Hong Kong

They say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Does that mean that the definition of beauty is always changing? If that is the case there are many beautiful sites to behold in this strange and wonderful place. A place that has so many ironies, wealth, organization and flair.

We have enjoyed the surprise meals that we've been getting. It is definitely a culinary experience here, made a bit more complicated by the fact that less people speak English here then we were expecting. Feeling a little out of sorts with the language helps us appreciate again how great it was we spoke basic Spanish. Being able to interact with the average Latin American in their own language meant some really great people experiences. There is a certain air of formality about how things are to be done, a set of established rules that are not necessarily obvious to travellers; how to drink your tea, eat with chopsticks, climb the stairs, use the subway. They have thought of many details and it is all very organized around here. It is encouraging that we find ourselves easily adapting to uncertainities. The food is very yummy and flavourful.

Our first day we got acquainted with the neighbourhood by wandering around (we were staying in the Kowloon Peninsula part of Hong Kong). We also went to the flower, bird and goldfish market. It was so orderly as everyone had there own shop with a real roof. We thought of all you flower lovers out there and had a good laugh when we saw tulips and lilies in boxes being unloaded, bearing the name DeBoer and Hilverda from Holland. There is a little bit of everything you could possibly imagine.

We were able to use this time to the max. Yesterday (Oct 31st) we spent the day on a guided bus tour around Hong Kong Island. It was a very diverse taste of religion, markets, and the local geography. We rode a tram to the highest peak in the area and Jay visited his first Buddhist/ Taoist temple. We bought my first set of pearl jewellery. It is even handmade! We thought it would be the perfect accessory for tea and chocolate cake at a fancy hotel ( The Penisula) where there is a dress code. We took an old fashioned boat around the remnants of the floating Aberdeen fishing village, which will soon be demolished to make room for an amusement park. We saw the famous Jockey Club and a beach that had all if its sand imported from Australia. We wandered around Stanley market but held off buying anything until Cambodia, which we are assuming will be a lot cheaper. The evening was spent watching the daily light show, which involves over 50 different buildings and is recorded in the Guiness Book of World Records.

Today ( Nov. 1st) we took a cable car on Lantau Island to the biggest Buddha statue around, Tin Tan. We climbed the 268 steps to stand near the 34 m, 250 tonne bronze, outdoor statue. Everything is very lush, green and a live. It was a little bouncy on the way home as the wind had picked up. We also floated across the harbour on the Star Ferry, not to be confused with the very prestigious Star Cruises (maybe next time!). A final great experience was discovering flamingos, parrots and the mandarin duck in the Kowloon park near our hostal.

All in all it has been a very different experience here in Hong Kong than anywhere we've been on our trip so far. It was a real eye-opener for me (Jason) being in my first big-crowded Asian city, where there is so much wealth, but certainly lots of poverty that is pushed to the edges. We saw everything from $500,000 1ft tall statues for sale in a shop near the harbour, to the condemed Aberdeen fishing village where everybody lives on a tiny fishing boat in an out-of-the-way corner of the island. We are very glad that we took the opportunity to spend a little time here on our way to Cambodia, it has been WELL worth the 4 days. Enjoy the photos!

Kowloon Peninsula

Hong Kong Island Tour

Lantau Island

And We Are Off Again ... To Cambodia This Time

So much has happened over the last few weeks. We were able to celebrate and share in many different things. Visiting with so many people was tiring in ways that we couldn't have imagined, but we so badly wanted to catch up with as many people as we could. After spending over a year with just the two of us it was important to mix it up! Since we were only home temporarily we tried to lay low. Strange is the single easiest word to describe a quick visit to Ottawa.

Tomorrow bright and early we are flying to Toronto (Oct 28.) From there we will be flying to Hong Kong where we will spend 4 nights. Jay will be taking his longest single plane ride ever at 15 hr and 35 minutes!! Throw in a little jet lag and I'm sure we'll be a little bit confused. Good thing English is pretty common in Hong Kong. We met a young women who grew up in HK while we were hiking in Machu Piccuhu. She gave us several pages of suggested tourist destinations, right down to the details of using public transportation.

We are not entirely sure what to expect in Cambodia. In some ways it will be similar to Latin America ( for example the poverty, broken history) but I imagine there will be some differences as well. We will be spending some time with my aunt who continues to assist with an aid organization she started there about ten years ago. We look forward to seeing her in motion and sharing in her life there.

Many blessings to you all. We hope that these last few weeks of our travels will pass by splendidly. Being home for a small break in between has given us just a small taste of what awaits when we return. Not too sure how we feel about that but look forward to whatever those adventures will be.

Hanging Out in Florida

Being greeted by a familiar face at the airport is something I always look forward to. To me it is the perfect ending to travelling. What I thought would be tearful exchanges were replaced by big hugs and cheerful conversations. Phew!

When we first arrived back into North America we spent 5 days in sunny Florida. Fort Myers was not a place I'd thought about visiting but when friends of ours invited us to join them there for a few days we looked into changing around our flights to make it work. It was worth it! We were a little nervous but that was just butterflies after being away for so long.

Our favourite parts were meeting and playing with the two young girls and playing games after the busyness of the day was behind us. There was lots of swimming, walking, shopping, girl time and relaxing. What a life!

These are a few of my favourite pictures from that time. I couldn't easily fix the spacing and the captions. If you click on any of the captions you can go directly to the collection of photos.

From Arriving back in North America

From Arriving back in North America

From Arriving back in North America

From Arriving back in North America

La Paz ... Peace?!?!?!

Though we didn't end up spending much time here, La Paz did seem to be a place that was worth more time. It is a bustling metropolis of people and traffic with beautiful look outs, the "death road" biked by many tourists, fabled markets and lots of variety on the food front. Of course there are a few big, snow capped mountains near by as well.



Though we didn't have much time as we had hoped, we did manage to taste ice cream and the gooey local empanadas ( pizza pocket style delicacy.) We visited a chocolate shop and brought home all sorts of flavours of chocolate. We spent a morning wandering the streets buying the last of our souvenirs. Who knew it would be so hard to find an alpaca blanket? We'd been warned about the llama fetuses in the witch market but it was still strange to see all sorts of items and trinkets that get used in rituals we don't understand. We spent the afternoon at the Coca Museum, where we got a lot of insight in to this local tradition. The hotel we stayed at had a great common area with a fireplace and a portable DVD for when we were tired of the crowds. It was such a treat but we did have to sleep in separate beds (no doubles.)

The shoe shine men all wore balaclavas. This anonymous element allowed them to be a little rude with out you knowing who they were. We found them to be a more aggressive then any where else. Over all we found people to be very friendly and generous, especially the American Airlines ladies who helped us sort out our flights. Thanks for a great visit Bolivia, short and sweet.

Canadian Hospitality at It's Best

How do you describe something so familiar and yet not? What words can you use to explain returning to a place that you call home and yet it has changed? Whose life has not taken a different path over the last year?

So much is very different than when we left 14 months ago. And that includes us. We have begun the journey of exploring the perspectives and characteristics that will define how we see the world differently. And we have been doing that amongst those that we love and care for. It's something we often found ourselves longing for while we were away. And now we are surrounded and enveloped by our friends and family.

We arrived back in Canada on Mon. Oct 6, after spending 5 days in balmy Fort Myers Beach, Florida with Tamara, Ian and their 2 super-cute girls (Karenna and Anneke). We were met at the Toronto airport by Tom (Jay's cousin once removed.... I think). As we walked outdoors he warned us that we might not be able to fit all our luggage and us into their sports car. By the time we got to the car we were all ready to at least give it a try. The good news was that we got it all in and we didn't even have to stuff anything under the hood. It did mean that Jay hit his head on the soft topped roof and was sitting side ways - but really that just was par for the course most other places we'd come from.

Somehow people knew that the pasta in South America sort of stinks. They are just so skimpy on the sauce. Our first meal on Canadian soil was a beautifully served spaghetti with chunky meat sauce and fresh garden salad done up with blueberries, a generously shared bottle of our hosts favourite red wine, warmed pumpernickel bread and real butter and homemade apple pie garnished with whipping cream. Thanks so much Lynelle! Other meals have included delicious pastas and stews. Eating cereal and cold milk along with other prepared breakfasts sure beats the lame Peruvian continental, stale-bread-no-eggs breakfasts we'd become accustomed to. Yep it is quite possible that we've gained a few pounds already!

We've spend time reacquainting ourselves with friends from Ottawa who have moved away. Toronto and Barrie are beautiful in the fall. We caught up on news of paddling, nursing and church friends. Some have new babies and other are adjusting to new homes and jobs. Seeing Sabrina on her way back to India and Agnes just before her huge RN test were awesome treats for us both. Our evening with Francois was fantastic - we got to be his first non-family visitors in his new home in Toronto. Hearing Troy's stories about his new job, enjoying Kristen's hospitality and meeting their daughter Lydia for the first time was a great homecoming.

It seems easier for them to tell us about their past year. How do we summarize so much of what we have seen and done into a few conversations, without endlessly repeating ourselves? We are still trying to figure that out. Though it's quite likely you'd hear us say, "Well in this place they did such and such," at some random moment. Or remember when ...

Before we know it, the stories will be lost in our memories if we don't tell them. So I guess even though we might feel hesitant or still in the process of trying to work it out, sharing is the best way to savour, remember and reflect on what this past year will all mean.

Copacabana and the Island of the Sun

Copacabana is a small Bolivian community right on Lake Titicaca. We spent 5 days enjoying this quaint, picturesque village and its' people. The corner room we rented in our hotel had two huge picture windows looking over the lake and was warmed by the afternoon sun. The room felt like a suite to us with two large sitting chairs, wonderful blankets and a really well done mural painting on the wall. It was super great for relaxing in, especially since there wasn`t much else to do.

One day we took a slow boat over to the legendary Island of the Sun. Depending on which myth you believe, this maybe where the first Inca king and other gods emerged from. Regardless of what you believe there are some ruins to be seen. The island is small with about 3000 inhabitants and no cars on it. There is a walking path from the north end connecting villages together all the way to the south. It took us about 3 hrs to make our way from one side to the other. Of course there was lots of ups and downs which meant great views of the bays as well as the Corderilla Real, a extensive mountain range with snow capped mountains.

At the ruins there was the usual hypothesis about animal images in stones but the real gem was the extensive labirynth of rooms. It didn`t take long to feel like you were a mouse in a maze trying to find your way out. Along with tunnels the building was constructed on several planes so you were constantly changing levels with out even realizing it.

The surroundings made it a wonderful place to be. Sparkling, deep blue water as far as you can see bordered by snow capped mountains. At the south end there was also a sequence of water pumps and an original set of Incan stairs. Unfortunately we were stopped three times to pay an entrance fee as we made our way along the path. We weren`t certain the money actually was invested back into the community or used for maintenance of the trail. It was a really interesting experience. The walk was worth it!

Our Time In Bolivia Cut Short

We worked hard to get to the capital of Bolivia. However no matter how far ahead you plan things are always subject to change here. Who knew that there would be political troubles when we made the decision to fly out of La Paz?? It seemed like the perfect way to ensure we spent some time there. Well, did that ever back fire!!!

Over the last month the political problems have escalated. To simplify it, there has always been problems between the East and West. The eastern part of the country is vey powerful and rich because of mining and natural resources. Just recently the first indigenous president (from the poor West) was elected. It was serious business. To ensure that things were a little bit peaceful no alcohol was sold for two days prior to the election. Being from the West the president sympathizes with the large majority of poor, subsistence farmers. The farmers would like the wealthy landowners in the West to share some of their loot and land. The Easterners are proud of all the work that they have done and are unwilling to just hand it off to someone less capable. It is a very complicated and troublesome 500 year old arguement.

But what that meant for us was uncertainties about flying. We began to hear rumours that blockades and rallies were interfering with local and international transportation. As the majority of the problems were not in La Paz we made our way there, hoping for the best. One of the first things we did was check in with the American Airlines office. The women who helped us spoke English and they were so helpful. That also happened to be the day that American Airlines cancelled all of their La Paz - Miami flights for the rest of September... until Oct 1st (and we were scheduled to fly out on the 2nd)! After a little discussion we were surprised when one of the ladies suggested we get out of there, I think her words were something like "Get out of here as soon as you can, it is not likely to improve". She meant that flying from one of their other South American hubs was recommended and they would cover the cost to change the tickets but not travelling expenses for us to get there.

Though La Paz continued to have demonstrations and there was an increase in the number of riot police after important talks, there were no serious problems while we were there. The high altitude means that the planes can only take off with a limited amount of fuel due to weight restrictions so they have to land with in a short time to refuel and upgrade their crew. This means the La Paz - Miami flight must land in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz... in the tumultuous western half of the country. The protests, riots and road blockades meant that the Santa Cruz airport could not guarentee the necessary crew or fuel to the airline, which forced American Airlines to cancel their La Paz - Miami flights for the entire month of September. After hearing all of this from the lady at the AA office we had a tough decision to make. We could stay in La Paz and hope there would be a flight out on the 2nd of October, or we could leave Bolivia. If we decided to leave Bolivia... Where would we fly out of? How would we get there? When would we leave?

We spent many long hours analazing our options. In the end we retraced our steps to Lima, Peru. Flying to Chile and only having one or two days there just didn't seem worth the extra costs, though it was tempting. In total the two days of busing cost us about $100 (saving us around $800 over the other alternatives) and since we had little money and lots of time we went back to Lima. A bonus of the long bus trip back through Peru was we were able to return to Arequipa for one night and we were reminded of how much we loved the city. We also bumped up our departure so we could spend more time with Ian, Tamara and the girls in Florida. It was a little nerve wracking but it all worked out. An ironic twist is that as best as we can tell from trolling Google, it looks like miraculously our Oct 2 flight ended up leaving from La Paz after all!! Even though it turned out we probably could have just stayed in La Paz, we are happy with our decision to bail and head for Peru. The wise words of a fellow traveller still remain true, "In Bolivia everything is possible, but nothing is certain."