Posts Tagged With: Miami

Mistakes, I Made A Few

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Mike

Her backpack: Indigenous woman in Cotopaxi, Ecuador, several thousand feet above sea level where oxygen is hardly plentiful. And she manages to still smile

“Has it been a year?” a friend asked, as I stood in his dining room in Miami. “Yes, I’ve been gone exactly a year,” I replied, feeling somewhat uncertain myself.

It was hard to believe that a year ago last month  I left the United States for Colombia, where I started this great global adventure. Hard to believe how much ground I covered by road and how many people I met along the way. How many lives I touched and how many lives touched mine. I am not the same person that left the United States last February. I am changed, for the better, I think. I know more about South America and South Americans. I’ve seen more. I’ve learned a thing or two about tolerance, and above all, patience. You have to be an extremely patient traveling for a year in the Third World. You must adjust to all sorts of situations and customs.

I bit my tongue – mostly – when someone tried to lecture me about the evils of the United States. I listened and nodded and sometimes even agreed with the disagreeable.

South America was great in so many ways. I am now back in the United States. In Miami, to be exact, nursing an injured knee, the result of a tumble in Chile.

My backpack: Compared to what she's carrying above, maybe I should quit whining... 🙂

The knee seemed to bounced back to health, but as I started to make my way across Argentina and Uruguay, with a backpack that seemed to weigh more with every step, the pain returned. So after limping around Montevideo for a while, I hopped online onto the American Airlines website and booked a flight to Miami. The plan: see a doctor about the knee, take it easy and start anew in Europe.  That was the plan. This month, my doctors have had a thing or two to say about that. After X-rays, physical therapy for up to three months has been ordered. I start April 9. Not exactly the way I had hoped things would turn out, but also not as bad as it could have been. No need for surgery, for instance. That’s good news. Bad news, I am in Miami instead of Brazil, which I had to skip to deal with the knee. No worries, new plan is Brazil has been appended to 2013, but more likely early 2014 given my detour.

Meanwhile in Miami, I’ve had time to reflect on the year that was.  What I did, what I would do differently. And with this entry, I hope you, dear future traveler, will learn from my mistakes. I list a few:

1. The Backpack: Mistake number one. I bought the biggest one on the market – 91 liters – but nobody told me that amount of weight is nearly impossible to carry fully loaded, uphill, up stairs, for long periods, especially for a man who weighs 170 puny pounds. (My weight at the start of my trip was more than 190 pounds, at times closing in on 200 pounds).

But I carried two backpacks, so there! 🙂
In Santiago, Chile.

Some might say I don’t have to fill the backpack with the kitchen sink, but another unforeseen problem with a pack that size is it has to have a certain amount of stuff in it, otherwise the fasteners won’t close properly. So then you are forced to load up with stuff you really shouldn’t be carrying. So my advice is buy a backpack built to carry the minimum you will need on the trip, not the maximum. You may find yourself wearing the same clothes more often, but your legs, spine and shoulders will thank you for it.

2. The Fights: So the stranger learns I’m American and I get one of two reactions – love or hate. The United States is not the most popular nation on Earth. That has been made very clear to me across South America, with one individual after another laying into me about Iraq, Guantanamo, American imperialism, 9-11, on and on. From Colombia all the way down to Argentina, I heard from individuals who really believe that the United States government blew up the World Trade Center and crashed planes into the Pentagon as a pretext to attack Iraq.  Really? These conspiracy theorists were fed this story line by conspiracy theorists in the United States. So I can’t really fault their ignorance.

Sometimes I would allow people to go on and on and have their say. Sometimes I would challenge their assertions. And that more often than not was a mistake. People form their own opinions and they won’t change it no matter how much rational reasoning you try to impart. So my attempts to set the record straight often ended in disagreement. Henceforth, I will just shut up and smile.

3. Voices Inside My Head!: As most of you know, I’ve been couch surfing my way around the world. It’s been amazing, but not always smooth sailing. And it’s been those times when I didn’t listen to that voice in my head that said “go to a hostel or a hotel”. When traveling in a strange land, go with your gut! It’s nature’s way of alerting you that something is amiss, perhaps even dangerous. The times I ignored that little voice inside my head I ran smack into trouble and had a bad experience. Nothing major, just unpleasant. When the voice told me to find someplace else to stay, I should have listened. When it told me not to attempt to go down that canyon, I should have listened. When it told me….well, you get the idea.

Knee Issues: Herein may have lay part of the stressed knee problem! Not enough leg room on some buses in South America for people more than five feet tall!
Two-plus hours on a bus - in this position - to Santa Marta, Colombia

4. Tentative – I bought a tent for this trip and it was one of the things I ended up shipping back to the United States because I was carrying way too much. I should have kept the tent! Housing is important and that tent would have come in handy throughout South America. I had used it only a couple of times and thought I would not use it again. Wrong! So many places that allow camping and it would have been great to have it and awake in some beautiful spots. The  tent stays with me on the rest of the journey.

5. Thanks For The Advice: When you travel you will run in to people who have advice as to where and where not to go. What to see and what to skip. Opinions, opinions, opinions. But it’s your trip and if you have your heart set on someplace, do not allow others to dissuade you. Do your own research and decided for yourself if it’s worth it. A couple of times, against my better judgment, I skipped a couple of places then heard from others that those places were phenomenal. For instance, I am hearing from some that the Egyptian Pyramids are a bore. No amount of criticism of the pyramids will keep me out of Egypt. I will draw my own conclusions about the pyramids.

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Don’t Even Go There!

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Mike

It’s been a year since I met Anna and Michal. Seems as long since I’ve thought of them.

The young married couple from Bydgoszcz, Poland, wrote me last August to ask if they could stay two days at my Miami condominium that overlooks Biscayne Bay. They had just flown to the Magic City from Honduras on their way back to Poland after an amazing two years traveling around the world.

When I received their request for lodging through the www.couchsurfing.org travel and hospitality Web site, I initially thought to say no because of the short notice and I was already hosting two women from Berlin, Germany. Anna and Michal weren’t arriving in weeks or even days but in a matter of hours. Although some members of the Couchsurfing community are able to receive guests on short notice, my schedule simply did not always allow for that. But when I looked at their couchsurfing profile, I rechecked my schedule and quickly agreed to host them. Two people who had just traveled around the world, I just had to meet. I needed some insight, as I was planning my own global adventure.

Anna and Michal on the Western Coast of Australia

The photographs of their two-year trip spoke to me, and so did their travel philosophy, which was similar to mine – independent, unstructured, free-spirited. And by golly, after two years of planes, trains, boats and automobiles, and of climbing and jumping out of and off of things, these two people, with no place to stay for their two-day layover in Miami, needed any comfort Miami could provide.

With the two women from Berlin, the guest bedroom was already taken. Michal and Anna had no problem sleeping in the living room – she on the couch, he on an air mattress and sleeping bag on the floor. It beat the alternative: pitching a tent in a park or some parking lot behind a McDonald’s. At least that’s what they said they were considering. That may have worked fine in Vanuatu or the Australian Outback, but not a good idea in urbanized Miami.

When Michal and Anna arrived, I instantly took to them. Great sense of humor, a real sense of adventure, a fearless spirit, and as I pointed out at the time, newlywed love for each other even after two years on the road together. Don’t people who travel that long together want to kill each other? 🙂

Chilling out in the living room, Michal and Anna showed me some of the videos and photographs they shot during their journey, and all I could say was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

With each picture, Anna and Michal shared stories. They had spent much of their time traveling to remote areas of just about every country they visited. And they toured some countries I could only dream about.

With breathtaking video footage and photographs as evidence, Michal and Anna didn’t have to convince me that those places were worth visiting. But alas, I told them that as an American some of those places would not be safe for me to go traipsing through. Parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan or any part of Iran, which views Americans as a threat to their society, is unsafe for anyone holding a U.S. passport.

In some countries around the world, Americans are taken hostage, decapitated or shot on sight, I reminded my well-traveled and well-meaning guests.

“Ah yes,” Anna said jokingly. “Half the world hates you.”

Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal in Iran

This week I’ve been thinking about that “hate” Anna spoke about. I wouldn’t go so far as to say “half the world” is unsafe for Americans, but when I was mapping my global adventure, it wasn’t easy. Flying from country to country is easier given you are hopping over hostile territory. But trying to go by road, as I am, from one country to the next creates some logistical problems. How do I get from Egypt to Israel then Jordan then Turkey with Syria in the way? And from Russia to India with Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China as obstacles? And to Thailand with Myanmar ahead?

Unlike my dear Polish friends, I had to be more conscious of where I was and was not welcomed. Iraq? Pakistan? Afghanistan? Iran? No way. For them, when asked, all they had to say they’re from Poland and nobody cared. If anything, my guests joked, some had never even heard of Poland 🙂

Anna and Michal and countless other travelers I have met have no such concerns over geopolitical conflicts. Iran has no beef with Poland, so a Polish person can crisscross that country and feel very welcomed, as Michal and Anna were. I’d probably be arrested, thrown in prison and tried for spying, as e Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal were.

The reported conviction of the two American hikers this week is what made me think of Anna and Michal, who now run a family owned hotel in picturesque Tlen in Bory Tucholskie National Park, about 60 kilometers north of their hometown, Bydgoszcz. Our conversation a year ago resonates with me today. Sure, I wish I could freely travel to Cuba, or see the antiquities in Iran, or see what Syria looks like from the ground.

People have asked me if the South America part of my trip includes Venezuela. The truth is, with all the hate, the disrespect shown to U.S. presidents, the going out-of-the-way to befriend sworn enemies of the United States, I don’t feel I would be welcomed there. Unfortunately for the Venezuelan people who would love to get their hands on some of the billions in “yanqui” tourists dollars, many Americans now view Venezuela as an enemy of the United States and refuse to support the government of Hugo Chavez. So as a result, my world travel looks very different from that of say, someone from neutral Switzerland.

I have to be very alert about shifting sands in the global community. Egypt in an uproar? Change in Tunisia? Unrest in Morocco? How does that impact my plans to travel there as an American?

Shane and Josh, unfortunately, apparently didn’t give serious thought to location. If I’m hiking anywhere near the Iranian border, I want to make damn sure where I’m standing. Friends and relatives say the hikers may have been forced by Iranian border guards into Iran, but again, if you’re that close to Iran, well, you’re just too close.

Personally, I wouldn’t have found myself hiking even in Iraq, which is still unstable, as witnessed by a string of recent bombings. Time and time again, Americans around the world do foolish things and expose themselves to danger. Recall the case of the American journalists who unknowingly entered North Korea. If the border is unmarked, and the avowed enemy is on the other side, stay as far away from it as you can!

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, an official television station, Shane and Josh were convicted of illegal entry into the country and for espionage. They were sentenced to eight years in prison. Their Iranian lawyer said he was not aware of the convictions and sentences and that he would inquire. Really Mr. Lawyer? Are you sitting down on the job or is the Iranian system of justice simply so flawed that the defense lawyer is not aware that his clients are going to jail – for eight years on top of the two already served while awaiting trial.

The two men, who have been held in Tehran’s infamous Evin prisonfor more than two years, said they were hiking near the Iraq-Iran border in the Kurdistan region when a soldier of unknown nationality told them to approach. It was at that point they learned they had crossed into Iran, which shares an unmarked border with Iraq. They were with Bauer’s fiancée, Sarah Shourd, who was released for “humanitarian” and medical reasons on $500,000 bail in September 2010, after more than a year under arrest and months in solitary confinement. Her case is still pending, according to Iranian officials.

Sarah Shourd

I do share Shane and Josh’s passion for learning about other cultures and travel. I understand why they would want to venture, especially Shane who like me is a freelance journalist always on the trail of a good story. I feel a kinship with the two backpackers and anyone who looks at their travel videos and photographs will immediately see that these guys are no spies – they’re just a couple of backpackers, like me, just trying to see the world and hopefully make it better. They ought to be released now!

As for me and my travels, maybe I ought to start telling people I’m Polish. Nah! It won’t work.

A profile of Josh and Shane from CNN:

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I Could Get Used To This, But Not A Chance!

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Mike

Dressed for the office

This isn’t how I had envisioned my life at this point in time: after a long day at work, headed home in a chauffeured sedan to a four-bedroom house with three bathrooms, small but functional kitchen, laundry room, large living room, cable TV, a gated driveway and enough yardage for an adopted, sprint-happy German Shepherd renamed “Honey”.

As the dark gray sedan got started toward my home for at least the next five months, I thought this all so jarring to my compass, and that instead of the backseat of this shiny late-model car I should be somewhere in the Andes Mountains or salt flats of Bolivia, making my way from the northern arid deserts to the cool blue southern glaciers of Chile, with an overstuffed backpack firmly attached to my probably aching back.

But life throws up detours and sometimes roadblocks and it’s left to us as individuals to decide what’s the wisest choice: take the road and forge ahead; scale the obstacles or turn back – in essence quit – and just go home.

This was a big one. While I was in Peru the call came: come to Chile for six months to teach English to the bigwigs of one of Chile’s several mining companies. Many of these executives and managers need to learn English – or in some cases just improve what they already know – because English has become necessary in their jobs. Chile exports billions of dollars worth of copper to the world and the men and women who run these mining companies sometimes travel abroad or do business with others who speak English and little or no Spanish. So there’s been a push for English lessons at these multi-billion dollar corporations.

I must say I have actually been enjoying. Of course, there’s been a few glitches here and  there, but that’s the case in any job. Nothing ever goes smoothly 100 percent of the time. And yet, the experience is one that I won’t shed any tears over once the fancy car is gone, the house has been vacated and the job is done. Such is my love for travel and to explore the world. Being stationary for a total of six months – I’ve been on the job for a month now – was never part of “the plan” when I left Miami in February. Eight to 10 months in South America, tops, and it was supposed to be “Hello Europe!”

But I had made a decision last month, not knowing exactly what to expect, and it has turned out to be a wise move, even if I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I have gone from sometimes sleeping in a tent and couchsurfing the homes of perfect strangers or toughing it out in crappy hostels, to now working on a luxurious corporate campus where I’m fed each day a fantastic lunch and evening snack while I rub shoulders with men and women the miners and other workers practically bow or curtsy to and treat with the reverence reserved for religious figures or heads of state. I watch as some of these top executives walk down a hallway or through a lobby and how employees quickly move out of their path and greet them with the tip of a hat. Power. Powerful.

Out the front door. The garden needs work 🙂

These thoughts racing through my head are interrupted by the chauffeur. I hear him call out “Don Misha-El” – most people in Chile mispronounce Michael as it would be pronounced in Spanish. He asks where I wish to be taken. He just picked me up at a park area in Calama, Chile, that doubles as a pickup, drop off point for commuters. I tell him “home” and repeat the address he already had been given by dispatch. “But don’t call me ‘Don’,” I tell him. “I’m no ‘Don'” Maybe out of force of habit,  a sense of respect or decorum mandated by his employer, he insists on “Don”.  I stop correcting him after three or four tries.

For those who – oh, heavens! – are not regular readers of this blog, get up to speed on how I got the job and ended up in Calama, Chile. Do it now then come back and pick up the story here. Or do it after 🙂 For the rest of you keeping up with this twisting travel saga, read on for the scintillating details of my day in Corporate Chile. [Hmmm…why doesn’t that have the same stinging ring as Corporate America?]

My new routine: Twice a week and soon-to-be three times a week, my alarm goes off at 5 a.m. Those days are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Thursdays to be added in August. At 6:10 a.m., my ride arrives. “Good morning Don Me-sha-El” – “Good morning. Just Michael, please.”

He drives me to Monolito Topáter – a monument to the Chilean heroes of the war fought against Bolivia and Peru, known as the Pacific War. The monument is a rendezvous point for vans and buses that take workers to the copper mines and other work sites.

At Topáter I leave my chauffeured car and board a large private bus – soon to be upgraded to a corporate van – reserved for executives of the company. The bus is very comfortable, has cushy seats that recline, with pillows and blankets provided. Given the hour and the length of travel, most people just grab a blanket and a pillow and go to sleep. The trip from Topáter to Mineria Gaby, a copper mining business co-owned by a private consortium and the government of Chile, is 1 hour and 30 minutes. I arrive at Gaby by 8 a.m., when I sit down with my first bleary-eyed student. For now I have a total of eight students at Gaby, but I will take on several more. Each individual lesson is 90 minutes.

I conduct the lessons in the offices of each executive, a challenge because some of them can’t seem to turn off work, hold off on their calls, for the duration of the lessons.

At about 1 p.m. it’s lunch time. I head for the “casino” – that’s what Chileans call a cafeteria or dining hall. There, hundreds of miners and other company employees are chowing down on what is usually a fantastic lunch prepared on-site. Lunch options are three to four options with a variety of salads and desserts. And of course, cold beverages, tea and coffee are always on the menu.

After lunch, I conduct workshops that usually include speaking and working on grammar or on whatever weakness the student wishes to work on. The workshops are voluntary by I encourage them to come, especially the ones that need it.

My afternoon continues with more lessons, usually three or four more students. By 8 p.m., I’m making a mad dash to Bus No. 3 that will take me back to Calama where my car and driver await. An impressive caravan of buses leave the corporate campus with miners and other workers assigned to specific buses. Bus No. 3 is reserved for the executives, managers and other administrators and their assistants.

On the bus, I watch a movie on my laptop – I’ve been catching up with missed episodes of “Lost” – or simply plug in my iPod and go to sleep. I arrive in Calama at 9:30 p.m., home by 9:40 p.m., in bed by 11 p.m. or by midnight.

On Mondays, I teach English at the language institute with whom I have a contract to teach at Gaby. The institute is located right across the street from where I live. At the institute my students include everyone from execs to students to housewives. That breaks up the monotony of just dealing with corporate types. I walk home for lunch on those days 🙂

Since my days are long when I am at Gaby, I get three days off – Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Works out great for me because I can use those perennial three-day weekends to explore the region. I’ve already gone off to San Pedro de Atacama, a small desert town I really like. Other towns reachable by bus in a matter of hours include Iquique, Antofagasta, Chui-Chui and several others worthy but not in any tourist guides.

I’ve slowly gotten used to the routine of working in Chile among Chileans. But as I sat on that bus home, looking at the mass of people on the bus, tired from a long day on the job, I think to myself, “What am I doing here? I did I get here?” This, working in Corporate Chile,  the house, the car, the dog named “Honey”, was the farthest thing from my mind. But I automatically smile and say “I like it. Just don’t get too used to it!”

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