48 hours after boarding a bus to Rongo we were boarding a bus back to Nairobi. Un freakin belieavable!
First of all wwoofing is an organinzation that connects volunteers to small communities and organic farms to exchange food and accomodation for hard work. We had e-mailed our hosts numerous times to work out the details. In that exchange they said everything was covered but they would need $9 to cover the cost of some food for us. No problem. Our budget was heavily based on wwoofing for this part of the trip but that $9 was certainly doable.
The sun came up after we napped from our 4 a.m. arrival and before we left the house I went to give the wife a U.S. 10 dollar bill. We didn't have 9 but take the ten it's ok.
She asks "what is this"
"it's the nine dollars you asked for."
"No no no, this is not enough. $9 a day"
My face changed and I said "that's not what you said"
The conversation persists for a minute and I ended with, "I need to talk to my husband about this."
By the time we got to the school we realized that these people believed we were there as some sort of philanthropist offering financial support. Only the school director and his wife knew about wwoofing. The staff had no idea. In fact, there wasn't even a farm there.
That night Mateo and I had to have a silent conversation by passing paper back and forth to discuss the issue. There was no private place to talk and the walls were open at the top so any sound could be heard. We asked to talk to our hosts the next morning and expressed to them that we felt we were invited there under false pretenses. We felt we should leave because we didn't want to be a burden but in addition to that we were uncomfortable with being lied to.
We ended up getting to the next town to catch a bus back to Nairobi but we had to take a chaperone with us because if you remember from the "Fools Gold" post we had no shilling...our hosts used it all. We reimbursed our chaperone, paid for his way back and invited him to have a meal with us. Don't you know a few days later I received an e-mail from our host asking why did we refuse to pay for the matatu fare like we agreed. The wife said she was forced to pay him. I was livid. I don't know what type of games those people are running but I sure am glad we're away from there. We got to Nairobi and were greeted with some real Kenyan hospitality.
Major, major appreciation to Baba Kanyana and Mama Kanyana and the Muriuki family. We spent 5 days at their house and it was great. The first morning Mama Kanyana fed us then had us go take a nap to rest from our long trip then woke us up to feed us again. We were like two little kids. We Spent a full day with Baba Kanyana touring the rural area, meeting his lifelong friends, seeing where there family is from and visiting family and friends. At every point we had to take tea or juice or at least water. They said you can't leave a place without swallowing your spit. We swallowed so much that we almost burst before making it to the bathroom to relieve ourselves when we returned to the city. It was great!
They connected us to an NGO and set up another opportunity for us to volunteer. So here we are now back in western Kenya but this time in Kisumu. There's truly a farm and lots of other projects. We'll be here for 3 weeks. We've already gotten blisters on our hands from trying to dig water channels.
We are living in a traditional Kenyan village. There's no electricity, no running water and the sanitation system is a pit latrine. The houses are made from mud and cooking is done over coals. We will be involved in the creation of water channels, poultry as well as community needs assessments and impact assessments. Two full nights under our belts and it's a good experience already. We'll have so many stories to tell. We live 13 kilometers outside of town. So we will be able to get on the internet whenever we come to town.
Joronda
29 January 2006
Fools Gold
We arrived in Kenya after spending a full night in the airport in Doha, Qatar. We had no complaints about spreading out on the floor and chairs among all the Hajj travellers. Qatar Airways was supposed to put us up in a hotel but every time we went to the counter to ask they just kept giving us food vouchers. So we ate very well all night.
We weren't sure if our host would be at the Jomo Kenyatta airport even though they told us we would be collected when we arrived. We've been travelling a while now so negotiating a good taxi price to town was relatively easy. We made our way to the hostel and called our host from a payphone. Through the static of heavy down pouring rain we were told we would be picked up the next day after lunch.
The next day we decided to go to the city center before heading to western Kenya. Getting to Nairobi center was just a short trip in a very crowded matatu. The matatu is a small van like bus with 3 rows of seats. You kind of have to flag them down, then hop in before they pick up speed. I banged my head twice and put a contusion on my knee trying to get it right. Suprisingly they play extremely loud uncensored music. I kept looking at the lady next to me to see her reaction to some of the lyrics but she never moved. Very quickly we learned this was just Nairobi matatu style.
Our host did meet us but it was after numerous failed attempts to reach him. The time was 6 pm when he and his brother walked up to the hostel. Somehow it turned out that we needed to take a taxi with them to the brothers house in one of the city slums and without really understanding the arrangement we ended up paying for all of us to go there. So much for being collected.
We spent the next day trying to cash in a gold coin so our host could buy some things for his school. We followed him to numerous jewellers while collecting more people in our party on the way. We were excited to be in Nairobi but as the day wore on we weren't really sure what was going on. On the quest to exchange the gold we picked up a female pastor, a young girl claiming to be the pastors daughter, a strange man eating lunch with our host when the young girl reunited us with our host and several building security guards. Somehow all of these people were involved in the exchange of this gold.
After hours of tireless trekking our host walks us through some back alley streets without saying a word until we asked and were told we're going to book our bus tickets. He also said he didn't have enough money to get back home so he was sending us by ourselves. Turns out the coin was gold plated and he would have to find his fare the next day. Well, this meant we would be arriving in a small rural town at 4 oclock in the morning, by ourselves, with no idea of where to go and not knowing if someone would meet us. No way! We could have done that 2 days ago and had much more money in our pockets. At this point we had zero Kenyan shilling because our host used it all.
We did a bit more walking around and he miraculously got his fare from some street vending man so we booked his bus ticket and boarded the Akamba bus for Rongo that night.
Joronda
We weren't sure if our host would be at the Jomo Kenyatta airport even though they told us we would be collected when we arrived. We've been travelling a while now so negotiating a good taxi price to town was relatively easy. We made our way to the hostel and called our host from a payphone. Through the static of heavy down pouring rain we were told we would be picked up the next day after lunch.
The next day we decided to go to the city center before heading to western Kenya. Getting to Nairobi center was just a short trip in a very crowded matatu. The matatu is a small van like bus with 3 rows of seats. You kind of have to flag them down, then hop in before they pick up speed. I banged my head twice and put a contusion on my knee trying to get it right. Suprisingly they play extremely loud uncensored music. I kept looking at the lady next to me to see her reaction to some of the lyrics but she never moved. Very quickly we learned this was just Nairobi matatu style.
Our host did meet us but it was after numerous failed attempts to reach him. The time was 6 pm when he and his brother walked up to the hostel. Somehow it turned out that we needed to take a taxi with them to the brothers house in one of the city slums and without really understanding the arrangement we ended up paying for all of us to go there. So much for being collected.
We spent the next day trying to cash in a gold coin so our host could buy some things for his school. We followed him to numerous jewellers while collecting more people in our party on the way. We were excited to be in Nairobi but as the day wore on we weren't really sure what was going on. On the quest to exchange the gold we picked up a female pastor, a young girl claiming to be the pastors daughter, a strange man eating lunch with our host when the young girl reunited us with our host and several building security guards. Somehow all of these people were involved in the exchange of this gold.
After hours of tireless trekking our host walks us through some back alley streets without saying a word until we asked and were told we're going to book our bus tickets. He also said he didn't have enough money to get back home so he was sending us by ourselves. Turns out the coin was gold plated and he would have to find his fare the next day. Well, this meant we would be arriving in a small rural town at 4 oclock in the morning, by ourselves, with no idea of where to go and not knowing if someone would meet us. No way! We could have done that 2 days ago and had much more money in our pockets. At this point we had zero Kenyan shilling because our host used it all.
We did a bit more walking around and he miraculously got his fare from some street vending man so we booked his bus ticket and boarded the Akamba bus for Rongo that night.
Joronda
25 January 2006
The Bold, the proud, the Marines
I know we said four days and it's been much longer than that but the scenic route turned out to be a bit more than we bargained for. Hopefully you all haven't been too worried. We're o.k. now but it was touch and go for a minute there.
We found ourselves at the Airport in Yemen trying to get a plane ticket to any East African Country close to Kenya...this is where the story begins. We approached the transfers desk to ask about a ticket and and hour and a half later we were still waiting there. Remember we wanted to fly to Djibouti but it turns out the flight wasn't leaving until Tuesday and it was Saturday. No way we were going to be in Yemen that long.
After we spoke with the airline reps, the security asked for our passports to put with the rest of the passengers. This was the biggest mistake we made. After 3 hours we were still trying to get our passports back. If you didn't know, Hajj (the muslim pilgrammage to Mecca) just ended. The airport was filled with hajj travellers and they assummed we were headed to Dar es Salaam with the group who came in right behind us.
It's kind of exhausting to tell this story so please bare with me...
Ok, so the airport is filled with security in different uniforms a lot of them are carrying heavy artillery. In the effort to retrieve our passports we follwed around a guard who was promising us the documents were coming. When we did get them back it was with a few men around us trying to get us to leave the area and pay for a visa which we read we didn't need to get into Yemen. During hour 4 we tried to purchase a ticket and I had to be escorted by the military police to the salees office while Mateo watched our bags. The guard escorted me to the ATM then into a small room full of military men where he had the lead guard tell me in English "this man will help you but you have to pay him...is this ok?" I said no and inched my way to the door behind me. The guard escorted me back to the sales office where I bought what I thought was an airline ticket.
Hour 5 we tried to confirm the ticket but security tried ushering us up the stairs. They gestured that we would go to jail if we didn't listen. All for a ticket confirmation. When a manager came over we were walked back to the ticket office with all of our things and given our money back. The manager yelled at the sales guy in Arabic and moments later we had our U.S. dollars back in our hands. OK great...but were in Yemen. We sat outside the security gates with our big packs on trying to figure out what to do. We saw a securitydissappear past a wall an a few seconds later come back with an armed guard. Great!!! We are now being monitored inside the airport with no ticket to fly out and no way to walk out the front door.
Mateo went to the only other airline open and after being surrounded by all types of guards he was able to go pay for visas and get the number to the U.S. Embassy where this airline rep suggested we run to.
Hour 6 we're in a taxi headed to the Embassy. In front of the fort guarded by Yemenia military guards we got a supervisor who got a U.S. Marine on the line. I have never been so happy to hear an American accent. He said "we'll take care of you". We got in the Embassy and Cpl Preston gave us info and what felt like great security. We stayed in a hotel next to the Embassy and baracaded ourselves inside for 2 days. We still stayed in Yemen until Monday but after another visit to the Embassy we were on a plane to Qatar. It turns out the Embassy was celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday so they were closed for business when we needed them.
Joronda
We found ourselves at the Airport in Yemen trying to get a plane ticket to any East African Country close to Kenya...this is where the story begins. We approached the transfers desk to ask about a ticket and and hour and a half later we were still waiting there. Remember we wanted to fly to Djibouti but it turns out the flight wasn't leaving until Tuesday and it was Saturday. No way we were going to be in Yemen that long.
After we spoke with the airline reps, the security asked for our passports to put with the rest of the passengers. This was the biggest mistake we made. After 3 hours we were still trying to get our passports back. If you didn't know, Hajj (the muslim pilgrammage to Mecca) just ended. The airport was filled with hajj travellers and they assummed we were headed to Dar es Salaam with the group who came in right behind us.
It's kind of exhausting to tell this story so please bare with me...
Ok, so the airport is filled with security in different uniforms a lot of them are carrying heavy artillery. In the effort to retrieve our passports we follwed around a guard who was promising us the documents were coming. When we did get them back it was with a few men around us trying to get us to leave the area and pay for a visa which we read we didn't need to get into Yemen. During hour 4 we tried to purchase a ticket and I had to be escorted by the military police to the salees office while Mateo watched our bags. The guard escorted me to the ATM then into a small room full of military men where he had the lead guard tell me in English "this man will help you but you have to pay him...is this ok?" I said no and inched my way to the door behind me. The guard escorted me back to the sales office where I bought what I thought was an airline ticket.
Hour 5 we tried to confirm the ticket but security tried ushering us up the stairs. They gestured that we would go to jail if we didn't listen. All for a ticket confirmation. When a manager came over we were walked back to the ticket office with all of our things and given our money back. The manager yelled at the sales guy in Arabic and moments later we had our U.S. dollars back in our hands. OK great...but were in Yemen. We sat outside the security gates with our big packs on trying to figure out what to do. We saw a securitydissappear past a wall an a few seconds later come back with an armed guard. Great!!! We are now being monitored inside the airport with no ticket to fly out and no way to walk out the front door.
Mateo went to the only other airline open and after being surrounded by all types of guards he was able to go pay for visas and get the number to the U.S. Embassy where this airline rep suggested we run to.
Hour 6 we're in a taxi headed to the Embassy. In front of the fort guarded by Yemenia military guards we got a supervisor who got a U.S. Marine on the line. I have never been so happy to hear an American accent. He said "we'll take care of you". We got in the Embassy and Cpl Preston gave us info and what felt like great security. We stayed in a hotel next to the Embassy and baracaded ourselves inside for 2 days. We still stayed in Yemen until Monday but after another visit to the Embassy we were on a plane to Qatar. It turns out the Embassy was celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday so they were closed for business when we needed them.
Joronda
11 January 2006
From one wonder to the next
So we weren't too shaken after that last adventure. Although sore for a few days and then hit with a little cold bug but we've recovered. So now it's time for the next plan.
We hit the continent of Africa and we didn't quite know how we were going anywhere from there. Some of you may remember that we planned to take trans-siberian railway across Russia and then scale the borders of numerous European countries before crossing the Mediterranean sea. Instead, after darn near freezing to death on the Great Wall we hopped on a 757 and booked it across the open skies straight to Cairo. I know we've talked about cold a lot but neither of us had ever been this cold in our lives. The wind was trecherous and climbing straight up to cross watch tower after watch tower just became debilitating after a while. How could it possibly be this cold and how could people live in it! China on one side and Mongol on the other was an unbelieveable experience. I mean we were actually walking on one of the man made wonders of the world and the photos in our history books had done it no justice. But my God my knees and ankles were rock solid frozen. Maybe it would have been better if we knew there was a nice cozy heater to go back to but it's been a rare occasion when we've been privy to a heater around these parts. Mateo's forehead and cheeks were red, my ears were ringing and both our noses were running and freezing at the same time. Have you ever seen snot crystalize... then shatter?
So a few days later we're living it up in the 55 degree Cairo weather. Ahhhh warmth. Cairo is a bustling metropolis with donkey and horse carts pulling men and women wrapped in scarves headed to their spot to sell their goods. The buildings are close together like New York City and the living is apartment style. You can buy bread on the street from the guy riding his bike with the whole rack on his head. Sweet potatoes are cheap, hot and fresh off the grill with wheels (easy mobility). Black and white Fiat Taxi's dart in and out of lanes never breaking for pedestrians. Packs of boys walk the streets arm in arm singing and yelling and having fun together. The same streets where men stroll arm in arm conversing with their brothers.
We've traversed the streets with our huge backpacks looking like foreigners coming home. We look foreign but somehow doemstic as well. Before we got here we got all kinds of stares and more than several times people just started speaking French to Mateo. Now we're asked what part of Africa we're from. Of course we have absolutely no connection to Africa and this garners a wealth of emotion for both of us. We are asked where we're from and America just doesn't suffice for people. They want to know where we're originally from. Of course we don't have that answer. A lot of people seem to think I'm from Sudan and Mateo looks a bit Egyptian and maybe South African. We've started telling people we're from Mexico and that seems to be suitable. Actually one person got it right when he straight out asked if we were from Mexico. I figured he should be able to see that for sure in my husband.
So how does all of this amount to more adventure? Well, even though I look Sudanese, we can't take the chance of going through Sudan to get deeper into East Africa. Instead we're taking the scenic route. We've opted to exit Africa briefly and then reenter through Djibouti. We will stop in a total of 4 countries before we reach Kenya in just about as many days. Most of that trip will be overland so that will require some patience and a little bit of blending in.
We tried to practice blending today as we trekked the sands of Giza to see the pyramids and the Sphinx. We were offered so many camel rides but no way because we could do it on our own...and we did. The camels were cool but I didn't think they were treating the animals right and it was all just a big tourist trap. Wait until you see some of the pictures. We don't blend very well with my lime green jacket. Anyway, tomorrow is our last day in Cairo before we head to Alexandria, up the Nile on the Mediterranean. We may be out of contact for a few days so here is our plan.
1. Fly from Alexandria to Sajrah, United Arab Emirates January 14th at 1:10am
2. Take a connecting flight to Sana'a, Yemen 6:45 am
3. Stay one night in Yemen and then fly or merchant ferry to Djibouti January 15th
4. Take a bus to Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
5. Transfer to a train in Dire Dawa and head for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Capital City)
6. Try to get on a bus the same day going straight to Nairobi (overnight bus maybe January 17th)
This may take about 4 days
Once we're in Nairobi we may be met by our host where we're volunteering who will take us 7 or 8 hours to Rongo (Mbita) a small town on Lake Victoria just across from Uganda
As soon as we can we will post and update you all on our status and location.
Salaams from Cairo
Joronda
We hit the continent of Africa and we didn't quite know how we were going anywhere from there. Some of you may remember that we planned to take trans-siberian railway across Russia and then scale the borders of numerous European countries before crossing the Mediterranean sea. Instead, after darn near freezing to death on the Great Wall we hopped on a 757 and booked it across the open skies straight to Cairo. I know we've talked about cold a lot but neither of us had ever been this cold in our lives. The wind was trecherous and climbing straight up to cross watch tower after watch tower just became debilitating after a while. How could it possibly be this cold and how could people live in it! China on one side and Mongol on the other was an unbelieveable experience. I mean we were actually walking on one of the man made wonders of the world and the photos in our history books had done it no justice. But my God my knees and ankles were rock solid frozen. Maybe it would have been better if we knew there was a nice cozy heater to go back to but it's been a rare occasion when we've been privy to a heater around these parts. Mateo's forehead and cheeks were red, my ears were ringing and both our noses were running and freezing at the same time. Have you ever seen snot crystalize... then shatter?
So a few days later we're living it up in the 55 degree Cairo weather. Ahhhh warmth. Cairo is a bustling metropolis with donkey and horse carts pulling men and women wrapped in scarves headed to their spot to sell their goods. The buildings are close together like New York City and the living is apartment style. You can buy bread on the street from the guy riding his bike with the whole rack on his head. Sweet potatoes are cheap, hot and fresh off the grill with wheels (easy mobility). Black and white Fiat Taxi's dart in and out of lanes never breaking for pedestrians. Packs of boys walk the streets arm in arm singing and yelling and having fun together. The same streets where men stroll arm in arm conversing with their brothers.
We've traversed the streets with our huge backpacks looking like foreigners coming home. We look foreign but somehow doemstic as well. Before we got here we got all kinds of stares and more than several times people just started speaking French to Mateo. Now we're asked what part of Africa we're from. Of course we have absolutely no connection to Africa and this garners a wealth of emotion for both of us. We are asked where we're from and America just doesn't suffice for people. They want to know where we're originally from. Of course we don't have that answer. A lot of people seem to think I'm from Sudan and Mateo looks a bit Egyptian and maybe South African. We've started telling people we're from Mexico and that seems to be suitable. Actually one person got it right when he straight out asked if we were from Mexico. I figured he should be able to see that for sure in my husband.
So how does all of this amount to more adventure? Well, even though I look Sudanese, we can't take the chance of going through Sudan to get deeper into East Africa. Instead we're taking the scenic route. We've opted to exit Africa briefly and then reenter through Djibouti. We will stop in a total of 4 countries before we reach Kenya in just about as many days. Most of that trip will be overland so that will require some patience and a little bit of blending in.
We tried to practice blending today as we trekked the sands of Giza to see the pyramids and the Sphinx. We were offered so many camel rides but no way because we could do it on our own...and we did. The camels were cool but I didn't think they were treating the animals right and it was all just a big tourist trap. Wait until you see some of the pictures. We don't blend very well with my lime green jacket. Anyway, tomorrow is our last day in Cairo before we head to Alexandria, up the Nile on the Mediterranean. We may be out of contact for a few days so here is our plan.
1. Fly from Alexandria to Sajrah, United Arab Emirates January 14th at 1:10am
2. Take a connecting flight to Sana'a, Yemen 6:45 am
3. Stay one night in Yemen and then fly or merchant ferry to Djibouti January 15th
4. Take a bus to Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
5. Transfer to a train in Dire Dawa and head for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Capital City)
6. Try to get on a bus the same day going straight to Nairobi (overnight bus maybe January 17th)
This may take about 4 days
Once we're in Nairobi we may be met by our host where we're volunteering who will take us 7 or 8 hours to Rongo (Mbita) a small town on Lake Victoria just across from Uganda
As soon as we can we will post and update you all on our status and location.
Salaams from Cairo
Joronda
05 January 2006
new years eve...shaolin style
a little background...
we left xi'an by train to the city of zhengzhou, stayed in zhengzhou for a night and then ventured south by bus to dengfeng where 17km outside of the city lies the original shaolin temple and several dorms which would become our new "home". when we arrived at the shaolin temple area it was cold and so we found a place to stay the night and bunkered down. the next day we woke up to falling snow and equally declining temperatures, we then decided to forego our shaolin escapades for a nice quiet day in our new dorm room listening to music and playing gin rummy (sp?). enter day 3...on day three (new years eve) we ventured out of our dorm and down the snow covered paved path to the various sights of the shaolin temple. first it was a very touristy martial arts gallery/museum, then the actual shaolin temple, then another temple, then the "forest" of pagodas...all were lining this well paved path with much vehicular traffic and tourists walking and getting out of little electric cars at the various points. nothing scary and nothing to worry about at this point.
adventure time...
we had previously read in our lonely planet guidebook, and subsequently seen on the tourist map that there was a hanging bridge in the shaoshi shan mountains surrounding shaolin. i was very excited to see this bridge and it was one of the main destination points in our sight seeing for that day...joronda, on the other hand, was very apprehensive and not enjoying the potentiality as much as i. (you should ask her for her version of the story). anyway, we decided to give it a whirl knowing that it was going to be somewhat of a hike. at this point it was just short of noon and we had plenty of daylight remaining, so we headed some 2000 meters up the street towards our destination. it turns out that once you traverse the street portion you then reach what appears to be the base of the mountain, and you are then faced with a series of staircases that are to take you the rest of the way. now it wasn't actively snowing but the ground was covered in snow (just up to the ankles at some points) and the stairs were pretty steep...but we're montanos, so we pressed forward.
we walked for about 15 minutes through a mediocre range of stairs and flat land before we reached this beautiful iced over waterfall. i've never seen anything like it before...the majority of the waterfall was frozen, but you could still hear and see some of the water underneath. over one of the rocks the water had frozen mid fall and was hanging in the air...it was beautiful. because the water was iced over we were able to walk right up on the waterfall itself and get a once in a lifetime look at it...i was thouroughly impressed. so, i just knew that the hanging bridge was somewhere at the top of this waterfall and that we were very close to finding it. so we took several pictures and then continued up the mountain. now by this time the stairs were extremely steep and as we were climbing, both our muscles and lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. but it was good to be working out and the scenery was so beautiful that i felt it was a small sacrifice for our experience. so finally after about 2 hours and some 2000+ steps we made our way to what we thought was the top of the mountain...it turned out to be the stopping point for the cable car/ski lift that wasn't in operation that day because of the weather. we were both feeling tired and hungry, but seeing as how we only had two small steamed buns, a little peanut butter, and less then a quarter of a bottle of water we decided to hold out and continue our journey. we would eat at the hanging bridge and it couldn't be that much farther...could it?
so we pressed ahead, grateful that the path was flat and that there didn't appear to be any stairs in our immediate future. after 10 minutes of easy walking we rounded the bend of the mountain and looked out in amazement at what lay before us. the mountain had completely opened up and the path was precariously perched along the side of it. the path looked like a tongue depresser on toothpicks, rubber cemented to the biggest mountain i've ever seen. we were much higher than i'd anticipated and looking over the railing produced nothing but looming fog and shakey knees. the entire bottom half of this mountainous valley was engulfed in snow, trees and fog...as was the "hanging plank", as they call it, minus the trees of course. joronda was noticably nervous and shaken and certainly did not trust this time tested support system. quietly, i did not blame her, but i knew that i couldn't let our fears and self doubts stop us now, the scenery was too impressive to quit and the hanging bridge had to be close.
so we walked nervously along this hanging plank that was clinging to the side of the mountain and when we got to the scariest point, we turned around and realized that where we had just come from looked much scarier then the point we were at. with our self doubt momentarily subsided we pressed on...up and down numerous stairs, over paths suspended in time, around the circumference of the mountain, through the snow and fog, all at dizzying heights and all fueling our desire to reach our goal...the hanging bridge. after 2 hours of the most scenic hike we've ever taken, we finally reached the hanging bridge. thump thump, thump thump, thump thump, our hearts pounded with fear and our bodies surged with adrenaline as we looked at the 782-step, snow covered, rope bridge dangling across the foggy expanse of this mountain some 1500 meters above sea level. being that i am deathly afraid of heights, it hardly looked safe...my heart was beating in my throat and joronda was on the verge of tears...but there was no turning back now!! i decided to go first just in case some should go wrong, so with all of the bravery i could muster up i gave my teary-eyed wife a kiss and said a heartfelt prayer before stepping out onto the bridge. immediately the cables tensed and the bridge sagged under my weight. from that height the bridge swayed side to side clanking against it's movement restricting supports, but i felt like EVERYTHING was swaying, the mountain, the trees, my courage...nothing seemed to keep still as i walked one foot in front of the other towards the end of the bridge. in the middle, i paused momentarily to look out and down to get an idea of just how high i was. as the mountain and trees moved beneath me and the fog swirled up and wisped my shoes i had no doubt as to just how high i was...enough sightseeing i thought, it's time to get to the other side, so as quickly and safely as i could i continued. having reached solid ground successfully i was exstatic, i could hear my heart pounding out the "eye of a tiger" beat as the wind carried the lyrics through my chest to harmonize with my ego. wiping the sweat from my brow i turned to look at adrian, um joronda, who was very scared and seemed to be miles away. nervously, i pulled out the video camera to capture her harrowing victory on tape...stepping slowly onto the moving platform she gripped the chicken wire sides for reassurance. in much the same fashion as i, she crossed shakily, safely, and thankfully. glad to have reached the safety of the other side, joronda was real cool on ever repeating said feat again. but not me, i was so excited to have done that...i really felt like i'd accomplished something. i mean, i'm still a chicken shit when it comes to heights but it felt good to challenge myself on that level and momentarily overcome my fears. so with that, i ventured out onto the middle of the bridge a couple of more times for some crucial photo ops...i was going to have documentation of this moment!!!
our journey was finally complete and we were very happy to have made it to our destination...but now reality set in. we were 4 hours into the mountain and only had about 2 hours of daylight remaining...shhhiiiit. what do we do? according to the map it was a shorter distance to the ending parking lot if we just continued to press forward instead of turning around and going back the way we came...so we decided to do just that. after a few more last minute pictures we continued forward over equally rugged and precarious terrain. at one point, joronda felt so weak that we decided to break into our steamed buns and water...we each ate 1/2 a steamed bun and drank a sip of water and then continued. eventually we broke off icicles from the overhanging rocks and nawed on them to get water...and let me tell you, that icicle felt so good against our tongues that we didn't even mind the dirt in our teeth as a result. still continuing forward our 2 hours of daylight quickly slipped away and we soon found ourselves in a much more adventurous situation than we had originally bargained for. to make matters worse, the snow had begun to turn to ice which made all of the thin stone steps we had to descend, very slippery and dangerous...plus, there were no hand rails in some spots which would make for a hell of a fall. on top of all that, the fog was so thick that it engulfed our path in a visionless blur...so we couldn't really see what was awaiting us until we were a few feet from it. did i mention that the sun was setting? talk about living on the edge...literally!!!
so there we are, descending into the unknown foggy depths of this snow covered mountain somewhere in central china with very little food and water, a fast setting sun, and no concrete idea as to how much more of this mountain we would have to travel through to get to the other side...plus no one knew that we were out there. but we had courage, each other, and God on our side so i believe that we were good. anyway, about 40 minutes after the sun had gone down we happened upon this very small mountain village who's residents were extremely surprised to see us. they pointed us in the right direction, which was the direction we were already headed in, and we continued on our way. at the very least we figured that if push came to shove we could head back to them and hopefully get a meal and a corner to sleep until daylight. clinging to the side of the mountain we navigated the terrain like a brain surgeon wearing boxing gloves...v e r y, v e r y s l o w l y, and fumbling a whole hell of a lot. so now, about another 40 minutes or so after we had passed the mountain town we were face to face with the longest, snow covered, foggy staircase we have ever witnessed, imagine the yucatan pyramids...on crack!!! slowly we began descending the first 100+ steps praying for an end...no relief, just more steps. our legs burned, our hands were frozen, and my fu manchu 'snot'stache keep dripping into my damn mouth...eww!! on to the second 100+ steps...again, no relief, just more steps. 3 and 4 more landings of 100+ steps a piece all resulted in nothing. finally after 6 hours of mountaineering we made it onto solid ground, through a set of gates, and into the open, snowy field of the parking lot...hoo "muthaf'n" oray! (bernie mac tribute)
but not for long...
the parking lot was pitch black and there were no cars, no taxis, and no cavalry to greet us. instead we were now some 20+ km away from our dorm room and we had no real idea how to get back without venturing through the mountain again. so armed with my little flashlight and my wife's hand in mine, we set out walking down some two lane mountain highway in china hoping that we would eventually see a sign or something that would indicate which way we should go. by this time the sun had set well over an hour ago and it was only about 7 pm, so we figured that people should still be out and about, if you will. while we were walking we had plenty of time to bond like we had never done before...we talked about our relationship and the future of it, kids and time capsules, compliments and apologies, and what we were most excited about for our future...it was beautiful, and we really felt connected. alone, on that mountain highway, with nothing but the foggy moonlight to guide us, we really had a special moment and i believe that our relationship will prosper as a result.
anyway, at the first sign that we passed on the road it indicated that a right turn would take us to dengfeng (the city 17km outside of shaolin) and a left turn would take us to what would turn out to be a temple...how do we know that?...because we took the left turn and then had to turn back around and head towards dengfeng. no worries though, because we figured that when we got there we could hire a taxi and make it back to the dorm in no time. so the next sign we reach is all in chinese, as are all of the future signs that we would encounter on this dark roadway. there were no cars and no lights...who knows if we were even still headed to dengfeng...we never saw another sign that indicated that we were or weren't for that matter. eventually, after about 1 1/2 hours of walking we heard cars and decided to head in that direction assuming that it was the main road of the town. so with new enthusiasm we plowed ahead...when we finally reached the cars we were on a bridge that over looked the freeway. WHAT THE HELL?!?!
both of us were visibly defeated as we honestly believed that this would be the main road...we had absolutely no idea where we were as our guidebook was of very little help at this point. we didn't know if we should keep going forward, or turn around and go back the way we came and take one of the side streets that we had passed, or walk alongside the freeway. joronda went into the woods to use the toilet and i just slumped down and prayed and poured through our guidebook for any glimpse of an answer. eventually we decided to just keep heading straight since we had seen several big rigs going in that direction. so moving a few paces forward, and really just standing in the middle of the road, we spotted some headlights coming in our direction. both of us were hoping that this would be our good samaritan and help us out...zoom...the car whizzed past us. dejected, we turned back around to keep walking when we noticed brake lights and the car making a u-turn...alhamdulillah. the little hatchback pulled up next to us and the front and back windows rolled down to reveal 2 men, 2 women, and a baby...much chinese and broken english was passed between us and thankfully they offered us a ride. we gladly accepted and piled in the backseat...it was the 2 women, the baby, myself, and joronda in my lap all crammed in the back of this yugo-type of economy car. we proceeded to head down the road as our hosts tried to figure out where we needed to go. the vehicle reeked of alcohol and the one girl that spoke english the best seemed drunk. joronda was heavy as hell on my lap, the driver was swerving in and out of traffic, the man in the front seat was trying to extort money from us in chinese, the women in the back were laughing and chatting loudly, and the baby was screaming and crying uncontrollably. it turned out to be a nightmarish test of patience.
when they finally "understood" that we were staying in the dorm of one of the shaolin schools it seemed like everything was going to be ok. soon we were stopped at some school with the people telling us to get out of the car because this was our school...we told them for the umpteenth time that this was not our school and that we were not staying here. they then proceeded to tell us that the shaolin temple was closed and that we should stay here for the night and return in the morning. we told them that was not an option and pleaded for them to take us to our school...the english speaking one kept saying "don't worry we will help you" and so we left again. about 15 minutes later we were at yet another school and the same scenario repeated itself, however, this time we were "forced" to get out of the car and the driver and his drunk male friend left us and the english speaking lady at the front gates of this school that "her friend owns". again she wouldn't listen to our pleas that this was not our "home" and that we wanted to go to our "home". finally we decided to set out on foot again and leave our samaritans...so we thanked them and departed. fortunately, we now knew that we were in dengfeng and we had seen several taxis on the corner. so we walked to the corner and were immediately solicited by a taxi driver...we paid him 50 rmb and he took us HOME. thank GOD!!!!!!!!!!
so after a hell of an afternoon/night we arrived safely at our dorm and we were both never more excited to see the dirty, piss scented place that we had called home. the time was 2230, and we stayed awake just long enough to ring in the new year before drifiting off in a well deserved slumber.
on behalf of my wife and i, we would like to wish all of our family and friends a very happy new year and a blessed 2006. may you all prosper and be shown mercy in this life and the next.
salaam
mateo
we left xi'an by train to the city of zhengzhou, stayed in zhengzhou for a night and then ventured south by bus to dengfeng where 17km outside of the city lies the original shaolin temple and several dorms which would become our new "home". when we arrived at the shaolin temple area it was cold and so we found a place to stay the night and bunkered down. the next day we woke up to falling snow and equally declining temperatures, we then decided to forego our shaolin escapades for a nice quiet day in our new dorm room listening to music and playing gin rummy (sp?). enter day 3...on day three (new years eve) we ventured out of our dorm and down the snow covered paved path to the various sights of the shaolin temple. first it was a very touristy martial arts gallery/museum, then the actual shaolin temple, then another temple, then the "forest" of pagodas...all were lining this well paved path with much vehicular traffic and tourists walking and getting out of little electric cars at the various points. nothing scary and nothing to worry about at this point.
adventure time...
we had previously read in our lonely planet guidebook, and subsequently seen on the tourist map that there was a hanging bridge in the shaoshi shan mountains surrounding shaolin. i was very excited to see this bridge and it was one of the main destination points in our sight seeing for that day...joronda, on the other hand, was very apprehensive and not enjoying the potentiality as much as i. (you should ask her for her version of the story). anyway, we decided to give it a whirl knowing that it was going to be somewhat of a hike. at this point it was just short of noon and we had plenty of daylight remaining, so we headed some 2000 meters up the street towards our destination. it turns out that once you traverse the street portion you then reach what appears to be the base of the mountain, and you are then faced with a series of staircases that are to take you the rest of the way. now it wasn't actively snowing but the ground was covered in snow (just up to the ankles at some points) and the stairs were pretty steep...but we're montanos, so we pressed forward.
we walked for about 15 minutes through a mediocre range of stairs and flat land before we reached this beautiful iced over waterfall. i've never seen anything like it before...the majority of the waterfall was frozen, but you could still hear and see some of the water underneath. over one of the rocks the water had frozen mid fall and was hanging in the air...it was beautiful. because the water was iced over we were able to walk right up on the waterfall itself and get a once in a lifetime look at it...i was thouroughly impressed. so, i just knew that the hanging bridge was somewhere at the top of this waterfall and that we were very close to finding it. so we took several pictures and then continued up the mountain. now by this time the stairs were extremely steep and as we were climbing, both our muscles and lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. but it was good to be working out and the scenery was so beautiful that i felt it was a small sacrifice for our experience. so finally after about 2 hours and some 2000+ steps we made our way to what we thought was the top of the mountain...it turned out to be the stopping point for the cable car/ski lift that wasn't in operation that day because of the weather. we were both feeling tired and hungry, but seeing as how we only had two small steamed buns, a little peanut butter, and less then a quarter of a bottle of water we decided to hold out and continue our journey. we would eat at the hanging bridge and it couldn't be that much farther...could it?
so we pressed ahead, grateful that the path was flat and that there didn't appear to be any stairs in our immediate future. after 10 minutes of easy walking we rounded the bend of the mountain and looked out in amazement at what lay before us. the mountain had completely opened up and the path was precariously perched along the side of it. the path looked like a tongue depresser on toothpicks, rubber cemented to the biggest mountain i've ever seen. we were much higher than i'd anticipated and looking over the railing produced nothing but looming fog and shakey knees. the entire bottom half of this mountainous valley was engulfed in snow, trees and fog...as was the "hanging plank", as they call it, minus the trees of course. joronda was noticably nervous and shaken and certainly did not trust this time tested support system. quietly, i did not blame her, but i knew that i couldn't let our fears and self doubts stop us now, the scenery was too impressive to quit and the hanging bridge had to be close.
so we walked nervously along this hanging plank that was clinging to the side of the mountain and when we got to the scariest point, we turned around and realized that where we had just come from looked much scarier then the point we were at. with our self doubt momentarily subsided we pressed on...up and down numerous stairs, over paths suspended in time, around the circumference of the mountain, through the snow and fog, all at dizzying heights and all fueling our desire to reach our goal...the hanging bridge. after 2 hours of the most scenic hike we've ever taken, we finally reached the hanging bridge. thump thump, thump thump, thump thump, our hearts pounded with fear and our bodies surged with adrenaline as we looked at the 782-step, snow covered, rope bridge dangling across the foggy expanse of this mountain some 1500 meters above sea level. being that i am deathly afraid of heights, it hardly looked safe...my heart was beating in my throat and joronda was on the verge of tears...but there was no turning back now!! i decided to go first just in case some should go wrong, so with all of the bravery i could muster up i gave my teary-eyed wife a kiss and said a heartfelt prayer before stepping out onto the bridge. immediately the cables tensed and the bridge sagged under my weight. from that height the bridge swayed side to side clanking against it's movement restricting supports, but i felt like EVERYTHING was swaying, the mountain, the trees, my courage...nothing seemed to keep still as i walked one foot in front of the other towards the end of the bridge. in the middle, i paused momentarily to look out and down to get an idea of just how high i was. as the mountain and trees moved beneath me and the fog swirled up and wisped my shoes i had no doubt as to just how high i was...enough sightseeing i thought, it's time to get to the other side, so as quickly and safely as i could i continued. having reached solid ground successfully i was exstatic, i could hear my heart pounding out the "eye of a tiger" beat as the wind carried the lyrics through my chest to harmonize with my ego. wiping the sweat from my brow i turned to look at adrian, um joronda, who was very scared and seemed to be miles away. nervously, i pulled out the video camera to capture her harrowing victory on tape...stepping slowly onto the moving platform she gripped the chicken wire sides for reassurance. in much the same fashion as i, she crossed shakily, safely, and thankfully. glad to have reached the safety of the other side, joronda was real cool on ever repeating said feat again. but not me, i was so excited to have done that...i really felt like i'd accomplished something. i mean, i'm still a chicken shit when it comes to heights but it felt good to challenge myself on that level and momentarily overcome my fears. so with that, i ventured out onto the middle of the bridge a couple of more times for some crucial photo ops...i was going to have documentation of this moment!!!
our journey was finally complete and we were very happy to have made it to our destination...but now reality set in. we were 4 hours into the mountain and only had about 2 hours of daylight remaining...shhhiiiit. what do we do? according to the map it was a shorter distance to the ending parking lot if we just continued to press forward instead of turning around and going back the way we came...so we decided to do just that. after a few more last minute pictures we continued forward over equally rugged and precarious terrain. at one point, joronda felt so weak that we decided to break into our steamed buns and water...we each ate 1/2 a steamed bun and drank a sip of water and then continued. eventually we broke off icicles from the overhanging rocks and nawed on them to get water...and let me tell you, that icicle felt so good against our tongues that we didn't even mind the dirt in our teeth as a result. still continuing forward our 2 hours of daylight quickly slipped away and we soon found ourselves in a much more adventurous situation than we had originally bargained for. to make matters worse, the snow had begun to turn to ice which made all of the thin stone steps we had to descend, very slippery and dangerous...plus, there were no hand rails in some spots which would make for a hell of a fall. on top of all that, the fog was so thick that it engulfed our path in a visionless blur...so we couldn't really see what was awaiting us until we were a few feet from it. did i mention that the sun was setting? talk about living on the edge...literally!!!
so there we are, descending into the unknown foggy depths of this snow covered mountain somewhere in central china with very little food and water, a fast setting sun, and no concrete idea as to how much more of this mountain we would have to travel through to get to the other side...plus no one knew that we were out there. but we had courage, each other, and God on our side so i believe that we were good. anyway, about 40 minutes after the sun had gone down we happened upon this very small mountain village who's residents were extremely surprised to see us. they pointed us in the right direction, which was the direction we were already headed in, and we continued on our way. at the very least we figured that if push came to shove we could head back to them and hopefully get a meal and a corner to sleep until daylight. clinging to the side of the mountain we navigated the terrain like a brain surgeon wearing boxing gloves...v e r y, v e r y s l o w l y, and fumbling a whole hell of a lot. so now, about another 40 minutes or so after we had passed the mountain town we were face to face with the longest, snow covered, foggy staircase we have ever witnessed, imagine the yucatan pyramids...on crack!!! slowly we began descending the first 100+ steps praying for an end...no relief, just more steps. our legs burned, our hands were frozen, and my fu manchu 'snot'stache keep dripping into my damn mouth...eww!! on to the second 100+ steps...again, no relief, just more steps. 3 and 4 more landings of 100+ steps a piece all resulted in nothing. finally after 6 hours of mountaineering we made it onto solid ground, through a set of gates, and into the open, snowy field of the parking lot...hoo "muthaf'n" oray! (bernie mac tribute)
but not for long...
the parking lot was pitch black and there were no cars, no taxis, and no cavalry to greet us. instead we were now some 20+ km away from our dorm room and we had no real idea how to get back without venturing through the mountain again. so armed with my little flashlight and my wife's hand in mine, we set out walking down some two lane mountain highway in china hoping that we would eventually see a sign or something that would indicate which way we should go. by this time the sun had set well over an hour ago and it was only about 7 pm, so we figured that people should still be out and about, if you will. while we were walking we had plenty of time to bond like we had never done before...we talked about our relationship and the future of it, kids and time capsules, compliments and apologies, and what we were most excited about for our future...it was beautiful, and we really felt connected. alone, on that mountain highway, with nothing but the foggy moonlight to guide us, we really had a special moment and i believe that our relationship will prosper as a result.
anyway, at the first sign that we passed on the road it indicated that a right turn would take us to dengfeng (the city 17km outside of shaolin) and a left turn would take us to what would turn out to be a temple...how do we know that?...because we took the left turn and then had to turn back around and head towards dengfeng. no worries though, because we figured that when we got there we could hire a taxi and make it back to the dorm in no time. so the next sign we reach is all in chinese, as are all of the future signs that we would encounter on this dark roadway. there were no cars and no lights...who knows if we were even still headed to dengfeng...we never saw another sign that indicated that we were or weren't for that matter. eventually, after about 1 1/2 hours of walking we heard cars and decided to head in that direction assuming that it was the main road of the town. so with new enthusiasm we plowed ahead...when we finally reached the cars we were on a bridge that over looked the freeway. WHAT THE HELL?!?!
both of us were visibly defeated as we honestly believed that this would be the main road...we had absolutely no idea where we were as our guidebook was of very little help at this point. we didn't know if we should keep going forward, or turn around and go back the way we came and take one of the side streets that we had passed, or walk alongside the freeway. joronda went into the woods to use the toilet and i just slumped down and prayed and poured through our guidebook for any glimpse of an answer. eventually we decided to just keep heading straight since we had seen several big rigs going in that direction. so moving a few paces forward, and really just standing in the middle of the road, we spotted some headlights coming in our direction. both of us were hoping that this would be our good samaritan and help us out...zoom...the car whizzed past us. dejected, we turned back around to keep walking when we noticed brake lights and the car making a u-turn...alhamdulillah. the little hatchback pulled up next to us and the front and back windows rolled down to reveal 2 men, 2 women, and a baby...much chinese and broken english was passed between us and thankfully they offered us a ride. we gladly accepted and piled in the backseat...it was the 2 women, the baby, myself, and joronda in my lap all crammed in the back of this yugo-type of economy car. we proceeded to head down the road as our hosts tried to figure out where we needed to go. the vehicle reeked of alcohol and the one girl that spoke english the best seemed drunk. joronda was heavy as hell on my lap, the driver was swerving in and out of traffic, the man in the front seat was trying to extort money from us in chinese, the women in the back were laughing and chatting loudly, and the baby was screaming and crying uncontrollably. it turned out to be a nightmarish test of patience.
when they finally "understood" that we were staying in the dorm of one of the shaolin schools it seemed like everything was going to be ok. soon we were stopped at some school with the people telling us to get out of the car because this was our school...we told them for the umpteenth time that this was not our school and that we were not staying here. they then proceeded to tell us that the shaolin temple was closed and that we should stay here for the night and return in the morning. we told them that was not an option and pleaded for them to take us to our school...the english speaking one kept saying "don't worry we will help you" and so we left again. about 15 minutes later we were at yet another school and the same scenario repeated itself, however, this time we were "forced" to get out of the car and the driver and his drunk male friend left us and the english speaking lady at the front gates of this school that "her friend owns". again she wouldn't listen to our pleas that this was not our "home" and that we wanted to go to our "home". finally we decided to set out on foot again and leave our samaritans...so we thanked them and departed. fortunately, we now knew that we were in dengfeng and we had seen several taxis on the corner. so we walked to the corner and were immediately solicited by a taxi driver...we paid him 50 rmb and he took us HOME. thank GOD!!!!!!!!!!
so after a hell of an afternoon/night we arrived safely at our dorm and we were both never more excited to see the dirty, piss scented place that we had called home. the time was 2230, and we stayed awake just long enough to ring in the new year before drifiting off in a well deserved slumber.
on behalf of my wife and i, we would like to wish all of our family and friends a very happy new year and a blessed 2006. may you all prosper and be shown mercy in this life and the next.
salaam
mateo
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