Out of This World!

There are places on this Earth, that at a glance, are nearly impossible to believe exist. This is an incredible creation, this big blue marble hurtling through space and time on which we have the privilege of existing. At J and L, we try to appreciate the things we find in our backyard as well as those around the planet, but these are so incredibly spectacular, we believe you'd enjoy a little virtual planetary exploration as you plan your summer vacations.

Painted Desert, Arizona

First up, take a look at the Painted Desert. Perhaps you've had the opportunity to see the colors, so vivid in the right light in the desert of Arizona. A visit here takes you to another wonder, the Petrified Forest. The existence of these wonders defy conventional understanding, and are worth the drive. But, the painted desert is not one of a kind. There is a location in southeast China where the geologic formations date back to the Cretaceous. We can thank the movement of the Himalayas for the creation of this exotic panorama. Not in my backyard, but spectacular.

Zhangye Danxia Landform – China

So what else would make you put a trip to China on your to-do list? Well, if we leave human history out (there goes the Great Wall, and Tienanmen Square, and on and on), and just go for the nearly other-worldly, then we must look from the desert, to the mountains. High in the Hunan Province, there are sheer mountain formations in the Tianzi which look like they came straight out of the painted backdrops for the film, Avatar. Try building your house here -- if you want to get away from it all. But watch that first step, it is a doozy!

Tianzi Mountains – China

Thinking of a mountain get-away but want something in this hemisphere? How about a veritable island paradise in Mount Roraima, South America.  This mountain peak serves as the border point marker for three countries: Brazil, Venezuela, and Guyana. A table-top mountain (meaning, as the name suggests, it is flat on top) sits over two miles above sea level. The geologic formations date back two billion years. Yup, two billion with a "b" -- Precambrian. Back when your only neighbors would have been soft, single celled creatures. Quiet neighborhood, I should imagine -- perfect get-away.

Mount Roraima – South America

Okay, so heights are not your thing -- how about something more down to earth, or rather, below the surface. This Naico Mine in Chihuahua, Mexico has the largest formations of selenite crystals, more commonly known as gypsum, which can be found on this old Earth of ours. The crystals can be four feet in diameter and fifty feet tall.

Naico Mine – Mexico

Now again, for comparison and reference, there is a large deposit of these crystals in the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico. But here, the crystals are the size of a grain of sand, and are, in fact, referred to as White Sands. Beautiful, but it begs the question of whether size matters when comparing such things.

White Sands - New Mexico

So, you still haven't decided where to plan your next vacation?  How about a trip to the lake? Lake Hillier, in Australia, or Lake Retba, in Sengal offer water the color of which is sure to please the little princess in your family. These waterways are perfectly safe to play in and around, despite their unsettlingly pink color. There is believed to be a combination of an unusual strain of red halophilic bacteria and high saline content. The locals will fish and swim in the lake, but I think I'd stick to just putting my feet in near shore where the water is clear.

Lake Hillier – Australia

Looking for something to cool off from the summer heat? How about the Mendenhall Ice Caves in Alaska? Just a dozen miles from Juneau, this formation, at the terminus of the glacier is the perfect place to take break from the summer heat!

Mendenhall Ice Caves – Alaska

All right, so maybe none of these places are your style or within your vacation budget, but there remains one last place that we at J and L have definitely put on our list: the Black Forest in Germany. Bordered by the Rhine, and encompassing the Danube, the history and beauty of this region is unparalleled. To lie on your sleeping bag in your tent in the dark, listening to the creatures of the forest, is to travel back in time and experience nature as man has for hundreds, even thousands of years. As the wolves howl, one can almost hear the echo of the footsteps of Vlad Tepesh as he searches along the banks of the Danube for his lost princess.

Black Forest – Germany

Wherever life takes you this summer, we at J and L know you will have stories and photographs to share with those close to you.

A Peruvian Tale of Friendship (Part One)

When traveling we occasionally come across interesting fellow adventurers who are not content with sitting at home but want to hit the high road and see what is on the other side of the mountain. That is how, we at J and L, feel people should spend their lives. Exploration is what makes humans so successful among their fellow creatures in an often challenging earthly environment.

With this in mind I would like to take the reader back with me to the sprawling mountain village of Cusco in the beautiful South American country of Peru. That famous capital of the mighty Incan empire before the Spanish arrived and chased the remaining native souls to the hinterlands and one of final hideaways in Machu Picchu (a topic we have covered previously).

It is in that very city, Cusco, that Laureen and I met a wonderfully interesting and educated man. But a man of great mystery as we learned some time later.

His name was Carlos and he was an officer in the Peruvian military. We will, at this time, not mention what he did in the military except to say he was in charge of an anti-terrorism special operations team which worked in the Amazon and other locales in this vast and varied countryside.

We were in Peru for the first time, to visit the ruins of Machu Picchu and then move on to Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world) to visit the floating reed islands. Here we were going to tour Sun Island (which was actually in Bolivia), and take a drink from the fabled  fountain of youth and receiving a blessing from a local shaman. That meant we had to get from Cusco to Puno.

Of course, to get to Puno, the tiny Peruvian town on the coast of Lake Titicaca, we had to take a six hour bus ride from Cusco. Now, to put the trip into perspective, a six hour drive for a Southern Californian is nothing more than a long trip for a good meal.

That idea was short lived. The bus, 'First Class Transportation', from Cusco turned out to be a voyage from hell.

It was great fun!

We started early on a cool winter morning (it was summer were we lived in North America) leaving the magnificent city of the Incans for the semi-short drive to Puno when suddenly the route was blocked by construction. Large earth moving machines munched dirt like a starving person eats whatever is in their reach. Knowing no one on board the large transport bus, we sat and chatted between the two of us knowing we would probably fall asleep while the driver bore down the long dark asphalt vein that would end at our destination.

Sleep never came.

Our bus driver, a rather tall and skinny older fellow, decided that he had had enough at one of the detours on the highway and jumped out of the still running bus and began chasing two construction truck drivers swinging his fists and knocking one poor worker to the ground nearly unconscious. The people on our bus were in shock to witness such a show of animal brutality but Laureen and I sat and watched and made a financial bet to see who would finally win.

We were from the United States. Betting on violent spectator sports was in our blood.

Laureen won the bet as the driver, now sweaty, dirty and swearing climbed into the driver seat and lurched the bus backwards and then forwards toward a narrow but high cement curve. He was taking this bus full of passengers up and over this slight obstacle to the flat and even dirt road which the innocent construction workers he had just beat up were trying to pave.

This is where I would get my money back.

"He's going to high center this bus." I smiled at Laureen.

"No, he knows what he's doing."

The bus climbed a couple of feet, dropped less and was stuck teeter-tottering on that cement divider. I smiled knowing we were even with our bets - so far.

With what I believe was an attempt at a chagrined countenance the bus driver had us exit the bus so he might be able to un-wedge the vehicle from its perch.

"He won't be able to do it," I said.

Laureen did not take the bet.

He couldn't and we knew there would be at least forty-five minutes of head scratching, more swearing, and finally a solution in removing a five ton bus from a short concrete wall. Our fellow travelers stood around the bus for the next several minutes while the genius behind the wheel and nearly a dozen other men pondered the situation. Being the explorers we were, the idea of standing around watching the ruckus with the bus didn't sound like our cup of tea, so we walked off and found a small roadside shop for a cold beer and a Pepsi. After refreshing ourselves, we slowly made our way back to where the bus was still lodged off the ground. Trucks and men pulled and tugged on the bus until finally it was free. Our Ark had bested the wall  and we were finally on our way to Puno but without the benefit of an exhaust pipe. We were less than two miles from the bus station but it was just the beginning of a wonderfully funny and pathetic story.

Only 386 kilometers to go.

And we had not even met Carlos yet.

To be continued.