A tour with me

I keep thinking of doing a guided tour of Peru, or Central America.  Both have a very strong appeal for me, and both would pull me in many directions.

A tour of Peru would cover a lot of ground, and ideally would go from the north to the south (or vice versa).  I could see taking a group from Trujillo to Cusco, and then down to Nazca., or doing Cuzco last.  That would take about 17 days to do decently, and more time would allow for diving into deeper detail in the ruins that are throughout Peru.  My best guess at cost would run about C$4,000/person, including airfare from Vancouver, staying in a mix of hostels and a few hotels, meals, entrance fees and guides, but not including booze.  please note that that is a budget whirlwind of a trip, spending a lot on airfare within Peru to skip the time taking a bus.

The short version for Central America would start in Cancun Mexico, them Tulum, then on to Caye Caulker in Belize, then San Ignacio.  Cross the border into Guatemala and see Tikal, stay in Flores for a day, Antigua, Lake Atitlan, and then off for Nicaragua for a week, with the flight home from Managua.  The problem with that is the current political unrest in Nicaragua.  i would be reluctant to take a trip there, not in terms of personal safety, but in terms of reliability of travel.  Skipping Nicaragua and Costa Rico to go to Panama might make sense, but would up the cost by quite a bit.  A 3 week trip would cost around C$3,500.  Increase the cost to 4,000 if we fly to Panama and do the canal.

Canadian Politics, n stuff

Part 1

Current Canadian politics is embroiled in a controversy on how much power the Prime Minister has.  He has shuffled Jody Wilson-Raybould out of the position of Attorney-General, a decision that is well within his power as PM.  However the optics of doing so while pressuring her to go easy on SNC-Lavalin, followed by asking the new Attorney General to discuss the SNC-L case, and then maintaining that the former AG was not shuffled out because of her stance on SNC-L stinks of corruption.

To most of the world, Canadian politics are seen as corruption free, but that is not true, and this ugly case brings that to the fore.  Justin Trudeau was elected and put in office based on a number of positions that placed him at the forefront of many modern political reforms and changes.  He promised many things that melted away soon after being elected, among them changing electoral laws from first past the post to proportional representation, how open the cabinet meetings would be and how much he would listen to the new opinions of the newly elected in the Liberal Party.  With the exception of legalising marijuana, he has failed on all his major election promises, and even there he has been swayed by large corporations to keep the cultivation limited to large companies, rather than kicking the doors open to all.

Part 2

I have not looked into what is taught in social studies currently, but when I was in high school, {1977-1980), there was a lot taught about what the constitution means, a bit on personal rights and freedoms, and nothing at all on personal political power.  As a member of  a democracy, your personal political power is small, and your voice is weak.  But that does not mean it does not exist, nor does it mean that it cannot be joined to others.  The point that is never brought up is the one of civil disobedience.  At what point are you as a citizen obligated to stand up against the current laws and state THIS IS WRONG

You can protest by carrying a sign, you can protest by writing letters and phone calls, and you can protest by voting.  You can shout your protest by entering as a candidate..  

It is currently wrong how our native population is treated.  What should be done to correct it is not something that I know, nor is there ever going to be an easy solution, but moving towards a solution is something we as a country need to do.

Trudeau promised to move Canada away from oil dependence, and toward a green economy.  Moments after being elected, he hit the money wall that is big oil, and all ideas of green slammed to a halt.  He turned his back on the protesters and supported big oil, then wondered why his popularity took a dive, while smiling at the cameras and showing how picture perfect his family is.

One of the things I am fairly confident of in Canada's politics is the integrity of the ballot box, and between social media and the ballot box, the up coming election looks to be a way to slap the face of those who think last election promises are forgotten as soon as the politicians are sworn in.

Veteran's Day

Also known as armistice day, November 11th.

I have posted about it several times, and I hope that this time it is from a slightly different angle.

My interaction with veterans of either World War were limited, and the one who talked to me the most about it was an American WW II veteran maned Robert Waltz.

When I moved into the Vancouver area, I ended up living in his basement for a while, and got to know him slightly over the six or so months I was there.

He read a lot.

He wrote a lot.  Not much of his writing was published, but the information I have is that he published a few novels shortly after WW II, and then a long break before a last novel in about 1999.

He was a raconteur, and had lived a full life, with many wives, a lot of children and travel at a time when things were both easier and more difficult than now.  The few stories he share about travelling with the Taureg in Morocco in the 1950's made me realise how different things are now, with our ease of getting to Morocco, but at the same time going between counties was much easier then, and for the most part instead of a passport, he used his military ID.

I never figured out a chronology for his life.  I know he grew up somewhere in the states, and volunteered for the army, getting into a armoured unit and becoming a tank driver.

The first dichotomy in talking to him was the complete lack of anger or malice towards the German people as soon as the peace was declared, and the attitude of achievement of running over German soldiers with the tank.  He even made sure that any troops who surrendered to him were taken to a place where their surrender was treated according to conventions rather than turning them over to the locals who were shooting them out of hand.

I have no idea when he went back to the states after his time in Europe, but he said he left a country where there was very little racism, and went back to a country he no longer had a connection with, because of the amount of racism he encountered.

I have a very hard time believing that statement from him, on the one hand, but on the other I think that he changed vastly in his time away, and the things he accepted as part of the culture when he had no foreign experience and the culture shock he felt upon return was strong.

He left the United Sates, and never returned.

He spent more time travelling, eventually ending up in Canada with a French wife and the two children he had with her.

Although he seemed blind to what we call race or colour, he was not blind about background and culture.  He seemed to revel in pointing out cultural differences, not favouring one culture over another, just highlighting the differences.

I do wonder what he would have thought of the current divisive mess that is US politics.  Not to talk about what should be changed, but to talk about the societal pressures that pushed them into the current fight they are in.

Long Time no Post

A lot has happened since my last post, mostly from time passing.

Bolivia was a lot of fun, and hopefully I will be going back soon.  Cochabamba is a great city to pass the winter in, and Santa Cruz De La Sierra puts enough warmth into your bones to last a good long time.

Back in Canada, I idled my way through spring, managed to make my way to Whitehorse and then spent a busy spring and early summer going to the SCA events and doing a lot of cooking for friends.

I managed to crash my bike, not much happened to the bike, but the trailer was totalled.  I was driving on a secondary highway in Alberta, at the small town of Coronation and thought the highway went straight north there, but it jogged about a mile to the west.  Heading north on the road it was fine until at the crest of a hill it went from pavement to gravel.  Wet gravel at that.  I slowed down before I hit the gravel, but was still going too fast when I hit a loose section of the road and over I went.

That was the bad part of my summer.  Everything else has been fine and yesterday I got to watch my daughter get married.  A great day which started off cloudy, but cleared off and stayed nice without getting too hot for their backyard ceremony in Vancouver.

I hope to post on a more frequent basis in the coming months.

Take care, and travel well.

Whitehorse Yukon, in April.

It was a distant hope, one I nurtured even while knowing it could not be, but I had hoped to see no snow when I got to Whitehorse.  Although for the most part it has been relegated to piles in parking lots and small banks in empty lots, there is still snow to be found.  Today with a cold wind and about 7c, there is a few drops of rain and grey skies over.

For all of that, and the fact that there are only bare hints of green to be found anywhere other than on the pines, most people are wearing their lighter clothes, and I have yet to see someone dressed for really cold weather.  In Vancouver weather this cold would have mitts, thick parkas and heavy boots in abundance.  Here there are light jackets, smiles and the occasional fool out in short pants.

The trees have got some of that yellowy-brown colour at the tips of the branches like the are waiting for a cue before the buds really come out.  Pussy willows on south facing and low lying slopes have their fuzzy ends showing.  The birds have started appearing in greater numbers.  Spring is easing its way into the north, slowly edging its way in and levering the last dregs of winter away.

And below, are a few pictures taken near Whitehorse of the few animals that did not run away before I managed to get my camera out.

Santa Cruz De La Sierra, Bolivia

After Cochabamba, Santa Cruz is a bit of a let down.  It is still an okay city, and the vibe is not creepy or anything, but all in all it is a step down from Cochabamba.

A part of that step is not doubt due to the area of town I am in, as once I go through the busy market area directly to the south of the hostel, the dirt, debris and garbage tends to fade.  The central square, Septembre 14, has a very clean and airy feel, and the shopping area around it is both busy and clean.  I am always amazed by the sheer number of small shops that cluster and all are of the same type, whether shoes, electronics, car parts or vision glasses.  The number of small shops selling glasses needs to be experienced to believe, and the priices are very cheap as well.  Single vision glasses start at 100/BOB, which translates as under 20 CAD.  Bifocals 150 and progressives at 250.  Computerised eye exam available from 40/BOB.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the central square mentioned above.

There were 8 chess boards, and after 4 oclock, all were in use.

One Road

China is currently building a route from their borers to Europe.  This piece of infrastructure when complete will alter the economics of that part of the world.  How much this will affect the western world is open to specutaion, but the way for the Americas to counter this is simple.  Build a robust route to South America.

Currently there is no land route from South America to either Central or Noth America.  One of the reasons for this has been interference from the USA, as it is seen as making the smuggling of drugs too easy.

The majority of North Americans have come to believe that the war on drugs has been lost, and indeed should never have begun.  The way that Portugal has dealt with it, legalizing everything and turning addiction from a legal problem into a health problem has resulted in a massive society wide benefit.

USA also sees Latin America as a problem in terms of illegal immigration, but the proven way to ease the pressure to immigrate is to make staying home a better economic and social idea.  People are reluctant to move unless where they are moving to is substantially better than where they currently are.

When NAFTA came into effect, the greatest positive effect happened in Mexico.  The economic boost resulted in many jobs, better infrastructure, and more people staying in the country.

The net effect of the war on drugs in Latin America has been extremely negative.  The amount of illegal money is mind boggling, and the amount of corruption that follows that vast amount of money is very predicable.  This adds into the reasons why people immigrate, to escape corruption.  The other real reasons people leave are war and lack of resources.

Although the sea routes are a very valuable way for trade, a land route would add greatly to the trading zone that is the Americas.

If China does manage to create an inexpensive land route through to Europe, if the Americas want to stay within shouting distance for sheer size of economy, we will need to unite with our own complete north to south ecomomic zone.  They will still be larger and the total wealth potential between India and China dwarfs the rest of the world, but the chance to lift all of the Americas into the developed world through trade in a united economic zone is a political goal that any group could be proud to have a part in.