Here and There Blog

After Machu Picchu, we took a private tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The tour had an unexpected detour to visit llamas and the opportunity to buy expensive llama clothes, blankets, etc. I learned that I am allergic to llamas. No clothes for me. The Sacred Valley is beautiful and the streets are a challenge to walk when it's rainy and muddy. We managed though and had a good day.

To help adjust to the altitude, everyone drinks Coka-Tea to get the blood flowing. The tag line for the tea is "No Es Droga" or it's not a drug. This stuff would sell well here, it's like the Red Bull of teas! Drink too much and you'll never sleep. No, I didn't risk bringing any back. Our arrival at Machu Picchu was quite impressive and we had every opportunity you could ever want for scenic photos without hundreds of tourists. During peak season, 3000 people per day arrive at Machu Picchu. I can't even imagine how they all get around each other on some of the trails.

Election Day means that no alcohol is served anywhere, not even in the private lounge of the hotel. It's as bad as Ramadan except you can eat. Luckily the hotel mini-bar still had the beer! After trying the Peruvian Cusquena, I decided that I'll stick to water and Coke Light.

More Lima - even in Peru, feeding the birds is a favorite activity for children. I'm not sure how this boy is going to handle the sudden frenzy of pigeons but he looks prepared. We arrived on Election Day. Everyone was out and about and the sqaures were crowded all over town. We must have been in the unpopular area to have a square to ourselves! This park overlooking the ocean is a tribute to Gaudi. There was a lot of Barcelona influence in the building of Lima. OB & L laughing at something that Homer just said or did. We're all trying to ignore the mime that is somewhere behind us. Yes, even in Peru, you can't escape mimes!

Photos from Lima: Every city has a rock. The view from the hotel window. Me and the Lima ocean. One thing that Lima has going for it are all the flowers. The entire city has flowers everywhere.

This morning is our last in Cusco. Now that I´m used to the place, it seems fairly easy to get around and I know enough not to run at 12,000 ft. anymore. Cusco is a long way from anywhere and I feel more remote here than most places that I´ve been to. It´s probably the trains, planes, and automobiles syndrome. This is the first place where I have buying power and I´ve bought nothing except magnets. But, sometimes, everything starts to look the same and there´s nothing that I want to buy. Mondo - even in Peru, you can hear Al. We were eating at a seaside cafe in Lima and next thing you know, Al´s music is coming over the speaker system. Some things are universal. Our flights have been an adventure. Some get canceled and rolled over into the next flight. The flight today is on-time but the flight before was canceled so our flight will be packed full. Eventually I´ll find a list that spells out the names of where we went yesterday because I really have no idea anymore. I guess it´s time ...

Yesterday we made it to Machu Picchu. It took 4 hours to get there and it was worth the train ride. The ruins and mountains are in a green valley, surrounded by only wilderness and the chain of tourists. Luckily for us, we made the right decision to hire a private guide to lead us around the place and give the history and significance of the ruins. Without her, we would have taken a few photos, walked around, and been there, done that. We ended up walking up and down and out to the Inca Bridge and along the Inca trail. The mountain face didn´t beckon and that was left to people who want to hang on a rockface cliff for fun. Then it was time for the 4 hours back to Cusco. A long way to go to see the home of the Inca Kings. Thanksgiving seemed better suited to a slower paced private tour of the Sacred Valley and we went everywhere. I couldn´t even begin to remember how to pronouce or spell the towns and Inca ruins but we were there. Photos when I return. Tonight we´ll have Thanksgiving d...

Today we moved from Lima to Cusco. It was a non-event until right before the flight, Brad looks at the reservation and mentions that it´s for Oct. 1. Silence. He waves the paper and once again tells us, I think our reservations were for Oct. 1. We look and mumble at him and pretend this tidbit of infomration just didn´t happen. After all, what could be done about it? We arrive 60 minutes later to Cusco and sure enough, our reservations were for 6 weeks ago. No rooms at that hotel. The hotel rep calls and repeats Oct. 1 over and over, then repeats our name. No, there is no mercy for computer resets of dates. Luckily, the hotel rep from another hotel that wasn´t sold out was listening to our plight. We ended up in a budget hotel (really budget) but at least we had rooms. Throw in a free taxi ride and our own personal travel agent and it seems like it will work out okay. Time will tell. My windows don´t close and there are no amenities. Ás long as it´s bug free, reasonably warm, and has h...

We're in Lima and enjoying the city. Our timing was bad since we arrived on election day and everything was mostly closed. We were able to catch a city tour and get a guided tour of everything that was closed but at least we were able to orient ourselves around. Since seafood is the specialty of Lima, we're doing our best to try it all. I think it's too heavy on the cream sauce but the food is good. Today we all ended up with a south of the equator sunburn that happens when the clouds are high and it's not hot. I thought it was going to be cold and raining but that's not the case. Everyone is paranoid about taxis and kidnappings here. We've been using the hotel taxis to get around. I don't know if the hotels are perpetuating this myth or what but if there are that many kidnappings, I don't see how the taxi drivers can stay in business and there are hundreds of them. Tomorrow we leave for Cusco. Now that the elections are over, maybe there won't be so...

We're off to Peru! So far, air traffic control shows no weather delays in the system. We'll get our exercise sprinting from the D concourse to the C concourse in Dallas. The connection is so tight we'll probably hear our names getting called over the speaker. I lucked out in St. Louis yesterday. A few hours after I left, a fire broke out in the AA terminal and stopped all the power and computer systems at the airport. Flights were canceled and people stranded. I'm glad I missed that mess!

No Snow! What a welcome sight to wake up to! The storm is gone and I should be home without worries on Friday. It looks like school will wrap up for me on Saturday and I can be laptop-less in Peru. I'm not sure if I can handle the separation anxiety but it must be done. I realized that it's been 17 months since I've been away from my laptop. It goes everywhere but Peru. Maybe it will even stay home when I go to Orlando in December!

Ah, St. Louis! Cold, rainy, windy enough to blow a person over, and boring. Yes, I'm back again and stressing over the fact that tonight's rain is turning to snow. Normally, I travel with my passport but for some reason I thought, I won't need it. It can wait until I get home. Now I think, "Crap! what if the airport closes? I have to go back to SD!" If worst came to worst, and I had my passport, I could always meet up directly with everyone in Miami on Saturday for Peru. Now, that option is out and I have to hope that the weather forecasters are wrong. It's dark when I get up and it's dark when I leave the office. For those of you in say, Utah, who might be wondering when I'm going back to Beirut, oddly, Beirut is wondering the same thing. Well it looks like February as promised! Two more days of St. Louis misery and then it's off to Peru!

I often mention that there is nothing to do in the Middle East. This is mostly true but if you live there, the favorite way to pass the time is to smoke flavored tobacco from water pipes. Known here as Hubbly Bubbly, over there as Shisha. (A side trivia note is that in Lebanese Arabic, Hubbly translates into Stupid. Hubbly Bubbly = Stupid Bubbles. Oddly appropriate.) Because so many of the countries ban alcohol or even mixed couple activities, smoking Shisha is about the only widely accepted social norm for after work. After a year of everyone asking me if I had tried it, and I kept telling them I don't smoke, I finally decided to take a puff so I could answer, "yes, and I didn't like it." Earlier this year I got it over with and the moment was recorded so I could back up my claim. Apple flavored tobacco still tastes like tobacco. I'm not sure of the allure but my duty was done and I can go back to the ranks of the happy non-shisha smoking masses. It's too bad...

Blogger in Beta issues. The system is showing "Unable to comply with request" for every post or deletion today. No movie review due to unexpected Friday night cancelation circumstances.

Another week of work, work, school, and work. These have to be the most boring parts of anyone's life. This week I hosted people from Canada and American Samoa. A typical week of hosting involves taking them to Mexico and reviewing operations there, followed by a long traditional Mexican dinner, followed by a two hour drive to Anaheim. The next day is full of US operations review, meetings, lots of driving, and a long California dinner. This repeats again on day three and all activities are part of discovery or preliminary business negotiations. The end result is that I am totally burnt out on Friday and spend the weekend writing papers as usual. Monday morning I leave for St. Louis for the rest of the week. Today is unpack and repack all in one. I might as well prepack another suitcase for Peru, then I can come home Friday, drop one bag on the floor and have the Saturday bag ready to go.

This week is one of those ones where I'm in California but staying in hotels because of work. I go from being on the road to still on the road. It's a never ending cycle. I'm sure there's a lot going on in the world but I'll be out of the loop until it's Saturday! Well, go Arnold! Go change in the government! Let's hope it all works out.

For the first time ever, I've made the top level on an airline! This isn't as easy to do as you might think. Even though I travel all the time, I end up on different airlines due to scheduling or price considerations. Now the challenge in 2007 will be to maintain the status. United Membership level 1K Year to date Elite Qualifying Miles 101,295

Something is always happening somewhere. I returned to London on Saturday to find out there were 20,000 people staging a protest in Trafalgar Square. What’s up with that? I can get that in the Middle East anytime but who needs all these people clogging up the tubes? All of the bus routes and tourist destinations were impacted by the protest. The cruise on the Thames will have to wait for another time. The British Pound exchange rate is really easy to figure out now. Just double the price and there’s the USD. Hotel Hoppa $8, Internet $30, a basic nothing meal $20. It’s hard to be a tourist here. I can’t overlook the main reason why I choose London for this trip - it allowed me to finally reach the top level of status on United Airlines! Now I have to hope UA manages to stay in business for another year so I can enjoy the benefits.

London has taken a turn for the colder since I left it a few days ago. It's 4:00 pm and sunset is only a few minutes away. I'm on an overnight stop before I travel back home on Sunday. I left Beirut early this morning and as I watched the city disappear from sight, I wondered as always, when will I be back? I can't speak for what it's like in the Southern Suburbs as I didn't go there. My friends tell me it's bad and those people are really struggling. There were random spots in Central Beirut that were reduced to rubble, especially the roads. Potholes on our roads have nothing on the damage that a bomb can do to a road. At Starbucks last night we all watched multiple amublances go by and wondered what happened. People are constantly looking around and aware of their surroundings. The laid back have a latte on the patio casual attitude is gone. The same thing happens but with an edge of awareness of everything and everyone around them.

I checked with student friendly Wikipedia on this one and found another meaning for Snook. "A small, private room of an old Irish pub, originally a place for women to drink and socialize during the time when this behavior would have been inappropriate." Ms. Kitty must have been channeling from a previous life in Ireland. Actually, quite a few people knew I was going to Lebanon. They just happen to be work related people. I thought I'd save it for blog surprise fun. No bombs yesterday.

Beirut is chaotic and unpredictable in the best of times with an energy and tempo that is energizing and refreshing. Post-war this has turned to an intense and almost frantic pace of life that is draining. To get to/from Beirut and the north, the route around the bombed out bridges can add 30 – 45 minutes easily to the drive. Picture a Sig-Alert in LA that takes drivers off the 101 and reroutes them through Malibu canyon and the coast road. That’s the daily commute for many. Roadblocks pop up unexpectedly and the military is everywhere. The more military, the more reason to go around a certain street. Driving down the main road, electricity goes out for no apparent reason and darkness prevails until the next power grid. Road rage is close to erupting here. All the frustration and anger at the uncertainty of life is vented out behind the wheel. There is no such thing as an easy drive anymore. The ocean is rough today with the swells from the recent storms. It’s as if even the tides are ...

Part 2 of my trip brings me to Beirut to visit friends and go out. As what has become my usual greeting in Lebanon, a bomb went off at a military outpost downtown and one person was killed. Without fail, everytime I come here there is something going on. Since I arrived after dark I couldn't get a sense of the damage from the war but what is noticible now are the military stops on the main roads in town. Once the bomb went off, the roadblocks increased from one police car to three. I would have to describe the mood as manic depressive here. People are fighting back by going out and defying the destruction of the war. At the same time, the bomb puts them right back on edge. It's 11:00 pm now and soon the streets will be empty. No one wants to risk being out late when there is a fresh reminder that internal trouble still exists. I'm safe, in the odd way that one is safe in a city anywhere. My hotel is away from Central Beirut and secure. Still, I didn't want to keep my fr...

Halloween Hooligans set off the fire alarm in the middle of the night. That was a rude 2:30 am wake-up just when I'd finally fallen asleep! We all went downstairs out into the cold. Some people were packed and ready to go, others still in nightshirts. I dressed and had passport and wallet in hand, just in case. But, false alarm. The funniest thing was that there was a black tie event going on and those people grabbed their champagne bottles and glasses and were still partying in the parking lot. Below: London is starting to decorate for Christmas but the lights aren't on yet. I bet it will look pretty once all the lights are on and the decorations are up. Another side street and some semi-famous historical church that somehow inspired Paul McCartney to write "I wanna hold your hand." (It was cold and I wasn't fully listening to the tour.) Mondo - I did have the crayfish sandwich last night and it was great! Bummer about the NYC Pret!