Many hundred of km´s, a twelve hour day and a 6 hour detour and we are in Chiloe. We tookl off early from Pucon bright and early, and headed for the argentinian border. After driving through some of the most gorgeous scenery yet and snapping som incredible landscapes, we arrived, this was it, our passports were stamped and we were going to log another ountry in the travelled to books. Or so we thought. Immigration asks for our Authorizations papers for the car we are driving. We pull our everything we have, but we don´t have one. Apparently you ned different insurance and an official release from the rental agency to leave the country with the car, howver temporary it may be.
So we get sent packing, back 40 km on a seriously rough, albeit beautiful, dirt road to try and get the papers we need to continue south. After almost 20 bucks in phone calls we find uot that its an extra $400 for the verification and it would take 2 days. This information talters our plans entirely. We decide to cut our losses and get as far south while staying in Chile as we can, and that means heading south through the island of Chiloe, then another ferry to the mainland and some dirt road driving. Unfortunatly, our passports hav been stamped as having entered Argentina, and our tourist papers taken. This means yet another trip back to th border to have that info reversed, or we wouldn´t be laving Chile.
On the positive side, even if you drive a really shitty dirt road back and forth four times, for like 200 km, your hands numb from the vibrations, when the backdrop is glacier capped volcanoes and huge blue lagoons and black volcanic sand beaches, the backtracking doesn´t seem nearly as bad.
After a nice meal at a nearby stop, we headed towards Chiloe, bracing ourselves for a long ass day. It was 2:00 pm and I made it to about 3:30 and couldn´t kep my eyes open. An hour roadside powernap seriously recharged both us, and the stink in the car, and we headed off again. Many hours of driving, and a very close to running empty close call, we were on a half hour ferry for Chiloe, and we booked into a gorgeous little hostel on the shore at aroudn 10 PM.
The only place w were sure was open was this one table place, so got some hotdogs and a bottle of wine, and decided to check our the local fair for a bit. Geofy wuold have loved this one ride we watched, as it wan´t even fun, it just set ut to make sure everyone on it got hurt. It looked like a really toned down gravitron that was totally open on all sides and tilted up on one side, however the tiltin was more like a bounce up and down enough so people could almost fly out, and the spining was too slow to hold you in tour seat at all... and there was neither neatbelts or anything to hold on to. Basically everyone on it was getting tossed into the middle and sliding across the whole floor while being bounced around until they lammed into the hard wall on the other side, it was pretty unbelievable actually, and entertained us for a while.
Since 14 hour days tire you out we headed back to the place and rested up pretty early, so we could cover more territory the next day.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Trials and Tribulations on a Road Less Traveled.
So my title is two cliches, wanna fight about it?
After spending a night at "the river" and "the mountain", drinking about 2 bottles of vino tinto in public (each) and having our first run in with chilean cops, we headed further south. (Note: cops here aren´t dicks like back home, and being a gringo with a local who can talk to them about how you are just tranquillo and hanging with them so its okay, actually works.)
Our second road trip day went off without a hitch, though we logged many more a mile. We ended up in a gorgeous city called Pucon. This is yet another town flanked with a gorgeous snow peacked mountain and glacial lake that glows that beautifully eire colour of blue. Did some mountain biking, ate some good food, finally, and met a bunch of amazing people and had a few drinks and a most offensive conversation about scientology. I´m pretty sure I´m on their list because there was an american woman giving me the death stare for about 4 hours while we talked and I explained what they actually believe.
We then Left for Argentina, but thats a story deserving its own entry entirely. More later today.
After spending a night at "the river" and "the mountain", drinking about 2 bottles of vino tinto in public (each) and having our first run in with chilean cops, we headed further south. (Note: cops here aren´t dicks like back home, and being a gringo with a local who can talk to them about how you are just tranquillo and hanging with them so its okay, actually works.)
Our second road trip day went off without a hitch, though we logged many more a mile. We ended up in a gorgeous city called Pucon. This is yet another town flanked with a gorgeous snow peacked mountain and glacial lake that glows that beautifully eire colour of blue. Did some mountain biking, ate some good food, finally, and met a bunch of amazing people and had a few drinks and a most offensive conversation about scientology. I´m pretty sure I´m on their list because there was an american woman giving me the death stare for about 4 hours while we talked and I explained what they actually believe.
We then Left for Argentina, but thats a story deserving its own entry entirely. More later today.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Road Trips in foreign countries are the best idea ever.
First the bad news....LAN airways sucks and the schedules to crn island are impossible to work around, not to mention the flights are rediculously expensive, as in over a grand US. Also, the flights within Chile are rediculous too, so there shant be fgflying anywhere but home.
The good news. Matty and I went out on a limb and rented a car for two weeks. Got a free upgrade to a beautiful 4 door fiat, oh yeah, I can see the ladies all over this machine already hahaha.
We have logged about 250 km so far and only have abou 5900 mor to go, so we are totally on schedule. We have checked into a little place in a Town called Taclca, which is about Waterloo sized but comepletely surrounded by vinyards. We shall try and do some wine tasting tomorrow, after a long night of wine tasting tonight. Sometimes it takes a couple of bottles to really get the tasting thing down.
Santiago was really great, and it reminds me of most european cities, its big, busy and yet remains beautiful and lively. Had a great time walking around and watching people, as well as cosuing the unnofficial national food, the ïtaliano¨. This is a hotdog smothered, and when I say smothers, I´m talking obscene amounts, with tomatoes, crushed advocado and mayonaise. Matty and I have eaten like 2, and have decided already we need to drastically cut down on the quantity of mayonaise in our diets. It should be a food group here, as I haven´t seen anything served without copious amounts. Anyhow, we could feel our hearts stalling after a couple meals so that is probably a good reason to cut back.
Tommorrow we´ll log a few more miles on the ol´fiat and see a few more things. This is definately a country begging to be driven, with geography thats literally breathtaking every single kilomiter so far, and we have barely started.
Hope everyones doing alright back home! I´m out, like elton, but in the sense of the blog being over, not the other out, for real.
The good news. Matty and I went out on a limb and rented a car for two weeks. Got a free upgrade to a beautiful 4 door fiat, oh yeah, I can see the ladies all over this machine already hahaha.
We have logged about 250 km so far and only have abou 5900 mor to go, so we are totally on schedule. We have checked into a little place in a Town called Taclca, which is about Waterloo sized but comepletely surrounded by vinyards. We shall try and do some wine tasting tomorrow, after a long night of wine tasting tonight. Sometimes it takes a couple of bottles to really get the tasting thing down.
Santiago was really great, and it reminds me of most european cities, its big, busy and yet remains beautiful and lively. Had a great time walking around and watching people, as well as cosuing the unnofficial national food, the ïtaliano¨. This is a hotdog smothered, and when I say smothers, I´m talking obscene amounts, with tomatoes, crushed advocado and mayonaise. Matty and I have eaten like 2, and have decided already we need to drastically cut down on the quantity of mayonaise in our diets. It should be a food group here, as I haven´t seen anything served without copious amounts. Anyhow, we could feel our hearts stalling after a couple meals so that is probably a good reason to cut back.
Tommorrow we´ll log a few more miles on the ol´fiat and see a few more things. This is definately a country begging to be driven, with geography thats literally breathtaking every single kilomiter so far, and we have barely started.
Hope everyones doing alright back home! I´m out, like elton, but in the sense of the blog being over, not the other out, for real.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Stress on Vacation Sucks
Stress sucks, and stress on vacation doubles the suck. Its like hoover, but with more ..... well, suck. Matty and I found out the day before we have to leave Corn island that the flights were all cancelled that day because of the wind. The winds aren't supposed to let up for a few days, but the problem is, we have to fly tomorrow, or we'll miss or flight to Chile. So we think positive thoughts and hope the wind dies down. It doesn't. It gets worse.
So in the morning we go the the airport nice and early and sk, are you flying today. The man responds with a very relieving hand motion back and forth as to say.. mehh, that is toatlly "up in the air", pardon the pun. Actually, don't pardon the pun, since I specifically used that to be punny.
So we wait, the plane doesn't show up, so we wait more. At this pioint, I'm getting pretty friggin antsy. Antsy like I get when i'm in a car too long and not driving, and I've just had like 5 coffees. If you've ever ridden in a car with me for any length of time, when I haven't had cofee, you'll know how ansy that it.
Its an hour after the flights supposed to have arrived, and it still hasn't. They start moving things inside and this and that, furthering the stress, no ones telling us anyhting, and even the people that speak spanish don't know what the hells going on. There are still people walking across the runway and riding their bikes up and down it. This is common practice when planes aren't landing or taking off, but thats a whole different story.
So, we sit, and wait, and it feels like forever, every truck going by somehow sounds like an airplane and furthers our hopes, dashing them everytime it fades into the distance down the road. But then....
The flights not going and we are going to miss our plane to chile so we're fucked. I don't know what we're going to do yet honestly, and we can't bring ourselves to talk about it yet. You think you've seen grumpy matty... well try seeing Matty after missing an international flight you can't rebook grumpy.
Ha! That last part was totally a lie. I hope some of you don't read this far and spread rumours like wildfire. Our plan did leave, though it wasn't what I'd call a pleasant flight, We got where we needed to be and we aren't going to miss the next flight. Sweet. Its my birthday, so we might get druhk this afternoon and hopefully sleep it off before flying tomorrow.
If there's been any good stories, fill us in.
So in the morning we go the the airport nice and early and sk, are you flying today. The man responds with a very relieving hand motion back and forth as to say.. mehh, that is toatlly "up in the air", pardon the pun. Actually, don't pardon the pun, since I specifically used that to be punny.
So we wait, the plane doesn't show up, so we wait more. At this pioint, I'm getting pretty friggin antsy. Antsy like I get when i'm in a car too long and not driving, and I've just had like 5 coffees. If you've ever ridden in a car with me for any length of time, when I haven't had cofee, you'll know how ansy that it.
Its an hour after the flights supposed to have arrived, and it still hasn't. They start moving things inside and this and that, furthering the stress, no ones telling us anyhting, and even the people that speak spanish don't know what the hells going on. There are still people walking across the runway and riding their bikes up and down it. This is common practice when planes aren't landing or taking off, but thats a whole different story.
So, we sit, and wait, and it feels like forever, every truck going by somehow sounds like an airplane and furthers our hopes, dashing them everytime it fades into the distance down the road. But then....
The flights not going and we are going to miss our plane to chile so we're fucked. I don't know what we're going to do yet honestly, and we can't bring ourselves to talk about it yet. You think you've seen grumpy matty... well try seeing Matty after missing an international flight you can't rebook grumpy.
Ha! That last part was totally a lie. I hope some of you don't read this far and spread rumours like wildfire. Our plan did leave, though it wasn't what I'd call a pleasant flight, We got where we needed to be and we aren't going to miss the next flight. Sweet. Its my birthday, so we might get druhk this afternoon and hopefully sleep it off before flying tomorrow.
If there's been any good stories, fill us in.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Corn Island
SO we've left San Juan Del Sur, which was cool, a few days in that place is all I really needed. It started to feel a little like wasaga beach to me, but with way better surfing, and way less loosers and hot cars.
Me and matty did get a surfing lesson, and of course, it being on a beach renouned for having world class waves, it was certainly challenging at times. I haven't ever seen swells like that in real life, but it was really cool watching some real surfers shred it up. Knarly.
I'd love to surf way more as I think I could seriously fall in love with that sport, however considering I live where surfing just can't happen, I'm thinking its just a pipe dream.
We took a 3 hour bus at 6 am (well it was supposed to be 6 but ended up leaving at 6:45) to the big city so we could fly out to the carribian to a small island called Great Corn. We had read that there was a flight at 10:30 but unfortunately when we got there at like 9:45 in a big hurry, there wasn't one until 2 pm. Ahhh well, that gave us time to enjoy the first air conditioning we had felt in a week, and eat some 1$ sundays, which tasted like heaven in icecream form.
Corn island is a little piece of paradise. I assume this is what most of the other carribean islands looked like before the huge hotels and resorts took over and ruined them. It is filled with palms, fruit trees, and lucious grasses, green as can be and with the most gorgeous warm turquoice water ever. Within 30 feet of the shore theres amazing coral reef with tons of fish.
The main industry is lobster and other types of fishihng here, but its really hurting as other countries arem sending in huge ships to strip the floor of tlobsters for export and its killing the local industry. The people here are huge supporters of the new president as he has promised to put a stop to that. There is also what appears to be a wishfully thinking tourist industry here, though there are very few tourists. Its like they built a bunch of places, but no one ever came, so they all just kind of sat and corroded in the ocean air. Its like a ghost town most places, kind of eerie and beautiful at the same time.
We are staying in a little Tiny cabin with one double bed and bathroom. It's on the property beside the owners house. His name is Dorcey Cambell and he has lived here his whole life, and is a decendant from one of the first 4 families to inhabit big Corn. Hes a great source of information and a super nice man. He leaves us fresh fruit every morning, picked from the trees in the jungle that is his backyard.
He does coral reef snorkelling tours and took us on a super long swim yesterday, all for 10 bucks a night in the cabin and 10 bucks for the snorkeliing. I've asked him to help us try and find some beachfront land on this island and little corn. You can still buy it for reduculously cheap, and I have a feeling that the last unspoiled carribean island, with an airport that's just been approved for international flights and has perfect weather, won't stay that way for long.
The only depressing part of this island is that it is a stop for all the colombian drgu boats. THey use it to fuel up and traffic their drugs. Coke is widespread and cheap as hell, and you can see its influence everywhere. For some reason, I've been seeing it more then most, as I think I have a coked out 40 year old cougar pheremone or something, because in two nights here, two different incredibly coked out old ladies have tried to get some of my sweet loving with absolutely no explanation why they chose me out of the many others around. It's pretty damn disturbing, but Matty boy finds it quite amusing, as im sure I would if i wasn't just hoping they'd stop touching me.
Anyhow, we might visit the baby brother of this island, called little corn, tomorrow. Then we are off to Chile. Keep in touch yall.
Me and matty did get a surfing lesson, and of course, it being on a beach renouned for having world class waves, it was certainly challenging at times. I haven't ever seen swells like that in real life, but it was really cool watching some real surfers shred it up. Knarly.
I'd love to surf way more as I think I could seriously fall in love with that sport, however considering I live where surfing just can't happen, I'm thinking its just a pipe dream.
We took a 3 hour bus at 6 am (well it was supposed to be 6 but ended up leaving at 6:45) to the big city so we could fly out to the carribian to a small island called Great Corn. We had read that there was a flight at 10:30 but unfortunately when we got there at like 9:45 in a big hurry, there wasn't one until 2 pm. Ahhh well, that gave us time to enjoy the first air conditioning we had felt in a week, and eat some 1$ sundays, which tasted like heaven in icecream form.
Corn island is a little piece of paradise. I assume this is what most of the other carribean islands looked like before the huge hotels and resorts took over and ruined them. It is filled with palms, fruit trees, and lucious grasses, green as can be and with the most gorgeous warm turquoice water ever. Within 30 feet of the shore theres amazing coral reef with tons of fish.
The main industry is lobster and other types of fishihng here, but its really hurting as other countries arem sending in huge ships to strip the floor of tlobsters for export and its killing the local industry. The people here are huge supporters of the new president as he has promised to put a stop to that. There is also what appears to be a wishfully thinking tourist industry here, though there are very few tourists. Its like they built a bunch of places, but no one ever came, so they all just kind of sat and corroded in the ocean air. Its like a ghost town most places, kind of eerie and beautiful at the same time.
We are staying in a little Tiny cabin with one double bed and bathroom. It's on the property beside the owners house. His name is Dorcey Cambell and he has lived here his whole life, and is a decendant from one of the first 4 families to inhabit big Corn. Hes a great source of information and a super nice man. He leaves us fresh fruit every morning, picked from the trees in the jungle that is his backyard.
He does coral reef snorkelling tours and took us on a super long swim yesterday, all for 10 bucks a night in the cabin and 10 bucks for the snorkeliing. I've asked him to help us try and find some beachfront land on this island and little corn. You can still buy it for reduculously cheap, and I have a feeling that the last unspoiled carribean island, with an airport that's just been approved for international flights and has perfect weather, won't stay that way for long.
The only depressing part of this island is that it is a stop for all the colombian drgu boats. THey use it to fuel up and traffic their drugs. Coke is widespread and cheap as hell, and you can see its influence everywhere. For some reason, I've been seeing it more then most, as I think I have a coked out 40 year old cougar pheremone or something, because in two nights here, two different incredibly coked out old ladies have tried to get some of my sweet loving with absolutely no explanation why they chose me out of the many others around. It's pretty damn disturbing, but Matty boy finds it quite amusing, as im sure I would if i wasn't just hoping they'd stop touching me.
Anyhow, we might visit the baby brother of this island, called little corn, tomorrow. Then we are off to Chile. Keep in touch yall.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Ometepe, 8th wonder of the world.
We just spent a couple days in Ometepe, an island in the largest fresh water lake in central america, mae up of two massie active volcanoes, pressed together like breasts. There is a legend that actually mentions that part, so it wasn´t just my own dirty mind.
Anyhow, we met up with some amazing dudes over there, Harold and Will. Two local guides whohad done stints in the US so they spoke really good english. They took us on a hike up the mountain (think thailand jungle trek but always straight up. Matty was doing fine, I however was just dying. We did make it, and I didn´t even puke on my own shoes or anything, so that was a serious plus. We got to the lookout that sits around 1000 meters and could see for miles across the lake etc. It was absolutely gorgeous and I took a buttload of photos there. We saw a bunch of moneys on the way up and down, as well as some crazy looking bugs.
We partied it up huge withthe guys and the two canadian girls that came wiht us on the tour, hen had to basically hitchike home, as theres no busses after a certain time in ometepe, and that time was much earlier then the time we wanted to stop drinking. It was all good though, as our boys hooked up up withthe firt car going out way, and it didn´t cost us a dime.
The next day we went to a natural spring and it was amazingly beautiful. Crystal clear waters, just cool enough to be refreshing and a robe swing, which also ruled.
There Many a pics of us using that.
We are now in a surfing town called San Juan Del Sur and its a pretty cool little spot, though it is certainly dead during the weekdays at night. We got pretty drunk last night, and I made the mistake of going for the Ron Plata... and I won´t be doing that again.. I´m still not feeling well and it is afternoon. I´ll have to splurge for the good rum, as just over 2 bucks a bottle.
Anyhow, Matty and I are doing a canopy tour then watching a turtle hatching/laying tonight, so that should be amazing as well. Unfortunately the turtles are disturbed by camera flashes, so I don´t think I´ll be taking photos unless ther is enough light to get some without the flash.
Out.
Anyhow, we met up with some amazing dudes over there, Harold and Will. Two local guides whohad done stints in the US so they spoke really good english. They took us on a hike up the mountain (think thailand jungle trek but always straight up. Matty was doing fine, I however was just dying. We did make it, and I didn´t even puke on my own shoes or anything, so that was a serious plus. We got to the lookout that sits around 1000 meters and could see for miles across the lake etc. It was absolutely gorgeous and I took a buttload of photos there. We saw a bunch of moneys on the way up and down, as well as some crazy looking bugs.
We partied it up huge withthe guys and the two canadian girls that came wiht us on the tour, hen had to basically hitchike home, as theres no busses after a certain time in ometepe, and that time was much earlier then the time we wanted to stop drinking. It was all good though, as our boys hooked up up withthe firt car going out way, and it didn´t cost us a dime.
The next day we went to a natural spring and it was amazingly beautiful. Crystal clear waters, just cool enough to be refreshing and a robe swing, which also ruled.
There Many a pics of us using that.
We are now in a surfing town called San Juan Del Sur and its a pretty cool little spot, though it is certainly dead during the weekdays at night. We got pretty drunk last night, and I made the mistake of going for the Ron Plata... and I won´t be doing that again.. I´m still not feeling well and it is afternoon. I´ll have to splurge for the good rum, as just over 2 bucks a bottle.
Anyhow, Matty and I are doing a canopy tour then watching a turtle hatching/laying tonight, so that should be amazing as well. Unfortunately the turtles are disturbed by camera flashes, so I don´t think I´ll be taking photos unless ther is enough light to get some without the flash.
Out.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Dia numero Dos
I have come to realise I suck terrible at espagnol, but i am trying to learn as much as I can. The comprehnsion is getting easier and easier as days go by, party because people here speak to you like you are native and fluent even if you explain in spanich you don'[t speak a word. I'm sure it would frustrate some but i really like it, as if forces you to figure it out without english words to help you.
Had many a drink and some amazing conversatios last night, with some cats from Belgium, Denmark and Panama. Everyone hates the US so we all bond over that. Rum here is so damn cheap its almost ludicris. If you buy the cheap swill, which of course i do, its around two bucks canadan for a 26.. RON PLATA!!!! I'm drinking a cuba libre right now in fact.. Then me and matty are off to eat a set lunch for a buck twenty five and wash it all down with 67 cent beers, or dollar rum.
Took some amazing phtos walking around Granada today. First we went on a boat tour around "las isletas" which is a series of very small islands that used to be home to the poorest granadans, but is now being taken over by rish nicas and north americans.. Mansions all over, and one little island that has nothing but monkeys on it. Moneys are totally cool. WE then happend on a kids baseball game and man these kids were impressive, they could play some serious hardball. Diving quick double plays and entertainment in general. A few miles later we came across the Nica version of street hockey, street "footbal" or soccer.. we saw the very end of the game which climaxed in a missed penalty kick that would have one the game. The whole team and all the spoectators erupted in a string of celebratory words I will never understand, it was a very cool experience.
Ohh and our guide in las isletas called me a litlle fatty in spanish and taught me how to say "you fucing guy", but I forget how already. I'll stick with PUTA. I'm sweating like a fat kid eating right now because its sunny, about 32 with very little humidity and a constant breeze.. I hear its raining and single digits back home. Thats really too bad... makes me sad to har you guys have to live in that type of tripe... HA!
Had many a drink and some amazing conversatios last night, with some cats from Belgium, Denmark and Panama. Everyone hates the US so we all bond over that. Rum here is so damn cheap its almost ludicris. If you buy the cheap swill, which of course i do, its around two bucks canadan for a 26.. RON PLATA!!!! I'm drinking a cuba libre right now in fact.. Then me and matty are off to eat a set lunch for a buck twenty five and wash it all down with 67 cent beers, or dollar rum.
Took some amazing phtos walking around Granada today. First we went on a boat tour around "las isletas" which is a series of very small islands that used to be home to the poorest granadans, but is now being taken over by rish nicas and north americans.. Mansions all over, and one little island that has nothing but monkeys on it. Moneys are totally cool. WE then happend on a kids baseball game and man these kids were impressive, they could play some serious hardball. Diving quick double plays and entertainment in general. A few miles later we came across the Nica version of street hockey, street "footbal" or soccer.. we saw the very end of the game which climaxed in a missed penalty kick that would have one the game. The whole team and all the spoectators erupted in a string of celebratory words I will never understand, it was a very cool experience.
Ohh and our guide in las isletas called me a litlle fatty in spanish and taught me how to say "you fucing guy", but I forget how already. I'll stick with PUTA. I'm sweating like a fat kid eating right now because its sunny, about 32 with very little humidity and a constant breeze.. I hear its raining and single digits back home. Thats really too bad... makes me sad to har you guys have to live in that type of tripe... HA!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
We have arrived!
After waiting a very very long hour at the airprt by my lonesome,Matty boy showed up and gave me company. My waiting was no fault of his by any means, I got there early and he was totaly doing it all night.
Our first plane boarded on time, and was a small, dirty shitty little aircraft run by Delta. It was a short flight at no more then two or s hours, however it flt like forever. Mixing no sleep, a washroom that makes you gag because it reeks, and having to take a huge duker for like the whole fight makes time drag on, so I discovered.
That plane was late getting in, so we had the mad rush to our second fight in HOTlanta... but we made it with a few minutes to spare. THere are a lot of fat black women int HOTlanta, and the whole trip of the airport was like a fastfood paradiso (totally a spanish word right there. TIP never bring check in baggage, we would have missed the flight guarenteed if we hadn't had just carryon.
So we sat down and basically started busting a sweat because we're fatties and a brisk walk does that to us. There's a center seat free and we're pretty pumped about that... but them some guy shows up and claims it, meanwhile there is NO ONE sitting in the seats behind us... Who puts three dudes in one row when there's three open seats directly behind you? Stupid delta and it's gay fantasies of three dudes doing it milehigh style.
Anyhow, that flight ruled and we arrived on time... I have no yankee moeny so Matty fronts me some because it costs five bucks US to enter the country. I then wait in line for about 30 minutes at a little drug counter to but toothpaste so I can break a 20 I got out of the bank machine... Geoffy, you would have commited murder on these women, no doubt in my mind.
So then we take the cab ride through the ghetto, and this is serious ghetto... Thailands looking prime compared to it.. and the thai traffic, yeah... no comparison either. We drove by one accident, then saw this live hydro wire totally blow up in a rain of sparks right in front on us, and then saw another truck rip some live hydro wires down with a resounding "POP"... and our bus ride was about two hours max... Everyone in the street just grabbed the downed wires and kept lifting them over oncoming traffic. I got a photo, its not clear but you get the picture, HA punny.
THen we arrived and got a cool little hostel which i am currently chilling in. $.66 beers and 6 bucks a bed including breakfast free internet and a kitchen to cook in. Ohhh and happy hours tuesdays and thursdays, 2 beers for $.66 so so awsome. In fact, I am actually drinking a beer right now becaue it is that awsome.
Email me and such. Later
Our first plane boarded on time, and was a small, dirty shitty little aircraft run by Delta. It was a short flight at no more then two or s hours, however it flt like forever. Mixing no sleep, a washroom that makes you gag because it reeks, and having to take a huge duker for like the whole fight makes time drag on, so I discovered.
That plane was late getting in, so we had the mad rush to our second fight in HOTlanta... but we made it with a few minutes to spare. THere are a lot of fat black women int HOTlanta, and the whole trip of the airport was like a fastfood paradiso (totally a spanish word right there. TIP never bring check in baggage, we would have missed the flight guarenteed if we hadn't had just carryon.
So we sat down and basically started busting a sweat because we're fatties and a brisk walk does that to us. There's a center seat free and we're pretty pumped about that... but them some guy shows up and claims it, meanwhile there is NO ONE sitting in the seats behind us... Who puts three dudes in one row when there's three open seats directly behind you? Stupid delta and it's gay fantasies of three dudes doing it milehigh style.
Anyhow, that flight ruled and we arrived on time... I have no yankee moeny so Matty fronts me some because it costs five bucks US to enter the country. I then wait in line for about 30 minutes at a little drug counter to but toothpaste so I can break a 20 I got out of the bank machine... Geoffy, you would have commited murder on these women, no doubt in my mind.
So then we take the cab ride through the ghetto, and this is serious ghetto... Thailands looking prime compared to it.. and the thai traffic, yeah... no comparison either. We drove by one accident, then saw this live hydro wire totally blow up in a rain of sparks right in front on us, and then saw another truck rip some live hydro wires down with a resounding "POP"... and our bus ride was about two hours max... Everyone in the street just grabbed the downed wires and kept lifting them over oncoming traffic. I got a photo, its not clear but you get the picture, HA punny.
THen we arrived and got a cool little hostel which i am currently chilling in. $.66 beers and 6 bucks a bed including breakfast free internet and a kitchen to cook in. Ohhh and happy hours tuesdays and thursdays, 2 beers for $.66 so so awsome. In fact, I am actually drinking a beer right now becaue it is that awsome.
Email me and such. Later
Monday, November 06, 2006
Best Article Ever
The Case Against Faith: Religion does untold damage to our politics. An atheist's lament.
By Sam Harris
Newsweek
Nov. 13, 2006 issue - Despite a full century of scientific insights attesting to the antiquity of life and the greater antiquity of the Earth, more than half the American population believes that the entire cosmos was created 6,000 years ago. This is, incidentally, about a thousand years after the Sumerians invented glue. Those with the power to elect presidents and congressmen—and many who themselves get elected—believe that dinosaurs lived two by two upon Noah's Ark, that light from distant galaxies was created en route to the Earth and that the first members of our species were fashioned out of dirt and divine breath, in a garden with a talking snake, by the hand of an invisible God.
This is embarrassing. But add to this comedy of false certainties the fact that 44 percent of Americans are confident that Jesus will return to Earth sometime in the next 50 years, and you will glimpse the terrible liability of this sort of thinking. Given the most common interpretation of Biblical prophecy, it is not an exaggeration to say that nearly half the American population is eagerly anticipating the end of the world. It should be clear that this faith-based nihilism provides its adherents with absolutely no incentive to build a sustainable civilization—economically, environmentally or geopolitically. Some of these people are lunatics, of course, but they are not the lunatic fringe. We are talking about the explicit views of Christian ministers who have congregations numbering in the tens of thousands. These are some of the most influential, politically connected and well-funded people in our society.
It is, of course, taboo to criticize a person's religious beliefs. The problem, however, is that much of what people believe in the name of religion is intrinsically divisive, unreasonable and incompatible with genuine morality. One of the worst things about religion is that it tends to separate questions of right and wrong from the living reality of human and animal suffering. Consequently, religious people will devote immense energy to so-called moral problems—such as gay marriage—where no real suffering is at issue, and they will happily contribute to the surplus of human misery if it serves their religious beliefs.
A case in point: embryonic-stem-cell research is one of the most promising developments in the last century of medicine. It could offer therapeutic breakthroughs for every human ailment (for the simple reason that stem cells can become any tissue in the human body), including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, severe burns, etc. In July, President George W. Bush used his first veto to deny federal funding to this research. He did this on the basis of his religious faith. Like millions of other Americans, President Bush believes that "human life starts at the moment of conception." Specifically, he believes that there is a soul in every 3-day-old human embryo, and the interests of one soul—the soul of a little girl with burns over 75 percent of her body, for instance—cannot trump the interests of another soul, even if that soul happens to live inside a petri dish. Here, as ever, religious dogmatism impedes genuine wisdom and compassion.
A 3-day-old human embryo is a collection of 150 cells called a blastocyst. There are, for the sake of comparison, more than 100,000 cells in the brain of a fly. The embryos that are destroyed in stem-cell research do not have brains, or even neurons. Consequently, there is no reason to believe they can suffer their destruction in any way at all. The truth is that President Bush's unjustified religious beliefs about the human soul are, at this very moment, prolonging the scarcely endurable misery of tens of millions of human beings.
Given our status as a superpower, our material wealth and the continuous advancements in our technology, it seems safe to say that the president of the United States has more power and responsibility than any person in history. It is worth noting, therefore, that we have elected a president who seems to imagine that whenever he closes his eyes in the Oval Office—wondering whether to go to war or not to go to war, for instance—his intuitions have been vetted by the Creator of the universe. Speaking to a small group of supporters in 1999, Bush reportedly said, "I believe God wants me to be president." Believing that God has delivered you unto the presidency really seems to entail the belief that you cannot make any catastrophic mistakes while in office. One question we might want to collectively ponder in the future: do we really want to hand the tiller of civilization to a person who thinks this way?
eligion is the one area of our discourse in which people are systematically protected from the demand to give good evidence and valid arguments in defense of their strongly held beliefs. And yet these beliefs regularly determine what they live for, what they will die for and—all too often—what they will kill for. Consequently, we are living in a world in which millions of grown men and women can rationalize the violent sacrifice of their own children by recourse to fairy tales. We are living in a world in which millions of Muslims believe that there is nothing better than to be killed in defense of Islam. We are living in a world in which millions of Christians hope to soon be raptured into the stratosphere by Jesus so that they can safely enjoy a sacred genocide that will inaugurate the end of human history. In a world brimming with increasingly destructive technology, our infatuation with religious myths now poses a tremendous danger. And it is not a danger for which more religious faith is a remedy.
Harris is the author of the New York Times best sellers "Letter to a Christian Nation" and "The End of Faith."
The original article can be seen here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15566391/site/newsweek
By Sam Harris
Newsweek
Nov. 13, 2006 issue - Despite a full century of scientific insights attesting to the antiquity of life and the greater antiquity of the Earth, more than half the American population believes that the entire cosmos was created 6,000 years ago. This is, incidentally, about a thousand years after the Sumerians invented glue. Those with the power to elect presidents and congressmen—and many who themselves get elected—believe that dinosaurs lived two by two upon Noah's Ark, that light from distant galaxies was created en route to the Earth and that the first members of our species were fashioned out of dirt and divine breath, in a garden with a talking snake, by the hand of an invisible God.
This is embarrassing. But add to this comedy of false certainties the fact that 44 percent of Americans are confident that Jesus will return to Earth sometime in the next 50 years, and you will glimpse the terrible liability of this sort of thinking. Given the most common interpretation of Biblical prophecy, it is not an exaggeration to say that nearly half the American population is eagerly anticipating the end of the world. It should be clear that this faith-based nihilism provides its adherents with absolutely no incentive to build a sustainable civilization—economically, environmentally or geopolitically. Some of these people are lunatics, of course, but they are not the lunatic fringe. We are talking about the explicit views of Christian ministers who have congregations numbering in the tens of thousands. These are some of the most influential, politically connected and well-funded people in our society.
It is, of course, taboo to criticize a person's religious beliefs. The problem, however, is that much of what people believe in the name of religion is intrinsically divisive, unreasonable and incompatible with genuine morality. One of the worst things about religion is that it tends to separate questions of right and wrong from the living reality of human and animal suffering. Consequently, religious people will devote immense energy to so-called moral problems—such as gay marriage—where no real suffering is at issue, and they will happily contribute to the surplus of human misery if it serves their religious beliefs.
A case in point: embryonic-stem-cell research is one of the most promising developments in the last century of medicine. It could offer therapeutic breakthroughs for every human ailment (for the simple reason that stem cells can become any tissue in the human body), including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, severe burns, etc. In July, President George W. Bush used his first veto to deny federal funding to this research. He did this on the basis of his religious faith. Like millions of other Americans, President Bush believes that "human life starts at the moment of conception." Specifically, he believes that there is a soul in every 3-day-old human embryo, and the interests of one soul—the soul of a little girl with burns over 75 percent of her body, for instance—cannot trump the interests of another soul, even if that soul happens to live inside a petri dish. Here, as ever, religious dogmatism impedes genuine wisdom and compassion.
A 3-day-old human embryo is a collection of 150 cells called a blastocyst. There are, for the sake of comparison, more than 100,000 cells in the brain of a fly. The embryos that are destroyed in stem-cell research do not have brains, or even neurons. Consequently, there is no reason to believe they can suffer their destruction in any way at all. The truth is that President Bush's unjustified religious beliefs about the human soul are, at this very moment, prolonging the scarcely endurable misery of tens of millions of human beings.
Given our status as a superpower, our material wealth and the continuous advancements in our technology, it seems safe to say that the president of the United States has more power and responsibility than any person in history. It is worth noting, therefore, that we have elected a president who seems to imagine that whenever he closes his eyes in the Oval Office—wondering whether to go to war or not to go to war, for instance—his intuitions have been vetted by the Creator of the universe. Speaking to a small group of supporters in 1999, Bush reportedly said, "I believe God wants me to be president." Believing that God has delivered you unto the presidency really seems to entail the belief that you cannot make any catastrophic mistakes while in office. One question we might want to collectively ponder in the future: do we really want to hand the tiller of civilization to a person who thinks this way?
eligion is the one area of our discourse in which people are systematically protected from the demand to give good evidence and valid arguments in defense of their strongly held beliefs. And yet these beliefs regularly determine what they live for, what they will die for and—all too often—what they will kill for. Consequently, we are living in a world in which millions of grown men and women can rationalize the violent sacrifice of their own children by recourse to fairy tales. We are living in a world in which millions of Muslims believe that there is nothing better than to be killed in defense of Islam. We are living in a world in which millions of Christians hope to soon be raptured into the stratosphere by Jesus so that they can safely enjoy a sacred genocide that will inaugurate the end of human history. In a world brimming with increasingly destructive technology, our infatuation with religious myths now poses a tremendous danger. And it is not a danger for which more religious faith is a remedy.
Harris is the author of the New York Times best sellers "Letter to a Christian Nation" and "The End of Faith."
The original article can be seen here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15566391/site/newsweek
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