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May, 2008 - Volume 10, Issue 5
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Coming to Fort Lauderdale? Stay with us at Liberty Apartment & Garden Suites, an Award Winning Florida Superior Small Lodging, and the only extended stay apartment hotel/huesthouse in Greater Fort Lauderdale created for the Gay and Lesbian Community. We offer beautifully furnished & fully equipped studios, one & two bedroom apartments with full kitchens - ideal for seasonal vacations, relocation interim housing or extended business trips. Call Liberty Apartment Suites at 877-927-0090, email us at info@libertysuites.com, or visit our website at http://www.libertysuites.com wanna sponsor this newsletter? email us at wheretostay@purpleroofs.com for details |
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Welcome to the Purple Roofs Travel Newsletter! This Month's Travel Articles We have a new column from the Gay Travel Guys, Donald and Ray, on air fares. They've also sent us a book review about out gay actor Leslie Jordan's new book, "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet". Thanks, guys! We also have a great travel column on Peru from Mike Shaughnessy, complete with great full-color pics - thanks, Mike! We have an article from Byrne Fone at La Millasserie about the Dordogne Region of France, also with great photographs - thanks, Byrne! And finally, Janet McCulloch at MurrayPond B&B has sent us a great review of the Kootenay Lake, British Columbia area - thanks, Janet! Innkeepers - write us an article about your area, and we'll include it in a future issue of this newsletter with credit and links to your website and email addresses. Contact wheretostay@purpleroofs.com for more details. Special Offer Accommodation Notices As always, we also have our Late Availability & Special Offer notices (129 offers in 14 countries/regions) all at http://www.purpleroofs.com/lateavailability.html, or just check your favorite destination page - these notices are also right there on the regular listings. Travelers - Try a Home Trade Membership for Just $75 for 5 Years... ...and stay for free with other gay, lesbian, and gay friendly travelers around the world. More details on our Mi Casa Su Casa site at: http://www.gayhometrade.com. We Recently Launched a New Gay Marriage Blog on PurpleUnions.com... ...where we'll bring you news and views about the fight for gay marriage - we're tracking worldwide events weekly, plus commenting periodically on things as we see them. See it at: http://www.purpleunions.com/blog and join the mailing list for new postings by emailing your request to info@purpleunions.com And we've redesigned our mainstream accommodations directory - Altraverse.com Now with over 2,600 accommodations listed worldwide - see it at: That's it for this issue - see you next time! :) Mark & Scott, PURPLE ROOFS |
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The columnists below are not affiliated with Purple Roofs, and no connection is expressed or implied. The editorial opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Purple Roofs. Traveling in Our Fabulous World As if lost baggage, higher air fares, delayed and canceled flights weren't enough, now comes more troubling news in the airline industry. Oh yeah! and you will have to pay more for aisle or window seats ! US Airways will begin charging passengers an additional $5.00 to reserve aisle or window seats in the first several rows of their coach cabins starting May 7. Passengers may reserve the seats during online check-in, on the web, airport kiosks and at the ticket counters. And this new fee follows US Airways plans to begin charging $25.00 for a second bag for flights starting May 5. Of course they always blame higher fuel costs for their increases. Customers may check one bag free of charge. And isn't that just nice of them? And of course most of the other airlines will follow suit and increase their fees too. So what does the airlines owe you, as a passenger? Well, not much. With thousands of stranded passengers across the Nation recently with the American Airlines fiasco, the FAS rules state very clearly that "passengers are entitled to refunds if flight schedules change substantially." Other than that, an airline owes you only what it promises in its contact of carriage. Most airline contracts states "we will endeavor to carry you and your baggage with reasonable dispatch, but times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed. We are not responsible for or liable for failure to make connections or to operate any flight according to schedule or for a change to the schedule of any flight. Under no circumstances shall we be liable for any special, incidental or consequential damages arising from the foregoing." That just more or less tells it like it is. Gone are the days when airlines gave you food and accommodations vouchers. Once in a while they still do but it is certainly a rarity when they give it to you now. With so many people flying the airline industry really doesn't care. And speaking of "problems with the airlines", Welcome to the crowded skies!. Most all of the airports in the nation are preparing themselves for yet another summer season of record flight delays. If you've flown lately you've most likely noticed air travel feels like rush hour on the subway. As airlines get more efficient, they're squeezing more people onto fewer planes. That had an unintended consequence in that more fliers get left behind. Airlines have always overbooked flights to compensate for last-minute cancellations. But they don't always get the numbers right. With so few seats open on later flights, fewer passengers are volunteering to get bumped. As a result the number of involuntarily bumped passengers is up, having grown 44 percent between the first nine months of 2005 and the same period in 2007 according to the Dept. of Transportation. The only good thing for travelers is that airlines must get involuntarily bumped fliers to their destination within four hours of the expected arrival time or refund them up to $400! But the "up to" is the problem. The bad news is that the problem of overbooking is not going away. Airlines are simply busy developing computer systems to help them rebook bumped passengers. Sometimes airlines do offer great bargains. They are doing so in an effort to steer you away from places like Expedia and Travelocity. Airlines pay these online booking sites a fee for every ticket they sell and they would much rather sell their own tickets directly to the passengers. The best bet is to shop the airline's own website first to see if you can get a better price with them. Southwest long ago pulled it's tickets from travel sites and other airlines are beginning to do the same. We love the "hidden fees" that airlines charge which is kinda like cell phone hidden fees that you never know anything about nor can understand. Of course the most common is the fuel surcharge which ranges from $5 to $25. Other examples are exit row seat surcharge, charging for a second bag, a surcharge for booking by phone and now sometimes even booking on line! And we really don't even want to get on the subject of "airline miles". They are so simple to accrue with credit cards and everything but redeeming them has gotten a lot worse. Many airlines have reduced the shelf life of air miles while others increased the amount required for an upgrade. One suggestion is to redeem a small amount of your miles for something like a magazine subscription just to keep your account active. All of the major U.S. airlines currently have their lowest customer-satisfaction ratings in over seven years. They all offer about the same lousy service. We fully understand when weather is a factor in airline delays but there are dozens of other reasons that cause delays that has nothing to do with the weather and those reasons usually are caused by the airlines themselves and they need to be held accountable.
Always remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone! TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from Coast to Coast. You can email them at: gaytravelers@aol.com or visit their webpage at: http://www.hometown.aol.com/gaytravelers. Visiting Peru: Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, & Lake Titicaca Part 1: Lima
Fernando has been working full days so a chef graduate of the Cordon Bleu Cooking School, Mariano Lopez, volunteered to be my personal guide to show me around Lima. Fernando has been teaching him English so I will be able to give him some practice speaking English with me. Mariano picked me up yesterday, the first day, and we went to Miraflores district, the new modern and upscale tourist area of Lima. We went to the Gold Museum and took a long walk along the Malecon and Miraflores where large numbers of tall new condominiums facing the ocean are being built.
The second day we concentrated on the downtown historical Lima, The Plaza Mayor, the national Cathedral, the changing of the guard in front of the national government building and the old train station in central Lima. We toured each building and he gave me a good description of everything. One thing I could tell that he, just as I do, really enjoys showing a stranger 'his' city and telling about its history.
We came back to my home away from home via a taxi but with a roundabout route which purposely led us through the financial district, San Isidro and Surco just so I could see the buildings from the taxi. By the way; don't ever think you will drive in Lima. The traffic here is mad, very crowded, fast, honking horns and no one pays any attention to the laws. You would be a total nervous wreck after the first ten minutes of attempting to drive, even as a passenger in a taxi you are exhausted.
Lima is still a fascinating city and I feel perfectly safe here, even though everyone cautions to be very careful of your belongings. Peru is the third largest country in South America after Brazil and Argentina. Today Peru has a total population of about 30 million people, of which about ten million live in the capital city of Lima. I will be here through Sunday and then I fly to Cuzco.
From Cuzco I go to Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Puno, Lake Titicaca then into Bolivia, down the silver trail to Potosi and finally at Villazon into Argentina, then clear across this continent from West to East thru Salta and Cordoba to Buenos Aires, Argentina. From there I will fly up to Iguassu Falls, into Paraguay briefly and then fly to Porto Alegre, Brazil. From there I will fly up to Sao Paulo, my final stop which seems so far away at the moment...well it is far away both in time and distance...I fly home on April first. Every stop that I will make will be somewhere that I have never been, except for the one city of Buenos Aires which I visited for the first time just last year. Part 2: Cusco
In Cusco one evening I watched a live play similar to a Cirque du Soleil type production with major costumes and lots of acrobatics and people flying around overhead on wires. It was titled Kosikay which means happy, and built as a Peru Spectacular. None of it was in English, using the old native language, but with English supertitles above the stage. It really chronicled the history of Peru since before the Incas, then during the Inca times, the arrival of ´new´ Gods up to the current day. Part 3: Machu Picchu
I remember a few years ago on a trip to Guatemala, visiting Tikal and climbing to the top of the highest pyramid, sitting up there on top for hours just looking out over the rainforest and being moved by the experience. Machu Picchu has a similar affect being blown away by the serenity and ancient resonances of the place. We arrived there very early in the morning long before the trains and busses full of tourists so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
On a different more current subject, there are massive security forces in Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu areas these days. Why? Well you may have read that Machu Picchu was recently declared to be one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The National Government of Peru in Lima wants to capitalize on the increase tourism ($) that this can bring to their country. Recently the governments passed a law to enter into a contract to privatize Machu Picchu, I guess turn it into sort of a Disneyland for the masses. Plus they plan to sell off lots of land near to sacred sites to private companies to build high-rise hotels to house the new hordes of mostly un-respectful tourists to this ancient holy cultural heritage of Peru. Well as you may imagine many of the local citizens in the province of Cusco are outraged. They are staging numerous transportation strikes, parades and demonstrations where citizens are throwing rocks at passing cars and busses and placing boulders on the road to block the way to Machu Picchu. The unfortunate tourist that arrives at Cusco airport on the day of a strike has to walk from the airport to town carrying their luggage. All stores are closed as well on a strike day.
The sky changes rapidly from a sunny blue to a dark black, lightening then thunder and rain ensues for a time and then it quits. It turns cold very quickly high up in the Andes Mountains. Part 4: Lake Titicaca - Puno, Peru
The boat made a stop at another natural island called Taquille which was a long hike up a high hill to the little village for (another) ´shopping opportunity´ lots of handmade hat and gloves and I needed both...then a hike down the other side of the island where the boat was waiting to take us back to Puno.
I am continuing to chug along my route which will go down the Silver Trail in Bolivia, cross the border of Argentina and continue across the South American continent until I reach Buenos Aires in mid-March.
San Francisco is a great place to live, and Mike also hosts guys from around the world from time to time at his home, which then gives him new friends and new places to visit and stay. More from Mike in the next three newsletters as he visits Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil. The Dordogne
On any given market day in any small village where the market sets up in front of the ancient church or under the hand hewed beams of the covered market square--if you take away the passing cars that maneuver along the road that passes by the market and remove the few stalls selling CDs - a market day in the Dordogne—those who live here call it Le Perigord— might be taking place in almost any century. Even the most mechanical or noisy or polluting and offensive incursions of modern times fail to erase the deep and abiding presence of a thousand years of history, a history present in the lichen-covered golden stone of every ancient house, in the narrow streets of ancient tiny villages, in the hauteur of grand chateaus rising towered and imposing next to rushing rivers, for here history seems to be infuse the very air of a countryside which is the oldest inhabited region of la France profonde, the Perigord, heir to all the ages of eternal France.
Indeed the English have been coming here for, quite literally, for centuries, fighting with the French over the Perigord since time out of mind. The English believed they should have it and fought to keep it because in the twelfth century when Eleonor of Aquataine married the King of England, she brought the Perigord along with the rest of her vast domains to the English crown. This dowry led to century after century of endless war: the English fighting the French; the French taking back the land, the English regaining it, losing it, taking it again. Battles were fought to prove England’s claim because the Perigord had belonged to Eleonor, Queen of England. Battles were fought to prove France’s claim because the Perigord had belonged to Eleonor, Queen of France. Violence that never seemed to end raged across the breathtakingly beautiful but ravaged land for more than five hundred years as France and England sought to control it. Nor did not cease even when an uneasy truce was made, for the dark soil of the ancient Perigord was fertilised by the blood of martyrs as Catholic fought Protestant in the wars of religion. So dangerous were the times that churches were built like castles with high windowless towers into which the people of the village could retreat for safety when the tocsin sounded warning of some enemy about to descend upon them, and around the land a thousand castles—some English, some French—some firing cannonades at one another from one side of the Dordogne to another--were built--citadels offering safety, stone walled testaments to the danger and strife that ruled the land.
Some of those foreigners and expats who live here may have mastered the language, many others have not; some try to assimilate, others prefer not to. Over drinks or dinner all engage in head-shaking wonderment at the oddities and difficulties of French life and the inscrutable ways of the French—yet none would dream of leaving this bit of heaven, their farmhouse or manor house or chateau hidden away in the pleasant country fastness of the Perigord. In the Perigord each of its regions is named because of the color of its soil and land and by what grows so richly therein. The truffle laden Perigord Noir is full of pines and oaks and rocky gorges. Rolling green fields identify the Perigord Vert. Wine and rich dark grapes give a name to the Perigord Poupre, as do the sunny uplands and limestone plateaus to the Perigord Blanc. To which regional designation many of the large numbers of gay people who live, operate businesses, and vacation in the Perigord have added another name for our own special community: Le Perigord Rose. We have been coming to the Dordogne for many years and have owned two house here, one that the our neighbors called a chateau, though we did not, and the one where we live now, which is where we always hope to live.
Our house—grey and golden stone like most of the houses in the Dordogne, high peaked red tile roofs, roses and vines climbing the walls and probably in the 17th century is surrounded by high stone walls and has been added to over the years by successive owners. The Band B - four rooms, golden stone and century old tile for the roofs is furnished it with the antiques we have collected over the years - French armoires, French commodes, French tables - that make our rooms just what visitors seem to want: a taste of old France with a pool and good plumbing. I could almost say it was because of French antiques that we had been bringing to the US for more than decade for our antiques shop there that we have ended up in France. Let me explain. After the French government refused to support our invasion of Iraq, my Francophilia became embroiled in an irreconcilable war with my American patriotism. And when the fathers of the nation in their wisdom chose to punish the haughty French by renaming the French fries served in the Congressional cafeteria - fries that weren’t French to start with - Freedom fries, the sheer imbecility of the trivial gesture only convinced me further that the nation was ruled not only by dangerous men but by irrational and petty ones as well. And indeed at the height of patriotic fervor during the beginning of the war, anything French was derided-- armoires and wine suffered the same fate as did French fries. In those early days, before all the terrible truths began to come home to roost and the extent of the catastrophe was yet to be known, we noticed in our shop a definite resistance from some customers when they read on the tag or were told when they asked that this or that thing was from France.
“But Madame,” I said, in my most insufferably high fag antiques dealer manner, “this table was made before there was a United States, when France supported us when no one else would. Did you ever hear of the Marquis de Lafayette?” My reference to America’s 18th century French defender swirled around and clearly over her head as her blank look made clear, and confirmed my conviction that her blind patriotism was allied with invincible stupidity. “Never heard of him,” she said. “Lets put it this way,” I said, “if you buy this you wont be supporting France, you’ll be supporting me, and I’m American.” “Well.” she sniffed, “you can’t be too American if you are selling this French stuff.” That was enough. “You know what, lady,” I said, dropping any pretense of polite if chill cordiality, “Since you don’t buy French and since everything in here is French except for me, just so you won’t be contaminated by things that are better than you, I think maybe you’d better get out. There’s the door.” I guess she saw the rage in my eyes and heard the menace in my voice, and with an angry sniff, out she sailed. In her self righteous tone I heard the arrogance of the president as he assured us about the truth of what was even in the early days of the war being proven false; I heard the frat boy bravado of those who called our wanton destruction “shock and awe,” and who assured us a people whose land we were destroying would greet us with gratitude and flowers. My encounter with this non-buying customer-- a living member of the unthinking American right-- upset me for days thereafter, and as I look back on it, small event though it was, I see that it was another nail in the coffin I was preparing wherein I would eventually inter my slowly dying American dream. Now that the war is lost and the truth is out and the days in power of those who got us here trickle down to a welcome few, I find myself selling antiques no more in America, but living in France, writing about it, and when I can’t write, I help Alain make the beds for Americans. Only about 15% of Americans have passports, I learned the other day, but we seem to be putting up a lot of them as they come back to France again, forgiving it, perhaps. Because, after all, France was right about the war and we were wrong. And so I scribble away at my desk looking out over the courtyard of our house, gardens fragrant with lavender and rosemary as I had dreamed they would be when we made the plan to come here for good. I am kept company by the ghosts of the many who have lived in this room, in this house over the centuries. In the distance through the open window I can see rolling farmland with an ancient stone farm house set in the midst of it, and furthest away, the purple ridge of distant hills. Just barely, from the church tower of our village, floating across the hills I hear the bell of the angelus ring.
Balfour, BC and Beautiful Kootenay Lake Click here to see the Purple Roofs British Columbia Rockies section
You'll find grocery with liquor store, post office and video rentals, both fine dining and fast food, two pubs, a bakery with coffee shop, fishing tackle and gift shop, gas station and mechanic, and clothing shop. Boat launch and kayak or canoe rentals are close by. Kootenay Lake is the largest inland lake in BC. It's 156 km (97 mi) long and ranges from 2 km (1.24 mi) to 6 km (3.72 mi) wide, and the water is some of the cleanest and clearest on the planet. This is an ice-free lake and provides excellent year round fishing. Dollys and Rainbows live here - Kootenay Lake is home to the world famous Gerrard Rainbow Trout. Fly fishing is exceptional, particularly in the spring on the south arm.
Mountain biking enthusiasts will particularily enjoy the Kootenays. Whether you prefer a full-speed gravity grind or a gentle cruise through nature, the Kootenay Rockies is your path to biking heaven.Tour the open road or cycle a scenic trail that takes you past clear lakes, hanging glaciers and wildlife. For the golfers, Balfour's own beautiful 18-hole golf course is just across the highway up the hill. A prestigious, 18-hole, Les Furber-designed facility complete with a driving range, putting green, a full fleet of rental carts, and a new clubhouse. Players will find the front nine carved neatly through a forested region with sand and water hazards strategically placed; while the back nine uses the mountains to provide elevation from tee to green and a breathtaking view across Kootenay Lake to the Purcell Mountains.
If you choose to continue up the mountain, sitting mostly above 1,800 metres in elevation, the park has glaciers – Kokanee, Caribou, and Woodbury – which feed over 30 lakes and are the headwaters of many creeks. Kokanee Lake is 1,200 metres in length and 400 metres wide; surrounded by precipitous cliffs and rock slides, its an alpine jewel. Other scenic lakes in the park include the gem-coloured Sapphire Lakes, milky Joker Lakes and popular Gibson, Kaslo and Tanal Lakes, which offer good fishing for rainbow and cutthroat trout. With 85 km of well-marked trails, this park is appropriate for campers, hikers and climbers with all levels of outdoor experience.Hiking to Kokanee glacier, you will be following a well used trail with idyllic lake plateaus, fishing in Kokanee Lake, alpine flowers, and 100-yr-old mining cabin. These hikes are amoung the many dozens of beautiful hikes of varying difficulty in the west Kootenays. After a day filled with swimming, biking, boating, hiking or golf, take the short drive to our beautiful hot springs for a relaxing soak and watch the sun set on the sparkling surface of the lake between the soaring mountains.
A full breakfast is served every morning and changes daily. We use local ingredients when ever possible. All breakfasts are served with fair trade organic coffee, black or herbal teas and a selection of juices. For more info, please visit www.murraypond.com. Traveling in Our Fabulous World
What began as a small boy growing up in Tennessee and thru his different trials and tribulations he now is one of the top actors/entertainers in the country. Leslie has written a brutally honest story of his life and tells about all of it, warts and all, from his alcoholism, addiction to drugs, street hustlers and everything in between. The greatest thing is that he has been able to overcome most all of his demons (he has now been sober for over 10 years). Most people who write biographies like to kinda forget the bad times and only tell about the good times. Not Leslie! He deals with every aspect of his life and takes the readers through everything.
He has appeared in dozens of TV shows including The Fall Guy, Murphy Brown, Newhart, Ski Patrol, Lois & Clark "The New Adventures of Superman", Reba, Wings, The Pretender, Dharma and Gregg, Ellen, Caroline and the City, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Nash Bridges, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Judging Amy, George Lopez, Boston Legal, Ugly Betty and Hidden Palms to name just a few. Yes, Leslie Jordan DOES have a ministry and that ministry is to be fun, funny, exciting and to bring happiness to the world. There is enough grief and misery in the world as it is. He brings a breath of fresh air wherever he goes. It is so nice reading a real biography where the author tells it just as it was and is and lets the readers get to know him personally. This should be a "must read" for all high school students, both gay and straight. It is a honest and compelling story of one person's struggle with himself and the world around him, and he won! Leslie Jordan certainly deserves all the awards and accolades that he receives. MY TRIP DOWN THE PINK CARPET is one of the funniest yet heart-felt books that we have ever read.
Always remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone! TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from Coast to Coast. You can email them at: gaytravelers@aol.com or visit their webpage at: http://www.hometown.aol.com/gaytravelers. |
Last year was one of the worst years on record for airline delays. Only 77 % of flights arrived on time and only 76 % departed on time. Meanwhile, there is really NOTHING that the passengers can do about it except to just "go with the flow" We are glad that we have the time to drive most everywhere we travel. That way we don't have to worry about airline delays and problems. But for passengers, it isn't going to get any better this summer so just be sure and take a book with you to read, have extra snacks with you and have some patience. You are going to need them!
I spent Tue FEB 12 in the air flying from SFO to MIA and then changing planes and on to Lima. My friend Fernando met me at the Lima airport and took me by taxi to his home. My plane arrived one hour late, at midnight, so we got to his home almost 1AM, a long travel day since I got up at 4AM to get my van to SFO. But the good news is all went well, no problems...and we talked I guess till 3am.
At 2:30 we stopped for lunch at a famous restaurant, the owner was one of his previous cooking teachers, and we had a two hour lunch featuring all the most popular flavors of Peru. We sampled six different ceviches, several meats, potatoes and corn. The corn here is very different; the kernels are gigantic and have a very different taste, not sweet like we are used to at home. After lunch we continued our tour first by bus then by taxi, arriving back to my home at 7:30pm. I was exhausted and went to bed early that evening, around 10pm.
We made a stop into the bar of the famous Maury Hotel which claims to have invented the drink called Pisco Sour. It’s a drink similar to a whisky sour only made with the local Pisco liquor. Pisco is 40% alcohol so it is very strong. The drink in addition to the citrus lemon sour part also has sugar and some egg white so that when it is shaken there is a frothy top. A small amount of bitters is placed on top of the froth. The drink tastes very good, I know, we had one yesterday as well. The one yesterday was my first one ever so I could not wait for the chance to have another Pisco Sour again today.
We went to San Pedro church, walked the long pedestrian street connecting the Main Plaza to Plaza San Martin. We stopped at 3:30 for lunch and had the more common traditional roasted chicken and Inca Cola. To me the Inca Cola tastes a little similar to a New York Cream Soda. We also toured the central bank which has a huge free museum of gold artifacts and many Inca treasures.
None of the taxis have meters so it means you must stick your head into the passenger window and negotiate a fee to where you want to go before you touch the door handle. If you don't like the fee quoted be sure to take your head out of the passenger window before you say no or you might lose your head as he speeds off. There are no public busses in Lima. There are thousands of privately owned and operated mini vans which serve as buses, but there is no control over their route and no designated stops. Only the locals usually venture into them. This August there is supposed to start up the first ever government run public bus system.
Cuzco means the center of the world and was the head of the Inca World and is also the archeological center of Peru. This long six week trip of mine has only begun with just two days into it and already I have seen an amazing about of history.
I enjoyed the past week in Lima very much. I was surprised at how modern a city is Lima today, not the 3rd world type of city I thought it would be, very nice and clean city for the most part - as many large cities it does have some bad areas- but better than I expected ...except for all the car and bus diesel exhaust fumes.
The Peru government passed a new law recently which says if you buy a basic brand new car to replace a gas guzzling old car then you pay no taxes on the purchase of the basic new car. If however you buy a new fancy car with lots of extra bells and whistles then you pay full taxes on the purchase. This law is to encourage replacing the old cars with newer fuel efficient and more environment friendly ones, what a nice idea.
Early this morning I left Lima via Lan Chile airline and flew up to Cusco up in the mountains. Today I will be adjusting to the altitude and walk around Cusco-a rural city of about 400,000 people, tomorrow a visit to the Sacred Valley. Cusco immediately looked very different to me than Lima, even the Peruvian people that live here look different and they have a different language in addition to Spanish. Up here in the mountains it is pleasant in the day, 50s, but gets down to near freezing at nights so sleeping outside on the ground should be a challenge, as well as the hike itself. The luggage will be taken on Mules and chefs go along to prepare the meals which I hear are quite good. A bowl of warm water is brought to each tent in the morning ... there are no showers for the duration of the trek.
The highlight will be the visit to the lost city of Machu Picchu high up in the mountains. Travel shrinks the world and helps to minimize the differences between the many people on earth. If everyone could travel, as a few fortunate do, I believe there would be no conflicts as the greater understanding of our differences brings us closer together.
The original spelling of Cusco was Kosko which means navel or center of the earth. It certainly was the very center of the Inca Empire of the 14th century. The Spanish often pronounce an s like a z so today you also see the spelling Cuzco. The official spelling used on the government buildings in town and on flags is Cusco but in writing I have seen both Cusco and Cuzco used in the same paragraph so they are interchangeable. The official flag of the city of Cusco is the rainbow flag.
This is earthquake country and they have hundreds of small ones every year, just like California. Every 300 years they have had a really enormous one...1350s, 1650s, and 1950s. The big quake in the 1950s knocked down the rock wall building constructions of the Spanish conquistadors but left standing perfectly was the older rock walls built by the Incas. These hugs stones were carved and fit together perfectly without mortar, something not even conceivable by most stone masons with modern tools of our times. The Incas were a very advanced civilization, their empire radiating out like the sun from Cusco, divided into four physical quarters and 360 sacred sites, one for each day of the year. Their lacking was writing so much is guessed or assumed. They did have advanced terraced gardening and irrigation systems.
Well I made it to Machu Picchu!!! and wow was it worth it. In the beginning when we walked inside Machu Picchu at 5:50 AM in order to witness the sunrise I was saddened because the Sun God was being overpowered by the rain and cloud God...a risk you take when you travel in rainy season. However, by 9AM the rain had stopped, the clouds mystically lifted up to swirl around the tops of the high granite peaks and Machu Picchu appeared in its full glory.
As a friend said, “Machu Picchu not only feeds the Soul - it also opens the "eye of the Heart" - expanding our awareness in ways that cannot be verbalized...it is a rare and sacred place. In the US our view of history is often Euro-centric but the Meso-Americans had a history equally complex & deserving of respect & study as what we were taught in high school! The Spanish conquistadores & their Jesuit clergy destroyed so much historical documentation (the Aztec Codices in particular, it's truly a cultural crime. But even so, much remains for us to see. The Inca had no writing, but they left much in their incredible stone masonry, fabulous gold jewelry, pottery & many artifacts in their tombs for us to decipher”.
I have found Cusco is itself so different from life in Lima...and the higher you get up into the Andes, the more "Inca" the culture becomes. Like the Maya in the Yucatán that I visited last year, the cultural patterns & daily lives of mountain folk continue largely unchanged for centuries…particularly the women wearing their hats which sometimes look like a man’s dress hat to us and their very colorful dress. Watching street life is an unending amazement for me. (However I am glad I live in California and drive my Chevrolet in the good ole USA--well, at least when I stay home).
Later in the day many more people arrived, but nothing like in the summer high season when 3 to 4 thousand people a day walk the site. Some delicate measurement instruments installed indicate that Machu Picchu is sinking a minute amount each year. The scientists have recommended that no more than 1,000 people per day be allowed inside...not likely to happen as the amount of money the entrance fee brings in is enormous and growing. How the place was even constructed high up on this mountain with such massive stone sculpted structures is mystery enough, but there are many more vibes entering your body as you drink in the massive energy of the place.
These strikes have already had some measure of success. Lima central government has backed off a bit and has stated that decisions of where to build the new hotels can be made by the Cusco provincial government. This is not enough to satisfy the local folk as the strikes continue. They have given Lima ten days to cancel the new law or the next strike will be more powerful, fortunately I will be gone by then. The locals respect these sites and have never considered building a private home for themselves near any of their sacred sites, much less a tourist hotel.
We feel equally outraged that the Peruvian government would want to do this and hope that the citizens with their many local staged demonstrations will have a reversal or at least bring some more common sense to the plans. I do not know all the details or facts but tell you only what I have heard from the locals. The demonstrations and security forces are having some effect on our visit but our travel days were not on strike days, very lucky. Perhaps you have seen this on the news, I don´t know. One day they even pushed thru the wall at the Cusco airport and went out onto the runway stopping all air traffic. Machu Picchu is one of the most spiritually powerful locations on Earth. Even the toughest agnostic or cynic won't fail to be moved by being in its presence, this should be preserved.
It was a six hour ride by regular bus from Cusco up to Puno a few days ago, only one stop to pee. So arriving in Puno for lunch was about 4pm so one big meal was both lunch and dinner too. Puno is a town of about 145,000 people on the edge of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world and one of the places vying to become one of the new Seven NATURAL Wonders of the World...you can vote online for your choices. 
After a night in a Posada Hotel in Puno I took a tricycle taxi down to the port to board a boat out onto the lake. The first stop turned out to me to be most interesting...a floating manmade island of reeds. There are about 7 of these floating manmade reed islands with several families living on each one. The houses on the island are also made of reeds. They even have boats made of dried reeds tightly tied together, resembling a smaller version of the Kon Tiki.
The second stop was another floating reed island which had a coffee shop and restaurant. The last stop for yesterday about 3 hours further onto the lake by boat was a natural island called Amantani. Each of us was greeted by a local mama that put us up in her adobe home for the evening. Mine was 66 years old and her 82 year old mother also lived with her. They have no electricity, the bath is an outhouse, no plumbing, cooking is done in a separate adobe room with a wood stove, and no chimney made for a smoky dinner. The people that live on this island have their own language and are vegetarians. Dinner was a good vegetable soup, plus a plate of rice and potatoes with a bit of fried cheese.
There was a fiesta with all the tourists and local people combined in the evening, then sleeping with no heat or lights under six heavy blankets. Not bad really. This morning at 7:00 was a quick simple breakfast of tea and a pancake followed by a hike down the long hill to board the boat at 8 am.
I am in Puno now, took a nice shower back at the same Posada where my suitcase was still waiting for me in the same room I had two nights ago. Tonight will be dinner then to bed. Tomorrow the departure is at 7am by a regularly scheduled bus to take us to the border of Bolivia where we have to go thru the passport paperwork. Then another bus continues on to Copacabana, a town in Bolivia that is also on Lake Titicaca. We have lunch in Copacabana, say goodbye to the Peruvian tour guide and say hello to the Bolivian tour guide. The bus has to take a ferry boat as there is no bridge as the road continues from Copacabana towards La Paz.
Lake Titicaca is quite large and is split with about half in Peru and half in Bolivia. The Peruvians are fond of saying that the "titi" part is in Peru and the "caca" part of the lake is in Bolivia...I am sure the Bolivians say just the opposite. Tomorrow I also say goodbye to the Peruvian New Colones money and will have my first look at Bolivars, the currency in Bolivia.
Mike was born and raised in a very small town in middle of Missouri… 50% German and 50% Irish, 100% gay. He received his University MBA and then off to work for IBM in NYC and really came out there. Mike was job transferred to San Francisco in the wild 1970s, lived and loved there ever since. He retired in 2000 and have been traveling the world, usually staying home in December to plan his next year’s worth of traveling. He is currently single but would like to settle down (applications accepted) and stay home more in the future.
In the sleepy countryside of the Dordogne, where thousand year old villages drowse in the sun, life calmly proceeds as it has for centuries, and the rolling fields follow the orderly procession of the seasons. Rich black earth tilled in early spring becomes a light green carpet of budding crops in early summer, and then a high summer of lush richness brings forth wheat, tobacco, sunflowers, maize, and this bounty become the mellow gold of fall, and then once again the grey days of winter arrive and we wait for the cycle to begin again as it has done since time began.
People go to market every week as they have always done, in small villages and large ones. Stalls are set up in the chilly spring or the warm sun of early summer, in the heat of August and in the melancholy days of fall, and even in the chill wet winters vendors sell a hundred kinds of cheeses. round loaves of country bread, or briny oysters.
A dozen varieties of glistening fish lie on beds of ice, elegantly cut joints of meat repose like rare objects displayed in museum cases, vegetables of the season are arranged with artistic flair—artichokes are heaped up in high spiky mounds, tomatoes make red pyramids. The markets are always crowded in every season with people carrying straw panniers, out of which wave the leafy tops of carrots nestled next to a Roquefort or a Brebis, a bunch of radishes, a whole duck wrapped in paper, some country ham in thin dark slices, long loaves of bread, leafy lettuces, some fresh oysters, a bottle or two of wine.
Here in this magic countryside, fought over for so long by French and English, both truce and tension exists between those who have always lived here and those who have more recently arrived. For the Dordogne, despite is seeming imperviousness to what some call the progress of the modern world, is also a playground for the world. That elegant manor house glimpsed at the end of a low row of trees bordering its drive, the romantic chateau seen from a distance rising out of a forest grove, or the comfortable stone farmhouse set in its land, red tiles roofs softly glowing in the sunset, may be the ancient home of a French noble family who have lived in the heart of Le Perigord for centuries. But it could just as well be the summer place of an English or Dutch or American family who come to it for a few months every year to eat the food, speak a little French but not enough, and follow a familiar tourist route from castle to castle and church to church, and who have the means to acquire a bit of France to call their own.
The ancient Perigord, inhabited by men who made great art on the walls of caves thousands of years before history began, occupied by Romans who as they always did brought law, roads and civilization, which the their captive people the Gauls constantly resisted, ravaged by England when the Perigord was French and by the French when it was English a scene of martyrdom and indiscriminate slaughter in the name of God, was stained again by violence when the tempest of the revolution swept all before it and again when two wars cast dark shadows across the Perigord and again martyrs died during the tragic hours of the Resistance. No wonder history weighs upon the tourist here, for there are ghosts wherever you turn, in this rich mysterious land that has indeed perhaps been fought over more than any other part of France and that the largest number of historic sites in all France outside of Paris.
Like many gay people who live here and we have traded the stressful urban life for the pleasant task of running a B and B. Here we have found that a few acres in the quiet countryside, a garden perfumed by lavender and rosemary, and a few good friends to dinner from time to time, and pleasant guests to meet, is infinitely appealing. Like many gay Americans - well, I am American, Alain is French but he has lived in the States ever since we met years ago--we have chosen to leave what seems to be an increasingly perilous USA for the quieter joys of rural France.
“It's French, Louis XV,” I said in response to a late middle aged women with cold eyes and a flag in her lapel when she came into the shop and asked about an especially rare commode—or chest of drawers as she called it. She looked suspiciously at it for a moment: Then: “I don’t buy French”’ she said dismissively. I tried to stop myself but I had to rise to her imbecilic bait: “You don’t buy French. And why is that,” I asked in as honeyed tones as I could muster even while suppressing a desire to deck her. “They don’t support America; why should I support them” she said, with what must have seemed to her an unerring patriotic logic liberally seasoned with self-righteous contempt for the people she no doubt called surrender monkeys.
La Millasserie offers four private maisonettes in the guest wing of the 17th century manor house. Each spacious room (16 x 25 feet) is furnished with antiques and king-sized beds. For parties of four, two rooms can be opened ensuite. All have private ensuite baths, private terraces, and easy access to the pool. La Millasserie is located in the Dorodgne - the ancient province of the Perigord - which offers 2000 years of history and architecture, music, sports, art, antiques, grand cuisine, great wine, magical landscapes, and the largest number of historic sites outside of Paris.
At La Millasserie you can begin the day with a French country breakfast, take a morning dip in the pool, and then take a walk along miles of picturesque country roads, or by car explore some of the most beautiful countryside and charming villages in all France including Saint-Leon-sur-Vezere,Urval, Molieres, La Roque-Gageac. The restored old quarters of its larger cities, Sarlat, Périgueux, and Bergerac, display a thousand years of architecture. Take a trip to the great 11th century of Chateau de Beynac or to any of the more than 1000 chateaux in the region. The area region abounds in ancient castles and churches, gardens open to the public, villages that time forgot, and has a wealth of museums, cultural events, classical and popular music concerts, and all manner of sports.
Balfour is a busy summer resort area surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty on the shores of Kootenay Lake, in the valley of the Selkirk Mountain ranges, midway between the historic city of Nelson and the picturesque village of Kaslo.
The Lake, slender sliver of serenity, fringed with ancient rock, waterfalls and glacial streams and laying between the snow-clad Selkirk and Purcell Mountains, Kootenay Lake is a dream come true for sailing. Late-day winds that blow down the lake are a boon to Kootenay Lake sailors. The Kootenay Lake Sailing Association promotes recreational and competitive sailing on the lake. Annual events include the Gray Creek Regatta, held each Labour Day weekend at Gray Creek, just south of Crawford Bay, and the Kokanee Cup Lake Race, at Pilot Bay in mid-September.
Many wonderful hiking opportunities exist in the area. A particular favourite for those new to the area is the Old Growth Hike just below Kokanee Glacier. This hidden and new trail wanders through forest of large cedars in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. There is a nice viewpoint, a very large split boulder, and remnants of the tramway system which used to haul ore from the Molly Gibson Mine to the terminus of the tramway. Amazing old cedars (one is 600 years old), stairways, and bridges cross the creek. Crossing an avalanche slide, you can see a waterfall on the mountain side.
MurrayPond B and B is just moments from the west Kootenay Lake ferry terminal, the junction of highways 31 and 3a, and the many amenities that Balfour has to offer for your holiday stay. The tastefully decorated Clematis Room has a king size bed and the Honeysuckle Room has queen size bed, both with premium mattresses and quality linens. A table and chairs are by the window, where you can write or read with a view overlooking the garden and lily pond. Wireless Internet, cozy electric fireplace, TV with DVD/VCR, bar fridge, coffee-maker and hair dryer are also provided. The Clematis Room has a private entrance and patio with its afternoon sun and shade from a maple tree. The Honeysuckle Room is upstairs with mountain views and a separate bath and shower in the en suite.
Leslie Jordan, the wonderful talented actor, comedian, writer and playwright has just come out with his new book, MY TRIP DOWN THE PINK CARPET which is a fabulously funny and interesting biography of Leslie's life, so far. We are fortunate that we met Leslie a few years ago and saw his opening performance of "Like A Dog On Linoleum" in West Hollywood. He played to sell out audiences every night. And now in his new book, he brings his life to readers throughout the nation to peruse.
Most people only know of Leslie either from the movie, Sordid Lives or from his guest appearances on Will & Grace. He was nominated and won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Will & Grace in 2006. But, Leslie is a gifted writer and playwright. He wrote and starred in the autobiographical play, LOST IN THE PERSHING POIINT HOTEL, which was also made into a motion picture.