Cochin and the backwaters of Kerala

We spent a couple of days exploring various aspects of the famous Kerala backwaters. This brief amount of time gave us a peek in to a life that left me fascinated and hungry for more. I'm sure it's just romantic idealization, but given my love for the water, this area seemed like paradise: a spider web water system, ranging from small canals barely 6 feet wide to the Arabian sea; long handmade boats of teak, sewn together with coir rope (rope made from the coconut husk), and preserved with cashew oil; fruit, vegetables, coconuts and lots of fresh seafood; and the wonderful, friendly, welcoming people of Kerala, whose excellent English skills just make everything more fun and interesting.

Hopefully a few pictures will seal the deal and leave you want more as it did us. http://picasaweb.google.com/marksnewell/cochin#

Where the heck have we been?

Oh, my. Sorry we sort of fell of the planet this past month. After our last post we were sucked into the intensity which is India, then found ourselves in a 10 day silent meditation course, and later, deep in the remote west, where we were so foreign (alien, really) that families would mob us for our picture, and entire streets of people would stop to point and giggle at us. "Name?" and "Your country?" they would shout, those being the only bits of English they could mange. Somehow email and uploading files felt far far away.

We're thoroughly enjoying ourselves, and are becoming quite seasoned travelers here in "Incredible India" as the posters say. We can hold our own with even the most pushy rickshaw drivers – the true scoundrels of India. We can successfully navigate the public transportation systems, and I have managed to endure the public bus stand toilets without retching. We know the fair price for bananas, tiny and sweet, is 1 Rupee a piece (about 2 cents), but you have to bargain. We've learned that Anything Is Possible here in India. Some of the sights, sounds, and smells that were so shocking two months ago now seem rather normal…a large bull meandering into a beachside restaurant…a young boy sitting cross-legged on the back of his friend's bicycle as they bounce along a pot-holed road…a large, six foot deep man-eating hole on a major sidewalk in the metropolis of New Delhi…a herd of goats stopping traffic on a major highway, and the public bus driver swerving off the road and passing on the wrong side… The list goes on – we could fill pages of these crazy sights and experiences that are part of everyday life here. We love the richness and intensity of life here – the colors, the smells (wonderful and horrible), the textures, the tastes. It is easy to see now how people come here and never leave…or come back again and again.

Next on our agenda we're heading south to the state of Kerala. The landscape here in Goa is green, lush, and tropical; Kerala should be more of the same. We hope to venture into the mountains of Kerala as well, where beautiful tea plantations stretch for miles. We leave India from Kolkata (Calcutta) on December 28^th, and head towards Thailand. We're not sure what our plans are after that, we're still formulating them. We're not sure when we're coming home…but we will, we miss you all horribly.

Om Beach and Goa

Nov 26-28 and Dec 2–11
http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/HampiTheBeachesAgondaOm#
Originally we weren't planning to stop in Goa, but it was just too convenient a stop on our way to Hampi (see below) to say no to the white sand, warm water, and relaxing beach life style. We decided to steer clear of the super touristy parts of Goa, and made a bee line to the quite beaches of Agonda and Om Beach (named so because the beach line is shaped like the Om symbol). Did you know that the Goa of the late 90's – the all night techno parties under the full moon – is all but gone? Yup – the government cracked down big time, as the hippy/drug/party organizing crowd couldn't afford the steep bribes the government was asking, and in the end high-end tourism had the bigger wallet. Most of Goa is now more like Cancun than India. What a shame. Some towns even have bans on loud music after 10pm, and some clubs now offer "silent discos" where all the dancers wear wireless headsets and groove to a silent beat.

We managed to find two idyllic out-of-the-way beaches to relax, eat lots of fish, and swim for countless hours a day. We were horrified to realize that we hadn't been swimming in nature since last December when we went to Belize! (Yes, we did spend a month ON the water this August kayaking, but the water was so cold we only bathed – no swimming). I had not been feeling well since we were in Gujarat – low energy, no appetite, nauseous at times – and finally, three days ago, came down with my first real tummy bug of the trip. Om Beach was a good place to recover and eat bland tourist food for a few days.

Hampi

Nov 29 – 2

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/HampiTheBeachesAgondaOm#

Hampi has to be one of the most recommended destinations by fellow travelers, enough so that we added it to our plans. We were not disappointed. The site reminds me of Joshua Tree with massive rounded granite boulders strewn about, only here there are hundreds of temples, some dating back more than a thousand years, dotting the landscape. It's an epic place, and in its day is said to have rivaled any of the most magnificent European cities, including Rome. We found the 'scene' to be quite relaxed and loved the feeling at our guesthouse, the Goan Corner. Picture a slackline strung between a few palms, a view out on to rice fields in the process of being harvested and backed by a stunning ridge of orange boulders the size of houses, and the warm glow of sunset and tanned bodies. Hampi is super big with rock climbers who flock here for the phenomenal bouldering. In the evenings a family atmosphere pervades and stories are shared.

Our days in Hampi were quite warm as we ventured out to visit some of temple ruins. A river cuts through one side of Hampi and is still plied by the traditional woven round basket 'boat'. Dara and I rented a moped as a heat beating strategy and had a blast tootling around in this ancient, surreal land.

Gujarat & Bhuj

Nov 20 – 25

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/Kutch#
One of our most interesting days in Kutch, the western region of Gujarat state, was a full day of exploring several villages outside the city of Bhuj. We arranged a guide/rickshaw driver, Barat, who was such a sweet soul; we enjoyed our day with him immensely. We traveled along narrow bumpy single track roads through bushy, dry terrain dotted with the occasional plots of cotton and castor oil. We stopped in a large village with a huge contemporary Hindu Swaminaraya temple – so colorful and unlike other Hindu temples. Next we visited a small settlement where a tribal family (father and two sons and their wives) were weaving shawls and blankets. The colorful work was done on large looms similar in size to a grand piano. The family was in its fifth and sixth generation of weaving. Next on our tour with Barat was a visit to an extremely poor village. I find it difficult to describe my experience except that I was humbled by the welcome we received and uncomfortable in the contrast of knowing how fortunate my life is to have no want for food, access to good water and a wonderful home to go back to, not to mention the privilege of education, great jobs and unheard of recreational and leisure opportunities. Poverty can be found everywhere in India, but this was perhaps the first time we had sat in the homes or kitchens long enough for me to really take it in. These people seemed to have so little opportunity to improve their lives that it is likely that the same situation would continue for their children and grandchildren. The experience for me wasn't sad, though seeing the face of a very young girl, perhaps a year old, so covered in flies that she was clearly overwhelmed was very heart wrenching. Overall I found the visit sobering and something that will stay with me for a long time. I'm still left wondering what kind of assistance or access to resources would be helpful or appropriate and I don't think there are any easy answers. I have a new found appreciation for the challenges of community and economic development in such poor areas.

Many of the homes we visited were constructed from adobe-like earth bricks, and plastered with a sand, clay and cow dung mixture. Having studied and worked on cob buildings (cob is the English name for a building technique using clay, sand and straw, and can be found many places in Europe) it was very interesting to me to see similar technology being used in the dry regions of India. Kutch experienced a major earthquake in January 2001, when 20,000 people died and over 1.2 million homes were destroyed. The man who built these buildings said they were unmolested by the earthquake, save minor cracking, but I don't believe this to be true for all these adobe based buildings.
After lunch in the home of a friend of Barat's, we stopped at the workshop of a family of traditional bell makers. Dara and I fell in love with these melodious bells, once used for livestock, and brought some home with us. The next stop was in the home of a family of Rogan artists, an art form based on oil painting on fabric. This family of seven artisans is said to be the only remaining people who know this art form. We found it to be quite stunning. Our final stop of the day was a Rabari village that made lacquer ware. We were treated to a demonstration of wood turning using a bow to make a wooden spoon, which is then decorated with multiple layers of color.

It was a long and full day and on reflection, left me with a deep appreciation for the traditions and craftwork that have continued for generations, and grateful that in our modern world these crafts continue to be a source of livelihood and pride.

Udaipur

Nov 17 – 19

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/Udaipur#

Ah, the most romantic city in India and home of the famous "Lake Palace" from the James Bond film Octopussy. We decided to bypass most of the state of Rajasthan because it is so mobbed by tourists – but this gem we had to see. Udaipur is truly a charming city, and as soon as we arrived I wished we could stay longer.

Our hotel was in a beautiful old 'haveli' – a traditional home that used to house palace staff. One of the many irritations of traveling in India is that more often than not you have to fight with your rickshaw driver to arrive at the hotel you want – they try to drive you to a hotel which will pay them commission for delivering you. Even though our driver was very friendly and spoke great English – he still managed to take us to a different hotel, although we told him not to three times. In any case, we finally made it to the hotel of our choice, and loved it, thoroughly enjoying the roof-top restaurant with amazing views of the lake and surrounding hills. We spent our days here exploring old royal palaces, haggling with the merchants for the goodies we were shopping for, and taking in the beautiful surroundings. A day into our stay here I started feeling a bit ill – no serious problems, just low energy and feeling a bit nauseous (no, I am NOT pregnant!). I spent a day in bed reading, and Mark went on his own adventures – hopping on a shared auto rickshaw and heading out to see some farther out sights. He got a wee bit lost, but managed to befriend two school girls who escorted him back to where he was headed, all for the mere price of two pens (this is a common tactic of many kids in India – they try their darnedest to beg a Rupee, a chocolate, or a pen out of every tourist they come across). These two earned their pens, however – Mark was grateful for their help.

The Taj Mahal

Nov 16

We knew it was a trap, but there was no avoiding it. The Taj Mahal has to be the most enchanting structure of our time and Agra (where the Taj is located), perhaps the largest tourist trap in India. Still, the balance, simplicity, beauty and scale are just perfect. The story of its genesis doesn't hurt either, built as a symbol of the Emperor's love for his wife who died bearing their 14^th child. "Agra is the city of love" proclaimed the rickshaw driver, the chai walla, and the money changer tout.

As much as travelers complain about Agra, we found the city to be quite welcoming and charming. We spent almost five hours taking in the Taj, and enjoyed the spectacular people watching and interacting with tourist from all over India, who seemed to find us as fascinating as we found them. Hanging out on the cooler river-side of the central mausoleum we admired the colorful saris and acquiesced to picture requests.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/DhammasotaAndAgra#

Meditation Boot- Camp: Ten Days of Vipassana Meditation

Nov 4 - 15

We were inspired first by our guru Nigel O J and then again by our travel buddies Nick and Kate (from our trek in Darjeeling) to take a 10 day Vipassana meditation course here in India. It was incredibly powerful, and possibly one of the hardest things I've done in a long time.

Vipassana meditation is meant to sharpen your mind, reduce your stress, and teaches tools to become aware of your body and your emotions, and more in control of your reactions to things in life, thereby (and this takes lots of practice) reducing the amount of pain and suffering you create for yourself by fretting when things don't go your way. This practice, while non-sectarian, has strong Buddhist principles, and centers on understanding that nothing in life is permanent – things are constantly changing.

Vipassana is a silent meditation, and male and female participants are separated, so Mark and I spent 10 days on the same campus with 90 or so other students, but didn't speak a word to one another or anyone else. This may sound difficult, but in fact the silence was the easiest part of the experience.

This all sounds nice and relaxing, right…so why was it so hard? Try sitting cross-legged for ten and a half hours a day, and tell me what you think! We would start our day at 4am, and didn't finish our "studies" until 9:30pm, and only had 3 hours of personal time crammed in there along with short times to eat our two meals a day. It felt like prison for the first three days, and at times I felt like rebelling and walking out. But then something powerful happened on the fourth day; I managed – despite the excruciating pain emanating from my hamstrings – to actually control my reactions, and not shift my posture for one full hour, even though my brain was telling me to. It is difficult to convey the power and meaning of this practice in words – I'm really not doing it justice. I will say that it was one of the most powerful experiences I've had in a long time – and the shift I feel is well worth enduring the unpleasant aspects of the course.

Varanasi

Oct 25 – Nov 3

Varanasi was a major reason I wanted to come to India. Said to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, it exudes something magical. On our first morning in Varanasi, after the night train from Siliguri dropped us off around 5 am, we checked in, dropped our packs and headed for the river. The city from the water is mesmerizing. Floating on the Ganges and taking in the full city, it's easy to imagine what it must have looked like hundreds of years ago. The architecture is an organic mix of ancient and new, half of which seem to be strangely uninhabited. Scattered along the shore are palaces, built by kings, rajas and princes from all over India. From the river, the buildings seem stacked on each other, broken up by hundreds if not thousands of temples. Every home has its own temple, some small, some huge. And then there are, of course, the Ghats, long steps that lead to the river, covered with temples and shrines. This is the public space that prayers as old as the city take place. That morning, as the sun rose at our backs, lighting up the city, we watched activities as old as time take place – prayers and offerings to Shiva followed by holy dips (or swims) in the river, then daily bathing and clothes washing. For Dara and I, this time in Varanasi demonstrated devotion unlike anything else we had ever experienced.

We took a guest house set right on the river and spent the majority of our 8 days soaking in the experience. We flew kites, played music, watched boats being built and bodies being burned. We became experts at dickering with the touts, dodging the masseurs, and navigating the rabbit warren of alleys and streets that back up to the river. It was here that I came down with my first (and only so far) stomach bug that laid me low for a few days. Fortunately I recovered before the major Varanasi festival, Deepdawali. This festival brought pilgrims from all over India, with thousands sleeping on the Ghats in the last few days. The highlight was the lantern festival in which every square foot of the river bank/Ghats, including the vertical surfaces, were covered in small oil lamps. You can image hundreds of thousands of warm glowing candles as far as you can see up and down the river. In the week leading up to this evening, people described this festival 'as if you were in heaven'. While not exactly my picture of heaven, it was absolutely stunning. We both felt so fortunate to be here, at this time and together, to share this experience.
http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/Varanasi#

Sikkim

Oct. 18 - 25

We traveled north from Darjeeling to the state of Sikkim – the mecca for high altitude hiking in the Himalayas. We were quite impressed with our trek out of Darjeeling, so we didn't feel the need to pay the high permit prices to go on another serious trek in Sikkim. We also were not geared up to trek above 12,000 feet, so we decided lower hikes would be just fine. We spent one day in Gangtok, the capitol of the state, then headed out on another long and bumpy jeep ride to soak up some of the tranquil beauty of Sikkim: small villages, Tibetan monasteries, amazingly friendly people, and a landscape that varied from dense forests to jungle bamboo groves to rice paddies to raging rivers. We befriended an enthusiastic Russian woman named Julia; the three of us went on a great three day trek. Sometimes our trail led us right through someone's chicken pen or vegetable garden. At times we were lost, but saying the name of the village we were looking for would get us pointed in the right direction.
http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/SikkimAmdSiliguri#

Travel to Gangtok

Oct 18, 2009

Down down down down, smoking brakes, squealing tires. Fortunately our driver is good; he wears a t-shirt that says "I'm Professional". Dara and I sit facing each other in the back of his jeep, seats 11 and 12, with an excellent view of where we've been. We escaped the congestion of Darjeeling and the honking is a little less incessant, but just a little. Racing on the winding road reminds me of James Bond chase scenes. In this scene, we are being chased by an apparently evil mini-bus taxi. The following taxi weaves in and out of view. Slowly we pull away from the taxi, and eventually leave him in our dust and diesel exhaust. We are safe, in the hands of our professional. We overtake cars, jeeps, government trucks, as we zoom through vertical tea plantations. The road winds back on itself, at culminating in an honest-to-god corkscrew turn of over 540 degrees. At last we reach the bottom, where a huge glacial river flows by. We follow it for a while, marveling at the massive, Grand Canyon like white water.

We stop for a meal break just before sunset. Our driver disappears and we stand a little dazed in the middle of a tiny town. We eat veg momos and a noodle dish. We discover Frooti, a mango juice pack, and buy a second one because they taste so great. Our driver reappears and we load up. He honks until the last passenger hops in. We zoom off again. As we leave the town, darkness closes in. The small oil lamp lights of Diwalli are being lit and feel. Along the river, the air is heavy, damp and warm. Darkness closes in, the last light in the sky reflects on the river and I feel so fortunate to be having such an adventure with my sweetheart.

Trekking in the Himalayas

Pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/DarjeelingTrek#

One of the things I love the most about traveling is having no agenda, and deciding things on a whim, just because. We had one of those moments on our third day in Darjeeling. We had met some nice travelers in the café the previous day, and ran into them again the following morning in the market. They mentioned they were leaving for a trek in the nearby mountains the following morning, and invited us to join. Why not? So we shuffled our plans around and decided to join them on the 5 day walk through the Himalayas along the Singalila ridge bordering Nepal – offering stunning views of two the three highest mountains in the world; Mt. Everest and Kanchenjunga, both over 28,000 feet high.
After renting a down jacket (for me) and a raincoat (for Mark) – both for the whopping cost of $0.75 a day - we headed out on our adventure with Nick (Scottish) and Kate (Aussie), our new found friends from Glenary’s coffee shop. Our trip started out with a cramped, bouncy 2 hour jeep ride to Maneybhanjang, where we were required to hire a local guide to walk with us along our trek. After a bit of negotiating, we hired Umess, a local Nepalese man, and headed off on the trail.

Having just come from the Italian Dolomites, I had in my mind that our hike would be similarly barren and rocky, given the elevation. Boy was I wrong. Even though our trail kept us somewhere between 9,000 and almost 11,000 feet elevation, we hiked through lush, dense forests of pine trees, bamboo, enormous rhododendrons that covered entire mountainsides, and greenery and ferns that make the Olympic Peninsula seem average. About every two hours or so we would happen upon a small village or collection of houses, and occasionally we’d stop for a cup of hot, sweet chai or a hearty lunch. Our trailed weaved in and out of Nepal, and most of the villages we came upon were Tibetan.
Each night we would stay in a rustic mountain lodge, where we would find hard beds, blankets, and warm hearty meals for dinner and breakfast, but not much else in terms of amenities – some didn’t have electricity or heat. Our first night we stayed in a cute family run lodge that had lots of bright flowers in the garden, and nice touches of coziness inside, but our following two nights were spent in “government trekker huts” which were pretty dismal – cold, dirty, and uninviting – which made going to bed at 8pm seem pretty appealing. The food, however, was delicious – rice, dal, fried mixed vegetables, chapatti (little flat breads) and tea. Most of the cooking in these smaller village homes is done over open fire, inside the home, so it is really smoky and the ceilings are black with soot.

All in all it was a wonderful 5 days, and the views of the mountains from the highest point of our trek, Phalut, just under 11,000 feet, made the hard beds, skanky squat toilets, and frigid nights well worth it in the end. Our first two days were spent hiking in clouds, so on the third and fourth mornings, when we woke at first light to see the mountains, we were stunned with the views. I think we all underestimated how powerful it would be to see two of the three highest mountains in the world. Our views of Kanchenjunga, just shy of Mt. Everest in height by a few hundred meters, were heart-stopping.
It was also fun to make two new friends, and get a glimpse of what life is like for them. Right before our adventure together, Nick and Kate had spontaneously decided to get married in Thailand in two weeks time, so our days with them had a celebratory buzz of anticipation, excitement, and sharing of wedding tales (we have a few of our own…as you know!) J

Darjeeling

We have arrived in India, the official second part of our international travel. Today is Oct 10, Saturday (night). We thought we would be here a few days ago but, silly us, we missed our flight. We really missed it, by about 24 hours. Somehow we both had in it in our minds that our flight was on Oct 5, but that was the day that we were to arrive in India. We discovered this in route from Sienna to Milan, long after our scheduled flight had left. We spent several frantic hours fretting about the possible impacts, especially after the airline told us that a ticket for that day was e1850, or around 2700 USD, per person. STA Travel solved the problem for the relatively cheap cost of $437 for the two of us. Yea STA! The reroute was two days later and involved a 9hr layover in Dubai and an overnight stay in Delhi. Five days later, we here, and thrilled to be in India.
For me, it’s very exciting. I’ve probably been interested in seeing India since the early 90’s and being here is certainly meeting my expectations.
The big obvious first observation…in some ways things are a little crazy here, in a fun, new culture sort of way, especially things like driving and standing in lines. For instance, when we went through passport control at the New Delhi airport, people seem to add themselves to the side of any line and fill in any space that might appear as unoccupied. Those whose wait was made longer by this seemed unfazed. Similarly, little is orderly about driving. There seem to be just a few, flexible rules on the road, but otherwise one can be anywhere, in any the lane, and occupy any space. Whoever is in front has the right of way. Cars move around each other a lot and honk to request some else move out of the way or just to let someone know they are overtaking them. It seems pretty wild to me, and at times it appears that it is for the drivers as well. Several times I noticed two drivers breaking in to smiles after a particularly close encounter. I can’t imagine driving here. There will probably be lots of observations like this, but hey, that’s part of what travel is about, noticing what I notice.
Our drive up to Darjeeling was a four hour drive along a bumpy, partially washed out, single lane road, in a diesel jeep. Our driver, like most others, was quite skilled and navigated around endless people, cars, dogs, chickens, trains (!), and huge potholes for hours. I was exhausted just watching.
Darjeeling is at about 6500 feet, and the temp is brisk. It’s a relief from the humid plains that we left. At times it can be cold, especially when a cloud moves through the city. Both Dara and I have colds, so perhaps we’re sensitive to the cooler temperatures. The clouds are constantly unveiling and covering the views around us, but from what I can see, we’re on a ridge top, with stunning views in all directions. Tea plantations and forest spread out in all directions. We’re in the foothills of the Himalayas and apparently when it’s clear, one can see Everest from a nearby view point.
We arrived just after dark yesterday, found a quiet place called Andy’s Guesthouse with great views and a good vibe. We had a really fun dinner were Dara basically picked some random things off the menu. They were delicious and I think we are in for some great food, and a real education. I think we recognized about five words on the menu.
There was a music performance going on in the main square that people were excited about and lots of people were dancing.
We slept in today until noon, still fighting off colds, then spent a leisurely time watching the clouds at a small coffee house with tremendous views. While there we struck up a conversation with some other travelers who filled us in on using the trains, and gave us some advice on finding yoga and meditation in Rishikesh and lodging in Varanasi. One of the travelers gave us a small book on customs and etiquette in India, so we’ll share anything important that we learn.
We’re here for at least three more days and perhaps more, before moving north in to the state of Sikim. We are considering a short trek in the nearby mountains, so we may be here longer.

Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/DarjeelingTrek#

Bicycle Touring and Wine Tasting in Siena, Tuscany

Pictures - http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/SienaTheRoadOfTheBlackCock#

We arrived in Siena on Tuesday (9/29) afternoon. After a hilarious adventure on bus 3 getting from the train station to the city center, we climbed up to Piazza del Campo, the heart of Siena. The plaza was filled with people enjoying the sunny afternoon. The plaza is unique so far in that it has a gentle slope, making for a dynamic view.

We found relatively cheap accommodations in the Albergo Tre Donella, just off the del Campo, at e49 for a double. The accommodations were the recommendation of tourist office that is right on the Plaza, who has been most helpful and friendly. Dara and I explored the city and had a romantic pizza dinner with a view of the Duomo, the primary church of the city. It's a funny thing how most of the waiters in central Italy seem to have a distracted and disengaged air about them. Maybe they are just tired of dealing with tourists like us who don't speak any Italian.

Siena is especially wonderful at night. The winding, ancient streets are quiet and the weather is that perfect 70-75 deg. F. It seems there must be a tremendous amount of day visitors that leave the center after the evening. The exception for us was Saturday night, perhaps because of a big celebration that took place in the main square. Oh, the window shopping is pretty entertaining as well; well lit shoes, bags and purple clothing.

We've had a special guest, Cyn Taylor, with us for the past four days. We've spent three of those days bicycling in the Tuscan countryside. Our plan was to ride from winery to winery over the rolling country side. What we've found has been fairly steep to very steep hills, and very few open wineries. Still the Chianti region has been spectacular and we have had a wonderful time and we managed to taste at least one winery a day. The first day we bussed to Castellina in Chianti, 30-40 minutes from Siena. Castellina has a wonderful tourist office that rents bikes for e10 for a half day. We rented bikes, had an amazing picnic from a gastronomica (a deli), including some pesto that was to die for. From there we rolled down a steep hill to our first winery, Castelari. Being in Chianti country means that we have Chianti Classico (Chianti that's from the Chianti region) and Chianti Classico Reserve, a slightly different blend that is aged for two years. The other big wine in the area seems to be the Super Tuscan. I love how the Italians say Super – 'Sooupair', it sounds so…exciting. Super Tuscans were big wines, though not all the wineries we tried were overly successful with their efforts. After wandering through a few closed wineries and up a long 'white road', a quite rough, un-paved road through grapes and olives, we completed a loop and our first day of cycling in Tuscany.

The second day we rented bikes in Siena and bussed out to Radda in Chianti. We picnicked in the park just outside the old city wall, then did an ambitious loop starting with a fun ride down from Radda in to a valley, up one mountain, across to another, then back down the valley and back up to Radda. It was tough work but oh so worth it, despite the strange road rally racers in Mitsubishi SUVs. Near the top of the first mountain we stopped in at Volpaia, a fortified village built in the 1100s. This village apparently has continuously produced wine, honey, grappa, olive oil and vinegar since its founding. We tasted the wine and olive oil. I give their Super Tuscan high marks. We explored the tiny village and got to see some of the grape crush in action, or at least grape skins be ejected from the extractor in to a cart headed for the grappa making part of the village. After another white road experience to gain further elevation, we traversed over to another castle/estate. At that point we were short on time (to catch the last bus back to Siena from Radda) and worried about the climb back in to Radda, so pictures had to suffice. We made it in time for the bus, and even had a few extra minutes to grab gelato and more yummy discoveries from the Italian deli (Cyn got a little carried away).

Italy – Dolomites and beyond

September 2009

Pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/Dolomiti#

We traveled to Italy to hike the "Alta Via 2", a 12 day traverse through the Dolomites, trekking from hut to hut, in northeast of the country. This is a spectacular area – very dramatic, jagged mountains - and our trip was even more incredible than we expected, although we had to shorten our hike to only 8 days because too many of the mountain huts were closing for the season.

We started from a small town called Bressanone, an area that feels more like Austria or Germany than it does Italy – they speak German, the food is German, the architecture looks German, and everything is so orderly and clean. In fact almost all the huts on our trek were German speaking, and served hearty German meals – sausage, weissbeer, big doughy dumpling type things in soup, wild mushrooms with polenta, schnitzel, etc. I was surprised to find that my German was decent enough to get by most of the time.

The first day we hiked though dense forest and beautiful rolling green pastures with sheep and cows nibbling away. After a grueling 4,500 foot climb in a few hours (ouch), we arrived at our first mountain hut, Rifugio Plose, at 7, 338 feet. We weren't quite sure if it was the climb, the jet lag, the altitude, or the huge German beer that made us so tired (most likely a combination of all these things) and made staying awake until 8pm really challenging, but we managed.

The next morning we had our first peek at what was in store for us over the coming days – we awoke to the Dolomites in their full glory – high, jagged, dramatic peaks dotted with lush pine forests and green rolling valleys. Each day throughout our hike we were sure we'd seen the most dramatic set of mountains…but they just kept getting better and more outrageous as we went along.

Most days we hiked between 4 and 8 hours, starting early each day, as the refugios have a set time that they serve breakfast and clean the dorm rooms. Typically we would arrive at the next hut with time to explore, read, and drink a big beer before dinner at 6:30. The weather was nice but cold – we were glad we brought along our warm hiking clothes. The huts – which were really more like lodges, built of stone and often sleeping 50 to 80 people – provided plenty of warm blankets for their dorm-style beds, so we didn't need to carry anything but our clothes. Heating in the huts was usually just in the main dining room where everyone would hang out, so the bedrooms were really cold. Many of the huts are so high and remote that they receive their supplies via helicopter – which helps explain the prices – not cheap when you're used to camping in the mountains for free. We typically paid around 80 Euro ($120 USD) for two dorm beds, a hearty dinner, two beers, and breakfast the next day (which almost always consisted of coffee, and sliced bread or rolls with jam, honey, nutella, and some creepy meat-type paste.)

Each day we would look back over the terrain we had covered, and were astounded at the distances we covered and the massive mountains that we walked through. This region has an extensive trail system, and many ski lifts (mostly only operating in winter) and quaint mountain huts all over the place. These trails see a lot of hikers, but still feel remote and wild. And how cool is it to stop in at a cute little hut for a double shot of espresso before you climb the next hill?

We had to throw in the towel early, as many of the huts closed on September 20^th, and we were faced with a very challenging day (16 hours of nonstop hiking at high altitude) with no hut to sleep in. We were a little disappointed, but were grateful (and pretty tired at that point) for what we had been able to accomplish. And ending our hike early only meant that we'd spend more time somewhere else in Italy gorging ourselves on pizza, pasta and gelato…so we couldn't complain!

We ended up having to hitchhike out of the little town we ended up in – which took a few hours, but we managed to catch a ride from a lovely young geologist from Turin. That afternoon we headed to Verona for a night, then continued on to Ravenna for a few days, then dropped into Florence for a day on our way to Siena.

Spirit Bear Sea Kayak Trip

Check out our pictures of this trip on Picasa at: http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkSNewell/2009818SpiritBearSlideshow

JULY 2009
This is it, our big Honeymoon adventure and series of trips one or both of us have always wanted to do. With Mark done with school (MBA in Sustainable Business from BGI), and family plans in the future, it seemed to us that now is the right time to travel together. I left my job with Bike Works on July 15th after three and a half years leading the dynamic, growing organization.

The first part of our adventure was kayaking in the Spirit Bear area of northwestern British Columbia. It is a section of the coast 80-100 miles long about 100 miles south of the BC/Alaska boarder. It is unique for many reasons, one being that the Queen Charlotte islands, about 80 miles off shore, provide some protection from the open Pacific swell, allowing for access to a rugged coastline without gnarly surf landings. In total our trip was 21 days on the water, and covered roughly 200 miles of remote, rugged coast. A long time friend of ours, Mark Leek, joined us on the first half of our trip is Mark Leek (we highly recommend him as a honeymoon partner anytime!)

We’d hoped to blog about this in detail, but here we’ll only provide a summary – you’ll have to get all the juicy stories, if you haven’t already, when you see us next. The trip was truly amazing. The weather couldn’t have been better – we were expecting lots of rain and cold days, and most of our trip was warm and sunny; some days we joked that it felt like Baja, not BC. This trip proved to be a powerful way for us to start our big adventure – after so much craziness with Mark finishing school and me leaving Bike Works, it was rejuvenating to unplug from the world, and immerse ourselves in nature. We felt connected to the tides, the moon, the eagles, and the jumping salmon. We were graced to see three wolves and lots of whales. We ate like kings, had lots of fun baking in our new Dutch Oven, and enjoyed the fresh squeezed margaritas that Mark Leek managed to pack in his boat. We returned with such an incredible sense of peacefulness, and felt ready to jump into our next adventures together.

Techi mom sent me this from her iPhone. It's the ranch, green hills, a low fog bank, pre-sunset color (given the shadow on the lawn). New blooms on the aloe. Makes me happy to look at it.