Viñales Valley, Cuba

View from the top of Los Aquaticos.  Viñales is a town among bucolic fields and valleys set among unique and dramatic limestone rock outcrops in western Cuba.  Many foreigners come here on their circuits of Cuba to explore caves, learn about tobacco production and relax amidst the idyllic scenery.  It is a nice escape from Havana. 

Our gang of travelers on our rental mountains bikes

Inside a tobacco factory where workers were separating the leaves for quality and size to eventually make cigars.

Drying bale of tobacco

Rolling up a sample cigar

Horse I rode for a guided tour in one of the valleys of Viñales.

Girl at a produce stand to whom I gave a toothbrush.

This was a common sign in Cuba, reading "Socialism or Death."

View from Hotel Los Jazmines

Burning Man 2011, Monday

Biking on the playa after much of the art has been taken down or burned...




Robbie


Remaining wood and trash from camps and art pieces are burned in big containers on the playa.




Burning Man is officially a "leave no trace" event and so after the structures are burned, the playa earth is raked to pick up all MOOP (matter out of place).




Packing up the playa bikes


To spread out the impact of dumping water onto the dry playa surface, Glen pours out extra water through a watering can while biking in circles.




After waiting out for the huge exodus of vehicles leaving the site all Sunday night and Monday, we left early Tuesday morning with no traffic for a drive in Glen's VW bus back to San Francisco.

In Luang Prabang, Laos

Kaleidoscope of tree along the Mekong River


David playing in the mud




Before 1975, Luang Prabang was the capital of the Kingdom of Laos. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is packed with beautiful Buddhist temples and monasteries. Discovering the $1 aromatic steam bath popular with locals next to my guest house was a highlight. And the $4 Lao traditional massages were fantastic too.


On bikes...




Tree along the Mekong


Popular Kuang Si Waterfall destination outside town

Vang Vieng: the Organic Farm and Idyllic Countryside

David milks a goat at the Organic Farm outside Vang Vieng.


These were the best behaved goats I've ever milked. Goats are intelligent creatures of habit and these animals were in the habit of being patient and standing still as they were milked.


One of the young workers...he also attended English classes at a nearby school started by the farm. The Organic Farm (as it is called) solicits international volunteers to help teach English and to help with goat chores. Unlike WWOOF farms, this place charges volunteers a bit of money for accommodation and food.


Amazingly, this farm is just upriver of where the tubing starts. (See post below.) And during the afternoons, the loud music from the riverside bars blasts onto the farm and was supposedly responsible for the death of their sensitive silkworms.


Part of the drying process to make tea from mulberry leaves. The Organic Farm also makes juices and wine from their mulberries.


David gathers up the goats' breakfast.


All of the goats live on the second story of two barns, so the goat manure falls through or is swept through the slats of wood to the level below. Here there are bins of goat manure with red worms, resulting in black gold compost.


On a road outside town...




Corin and David take photos on a bike ride to the Blue Lagoon.


Rice


Reclining Buddha in Phoukham Cave near the Blue Lagoon...

today i'm leaving San Francisco for the PCT

yup, today i'm leaving the foggy city by the Bay with its dense population and tall buildings

i'm leaving my bedroom and my accordion

(These photos of me were taken by my four-year-old nephew, Oliver)

i'm leaving insane delicious food, tea and night spots

i'm leaving behind the monuments

and the funky houses

i'm leaving the Mission

i'm leaving behind movie nights at Hayes Valley Farm

i'm leaving many sweet parks

and many unique "only in San Francisco" views

and amazing art and great places to view it...

and sweet parks with unique views and amazing art.

i'm leaving the wet bike lanes

i'm leaving bike rides with naked cyclists

i'm leaving the protests of people who care about bicyclists' rights and the health of the Earth

i'm leaving the coastal redwoods

and i'm leaving the pacific ocean where my brother and my nephew recently tested its coldness and saltiness.

and i'm even leaving behind my glow-in-the-dark frisbee.

Why? Because I'm hopping back on the Pacific Crest Trail! John Muir wrote, "going to the mountains is going home," so I suppose I'm returning home. I'll be heading south from Sisters, Oregon down into California. But I'll be back in SF soon enough for it's too good to leave forever.