Selling Tiaras

Need I say more? Rangoon, Myanmar, 2004

Where in the World?

Is this. Read some of my posts below and you'll figure it out.

Basilica in Quito Splits Earth in Half

The equator lies on an east-west line, splitting the Basilica in Quito.

The Basilica in Quito contains treasures that can't be missed when you visit there.

First, the climb up is treacherous--steep stairs that soar to the sky--not to mention frightening, but well worth it. The views are incredible and there's a special treat.

You get to see the world sliced in half.

The shot above is looking east so that on the right side of the photo is the Southern hemisphere and on the lefts side is the northern hemisphere.

For more about the climb, check out his blog entry.

Man Shadows

Shanghai, China 2005

Song of the Carp

Hellow, my name is Cyprinidae. I live in a fresh water pond in Tokyo. I'm a city fish. I like to eat stuff that's at the bottom of my pond. If you ate me, I'd taste muddy, cause I live in muddy water (according to Wikipedia).

Oh, and generally, even though I have a big mouth, I don't bite (humans that is).

Painting Jesus

One good thing about candid photography is that sometimes you catch the darndest things.

I walked into a gift shop at the La Basílica, a grand church in Quito, to buy some batteries and found a man painting in the back.

Candidly, I asked him if I could photograph him painting. He more than obliged.

I showed him the photo on the LCD screen of my camera afterward, and he was amazed that I could get that good a photo with such poor lighting.

I thank Canon for that, as shooting with their cameras at 1600 ISO is like capturing a duck in the dark.

No duck here, just a guy painting Jesus.

New World Spansh Inquisition

The Inquisition museum in Cartagena, Columbia shows some of the brutality that took place there in the Middle Ages. Roman Catholics wanted to preserve the Church doctrine, which required that all people who didn't follow it were tortured and killed.

In the early 16th century the kings of Portugal and Spain ordered the murder of all Jewish people and others who did not convert, including many of the native people of the region.

Even those Jews who did convert (called conversos) were tortured with devices such as the one illustrated above.

Quito Flower

Flower from the botanical garden in Quito, Ecuador.

A Tropical Flower

As I leave Cartagena, I leave people who visit my blog a flower from here. I'm appreciative for the humidity here in the tropics, because without it flowers like these would not grow.

Sure has been sticky, though.

I'm also greatful for the Caribbean spirit, as they never hesitate to paint their buildings with powerful colors.

The building's color is what makes the above picture as the contrast between the light purple and golden bronze is stunning.

Cartagena de Indias

Cartagena of the West Indies, or Cartagena for short is a Columbian destination, but it's flavor is purely Caribbean.

Spaniards came here in the mid-1500s and made havoc with the place, slowly torturing the native people (the Mocanáes) that were here.

Cartagena was a slave port,one of two in the region. Slavery was outlawed in 1852.

Today many of Cartagena's inhabitants are descendants of the African immigrants.

This highly spirited places offers some of the best architectural and people photo-ops I've seen in this part of the world.

I've wanted to come here for a very long time and am glad I made it.

Is it safe?

Yes, there's some tension here between rich and poor, perhaps a little more pronounced than some other Latin American cities.

Today was interesting as it rained buckets, so much so the streets were flooded. The rain failed to dampen spirits, as many of the men built bridges with planks of wood and milk cartons, and physically helped people step across the street. Smiles percolated as people crossed both among the men helping and the people crossing.

In Galapagos, All that is Fecal Matters

While in the Galapagos, I came to the realization that nature holds no bars when revealing itself to the throngs of tourists that go there.

You see the Galapagos iguana in this pic? If you look closely you'll figure out that it has just defecated. See the mockingbird by the iguana? It has just finished up sucking up the watery stool of the iguana.

Disgusting to some? Yes (all in my tour group moaned a miserable yuck just after the mockingbird did its thing). An act most necessary for the mockingbird's survival? Yes, again.

There's very little water on many of the Galapagos islands, making it vital for the birds to get it from anywhere they can, even from what comes out of the iguana's rear end.

Amazon vs. Galapagos: Which is the Better Trip?

Boobie in the Galapagos


Heron in the Amazon

As afterthoughts to my Amazon and Galapagos trips in Equador over the past week, I have concluded that the Amazon is more worthwhile.

On my amazon trip, I traveled with a first rate guide who knew every detail of the forest, including finding and identifying the types of animals native to eastern Ecuador.

On my Galapagos trip I traveled on the largest ship that sails there, the Galapagos Explorer II. I agree with the Frommers review on the The New York Times website in that the ship was too crowded to make any of the island tours worthwhile.

The guides were stressed and it showed in their interactions with the passengers. It was not a good atmosphere for learning about the islands and their wildlife as the ship's web site advertises.


An Amazon vs. Galapagos Photography Assessment

In terms of photography, I also like to think of this part of my trip as a comparison of two worlds, a view of the Galapagos Islands compared to one of the Amazon rain forest.

In terms of shooting photographs, the Amazon requires a quick eye, a knowledge of the animals' environment and a really good zoom lens. In the Galapagos where you actually have to step over sea lion after sea lion on a walk on the beach and where the birds come right up to you an average zoom lens will do (say, a 200 mm lens).

Amazon Photography

Shooting in the Amazon rain forest is a tricky proposition. Much of the time you'll find yourself on a canoe in any of the hundreds of streams that lie within the huge forest covering an area from the east coast of South America to eastern Ecuador and Peru near the west coast of South America.

Shooting from a canoe with a zoom lens is a dicey situation in terms of first spotting the animals and then getting a clear photo of them.

Here's some tips:

1. Buy a zoom lens of at least 400 mm with image stabilization.
2. Shoot at at least 1000 ISO
3. Shoot using a variety of settings, with rapid fire shooting at each setting.
4. Respect the animals (if that means not getting as good a shot as you want, then so be it).

To be sure, the image below could have been clearer had the shot been taken with a camera that had a far-reaching flash unit attached, but I can't get myself to do that as it'd scare the wits out of the animals.

Amazon Lick

So what's going on here in the Amazon? This is a flock of parrots being scared off from a lick by a hawk.

A lick is a place where these birds go to eat dried up mud and have a bath afterward.

Usually licks are found on canyon walls where the red earth of the amazon is exposed. Birds chew the dried up mud because it's a digestion aid.

Magic Mushroom

The Amazon is a must-see, must visit, forget-your-fears-about it type of place.

Before you go, know:

1. Schools of Piranahs don't attack you if you fall into the river.
2. Andacondas don't grab and choke you while you hike in the forest.
3. Malaria won't get you every time. (My doc prescribes me antimalarial meds, taken once a week starting a week before I go and ending four weeks after).

Those and other myths kept me from visiting this place for years. I'll start my little Amazon post section with a harmless mushroom (that is if you don't eat it).

Quirky Quito

Odd Quito architecture.

In some ways Quito is a scrappy little city, where a mismash of architecture meets the soaring heights of the Andes.

Not to be fooled by the San Diego like plan of the city (an if-there's-space-put-up-an-anything-type-of-architectural style); Quito is happening-- tons of upgrades in the Colonial section and hip-and-cool scene developing in the new city.

A great example of how well the renovations work in Quito can be seen in the Patio Andaluz. The place is spotless, the food in the restaurant unique. The only drawback in the colonial section turning upscale is the tripling of prices for a meal.

For a better deal, turn to new town, an area busting with dining possibilities (and thriving nightlife. The restaurants are a quarter of the cost of an American style hotel or a newly refurbished hotel restaurant in the colonial section. Think total tab of $15-20 for two for dinner. The scene varies from all-in-one
Internet/cafe/phonebooth/bakery restaurants to shops that cater to the rough-and-ready Andes/Amazon tour set.

Snow at the Equator

Here I am in Quito, Ecuador, very near the equator. You can see snow from my hotel. The temperature a wonderful 70 degrees, quite a respite from the 115 I suffered through in Palm Springs, CA.

More about Quito coming soon.

New York, New York

With regard to the presidential election of 2008, it seems as if everything is coming up New York. From Bloomberg to Clinton to Giuliani, the New Yorker's are at the gate...on your mark...get set...go!

Why should New York be the breeding grounds of so many presidential aspirants? One only has to go back to the last presidential election to find that a candidate was doomed if he came from anywhere outside of the Heartland.

You would think that a person from New York City would be a great candidate now that Bush is out of the picture. Almost anyone associated with the state has some association with 9/11.

It's as if being from New York City or even New York state has a certain courageous ring to it--an I-survived-and-even-thrived the biggest terrorist attack in the United States kind of aurora. Bush had that aurora cause he was president during the attack. Clinton, Giuliani and Bloomberg have it because of their association with the state and/or city.

McCain, Romney, Edwards and company don't rate with respect to this point.

But what about frontrunner Obama?

Is he above the 9/11 fray? How can he make points with regard to protecting our country when he isn't associated with that stricken day?

Perhaps he'll have to pump some New York into his bloodstream!

New Yorker

New Yorker, yes; but what is this a picture of?

Changes in S.F. Skyline

Here's one of a few new skyscrapers that is making it's way up the S.F. skyline.