Houston, Texas

Posted on February 16, 2012 by debbie

We encounter an angel today. Veronica is her name and she is the Manager at the Homewood Inn and Suites, the sister property of the Wingate by Wyndham where we are staying. Veronica was driving the shuttle bus that picks us up at the airport.  It is not too often we meet a Manager willing to step into the front line, but Veronica’s shuttle bus driver is sick so she is driving today. We tell her that we want to catch the bus downtown and by the time we check into the hotel we miss the bus.  Veronica offers to drop us at the bus stop, we hop into the shuttle and chase the bus along the route until we pass it, Veronica lets us out at the next stop in time to catch the bus.  We are so delighted we met this angel. If you ever need to spend the night in a Houston airport hotel, pick the Homewood Inn and Suites or the Wingate by Wyndham Bush Intercontinental, the staff are superb!

We walk from downtown to the Menil Collection.  It isn’t too far and the areas we walk through are just like a Canadian city. Safe, not too much traffic, hardly any pedestrians or noteworthy architecture but there is the occasional piece of intriguing street artwork.

Houston Street Artwork

Houston Street Artwork

The Menil Collection is five buildings on about a 3 block by 5 block area. The main building houses most of the collection.  The Surrealism exhibit is stunning with pieces by Ernst, Magritte, Duchamp and Picasso.  The Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall is a work of blue, pink, green, yellow fluorescent lights.  I showed a pic of it on the blog previously.  The surprise is the Byzantine Fresco Chapel which is a modern building outside and a thirteenth century byzantine chapel inside. What makes this chapel exceptional is the use of thick glass panels to represent the walls and dome of the chapel. (I (Murray) think this place is a highlight. The small chapel outlined by the glass panels and the way it is lit has a captivating effect. We stand and sit for a long while before we move on.) A must see.

Walking over US Highway 59Walking over US Highway 59

We walk further and pop into The Museum of Fine Arts.  We walk through an exhibit of Jules Olitski. He is from Russia and concentrated on large works that focused on the use of colour.

Across the street we visit the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and view an exhibit called “The Deconstructive Impulse: Women Artists Reconfigure the Signs of Power, 1973-1991” which are works created by only women.

Supper is at a restaurant called Natachee’s.  Located on Main St, it is a diner like eatery with concrete floors, old booths and wooden tables and the radio turned up loud to a 70’s rock station. The music is the Moody Blues, Motown, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones. We eat a burger and a pulled pork bunwich.

The walk back downtown is quick and the wait for the bus long.

This our first day on the road and we have slipped back into ‘travel mode’ quickly and easily. We had planned to visit Menil Collection and managed to see a good portion of Houston’s gallery district. We had made plans on how to get downtown on public transit and they worked to perfection. We thought we might be able to find a place for supper around the gallery district and voila, several small bistro type establishments materialized. I hope the rest of the trip runs as flawless as today.

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Packing for Utila

Posted on February 13, 2012 by debbie

We spend many hours today packing for Utila. We had slowly piled wetsuits, fins, camera gear, clothes, toiletries and other stuff in the living room and today we pack it all into our carry-on bags and collect the missing items. Our packing list is check marked, highlighted and circled. Except for the stuff we will use between now and when we leave, we are ready to go. YIPPEE!

We agree that our bags look fuller than they usually do. Are we accumulating more and more stuff to take with us? We hope not. For this trip, we are traveling with a strobe flash and batteries, underwater camera housing and ancillary bits and pieces, snorkels (not usually taken) and towels.

We don’t usually travel with towels on a dive trip as we find we do not use them, but I feel I should this time because I may need some padding on the dive boat.  I wiped out skate skiing a few weeks ago and landed on my tailbone. OUCH!  It still hurts when I sit in certain positions and dive boats are notoriously hard and the ride bumpy.  Padding sounds like a good idea.

I admit that I have  a couple of extra shirts packed in my bag . We are meeting our friends from New York in Utila and my vanity is getting the best of me, so I have two extra “evening” tops with me. I still limit my clothes to 2 pairs of shorts, 1 dive boat shirt, 2 swimsuits, 4 shirts, 3 undies, sleeping shirt and the clothes I wear on the airplane.  Still pretty lean.

Mur and I decide that we need to take only a small first aid kit with us. Just the basic supplies to cover small abrasions, heat rash and colds. Here is a peak at what we are taking.

First Aid supplies

It all fits comfortably into a sandwich size ziploc bag.

First Aid Kit

First Aid Kit

I spend time getting the netbook ready to go. Copy flights, hotel and insurance info over from my desktop.We carry a paper copy of this info and it is also in my gmail account, but we carry a third “Word” copy too.  Yeah, I know, overkill.

For our reading pleasure on the flights, we will take the ereader and the netbook.  I make sure the books we plan to read are on both units so we can trade back and forth.

I also backup our desktop computers onto a flash drive so Murray can take it offsite. He will head downtown on Wednesday to do this and to buy a few bucks worth of Honduran Lempira.

We feel like we are ready to go. A few last minute items to pack and to do and we will be off.

 

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Snow

Posted on February 9, 2012 by murray

I’ve often heard that the Inuit have hundreds of words that describe snow. Deciding to write a bit about snow, I was looking up just how many words they do use. I discovered in fact the language allows for the construction of words ‘on the fly’ and this feature of the Inuit spoken word makes it seem like there are many words that describe snow and anything else for that matter. As far as I can determine, they use about as many words as the English do but they are able to construct words as needed to describe things like ‘snow in hair’ or ‘snow with dogs paw prints’ if the need should arise. Have a look at  http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/varia/snow.html where Phil James outlines a few phrases that the Inuit are able to condense into one word.

As I skied the last few days I noticed how different snow can be. In the back country we ski uphill. As we ascend, each of us will take a turn ‘breaking trail’. As I walk and slide through the snow I pass through soft dry fluffy snow, dense wind blown snow, thick wet snow, snow that lets me penetrate 30 cm, snow I sink 60 cm into and snow that I am able to glide on the top of. As I walk over this snow I am constantly trying to see, feel, or otherwise perceive changes. Any change is important to note and discuss with my fellow travelers. These changes may indicate the presence of unstable snow, not something I want to encounter while moving across avalanche prone terrain. Often I follow 4th or 5th in the line of skiers. By that time the snow along our uptrack is quite solid, compacted and smooth. The skis glide quite well and the movement is easy.

Visually the snow can be quite stunning. New untracked snow will sparkle and glisten in the sunlight. It looks like a big down comforter, soft and enticing. The wind can sculpt the surface and it can look like a frozen ocean with rolling waves and white caps. On cold clear nights the crystals transform into hoar frost leaving tall crystalline pinnacles standing in clusters that collect sunlight and shimmer like jewels tossed randomly on the ground. I also try to take note of these visual changes in the snow as well. The hoar frost that formed over the last couple of nights will be unstable later in the season. Any new snow will not bond to the lower layers and the new snowfall will be more likely to slide. The avalanche reports will tell me this but it is good to have my own knowledge base.

We were  XC skiing across Lake Louise and encountered several changes in the snow. As we moved away from the Chateau to the south we skied across loose fairly new snow, totally glazed sections that must have been snow with a substantial amount of moisture, and a couple of sections of out and out ice. Each time we encounter a change in the snow we had to adapt our skiing style to suit what was under foot. Crossing the snow sections we could use diagonal stride and we moved quite smooth with a minimum of effort. Over the glazed sections we had to be aware of our timing and had to make sure we were propelling our selves forward exactly when our grip wax engaged the snow. Over the icy sections, where small streams entered the lake, we had to double pole and it made for a high speed traverse across the sketchy portions of the trail.

Snow on Lake Louise

Snow on Lake Louise

There is also an audible aspect to snow travel. As we skied across the icy sections of the Lake Louise XC track our skis rattled and clacked. Sometimes the snow squeaks. When skiing the groomed slopes encountered at most resorts I can tell how well I’m skiing by the amount of noise my skis are making. I also listen for a change in the sound which indicates a change in the surface that I am crossing. In the backcountry I constantly listen to the snow and again try to determine it’s story. A ‘woomph’ or a thump is a sign that the snow is not stable and maybe it would be a good idea to vacate the area. Often I will hear the thundering sound of an avalanche on some other ridge or mountain. We look around and see if we can spot the source of the thunder and determine what kind of slope it was on, what the aspect of the slope is, what might have caused the snow to slide and if any of these factors may be at play into our days skiing plans.

Ski tracks in the snow

I walk up the mountain to ski down. Some folks will tour just for the serene experience, but without the skiing I don’t think I would spend so much time in the wilderness. It is when I ski down that I am most aware of the texture of the snow. When I lived in Whistler we would ski new snow that was affectionately known as pig or elephant snot. It was wet, and dense. Not having ever handled elephant snot I can only assume that it would be of the same texture. It was hard to ski because it took an incredible amount of strength just to turn my skis, but at the same time it was easy because the resistance was so great controlling speed was not an issue. Farther east, in the Rockies, the ultimate skiing is in ‘champagne powder’, snow so dry and soft that as you ski it billows and puffs enough to obscure your vision. There is snow that is a pain to ski. The wind pounds the surface until  there is a hard crust 5 or 10 cm thick. Strong enough to hold your weight until you turn your skis downhill, then you break through, you float back to surface and ski along not knowing when you are going to break through again. There are times when the slopes are scoured so clean that you may as well be skiing on ice. Sometimes although the texture of the snow is great, the coverage is uneven and the subsurface objects become hazards making for a very tentative run down. This week we were skiing in snow that felt like sugar. It was boot top to knee deep and had a very silky feel as we descended. The only interruption to the smooth, floating feeling was the occasional protrusion of a wind scoured mound that the new snow had settled around and left an impenetrable surface to ski up and over.

I don’t know exactly how many words the Inuit have for snow but I would sure like to have access to a few more than I have. The writing of this blog would have been much more precise and I could surely entertain my skiing partners with my knowledge of a material that is such an integral part of our lives.

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Musings on Turning 50 in Sarlat la Caneda, France

Posted on February 7, 2012 by debbie

My sister once said, “When turning 50, some people face it head on and celebrate, while others run away.”  When my sister turned 50, she threw a large party, invited co-workers, friends and family and celebrated into the night.  When I turned 50, I ran away.

On the morning of my 50th birthday, July 14, Murray and I wake up in Sarlat la Caneda in southwestern France. This is part of a 4 week trip to France to reacquaint ourselves with Paris, ride in the Dordognes, and follow the Tour de France.

Sarlat has existed since Gallo-Roman times and has changed hands numerous times throughout its history. The medieval buildings were slowly falling to ruin, when in 1962 the city received financial aid to restore its historic structures. The center of the city is now a vibrant pedestrian mall, with numerous outdoor cafes, restaurants, quaint hotels and fascinating shops.

Sarlat la Canada

Place de la Liberte, Sarlat la Caneda

We stay in the Hotel de la Mairie, which is located in the medieval city centre on the Place de la Liberté next to the Town Hall. The hotel has only five rooms which are decorated in a quaint country style with lacy rose petal wallpaper on the walls and ceilings, stone fire places and antique wooden furniture. There is a bar and restaurant on the main floor, also decorated in a country motif, with stone showing through on the walls, wooden beams in the ceiling and a fireplace. In the summer, when it is scorching hot, the restaurant and bar extend outside in the hopes of catching a breeze.

Our room is actually what used to be a very small apartment.  The old kitchen is where we store our bikes, the smaller bedroom is used to lay out all our gear, and a large bedroom that looks down a short alley towards the Place is our chamber. We eat our breakfast of croissants, jambon, fromage and strawberry jam at a small table in the window and watch the Place come alive.

It seems I have been running away from birthdays all my life.  As a child with a birthday in July, I rarely had birthday parties and frequently was traveling on my birthday.  It got to be the family joke that if was Debbie’s birthday; it must be a travel day. I remember my 15th birthday was spent riding the train from Lisbon to Madrid.  My Dad had bought a beer before we boarded the train and I was allowed to have a couple of celebratory slurps while we nibbled lunch and watched Spain whiz by.

On the morning of my birthday, it is a planned day off after three days of riding.  We rise early, grab our cameras and head out.  It is Saturday and the local market is just being set up. Murray and I want to capture the awakening of the market before the crowds arrive.

Sarlat la Canada

Bread Vendor, Sarlat la Caneda

A bread vendor is laying out round loaves of bread, long baguettes, ringed shaped loaves and short fat baguettes. His table is almost overflowing. Flour is dusted on their tops and as I walk by, the aroma is beckoning to me to buy one, but I resist. Fruit and vegetable vendors are laying out baskets of flaming red strawberries, dandelion yellow peppers, fire engine red tomatoes, pale white potatoes and forest green cucumbers.

Murray and I stop at a crepe vendor and buy our breakfast.  Warm crepes rolled with a liberal sprinkling of sugar. Our taste buds surrender as they dissolve in our mouths.

Sarlat la Canada

Pottery, Sarlat la Caneda

There are pottery vendors with bowls, plates, mugs and platters in the same intense colours as the fresh peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers.  There are over 200 stalls with vendors selling three legged stools, blown glass jewellery, baskets, flowers, hard candies, meats, fish, cheese, crafts and artwork.

There is another reason why I ran away from this birthday and it is because I do not like a fuss. I knew that if I was at work on my 50th birthday, I would get balloons heaped in my office, birthday cake at coffee time and an endless stream of “Happy 50th Birthday!”s. 

We meander through the quiet streets and back to our hotel to wait for the crowd to fatten out. When we venture out again, the crowd is thick. There are tourists pushing strollers with children in tow, elderly locals buying their weekly produce, young people, old people, French, English and German people.

We stop at a paella vendor for lunch.  The couple is cooking paella in one meter diameter woks and each wok looks like a work of art. Prawns, mussels, shrimp, clams, tomatoes, onions, peppers are all artistically arranged and surrounded by tomato sauce with parsley sprinkled on top and rice hidden on the bottom.

Sarlat la Canada

Paella Vendor, Sarlat la Caneda

We roam the back streets of the city taking photographs of the medieval architecture, the vibrant gardens and the inhabitants of the city. We walk by a park with a sign outside that says there is an antique car show the next day.  As we walk away, an older gentleman comes up to us and in broken English asks if he could borrow Murray’s bikie cap.  He is entering his antique car in the show and his costume for the show is a World Championship shirt, with green, yellow, black, red and blue strips around the chest and white pants.  Murray’s bikie cap also has a World Championship motif with the same stripes. This fellow has a big smile on his face when Murray agrees to meet him before the show the next day to lend him his cap.

Turning 50 doesn’t feel that much different than any other birthday or any other day.  I am healthy, fit, traveling with my soul mate and in a gorgeous country. It is my 50th birthday today and I am content. 

Happy 50th Birthday!

My birthday dinner that night is on the steps of the Town Hall, where our hotel has set up extra tables and chairs.  As we sip our drinks we watch the crowds pass.  We order sushi for dinner, not quite French cuisine but it’s my birthday and my choice.  As we gobble our birthday ice cream we hear music playing.  It sounds like a marching band and it is getting closer.  A band emerges, marches into the Place and stops in front of where we are sitting.  The band members are dressed in white, with red berets, belts and epaulettes.  As they play, Murray and I look at one another and smile, Murray says, “How about that, a marching band just for your birthday!”

A line of dignitaries marches into the Place.  The elderly men wear military uniforms; the younger gentlemen wear business suits.  Most carry flags.  Solemn French words are spoken.

We stay to hear a rock band play their opening riffs and head back to our room.  We plan to ride the next day, so we need to get to bed.  As we get ready for bed, fireworks explode over the rooftops.  Imagine, all this fuss for my birthday!

The French know how to throw a grand celebration for my 50th birthday and for Bastille Day, their national holiday.

 

A note from Debbie….I am taking a course called “Introduction to the Process of Writing”. In the class we are required to write a piece for submission. I chose to write an blog post about the day I turned 50.  The article was peer reviewed in class and the work above is the finished piece.  I hope you enjoy it!

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Pipestone in the Rocky Mountains

Posted on February 4, 2012 by debbie

This morning we head to Pipestone, near Lake Louise to cross country ski with our friends J&R. It is a 13 km single track ski loop winding through the forest. The track climbs and climbs for about 8 km and then makes a quick descent back to the parking lot.

Pipestone Ski Trail (photo by RM)

The sky is pristine blue for the third day, the snow sparkles like it is made of diamonds and the trees are decorated with snow garlands and orbs.

We catch a large group of boy scouts on the trail.  It is encouraging to see these youngsters out in the fresh air, exercising their bodies.

Art is hidden everywhere. We find snow art on the ski trail. Ordinary trees and snow create sculptures. Shadows produce delightful patterns on the snow.

Snow Art on the Pipestone Trail (photo by RM)

After we ski, we lunch in the Lake Louise Village and then head to the Chateau to ski on the lake. The tracks are quite icy in parts and I swear I could hear the water underneath. The sun is warm and invites a multitude of tourists to venture out onto snow covered ice. We ski almost to the end of the lake and turn to look back at the Chateau.

Skiing on Lake Louise in front of the Chateau

The day as been as good as it can be. Even though 18 km isn’t really that far to ski but it is only our 4th or 5th time out this year and we’re all pooped. One more crack at this XC stuff tomorrow and then we head home.

 

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Back Country Skiing in the Rocky Mountains

Posted on February 3, 2012 by murray

The blue bird spread it’s considerable wings over Banff National Park two days in a row. Again it is a gorgeous day, the temperature is around 0 C, there is no wind and the sun is shining bright. At the end of the day yesterday J said he had 4 days till he is scheduled to have surgery on his shoulder and he was going skiing on Friday (today). Yesterday was a great day and I said I was willing to go along. By the time we made contact last night there was 6 or 7 ready to head out for a day in the back-country.

On our way up the mountain yesterday we passed several open glades as we trekked further up the valley in pursuit of the area we had skied previously. They look enticing but we were on a mission. J decided that we should return to those glades and see what we could do about leaving our mark on the area. Especially since we set the uptrack, the weekend was coming and the untracked snow probably not long for this world.

Back Country Skiing in the Rocky Mountains

The decision proved to be a stroke of genius. The 6 of us skied 4 runs each and hardly had to cross a track. The snow was like silk. It was anywhere from boot top to knee deep. Skiing like this is the reason I walk for 2 or 3 hours up the steep slopes of a mountain,  ski 40 turns, and walk up again to ski down again. This type of skiing is called Yo-Yo skiing. Some folks like the walk in the wilderness. I don’t mind the walk but I go for the skiing.

Back Country Skiing

Today was my kind of day. We had 600 or 700 vertical meters of skiing with perfect snow on a day with moderate temperatures and skies as clear and blue as any day you have ever seen.  I’m back and I’m high, it was a great day and our trip to the Rocky Mountains has already been a success for me.

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Winter in the Rocky Mountains

Posted on February 2, 2012 by debbie

We arrive at our destination and it is dark.  When we wake up, the sky starts to lighten and it feels like we have been reborn.  Reborn in the Rocky Mountains.  Florescent white mountains peaks are etched into the blue bird (as the locals call it).

Murray heads out with J to back-country ski, but I will let him tell that story.  The mild temperatures have made the ski conditions in both Canmore and Banff only “fair”, the Lake Louise conditions are “good”, so I head to its higher elevation to cross country ski.

The Great Divide in the Rocky Mountains

I ski the Great Divide Trail.  It is a 14 km out and back to the Alberta-British Columbia border.  The Great Divide is the point where water flows east to the Hudson Bay and west to the Pacific Ocean.

The Great Divide

There are other skiers out today, so I am not totally alone. The trail has slight rolling hills, but is basically flat.  An easy ski. I stop frequently to look at the trees iced with blobs of snow, critter tracks, a couple of nuthatches and the majestic mountains.  The snow on the cuts by the trail is so smooth it looks like fondant waiting for pink roses, green leaves and a bride and groom.

I am wearing my newest purchase.  X-Bionic Energy Accumulator EVO base layer, top and bottom.  It is designed to keep warm the parts that need warmth and to cool parts that need cooling. This is the first time that I finish a ski not soaking wet. Check out their website at http://www.x-bionic.com .

It is a perfect day to be outside and the ski exhilarates me.

As Debbie mentioned, the day is perfect. We head to an uptrack close to Observation Peak. We arrive at our start point and if there was a track, it is snowed in and we have to set our own. The penetration is not deep, about 15 cm, and the travel is easy. The temperature is just below 0 C and we start out with minimum winter clothing. Can’t believe how good it is.

We use a different route than the last time we were here and depart from the creek bottom quickly. Our route leads us past some extremely enticing glades. We bypass these glades in hopes of finding the knolls we skied last year. Arriving at the knolls we decide not to ski there. The snow is thin snow pack on a slippery layer that is outlined on avalanche.ca as being prone to slide, we move across the valley and ski what we thought was safer.

The run down is the reason I walk up and today’s skiing is as good as it can be. Thirty cm of soft snow on at least a meter of snow pack. We float down the hill, it feels like we are moving on silk. 560 m (according to the Garmin) of glorious skiing. It is good, so good that 4 of the 6 of us are going back tomorrow.

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The Packing Disaster Zone

Posted on January 31, 2012 by debbie

Murray and I started to pull out “stuff” the other day and now our living room looks like a disaster zone. We have a Murray pile, a Debbie pile and a “to be looked at” pile.

Utila Packing Piles

Once again, I realized why we do this early. I started to go through the “to be looked at” pile and realized we need dive log pages.  We also need to test the batteries for our dive lights and hook up the strobe flash, camera and housing to make sure it all works properly. These chores take time and I dislike doing these in a hurry or a panic, as would happen if this was one of two days before we were leaving. We have time now.

Utila has sand flies. The Deep Blue (where we are staying) website says to bring a 20% DEET repellent.  We had encountered sand flies in Bonaire and we got eaten alive because we did not have any repellent. My legs looked like I had a bad case of the measles or chickenpox. This time, I am going to use it even though I do not like it.  Today I found some insect repellent wipes made by Ben’s.  Great for carry on travelers! The box contains 12 individually wrapped wipes.  Murray has a deep-seeded hatred of all things DEET as it melted his plastic casing on his camera many many years ago. Things haven’t changed much as shown by this statement listed under the Precautions on the box: May damage furniture finishes, plastic, painted surfaces, synthetic fabrics or leather. Guess I will only use these wipes if I really have to.

Ben's Insect Repellent Wipes iwth 20% DEET

Ben's Insect Repellent Wipes

I stopped at the AMA (Alberta Motor Association) today and picked up a map of Houston. It won’t hurt to have a real map with us as we will be exploring the city for part of a day.

Over the next few days, I am going to tackle my clothes (Murray has pulled out his already!) and the first aid kit. That should have us looking pretty good for this far out from leaving. The disaster zone will only get worse before it disappears all together.

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Utila – Starting to Pack

Posted on January 27, 2012 by debbie

As we were brushing our teeth this morning, I mentioned to Murray that we should start our packing process this weekend.  It is only three weeks until we leave.  We may be going to the mountains next weekend, so I figure we should get at it. Laying out stuff also helps to build excitement for the trip.

Are we excited yet?

I printed off our famous packing lists – Clothing, Important Documents, First Aid, Other Stuff, Scuba Diving and Toiletries. As I have mentioned before, all our lists are pasted onto one sheet with four columns. I also printed off the Before Leaving List and a new list I created last year called House Check.

The House Check list is some notes to be left in the kitchen reminding the person who checks our place what to do.  Items such as take in the mail, water the plants, check basement for water, shovel the snow. I also added two headings called “Date” and “Condition” where I asked the house checker to jot down the date and state of the house.  This is strictly for insurance purposes in case anything were to happen as we would have proof that the house was being checked regularly.  I don’t know for sure whether this is required, but I think it is a good idea.  CYA.  The list is now posted under the Packing List Menu item and is called House Check.

The first thing I did once the lists were printed was to cross off the obvious items that we will not need.  Bike Cable Lock, Toilet Paper, Toque/Gloves, Long Underwear, Entry Visa, Vaccination Certificates. Murray and I will do this again together, but I thought I would jump on it.

That is where we stand now and will continue with the packing tomorrow. See you then!

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Tourists are Targets

Posted on January 25, 2012 by murray

Tourists are targets. You can be a mark for savvy salesmen selling ‘authentic’ goods, you can fall prey to hucksters and hustlers that pose as ‘official’ guides, you can have your pocket or purse picked in a crowded market, or you can have a corrupt border guard request a little baksheesh to be paid in return for a stamp in your passport.

We do not buy too much on our trips so the savvy salesman is not someone that impacts us greatly. The best way to avoid getting taken when you are making a purchase in a foreign land is to research what you intend to buy before you leave. If I was traveling to Hong Kong, a place known for its shopping, and intended to purchase electronics or any other high tech gear I would know the price I would pay in Canada before I left. I could then at least feel comfortable with the price I was offered in the  foreign land before I made a purchase.

The second part of the equation is a little more difficult. Is the item you are looking at an authentic name brand piece or is it a knock off? This may not matter if the quality of the knock off is good but in all likelihood an imitation will be of inferior quality. I really don’t know how one is suppose to tell except to say, that if the deal is too good to be true, it probably is. You don’t buy a Canon 7D DSLR camera for $200, I don’t care what country you’re in. There is also the moral aspect of the equation. Do you buy a knock off at all? Personally I would be happier with an original, but in the end it is your choice.

In our travels I can recall hiring a guide that approached us to offer his services, only twice. Both times when we were first accosted, we initially begged off and walked away. After some time and some discussion we returned to the “guide” and discussed the service being offered and the price that was being asked. It was only after this ‘cooling off’ period and a calm chat that we decided to pursue those particular tours. Both times we were happy with the services rendered. Most times we will not pay any attention to the touts that approach us. If they are persistent I will tell them in a somewhat polite manner that we are not interested, if that doesn’t work I get down right impolite. Sooner or later they will give up.

I’m also a little pig headed about having to pay an ‘entry fee’ into a country when I have already spent money to get the proper visa and permit long before I set foot at the border station. When we are getting set to go somewhere, we do enormous amounts of research and we know if there are any official fees to be paid upon entry or exit from the countries to which we are headed.

Several years ago, Debbie, our two kids and I were at a land crossing from Belize to Guatemala. The immigration officer had decided to charge us a bogus stamping fee or some such. I had done my reading and knew this might happen. I refused, partly feigning to not comprehend what he was asking for and partly saying we will not pay money. There was a fellow with a machine gun standing off to the side but he didn’t seem too agitated and I stood my ground. After a minute or two the line behind us was getting backed up and the border guard threw our passports across the table and we were allowed access to Guatemala san entry fee. This attitude is how things work in the non western world and as tourists we should respect the ways of our hosts but those hosts have to realize that we tourists have our moral limits as well and they should accept some of our strange ways. Paying for little or no service, bribery, is not something that most westerners have ever encountered and I personally do not want to partake.

No matter how hard one tries to dress, act, and/or otherwise fit in, most travelers have ‘TOURIST” written all over them. It is pretty hard to blend in when your skin color is different than the general populace but even when that is not an issue, tourists stick out. Maybe it is the camera, maybe the map in their hand, or maybe it is just that they are far more interested in the surroundings than a local might be. This being the case, tourists are easy marks for petty thieves and pickpockets. There are a few things one can do to  minimize the risk of being accosted. Don’t advertise. Try to be subtle in your dress and manner. Don’t wear flashy jewellery or other ‘bling’. If you can possibly do it, look poor. What would be the use in trying to lift a poor person’s wallet when the guy next to them glitters like a star on a clear night. Don’t flash your fancy camera. That does not mean don’t carry it but keep it concealed or at least tight to your body so it is harder to nab.

Always be wary of your surroundings. I was on the tram heading to Athens from Piraeus, it was crowded and a good place for a pickpocket to hang out. I had my luggage on my back so I was quite visibly a tourist. My wallet was in my front pocket that was secured with Velcro. For some reason I holding a chrome post with one hand and I had the other hand placed so my thumb was resting on the top on my wallet. Suddenly I felt the wallet moving up. I looked beside me and there was a lady with a coat draped over her arm and hand standing just a little too close. She had already undid the Velcro without me noticing but luck was on my side and she did not get my wallet. I did get a piercing look when we got off the train.

Sometimes you have to rely on your “spidey sense.” I was walking alone on a street in Dublin, of course I had a map in my hand (a rookie traveler mistake). I was aware of a conversation going on behind me. I was walking quite fast and although I was not consciously thinking about why the conversation was taking place too close to my back, I somehow knew it. Again subconsciously, I suddenly realized the talking had stopped. I don’t know exactly why but without slowing down I stepped sideways into a vestibule, and quickly turned. There was a guy with his hand in mid air posed to get into my rucksack. I shouted very loud so that the entire street could hear to “get the #$&@% away from me.” Not wanting to attract too much attention, he beat a hasty retreat. I had to rely on a sixth sense but none the less I was able to avoid loosing my camera or whatever else he might have been able to pilfer.

I now carry a phony wallet and only enough loose cash in another pocket to last the day. The phony wallet contains a couple of local club cards (like my Safeway card), a couple of credit cards that come as advertising with “your name” in the name slot, and a few worthless bills from previous trips. The wallet is fat enough to be noticeable and if a pickpocket so desires they can have it. There is a pretty good chance I would let it go, it would make the day for both of us.

Most places in the world are no more dangerous than your hometown. The percentage of dishonest people is probably no higher than what you would encounter at home but with the cultural differences and your giddy holiday demeanor it is more difficult to spot the anomalies that would make you suspicious in more familiar surroundings. You have to observe what is going on about you very carefully and unfortunately be somewhat cynical. Every once in a while you will get taken. Just remember that it is all part of the game. We travel to learn and part of learning is making mistakes. So laugh it off and remember the scam so you will recognize it the next time you cross paths.

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