Wheelchairs and wine in Mendoza

Jenny and I met at the Miami airport on 4 January, 2009 and headed south to Argentina. Here I must digress. While trying to walk to the gate to meet Jenny (she was coming from California and I was already in Florida), I had some sort of random leg / knee problem requiring me to get carted around in a wheelchair for the first time ever. One might think that a wheelchair is easy to come by in an airport, but apparently you must request one in advance, and if you haven’t, well, there’s no such thing as “my leg just suddenly started hurting and I can’t walk on it.” In fact, one attendant asked me if I was really in enough pain to actually require a wheelchair. (!). Finally, after nearly 30 minutes of waiting by the first class check-in desk (and being told by one employee that I needed to check in with my “appropriate class” – do I really look that dirty?!), I finally got a wheelchair dude to take me to my gate.

Thus, one wheelchair ride later, Jenny and I flew to Argentina and arrived on the afternoon of the 5 January. We spent our first two days in Mendoza at the base of the Andes Mountains. Mendoza is the wine province of Argentina, so we made a point to go wine tasting. I’m a fan of the “tinto” wines (the reds), and in Mendoza, the most famous tintos are the Malbecs. Some pictures from our wine tasting expoits:

First, proof that we have indeed arrived in Argentina.

Next, the wine adventures begin. Jenny walking amongst the barrels of booze, me guzzling -- I didn't know we were supposed to sip -- and a photo I took of the winemen at work.

Wine bottles, a buzzed Kimberly leaving the winery, but not before skipping the bottle and going right for the barrel.

That evening, we continued our wine tasting at a local venue.

Map of Southern South America

Let's start with some geography before I dive into my January travels with Jenny. Below is a map of southern South America (hint, you should be able to enlarge the map by clicking on it).

The Andes Mountains run along the border between Chile, to the west of the mountains, and Argentina to the east. My "home base" for the next several months is Mendoza, which lies at the base of the eastern slope of the Andes in Argentina falling roughly between Santiago (the capital of Chile) and Buenos Aires (the capital of Argentina). You can see Mendoza on the map. In the very far south of mainland Argentina, you can see the town of El Calafate. Jenny and I visited El Calafate on our way to Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. Paine National Park is marked by a triangle at the southern end of Chile. Finally, going back up north to Buenos Aires, Jenny and I got on a ferry that took us to Uruguay for some beach time. In the next several posts I talk about our trip to all of these amazing spots. Enjoy!

Florida for the holidays

Mom and Pop were kind enough to host me for 2 weeks at their "every day is Saturday" home in Florida. Ah, retirement: lots of sun, lots of margaritas, lots of laughs. The following are a few photos from my time in Florida. The first is a photo of Pop's pair of Sandhill cranes. They arrive daily to feed in the backyard. Next, a picture of Pop hiking in the nature reserve. Finally, a photo of mom and me before dinner at the club.

Thanksgiving in the Northwest

So, my southbound summer included a brief cold spell when I headed north to Seattle in mid-November. Five weeks and a few misadventures later, I had to say chau to my outlaw and I moved on to Florida to spend the holidays with mom and pop. But first, some photos from my trip with Jesse to Trout Creek in Oregon. The first is Jesse reading the guidebook -- gotta love those white socks --, the next is a photo of the wall of crack climbing I couldn't manage, and lastly, a photo of us.





The next two pictures are from dusk at Smith Rock in Oregon. The rock, followed by a wise youngster.

Ecuador - Lowlands

I just got back from another exciting trip to the lowlands. The main purpose of the trip was to trap beetles along an altitudinal gradient. So, as I drove down toward the Amazon, I set traps at the following elevations (in meters): 2150, 1600, 1150, 800, and 400. Because I wait for 3 days to retrieve my traps, I stayed in the lowlands and spent my days hiking around and checking out the forest. The following are pictures from the trip.

On the first evening I arrived, I took a quick stroll along a trail before it got dark. First, I snapped some shots of a bullet ant, or Conga ant. These large ants deliver an incredibly painful bite. Check out the mandibles! A little farther along the trail I was taking photos of this cool heart-shaped fern when I looked up and spotted a 3-toed sloth! A rare find and very fun to see! He actually moved rather swiftly up the tree after I got some photos. Unfortunately, my photos of the sloth didn’t come out well, but I got great video footage of him moving into the canopy.





On my first full day in the lowlands, I went to check out the nest of a Greater Yellow-headed Vulture that one of the forest guards found. The nest was at the base of a giant tree. The first photo is of me looking at the 2 nestlings in the nest. The second photo is the larger nestling doing a threat display (they make a hissing sound to accompany the wing spread). You can see the smaller nestling hiding under the larger one. When we took them out of the nest (which was essentially bare ground), the larger nestling vomited / regurgitated its carrion meal. This is a common response of vulture chicks to being disturbed. So, yeah, the chicks sort of stink! The last photo is of me holding the smaller nestling (we took measurements of both nestlings).





That afternoon, we hiked along one of the many beautiful streams in the lowlands. I took photos of fishing spiders, giant arthropods with serious neurotoxins. These spiders hang out near water and nab passing fish and other tasty treats. Along the streams, there are always tree falls, and beautiful fungus accompanies the decaying trees. This first fungus looked like the housing complex for George Jetson and his family. It was absolutely marvelous, and huge! I’ve also included two more shots of fungus growing on tree falls (for you Jenny!). At the end of the day, we had a few Pilseners – top quality Ecuadorian beer. They’re actually quite refreshing, and those big bottles sell for only a buck a piece!









On the morning of the second day we went to the house of a local man where some bird nests had been discovered in the front yard. I ignored the birds (for once) and hung out with the oldest daughter. Posted are pictures of her with her dog Bobby, her puppy Millie, and their home. After taking these photos, I showed her how to use my binoculars and she and her younger brother had way too much fun checking out the birds.
The end.

Hummingbird nest

A little over a week ago I found the nest of a Bronzy Inca, a tropical hummingbird. I saw the female carrying material in her bill. I looked around and saw a few strands of material hanging in a clump from a piece of bamboo at eye-level. I suspected it was the very start of a nest, though it only looked like some fallen debris from the canopy above. The next day, I checked again, and sure enough, the female had completed nearly half of the cup. Here are pictures of the completed nest. First, the nest along the trail -- it's on the right side and appears as a big clump in the photo. Then, a close-up of the nest. Finally, the nest with the entire clutch of 2 eggs.

Random 3 - Solon Ohio

And I thought this blog would be about my travels. Sometimes poetry wins out.

This snippet was written by my outlaw who, despite a robber's moniker, happens to be sweeter than a pile of sugar. A charming, humorous, strangely-concocted, but wildly entertaining use of images. The best part about this poem; the way the hard consonants hit the roof of your mouth when recited aloud. Well done. Right up there with Rexroth, my favorite poet.



Solon, Ohio (May 2008)

As the snow blew by, all I
could think of was summer
turnips, when a dog
walked by with prickly tickly
fur so brown it could
turn the most honest
nun into an envious beast.

-translated from English to Mandarin to Russian, back to English