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.