Logbook: Mexico Recon

After sleeping in a little bit this morning -- which I really needed to do -- I went into the heart of Laredo and made my way to “International Bridge #1” which is the bridge that allows foot traffic into Mexico. My plan today was to recon my border crossing and to arrange my transport onward to Monterey. Frankly, I just wanted to make sure I have everything in order before getting to the border, lest I have to make a “go around” for lack of documentation or whatever. As it turns out, it was all so easy I could have skipped the whole recon. The details: It costs 50 cents (exact change only) to cross the bridge from the US. It’s only a five minute walk across the bridge, but it feels longer when you see the symbolic Rio Grande pass under you. Next, since I will be transiting Mexico, I need to have a tourist permit. That was swiftly and easily gotten by showing my passport to the immigration man and paying a 200 peso (20 dollar) fee. I even got the first stamp in my new passport -- for no additional charge!

Now officially in Mexico, I crossed the street to the bus ticket office and said, “Monterey, manana.” I was swiftly rewarded with a ticket and a reassuring, “Manana, uno media, aqui!” And that was it! In less than thirty minutes I’d finished my entire Mexico recon plan, so I decided to just wander around Nuevo Laredo for a while. After saying “No, gracias” to offers of everything you might imagine a single man in Mexico would be offered, I found a cell phone store where I handed my phone to the woman at the counter and simply said “Chip, por favor.” Without breaking stride, she popped a new Telcel chip in my phone, set up the service, handed it back to me and helped me successfully test my new Mexico phone number. With else to do in Nuevo Laredo, I walked back across the bridge -- which only costs 3 pesos (30 cents) -- and made my way back to my hotel room. At this moment, my gear is all packed and I’m ready to have my last night of sleep in the US for a long time. Tomorrow I will cross the border “for real” and continue south on The Voyage of Macgellan!

Logbook: Southern Border

On Sunday morning I boarded the Amtrak Crescent and had a pleasant 12-hour trip to New Orleans. Arriving at about 7pm, I walked about four blocks to a modestly shabby Holiday Inn and parked myself for the night. I took a few minutes in the morning to walk around the city to see what it was like “in the wake of Katrina.” I have to confess that I’ve never really liked New Orleans and it has always struck me as a run down kind of town. It seems pretty much the same as it has the other half-dozen times I’ve been there, so I can’t really say I saw any Katrina effects. Again, I didn’t look around very much -- and didn’t really want to -- so I’ll just leave it at that. By noon Monday I was on the Amtrak Sunset Limited bound for San Antonio. After another satisfactory 17-hour train ride -- which included about seven hours of sleep -- I arrived in plenty of time to transfer to the bus station, check my bags, get some breakfast and go through security.

No, that’s not a typo. We went through a pretty rigorous security check before getting on the bus to Laredo. I have no idea what it was all about, and can only imagine the possibilities of -- what? -- hijacking a bus? The best part of the experience was finding out that snickering at mindless “authority” is a universal language. As one of only two “whites” to board the bus, I found myself making pleasant eye contact and exchanging contemptuous expressions with many of the Hispanic passengers. We all had a good laugh and I trust we were laughing at the same thing. A 3-hour non-stop bus ride later and I emerged from the depot in “downtown” Laredo where, I must confess, I gave myself a break by taking a cab about a mile out of town to a passable Day’s Inn that I saw on the way in. After 2+ days of more or less continuous travel, I’m going to take the rest of the day to get my land legs back, update this website and take it easy. Tomorrow I will explore Laredo, check out my border crossing options and develop a plan for leaving the USA on the first foreign leg of The Voyage of Macgellan!

Musing: All Aboard?

In the past 70 days, I have traveled over 3,800 miles on Amtrak. With names like Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, State House, Keystone, Crescent and Sunset Limited you get a picture of grand and glorious -- almost epic -- travel. Add to that the lore -- the “romance” -- of rail travel and you can almost find yourself booking a ride. Can’t you? Well, I can honestly recommend it. Not totally glowingly, but truthfully. On the plus side, there is something special about taking a train trip. Maybe not ten trips in ten weeks like I have done, but once in a while for sure. You board the train, find your seat, check out your fellow passengers and settle down in quite comfortable seats that are much, much bigger and roomier than any plane or car. If you are smart, you book yourself in a Sleeperette -- or better yet a Bedroom -- and have a private space to make your own, a big picture window to enjoy the view and a conscientious attendant to make your trip even more comfortable. Any time you want, you can get up and walk the length of the train, sit in the view lounge to be immersed in the scenery or stop by the cafe car to get a snack and a beverage. At meal times you can go to the dining car and enjoy your food in the company of generally pleasant strangers with whom you have been randomly seated.

What could be better? Well, I can think of a couple of things. First, the train cars show signs of age and wear, bordering on bring shabby in spots. Second, the food is pretty mediocre, almost entirely pre-prepared, and the menu is very limited. Third, the ride can be pretty jostling, owing to the fact that Amtrak uses rails that are designed for freight not passengers. All in all, I still think it’s a good alternative to flying and driving. For the life of me, I can’t understand why Amtrak doesn’t do more to promote it’s service. In these days of flying hassles and high gas prices, I think more people would give it a try. With a little more revenue, Amtrak could easily fix what’s “not so good” and make the train routes worthy of their names.

Musing: Not As Seen On TV

I met this nice couple on the train to New Orleans. He is from England, she is from Bulgaria and they are living in Bahrain. Go figure. Anyway, we happily passed our time together over dinner by chatting about everything from the food to geo-politics. When they told me this was their first trip to the US, I asked them about their impressions. The first thing they mentioned, of course, was how big the country is. This is something I have often heard from foreigners, so I was not very surprised. What did surprise me was the second thing they said: “The people are so normal!” I inquired further, and got the following explanation: “We expected violence in the streets, homeless people in every doorway, protests everywhere and constant threats to our safety... Just like we see on TV!” And there you have it, America as seen by foreigners on CNN.

My new friends went on to say, “There has been none of that. People are friendly, we haven’t seen any trouble and we are surprised at how few police there are.” The reality just doesn’t live up to its media image, does it? This got me thinking about my own traveling and my expectations going forward. I’ve heard a lot about how “unsafe” foreign countries are and I have often been admonished to be very careful on The Voyage: “They just love kidnapping Americans, you know.” After all, isn’t that the bulk of what Americans see on TV about other countries? Well, I’m not going to be stupid and foolish -- or at least not any more than usual -- but I’m also not going to travel in continual fear of what I’ve seen on TV. Sure there is danger in the world. Sure there are bad people in other countries. Sure you have to take some care while traveling. But you also have to remember that some things are “not as seen on TV.”

Logbook: Leaving Atlanta

Over the past few days, I have completed my preparations to leave Atlanta and board a train bound for New Orleans -- and beyond -- in the morning. After almost a month in Atlanta, getting ready to hit the road again has mostly involved replenishing supplies -- such as toiletries, batteries and scotch! -- doing laundry and repacking gear. As part of this process, I have done my first "recycling" of gear by depositing a pair of pants and a pair of shoes in a local clothing bin. The items still have some life in them, but not enough to merit being packed and carried. In the first 66 days of The Voyage, I have allowed myself to add two t-shirts and a pair of tropical pants to my gear by rationalizing that these are legitimate additions as I move toward much warmer climates. It is so easy to accumulate "stuff" that I will have to remain diligent about making "cuts" -- or at least "exchanges" -- along the way! I have also taken time to bid farewell to all the wonderful friends I have been happy to visit while I have been here.

One highlight has been going with my friend Ken to have lunch with his sons at their school. Picture the two of us sitting in an elementary school cafeteria in those tiny chair, at those tiny tables. It was a fun and sweet experience for all of us, and it will surely remain in our hearts and minds forever. As I prepare to leave Atlanta, I am aware that -- so far -- The Voyage of Macgellan has been a wonderful, cross-country visiting of family and friends. Except for some difficulty getting on-line here and there, it has been as easy a voyage as one can hope for. There has been reliable power and plumbing, good housing, easy transportation and fine food everywhere. English has been the universal language and I've enjoyed the comfortable and convenient hospitality of many friends and family. It has been a wonderful voyage so far -- one that I would have done for its own sake -- and it has been an excellent opportunity to test my gear, technology and systems.

Beginning tomorrow morning, The Voyage of Macgellan will take on a new gestalt. I will be moving away from friends and family, across a foreign border and into unfamiliar territory. I will make a change from "connecting the dots" to "creating the dots" and from "testing my stuff" to "testing myself." While I have thoroughly enjoyed -- and benefitted from -- The Voyage so far, I am energized and excited by The Voyage ahead.

Logbook: Old Haunts

The past week has been a pretty “mixed-use” time. First, I did a lot of iLife for this website. With all of the new Reports, Photos, etc., I am finally caught up with myself and ready to move ahead. Second, I did a little bit of visiting with old friends and checked out some old haunts around Atlanta. Although the friends and haunts were pretty much the same as they were when I lived here 20-30 years ago, I’m afraid I can’t say the same for Atlanta itself. The “lovely little city” I knew no longer exists and the “metropolis” is booming. Construction and development are going on everywhere, and the traffic is simply impossible. I mean no offense, but I’ve been here for almost a month and that is about as much as I can handle. Which brings me to my third area of activity, “getting ready to hit the road.”

After a lot of research, I abandoned my idea of crossing the Caribbean. Because I have a firm date for meeting my folks in Costa Rica, I need at least semi-reliable transportation to get there. I was unable to find any such means across the water, so I have planned to take a land route through Mexico and Central America. As a result, I will be leaving here on Sunday by train to New Orleans, then on to San Antonio where I will catch a bus to the border town of Laredo. I intend to cross into Mexico late next week then work my way to Mexico City and onward from there.

Other Voyage related preparation has included a trip to the local REI to get some lighter weight, tropical pants and a new pair of walking shoes to replace the ones I’ve already worn out. While I was there, I got a new day pack that will better serve my needs -- now that I actually know what they are -- than the one I’ve been using. Also, I have replaced my old Canon S400 “point and shoot” camera which had become a bit “flaky” and unreliable. The new one is a Nikon L6 and I’m very happy with it so far. (I doubt I need to tell you that I’ve gotten at least four times the camera for less than half the money!) Over the next few days I will wrap up my Atlanta visit, replenish various supplies and repack my gear, ready to continue south on The Voyage of Macgellan...

Logbook: Atlanta

I honestly don’t know where the week has gone. It seems like only yesterday that I was writing to say I would be all caught up by now. I do know what I have been doing, of course... Much of the week has been happily occupied with visiting old friends here in Atlanta, hanging out with my friend Ken and a great deal of “socializing.” Ken is an active member of the Atlanta social scene and has very graciously included me in everything: parties, gallery openings, dinners and other spontaneous social combustions. I have to admit that it’s quite a bit more than I’m used to and I’ve had to start pacing myself!

I have also had a lot of fun spending time alone with Ken’s sons, Max and Jake. They are very enjoyable to be with and are quite entertaining. Between asking a million questions a minute and switching gears every few seconds, they make sure there is never a dull moment. There are a few pictures of them on the Photos page. We spent most of today together while Ken attended a business meeting. A highlight of our day was a trip to The Varsity -- an Atlanta landmark -- which I was pleased to see still serves the singularly most disgusting yet irresistible food on the planet. It hasn’t changed a bit since I started eating there 30 years ago! Although I expect to be in Atlanta for at least another week before heading south toward Costa Rica, I have begun to strategize my route and means. Stand by for details -- and more postings from Atlanta -- as The Voyage of Macgellan continues...

Logbook: Gone Racing

No sooner did I get to Atlanta and settle down to do some very overdue iLife than Kenny said, “Pack your gear, we’re going racing!” So off we went to Savannah -- to the Roebling Road race track -- for a weekend of SCCA racing. What an experience! Kenny’s car is a race built ’88 Camaro and he is second in the point standings for the year (Behind a guy whose car -- Kenny is quick to point out -- is at least 300 pounds lighter and substantially more powerful.) Friday was a test day and Kenny got lots of “seat time” in four sessions during which he and his crew -- especially crew chief George -- made many adjustments to prepare the car for racing. Saturday was qualifying and the race was yesterday. Kenny was delighted to finish in second place and win a medal for the season. I shot a ton of photos and have put just a few of them in the Photos page. We got back to Atlanta late last night and I have spent the day in iLife (as you can tell by the new Reports that are finally available). As soon as I get caught up on a few more postings I will put together a full racing Report -- including some outstanding in-car video that I was able to get thanks to George who let me attach a camera mount in “his” car. My trusty -- and now fully shock-tested -- Canon S2IS camera performed great and you will feel like you are in the car when you see the video! Look forward to some of the best stuff yet from Atlanta as The Voyage of Macgellan continues...

Report: Race Day

My friend Ken is an avid amateur auto racer, and by all accounts a good one. During my visit, we went to Reobling Road Raceway near Savannah, GA for a 3 day weekend of SCCA racing. My job as an official member of the race crew was to capture AV media and produce videos. I mounted my camera in Ken’s 88 Camaro A-Sedan race car for on-board video and tapped into the race radio to record live audio. Although this Macgellan Report is only a short, heavily edited version of the final race video, I think it will give you a pretty good sense of Race Day at Roebling Road. Strap in and hang on for a great ride!

Haircut Chronicle: #1 - Atlanta, Georgia, USA

#1 - September 20, 2006 -- Atlanta, GA -- One look at Kenny’s (always) perfect hair and I knew I needed a haircut! The lovely and talented Nichole... er... Nicholas prepares to embark on my first haircut of The Voyage. A good first cut! (It looks better in person than in this picture.) The Haircut Chronicles have begun! Cost: 20 Dollars ($20)