Saturday, August 29, 2009

We will helicopter in!


























We will helicopter in!
It was a 6 hour drive to Dreger's cabin, snuggled between the pines and designed to capture view of the panoramic mountains rising from the shores of of Horn Lake. The drive was uneventful except for a forest fire we passed so close to be fogged in by smoke and feel the prickly heat. The action included a helicopter droning to the fire directly above us, delivering a huge water bag bomb. Gerry sped on as I documented the event by rapid clicking pictures like a drive by shootist.
Glenn and Di were used to outdoor drama. Glenn was seasoned to the outdoors, hunting and fishing for sport and a living when he was not teaching the sciences to reluctant and recalcitrant students in the juvenile correctional system. Glenn's life had been full of outdoor adventure, having close encounters with moose, bear and mountain lion which bordered on life threatening. His experience did not have the film crew back up of now popular, in the wild, reality TV shows.
Di also taught the sciences. Her genteel boarding school English background expressed itself in the beautiful botany of her gardens, her talent with water color art. Her love of the outdoors, and her ability to pitch in when a moose needs butchering makes Glen and Di a perfect fit.
Glenn had sketched a plan for our visit to include a resplendent hike in the adjacent Niuts in the Chocoltin area of British Columbia. We knew whatever Glenn planned would be special, but when he wrote, "we will helicopter in and hike out," time was needed to digest the implications. The indigestible part seemed to center around we will helicopter in. This idea stuck in Gerry's flat lander caw.
We slept well at the Dreger cabin that night, supported by the gentle sound of soft pine needles outside our window.
The next morning we arrived at the helicopter service, no security checks there. Mike, our pilot and owner, had a burly , competent look about him. In conversation we found out Mike had been the precision water bomber who flew over us the day before. WE small talked with Mike and his wife, Deborah, before take off. Deborah picked up something in Gerry's body language, which prompted her to ask, "Are you nervous?" Gerry's weak yes was two octaves higher than normal. Deborah assured Gerry that Mike was a top notch pilot. The preflight instructions were as follows. Upon leaving the aircraft, drop to one knee and stay low. The prop can drop to 5 feet. Hang on to all loose objects to keep them from being sucked into the fuselage. He added" That would be bad."
The flight was exhilarating. We rose above the tree line and were dropped in an area with breath-taking barren beauty. The plants have a bonsai quality, trained by mother nature to keep a low profile.
With experience and a GPS, Glenn picked the easiest route back. The seven hour hike was tiring, but worth the effort in views and experience. The only casualties were Glenn's great toenails that objected to the banging received during the steep part of the decent.
Safely back at the Dreger hideaway, the difficulty and strain of the day became pleasant exhaustion, washed away by a quick rinse in Lake Horn, cold Canadian beer and good company.

Bottom 2 photos were taken by Glenn.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Calakmul Xpujil








This are is one of my favorite parts of the Yucatan. We were there first last winter. It is filled with ruins which are little visited. There are new roads going to this area, but the tourists still have come very little.




I like the picture of the trees and dirt growing on the stairs of the Calakmul ruins because it shows how hidden the ruins are. Supposedly every mound one goes by in the Yucatan is most likely a ruin.The ruins in this area also have incredible detail.



We like to stay at Rio Bec Dreams when we are in this area. It is rustic, but very nice. It is owned by 2 Canadians, Rick and Diane. She is a great cook, another reason to stay there. (As like almost anywhere, there is not much good food in rural areas.) She is a bit touchy, however. We had changed our plans twice, but I always emailed her. Our first morning there, she brought us our bill and said “I have changed my plans and you have to leave.” Dave and I were quite startled. First we were rather angry, but decided we wanted to stay there and therefore a better tactic would be to talk with her a bit to change her mind. We did convince her to let us stay. By the end of the 3 days there, Rick was suggesting we build a cabana there of our own.



I think that is unlikely.



Thursday, January 29, 2009

Uxmal ruins
















We headed to Santa Elena to see the ruins at Uxmal. Santa Elena is a small town with few services. Vendors of the type in the photo are common. We had a pretty nice cabin in the town. The night sky was amazing.

Izamal, Yucatan birthday party

















We returned to the Hacienda Chalante on the edge of Izamal, where we have been twice before. We were invited to the owner, Diane’s, 70th birthday party. She had lived there for many years with her American, ex-military husband. She was widowed about 10 year ago and remarried a local, Victor. She is one of the few ex-patriots we have met who seems to have created a happy life for herself and lives in the new culture. It is also interesting that she is older thanher mother in law. Her mother in law is the woman in Mayan dress with the grandkids or great grandkids. They seem to really quiet down around her. Diane is in the cowboy hat in the middle picture with me and our travelling companions, Glenn and Di.
Another reason for the party was Diane's glass bottle church was completed.
The food was interesting- 2 courses of pork, many salsas and corn tortillas. Notmuch for Dave to eat.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Izamal, Yucatan












Izamal Jan20
We are in Izamal, the yellow city. Yesterday Dave decided we should all take a tour of the convent and church here. The guide was a young man who said he could speak English. However, all we could hear was an odd mix of English, Spanish, and then Mayan interspersed with perfectly clear dates. 1592!! However what the date referred to we had no idea. This must have been common as he herded us around with hands clicking and clapping.

Macan Che has a really nice pool intended to look like a cenote, the underground lakes common in the Yucatan.We are staying at Macan Che, a few blocks from the center of Izamal.
The photo is our cabin.
Friday we are off to stay at a near by hacienda.




Rio Lagartos, San Felipe












Rio Lagartos, San Felipe, jan 16
We arrived back in Cancun Friday and picked up our rental car. It appeared to be about the first time Speed Rental Car had rented a car, as they had 3 people working on the transaction. We sped off in our Nissan to the Gulf, north of Valladolid to a small town 12 km from Rio Lagartos, San Felipe. Our hotel is right on the water and we have wonderful views.





There are lots of herons about. The heron photo is a yellow crowned night heron in the mangrove .




We found flamingos, lots of them.
This was after we had had many boat operators try to convince us to go out in their boats to find them. Tourism is way down and they seem very discouraged. However, getting up at 630AM for a 2 and ½ hour choppy boat ride does not appeal to me a bit.
Tomorrow (Sunday) we are off to Izamal, the yellow city, for 6 nights. We have been there a few times before.

Isla Holbox











We had been talking about going to Isla Holbox for over a year, but always did not quite get there. It sounded wonderful, “like Isla Mujeres was 30 years ago” “filled with flamingos and other exotic birds.” The down side is that it is a 3 hour bus ride from Cancun and then a half hour ferry ride. We have also heard rumors of mosquitos and other unpleasant insects being about.
We finally arrived here today. It seems lovely. Quiet. There has been lots of building, but generally the hotels are empty. There have been 2 terrific storms today, so that will probably mean the insects are coming. Our golf cart cab driver said the insects hatch 3 days after the storms, the day we are leaving.



We lucked out and found a great room right on the beach. We are not sure what the
situation is here, but the hotel is unfinished. There is no ac and no hot water. The large restaurant is not open. But we have a huge beautiful room with 2 balconies and a huge wetland nearly adjacent. We can walk out a half block in the ocean and arrive at a large sand bar that extends for miles.



The island has been settled by Italians recently and there is wonderful Italian food.