So long, and NO thanks for all the Fish

OK. So this post is not about what I've been doing in Peru, but rather about what I've been reading and thinking. Just a couple of random tidbits.

First, I recently finished a book called The Coldest March, by Susan Solomon, which is about Robert Scott's fatal expedition to the South Pole. I thought it was a great book and would reccomend it to anyone interested in Antarctica, weather, and unbelievably epic adventures. Anyways, one of my favorite quotes from the book came from Apsley Cherry-Gerrard, a member (and assistant zoologist) of Scott's team. Cherry-Gerrard was part of a team of three men who ventured out in the middle of the Antarctic winter to attempt to collect the first specimens of Penguin eggs from a Penguin rookery. Their little excursion was epic, and is described in a book by Cherry-Gerrard (cant remember the title, but it's something like "The worst journey ever").

Anyways, the quote of interest came from after C-G and others were rescued from the Discovery hut (right next to the current day McMurdo Station where I stayed), C-G lamented the return to "civilization" that was the Cape Evans hut where Scott and the rest of the men were.

The luxuries of civilisation satisfy only those wants which they themselves create

I really like this quote, and it is something I think about everytime I head into the backcountry (although certainly the luxuries of civilization -- e.g., fancy tech gear -- permeate these experiences). However, it is a nice reminder that living simply can be fulfilling, and against getting caught up in a materialistic lifestyle.

OK... so without letting that digress even further... One thing that has inevitably happened as I´ve been travelling is that I´ve been reading alot. Some books, some lonely planet travel guides, and a decent bit of online reading. I can´t seem to shake my addiction to the NY Times. There are always really thought-provoking op-eds and in-depth analyses of various things going on in the US and around the world.

A couple of such pieces that I´ve read recently have really caught my attention. I saw one such piece before I left home, by NY Times op-ed columnist Stanley Fish. Fish´s article -- a blog entry, actually -- is entitled Travel Narrows. Essentially, Fish argues that travelling -- immersing oneself in other cultures, marveling at the beauties of antiquity, the natural landscapes -- is a big waste of time. At first I found this funny, and then was somewhat offended. All of these things that he said were some what shocking. What? Someone who doesn´t like to travel.

It´s taken me a while to realize why I was so shocked by this, but I realized that you almost never here any educated person (which Fish is) with a platform (which Fish has) advocate so intensley for such ignorant parochialism. Sure... I´ve seen such parochialism at some level. Although generally not verbalized, I´ve witnessed the reaction some people have had to my descriptions of wanting to go to some foreign "undeveloped" country to travel (without a plan too. That´s a big thing -- if you go on a package tour, that´s perfectly understandable). But I´ve always chocked those kind of responses up as being "Well, they just don´t get it..." (a la John McCain).

Well, if Fish wants to live in his little provincial hole and never experience what the outside world has to offer, all I can say is "So long, and NO thanks for all the Fish".

17 Aug - 26 Aug: Lima, Huaraz, and the Peruvian Alps

Well, it's been over a week since I've been in Peru, and about time for a blog post.

I left Denver on August 17, spent the night in Toronto at my friend Matt and Bec's place, and then caught a flight from there to Lima on the 18th (kind of a weird itenerary, I know, but you take what you can get when using frequent flyer miles). As my flight arrived late on the night of the 18th, I decided to relax the next day and check out Lima, the sprawling oceanfront capital of Peru that is home to over 8 million people. Although it's a huge city, there are only two primary areas that are frequented by tourists; the center, and the affluent coastal suburb, Miraflores. As I had booked a hostel near the center of town, I decided to walk around and check it out.

I'd heard alot of negative things said about Lima, so I was really curious to find out for myself if such insults were warranted. As it turns out, some of what I'd heard about Lima was true. Lima is huge, noisy, dirty, and polluted. But although it's certainly not a place I'm inclined to spend alot of time in, there is something intrinsically fascinating to me about massive cities like this. I find it amazing to just walk around and watch people, and contemplate how such a massive "machine" functions. But beyond that, central Lima did have some interesting plazas, colonial architecture, and an interesting 17th century monastery called the Monasterio de San Francisco (pictures weren't allowed) which houses some really really eerie catacombs. Here are some pics of my day in Lima:



Although Lima wasn't as bad as what I'd heard, I really was anxious to get to Huaraz, which is in the Peruvian Andes next to the Cordillera Blanca (White mountains). So I booked an overnight bus from Lima, which left at 10 at night and arrived at 6 the next morning in Huaraz.

Huaraz is a fairly small (80,000 people), relatively mellow city at 3090 m (10,100 ft), which has an awesome climate with warm days and cool nights. The views of the surrounding peaks of the Cordillera Blanca (which go up to 6,769 m, or 22,200 ft) are just jaw dropping.

Although I plan to do some climbing, my first goal was to find some people to go on a trek to try and get used to the altitude. After spending the day searching around for people, I got connected with a group of people who were getting ready to go do the 4-day Santa Cruz trek. The trek is quite popular, and is most commonly done guided (with a donkey carrying all of your stuff), but as I had prepared for trekking I was looking for a group to do it unguided. Fortunately, this is exactly what the group I found was planning to do. Even more fortunately, the group turned out to be in-shape and experienced, as well as really cool and international. Among the members were two Dutch (Lotte and Hilda), an Israeli (Itamar), two Americans (me and Katrina), and a Kiwi (Sam). Below are some pictures from the Santa Cruz trek. I wont go on too much about it here, as I've put captions on the pictures. I wasnt able to upload some of the pictures from days 2-3 for now (long story), but the pics here give the gist of the trek.



Well, I returned to Huaraz from the Santa Cruz trek on the 24th, and have been somewhat anxiously trying to get set up to go out and climb some real mountains here. It's been a bit slow getting that organized, but it looks like I'll be heading off on the 28th to climb Vallunaraju, and work with a guide to refresh some of my glacier travel skills. Then, depending on how I'm feeling, I may attempt Chopicalqui, which would be a pretty big climb.

Heading down South...

So I'm only a few hours away from heading down South, and I finally got this blog set up. For those who don't already know what I've been up to recently, I recently finished school and have a few months until my new postdoc job at NOAA starts. I decided to head down to South America with the hopes of finally learning Spanish, and experiencing whatever cultural and outdoor adventures I can get myself into.

My plan, if you can call it that, is pretty simple. Fly to Lima, Peru, leaving Denver August 17th. Fly back from Buenos Aires on December 5. Take backpacking gear (American backpacking -- like, the kind where you camp) and some guidebooks, and see what I can find.

I'll be posting my whereabouts as I meander around. I hope you enjoy, and I hope this will be a good distraction from work for those who are unable to make it down.

Sean