What in the World?

It seems we've come a long way in the last 50 years, but one has to wonder - In which direction are we going?   Backwards or forwards?

I try to stay immune to advertisements either while reading, or driving and listening to the radio and when watching TV. With reading it's easy - keep you eyes on the headlines you actually want to read and skip over any of the colourful, image-laden, logo-driven pages that fill large pockets of newspapers and magazines. Radio is quite simple too - stick with the stations that promote 45 minutes interruption free music usually does the trick, and then quick change as soon as the first advert surfaces.  TV has become the easiest of all with a PVR box that allows us to tape what we want and watch whatever, whenever we want sans the 6 minutes of tripe that looms every 10 to 15 minutes.

But I did catch one advert on radio the other day for "Heluva good" whatever - dips, etc- they obviously thought they were onto something because the word 'heluva' featured numerous occasions through the 30 second spot.....but who eats food with names like heluva good - I'm not kidding.

And while we're at it - what's a Slap Chop? - follow me to You Tube for an online demonstration -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUbWjIKxrrs

And then there's a ShamWooHoo - Don't all rush out now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab5IwgcJRiE&feature=fvwrel

First of all, not sure what's happened to our language skills over the last 50 years - probably too much television and computers, and not enough actual reading and writing. More importantly, it seems to me that salesmanship has gone to the dogs, although I suspect that dogs most likely have more discernment.  Or is it that we have become immune to the sublteties of discriminating taste and that you can only grab our attention with the pure basics.

Whatever it is, I don't think it bodes well for the future.

C'est la vie

"Let them eat cake".

I have just finished reading a Letter to the Editor in the National Post today, written by one Simon Dermer, of Toronto.  I am not sure where to start: is it arrogance, ignorance, sarcasm, or superciliousness? Is he pompous, narcissistic, pretentious, or humorous?  Or is it just another example of the "me, me, me" world we live in?

First, to put it in context - there was a write-up about Bob Rae, our NDP turned Liberal MP, who apparently bumped one of the "peasants" (those of us who are shafted to fly economy class at Air Canada) by walking up to the gate at the last minute with his Super Elite card waving like a magic wand. 

Some people have been upset about this, but here is what Mr. Dermer opines: "Let Bob Rae eat his cake in peace".  "As administrator of the Air Canada Super Elite Members Group on LinkedIn, I am answering the call to provide some much needed context.  Far from marginalizing economy passengers, we Super Elites cross-subsidize them, for we are the airline's most valuable customers.  Moreover, we set the standard for service for we are also the most demanding.  Indeed our influence, refined expectations and impeccable taste drive the high standards to which all passengers have grown accustomed.  Though we can't take credit for the peanut ban, we do claim wins like little pickles in every lounge.  If Bob Rae is enjoying signature molten chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream en route, take solace in the fact that tax dollars are reducing the cost of your fare and improving your service experience.  So when you see us up front eating better food, don't begrudge.  A simple thanks will do."

Methinks Mr. Dermer is living in the brain fogged world of entitlement.  First off, most Super Elite flyers do so on the backs of their employers who are the actual buyers of tickets and who pay the exorbitant prices demanded of  Air Canada's Business class tickets.  They are not playing with their own money let alone with a full deck!

On domestic flights, there are probably no more than 12 entitled souls placing their posteriors gently on the leather seats of wide and deep lazy boys to stretch out their entitled legs and knees, while enjoying their tasty tidbits, invisible to the peasants who dare not even glimpse the sumptuous luxury.   Many of those 12 individuals are flying on points anyway so what gain for AC?  One has to ask who is really paying for the fuel and salaries of this "illustrious" airline?

In the meanwhile, the peasants in the back have been herded into long line-ups of between 45 minutes to an hour at check-in counters, to deposit our one bag allowance of 50 lbs (in suitcases weighing 10 to 12 lbs themselves) after diligently checking in on-line.  We shuffle along one foot at a time, while 2 or 3 trusty groundstaff do their best to slow down, hamper and hinder our progress - all they need is a cattle prod next.  (As an aside, if we have paid the exorbitant price to check two bags, why do some poor peasants scrabble on the floor transferring the 1 lb overweight contents from bag 1 to bag 2.  Can someone please explain how this is saving fuel, ....but maybe it's a union issue....and we dare not go there.)

From the line-up at the check-in counter we make our way to the same long, slow line-up at security (heaven forbid, we don't blame AC for that one though).  Then it's the same long wait at the gate on hard seats (if you're lucky enough to get one).  Once the call for boarding has been made, the next hurdle is lining up with the throngs of other peasants pushing and sidling to get through the bottleneck at the front, then hopefully passing scrutiny from the unsmiling, suspicious person checking your boarding pass.  If you're lucky, you can then move on to the next line-up scrambling to get on board.  If you're not, you will regularly be pulled aside to be told that your seat has changed and given to a more deserving pax - you're now sitting in some middle seat at the back of the plane (ie, some Elite status person who is far more important than you needs your seat, even though you booked the seat and confirmed it weeks or months ago), or your seat has been given away because they are overbooked. And don't try reason with the automaton - they are really not interested in your needs.  Also don't try asking questions - firstly they won't be at the gate till the last minute in their efforts to avoid you, and secondly, they just don't care enough.

Finally you're on board - your mission is to get your on board luggage stowed - quite an Olympian accomplishment as size and weight and quantity regulations are all but ignored by flight attendants - so you can count yourself lucky if you have overhead space.  Then it's time to plop yourself down in your uncomfortable, dirty, tiny seat and hope that the a/c, light, and onboard entertainment actually works at your station.  Then you wait for the person ahead of you to jerk his seat back so that it is inches from your nose (I am still waiting for an injury for the person who sits with head forward - perhaps reading, or trying to reach for something on the floor - quite likely to produce a head injury!).
Another by the by: how does one assume the 'brace' position in peasant class - I guess it doesn't really matter - after all, we're just the peasants - plenty more where they came from.

Settle in for the flight - squish your spine and hips as far back as they will go, drag your knees up a little, and try to rest your head on the most uncomfortably positioned head rest for your journey of 45 minutes to Ottawa - thank God it's short you can almost hold your breath on that one, or God forbid, the 5, 4 or 3 hours to Vancouver, Calgary or Halifax, where the only way to get through it is to close yourself off in your imaginary cubicle, squeeze your eyes shut, and pray it ends soon, or delve into a book and pretend you're not really there.  Oh wait for it - here's the announcements ... what was that I heard?  "We are here for your safety and comfort".  What planet do you live on!!!!  My safety will not be up to you - if we crash I will most likely die along with all the others .... and my comfort???? you've got to be kidding me!

I will be lucky to be offered water, and if I haven't brought my little brown bag with my own little Subway sandwich on board, I will have to go hungry as I could not eat the overcooked pizza, or wet bread, wilted tomatoes, and brown lettuce sandwiches that AC pretends is real food.  And they're getting so hard to please - only visa so that they don't have to trouble themselves counting up the cash, figuring out the change and balancing the accounts.  They complete a cursory walk up and down the aisle once or twice and then it's behind the curtains in the galley (On a recent flight from Frankfurt to Toronto, I actually heard one attendant berate a father who came to collect his two-year old child who had the affrontery to toddle down the aisle to the galley during the 8 hour flight: "Take your child away, this is our time to relax".  Excuse me?!)

So much for service - perhaps Mr. Dermer should climb on over and hob nob with the peasants for awhile before he makes claims of service that we should be thankful for.   For me, it's more like shades of being a minion in the noble/royal kingdom of Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV - I have to watch out that I don't get swept out with the rest of the garbage, but then again - at least I've kept my head!

Click on this to check out the USA Passenger Bill of Rights - hoping Canada will follow suit.
http://www.budgettraveladventures.com/traveltips/travel-news/passenger-bill-of-rights-expanded-in-2011/

Spoken as an ex-flight attendant, ex-Super Elite member, and reluctant frequent flyer in AC's cattle truck at the back.

Perhaps you just have one too many peasants back there? 

Day Four - Peru

Monday - Rick told me this morning that the airline flying to Nazca Lines had 2 fatal plane crashes in 2010 - all pax killed.  With those steep downward swoops and banking turns - not surprised - glad I only lost my lunch.

Today - a not so early start - woke up to a sea view - with the water lapping quietly in the bay.  Breakfast - once again, fresh fruit: including prickly pears, passion fruit and papaya.  A little scrambled eggs - 'oeuves revueltos' and our usual cafe con leche.  A quick drive to Libertados Resort Hotel and Pier - climbed down into a speedboat and donned a life jacket to speed our way to the nature reserve called Las Balletas Islas - islands that are wildlife sanctuaries for migratory birds like the Peruvian pelican and Peru booby, Humboldt penguin, terns, egrets, cormorants and a spectacular little bird called the Inca tern. 100's and 1000's of birds circling, calling, diving, resting and generally doing what birds do on rocky outcrops that hardly seem able to hold them up.   Saw sea lions and dolphins too.  Different types of seagulls that we have never seen before.

The boat took us to a part of the bay where San Martin apparently fist landed in Peru in 1821.  There are wetlands as well and we saw flamingoes in the distance.  According to legend San Martin took the banded red and white colours of the flamingo and used them to create the Peruvian Flag - which is exactly the same as the Canadian without the maple leaf.  El Candelabra was also there - a huge design cut into the side of the hill - perhaps as a locator but who knows - some Mason symbols in there too apparently.

Watched bird in formation up ahead and boobies gliding and skimming just inches above the waves - kept up with and actually pulled ahead of the speedboat at one point. 

After our sea adventure, it was on to a nature reserve in Ica outside Paracas to take in the desert dunes - very similar to Jordan's desert with red, black and yellow colours full of oxides and iron ore - walked in the sand and thin pieces of shale cracked under our feet.   Further down the coast - went to the cliff edge to view "La Catedral" a rocky outcrop in the sea, that used to look like a cathedral, but after the devastating earthquake of 2007 that demolished the surrounding towns of Pisco, etc - the Cathedral arch plunged into the sea, changing the landscape forever.  Cracks in the cliff edge still show the damage of the earthquake.  The towns themselves are still rebuilding a picking up the pieces.

At midday we started our journey back to Lima with a lunch stop at Casa Andina in Pisco - tuna salad for me and a dish of shrimp and mashed potato for Rick, followed by lomo saltado - strips of beef tenderloin with onions and tomato served with arroz and French fries.  Passion fruit juice - fresh - and a lemon tart for me and cheesecake for Rick.  Good meal in the middle of nowhere.

The towns really are different - houses build any which way - living in half built houses and using the front room as a place of business - many cocinas, car service places, carpentry and bamboo work etc.  So many "restuarants".  Traffic all over the place, no trees, no order, no systems.

On the road again at 2.15pm for the long drive back to the airport.  Arrived at the airport at 5.35pm to catch LAN 2107 to Arequippa - sitting row 3c and 3k, but managed a switch and sat together.  Writing this on the plane and so far so good - no air sick bag required.

Landed at Arequippa airport at 9.30pm - home to 1 million people in Southern Peru at 2,800 metres above sea level.  Met by our guide Sulay and Driver Angel and were driven into the city to another Casa Andina PC Hotel.  This time, however, the hotel has been transformed from an aristocratic home to a Mint to a Museum and in 2008 - an hotel.  It is truly spectacular - stone, cobbles, wide open terrazos and atriums - just beautiful.  Arched stone ceilings - photos tomorrow.  Tonight - club sandwich room service and cafe con leche caliente and bed.
Bon vol.

Peru - Day Three

 Sunday - up at the crack of dawn for a 6am breakfast - fresh fruit, scrambled egg with our favourite cafe con leche.  Then we bundle into the van with Vanessa, who is harried because her alarm clock didn't go off - unlike us she is working and we are on island time - so no worries.  She has no make up on (no big deal to me) and proceeds to apply her make up at various intervals on the drive from Lima to Pisco - a trip of about 245 kms - 3.5 hours of driving along the Pacific Coast on the Pan American Highway. 
The landscape, for the most part, is bleak and stark - sand dunes climbing out of the sea and miles of desert that stretched on forever, with the occasional dots of villages and towns.  A glimpse of rural life outside Lima - feral dogs, tuk-tuks (tricycle taxis), cyclists peddling with huge woven baskets full of wares that threaten to capsize them.  Mothers sitting on front porches with children clipping mounds of cotton. Agricultural fields green with avocados, artichokes and asparagus, and also maize, oranges, onions and potatoes.  Stop for coffee at Chincha and also had a delicious empanada pollo - well worth it and would do it again.
At 10.30am we arrive at Pisco airport for our 11am flight to the Nazca Lines.  The plane is a 12 seater single engine filled with 10 Japanese tourists and the two of us.  We trundle down the runway to a quick lift off for a 40 minute flight to the site.  Scenery on the way: desert and the foothills of the Andes highlighted by a long black streak that is the Pan American Highway making its way south to Chile.  Feeling very happy - cloudless blue sky and onto another destination that can be crossed off the bucket list.
Feeling very unhappy - pilot starts performing steep acrobatic turns and dives to give us "the best view of the Lines".   My stomach lurches as he starts the sharp banking turns and tight circles round to see the Lines.  I did manage to see the whale, the astronaut and the hummingbird.  The rest is a blur.  I just closed my eyes and heaved for the rest of the trip.  Used four airsick bags and thought I was dying.  Patrick took video and photos of each feature - maybe I'll get to see them without feeling green sometime in the future. I don't think the Japanese tourists were that thrilled with me either.  I so badly wanted to see the Lines, but please don't ever talk about them again - the thought makes me feel quesy all over again.

After an eon, the plane touched down and it didn't get any better after that - still doing the heave-ho, but now I had a bigger audience.  Rescue paramedics, airport staff, Metropolitan Touring staff and poor Patrick hovering around me.  (The Japanese tourists beat a hasty retreat and gave me a wide berth.)  Blood pressure over 200, then came down to 180 and then after about 20 minutes down to 140 bph and still rushing off to the banos.  Paramedics suggested that I be transported to the local hospital by ambulance.  Thank God that didn't happen - would just have made the bp worse!  Patrick told them I would be ok - I didn't hear this conversation thank goodness, as I was still doing my best to lose my insides in the loo.
Staggered to the van and drove 20 minutes to Paracas to the Hilton Double Tree Resort.  Check in was completed by Patrick because I was kneeling in the flower beds - amazing what you can do when you feel so ill - didn't care one bit that I probably had an audience of a dozen captivated guests and staff.

Slept the afternoon away and woke up feeling better.  A slow walk on the ocean shore outside our room to touch the warm water of the Pacific, then a light supper at the dining room.  Lovely atmosphere - great spa resort - candles everywhere, soft white muslin curtains blowing in a calm ocean breeze, bamboo/cane furniture and plump, comfortable white linen cushions, and to top it all - the most beautiful, quiet, calming water features.
Supper was light but fabulous: a tomato, avo, asparagus and greens salad, followed by Peruvian scallops, potato, peas and rice with corn and mint Cau.  Patrick had sea bass, risotto and mushrooms.  Delicious.
Hope this is the end of that awful episode!

Hasta la vista - Exciting times indeed.

Peru - Day Two

Saturday:
Rise and shine to an overcast Saturday morning in Lima - population 8 million according to Rodolfo.  Looks pretty much like other South American cities - a bit seedy - old buildings, some abandoned buildings and construction sites, broken tile sidewalks, major security roll doors with locks as big as my fist covering store fronts.  But, beautiful flowering trees, cacti and hibiscus on sidewalks; taxis everywhere hooting horns - like listening to an orchestra practicing for a concert.  Uniformed people sweeping gutters or sitting on wooden boxes guarding parking spots or entrances into buildings.  And, oh heaven! cafe con leche! Coffee like it's supposed to be made.  Good buffet breakfast with a wide assortment of fresh fruit, huevos and breads.  And did I mention cafe con leche?

First walk to orient ourselves in the city, completed right after breakfast.  At noon, off on another exploration of the streets of Lima.  Found a whole street of jewellers (in my element, Rick....not so much).  Found a park - pretty bougainvillea and art-in-the-park on display.  Had lunch at an outdoor cafe - our first ceviche in South America in years - yum.  Hard to believe it's winter and we are sitting outside in the sunshine and high temperatures.  Served by a waiter who could have walked out of colonial times - great service, great food and great views.

At 2pm Tour of the City of Lima with Vanessa, our guide and Jose, our driver from Metropolitan Tours.  The usual traffic snarls, ignore the lanes, no signalling, motor bikes piled with people weaving between cars.  Saw a great metro public transport system - real people movers - passed Canada Station and Canada Road (apparently quite proud of their ties to our country). 

Into the city and saw much of the old city preserved - beautiful buildings from 1700's, facades of Gothic/Alhambra style influence everywhere, neo-colonial columns, balconies and scroll work.  Pebbled, cobble-stone pedestrian streets and everything from MacD's to mercado.  Beautiful squares and plazas with fountains, trees and flowers, and so many different people - Quecha, local Limains, and tourists.  Government buildings - the Presidential Palace, Bar Cabrona - looks like an Ernest Hemingway haunt - great for Pisco Sours and hot ham sandwiches.  Plaza de Armas - largest square in the heart of Lima with bronze fountain from 1650 and a reconstructed cathedral - rebuilt in 1746 after an earthquake.  San Francisco Monastry and Church - a quiet walk through it's quadrangles, lined with tiles called 'azullinda', handpainted from 1606.  A peak into its historic library - remarkable for its ancient texts dating from the conquistadors.

And then onto the Catacombs underneath the Church - where 70,000 residents of the city were buried in crypts.  The skulls and femur/tibia bones arranged in macabre concentric circles.  The Church itself a magnificent rendition of Baroque and Moorish influence.

A walk around Santo Domingo Monastery and the Tomb of Santa Rosa de Lima - a devout woman who wore a crown of thorns and helped the poor.  Onto Plaza San Martin - a more French influence in the architecture.

Last stop - Las Muralles - a park engineered from a criminal hotspot to become a family favourite with views, play parks and an uncovered architectural dig of the original city wall.  About 2.5 hours of walking altogether - why don't I lose calories, and weight??  Patrick says I eat too much!

And therefore, onto the next topic - dinner at 6.30 pm at Las Tejas - sea bass steamed in white wine and tomato sauce, a Pisco Sour (fermented grape juice liquer, fluffy egg whites and lime juice) for me and a Pilsener and grilled sea bass for Patrick.  Ok - not great but fair.

After dinner, a long walk to the Pacific Ocean Promenade - an obvious Limain destination - crowds of people, restaurants everywhere and Parque Amor - statues of lovers everywhere - obviously another favoured location - saw sweet sixteen's in Cinderella gowns and brides in white being photographed all around us.  Peaking over the wall - cliffs forming sheer walls to the waves rushing in on brown sand, pebbly beaches.  Long walk back and bed. 


 Early start tomorrow morning - drive to Pisco the Nazca Lines - exciting times.

Our Trip to Peru - Daily Diary: Day one

Day One - Friday:

Check-in at 3pm on Flight AC 80 from TO to Lima, Peru flying out at 5.35pm.  Air Canada strikes again!No plane at the gate, no staff at the counter, no announcements to be heard.  Board late via an unintelligible male drone on the PA system.  Sit on plane for at least 1 hour while they fix a malfunctioning 'IPS' system.  Watch fellow pax board like pack yaks - 8 pieces of luggage each to be squished unceremoniously into every nook and cranny like squirrels storing acorns.  As usual, over-the-hill, bored and otherwise disinterested staff adorned with desultory service faces plastered on like masks.  Food blach, tea ...excuse, but is that what you call it?

Finally arrive in Lima after 7.5 hours flight - painful journey because of back issues, but c'est la vie.  Met at Airport Jorge Chavez by Rodolfo our guide, who commandeered our luggage and scrutinized our passports before escorting us to Hotel Casa Andina where we dropped ourselves in a comfortable king-size bed at 4am and slept a peaceful first night in Lima - wonderful to stretch out and be comfortable after a torturous sardine can experience in seats 37 A and C.   (Forgot to mention the 50 minutes cattle pen experience for luggage drop-off - another award winning AC service.  Remind me never to fly them again.) 

AC slogan: "We're not happy till you're not happy" - apt!

Oh the places I'll go; Oh the things that I'll do.

Another school year bites the dust this month.  Don't know where it went - I feel sure that if I was in regular time mode we would still be in the middle of the year, but no, I am in fast-forward mode where time speeds up so that each hour only has 5 minutes.

I look back on the year and wonder where all the time has gone.  Just how much did I accomplish and why do I still feel like I am panting to the finish line, hobbling along at the back of the pack?

Nonetheless, have to say it felt like a good year - did some much needed assessments, met some interesting people, made some new friends, and generally still on a steep learning curve.... I like it!

And how can you not appreciate a whole summer off - Oh the places I'll go; Oh the things that I'll do ....like idling away an afternoon reading a book, sauntering down to a coffee shop, winging our way to a South American vacation for another check on the bucket list, and if I get the time .... and inclination, I will clear the clutter, catch up on the crafts, make an effort on the errands and chores and hopefully check off items off that long 'honeydo' list.

Waiting for sunshine and siestas and the adventures that summer will bring!