Miami 09'

No one expected what followed after we flew into Miami International Airport. After being greeted by the cute flight attendant who guided us to our AVIS office to pick up the car we reserved, they hadn't received our reservation because my genius roommate didn't think confirming the Reservation was necessary. Idiot. Luckily, they had a car available. While it was more expensive than we wanted, we pulled out in an almost brand new 09' Red Mustang Convertible.

While I'm not much for American cars, my roommate and brother were in heaven. Unfortunately, since i was the only one who was comfortable driving a standard, i got conned into driving the thing. Like always, Avis' cars always drive nicely (See Bolivia Post). After chatting with the Avis agents for a little while (always friends), we decided to get a move on and head to the beach.

We flew into Miami at about 9am via American Airways and after a 45 minute flight, we were ready to hit the beach. We hit Miami Beach Central first and it was gorgeous. The only way to understand would be to show you.

The beach itself was almost empty. Which is unheard of this time of year, and we almost the entire beach to ourselves except for the group of Summer Break college students to our left. (Who we later found out were staying at the same hotel we did.) and the water was just perfect for the surfing we planned on doing. Since my roommate surfs competitively, the chillness of the beach and the relaxed way of riding was absolutely perfect for him.

I on the other hand wanted to hit the waves pretty hard and ended up almost getting hurt on a sandbar that none of us noticed immediately. Luckily i was able to miss it narrowly, or our vacation would have been cut way short had i not. After a few hours we decided it was time to head to the Hotel.

We checked into the Biscayne Bay Marriott. This hotel was surprisingly affordable, and incredibly nice. Hotel Momma did a great job of helping us out with getting checked in and their reservation agent did most of the work for us. So it was incredibly easy to get done what we needed too without the hassle that comes with it.

The pool was a great spot to chill after a long day at the beach, and it was almost worth staying in the hotel the rest of the night instead of heading out to finish what we started. We grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant that was right around the corner and headed to downtown.

Club Space was a pretty intense club for the kind of people it attracted. All ages, hot and not, were there to dance and take their attempt at hooking up with the happening people. While sort of amusing, it was almost kind of pathetic the lengths people went to to make it happen. The atmosphere was incredible. Lasers and disco ball like contraptions made it a mix between a laser tag game and a dance hall. The DJ was really good, mixing more of the latest jams and less of the stupid advertising gimmicks that most clubs throw in.

We went back and slept and woke up and returned the car to Avis and was surprised once again at how easy it was. There was no additional damage to the car. Surprising, since i was the only one who knew how to drive it. The return flight home was comfortable, and the attendants were friendly. Was a worthwhile two days in Miami. Although we didn't see Heratio. =/

Alaska 09'

Flying into Anchorage, Alaska from Orlando, Florida was a huge change. It took about 10 hours total flight time and another 4 hours counting check-in times, connecting flights, and baggage claim. Overall it wasn’t a short trip but it was well worth it. The flight itself was just as good as any sightseeing tour I’ve ever been on. You could see every snow tipped mountain, every lake, every stretch of trees and all of the clear blue water around Anchorage. We arrived in Alaska at around 3PM (AKDT) the first thing we noticed was that it was not as cold as we all expected; A long sleeve shirt did just fine in the afternoon. We rented a car from Budget at the Anchorage International Airport and drove to the Marriott in Anchorage which was only about 10 miles away but having the freedom of driving at your own pace and being able to stop whenever you felt like it was the best part of the deal. The Marriott was a very clean hotel in a great location near shopping, the “beach” and a train that takes you to the ports for major cruise lines. After checking in at the hotel we drove around town to kill time as we waited for three more of our family members to arrive. The hotel workers informed us that the most popular place for tourists in Anchorage is 4th Avenue. Though it’s not as busy or crowded as Times Square, it had everything you needed as a tourist. All of the gift shops had generally the same things such as hand-crafted Native American goods, Animal mounts, T-shirts, and more. I also can’t forget to mention that everywhere you turned was an “Ulu Knife” which is named “the knife of Alaska”, it’s basically a handle attached to a semi-circular blade prices ranged from as little as $2.99 for a basic wood handled knife with a stainless steel blade to over $300 for walrus tusk or bone handled knife. Whichever price range you choose be aware that Alaska does not want you to leave without an Ulu Knife! After walking around town for a few hours we headed back to the hotel and waited for everyone else to arrive. We were on the 19th floor and the view was amazing. One major thing we noticed is that from 3PM to 6PM the sunlight has not changed one bit, we were in Anchorage at the time of year where the sun does not set until around 1AM. After we all settled down we were on the hunt for a place to eat, our first pick was Simon & Seaforts Saloon & Grill mainly because of all the advertisements we’ve seen in the magazines in the plane and the good reviews from the locals and it was a very short drive away from the hotel as well. The overall setting of the restaurant was very laid back and comfortable. The menu consisted of mainly American Steakhouse classics; I had the Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Roasted Mushroom Stuffing. It didn’t take long for the food to arrive and I can say it didn’t take long for it to go either it was absolutely delicious in every aspect no wonder Simon & Seaforts ranks with some of the best steakhouses in the country. At the end of our meal we each received individual cards with an important life quote, similar to a fortune cookie- it was a very unique concept. We left the restaurant around 10:30PM and the sun was still shining as bright as it did at 3. After driving back to the hotel we settled down again and prepared ourselves for a good night’s sleep after a long day’s travel, and got ready to take off for Salmon Fishing at Knudson Cove in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Bolivia 09’
Travis Cannata

Agreeing to take a trip to Bolivia (A relatively larger country in the center of South America) was easy for someone like me who is an avid “outdoorsy” kind of guy. Being my second time I knew exactly what I was getting into (NOT!). A team of us agreed to help build a civic center / dining area for a church in the jungle of this country. This was a hard task and everyone who agreed to this trip understood the expectations.

Leaving out of Orlando International Airport was the least of any of our worries. It was actually the easiest part of the trip. We checked in, waited a few minutes at our gate, boarded the plane, and took off. There were 7 of us, 6 of us guys and only 1 girl. Patience was almost non-existent, so the least bit of delay ended in confrontation. Our flight had a connection in Miami before we flew into our connection in La Paz, Bolivia. Miami Airport was undergoing construction so it was a little confusing at first to understand where to go. Luckily, the friendly staff was able to guide us in the direction to go and we were able to get situated at our gate.

We decided to eat at a little restaurant called “La Carrera”. I would recommend this place to anyone who stops in the Miami Airport. This serves GREAT food at an incredibly reasonable price. I almost felt guilty taking it. The flight to Miami was smooth and there was no complications. They showed two in flight movies and a couple TV shows. And since this was an overnight international flight, they fed us “plane food” that was surprisingly tolerable. We had the choice of Lasagna and Roast Beef Sandwiches.

The only complaint I had was the lack of space in the American Airways 747 which made it incredibly difficult to sleep for anyone not located at a window seat. As a plus they offered a free set of ear-buds and their in flight radio which played a mix of 50s, 60s, and early 70s music. This did not sit well with the younger crowd and many of them decided to just skip the radio all together and just listened to their iPods.

We landed in La Paz as our connection which is located on the side of a mountain well over 14,000 feet in the air. We had to stop here to re-fuel and switch pilots for our decent into Santa Cruz. The altitude change made a lot of people very sick, and this in turn took us a while to take off because of the “Plane Cleaning” (Yeah…. You get the picture.) Finally off the ground, the flight was only 40 minutes into the Santa Cruz Airport.

The first thing I noticed getting off the plane is the fact that everyone knew exactly where they were going. The airport apparently did not get many tourists. We stuck out like red on white. Customs / Immigration was hard considering I was the only one who even remotely knew the language. And I don’t know a lot. So acting as translator was quite a challenge.

Transportation in Bolivia is a lot different then it is here in the states. Bartering for rides is typical, and renting a bus has no paperwork. We were met by another team who had been in Bolivia since well over a month before we arrived with a bus they rented for little more than $12 American dollars for 14 people who took an hour bus ride from the airport to Santa Cruz. Once in Santa Cruz, we took a taxi to Avis Rental Cars (The taxi cost $1.17 for 11 miles).

Since we were all bent out of shape and worried about renting a car for the day, we did not know what to expect when we got there to rent the car. Avis made it incredibly easy, and unlike the majority of “rental car agencies” in Santa Cruz, they were actually legitimate and provided us with a decent car (For a third world country). Travelers to here need to be careful about renting cars. Many of the “Rental Agencies” in Bolivia will slap a company name like “Hertz” or “budget” in their window and claim to be that company. Since Copyright laws are borderline non-existent and certainly not punished, this is a common problem in Bolivia. A lot of their cars are not maintained properly and the work is done by third grade mechanics, and employees that barely know what their doing, and certainly don’t guarantee their work. Avis was legitimate and helped us through it all and made it so much easier than expected to be in and out of there with a car and peace of mind. We knew we had to rent a car for the last two days at the end of the week, and we already knew exactly where we would head when we returned from “The Jungle”.

At the end of the day, we returned the car and hopped on a 6 hour bus ride for a place called Concepcion’ for our connecting 4 hour Flatbed truck ride to Puquio. This is where we would stay for the next 5 days while we worked on the Civic Center. Our accommodations consisted of a Concrete building with a thatch roof and nets to keep the “bugs” out. And the bugs we are talking about are about the size of a small Dinosaur. The Tarantulas found their way into our suitcases and the wasps were as big as your hand. The nets did little justice and the one moth that got caught in it pulled it down (It was that big).

Over the next five days, we had more outdoor experiences than I think I’ve ever had in my entire life combined. From bathing in rivers, to cutting down shade trees starting at the top, to racing away from animals across a parkour type rock bed in a matrix like fashion. This trip was incredibly eventful. We even got lost in a rock quarry when our driver took off for lunch forgetting that we were still collecting rocks for the floor of the Civic Center. The construction work was as brutal as it was long. Starting at 6am and sometimes not ending until well after dark with a one hour “Ciesta” in the middle of the day for lunch.

Some back story of this next part. Bolivia’s seasons are 100% opposite of the US’s seasons. Their winter is our summer, and their winter is still sweltering. 4 of the 5 days were well over 100 degrees. One of the team members and I were dropped off to collect rocks with a group of the “natives” that was only supposed to last 1 hour. 3.5 hours later we were still waiting for a pick up. After awhile we were starting to get worried that something might have happened. Someone had bought me a 14” hunting knife that was snuck into my back pack as a joke since I was referred to once that week as a “Rambo” of Bolivia. One of the crew said “Who’s Rambo without his knife?” hence, this knife was born. What they didn’t realize is that to the Bolivian people, this was scary for a “Gringo” to be carrying around a knife this big with Americas “Violent nature”. Since it was put into my bag without my knowledge, I pulled it out in the lull time and couldn’t understand where it came from. The Bolivians freaked and told me to throw it into the woods. Right as I was about to, they stopped me because they needed a path cut back to their rock quarry and they had forgotten their machete. So as one of them wielded this shiny new toy, swinging it back and forth through the brush… We came across a nest of Tarantulas, Probably ten, standing in a group in the middle of the path. The team member I was with shrieked like a little girl, completely disregarded and sense of manliness and dignity he had. The Bolivian man with the knife ran dead center and started stomping and hacking away until all that was left was broken pieces and hair. They joked about how they were glad they had the knife because they didn’t want to have two of them get their shoes dirty stomping the large spiders. Finally after earning their trust (I guess) they gave me my knife back and told me to leave the broken spider parts on it as a reminder of them and their “heroic” deed (Strange, but effective).

After completing all we needed to do in the five days, we said our goodbyes and hopped back on a bus to Santa Cruz. Getting stuck with three 15 year old girls for 8 hours in the back of a bus took its toll on me, especially since I just wanted to sleep. It was “blah blah blah blah blah high school is so cool blah blah blah.” Sleep was a scarce thing in Puquio since there was so much to do with so little time. This was my time to catch up and it was a bust.

Arriving in Santa Cruz was a blessing since I wanted to go to the hotel and sleep. We had a day and a half to kill before our flight back to Orlando. The next morning, the first thing we did was head to Avis to rent a 12 passenger van. Once again Avis did everything to make it so easy and so little pressure. We will certainly do the same thing next year when we come back to finish the project.

Over all, it was an incredible trip and a lasting experience. I look forward to returning and finishing the project, as well as visiting the country again. It’s a beautiful country with a breathtaking landscape that no one should ever miss. While this was far from a vacation, it was none-the-less enjoyable. They have opportunity for a vacation. Santa Cruz and La Paz both have elements that a trip to New York City or Sacramento would offer. And could provide a great experience. If your family is looking for a Vacation that is out of the ordinary, I would strongly advise you to give Bolivia a once over and see the opportunity it has for an adventure of a lifetime.