Sunday, April 29, 2012

I Found My Old Car!

My Laser when it was new.. in Ohio

Don't you sometimes wonder what happens to your old cars after you sell them? Who is driving them? In what state? Well, I might have just found my first car in a parking lot in a strip mall in Delray, Florida. It's the exact same model, color and interior and it even appears to have a little dent I sold it with in the back bumper. Which means it just could be my old car.

Some of my friends might tell you my first car was a white Suzuki Samurai, but that was a hand-me-down from my parents. Yes, my dad used to commute in that thing. But the first car that I got to select and buy myself was a used Plymouth Laser RS Turbo. It did have 40,000 miles at the time, but they were all highway-- the car was in pristine condition.



For those of you that aren't' familiar with the Plymouth Laser, it was the (ever-so-slightly) more upscale sister car to the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon, which were nearly identical. The car was only made from 1990-1994, giving way to the Talon and finally, the more popular Eclipse. But in it's heyday it was awesome. The RS turbo had a silky smooth leather-wrapped stick shift and 190 hp of turbo-charged nuttiness, without anything like all-wheel drive to keep it grounded. Boys loved to drive it, and most girls didn't know how.

It was a very cool American car for the time, really. It had automatic pop up headlights, an automatic seatbelt and a very cool graphic equalizer which my friend Michael C turned into it's own instrument one crazy morning much to the delight of the whole car load. It didn't have a CD player, but tape decks were still the norm then. One problem I did have was that the hubcaps were alway falling off. After a while, I just stopped trying to replace them - like the owners of the above car also obviously did.

Could this be it?



The one I found was showing it's age. It was banged up, the windshield wipers are rusted, the pop-up headlamps are forever stuck in the "on" position, the automatic seat belt obviously doesn't return to the right position and the fabric seats are ripped. But still, it could have been mine. Even if it's not, just seeing one on the street again made me feel more than a little bit of nostalgia for my long lost Laser.

Steve's pictures make it look even older!  


Saturday, April 28, 2012

Field Trip Peru: Cujo meet Brujo



One of the more unusual things I saw in Peru was the Peruvian Hairless dog. To foreigners they look like they have a crazy case of mange, but in fact they are highly prized pure bred dogs that you will see often as pets of the affluent. This one's name is Brujo and he's a little bit older now, which is why he has just a little bit hair. He lives in a beautiful shop in Lima called Las Pallas, which is an amazing store filled with unique Peruvian artisanal handicrafts that she travels to the most remote parts of the country to find.

Brujo

The store is also the home of owner Mari Solari, an English woman who has been in Lima for decades and not only transformed her home but also her rough Barranco neighborhood into a beautiful, verdant destination for locals and tourists. 



Entrance

Mari's courtyard




Mari & Brujo's private quarters
Masks for sale





Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Field Trip Peru Day 5: Sacsayhuamán

slide!


Sacsayhuaman (pronounced almost like sexy woman) is a super sacred Incan spot high above the city of Cusco, which was the Incan capital at one time. On the site, which dates back on thousand years, there are wide grassy ruins with polished granite walls made with enormous boulders that were most likely found in this location. There is also a huge granite wall that was used recreationally, as a slide. And like all Incan sites, there are good acoustics from a high point for addressing a crowd and a place where the sun lines up with specific rocks every year on the solstice. Our guide informed us that when the tourists go home at the end of the day, it is considered a romantic place for locals to come on dates. I can see why!

Grazing Alpacas
Baby Alpacas - the best sweaters are made with their shaved hair!
You see a lot of women in the Andes in traditional garb. Some just like to dress that way, and others want tips to have pictures taken. Our guide calls them "professional models"


Most of the pet alpacas have their ears pierced with tassels!


Field Trip Peru Day 4: Air Please!

My savior!

 Arriving in Cusco, which is 11,500 feet above sea level, I could feel it immediately. The thin mountain air making it hard to even get my suitcase of the carousel. So, to stave off altitude sickness, I headed straight for the OxiShot booth in the Cusco airport, where they sold canned oxygen. Having worked for an oxygen company many moons ago, I know the importance of getting enough. Instead of suffering like the rest of my crew who abstained from canned oxygen, I actually did pretty well. No headache or anything, but still, I couldn't eat much and walking fast - let alone running - was out of the question. The rest of the girls tried to rely on coca tea (basically liquid cocaine), which sort of helped, but also kept them up all night. Oh well, can't win 'em all!


Saturday, April 14, 2012

Swimming in the Amazon!


Black Water in the Peruvian Amazon

I'm a little like a lemming. If there is fresh, beautiful water around - I want in it. When I was out on a little skiff on the Amazon, it was no different. The water I'm speaking of wasn't the muddy brown water where I caught a piranha, it was the famous "black water". This water is so acidic and full of tannins that not much lives in there - especially by way of bacteria and piranha. This apparently happens from all the leaves that drop in there from specific trees, brewing a sort of tea. Even the locals take boats to collect this special water for cooking, and sometimes, drinking.

So the guides assured me that this water was perfectly ok if I really wanted to get in. They explained that even thought I might be the first Aqua Expedition guest to do so, they had swam in the black water all the time as children. So to the surprise of Ricky Ricardo and the other guests, I took off my clothes and slipped in. Everyone else just watched with a mixture of jealousy and horror until, without warning, Colleen finally did a fully-clothed cannonball. To be on the safe side, I didn't go under the water, but in the hot day, it was still so brisk and refreshing that the whole experience is perhaps the highlight of my trip. The water looked like orange pekoe tea and was exceptionally silky. It dyed my matching white underwear slightly, but it was well worth it.



The first swim

Skiffing
A little later in the day I was hot again and wanted to relive my experience and asked if they could find a nice place to for me to take another dip. This time they took me to a wide open part of the river and - seeing that they had missed out the first time - all the girls got in! Since no one got an ear infection or taken out by an anaconda, we'll put this under the column of good ideas I can take credit for.
drifting in the river


Don't get in this water - best to use a boat

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Field Trip: Peru Day 3: Pink Dolphins are Real!

our view



In the Amazon River there are two types of dolphins. Little grey ones that look like flipper, and large, crazy pink ones that look like they belong in Avatar. These funny looking fresh water mammals have long noses and blunt fins. They are shier than other dolphins and were more scared off than excited by our boat motors. But they did stay with us a while, proving very difficult to photograph. There is a legend that they come out of the water at night as attractive men who seduce women, only to return to the river in the morning as a dolphin. Many of these seduced women may become pregnant and thus, blame the dolphin man! Very convenient indeed.

pink dolphin in Amazon (file photo)