Getting High

2016 marks the centennial of the US National Park Service (NPS). It may sound like a long time but national parks already existed: Yellowstone, the very first, was established in 1872, and by the time of the NPS creation in August 1916, about a dozen areas had been listed. To mark the occasion, I decided to visit a number of them in California that had been on my list for a while: Yosemite (established in 1890), Kings Canyon (1940) and Sequoia (1890).

Yosemite, the third oldest national park, covers 1,169 square miles (3,028 km²) and receives four million visitors annually, most of them in summer. Its most popular area is Yosemite Valley, not only due to year round accessibility but also because it is where many of the park’s highlights are found:
• Yosemite Falls – known as the highest fall in the US at 2,425 ft (739 m), though some argue that there are actually three distinct tiers: Upper Yosemite Falls, Middle Cascade and Lower Yosemite Falls. Regardless of whether you view them as one or three, they are impressive and it is an unforgettable sight when the waters of Upper Falls seemingly dance to the wind. To see them in all their glory, visit in spring when the falls are full; in the popular midsummer season, they become a trickle.
• El Capitan – rising almost 3,600 ft (1,100 m) from the valley floor, El Capitan was once considered impossible to climb due to its sheer vertical face. The feat was only achieved in 1958 (five years after the first Everest summit), and nowadays the granite monolith is one of the favorite challenges for rock climbers.
• Half Dome – arguably the most grueling hike in Yosemite, Half Dome stands at 8,836 ft (2,693 m) and in 1865, its summit was declared “perfectly inaccessible, being probably the only one of the prominent points about the Yosemite which never has been, and never will be, trodden by human foot”. A mere ten years later, the summit was reached by a blacksmith named George Anderson who drilled holes in the granite (!) and installed ropes. These were later replaced by the steel cables in use today on the trail’s last 400 ft (122 m). If you are in enough good shape to climb 4,800 ft (1,463 m) from the valley floor to the peak, you will earn sore muscles and the right to wear a “I Made It To The Top” T-shirt.

If you can do without the pain and the self-aggrandizing T-shirt, there are a number of enjoyable trails around the valley, some like a stroll and even wheelchair accessible, others more challenging, especially taking into account that Yosemite Valley sits at an altitude of 3,955 ft (1,205 m), with 13% less available oxygen. It doesn’t sound much but you will feel the difference if climbing only 1,000 ft (305 m). The scenery, though, will make your gasps for air worth it.

Not far from Yosemite is Kings Canyon, one of North America’s deepest canyons where the highlight is a 35-mile (56 km) drive along Highway 180 to the aptly named Roads End. The most impressive section of the road is roughly 6,000 ft (1,830 m) above sea level, twisting along soaring granite cliffs on one side and precipitous drops to the bottom of the canyon on the other. Great road to force you to stop multi-tasking.

But the big surprise came in Sequoia National Park, home to giant sequoia trees, some of the world’s largest and oldest living beings. They occur naturally only on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California, at altitudes between 5,000 and 7,000 ft (1,500 – 2,100 m), growing to an average height of 165 to 280 ft (50-85 m) with a 20 to 26 ft (6-8 m) diameter. Surprisingly for trees of this size, their roots are very shallow – no more than 12 to 14 feet (~ 4 m) deep, spreading over half an acre or more.

Yes, your neck will hurt when you look up at them for a while. But for such gigantic and robust trees, they feel very soft when touched, their bark almost feathery. Though seemingly delicate, this bark is key to their longevity: chemicals in it make them resistant to insect damage, disease and fire, therefore giant sequoias live thousands of years (the famous General Sherman sequoia, the world’s largest tree by volume, is estimated to be 2,200 years old) and die mostly by toppling. Their discovery in the mid-19th century spawned countless timber mills in the Sierra Nevada, but thanks to the establishment of national and state parks/monuments in the region, sequoia logging is now illegal. Some would say that they have become useless, but I’ll go with this lyric by Pulp: “Yeah, the trees, those useless trees produce the air that I am breathing”.

Three Is A Magic Number?

In 1987, I went to Santiago in Chile for an audit training. I had barely arrived at the hotel when I felt the floor shake. It lasted less than 5 seconds and I wondered what kind of powerful machine could do that. Well, it turned out that the "powerful machine" was a 5.7 earthquake with an epicenter some 60 miles (97 km) south of the capital. It was odd, not scary. Something else was scary, though: at the time, the infamous Pinochet military dictatorship, in power since the 1973 coup that ousted Salvador Allende, still ruled Chile and soldiers armed with rifles peppered many streets in Santiago. Pinochet's regime dissolved Congress, suppressed political parties, prohibited virtually all political activity, and persecuted dissidents, with around 3,000 people gone "missing", 35,000 tortured and 200,000 exiled during the regime's 17-year rule.

I returned in 1989, again for work, and monumental changes had taken place. A plebiscite the year before to vote on a new eight-year presidential term for Pinochet rejected the extension, and presidential elections were scheduled for December 1989. This time, no armed soldiers in the streets, no earthquake (at least none that I could feel). But, as fate would have it, I got some sort of stomach bug and spent a good part of a weekend sick in bed.

This year, I was hoping that Chile would offer something more welcoming than earthquakes, armed soldiers or stomach bugs. We headed to Torres Del Paine national park in the Chilean Patagonia and here is what Frommer's had to say about it: "This is not the easiest of national parks to visit. The climate in the park can be abominable, with wind speeds that can peak at 100 mph (161 km/h), and rain and snow even in the middle of summer." What was I thinking? And getting to the park is not easy either: it takes a 4-hour flight from Santiago plus a 4- to 5-hour drive on the aptly named Road of the End of the World (Ruta del Fin del Mundo).

The park is best explored on foot and the most popular hiking route is the W circuit, an almost 50-mile (80 km) trek, usually done in 4 or 5 days. Due to time constraints and doubts about current fitness levels, we did a U trek, alternating days of extensive hiking (over 11 miles or 18 km) with days of short hikes (less than 3 miles or 5 km). The start was promising: we set out on an 8-hour trek to the Torres lookout in a warm sunny morning that brought to mind an Icelandic saying - "The sun shines on those whom the gods love". I was elated. But mountains create their own weather: about one hour into the hike, it started to rain and didn't stop for the next 6 hours. Nice thing when you are trying to climb 2,465 ft (750m) so I guess we're not high on the gods' list. And I am not going to mince words: the last half mile (~ 800m) of that trail is misery! It will take one hour to cover the distance because you have to scramble over boulders. At some point, you look up at the endless boulders ahead and ask yourself: "Is this worth it? Will my misery pay off?" I'd say, definitely! You will be greeted by the park's symbol, the Torres del Paine, three gigantic granite monoliths that overlook an emerald pool and soar 9,350 ft (2,850m) above sea level. And while the Torres are the park's greatest hit, they are just a glimpse of the wonders on display: looming peaks, glaciers, azure lakes, roaring rivers, emerald forests, herds of guanacos, frequent rainbows. Most things in Torres del Paine are on a massive scale, and they make you feel very small, not a bad thing in our self-centered age.

The weather was tricky during our stay, cloudy on most days with only occasional rays of sun. And on our last day in the park, when we were on one of the easy trails along a beach, the wind arrived. Not the abominable 100 mph but a "mild" 25 mph (40 km/h) that made hiking hard. And that's when I realized we had been very lucky. We wouldn't have been able to hike our U circuit had the wind been just "mild"...it'd have blown me right off the boulders on the first day. Despite clouds and snow, this third time in Chile more than made up for the other two. So much so that I will likely come back.

Snowbirds Head To Volcanoes

Some places have almost perfect weather, rarely too hot or too cold. The Canary Islands, also known as "Islands of Eternal Spring", are one of them: located 62 miles (100 km) off the coast of southern Morocco, their temperatures average 76°F (24°C) in summer and 64°F (18°C) in winter. The islands also receive over 3,000 hours of sunlight annually, making it the sunniest part of Europe. The warm and sunny weather as well as miles and miles of beaches draw over 12 million visitors every year, most of them European snowbirds fleeing the cold, harsh winters.

Contrary to what many may think, the Canary Islands were not named after the bird...it was the other way round. There isn't consensus about the origin of the name, with some saying that it comes from the Latin Canariae Insulae, or "Islands of the Dogs", so named in Roman times due to the "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size". An alternate theory claims that the "dogs" were actually seals (canis marinus) while others speculate that the original inhabitants of the islands treated dogs as holy animals, worshipping and mummifying them. Yet another hypothesis holds that the people of Canaria were actually Berbers of the Canarii tribe from Morocco. From all this, we can conclude that no one knows for sure, and that the islands went to the dogs one way or another, so much so that their coat of arms features two dogs.

There is more consensus regarding the origin of the islands: while a few say that they are part of the lost continent of Atlantis (!), everyone else agrees that they were formed by volcanoes. And nowhere else in the archipelago is the volcanic origin more evident than in Lanzarote, sometimes called the "Hawaii of Europe". The last major eruptions on the island took place in the 1730s and lasted 6 years, with mostly a'a lava (to find out how the lava got this name, just walk barefoot on it) flowing over an area of 77 sq. miles (200 km²), creating hundreds of volcanic cones and an out of this world landscape. These volcanic features can be seen at the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya where, unfortunately, you cannot wander at will; you must take a designated bus and cannot get off until the ride is over. Sit on the right side of the bus for the best views. Though the volcano is now considered dormant, its power can still be felt: there is a magma chamber just 2.5 miles (4 km) below the surface, bringing temperatures to over 200°F (100°C) just a few inches underground. So much heat is good for the park's restaurant...all meats are barbecued using the volcano heat.

The most famous volcano in the whole archipelago sits in Tenerife, though - El Teide. It dominates the island and, at 12,198 feet (3,718 meters), is the highest mountain in Spain and the third tallest volcano in the world. It is possible to climb to the top, a 5 to 6 hour trek starting at roughly 7,200 feet (2,200 m). If you are really adventurous, you can try the Ultra Tenerife Bluetrail, a 60-mile (97 km) race that starts at sea level in the south of the island, climbs El Teide up to 11,670 feet (3,555 m), and ends back at sea level in the north. If you complete the Ultra, you not only prove that you are in extraordinary shape but also that you are a certified masochist. But if bursting your heart and lungs at high altitudes is not your thing, fret not...there is an alternative: take the cable car that whisks you to the top in less than 10 minutes! Guess which one I chose.

We All Need Craic!

It was a cold and grey morning when I landed in Dublin for the first time in mid-January 1989. In those days, Ireland was in a bleak state: it was one of poorest countries in Western Europe; unemployment rate had remained above 15% for at least half a decade; public debt was at 120% of GNP; there was mass emigration, with 200,000 people (over 5% of the population) leaving the country during the decade. No wonder Ireland was not a very popular destination. There were few tourists, less so in winter, and most were from other European countries. At the time, the Irish population was not diverse at all so everyone knew I was a tourist just by looking at me. But it was not a bad thing: locals would ask me if I needed help going somewhere and would actually take me there at times. Amazingly friendly people.

A lot has changed since then. Though still recovering from the 2008 economic crisis, Ireland is in much better shape today: it is attractive to multinationals, unemployment rate is declining, and the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the European Union last year, with forecasts predicting it will continue to have the highest growth rate in the EU through 2016.

But without a doubt, the biggest change on the island took place in Northern Ireland. From 1968 to 1998, Northern Ireland was plagued by The Troubles, violent conflicts between unionists (mostly Protestants who want to remain part of the United Kingdom) and nationalists (almost exclusively the Catholic minority who want to become part of the Republic of Ireland) that resulted in over 3,600 people dead and more than 50,000 maimed or injured. Peace came in 1998 when the Good Friday Agreement established a power-sharing government that must include both unionist and nationalist parties. But old enmities die hard...in several cities, including the capital Belfast, there still stand several so called Peace Walls, built during The Troubles to separate unionist and nationalist neighborhoods, and minimize violence. There are plans to remove all Peace Walls by 2023 but here's an interesting fact that almost no one hears about: some walls have gates and to this day, they are closed at night! If you take a black taxi tour (which I think is a must), you will see the walls and political murals in both the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods as well as learn more about Belfast’s recent troubled history.

A place with so much turmoil needs weather to match. Ireland is known as Emerald Isle, almost 100% green when seen in a satellite image. The lushness comes from rain but it is not steady...it is more dramatic than that. There can be a downpour for 15 minutes, followed by sun for 20 minutes, then some hail followed by more rain. You will likely experience all weather conditions in a single day in Ireland. Your outdoor experience will depend a lot on luck as you can get stuck with several cloudy and rainy days in a row (as happened to me in 1989) or you can have hours of sunlight, as we were graced with when visiting the amazing Cliffs of Moher, towering stone faces that plunge vertically into the sea and stand against gale force winds that will sweep you down to sea if you don't have enough rocks in your pockets.

One thing that the Irish talk about, look for and enjoy is craic, a Gaelicization of the word crack. You will have it too and won't need to check into rehab afterwards. In the Irish context, it means fun or good times, usually involving good company (easily found in Ireland) and music, and perhaps that is why live music is frequently found in Irish pubs.

Speaking of music, many may not know it but next year will mark 40 years that 5 punk-inspired lads in their mid-teens formed a band called Feedback (later Hype) in the north side of Dublin (even today people jokingly say that you only go to the north side if you want to get robbed). They chose that name because it was one of the few musical technical terms that they did know. No, they didn't know much...but they learned and less than two years later, five became four and changed their name to U2. The rest is history. And whether you like them or not, one thing you have to realize: an Irish band achieving the level of success that they did in the mid- to late ‘80s was nothing short of extraordinary. I know this because I love rock & roll and, in fact, only learned English because I wanted to understand song lyrics and only started to travel because I wanted to buy CDs that weren’t distributed in Brazil at the time. Silly teenage whims, yes...but that took me places.

Sun, Sand, Surreal

Until the late 19th century, Tampa was an isolated, yellow fever plagued area. But in 1883, phosphate, a mineral utilized in the production of fertilizers, was discovered and the area's fortunes changed. Soon a railroad connecting Tampa to Jacksonville was built to enable phosphate and fish transport to the north, but it also brought the first visitors, Thomas Edison and John Ringling (of circus fame) among them. Nowadays, the Greater Tampa Bay area, also encompassing the cities of St Petersburg, Clearwater and Sarasota, has over 4 million residents.

Tampa was once called "Cigar City" after many cigar manufacturers moved in from Key West in the late 1800s to take advantage of railroad transportation. A group of cigar manufacturers led by Vicente Martinez Ybor brought in mostly Cuban and Spanish immigrants to work in the factories, and created a town that came to be known as Ybor City. At their peak in the late 1920s, the factories were hand rolling some half a billion cigars annually. But the Great Depression of the 1930s and later the US embargo against Cuba led to the end of the cigar era. Ybor City turned into a collection of empty factories and deserted sidewalks, remaining so until the late 1980s when artists looking for inexpensive studios began converting vacant spaces into galleries. Ybor City is now a National Historic Landmark District and an entertainment, nightclub and shopping area.

Further west is Clearwater, a place (in)famous for two things: the birthplace of Hooters, and the worldwide spiritual headquarters of Scientology, in a building that used to be the Fort Harrison Hotel and dominates the downtown area. Clearwater's namesake beach stretches for 3 miles along the coast, is very popular and very commercial, with a Hooters right in front of the main entrance area. Yuck. If you want something less spring-breaky, head to Honeymoon Island State Park which has the same white sand and turquoise waters plus a short trail that leads to osprey and eagle nesting areas.

Siesta Beach near Sarasota stretches for half a mile and is hailed as one of the best beaches in the US, in large part due to its very fine white sand. So fine in fact that it is claimed that Siesta Beach has the "whitest and finest sand in the world". Exaggerations aside, it is indeed soft and supposedly remains cool underfoot even on the most scorching days due to its mineral composition. But remember...it is the sand that stays cool, not you. Don't turn into a swollen lobster like many I saw roasting themselves down there.

Lonely Planet has compared Florida's Gulf Coast to "an impressionist watercolor painting". But the must-see paintings are those in the Salvador Dalí Museum in St Petersburg where the largest collection of his works outside Europe is found. He used extensive symbolism in his art and the museum offers free docent tours every hour where you'll gain some insight into his genius. Just as an example, in the slideshow there is one of his paintings showing a woman looking out the window. Pause there, move some 5 to 7 steps away from the screen, look again and you'll see something totally different. Surreal.

Eat, Drink, Pray

Is it a province? Is it an S.A.R. (Special Administrative Region)? Is it a country? It is not clear and therefore Taiwan is one of those ambiguities of our time. It all started in 1949 when the then ruling party in China, the Kuomintang, realized that its defeat in the Chinese Civil War was imminent and decided to relocate the seat of government of the Republic of China to Taiwan, leaving the communists in the mainland. Along with it went China's gold reserves and some two million refugees that included soldiers, businessmen, landowners, monks, artists, gangsters, peasants and intellectuals. There were now two Chinas: the Republic of China in Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China in the mainland, both claiming to be the legitimate government of China! In 1971, the UN recognized the People’s Republic of China as the only lawful representative to the United Nations and since then, Taiwan (to this day officially called the Republic of China) has operated as a de facto independent state. It is not recognized as a country but maintains diplomatic relations (formal or informal) with nearly all nations.

Whatever the official status may be, Chinese influence in Taiwan is clear, especially when it comes to food. If you are an adventurous eater, Taiwan will be heaven. Not only is food cheap but also ubiquitous, with at least one eatery or restaurant on virtually every block, some serving very out of the ordinary delicacies: pig ears, pig’s brain soup, caramelized duck tongue, caramelized pig blood cake, duck head. And someone please tell me how one would go about eating a head.

I confess that for a vegetarian like me, Taiwanese cuisine was at times horrifying but one local product I couldn't get enough of: tea. Taiwan has the perfect environment for growing tea (high mountains in a subtropical climate with a fair amount of rainfall) and the country is an important producer of teas, with some varieties of its oolong called "The Champagne of tea" . Tea has long been a part of Taiwanese culture so it is no surprise that tea houses and bars abound. There are countless flavors and you'd need months to try them all: melon, plum, rose, jasmine, ginger, pudding milk, grass jelly milk, red bean milk and others you'd never think could end up in a tea but that turn out to be delicious. And perhaps the most exotic of all is the pearl milk tea, also known as bubble tea, a Taiwanese invention from the late 1980's - an iced tea mixed with milk or fruit, with some tapioca balls (the pearls) thrown in. It is very popular in Taiwan and though not my favorite, it is definitely worth a try.

If food and tea feed the body, temples feed the soul. As of 2009, there were almost 15,000 registered temples in Taiwan, nearly one for every 1,500 residents. They are not, however, merely houses of worship; they also play the role of art museum, community and recreation center, marketplace, pilgrimage site and sometimes even fronts for money laundering. Taiwanese temples are very colorful, generally with multitiered roofs decorated with the four spiritual beasts: dragons, phoenixes, tortoises and qilins (mythical hooved creature associated with the arrival of a sage). Though Taiwanese temples can be very similar architecturally, the atmosphere inside them varies widely. Some are very lively such as the Longshan Temple in Taipei where daily hour-long chanting draws throngs of worshippers while others such as the Confucius Temple are low key and conducive to silent contemplation. But one thing they all seem to have: the door gods, very fierce-looking creatures that look ready and willing to kick your ass. But worry not...their job is to ward off evil spirits. I just wish they were real and could wipe out some of the evil in the world today.

(Al)Mighty Caves

Turkey sits at the crossroad between the West and the East, and the uniqueness that arose from its location is seen everywhere: it is a non-Arab secular democracy currently governed by a Muslim-oriented party; Islamic and Christian symbols are at times seen side by side; women in short skirts can be spotted next to women in traditional Islamic dresses; sheep can roam the streets next to BMWs.

Istanbul, the only city in the world built on two continents and the seat of three former empires (Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman), perhaps best reflects the contrasting nature of Turkey. A "Welcome To Asia" sign greets you when you cross a bridge; a belly dancing show and a whirling dervish ceremony may be found in the same block; women in headscarf sit next to youngsters wearing the latest fashion and carrying iPads. Interestingly, one of the starkest contrasts in Istanbul is smack in the middle of the Old City - its two grandest landmarks, the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.

Hagia Sophia, or Church of the Holy Wisdom, was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, converted to a mosque in 1453 and turned into a museum in 1935. The structure is massive: 250 feet (76 m) long, 220 feet (67 m) wide, with a dome 108-ft (33 m) in diameter that rises 180 feet (55 m) above the floor. Such a monumental dome was often compared to the vault of heaven and no wonder Hagia Sophia remained the world's largest cathedral for almost 1,000 years. Hagia Sophia is imposing, cavernous, and could almost be oppressive if its architects (in fact, one physicist and one mathematician) weren't wise enough to set 40 windows beneath the dome that filter sunlight in. Everything inside is grandiose, but the apse will draw your eyes not only for its size but also for an unexpected combination of elements: a mosaic of the Virgin and Child (ie, Jesus) hovers above the mihrab (a niche in a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca), flanked by panels inscribed with the names of Allah, Mohammed and other prominent Islamic figures. In a way, that sums up one impression that Hagia Sophia left me with - that some things there don't fit together. Metal detectors at the entrance remind more of an airport than a museum; peeling paint and cracks throughout the building belies its grandeur; and late in the day when tour buses are gone, the place feels almost ghostly.

The Blue Mosque feels very different. Sitting opposite Hagia Sophia at the other end of the main square, you could say it is the grey counterpart to the red Hagia Sophia since it was heavily influenced by it. I said grey, not blue; the popular name comes from the tiles inside, not the external color. The Blue Mosque has the largest courtyard of all Ottoman mosques, an area abuzz with dozens of worshippers and tourists, day or night, in a constant ebb and flow of people sans metal detector (there's a dress code patrol though). The Blue Mosque is almost as cavernous as Hagia Sophia but much brighter as 260 windows spread throughout the building let daylight flood in.

Commissioned in the 17th century by Sultan Ahmet (and officially named after him) to outshine Hagia Sophia, the mosque has two unusual and striking features: cascading domes in a heavenward flow and six minarets. Mosques usually have one, two or four minarets and one account for the six minarets states that they were a mistake, that the sultan ordered gold (altin) minarets, misunderstood as six (alti) minarets. I personally don't buy this. Still according to legend, the six minarets caused an outrage because they matched the number of minarets at the Haram Mosque in Mecca, the holiest in the world. Unfazed, the sultan solved the problem by simply sending his architect to Mecca to add a seventh minaret...

Next I went to a very unique place deep within Turkey. Set on a high, dry plateau in the middle of the country, and shaped by volcanic ash, wind and rain, Cappadocia is a fairyland of cones, pillars and chimneys in shades of red, pink and yellow. It is a colorful, otherworldly landscape. People discovered that these rocks were soft and could be easily carved so dwellings, underground cities (some housing thousands), churches and monasteries sprang up. Why live in a cave? The area was at the boundary of rival empires in pre-Christian times so residents needed places to hide. Later during early Christianity, Cappadocia became a religious refuge and numerous churches decorated with Byzantine frescoes were established. The most impressive cave churches are around Göreme (don't miss the Göreme Open Air Museum) where murals are in remarkably good shape despite some defacing. But impressive as the man-made structures are, they pale in comparison to the Cappadocian natural setting. So go out on some hikes and be rewarded with one of the most amazing scenery you'll ever see.