Croc,
The hike went well; not really that long, about 2 1/2 hrs. each way, mostly through jungle, though the first climb was in high grass, pretty hot. Hiking with the Aetas is always fun - our senior guide was close to 60, and grew up in the old hunting and gathering days. Funny guy, about 4 1/2 feet tall and looks almost frail, but I wouldn't want to try keeping up with him if he was walking for real. He's always grabbing a plant, snipping a bit with the machete, and telling you what it's good for. Some for eating, some store clean water, some medicinal, with effects ranging from lowering fever to (he says) making women horny. He's also apparently famous for his skill in honey-gathering, which apparently involves climbing tall trees with a smoke-pot and blowing the smoke into the hive until the bees let you break in. I'm planning on going along on one of those trips, though I'll stay on the ground. The idea of clinging to a tree 100 feet off the ground trying to calm a bunch of angry bees doesn't appeal much to me. He was very interested to find out that I've lived some years with the tribal people up north, and asked many questions about how those tribes have managed to keep control over their land, which made for some interesting conversation. There's a pretty strong tribal-rights movement here, and it was gratifying to see that even the Aetas, who have always tended to pack up and move on when pushed, are getting the message. Part of me feels like importing some Kalinga guys to show them how it's done.
I think I might recognize that sound your canoe makes. I recently bought a couple of very cool kayak paddles with titanium shafts and kevlar/carbon blades. They are supposed to be pretty close to indestructible, and they feel great in the hand, but the noise they make when you hit a rock seems way out of proportion to the impact. It may just take time to get used to, but I always think I've broken it.
Been a long, long, time since I saw anything like 5 degrees, or skated on real ice. I used to play hockey a lot, and remember the days of laboriously shoveling snow off a makeshift rink, only to watch it blow or fall right back on. Also the days of skating all summer on a rink, then coming back to the lake, and recalling the hard way that lake ice has cracks, and sticks coming out of it, and all that stuff. Ouch.
Do you do any cross-country skiing? I would think Ontario would be perfect for it.
Steve |
