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‹ Previous (21/06/2010) MONTH Next (2010-08-20)› ‹ Previous (2010-10-08 - Canada) COUNTRY Next (2011-01-23 - Mexico)› US Parque Nacional Redwood (see on map) 21/07/2010:
On Tuesday morning we went to San Leandro and left the San Francisco Bay back up through the rugged and beautiful north coast of California to Redwood National Park that we visited the next day. Redwood groups several huge redwood forests, among which are trees higher than 115m. Anyway, to protect its delicate ecosystem, the park rangers do not reveal their exact locations. The redwood forest is kept similar to the natural park´s forest of redwoods, previously visited, so what surprised us most were other aspects of the park, such as elks grazing, or the rugged coastline , where you could watch from a distance a couple of whales. Grants Pass (see on map) 21/07/2010: In the afternoon, after visiting the Redwood National Park, we crossed Rouge River, and arrived a small town near Grants Pass, where we hoped to meet Do Lee, a funny american woman who we had met in Athens two years ago, after the African trip. When we had met the American women Do Lee in Greece she had seemed an impulsive woman and a little peculiar, and so she still was the same in the United States, where she was taking care of a friend who was dying of cancer, a job that kept her joy suppressed. It was interesting for me to spend two afternoons with her and her friend as the two had had a life a little more rugged than our previous guests and allowed me to capture other side of the United States. Many of her friends had been hooked to drugs and marijuana, with the latter currently available in California, where it is readily prescribed to terminally ill patients and rebound to anyone interested. The friend of Do Lee also told us that she had been arrested twice for driving with .08% alcohol in the blood (about 3 beers for a person weighing 64kg), something considered a grave offense punishable with a few days in jail. She complained about the large amount of money you should invest for you to regain your driver´s license, but also considered it important to attend all mandatory lectures in which several witnesses explained how alcohol and conduct affected their lives and made it miserable. While I thought about what the girl explained about the U.S. legislation I thought that it was harsh, but then I consulted on the Internet about Spain and webegin to punish before, from 0.05% (0.5 g / liter), although it was not considered a criminal penalty till more than 0.12% (1.2 g / liter). Moreover, as we are here there is another statistic worth mentioning that we obtained by looking online, where Spain consisted as one of the countries with the highest alcohol consumption per capita, ahead of the United States, perhaps because of the religiosity of much of society but also for the taxes that keep the prices of alcoholic beverages rather high. Parque Nacional del Lago del Cráter (see on map) 23/07/2010:
Crater Lake National Park was another place that we loved for its spectacular and dramatic lanscape, with the rugged slopes of the crater partially snowed and the deep lake waters colored in blue. According to studies, depression and subsequent lake occurred when a large volcano exploded and collapsed a mountain about 7700 years ago. It was nice to go drive the 50 miles of perimeter around the crater, with a typical access most visited of United States offer. Anyway I had to go away from the car to be totally immersed in nature, and did a walk for a couple of hours going through a sustained way until one of the highest peaks along the lake. Portland, OR (see on map) 26/07/2010:
On the way to Portland we stopped next to a couple of lakes where the road passed, and then tried to visit some old wooden covered bridges in Oregon that I had marked on the GPS. Unfortunately many of the covered bridges were gone, still we found one through which we passed, making us arrive happy to Portland. In Portland we were received by Terry, a woman who was hosting at the same time Malene, a teacher from Mallorca who was making a trip of six weeks in West United States. It was funny when Terry began to explain her relationship with her unsociable neighbours, but, as in most U.S. homes, their gardens are all unfenced and communicate. Alexandra got along very well with Terry and Malene and the next day went with them, ´women day´ she said, while I stayed at home writing the blog and meditating on the possibility of starting to write my second book , describing our crazy African adventures. Although we spent a great day with Terry, the next afternoon we were greeted by another couple of CouchSurfing, Chris and Jen, who had not been able to host us on our first night in Portland. We spent three days with them, sharing three different intimate evenings playing board games (Carcassonne and Dominion) until after midnight. The games were so absorbing that during the night, and even when we wake up, our brain never stopped trying and studying new plays or strategies, urging us to continue playing. Inevitably, humans have evolved to play, an activity that allows us to learn and further develop. Alexandra wanted to convince me to buy one of the games to play at night, but I refused, because these three nights I had been too obsessed. Furthermore, it should start writing the book describing our African adventures, if I wanted to have a chance to publish before next year at Saint Jordi. On the other hand, the trip continues to be a game, which is providing me with learning and the development I´m looking for, connected to reality, unlike the games. Possibly by being so absorbed by the game and disconnecting from reality we restricted our communication with Chris and Jen on a more superficial level, although they accommodated us wonderfully. Despite the desire to continue playing the rest of the day, we went out on the first day visiting the city of Portland and relaxing the rest of the afternoon in the garden of roses, with lovely flowers that had become the emblem of the city. Without wishing to pay for parking that was too expensive in the city center, the next day we decided to go out and visit the nearby Hood mountain with extensive patches of snow through which many skiers descended. In the afternoon we returned to Portland crossing the mighty Columbia River, where dozens of fans took advantage of the constant wind to glide through the water with windsurfing or kite boards.
After saying goodbye to Chris and Jen we drove to the northern Oregon coast, as many people said it is one of the most fascinating sections of the American coast. After parking the car we made a short walk to the beautiful beach that our hosts recommended. Then we went to another beach , Cannon, with large rocks, quite charming, despite the place being so crowded with tourists. Then we just arrived to Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River, where we could admire some of its Victorian houses and then crossed the river to enter the new state of Washington. At night, rereading the beginning of the day, when a jovial girl introduced us on the plane, I realized that Americans are much more open than Europeans and network or communication more easily. For example, if cooking in a rest area or at the table in a park and someone walks by the side is not unusual to stop and ask Alexandra ´mmm, what a good smell, what are you cooking?´. Alexandra has also been approached in more than one occasion to be asked about her mini-computer ´does it work like an ordinary computer?´. Or contact me when the camera focused in a natural park, ´If you climb this mountain, you take a picture even better.´
The Washington State coast charmed us more than the northern Oregon, but continues being covered by this mysterious low clouds that keep hiding the sun, which otherwise could not stop shining a dozen miles inland. Without any reference we visited Rugby beach, with several large rocks to receive the onslaught of waves and worn many tons of logs resting on the beach. A similar landscape waiting for us at Rialto Beach, where still many more logs were piled up, probably washed out to sea by the floods and returned to earth by ocean currents. Having stayed north of Olympic National Park the next day we climbed around an hour and a half(round trip) to the Hurricane hill, where we enjoyed a wonderful view over the mountain ridge of Mount Olympic. Then we took the car and headed east to take a ferry to Seattle, where we were expect by yet another great couple of CouchSurfing. Seattle, WA (see on map) 02/08/2010:
To be able to leave from the Olympic Peninsula to Seattle we lost two ferries, but fortunately we got enough early to have dinner with Jeff and Carol, a delicious red salmon on the barbecue. Then we went to his car and headed to a cultural centre in the city where Jeff and Carol were practising already for a couple of years English dances. Despite the experience of the attendees who were all very friendly and teaching us to dance the steps or necessary movements. Finally, after nearly three hours dancing, no one was hurt; just we were very tired and almost turned into some experts. It was interesting to recall the group dances that so often appear in the historical films of England and understand the social role they had at the time. The next day, Saturday, we spent the day between charming people, when Jeff and Carol took us to a party of friends and family to a bay, where we collected shells at low tide, we made a short trip in a kayak and we got full with a good lunch-dinner. After spending the Sunday resting and editing photos and writing the diary, on Monday we went early morning to Downtown, where it was found the Canadian embassy. We were there all morning waiting in different queues until finally we got a single-entry visa to Canada for Alexandra. I would have liked to go up to Vancouver and possibly Calgary, but finally decided to pay only $ 75 for a single entry instead of $ 150 for multiple entry. In any case, surely we would enjoy a lot the road that we had to take from Bellingham to the National Park North Cascades and Glacier National Park. Leaving the embassy we took the opportunity to visit a little the downtown and the busy market next to the sea. Later, returning to the car we were in a central square where an organization or the council had placed a large chessboard with giant pieces under the shade of some trees and several guys who lined up to play. When it came my turn I had to play with one who knew a lot and ended up losing both games. In any case it was fun to play facing the board with a totally different perspective and running the plays walking on black and white squares and take the pieces killed on the opponent field as if they were real trophies. At night, after deciding that the next two days were going to visit Mount Rainier National Park and would make a break for our visit to Seattle, I spoke a while with one of the sons of Jeff, who had been studying and working in China for two years and had planned to march again in the future to Southeast Asia to settle and live there the rest of his life. Talking about our fascinating journey through all the diverse cultures of the world, again Both asked me the same question that Jordan did in Hollywood: ´Why you travel so long for America? After traveling for so many different cultures it must be a bit boring for you. Looking for a different response I said, ´You´re right, but is also very well touring the United States because the cultural proximity allows us to interact and learn more about the people. And on the other hand, discovering the landscapes is also fascinating, as in the rest of the world, but here it is much more care and easier access.´
We left the house advised by Jeff and on the first day I did a hike from Mowich Lake to Lake Eunice, and then to Howard Peak. But I ended up climbing to the top, because the clouds covered the entire Mount Rainier also a true militia of mosquitoes jumped on me, added to an army of ants that climbed up the clothes for a moment that I stopped to take a photo. The next day we stopped at Sunrise point, where the clouds at times allowed us to see Mount Rainier (4392m) completely uncovered and covered with snow. A little later I made another nice four-hour walk from Paradise, to the waterfalls of Sluiskin and Panorama Point, where i enjoyed a magnificent view of Mount Rainier partially covered with clouds. It was a very enjoyable walk, when I had to follow in the footsteps over large patches of snow taking care not to fall, when I put the raincoat under my ass and used it as a sleigh and got off at high speed. Seattle, WA (see on map) 06/08/2010:
Seattle was good again and Jeff and Carol gave us complete freedom to enter and leave the house whenever we wanted, while they continued their activities. So free we were that it gave us even a strange feeling that we rarely ate with them, although we found many more occasions to discuss various topics, many of them around the nonexistence of God and evil that religions have done historically. I was quite surprised Jeff´s views, it is not too common to find atheists in the United States, however Carol was a little more traditional and was a member of the Unitarian Church (Unitarian Universalism), which she accepted any belief, including atheism, and was primarily focused on spiritual growth. Advantage that both had formed some strong opinions, I interviewed them together taking the pulse of the world (www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OY-0PvG-8U). Obviously Jeff felt that the main problem of the humanity were the superstitions, including religions, in contrast to Carol´s main problem was the lack of education, including education about reality. To solve these problems would require more education, especially for women because they are the major transmit knowledge to children, and also education should be free. In the U.S., the main problem was the polarization of policy toward increasingly extreme positions, made worse by the divisions caused by religion. On a personal level, both considered themselves very happy, but would be happier when Jeff was able to sell his company and together they can travel the rest of their life. The secret of happiness is to accept life as it is and appreciate the little things. After spending a week between Seattle and Mount Rainier, I began to feel that we were adapting to a satisfactory pace of the travel. The last few days we were given more time and Alex had finished writing her blog (unaviajeramas.blogspot.com), which was delayed several weeks, and I had begun to rewrite the African diary to publish a book later. However, we also left over in the afternoon to visit the city and the run to talk to Jeff or Carol. We were there the first Thursday of the month to visit free the museums of Seattle and in the evening we visited with Jeff and Carol various galleries, which were full of people, because the first Thursday of each month was the day that traditionally they were changing exhibitions. It was interesting to visit and see the works of art, but did not know they had buyers as some works that could paint a boy of 10 years were worth 2,000 or $ 3,000. On Friday we went back out and visited the Fremont neighbourhood, and then alternative we approach the gates that connect Lake Washington with the open sea. It was interesting to see how boats crossing from one point to another using the system of gates, but more fascinating was to see next as salmon amounted to a special channel to go to lay eggs in the upper part of the rivers in Washington state and then die.
We arrived to Bellingham, the last city on the west coast of the United States before reaching Canada on a rainy day. But no matter, because we did not intend to visit or see the city, we simply wanted to find again a good friend, Amy, the girl from Alaska that we had stayed with a year ago in Xining in China. Returning and confirming her hospitality, Amy let us her room while she took possession of the sofa in the shared house where she lived. Anyway, that night we did not go to bed early because before we were all together, including the sociable flatmates with whom she lived, to a party at a private home or a house party. As we were explained, the house parties are very popular among youth in the United States, far more than the clubs or pubs. One of Amy´s friends was dj and selected music very good, while the rest, about 30 or 40, half of whom were dressed amusingly ridiculous ways we danced animatedly. Each of the partygoers had brought the bottles or cans of alcohol for personal consumption, a good way for people not to take advantage of others by consuming their alcohol, but also it could be interpreted as a lack of confidence or willingness to share. I, who was so unprepared, I preferred to pay a few dollars and drink the punch that had been mixed at home. Anyway, the next day I felt very tired and I spent much of Sunday asleep, I have definitely not had the energy from when I was younger, or the same ability to tolerate alcohol, meanwhile, Alexandra spent much of Sunday and Monday and shopping with Amy. On Monday we enjoyed another interesting aspect of American youth culture, when Amy invited us to a concert where she played in another private home. Amy explained that three weeks ago had created a band with two other boys and had already composed five songs and that would be the second concert they were doing. Other housemates told us that in the United States people highly valued the more amateur work and therefore much easier to start a band, because there are private parties where you are invited to play and where you can start doing some money by selling your CDs or products, something very different to Europe, where groups spend time rehearsing in the garage before going out to play. That night they played four bands of music in a small house where came another 30 or 40 people. It was not the best music that I had ever heard, but experienced one of the most stunning environments where i had been, which encouraged participants to continually appreciate amateur composers, musicians and singers. The second band were three girls from Oakland (near San Francisco) who did a tour of the West Coast of the United States acting in private homes where they were invited. The next day Amy told us that she was also fond of poetry and it was also natural that poets do tours around the country, reciting their poems in private homes and then selling their CDs or books. Definitely, in the United States there were things that worked better than in Europe, such as universities, which are quite free (at least hers) where you could study whatever you want, even pick your particular studies. What was not so positive were the prices of public universities, whose annual fees could cost between $ 8,000 and $ 20,000, so that many students had to borrow money to study, although a few were granted scholarships. We also talked about many other issues with Amy and her friends, including the disastrous U.S. penal system, where prisons are private and financed by the government. According to Amy justice did not act well, producing many errors, in addition to apply differently according to communities, including gays, African Americans, ... The system causes that the prisons are full of people who have driving offenses or for possession of marijuana, something ominous because after serving the sentence is very difficult to find work. Then there are the death sentences, later applied in many cases through DNA testing shows that the defendants were innocent. Despite the reality of their descriptions, inevitably view Amy was affected by the case of her cousin, as she explained, at the age of 17 he slept with a boy of 10 years old several times. At age 22, a friend read the diary of his cousin in which he described his experience and submitted it to the police to report it. This proof allowed justice, influenced by the boy´s father, who was a policeman, to condemn her cousin to 20 years in prison, too much Amy considered.
After spending four relaxed days in Bellingham with Amy, we left the cloudy days of the coast and began to make way inland, where the sun shone again and the temperature rise. The state road number 20, rated as the most beautiful of Washington, was ascending a gentle valley, entering the North Cascades National Park. Surely, this National Park was the least attractive visited so far, because the mountains were not as spectacular, but also for much of the journey we were accompanied by lines and pylons and also followed some large dams that accumulated water without beeing too attractive. In the afternoon I did a short walk to Rainy Lake and back driving the last few miles to get to Twisp, where we hoped to meet Debbi. Debbi, is originally from Portland but since two weeks ago she lives in Twisp, a small town that she fell inlove with. At night, when temperatures cooled a bit, we walked about the town´s main street, with most of the houses built of wood, some with an aesthetic of wild west movies. The next day we discovered the little town, strolled down to the butcher and even to a supermarket on the shelves of which were several stuffed animals including a lion, because the owner was a fan of the game. Participating in the summer activities of the town, in the afternoon, Debbi took us to the river where we swam with other boys who came to refresh themselves in the cold waters. We also went to the theater at sunset to see a very interesting play that dealt about death. And at night, we went to the house of a friend of Debbi and watched the night ski for a fantastic shower of shooting stars, lying on the lawn of her house with the lights off. It was very interesting to live the village life where people leave their house doors unlocked, even when not present, or leave without tying the bikes. Equally interesting was talking to Debbie, a professor of economics who believed that the current economic system will collapse, because it is based on continued growth, but in a world with limited resources it can not grow forever and therefore at one time or another will melt. Speaking about American culture, Debbi brought some curious reflections, explaining that the Americans are like children and they expect the State to act as a parent. The U.S. government was paternalistic because it wants to avoid any possibility that people get hurt, because it takes the responsibility from people for their safety, while people think the government is really responsible. According to Debbi, in Europe, people became more accountable for their actions and for example they illegally cross the railroad tracks, and if they do it they know its their own risk. In contrast, in the United States, the government must prevent all possible ways to cross the railroad tracks, because otherwise people will cross the tracks and then blame the government if an accident occurs. Businesses must also monitor the safety of their employees or clients, and for example in MDonalds coffee sold in containers that warn ´Beware of the beverage is hot´ because a few years ago a woman was burned by coffee and had to be compensated with money because the glass did not announce that coffee could burn.
Since the beginning of the journey through America we are very lucky to be hosted for free by many diverse and interesting people. Fortunately, its been a while since me and Alexandra are in CouchSurfing and we have many references, including comments from people who had stayed before starting the journey, encouraging people who we contact for hosting to be delighted to receive us. Since our arrival we had asked only to stay in the cities, sleeping in the other occasions in the van, but some days i had proposed to Alexandra to start to contact people from small towns or even live on farms or country houses. Thus we were hosted by Debbi in the small town of Twisp and then by Angie and her family who welcomed us to marvel at their ranch in the town of Colville, still in Washington but close to Idaho. When we got home guided by GPS, Angie was not there, but no matter, because her daughter Clarissa welcomed us cordially. After talking a bit with her, Clarissa took us to visit the farm animals, many of whom had only the role of pets, among whom were a couple of dogs, a cat, two ponies, several horses, different types of hamsters, a pig, geese, ducks, a peacock, a large bird similar to an ostrich, and other animals that I forgot. While we visited the animals, Angie called and suggested we go for a beer to a small brewery in town, where there was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Then we returned to the farm with Angie, who introduced us to the other children in the family: Elli (Clarissa´s twin sister), Rachel and Luc, and later Denis, her husband. Angie explained, Denis had always lived in the country and earned their living by farming different cereals and fodder, while she and her daughters took care of animals, including cows that only generate a profit by selling milk. As was the custom among the people we have been staying with in the U.S., we offered to cook, and that night we ate a large omelette, a Spanish dish that Alexandra can cook very well. Alexandra was lucky that the family had a non stick paella, hard to find in other American households. Moreover, the next morning Angie cooked delicious pancakes, we covered them with raspberry grown in the garden and homemade cream . After breakfast we went to see a display of aircrafts at the small airport in Collville, a competition for amateur cowboys that caught calves with ribbons, and in the evening we attended the wedding reception of a friend, which was quite simple. Compared to the wedding parties in Spain, it had little food, but instead, participants were not obliged to bring gifts of a value equivalent to the cost of the banquet. The next day, Sunday, I still enjoyed the company of the family in the morning resting and gathering berries, and in the afternoon back to relax on the banks of the Columbia River. At night, like we did last night, we showed some photos of our trip. As we explained our trip, Angie was saddened to learn that in some countries the Americans had vetoed the entry or complicated (Iran, Syria, Sudan ,...) and in many other countries U.S. had very bad publicity. Noting this family and all the other people encountered during our trip to North America, I too have made it difficult to believe that there are countries that do not wish to receive our friends as tourists or visitors. We were in the same situation that we encountered in Iran, a country where people and culture are so wonderful, although the policies of their governments will cause enemies around the world. During our stay in Collville, we had many times to talk with Angie and her daughters. Among many other interesting stories, Angie explained the case of Denis, who had a serious accident while working on the farm. Angie found him unconscious with head completely covered in blood, necessitating an emergency transport helicopter to the nearby city of Spokane, where he remained involved and admitted for a week and then continue treatment at home. Unfortunately, the family had no health insurance, and soon they reached the helicopter bill and the hospital was up about $ 60,000. Fortunately, being a family known in Colville, the community reacted and a friend organized a collection that raised $ 40,000, while the hospital lowered the bill. Another topic of conversation was religion, although this time it was not me who started the topic, it was Alexandra who was interested in the beliefs of Angie, while I listened a bit. Angie explained that she had read a little about all the Christian religions and had ended by deciding not to cling to any sect and interpret the Bible according to her intuition and not trying to impose their views to anyone. So Angie was seen as a Christian very open and tolerant of other religions, but lately she was sad that the U.S. government and justice were restricting the public display of religious symbols, not to offend other communities. So, now can not expose Christmas cribs in public places or a few crosses are being dismantled from government land.
After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon, hamburger, cream, berries and coffee, we returned to the road east toward Glacier National Park, where we arrived at night. We camped outside the park, for in all U.S. national parks is forbidden to sleep outside the camping areas of payment. The next day we entered the park without too much interest, but as the road ascended through a valley, the rugged mountains of snow and we began to love it. And much more I loved the park when I did a morning hike to the falls of St. Mary and Virginia, and in the evening to a neck with magnificent views of Hidden Lake. The next day I did another walk much longer and more spectacular to the Grinnell Glacier, having to walk 10 kilometers and ascend 500 meters of altitude. After the effort, most of the people were resting on the lake watching the glacier to the bottom but I crossed a river half wetting my shoes and went to the glacier. Encouraged by another couple who were my steps, I came to the center of the glacier, which offered a spectacular variety of ice, rock and water. Anyway, when I jumped back over one of the cracks covered by rocks and ice, but just prop up the foot to the other side felt a ´creck´ very serious and deep that made me run to the mainland trying to be lighter than a cat. It took me a while to get me the fright of the body, thinking that perhaps he had taken a risk too great to enjoy a new perspective on the scenery and take a good photo. From what I regretted was not having walked 10 miles uphill, but on returning to descend I was quite tired. Fortunately, after five hours, Alexandra was waiting below with the table set, happy also to have had a relaxed morning reading the end of a book and the beginning of another and sitting in the shade of a tree. ‹ Previous (21/06/2010) MONTH Next (2010-08-20)› ‹ Previous (2010-10-08 - Canada) COUNTRY Next (2011-01-23 - Mexico)› |
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