All is set for my July 29 departure for Tanzania. To prepare for my Kilimanjaro summit bid, I've been primarily running, but will soon add some modest hikes in hilly terrain to the mix. The fundraising has recently hit $600 and I hope that it continues to rise. I've been pondering my trip daily and the mountain's altitude is the predominant reality that most occupies my thoughts. By all accounts that I've read, its effects cannot be predicted and can halt the efforts of even the most physically fit. I bought Diamox, which is a prescription drug that is supposed to mitigate the effects of high altitude sickness. I hope that I don't have to use it.
I'll be stopping in Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia briefly prior to arriving in Tanzania. I wish that I could spend more time exploring that troubled country...shedding my tourist garb and mixing with the locals for a few days...perhaps a future visit will allow for more exploration of some of the continent's more remote and less travelled corners.
Otherwise, two weeks remain in the school year and my jubiliation at the prospect of a two month stretch of vacation can hardly be contained. Its surpassed, perhaps, only by my students more obvious signs of giddiness...
The sun is shining, the temps are rising and the calendar will soon surrender its two most treasured months...
Cheers,
Keith
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Africa--July 2010
This year is shaping up to be a good one. I purchased a condo to usher in the new year and my travel plans for this summer include an ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro and a safari in the Serengeti. Still trying to convince any hardy souls to join my trip. A few are mulling it over.
Kilimanjaro's 19,300 ft. summit will prove the biggest challenge. The thin air and 8-day hike up the mountain will test my physical and mental endurance. It's been a dream of mine since I first set eyes on pics of the white behemoth. Hemingway immortalized it in his fiction. I hope to eliminate it from my bucket list while testing the limits of my 40-year old body...
Anyway, I'll keep you posted as to developments.
Cheers,
Keith
Kilimanjaro's 19,300 ft. summit will prove the biggest challenge. The thin air and 8-day hike up the mountain will test my physical and mental endurance. It's been a dream of mine since I first set eyes on pics of the white behemoth. Hemingway immortalized it in his fiction. I hope to eliminate it from my bucket list while testing the limits of my 40-year old body...
Anyway, I'll keep you posted as to developments.
Cheers,
Keith
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!! Opening reflections on possible destinations for 2010
I'm thinking about a trip to South America this summer and Chile, Peru and Ecuador top my list of destinations. Any thoughts??
Monday, July 20, 2009
July 21, 2009
Epic downpour has driven me inside to a small, crowded shop in Karon Beach. Just chilling today after a challenging, yet rewarding day yesterday spent diving at Racha Yai Island off Phuket, Thailand. The boat trip out to the island was extremely rough and one poor woman from Honk Kong emptied her insides overboard more than once en route.
Once we moored offshore at Racha Yai Island, we quickly enteredt he water for our first dive. We descended to about 30 feet or so and explored some nice coral and colorful fish. We saw a target fish, which our instructor unfortunately to too close too and received a bite. I heard his scream under the water, but fortunately, it didn't break the skin...just a bruise.
Our second dive we went a bit deeper, perhaps 40 feet or so and fed some groupers some bananas. I must have had 50 fish feverishly swarming around my head as they urgently competed for the banana which quickly evaporated before me in the water.
The boat trip back was even more challenging as the angry seas lifted the waved to grand swells, rocking our boat significantly and causing the same woman to contribute something to the Andaman Sea. I practiced severe mental games to offset the seasickness, which came very close to expelling what little luch I had eaten a few hours earlier.
Finall, an hour and a half after departing Racha Yai, we landed at Chalong Bay.
A good day overall though...gaining confidence in my diving.
Cheers,
keith
Once we moored offshore at Racha Yai Island, we quickly enteredt he water for our first dive. We descended to about 30 feet or so and explored some nice coral and colorful fish. We saw a target fish, which our instructor unfortunately to too close too and received a bite. I heard his scream under the water, but fortunately, it didn't break the skin...just a bruise.
Our second dive we went a bit deeper, perhaps 40 feet or so and fed some groupers some bananas. I must have had 50 fish feverishly swarming around my head as they urgently competed for the banana which quickly evaporated before me in the water.
The boat trip back was even more challenging as the angry seas lifted the waved to grand swells, rocking our boat significantly and causing the same woman to contribute something to the Andaman Sea. I practiced severe mental games to offset the seasickness, which came very close to expelling what little luch I had eaten a few hours earlier.
Finall, an hour and a half after departing Racha Yai, we landed at Chalong Bay.
A good day overall though...gaining confidence in my diving.
Cheers,
keith
Friday, July 17, 2009
Karon Beach - Phuket, Thailand - July 17, 2009
The southern Thailand intense sun has turned my face a very dark brown. The sun emerged today for the longest stretch since my arrival in Phuket two days ago. I took advantage by settling in on the long piece of sand that is Karon Beach. The surf is incredibly rough and there is only a small block of the entire beach that is open for swimming, but it is a very risky enterprise to venture far out as successive waves pummel the shore relentlessly. I waded out to waste deep and couldn't take it for more than 10 minutes. Each time I surfaced from a crashing wave, another was waiting for me a few seconds behind it. Exhausting.
I rented a scooter yesterday and took advantage of my mobility by driving up the western coast of Phuket all the way to Surin Beach, about 10 miles or so north of Karon Beach. As I buzzed my way through Karon beach, up a windup coastal road and into Patong Beach, I was somewhat dissapointed at the the extent to which this piece of paradise has been totally exploited by the tourist industry. There is a definite sleaze factor to Phuket--with "massage parlors" seemingly outnumbering the available clients to solicit them. A westerner walking the boulevard at any time of day will not go more than a block before hearing the chants of the Thai women, "Massage, sir...massage?"
There is little available free space for the Phuket jungle interior to glisten as the concrete hotels, shops, pubs, and minimarts present an impenetrable tangle of modernity and extent all the way to the base of the hills and sometimes encroach upon the lush, green hillsides as well.
I plan to do some scuba diving next week in the nearby Phi Phi islands and hope to get a lot of reading done as well...just relaxing and enjoying the trip.
Cheers,
Keith
I rented a scooter yesterday and took advantage of my mobility by driving up the western coast of Phuket all the way to Surin Beach, about 10 miles or so north of Karon Beach. As I buzzed my way through Karon beach, up a windup coastal road and into Patong Beach, I was somewhat dissapointed at the the extent to which this piece of paradise has been totally exploited by the tourist industry. There is a definite sleaze factor to Phuket--with "massage parlors" seemingly outnumbering the available clients to solicit them. A westerner walking the boulevard at any time of day will not go more than a block before hearing the chants of the Thai women, "Massage, sir...massage?"
There is little available free space for the Phuket jungle interior to glisten as the concrete hotels, shops, pubs, and minimarts present an impenetrable tangle of modernity and extent all the way to the base of the hills and sometimes encroach upon the lush, green hillsides as well.
I plan to do some scuba diving next week in the nearby Phi Phi islands and hope to get a lot of reading done as well...just relaxing and enjoying the trip.
Cheers,
Keith
Monday, July 13, 2009
Bangkok, Thailand - July 14, 2009
Day two in Bangkok, Thailand and I've been assaulted by every conceivable smell, taste and sound...it's an electric city that moves nonstop. There are significant western tourists in the predictable--and worthy--temple sights around the city. Move beyond these areas though and your quickly in the thick of Bangkoks population with few--if any--westerners to be found. Chinatown is one such place. Wandered there this morning after a mile or so walk from my hotel.
The narrow alleyways of the main markeplace are a seemingly endless web of lanes with every conceivable product on review. To throw some chaos on top of this, scooters occassionally buzz there way through a space that is already filled with human traffic.
I meandered through this congested maze, stopping to purchase a bag of cantelope from a local merchant. I made my way back to by late morning to one of the more important temples in the city which boasts of the largest reclining Buddha statue in Thailand. It's a massive, bronze structure that glares at visitors with an easy smile. Some Thai locals also shared the view--making sure to bow in supplication before this symbol of the ultimate Thai deity.
Tomorrow morning, I fly to Phuket in the south of Thailand to revel in the clear waters and relative calm of the south of the country. I hope to do some diving down there if the weather cooperates as I read in the local newspaper today that epic monsoon rains have beseiged the region since Saturday. We'll see.
An amazing trip so far!
Cheers,
keith
The narrow alleyways of the main markeplace are a seemingly endless web of lanes with every conceivable product on review. To throw some chaos on top of this, scooters occassionally buzz there way through a space that is already filled with human traffic.
I meandered through this congested maze, stopping to purchase a bag of cantelope from a local merchant. I made my way back to by late morning to one of the more important temples in the city which boasts of the largest reclining Buddha statue in Thailand. It's a massive, bronze structure that glares at visitors with an easy smile. Some Thai locals also shared the view--making sure to bow in supplication before this symbol of the ultimate Thai deity.
Tomorrow morning, I fly to Phuket in the south of Thailand to revel in the clear waters and relative calm of the south of the country. I hope to do some diving down there if the weather cooperates as I read in the local newspaper today that epic monsoon rains have beseiged the region since Saturday. We'll see.
An amazing trip so far!
Cheers,
keith
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Auckland, New Zealand - July 12, 2009
Sitting in an internet cafe a few blocks from my hotel on this damp, cool and dreary Sunday morning. In a few hours, I'll take a bus to the airport to catch my flight to Bangkok, Thailand and the next leg of my trip.
New Zealand is a spectacular country, with upbeat people and natural surroundings that are truly stunning. My quick, 9-day tour started in Auckland, where I explored a few islands offshore and toured this clean, cosmopolitan city on the edge of a sparkling bay which harbors many other small islands that attract hikers and people in search of quieter shores. Raritonga is just a 20 minute ferry ride from the dock in Auckland, but it seems much further. I was told that it was formed only 600 years ago after a violent eruption from the sea which was witnessed by some local Maori people on a neighboring island. There are a few houses near the shore, but the entire interior of island is dominated by thick, black volcanic rock and dense forests, which rise steadily to a windswept summit with uninterrupted views of the city and bay in all directions.
I'll drop you all a note from Bangkok in a few days...looking forward to some warmer temps...
cheers,
keith
New Zealand is a spectacular country, with upbeat people and natural surroundings that are truly stunning. My quick, 9-day tour started in Auckland, where I explored a few islands offshore and toured this clean, cosmopolitan city on the edge of a sparkling bay which harbors many other small islands that attract hikers and people in search of quieter shores. Raritonga is just a 20 minute ferry ride from the dock in Auckland, but it seems much further. I was told that it was formed only 600 years ago after a violent eruption from the sea which was witnessed by some local Maori people on a neighboring island. There are a few houses near the shore, but the entire interior of island is dominated by thick, black volcanic rock and dense forests, which rise steadily to a windswept summit with uninterrupted views of the city and bay in all directions.
I'll drop you all a note from Bangkok in a few days...looking forward to some warmer temps...
cheers,
keith
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