere, not that expansive word bank i have of the language hence many repeat words... )