Romancing The Road...

Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO VIEW THE ENTIRE SET.

IMG_0078.JPG, originally uploaded by Senor Adventure.

I was just at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and have to say that it's better than decent. And considering that Hurricane Katrina plowed through there in '05 it's come back phenomenally. This link will take you to the entire photo set.

Enjoy.

Travel by container ship.

I was asked the following question by a fellow writer and traveler.  I appreciate it because as I'm reading it I thought now here is a guy who thinks outside the box.  And I enjoyed writing my response because the question got me to thinking again about an unrealized travel idea that's been kicking around in my head.  I'm publishing it because doing so may give feet to the idea.  Feet a allusion employed solely as an artistic device.

Here goes,

Hey Vicktor,

caught your site in a random search, and plan to travel to Japan via container ship before the end of the year, if all goes as planned.

I'm also a writer (screenplays-mostly), and have done about two million commercial trucking miles across America and into Canada, running everything from Household Moves (Alied Van Lines and others) containers from central washington to all the ports from Portland to Seattle, to Everette, to heavy equipment, boats, cars, and all manner of construction gear.

Always wanted to travel via container ship, have owned a couple of small pleasure boats when living in the San Juan Isalnds up in Puget Sound, and a couple of my good friends have held 100 or 200 ton licenses and who worked commercially have encouraged me to not wait.

Thought I'd ask a real sailor which line he would choose for a ride to Asia, (If you would have a preference), and of course, any other advice you might want to include.

Thanks Much.  See you out there in the "Jungle".

Peace,
GM
Screenwriter

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GM,

Apologies for not replying sooner, but I've been at sea.  A sailor's life you know.  To answer your question, I'm unable to recommend any particular shipping line to you because I've always sailed for work, and on the US flag commercial carriers I work for I've yet to come across any passengers paying for a berth.  Like everything else these days just Google it.  I know that's not any kind of insight that you haven't learned for yourself.  So...

Let me tell you about a travel idea that once occurred while transiting the Panama Canal.  I haven't yet realized it, but its on my to-do list, right along with screwing Japanese twins named fook-u and fook-me ;)  But this plan requires a big pair of brass ones, a flexible travel schedule, and some A-game bullshitting skills. I'd go to the the Port of Balboa which is on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. From there I would talk my way aboard a ship and hitchhike my way across the Pacific.  Here's the game plan.  To begin with you can easily meet ships crews by hanging out at the Ports exit with the taxi drivers who service the sailors or you could hang out at the brothels that cater to sailors -sailors on shore leave always go to brothels - and try to meet crew members there.  You'll want to socialize with everyone, but know that only Officers are decision makers.  Explain to them that you are a writer/photographer/whatever and that you are doing research for XYZ project and can you ride with them. Of course if you ever do this you'll have to fill me in on your plans beforehand, just in case. 

Some additional advice for the journey.  Take a camera, you will never take more stellar pictures of Sunrises and Sunsets than you will when out to sea.  In bars only drink out of bottles - insist it be opened in front of you - or you may get drugged as happened to me in Singapore.  I know, drugged in Singapore sounds incredibly cliched, but it really did happen to me.  Fortunately I woke up 10 hours later in my rack onboard my ship with all of my organs intact.    

Here are Japan specific insights I gleaned when living in Tokyo for 6 months.  It's expensive so be prepared.  The trains are the bomb and easy to master.  Japanese insert the most atrocious combinations of food inside of bread pies, they're known as bread surprises.  The only dangerous people in Japan are fellow travelers.  Get a place as near to Roppongi Square as is possible (Google Tokyo apartment rentals). Roppongi Square is nightlife central for foreigners in Japan, and for Japanese who want to party with foreigners. That last point is key because you will quickly learn that not all Japanese like Gaijin (foreigners), but you will find that the ones who do all flock to Roppongi just to meet you. Important Fashion Alert: Don't go dressed like what I call Wal-Mart Americans or neo-hippies.  Dress to impress! Japanese absolutely do notice and if you take care of your appearance you'll find yourself being shown those little courtesies that the grunge set doesn't.  Sadly, despite your best efforts be prepared to be occasionally slighted by Japanese that just don't like you. For example, late at night taxis will routinely refuse you because they don't speak English and your just not worth the trouble.  There are, however, two silver linings to all of this: You will be humbled, in a good way.  Also and fortuitously, if you are a man who is into casual flings with hot foreign women in exotic destinations, then you need to visit 7Heaven strip club which is conveniently located in, you guessed it, Roppongi.  The hottest women in this world are dancing their and since they are downright wore out by the shenanigans of drunk Jap salarymen your big gentlemanly-American self is golden. Just remember the girls aren't looking for pimps.  What they want is a man to take them out, treat them right, romance them a little, and have casual non-committal recreational sex with.  On the other hand if you come across one who is selling extra services that come with a happy ending I recommend you just politely but firmly walk away because it's a buyers market (that's you) and you don't need to do that to your manhood. Alert!!Warning!! Tokyo is awash with bitter self-pitying money blinded foreign workers who are more misguided than even the strippers.  You'll recognize them by their most oft repeated catch phrase, "I hate it here, but I make a lot of money."  Stay away from them, they're losers.  On that note, should you come across a little English language rag called Tokyo Classified take what you read therein with the proverbial grain of salt.  It's subjective pulp written by the aforementioned losers.

Be safe,
Vicktor

P.s.  So you are a writer.  Seems like you choose your work for its travel and writing material potential. Writings my past time as well, do you have any published work, and if so do you mind if I have a read?
P.s.s.  I liked your question and I think that others will profit from my response as well so I am going to blog it.  I'll change your name of course.

Tunisia - Paris - Houston - FT Lauderdale.

IMG_0930.JPG, originally uploaded by Victor L Antunez.

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO SEE THE ENTIRE SET.

This is my photo set of my flight back from TUNISIA .  The flight originated in DJERBA , Tunisia.  From there I flew to the capital of Tunisia; TUNIS .  From Tunis I flew to PARIS INTERNATIONAL .  In Paris I made a connection to Houston's HOBBY AIRPORT .  In Houston I overnighted and flew SOUTHWEST to FT LAUDERDALE the next day.  In FT Lauderdale I Took the TRI-RAIL to MIA where I was picked up by family.

Airport security in Tunisia is still the way things used to be in the USA in the eighties.  It's there, but the loopholes are huge.  When I walked thru the metal detector it went off.  The security lady asked me if I had anything in my pocket's.  "No".  "Ok, have a good flight".  My guess is that Arabs don't bomb Arabs so why bother with all the extra security measures.  Lucky them.  From Tunis I flew to the international airport in Paris.  Tunisia used to be a French colony.

In Paris everything changed.  Security was tight.  Despite that the French came across as cordial and helpful.  I've heard horror stories about them that I'm sure are all true.  I just didn't have any.  I've flown enough to know what to expect so none of the security measures surprise or upset me.  That, however, was not the case with many of my fellow passenger's.  After watching some of the shinanigans I know why they call us ugly American's. TSA is a pain, but there's no excuse for throwing a tantrum.

The Last Friday of the month in Little Havana is rocking .

IMG_0026.JPG, originally uploaded by Victor L Antunez.

 

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO VIEW THE ENTIRE SET.

The Last Friday of the monty, ALSO KNOWN AS VIERNES CULTURALES, in LITTLE HAVANA is rocking.  Little Havana has gone SOUTH BEACH , but for the older Latin set.  The city rails off the street side parking of CALLE 8 (8th Street).  Artists and other vendor's set up shop and the people come to party.  Last Friday the 29th was my first time there for that.  I had a great time.  Bands were everywhere.  In restaurants.   On the street.  Brass bands and drum sets.  Highly recommended.   

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., En Espanol.

IMG_2202, originally uploaded by Victor L Antunez.

I came across this mural of MLK and friend's in MAZATLAN.  MLK's QUOTE is this: "He who accepts evil without protesting it is really cooperating with it."

I decided to blog this mural today because in the last few days there has been an ANTI-IMMIGRANT backlash including a comment from our IDIOT PRESIDENT, COKEHEAD George W. concerning the NATIONAL ANTHEM being SUNG in SPANISH.

When I first sall this mural in Mazatlan, Mejico I thought, that's great.  MLK's message has been translated for all Spanish speaker's to read.  I can only hope that his message of love is translated into every language of this world.  Wouldn't that make for a better world. 

In the past few days there has been an uproar over the National Anthem being sung in Spanish.  The ARTISTS that sang the translated version did it as a tribute to this great country of ours for accepting us with open arms.  In my view this uproar isn't about the National Anthem.  That's just a rallying point that the RACIST FORCES in our country are using in order to hide their real discontent.  That we are here at all.  That we are now the single largest ETHNIC minority in the US (14% in 2005).

All of this much ado about nothing reminds me of a conversation I had with some guys at a mechanic's shop a few years ago.  The guys at this shop were all white Americans and being white skinned myself they all just assumed that I was American (white) like them.  That happens to me a lot and because of that I have been privy to the inner thoughts of white men that my dark skinned Latin brother's are not.  At that time the Census bureau had just released it's finding's.  One of them was that Latinos had now jumped ahead of blacks as the Nation's largest minority group.  In South Florida Hispanics have been the biggest population block for many year's, but that we are now National was just too much for one of those guys.  He made a comment about that in order to get a negative reaction from the group.  I stepped right in and said, "Isn't that great, me and my cousins are taking over."  He looked at me shocked and asked, "Are you Latin".  "I'm Cuban".  That was the end of that line of conversation.   

Another misconception that White's have about Cubans in particular is that we are all waiting for CASTRO to die and then we are all going to leave this country, our home.  On the one hand many people in this country would love that.  On the other they use that misconception as a cheap jab at our patriotism and as a sign of our lack of gratitude for what this great country has done for us.  Let me be the one to tell you all, DON'T GET YOUR HOPE'S UP!  We are not leaving.  This is our home.  We love it just as much as you do. 

I'll close by adding this: were here, were staying here, and we are going to bend this American culture in a whatever way we want to.   

Hitch hiking in Baja.

IMG_1883, originally uploaded by Victor L Antunez.

I met these three lost souls while hitch hiking in BAJA between MULEGE and NOL'S RANCHO COYOTE on BAHIA CONCEPCION. They were as sweet as can be, but lost. They were on their way home to LORETO from a 3 month stay in the program. The drug re-hab program.

I spoke the most to the guy wearing the shades. The other guy is his brother and the gal is the brother's wife. All three are recovering crystal meth addicts. Shades told me that he had begun smoking meth at 14 years of age. Before that he had been a pot smoker. Pot had been his GATEWAY DRUG to crystal. He says that he can't be around pot smokers or he'll start smoking crystal. So much for pot not being a gateway drug. 

Shades had finally been forced to enter the program by his mother who had him arrested. The judge told him it was prison or re-hab. He chose re-hab. What is interesting is that Shade's was poor and he told me so. Yet he had always managed to find money for drugs. He didn't exactly say it, but he did confide in me in a round about way that crime had been his profession. It's a shame that all that initiative and effort had been wasted on crime.

Sometime during our talk Shade's mentioned that he liked my sun glasses, the ones he's wearing. I took them off and gave them to him along with the neck strap. That made him incredibly happy, and it made me happy to. Now each time I think of our exchange I feel good about the fact that it turned out to be a mutual sharing. He gave me a good story to tell, and I gave him a pair of cheap sunglasses. Oh yeah. I'm a fan of cheap sunglasses. The expensive ones I buy are always getting lost.

Some tips on hitch hiking. Look as unscary as possible. Stand near places where people are pulling on and off the road. Approach people and ask for a ride. I caught a ride in this truck by walking up to it after the owner had filled it with gas. I asked if he was headed South then asked for a lift. As easy as that.

Chivas vs Cruz Azul

IMG_2396, originally uploaded by Victor L Antunez.

CHIVAS vs CRUZ AZUL.  The Chivas are from Guadalajara and the Cruz Azul from Mexico City, aka La DF.  This game was the season opener at GUADALAJARA of the Mexican national soccer league.  It was held in Guadalajara. 

The guy in the photo is a Chivas fan and is giving the F/U to some Cruz Azul fan's.  The crowd was emotional and having a good time.  During the entire game I didn't witness a single instance of violence.

The most entertaining part of the night for me was when the opposing player's from the Cruz Azul were being introduced.  After the name of each player was announced the entire stadium would erupt with the shout of, PUTO!  That's Spanish slang for faggot.  PC has not reached Mejico and from what I understand it has not reached most of the rest of Latin America.  Three cheers for Latin America. 

The final score of the game was Chivas 1, Cruz Azul 0.

SAILING IN BAJA.

8911791-R1-042-19A, originally uploaded by Victor L Antunez.

Click on the photo to see the entire set of pics from my sailing trip in Baja.

ONE ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE.

Vic 622, originally uploaded by victor antunez.

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CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO SEE MY ENTIRE SET FROM THAT DAY.

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That's schoolmaster Jose at Rancho Barranco.  He's also teacher, guidance counselor, janitor, or whatever else needs doing in a one room schoolhouse.  He's part of an outfit called CONAFE that provides schooling for the disadvantaged children of Mexico.  The arrangement of the teacher with CONAFE is this.  One year of service and they provide him with a 3 year scholarship, 2 year's for 4, and 3 for 6.  For young people that can live with the hardship of being isolated from friends and family it's a pretty sweet deal.

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The children in this area that attend school usually drop-out after completing grade school to go to work on the family ranch.  I asked Jose about this and he said that that level of education gives the children enough education to run the family business without getting fleeced by outsider's.

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If that sort of work interest's you click on this LINK to view an interesting volunteer internship website.

GANG SIGNS?

Vic 693, originally uploaded by victor antunez.

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Just when I thought I had become a street wise cosmopolitan man of the world someone has to link to my site and prove otherwise.  I just learned that hanging shoes in trees is a way that gang's mark their turf.  It seems that when I was merrily hiking in the back woods of Baja I was actually in gang territory.  Pretty scary stuff.   

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Amazingly or not their is actually a web site devoted to tracking that sort of thing.  Click this LINK to learn more.