February 25, 2010 Yesterday we entered a new world. We had looked forward to this day for over 20 years – ever since we met our friends, César and Yolanda, in the USA. We arrived early in the morning for the first time in Ecuador. The heat and humidity were already apparent as we viewed the lush green strip of land along the Guayas River from the cruise ship deck. Outside the port entrance, we met César Jr. who escorted us on a 2 hour sight-seeing tour of Guayaquil. We loved the new Malecón area of the city with its beautiful parks, recreation and shopping areas in spite of the fact that for a short time we walked in a tropical shower. César Jr. explained that people get used to the heat - only the first 20 years are the worst!
At 12:30PM we drove to César and Yolanda’s home. We were greeted by a servant who opened the gate surrounding their home, and soon Yolanda stood in the doorway to welcome us. The one story and well kept exterior belied the elegant interior of the home. The rooms were filled with beautiful paintings, lovely furnishings and a crystal chandelier. Our host, César, sat behind a leather bar in the corner and greeted us warmly. And then to our surprise, he picked up a 5 inch brass bell sitting near him and rang it loudly. What was he doing? Is this what Ecuadorians do to welcome visitors to their home, like ringing in the New Year? The question was soon answered as two servants appeared – one with a tray of hors d’oeuvres, the other with champagne that was quickly poured. Next was, of course, pre-lunch cocktail time – with vodka tonics served after another ringing of the bell.
We left the intimate bar area and walked to the lovely dining room already set with fresh flowers, beautiful china and crystal. We sat down and the bell was rung, sparkling wine was poured to accompany the shrimp cocktail served in martini glasses; the bell was rung, plates were removed; wonderful fish soup with Chilean sea bass was presented; the bell was rung, Argentine red wine was poured; and an array of sliced pork, avocados, corn, tomatoes, heart of palm, asparagus, dill pickles, yellow rice with peas & carrots all artistically presented were served. The bell was rung, plates were removed; slices of pecan pie were served followed by coffee and cognac.
With sadness we left our amazing and generous friends. We will miss them. . . and their magic bell!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Illegal aliens?! - US!!
September 29, 2009 Today started off as just another beautiful day here in Poland. We were driving along one of the back roads - stopping at villages to take pictures of farmers with horses pulling wooden carts, women in dresses with headscarves raking straw in the fields, and all the other sights that an American would find interesting. Paul was following another car slowly through a village, when two police men waved us over to a parking lot. What could be wrong? We weren’t speeding or tailgating. The officer, in limited English, identified himself as a border guard and asked for our car registration papers, passports, Paul’s driver’s license and his International Driver’s license. Uh, oh. The International Driver’s license was in back in our hotel room. No problem (whew). The guy seemed really nice. But then the two officers started looking at all the stamps in our passports. Back and forth they kept flipping the pages, stopping and then flipping some more. We realized that they were looking for our entry date into the EU. Before we came to Europe we had looked at length of stay requirements on a Tourist Visa, but had seen several lengths of time on the internet; and in the end, just figured it didn’t really matter. Were we legally here for only 90 days or 180?!? I guess it really did matter now. We sat nervously watching from the car. Finally one of officers came over and asked, “You cruise to Portugal May?” “Yes”, we said. He started to get really serious at that point. Our hearts started beating faster. Was it 90 days? Had we overstayed the Visa? Did it expire at the end of August? Were we going to get deported??!!! Paul said, “We were in Russia in August.” “August,” he repeated, “OK.” He went back and said something to his partner. All we thought we understood was “Roosha”. Good enough. He handed us back our documents and we were on our way.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Searching for the Family
September 17, 2009
When my mom asked me to look for family genealogical information in Germany, I was less than enthused. How much fun could it be looking through old books and microfiche for names of people I had never meet? The first problem we had was when we pulled into Hesel , the town my father’s family had come from, and asked about our relatives; only to find out we were in the wrong town! It turns out there are two towns named Hesel not 30 minutes apart. I had heard all kinds of jokes about people from this region of Germany, Ostfiesland – and I was beginning to understand why no one wants to be from there. But when we arrived at our Hesel (notice how quickly I have claimed it), I was excited to see that the little town was beautiful. The solid brick buildings and houses were cared for and the yards were immaculate. On down the road in Reepsholt, where the ancestors were all married, baptized and buried; the story continued. We drove to Colnrade, a couple of hours south, to find the hometown of the relatives from the 1600s. It was also a beautiful, tiny city placed right in the middle of the corn fields; with friendly people, brick streets and sidewalks. I have to admit that I had expected houses in poor condition, if not ruins. Somehow I was feeling proud that my family had come from such prosperous places.
Now we were off to see my mother’s hometown of Lienen, two hours further south. Would I be ashamed of that side of the family? Oh, no. The old center of town was full of half-timbered buildings all renovated and converted into restaurants, shops and hotels. The Tourism Office suggested we contact Dr. Wilkens, a retired pastor and the town historian. He shared with us great stories of the village in early 1800s when our family had lived there. After a quick look at his own archives, he was able to pinpoint the exact house where our family had lived. We were happy to see that it is now enjoying a second life as an Italian restaurant.
The whole search into the past would have been great, if it hadn’t been for the little upstairs apartment we had rented in Lienen. Unfortunately, the eaves of the old house didn’t allow for high ceilings throughout. To leave the bedroom, we had to step down two steps to the bathroom and living room areas. Well, the ceiling had a large wooden beam right at the top of the first step and two out of three times Paul stepped out of the bedroom, he would crack his head on the corner of the beam. After four days, the top of his bald head looked like a tic-tac-toe board – and the Xs were winning! So much for medieval living.
When my mom asked me to look for family genealogical information in Germany, I was less than enthused. How much fun could it be looking through old books and microfiche for names of people I had never meet? The first problem we had was when we pulled into Hesel , the town my father’s family had come from, and asked about our relatives; only to find out we were in the wrong town! It turns out there are two towns named Hesel not 30 minutes apart. I had heard all kinds of jokes about people from this region of Germany, Ostfiesland – and I was beginning to understand why no one wants to be from there. But when we arrived at our Hesel (notice how quickly I have claimed it), I was excited to see that the little town was beautiful. The solid brick buildings and houses were cared for and the yards were immaculate. On down the road in Reepsholt, where the ancestors were all married, baptized and buried; the story continued. We drove to Colnrade, a couple of hours south, to find the hometown of the relatives from the 1600s. It was also a beautiful, tiny city placed right in the middle of the corn fields; with friendly people, brick streets and sidewalks. I have to admit that I had expected houses in poor condition, if not ruins. Somehow I was feeling proud that my family had come from such prosperous places.
Now we were off to see my mother’s hometown of Lienen, two hours further south. Would I be ashamed of that side of the family? Oh, no. The old center of town was full of half-timbered buildings all renovated and converted into restaurants, shops and hotels. The Tourism Office suggested we contact Dr. Wilkens, a retired pastor and the town historian. He shared with us great stories of the village in early 1800s when our family had lived there. After a quick look at his own archives, he was able to pinpoint the exact house where our family had lived. We were happy to see that it is now enjoying a second life as an Italian restaurant.
The whole search into the past would have been great, if it hadn’t been for the little upstairs apartment we had rented in Lienen. Unfortunately, the eaves of the old house didn’t allow for high ceilings throughout. To leave the bedroom, we had to step down two steps to the bathroom and living room areas. Well, the ceiling had a large wooden beam right at the top of the first step and two out of three times Paul stepped out of the bedroom, he would crack his head on the corner of the beam. After four days, the top of his bald head looked like a tic-tac-toe board – and the Xs were winning! So much for medieval living.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Spying on Russia
September 8, 2009
It’s hard to believe that I’ve just visited Russia. I guess I never thought I would go there – not after the way we were brought up thinking of Russia as the Enemy in the Cold War and all. But we had the chance to go and really didn’t know what to expect. Some things were probably not unexpected – the way very few people ever smiled or seemed cheerful, the row and rows of government block housing, the wide streets with few cars. But there were lots of surprises – we had two days of sunshine in a town that only has 68 days a year without rain, people seemed to be pretty well dressed, we didn’t see one beggar, we did see guys on the street that looked exactly like KGB agents (have we seen too many movies?!), the streets were clean and we saw foreign restaurants, including McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC.
Because Russia, unlike any of the other countries we had visited, requires a visa ($250 per person) for Americans to enter their country; we opted for a guided tour, which provides a waiver for the requirement. We contracted with Red October, a tour company that was highly recommended by other cruise ship passengers, rather than take the tours offered by our ship. We were supposed to meet our guide, limo driver and four other people for the two day tour; but when we arrived, we found out the other four had cancelled. At first we were worried about the price, since it was supposed to be split six ways, but our guide, Katya, assured us that our price would not increase. Wow! We were going to have a private tour for two days with our own guide and driver. Incredible! We wound up doing a whole bunch of things that weren’t on anyone’s schedule, since we could move as fast or slowly as we wanted. We even made stops at a grocery store, picture stops, and visited an outdoor market. Fantastic!
But for us, the best part of the whole experience was going to lunch in a private apartment with our guide. When we arrived, we saw the entry door to the building and thought we were at the movie set for the movie “Borne Supremacy”. Katya rang the intercom and we went in the steel door, up five floors of concrete steps (no elevator) with exposed plumbing and wiring and arrived at another steel door that opened to another door 6 inches inside, both with several dead bolt locks.
The woman inside, our hostess, couldn’t have been more welcoming. She had prepared a table in the living room – we sat on the couch and she and Katya sat on chairs. We had a salad of red and green peppers with oil and vinegar, followed by a lovely cabbage and potato soup. To drink we were served filtered water (from a machine she was very proud of), orange juice and generous shots of vodka. Our main dish was fried chicken fillets with boiled potatoes, followed by a dessert of hot tea, cookies and chocolates. We felt honored to have had the chance to visit her home and she proudly showed us every room.
We spent two days visiting gorgeous gardens, museums and palaces. Oleg, our driver, was quiet and professional and Katya was one of the best guides we have ever had. We’ll always remember our visit to Russia with love.
It’s hard to believe that I’ve just visited Russia. I guess I never thought I would go there – not after the way we were brought up thinking of Russia as the Enemy in the Cold War and all. But we had the chance to go and really didn’t know what to expect. Some things were probably not unexpected – the way very few people ever smiled or seemed cheerful, the row and rows of government block housing, the wide streets with few cars. But there were lots of surprises – we had two days of sunshine in a town that only has 68 days a year without rain, people seemed to be pretty well dressed, we didn’t see one beggar, we did see guys on the street that looked exactly like KGB agents (have we seen too many movies?!), the streets were clean and we saw foreign restaurants, including McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC.
Because Russia, unlike any of the other countries we had visited, requires a visa ($250 per person) for Americans to enter their country; we opted for a guided tour, which provides a waiver for the requirement. We contracted with Red October, a tour company that was highly recommended by other cruise ship passengers, rather than take the tours offered by our ship. We were supposed to meet our guide, limo driver and four other people for the two day tour; but when we arrived, we found out the other four had cancelled. At first we were worried about the price, since it was supposed to be split six ways, but our guide, Katya, assured us that our price would not increase. Wow! We were going to have a private tour for two days with our own guide and driver. Incredible! We wound up doing a whole bunch of things that weren’t on anyone’s schedule, since we could move as fast or slowly as we wanted. We even made stops at a grocery store, picture stops, and visited an outdoor market. Fantastic!
But for us, the best part of the whole experience was going to lunch in a private apartment with our guide. When we arrived, we saw the entry door to the building and thought we were at the movie set for the movie “Borne Supremacy”. Katya rang the intercom and we went in the steel door, up five floors of concrete steps (no elevator) with exposed plumbing and wiring and arrived at another steel door that opened to another door 6 inches inside, both with several dead bolt locks.
The woman inside, our hostess, couldn’t have been more welcoming. She had prepared a table in the living room – we sat on the couch and she and Katya sat on chairs. We had a salad of red and green peppers with oil and vinegar, followed by a lovely cabbage and potato soup. To drink we were served filtered water (from a machine she was very proud of), orange juice and generous shots of vodka. Our main dish was fried chicken fillets with boiled potatoes, followed by a dessert of hot tea, cookies and chocolates. We felt honored to have had the chance to visit her home and she proudly showed us every room.
We spent two days visiting gorgeous gardens, museums and palaces. Oleg, our driver, was quiet and professional and Katya was one of the best guides we have ever had. We’ll always remember our visit to Russia with love.
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Camino de Santiago - A Life Changing Experience
June 25, 2009 As we walked into Santiago de Compostela on the last day of our journey, I was already feeling bitter/sweet about the Camino coming to an end. I was going to miss the excitement of each morning – What would we see? What would the weather be like? What kind of trails would there be? I loved hearing the Hoopoe bird that seemed to have followed us all the way from Roncesvalles. We had heard his coo coo clock sound nearly every day. I would miss him. I loved seeing the snails that covered the grasses along the trails in the morning. I would miss the incredible spring flowers and shrubs we had seen, the trees loaded with ripe cherries and the rose bushes that were heavy with bloom. The joy of seeing the land change from hour to hour and day to day had been so unexpected. How could walking be so different than driving through this beautiful land? But it was different. We slowed everything down. We started paying attention to basic details. How was our body feeling? Were our feet OK? Did we have enough water/food with us? We became more concerned about each other, more polite. We sometimes had walked separately for hours or together without talking. We spent a lot of time thinking; and each day we began our walk with a prayer. God became a bigger part of our daily life. The Camino offered us the chance to go into a church, hermitage, monastery or cathedral sometimes several times each day. After walking for several hours, it was lovely to walk into the cool, darkness of a quiet chapel to sit and rest and pray. I started to worry less and trust God more. The Camino had given me time to think about my life and pull away from the crazy details I had gotten caught up in. Now as we approached Santiago, we were going back to “reality”. Would I be able to keep my Camino perspective? At the Pilgrim’s Mass the next day, the priest reinforced why we had walked for 40 days. He said, “You have followed this path to Santiago to honor the message that St. James has given to each of us – the message of Christ’s love. Now you are on a New Camino that you will be on until you die – and that is a path to share Christ with others.”
The Camino de Santiago - The Beginning
May 15, 2009 We couldn’t believe we were there. On Sunday, May 10 we took the 7AM train from Madrid to Pamplona and then a taxi up to Roncesvalles. We got there at noon. It was so much smaller than we had expected, about 10 buildings - all from the Middle Ages. We got our Credential, waited for the albergue (a dormitory for pilgrims) to open at 2 and checked in. The albergue held 120 pilgrims and by the end of the day it was filled and turning people down. Paul & I got adjoining top bunks - bare mattresses with bare pillows, so we spread out our sleeping bags. (Not exactly Comfort Suites with a pillow selection!) The single women were place on one side of the room and the men on the other. Couples were in the middle. The hospitaleros (the men who ran the albergue) were from a Protestant church in Holland and were helpful and friendly. We were surprised they were Protestant, because we thought that most of the workers on the Camino would be Catholic.
At 6 PM there was a Pilgrim´s Mass in the Abby. It was a relatively small chapel with beautiful stained glass and ornate altars. The sermon was about St. Paul´s journeys to preach to all nations. At the end of the sermon, everyone, (both Catholic and Protestant) who felt at peace with their relationship with Christ, was invited to take Communion. I was surprised at how welcoming and ecumenical the church was. After Communion, all pilgrims were invited to the front of the church to receive the Pilgrim´s blessing. It was so perfect and personal that many of us were in tears. This was the blessing:
Almighty God, grant your mercy on those who love You and never go far from those who seek You. Assist your servants as they walk your pilgrimage and direct their paths according to your will. During the day provide them with a protective shade and at night light their paths with your grace. Let them know that they will never walk alone, because You will always accompany them; so that they may arrive happily at their destination. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen At 7PM we all went to the Pilgrim´s dinner in the adjoining building to share a common meal (for 7 Euros). We were seated at round tables for 10, so we met several other people - only one from the USA! It started with a lentil soup, then trout with french fries, pitchers of red wine, water, bread and yogurt for dessert. After supper, we returned to the albergue. We got dressed for bed and, at 5 minutes to 10PM, we heard spiritual organ music fill the high ceilinged, stone gothic building we were in. At 10PM all the lights went out. One of the hospitaleros began singing a Gregorian chant. It was an incredible way to fall asleep.
Surprisingly, not that many people snored and we soon heard more music. It was 5:55AM on Monday! At 6 AM the lights went on and we all got dressed. Paul and I were on the road by 7AM and walked 28 kilometers through the beautiful Pyrenees! You can´t believe how often we kept saying, "I can´t believe we are here." and "Look at that!". There was one beautiful vista after another. The weather was great (about 55 when we started and by noon it was in the upper 60s) - perfect for hiking. After about 18 kilometers, we were congratulating ourselves on how well we were doing. Little did we know that the last 10 kilometers were going to be killers. We climbed and climbed up muddy paths, full of large rocks and roots. It was even tougher coming downhill, because it was really slippery. By the time we arrived in Zubiri, we were exhausted and decided to stay in a pension with a private room instead of an albergue. At 8:15 PM we were sound asleep.
We woke up at 6AM again and the owner of the pension told us that there had been a huge storm last night. We hadn´t heard a thing. We began the Camino at 6:50AM with a prayer and went straight up a muddy hill for about 1.5 km before we reached a village of about 10 houses with no place to eat breakfast. We went through the hills and two more villages until we finally arrived in city of about 100 houses with a bar open. We were really tired already and had only gone 5.5 km! We ate breakfast of coffee and a jamon serrano (cured ham) sandwich and felt a whole lot better. We continued on through more beautiful villages, crossed over two streams and went over two hills to arrive in Trinidad de Arre – a total of 18km. When we crossed the medieval bridge into the city, we saw the albergue and knocked on the arched door. A Marianista Brother greeted us, stamped our Credential, and gave us a tour of the building. Turns out it was a Pilgrim´s hospital in the 13th Century and was located next to a monastery. In the 17th Century, the two buildings were bought by a Confradia (like a group of fraternal people) and converted into one building. The hospital was made into the pilgrim´s albergue where we slept and the chapel is still there. The Cloister is also still there and the garden of the cloister is where we hung our wet clothes! Since Paul & I were the first married couple to check into the albergue, we were given a private room. Cool! There were 36 other beds in the albergue, 8 in one room for women only and the rest were coed. There was also a kitchen, living room, and a laundry area (with washing machine).
So far the whole Camino has been an amazing learning experience. We are thankful that we have stayed healthy and have been able to go even this far. We’re looking forward to the rest of this adventure.
At 6 PM there was a Pilgrim´s Mass in the Abby. It was a relatively small chapel with beautiful stained glass and ornate altars. The sermon was about St. Paul´s journeys to preach to all nations. At the end of the sermon, everyone, (both Catholic and Protestant) who felt at peace with their relationship with Christ, was invited to take Communion. I was surprised at how welcoming and ecumenical the church was. After Communion, all pilgrims were invited to the front of the church to receive the Pilgrim´s blessing. It was so perfect and personal that many of us were in tears. This was the blessing:
Almighty God, grant your mercy on those who love You and never go far from those who seek You. Assist your servants as they walk your pilgrimage and direct their paths according to your will. During the day provide them with a protective shade and at night light their paths with your grace. Let them know that they will never walk alone, because You will always accompany them; so that they may arrive happily at their destination. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen At 7PM we all went to the Pilgrim´s dinner in the adjoining building to share a common meal (for 7 Euros). We were seated at round tables for 10, so we met several other people - only one from the USA! It started with a lentil soup, then trout with french fries, pitchers of red wine, water, bread and yogurt for dessert. After supper, we returned to the albergue. We got dressed for bed and, at 5 minutes to 10PM, we heard spiritual organ music fill the high ceilinged, stone gothic building we were in. At 10PM all the lights went out. One of the hospitaleros began singing a Gregorian chant. It was an incredible way to fall asleep.
Surprisingly, not that many people snored and we soon heard more music. It was 5:55AM on Monday! At 6 AM the lights went on and we all got dressed. Paul and I were on the road by 7AM and walked 28 kilometers through the beautiful Pyrenees! You can´t believe how often we kept saying, "I can´t believe we are here." and "Look at that!". There was one beautiful vista after another. The weather was great (about 55 when we started and by noon it was in the upper 60s) - perfect for hiking. After about 18 kilometers, we were congratulating ourselves on how well we were doing. Little did we know that the last 10 kilometers were going to be killers. We climbed and climbed up muddy paths, full of large rocks and roots. It was even tougher coming downhill, because it was really slippery. By the time we arrived in Zubiri, we were exhausted and decided to stay in a pension with a private room instead of an albergue. At 8:15 PM we were sound asleep.
We woke up at 6AM again and the owner of the pension told us that there had been a huge storm last night. We hadn´t heard a thing. We began the Camino at 6:50AM with a prayer and went straight up a muddy hill for about 1.5 km before we reached a village of about 10 houses with no place to eat breakfast. We went through the hills and two more villages until we finally arrived in city of about 100 houses with a bar open. We were really tired already and had only gone 5.5 km! We ate breakfast of coffee and a jamon serrano (cured ham) sandwich and felt a whole lot better. We continued on through more beautiful villages, crossed over two streams and went over two hills to arrive in Trinidad de Arre – a total of 18km. When we crossed the medieval bridge into the city, we saw the albergue and knocked on the arched door. A Marianista Brother greeted us, stamped our Credential, and gave us a tour of the building. Turns out it was a Pilgrim´s hospital in the 13th Century and was located next to a monastery. In the 17th Century, the two buildings were bought by a Confradia (like a group of fraternal people) and converted into one building. The hospital was made into the pilgrim´s albergue where we slept and the chapel is still there. The Cloister is also still there and the garden of the cloister is where we hung our wet clothes! Since Paul & I were the first married couple to check into the albergue, we were given a private room. Cool! There were 36 other beds in the albergue, 8 in one room for women only and the rest were coed. There was also a kitchen, living room, and a laundry area (with washing machine).
So far the whole Camino has been an amazing learning experience. We are thankful that we have stayed healthy and have been able to go even this far. We’re looking forward to the rest of this adventure.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Cabo Polonio, Uruguay - As rural as it gets!
April 13, 2009 I’m not sure we knew what we were getting into when we decided to visit Cabo Polonio on the east coast of Uruguay, just a few miles from Brazil. We left Montevideo on a public bus with just our 2 backpacks. We were told that it was a 3½ hour trip. We were looking forward to the ride because we had never been to that part of the world and didn’t really know what to expect. It turns out that much of the country looks a lot like Missouri and Illinois, but with a lot more sheep, a smattering of palm trees, eucalyptus forests, dirt roads and an occasional view of the ocean. After 4½ hours, the bus dropped us at the bus stop for Cabo Polonio (a stand made out of a few wooden poles). We walked across the road and saw a truck loading people on the back, so we bought a ticket and hopped on. There are no roads to Cabo Polonio, a village of 50 permanent residents, and the only way to get there is to walk or buy a ride on one of the shuttles that take you in over the 10 miles of sand dunes. The ride takes about 40 minutes, since the vehicle sometimes gets stuck. We arrived about 3PM and were surprised to see tons of people there. It was the Saturday of Holy Week and everyone was on their last day of vacation. There were beach bums in dread locks, temporary stands put up to sell shell jewelry and beachwear, a surf shop and a row of one room huts along a makeshift road. Was this the isolated get-away we had heard about?!? But by 6:30PM the town was almost empty, because everyone left before the lights went out, literally. There is no electricity! We had called the lady who owned the Mariemar Restaurant and asked if she had a room to rent, since there are also no hotels in the town. She agreed to let us rent a room above her restaurant for a couple of nights. Well, no surprise, the place was not a five star – or even a one star. But the view was incredible. From our window (no screen, even the glass didn’t meet up – so we had a nice ocean breeze going through the room all the time), you could see at least 4 miles up the pristine coast. And there wasn’t a building on it; just huge, beautiful sand dunes. Every time we wanted to complain about the room – like the bathroom drizzle shower that spit out about ½ cup of water per minute – we looked out the window and said, “Wow!” At dusk, the village started glowing with candles and the main activity was star-gazing and looking at the full moon. The next morning, we headed up the beach past the few people there and then it was just us - alone and barefoot on the beach. Yes, that’s why we came.
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