Volcano Izalco Movie Clip

Filmed and narrated by my hiking buddy, this clip is taken at the peak of the volcano El Izalco. It feels like standing on a giant crater island floating above the clouds. In the background you can see our other hiking partners, our guide, the two armed policia, and me eating an apple.

Cerro Verde y El Izalco: Take Two

We went back to Cerre Verde as planned in hopes of making it for the morning volcano hike. For 1$ a person a guide will take you to the volcano and back, a hike they estimate at 4 hours. Fortunatly three other adventurers arrived to put us over the two person minimum. Rain fell at 10:30 am, but the hike was on. They said we could tip the guide (this time, a 17-year-old kid named Danny) but it wasn't necessary to tip the security guards who were accompanying us on the trip.

Whaaat? Security guards? Armed police to be specific. Two of them.

We began with a brisk descent 2,030 meters down Cerro Verde in the rain, though under the canopy of the forest. We reached the base of the volcano (seen in first pic) where luckily the rain had stopped. Wide-eyed optimists, we began the trek straight up the side of the volcano on barely a trail. After 1,870 meters of maneuvering on a constant, rocky, steep, uphill grade, we finally reached the top of the volcano Izalco. Here in the second pic our two armed security enjoy the view that they apparently see twice a week. Apparently in the past hikers had been mugged and/or raped along the trail - hence, the reason for the government to install guards to protect tourism. Now you know.

Honestly these pictures do the experience no justice at all. To stand at the top of a black volcano above the clouds and look into it's fuming crater is exhilarating. To stand so high on such a steep and primitive slope for me was disorienting, but rewarding. All you could hear up there was the wind, the sound of your feet crunching along the rocks, and your breath. Walking around the huge crater, I saw some of the craziest, alien-like insects I had ever seen.

Also exhilarating? Standing practically up in the clouds and hearing a thunderstorm brewing literally beside you as opposed to above you. A bit scary in fact. A few booms were enough to set us 8 travellers out for the volcano descent quickly, this time down a different path of mostly red sand and rocks. Tricky footwork, controlled sliding, and clever weight distribution was required, but the impending storm was enough to hurry me down the volcano in fear of a mudslide or worse. By the time we finally reached the protective canopy of Cerro Verde, the rain was pouring down. In hiking, what goes down must come up; the brisk descent down Cerro Verde was not so brisk on the way back up. It was an interminable series of turns and dirt steps, each one leading to more and more forest each time. Sweat and rain were indistinguishable. If you could ignore the dizziness and vertigo, you could really take in the dazzling atmosphere of the misty forest.

In the end, we basically walked 2,030 meters down a mountain, then 1,870 meters up a volcano, then 1,870 meters down a volcano, and 2,030 meters back up a mountain. In my opinion, it is DEFINITELY NOT for the beginner hiker or the faint of heart. To my constant amazement, our two police guards and 17-year-old guide never looked tired, let alone phased, throughout the entire hike! They were super-friendly and helpful the entire time. It was by far the most grueling physical challenge I've put myself in front of, but no matter where I go in life, I'll ALWAYS know what it was like to stand on the fuming rim of a black Central American volcano...

El Salvador: Part 1

Que chivisimo...loving everything about El Salvador so far. Scenery is complete with lush greenery and cows on the side of the road. Day 2 Viki and I drove up to Cerro Verde looking for volcanoes. It's amazing to see in the green landscape a huge black mound billowing with fumes...I guess it explains why the beaches here have black sand (which is really cool by the way). Tomorrow we return to hike up the actual volcano itself since we missed the required guided-hike up. And in case you find this interesting, a guided hike is 25 cents per person. Yes, a quarter.

Safety first, ninos! Just when you think you've seen the most packed-in pickup truck ever, another one will always drive by and amaze you. Usually the passengers stand in the back, especially when there's a big group. There's usually a roll cage type thing for them to hold onto, because as I said earlier, safety first ninos! Sometimes there's even a lawn chair in the pickup bed for elders to sit for the duration of the ride. It's efficient, that's for sure.

Day 3 we took a canopy zipline tour over the wooded mountains of Apaneca. Well worth the $30 to zip across 12 lines over totally primitive woods and farms with the wind whirring over your ears. I felt very much like Spider-man...or a monkey...one or the other. The "bus" ride up was pretty cool too, a very rugged road through the jungle. And of course by "bus" I mean the back of a pickup truck, although this one had seats and a canopy roof.



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Branding Idol

Talk about marketability! Yes, I'm talking about you, Jordin Sparks. Not only does she now boast the most gigantic smile in showbiz, she has the talent to back it up. Her young age will allow teens to relate to her, yet her mature appearance will draw in older fans as well. She found a good balance between humility and confidence during the season which made her well-liked among all. She will be well-received by different ethnic groups, though that's really dependent on how the big wigs brand her. Simon and his gang are no doubt estatic to turn this blank mold into something big and lucrative.

I mean, what marketer wouldn't love to have a product with a huge fan base way before the product is even for sale??

The American Idol formula is invincible. The machine rolls on and I gotta say, it's entertaining. And for the record, I was indeed a Jordin fan this season. Some of those kids just looked like a bunch of noobs next to her...

Sidewalk Arts 2007

A video clip of sequential photos I took while working on my square. Nice day, nice turnout, inconsistent judging...

The Pursuit of Beautyness

Yay, get out your mirrors! It's time for the annual "The 100 Most Beautiful" issue...or inversely "The Other 299,999,900 Ugly Folk" issue. Really, that's just a half-full or half-empty thing, depending on your take on society creating exclusive clubs based on looks. To say I'm not a big fan would be quite an understatement...

Kien and The Bone

The weekend took me into my first journey into South Florida, where ol' Gainesville buddies tied the knot. Beat it Nick and Jessica...this one's gonna last for sure. Mainly though it was a nice college reunion of UF buddies, sans Kien and The Bone. If you didn't live in Murphree Hall Section A or M in 1996 or 1997, then that last part of the previous sentence must have sounded like some weird movie found only in the backrooms of the most ghetto video retailers...

The Hindsight Blame Game

I'm sad about Virginia Tech, don't get me wrong, but at same time I am completely tired of watching the media playing what I call "The Hindsight Blame Game." Actually, it's not just the media, they just happen to be the ones perpetuating it during their 24/7 coverage of any massive tragedy. Same cycle happens after every major tragedy.

This is the equivalent of finding out a girl has been sexually assaulted, then asking dumb questions like "Why didn't her friends lock her down once they suspected she was going out dressed in something cute, knowing that someone out there liked her?" rather than blaming the individual who couldn't control his impulsive behavior. Let's get one thing straight about this VT incident...the only person to blame here is this whiny kid Cho and his failure to integrate and cope with society. But unfortunately, the coward is not with us anymore to be the pinata of blame so as always, the masses look elsewhere...

"But why didn't administration lock down the school after two people got shot at a dorm?" they ask. Probably because evidence suggested it was a domestic dispute that escalated into violence. It is a residence hall after all where people laugh, argue, cry, etc. all the time. Who could've possibly predicted the ballistic rampage that would soon follow? No one, that's who.

"And the warning signs, and the creepy writings were all there and no one did anything about it!" they say. Then does this mean we lock up everyone with any history of stalking, alienation, and antisocial thoughts? We would if this was the movie "Minority Report" but unfortunately we don't have the technology of psychic triplets just yet.

"And how could this kid get access to such weaponry so easily?" they ask. Well, a long time ago a group of powdered wig-wearing revolutionaries decided everyone had a right to a gun. Better get accustomed to it too because that's not going to change.

Point is, if someone wants to kill, they're gonna kill. Who can really stop that? Life will go on the way it has, without metal detectors at college, without having to submit three letters of recommendation from your teachers when buying a gun, and without shutting down entire towns the moment someone gets shot. The best we all can do for each other after tragedy is spread support all around and stop having to find someone else to blame.

To those who want to continue to point the finger at others, I say stop acting like you saw it coming because you KNOW you didn't.

300 Self-Portraits in Vancouver

New trip, new movie, same design. Enjoy!



If you haven't seen my other travel self-portrait series movies, click here to see them. I have two others from Asia and New York.

I'm No Bandwagon Fan

I'm no bandwagon fan, that's for sure. I remember back when it made our season to beat Kentucky in a regular season game. I recall the excitement of finding out that a Florida basketball game was to be televised on ESPN. I remember when they started this whole "Rowdy Reptiles" gig. I remember cheering our uncanny one-eyed player Fast Eddie. I remember watching Jason Williams showboat on the home court, then later with the Kings. I remember calling into Billy Donovan's weekly show with my roomates and asking questions about Dupay.

I'm no bandwagon fan, that's for sure...and that's why it's so rewarding to have watched the Gators take the championship again. Besides, is it so wrong to reward a group of kids for staying in college to repeat as a team rather than scurry for certain NBA millions?

I'm no bandwagon fan, that's for sure...and that's why it'll be fun to start over again next year and watch an all new team.