Random Thoughts For An Unorganized World

100,000 thousand dollars.

2011-11-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

I've been on a quest for the past year or so to get 100,000 dollars in the bank. I'm well over halfway there. The toll its had on my soul is immense. I have lost many connections. I feel my guiding days slipping into memory. Now when people ask me what I do. I really cant say I'm a guide. I sold my soul for money. That's the bottom line. I sold my soul. My product is no longer inspiration. The only consolation prize I get is freedom of movement. Its hard to say how I got here. I tried to have a relationship with someone that pressured me into a full time permanent job. I conceded. When I ended the relationship, I felt an immense freedom. But being married to money is no substitute. I found another beautiful girl. Unfortunately, i am consumed by making money. Its all I think about. It tears at my soul. 100,000 dollars. I fall asleep and dream of it. I imagine what Ill do when I get there. Ill put it all into 1 account and pull a little money out of the ATM and look at the receipt. I can see the receipt in my imagination. It will say you have 100,000 dollars remaining in your account.

For some odd reason, I have an imagination where I die and I leave the money to KK. I guess at this point in my life, I have strong feelings to take care of someone.

Digitizing My Memories

2010-04-10T00:06:00.001-07:00

I remember when I was a teenager. I remember it vividly right now because I've been scanning every last one of my photos onto the computer. I see how times have changed. When I look at the photos of my room I see alot of heavy archaic technology, like compact disks, magazines, books, ect. I had a CD, VHS, Tape, DVD collection that took up a good portion of my wall. I now do not own a CD and this minimization of my like is great. I never realized that music should take up no space until it took up no space. When your traveling constantly music is everywhere anyway and changes in every location. Its a mosaic that is in constant flux through time and space.

Photos are memory recallers plain and simple. Everytime I look at my old stacks of memories I recall things I did not even know I forgot. Now I can have access to all these memories whenever I want whether through Flickr, Picasa, Dropbox, or a whole host of other uploading means. Now wherever I'm at, as long as I can get to the internet I can browse my entire photo library. I have no idea what this means as a photographer though. I did not start seriously taking photos until they required a computer and a USB cable. I wonder what the old pros had to deal with while traveling? I've guided a handful of traditional photographers who had a backpack full of film. (Now that backpack has been replaced with extra lenses)

I will be traveling away from the Mid-west again in a matter of days. I reduced my stuff down to what fits into "Good Times" Supervan. I've digitized my memories so that i can access them wherever I find a computer. (Except my videos which will take alot more work.) I am ready to take my leave of the Mid-west once and for all.

Big Horn Sheep

2009-12-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

Just called www.bighorn.org to see if the Rams are still butting heads. I had some preconceived notions that they ram each other like crazy throughout the end of November. The behavior is relatively rare to see she said. But when a new ram comes into the area, they need to establish dominance and some head butting ensues. I'd like to go see the rams but I am in Chicago and gas would cost me 250 dollars. I'll have to think about it.

Back To The USA For A Month Or So!

2009-11-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

Can't wait! Cheap electronics and good coffee shops! Not looking forward to all the extra pounds. Not on me. On everyone else. The USA's problem is all the extra pounds it carries around.

Banco Do Brasil or Bradesco? Government Run or Free Market?

2009-11-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

I needed to pay the Mercadolivre bill online and my BOA Visa was not working in Brazil to pay the bill, plus Barbaras dad would not use his card because he was paranoid about it being a false website. So I convinced Barbara to start a checking account so we could pay the bill that way. I wanted her to check the websites so she could chose online which bank was the best, but she was particularly keen to get Banco do Brasil. Its sort of a weird concept for a bank from an american perspective because the President chooses the CEO. They also must recruit workers who pass a "Concurso Publico" test. Lots of people take the test, (including Barbaras brother)lots of people want to work there because they make way more money than they are worth once hired. Once we looked at the websites i thought Bradesco was the better choice just on website design alone.... Nothing like a slick website.

We went to Banco do Brasil in the morning and it reminded me of a soviet soup line, terribly crowded and inefficient. They actually directed us to open a bank account with them across the street at a cellular shop who also, for some odd reason opens Banco do Brasil accounts. To be fair, they said the government contracts out the opening of accounts because opening an account at the actual bank would take way too long. Interesting. When we inquired about the banking options, the cell phone salesman of course had no clue what the options were, just how to open them. Not too encouraging. We went back to the actual bank to get a little clarity about what they could offer us and the despondent clerk told use that she has to have a paystub to open an account here. We found out the only option we had was to pay them 500 reals. (around 300 dollars) and we would have the privilege of opening a savings account withthem. I wasn't impressed. He showed us the door.

Then we went to Bradesco and, it seemed familiar, sort of bankish, from an american perspective. Its not government run, but private. They had a desk where you could open an account actually AT the bank and they were sort of helpful and nice. We went with it and got a Bradesco account. Score one for capitalism.

Getting Things Back In Order.

2009-11-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

Judo. My teacher, Marcelo was frustrated with me because I didn't know a move he thought I should know. Judo is pretty frustrating to me as well. My teacher has said it is much harder than Jiujitsu and I definitely understand that now. He said you can train for 10 years and still be mediocre. But in Jiujitsu, you just need about three years to be extremely good. I see it. Judo is all about balance, leverage and timing. I just don't see it translating over to self defense easily. Jiujitsu definitely. Im going to look for another Jiujitsu group and maybe try Muay Thai as well. I will probably stay on the two days a week training Judo though. I don't want to leave these guys because I feel a sense of responsibility to finish what I start. If I left and then later saw one of them on the street, I would fell ashamed.

I had Barbara work for me today so I could get some extra things done. I pay her, which is funny. I like the arrangement though, because if she doesn't work for me, she ends up doing unneeded menial tasks, like mopping already clean floors and reorganizing her mothers closet. It frustrates me to no end. If she works for me she can make money for herself.

Everybody in Brasilia wants a government job. It pisses me off because most of the population is super poor, but once anyone lands a government job they make an extremely disproportionate salary to what they are worth on the open market. Instead, they should lower the 60% tariff on stuff and grow a middle class.

I sold my Nikon 105 micro lens for 200 dollars more than I bought it for. Sold it on Mercado Libre. The transaction worked well. You can post your item for free but they take 9% of your selling price. People can ask you questions through Mercado Libre but don't get access to your contact information until the agree to buy it. Barbara's mother had horror stories to tell me about someone who sold a computer online and the guy came over to get it and ended up killing the whole family. There are a million horror stories to tell here, but you can't walk around paranoid or else your not living. If something is going to happen, its going to be fast and you wont see it coming most likely. Robbers are professionals too.

Swine Flu

2009-11-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

I was living near the border when the first waves of the swine flu hit the media. But about a month before I had the worst flu of my life and I think it was the swine flu. That being said, it turns out that I had H1N1 before it was all the rage. Poor joke, I know.

But I remember seeing a local El Paso TV news program about the source of H1N1 and they sourced it to a disgusting factory pig farm a hundred or so miles south of the border. Its funny how that aspect isn't brought to national attention. Factory farms are like concentration camps for pigs. They are also paradise for germs and viruses. They can replicate and evolve unchecked to create new strains of pandemics for years too come.

Another interesting causal factor to the swine flu involves NAFTA. The free trade agreement caused the creation of the many factory pig farms throughout Mexico, yet the Mexican farms do not hold the cleanliness standard we have in the USA. (This is relative, I know). So without the same standards we still give free trade. This is a fundamental flaw in the agreement.

In my opinion, every product you buy needs to be labelled to source and method of creation. (Factory farm of greater than xxxx per square meter or something similar.) At least then we can have better information about what we are consuming, and what that consumption causes.

Still Organizing My Photos!!!

2009-11-06T14:47:00.000-08:00

I take way too many pictures. I realized that once I switched over from iPhoto to Aperture for my catalog. I think Im up to 14,000 photos in the catalog and 12,000 photos serve no purpose, economically or for cataloging my memories. But Aperture works like a charm and now that I have a computer that can handle the program I am happy I bought the software for a couple hundred bucks. And I know what your thinking. "Why didn't you just download it?" I've identified a couple problems with downloading everything for free as opposed to buying software. First, you tend to accumulate way too much. Be it software, music or whatever. If you "steal" it, then it is not worth anything to you and you just horde and horde and horde. I am in the process of deleting thousands of songs I've never listened to and I never will. They just take up space. One of my favorite quotes is from the movie Fight Club. "Things you own, end up owning you." The idea is more eloquently written by one of my favorite authors, Henry David Thoreau, "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone." Even John Muir said something similar when he talked about a noted millionaire and said, "I'm richer than him (because), I've got all the money I want and he hasn't." He was not even close to being a millionaire at the time. The point is, materialism is counterproductive to living life. this issue has endless nuances and avenues to debate and discuss though...

I did get the photos I took while guiding at Great Bear Lodge organized partially. Now I need to get the website started for www.tropicalanimaltours.com, I'm selling a Galapagos/Amazon, next year where I'll guide, really exciting, one of the best trips anyone can take. I'm also organizing a Costa Rica tour which will be very affordable. If you've never been to the tropics, Costa Rica is the first place you should go. That's all for now, thanks for reading this.

Brazil Is All About Beef!

2009-11-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

Grilled beef is everywhere....everywhere. There are more Churrasco's here than fast food restaurants in America. Churrasco is the Brazilian word for Barbeque. But they usually don't grill the meat, they skewer it and cook it over embers. I've probably consumed a cow in its entirety since arriving in Brazil two months ago. It eats at my conscious. I have to stop. Beef production in Brazil is THE major driver of deforestation of the Amazon. A full three quarters of the beef produced in Brazil is eaten in Brazil. Even though just 25% of the beef produced is exported, Brazil still is the largest beef exporter in the world.

Samba... More important than Portuguese when in Brazil!

2009-10-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sure you can speak a few words of Portuguese to get around the country, but if you really want to impress the locals, you will need to learn how to Samba! I went to a wedding last night afterwords, at the reception the deejay played about 5 American dance songs, think YMCA etc. Looking around the dance floor, I thought, "Wow, I thought Brazilians had much better Rhythm than this......"

Then the Samba music began and the dance floor transformed to this pulsing, gyrating, rhythmic display any country would be proud to call their own.

My Stuff Arrived!

2009-10-01T10:43:00.001-07:00

My stuff went through the Panama Canal. My iMac works still. Yes! Barbaras family has more stuff than house space for it. All of my stuff could fit into two check ins and a carry on, I think. I want to sell my iMac though. I thought I would need it, but Google and internet cafes have lessened my dependence on it. I might just give it to Barbara. Hers got stolen.

She also had a dream about a robbery last night. The last bad dream she had was about cops chasing her dad in the front yard and we got robbed two days later. So Im worried her dad might end up in jail soon.

Stuff

2009-09-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

I have stuff in three countries. I hate stuff. I want to get rid of it. I could fit all my stuff into my van if I chose to. I have stuff arriving by barge to Brazil from Ecuador. I wish all my stuff was a minature version of itself. The more stuff I have, the more likely Ill lose or have it stolen from me. The perpetual traveller hates too much stuff. Since turning thirty, I´ve not wanted as much stuff. Its hard to buy presents for me because I probably dont want it. I could list all the stuff I own in probably ten minutes. I wish it was 3 minutes. I want to sell most of my stuff on ebay. I want to concentrate my stuff into one country. I want all the stuff I own to fit, organized into my van, and all the important stuff into a small backpack.

Understanding Chavez?

2009-09-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

I never completely understood the "Bolivarian Revolution" that Hugo Chavez touts, but I was reading recently about Simon Bolivar and I understand alot more why Chavez is the way he is.

Simon Bolivar is sort of the Latin American George Washinton. But there are huge differences between the two which Bolivar spells out in his most famous manifesto the "Jamaica Letter". In it he states what kind of government he forsees in Latin America upon independence from Spain.

Among the popular and representative systems, I do not favor the federal system. (USA) It is over-perfect, and it demands political virtues and talents far superior to our own

In this letter he rejects federalism and argues for a strong centralized government with a powerful executive. He even belittles the character of his own people by saying "we are to dominated by vices, which developed under the guidance of Spain, became weighted with ferocity, ambition, vengeance and cupidity."

He is essentially calling for a centralized government NOT by the people but "benevolently" for the people. Like that is going to happen. Bolivar agrues its better not to "adopt the best system of government, but the one that is most likely to succeed."

I see parallels now. First, Simon Bolivar had the Spanish Empire as an ememy. Chavez touts American Imperialism as the ememy. He had a great target in the George Bush administration who would trade barbs back and forth with him. Chavez was able to demonized us to create an enemy that the Venezuleans can focus on. It did not help that CIA documents showed the Bush administration—at the very least–knew about the plot to overthrow Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez weeks before the April 2002 military coup and did nothing to stop it. He accused the US of two more assasination attempts. But after Barack became president, he has tried to say the the CIA is the real power of the US and that they are still trying to kill him. He hates our relationship with Colombia and uses that to justify building up the miltary at his coutries expense.

Also Simon Bolivar rejected the peoples will to represent themselves. Chavez grabs more and more power and has shut down all but one private television station and almost all the radio stations as well. Chavez buddies up with countries that steal elections like Iran. He can now run indefinately and I highly doubt he wont steal all the future elections.

What does that mean for the traveller? One the one hand, Venezuela is known for the most beautiful women in the world? Also I was talking to a friend of mine who owns the English Bookstore in Quito and he said Caracas is the place to teach English right now because they pay top dollar since no one wants to live there. On the other hand Caracas now ranks as the world's No. 1 murder capital, according to Foreign Policy magazine. You will probably have to pay bribes everywhere you go because corruption is rampant. HMMMM? More on this later.

Is Barack Obama Really Black? The middle path.

2009-09-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

Is Barack Obama Really Black? The middle path.

Brazil has taught me that, as an American, I have been taught a sort of Black/White dicotomy. Black mother+white father= black baby. Black father + white mother= black baby. Barack is black, full stop........but only from a US perspective. In Latin America he is a mulato. His race is less dicotomous, less black vs white, less good vs evil, less right vs wrong. Americans tend to place ideas into two opposing categories. Its not a universal trait though. Buddism has the middle path. Latin America has mulatos, mestizos, zambas, etc. We are missing that.

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Brazilia, Brazil, South America
September 23rd, 2009
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Travelling is one of the most humbling and eye opening activites one can do. It tends to break down preconceived notions, stereotypes. Your perspective broadens. Conversely, in the short term it can frustrate and even enforce your initial stereotypes. Especially, if you walk around trying to fit things into your pre programmed view of the world outside of the US. Eventually though, you will realize its not us vs them. Its us. We are all on this earth together, from the blackest Nigerian to the Whitest Swede. And we are interconnected in ways that are hard to imagine.

For example, industrial and agricultural chemicals known as Persistent Organic Pollutants are being found in high concentrations in Arctic humans and wildlife. As far away as possible from where theses POPS are being released. They are transported to the Arctic via the atmosphere. Levels are highest in the fat of animals high in the food chain. A significant number of Aboriginal northerners, who depend on these species for subsistence, exceed the recommended consumption guidelines. Yet they had no part in creating or speading these pollutants.

Real travel that puts you square in the middle of another culture opens you. You wander the streets, you haggle taxi drivers, you eat with the locals, you begin to see the commonalities that make us humans. You begin to see gradients within us all.

No Better Place to Study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

2009-09-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

No Better Place to Study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

As soon as I stepped of the plane in Rio De Janeiro I saw Brazil was filled with bad-asses. I enjoyed on average a foot height advantage in Ecuador, (Great at parades and concerts) but here in Brazil my defining characteristic could very well be my American fast food gut. I feel like I represent my country when travelling abroad so I had to do something. I found a gym and started working out and training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

If you don´t know what Brazillian Jiu-Jisu is, I'll give you a brief history. It starts with Mitsuyo Maeda, a Japanese Judōka (Judo competitor) and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions. After winning more than 2,000 professional fights in his career he earned the deserved title of "The toughest man who ever lived" Judging from his picture, he was the Japanese P. Diddy as well.

After kicking ass all over the world he settled in Brazil and found a willing 14 year old student in Carlos Gracie. Carlos taught his little brother Hélio Gracie who was a whopping 140 lbs. Being such a small guy compelled him to adapt the Judo through trial and error in order to maximize leverage, thus minimizing the force that needed to be exerted to execute a move. From these experiments, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, later known as Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu was born.

The UFC origins owe its existance to the large Gracie clan. One of Hélio Gracie's son's Royce won the first two UFC competitions with ease against opponents approaching double his size. This cemented Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu as the single most effective fighting style known to man. (He went on to drop out of the third, then win the fourth and draw in the 5th.)

I knew that my instuctor was good because he had a seroius case of "cauliflower ear." Its a bit comical because the instuctor explains away in Portugues, then asks me if I "entedeu" (understand) and of course I say, "Si, tabom" but its a flat out lie. I just watch him and try to imitate the moves until I accomplish something vaguely famililar to a choke or jointlock. One thing is for sure though, my American fast food belly is quickly disentegrating! Three months to Rio!!

Travelling is Becoming More Expensive

2009-09-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Travelling is Becoming More Expensive

Im in Brazil. So all my transactions are with the Real. Its a good looking currency.

I have been able to pull money out of my bank in the US at all ATM's so far. I pay three fee's. The first is a 5.00 transaction fee for using an ATM not associated with my bank. This one is hard to avoid because I'm not in the USA. The other is a foreign transaction fee of 1%. I can handle that. The third one really gets on my nerves

The above graph shows the strength of the dollars against the other major world currencies. Its not looking good for the world traveller from the USA.

March 21st 2004, I could have pulled out 3.20 reals out of the ATM for every dollar subtracted from my account in the US. Now, I only get 1.8 and reals per dollar. It was worse before the US housing crisis but the direction is clearly headed south for the American traveller.

Clearing Desert Tortoises from a Bombing Range in Southern California

2009-09-14T13:50:00.001-07:00

Clearing Desert Tortoises from a Bombing Range in Southern California

I´m still in Brasilia, but I was offered a job starting in three days in sunny Southern California clearing Desert Tortoises from a bombing range. I heard about the job quite a while ago but time crept up to me and I have to make a desicion about whether to take it last minute.

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Monday, September 14th, 2009
Brasilia, Brasil
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I want to take the job, but after doing the profit analysis, I decided it would not be worth it. Travelling from Brasilia to Los Angelas will take at least 18 hours and 1200 dollars last minute. When I was in Ecuador, I did not realize just how close I was to the USA compared to Brazil. I could arrive in Chicago in 12 hours for 700 hundred dollars last minute. Brasilia is more complicated.

Once I arrive in LAX, Ill have to rent a car for the month for at least 800 dollars. There is 2000 dollars gone. Now add 1000 dollars for food and unexpected expenses while travelling and the profit margin starts to dwindle. I was told the job makes 30 dollars an hour 10 hour days for around 35 days. But I was offered 25 dollars an hour for around 24 days of work. Thats 25*x240 hours=6000 minus the 3000 dollars in expenses. $3000 dollars.

Im waiting for my stuff....Computer, telescope etc to arrive by ocean frieght from Ecuador. Its probably heading through the Panama Canal as I type. I need that stuff before I leave here, because who knows when Ill be back. All that adds up to me making the decision to stay in Brazil.

On the bright side, the job starts new in the spring starting the last week of March so I am pretty sure Ill be in California clearing Desert Tortoises from a bombing range at that time.

Que Viva La Vida

Surviving a Brazillian Home Invasion

2009-09-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

What would you do if 6 teenagers with guns entered your house, guns pointed at your head, screaming at you in a language you dont yet understand? Its a hard question to answer. There are many scenarios that may play through your head, especially after the fact.

The set-up: A satellite city of Brasilia. Barbara, her parents, and I were setting up the television in the front room of Barbaras parents ranch house. 12 years ago, when they lived there, they had no neighbors, just relatives who owned all the land around. But now its different. Sub-dividing and squatting has turned it into a hodgpodge of legal houses with legitamate yards and hastily constructed haphazardly placed hovels everywhere else.

I hear Barbaras mother yell. I look toward the door and see a 15 year old boy enter with a gun pointed toward my head. Thats the moment where your brain processes information a little fuzzy. The stimuli is foriegn. More youths with guns enter. They are yelling in Portuguese. I understand nothing, except that I am the biggest person and any Captain America moves I make may kill every one of us.

Every Brazilian has a story of themselves or someone they know getting robbed. Watching the news, you see many (it seems like most) victims end up dead. The news here is brutal. They show every gruesome detail.

I put my hands up and slowly and lay on the ground. Barbara and her mother did the same. Her father gets pushed to the ground. I understand no words. There are probably 5 people now in the house, all armed. I put my head down close my eyes and concentrate on my breath. I feel calm, serene. Barbara is praying right next to me.

I was told later that they were asking for the codes to the safe, WHICH WE DID NOT HAVE. They went to each of us, hitting us on the head with guns. The safe was not even ours. It was from Barbaras grandmother who was living there last month before we returned. Not knowing the codes to the safe could have been the one point of information that killed us. When they hit me on the back of the head with the gun Barbaras mother told them I was a Gringo and I dont understand Portugues. One rifled through my pockets.

It seemed like 3 or 4 minutes to me before we all had to get up and go into Barbaras bedroom. I remember one of them grabbing my backpack, then putting it down. I remember they were small. We were then locked in her room together and they were soon gone.

Stolen: iPhone, Nikon D200 professional camera with lens, headlamp, Raybans. Barbaras MacBook Pro, shoes and miscellaneous things.

Not stolen: My two best lenses, binoculars, good knife, gps, camping equipment, OUR LIVES.

I love it here!

One of many ways of getting robbed in Ecuador.

2009-08-11T14:04:00.001-07:00

I just back from a weeks stay at the Argentinean owned Tiki limbo in Montanita, my second favorite beach overall in Ecuador after Mompiche. All the guide books say its the hippy, rasta, party beach, which it is. But with partying all night comes the risk that you will get robbed as the four people in the adjacent room came to find out.

Let me recreate the story really quick. The Aussie guy, French Guy, English Girl and Canadian Girl meet while traveling South America. They all decide to head to Montanita together. They get a dorm with four beds and set out to party the night away. The Aussie meets an American girl at a Tiki Bar and they come back to the room to have sex. They are both drunk. And so is the other American Girl and Local Boy that tag along to the Hostal. The night guard asks what room they are from. The Aussie says "four" The gaurd see's two guys and two girls which corresponds to the number and sex ratio of guests on the list for that room. He lets them pass. The Aussie/American hookup has sex in the room. Everyone is so drunk that no one can remember if the other two hangers-on were in the room as well. The Aussie argues loudly with the two American girls about something that no one really remembers. (Woke Me Up) Three cameras and an iPod end up missing.

They key is locked in the room as well. The Aussie returns and breaks his own door down. (Woke Me Up) The guard comes up and explains in Spanish that he has to pay for it. The Aussie in drunken English says my iPod was stolen. They original occupants return to find that their cameras are missing. The Aussie blames the broken door and robbery on the guard. Yelling, misinterpretations and communication failures ensue. No one knows who did it.

There is a little Seth running around in the Jungle.

2009-07-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

I'm old and unmarried. At least according to my Greek grandmother.

If its any consolation to her, there is a little Seth running around in the Amazon......... None of MY genes are in him but I'm still proud. In the picture you can see Venancio, a native guide I was fortunate enough to work with in the Amazon for three years. I took this picture as he was paddling the boat through the fog, coming to pick our tourists and me up for a ride around the laguna. Venancio suprised me one day when he told me he was naming his newborn son Seth, a name his Quechua tongue pronounced Set. I was honored.

I learned the other day that the Rio Napo carried Venancio through the other side that fog. I'll miss him.

RideAndes Tours

2009-07-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

I just finished some new maps for Ride Andes Tours. It really makes me want to climb some of the mountains around Cotopaxi. The maps took a couple hours to make from scratch with Sally. She works hard and continually improves the routes throughout South America. I know she runs the best horseback riding tour in South America.

She has given me alot of advice about starting a tour company. I'd like to start something similar to Footloose Forays. He guides all the tours himself and he seems busy and productive all year. I guided his group in the Amazon. They were one of the best groups ever to guide. They were not hardcore birders but they wanted to see wildlife. Its a great combination. If I started a company though, my base would be in Chicago. It would be a little harder but I don't think there is much competition in that area. Most of the tour companies are scattered throughout the west coast. Most American who came to the Amazon were either from the west coast or were New York jews. Don't ask me why.

Arriving in Ecuador is no longer a culture shock

2009-07-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

After packing all day on the Fourth of July, I bought a ticket around 7:30 pm to leave the next morning at 5:45 am for Quito Ecuador. Talk about procrastination. The ticket was 760 dollars one way. Ouch. I drove to South Elgin to hang out with my Dad for a while. He was watching NASCAR. I gave him 180 dollars to store "Good Times" then reserved a limo to arrive a 3:15 am to take me to the airport. By the time I got to Houston I was pretty exhausted so I crashed out for a few hours on the floor of the terminal. When I awoke I saw Barbara had called me several times to find out what flight I was on so her Dad could pick me up. I drank two large Jamba juices, one was supposed to protect me from getting sick and the other had peanut butter in it.

When it neared flight time to Quito I was reintroduced to the Ecuadorian way. The flight attendant asked, in Spanish, for First class passengers only and at that time every Ecuadorian gathered in a loose mob around the gate and individually tried their luck at boarding the plane with their economy fare seat 21B tickets. I think if they don't at least try, they feel they missed a potential opportunity. The flight attendant then yelled to the spontaneous gathering that they are not seating everyone at once, but in a semi-ordered fashion which utterly confused the mob. Eventually everyone was on board.

I started to sweat while filling out the customs declaration form because I had brought my 24 inch iMac and Barbaras computer as well. You can't bring in a desktop and a laptop without declaring at lease one of them to be taxed. Also you cant bring in a TV or monitor over 14 inches without declaring it. The back of the form casually mentioned 3 to 5 years in jail if you fail to declare items. Once upon a time threats like that would not phase me but lately, I've been a law conscious person. I even filed all my backtax forms this year even though I owed no money, just to be safe.

Once I got into Quito, Barbara's brother and dad met me at the hanger of the airport. They snuck me through the diplomatic line of the Aduana, and after we gathered my luggage. They took over, pushing past everyone. We steamrolled over the Aduana (border) guard who collects declaration forms. Then we bypassed the x-ray machine completely. Yikes! The girl behind the machine yelled that we had to screen our luggage but my escorts cried diplomatic immunity. The Aduana gaurd came over and said, please just sceen the luggage and we'd be on our way. Before I could move a muscle, all my luggage was loaded and getting x-rayed. I thought I was in for a shake down and some jail time but Barbaras dad kept the computer in a small backpack over his shoulder and no one cared. My desktop with the 24 inch screen however lit up the eyes of the x-ray girl. She almost screamed. "There is a big television in that box!" Again my diplomatic agents came to the rescue. We don't have time for this, he needs to get to the embassy and fix our computers right now!" And they grabbed my bags and walked off. Wow! Bold! I just shrugged my shoulders and acted like I did not understand Spanish.

Downy Woodpecker

2009-07-03T10:29:00.001-07:00

Downy Woodpecker, originally uploaded by seth.allan.ames.

I took this picture of a downy woodpecker recently. The sun was really low on the horizon. I like the colors but I'd bet many people would say its too dark.

You can tell its a male. Do you know why? Because males have that little red patch on top of the head.

This little guy is the smallest woodpecker in North America. It looks virtually identical to its cousin, the Hairy Woodpecker. You can tell them apart by size. This skill comes with a little experience.

Like most woodpeckers, this is a cavity nester. A hole in a tree makes a great home. They search under bark chips for insects but will also eat berries.

Flickr

2009-07-03T10:18:00.001-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

The world is coming to an end!

2009-06-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Places In Between

2009-06-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Im reading Rory Stewart's book called "The Places In Between" about his trek across Afghanistan from Herat to Kabul right after the US invasion desposed of the Taliban. He is not the best writer and the monotony of the journey, (Mud Hut to Mud Hut every twenty miles) tends to make each chapter a rehash of the chapter before. But you cannot help but learn much of the way of life in Afghanistan as it was and probably will be for a long time.

One of the best aspects of the books is the fact that he was gifted a War Dog towards the beginning of the journey. This reminds me a bit of Justin Lichter who has walked with his dog for tens of thousands of miles. The difference though, is that Rory could easily be killed at any step of the journey. In fact, the only reason he is not killed is because he becomes familiar with the names of local warlords who happen to live within one days walking distance from each other. He procures letters from as many important people as he can and at times he literally shames the hosts into taking him in and feeding him and his dog.

I'd recommend it over Bill Bryson's, "A Walk In The Wood's" which was the biggest disappointment in a travel book as I've read, not because of his writing style but because HE DIDN'T EVEN FINISH THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL he was writing a book about. The Places In Between is a story which expanded the limits of what I thought was possible.

An interesting email

2009-06-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

This is an email from back in August 28th 2008. It summarizes what I was doing and what was happening in Ecuador at the time quite well.

I am still doing the same old thing in Ecuador. I just took a two week vacation with Barbara to alot of nature preserves on the eastern slope of Ecuador. It was very fun and challanging at the same time. Barbara is not as naturey as I am and im trying to find a good pace and level of comfort that will suit us both. I I have a proffesional camera system right now and my photos are getting alot better. My computer on the other hand has crashed twice in the past two months and its at the service center right now. Ill probably have to get another one.

I am still with barbara. It can be challenging. Brazilian culture is very high strung and sometime she can say things that are just downright destructive. I dont what a submissive girlfriend though and she does laundry, is very motivated and confident. I like that.

Being with her makes me lazy. I dont go out and dance or mix it up. I dont cheat. I am esentially getting fat and slow. That needs to change soon because my friends are making fun of me. I feel content though. Im getting older.

Barbara has a diplomatic plated car. We can drive around with immunity. If the cops want a bribe, they get the cold shoulder. Barbara will actually yell at the cops like they are stupid. It weird. Sort of above the law here.

Sacha lodge is getting invaded by colonists. They are moving into the back of the property where we walked. Civilization is coming. Its no longer a wilderness lodge and soon there will be a paved road behind the lodge I imagine. Last week four kids with rifles where caught right behind the lodge. DANGEROUS. Imagine if we were walking around with guests and we met rifled kids in the middle of nowhere. They are kids of killers too. No one moves behind this property unless they are running from something.

This country is not stable. the new government is trying to change constitution. They vote in September. Yes or No. The new constitution gives the president too much power; gets rid of checks and balances. People are divided. Maybe there will be a coup attempt. I would not doubt it. Lots of drug traffickers are invading the country. Lots of Farc are getting safe haven here. I see it on the streets.

I am going to a diplomatic party in the Brazillian Embassy. People who work directly for the Brazilian President will be there. I go to alot of events and meet alot of people who would be considered important. Its very interesting. Although I dont speak Portuguese so Im at a loss for words.

Growing Up Wild.

2009-06-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

I stopped by the old decrepit trailer of my boyhood back in Oklahoma. Everything was a miniature version of my memory. Its funny how perspectives change as we grow older.... and taller.

I lived here for around 5 years and looking back I see how its shaped who I am as a man. Living here is the reason I grew to love nature and wildlife. The back acreage was a cattle pasture with a fossil-filled stream meandering through the middle. Its where I saw my first fossil, my first wading bird, and my first venomous snake, the cottonmouth (Water Moccasin).

I grew up with a dog named blondie, who accompanied me without fail on daily walks. She LOVED to chase cows.

How long until this Government Tit Runs Dry?

2009-04-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well, the end of this job may be near. I've been in discussions with my employer and the money is running out for monitoring the fence construction. I may be done in the middle of May. It was a good run.... i accomplished my goals here. I can't wait to see Barbara. If its done soon, ill take good times and go see some family until I go see Barbara.

Bucket List: 1. get shocked by an electric eel.

2009-04-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Giving To The Homeless

2009-04-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

Good Times

2009-04-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

When I arrived in El Paso I had no vehicle. I remembered distinctly that in America there is no way to get around without a personal vehicle. So I rented a car for a week. I soon realized I'd better scour the local papers and Craigslist to buy something and avoid rental fees. I did not want to pay more than $2000 dollars though. What can you get for under $2000? Nothing reliable, right? Well with a diligent search and a bit of luck, one can find a good vehicle. I looked at two different vehicles. My criteria, 1) You have to be able to sleep in it. 2) It has to be less than $2000. 3) It has to have flair. I know the last thing is more subjective but I knew I would know if it had flair or not instantly. To understand what I mean google and read "Blink." I was on my way to my third try when I drove past "Good Times."

I instantly wanted it. I looked inside and it had a bed! It only had 96,000 miles on it and it was a 1987. The only bad thing about it, is it gets about 13 miles per gallon.........

How did I get here?

2009-04-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

I took this job because I was desperate. I think I am the culmination of the credit crisis. My credit card offered me a 25,000 dollar loan at 0% interest for a year, for a processing fee of 75 dollars. I said, "Why not?" I took the loan and put it in a 5% interest ETrade savings account so i'd make 1,175 dollars in interest for nothing. I did this back in September of 2007, at the height of the irrational exuberance in our stock market.

I wasn't satisfied though. I thought I'd make even more money if I would buy a few stocks that are going up up up up. I liked Apple, Dryships, XM Radio, etc. I started buying stocks at the worst possible time in American history. I lost a few thousand before I learned my lesson.

I thought I'd wait on the sidelines until the market recovers, then I'll get back in and double the money plus not have to work the entire year. As a guide, I don't make much money. People become guides to enjoy there young days, carefree, doing what you love, not for the paycheck. I moved to Ecuador to be with my girlfriend and make the relationship strong. I guided a bit in the Amazon, everytime I did I missed an upswing in the market it seemed. I put out alot of money for camera equipment and a professional microphone for bird guiding. I got a job with Bird Ecuador, a great company but I had so much time in between guiding jobs that I was hemorrhaging money. I started to go into debt. This was after I paid off my school loans. I was finally plus sum and I was starting to get deep into credit card debt again. 10,000 debt. On my salary, thats not good. I could just forget it and live a carefree life in a third world country. Who cares about the credit card company. If they were stupid enough to lend me the money, then they should take the loss. We have abolished debtors prison along time ago. But I have pride that I got myself into this mess and I could get myself out.

I searched the jobs board and found a job for a biological monitor to oversee the construction of the border fence. I looked at the money, per diem, and milage and said, "This would be more money than I've ever made in my life. I could keep my expenses down and be out of debt in 2.5 months. I got myself into this debt. I gave me an erratic heartbeat, it kept me up at night, it made me loose motivation. It really messed with my head. This job was my way out, before the interest rates kicked in for my loans. I flew back to the USA. My first job back in the States since the day that George W. was inaugurated the second time. A coincidence? Maybe.

It took me 3.5 months, and I bought an awesome van "Good Times" and brought my girlfriend up here for a month, but I became debt free. I did it. I sacrificed alot. I lived in the "Good Times" van through the winter. (El Paso is colder that I thought. I ate frugally. I bought clothes at the goodwill for a dollar and I climbed my way out of a mountain of debt.

When I read the tips about how to save more and get out of debt, I laugh. They say, "Instead of going to Starbuck's, brew your own coffee at home." I say, move out of your apartment and go "LIVE IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!" Thats how to get out of debt.

The best part about this whole story is, originally I was supposed to only work until between December 25 and January 25th, but I am still here. Saving 1250 a week. And Barbara is still supporting me 100%

It's about time for the snakes to return!!!

2009-03-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

I'm currently in the Chihuahuan Desert. I am gaining a new appreciation for it. Its a couple days until spring. The snakes should be returning.

Why do I get taxes back?

2009-03-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished filing my taxes. I worked only three months this year. The other 9 months....I'll tell you later. But when I got back to the united states I figured I would not be paying much taxes so I told my employer not to take taxes out of my paycheck. If I needed to pay taxes come tax time I'd send it in. After filling out my taxes though I figured out that I will get 521 dollars back! I have not paid in one penny this year. It does not make any sense that the government is giving me money. But they are giving alot of people money right now. I think Ill use the money to buy a new backpack and tent so I can get into the wilderness and stimulate the soul. I think if we all stimulated our souls a little more we would realize we don't need to stimulate the economy all that much. In fact, I'd say we have been over-stimulating the economy at the detriment to our souls. No, I won't use it to stimulate the economy.... I'll probably go on a wilderness expedition, maybe walk from here up to Canada. Or take the time to look for Mexican Wolves around the New Mexico/Arizona border.

Are you being fooled?

2009-03-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

I have been away from the United States for about 3 and a half years as a nature guide in different countries. I didn't receive much news but I did get some information from The Miami Herald Newspaper at Aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre in Quito. If I was on the internet, I'd get information from Google News. I'd usually just do a selected search for news about the Ecuadorian Amazon.

An interesting thing happened though. I never saw one episode of any Fox News program for several years. When I came back to the United States last October I was limited to two cable channels at broken down old truck stop that I frequented. One was the Hallmark Channel and the other was Fox News. I was exposed to Bill O'reilly, Hannity, and other Fox News programs. I noticed that the information from these programs was more propaganda than news. It was argumentative but with no building of arguments. Instead the arguments tended to be very simple, more like banter. The information came in little disconnected bits. I felt I was being talked down to. I felt my reason was being assaulted by watching these programs. I then wondered if there was any evidence of people being misled by Fox News. I googled it and I found a study that correlates number of misperceptions about the Iraq War with news source. The bottom line was that people who watched Fox News had the most misperceptions about the Iraq War. Evidence not only of public opinion shaping, but of misinformation, the opposite of information. Did you notice this? If not then be vary wary of the information you receive from Fox News. They are a propaganda campaign. Get your news from NPR. I'd recommend Democracy Now!

Slave To The Grind

2009-03-03T18:39:00.000-08:00

Im a biological monitor for the construction of the border fence near El Paso. I found this job on the internet at Texas A&M's clearinghouse for biology jobs. Im charged with keeping an eye out for 8 threatened and/or endangered species and making sure they don't get run over if I happen to see one. Since October 5 I've seen the Aplomado Falcon, (he's on the list) one time. This seems very easy, and it is, so they threw in another responsibility after I was hired. I monitor compliance with the best management practices BMP's of the contractor. These are environmental regulations which the contractor is supposed to follow but have been waived by former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. The job consists of me taking photos of the jobsite, writing descriptions of what's happening in the photos and filling out a data sheet daily. It's the most money I've made in a job ever, but only because I get a per diem for food and housing on top of my hourly wage.

Saying NO to old facebook friends.

2009-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

I think there are times when ignoring a facebook request is the best if not the only option. I'm getting old friends from high school who I was never really close with, some girls who I only know because they really messed with the hearts of my actual friends, and very extended family members who have spent more time inside prison than out all asking me to be there friend now. I wonder what good is it that we reconnect. For some people it may be the first words we communicate to each other. Sometimes I get people who I knew for a short time, that think we are long lost "best friends." Plus, people asking to befriend me are getting separated by degrees. Is it worth it? What do I have to gain to water down my circle of friends by including hundreds of people I'll never see as long as I live? If anyone has an answer other than no, I'd be interested. But for now, I'll ignore.... Sorry

MY PHOTOS HAVE BEEN STOLEN!

2009-01-25T09:37:00.000-08:00

I've never been too concerned about copyright laws because I thought if anyone ever steals my photos in order to sell them, they would most likely never exploit the same market that I would sell them in anyway. The world is just too big right? I'd probably never even know about it. I wouldn't loose money because of it. So who cares.

I have been proven wrong.

A couple days ago I googled "Hyla bifurca" and I noticed a name of an old friend in one of the search results. "Coool! He's got a photo of it!" I thought. But once I clicked on the link I saw that the photo was actually mine! And it wasn't just one. There were several of my photos for sale on the website which were mine.

It was a pretty bold move I thought because if you clicked on a photo, up pops a paypal checkout site. He get's $ 25.00 per photo sold. A couple of the photos I've already published in a magazine!

I wondered what to do about it. Part of me is flattered. My work is good enough to be copyright infringed! Part of me is offended a "friend" would do this. I guess though, I should not worry too much about it. Just let the website know they shouldn't be selling my photos as his. And take him off my facebook friends list and move on.

2009-01-10T22:50:00.000-08:00

Getting Started

2008-08-31T17:28:00.001-07:00

I really love it here in Ecuador. The nature is spectacular and extremely diverse. Ive been guiding tourists in the Amazon Jungle since 2005 and I can never get sick of it. I love it. Ive work for a variety of lodges now and I know which ones are the best and which ones are not worth the money. There are options for many many income ranges, from backpacker to ultra comfortable. I plan on letting giving as much information as possible on the various options available ot you in the Amazon and all parts of Ecuador. I have a few different means to get that information out. First is my Youtube Channel. Its helped alot of people so far. I put videos up about various destinations around Ecuador and then people can see what a certain place is like. www.youtube.com/tropicalanimal . Another method I use to get out information is my Flickr account. http://www.flickr.com/photos/seth-allan-ames/ I love photography and Ive been fortunate enough to guide some of the best photographers in the world. If anyone would like to receive discounts to any lodge in Ecuador, or even any boat in the Galapagos, sign up through me and you will recieve at least 5% off any lode you choose. In order to find out about lodges, look for the tags on the blog.