Justin's blog

Well, I alluded to putting down some roots in the last post (a mere six months ago), but last month, we bought a house in Portland. We are really loving it so far, but the past few weeks have tasked us with things like unpacking, getting the garden going, prioritizing improvements, and the like. But -- we are hoping to get back into the travel swing again soon. Neither of us has been to western Canada, northern California, eastern Washington & Oregon, or many other places around here that Portland is a natural "base" for. So I'm expecting a lot of travel, and hopefully some camping, in the years to come.

In other news, I have really gotten into photography lately -- or rather, have finally put into practice what I've been learning and studying for the past few years -- since getting a dSLR in December. Surprise, surprise, I enjoy taking travel & nature photos the most. I'm still posting pretty regularly to my Flickr account, but since we haven't been traveling as much, I haven't been putting them here. Look for them when we do, though!

So, stay tuned. Some places we are hoping to get to before too long are Vancouver BC, Banff National Park in Alberta, a long weekend in Chicago, the Shakespeare festival in southwest Oregon, and maybe spending some more time at new places on the coast.

Just a note that the Borneo videos are now posted. I made a 30-minute compilation movie that I've split into less-than-ninety-second chunks, highlighting the most interesting stuff.

You can check them out here: Borneo videos

I've also grouped the photos and these videos together, available here: Borneo 2009

If you have a Flickr Pro (i.e., paid) account, you can watch in full HD, too!

So as you probably have noticed, we haven't posted here in a coon's age. It's a combination of two things -- one, we haven't traveled quite as much since landing in Portland (at least not on holiday) and two, we spent less than a year actually looking for a home before falling in love with Portland and putting down some roots.

That said, we are still doing a ton of stuff on weekends up and down the Willamette Valley, plus I've probably been on 30+ individual airplanes this year for business travel, so I want to start posting here again.

Also, we just got back from BORNEO. Yes, Southeast Asia. We finally managed a real vacation and had a ton of fun in northern Borneo, i.e., Malaysia. You can check out the pictures at the link below.

I've also made a 30-minute video that's quite good (if I do say so myself) that I hope to dice up and put online soon. It covers 90% of the actual wildlife that we saw as well as a lot of the culture that we took in. As a teaser, we saw orangutans, crocodiles, macaques, hornbills, probiscus monkeys, otters, and so much more -- in the wild, no less.

So, feel free to give a shout out if you're still reading here. I'm curious if we've actually retained an audience.

• Borneo pictures

We've really been enjoying Oregon so far and are pretty sure that we are going to spend some decent time (e.g., a couple years) here, though not entirely sure yet if that will be in Portland or another part of the state. I have been most impressed with the urban and pedestrian planning, even in the small suburb where we live, as well as the proximity of agricultural land and all that it offers (fresh food, friendly people, and beautiful views). We've also started looking into buying and living in a yurt, but let's not put the cart before the horse -- we're very much in an exploratory phase of that right now.

However great all of the recent past has been, I still have intentions of catching up this blog on the remainder of our European travels, I really do. I have a list and notes handy, and today when I was thinking about starting an unrelated blog about something else, I realized that I really need to get cracking here before I'm going to allow myself to do that. So, in the near future, expect updates on:

• Stuttgart, Germany
• Heidelberg, Germany
• Córdoba, Spain
• Paris, France
• the rest of our time in Marbella

There are still a bunch of photos, too, so stay tuned!

To answer Stew's question, yes, we made it over the Rockies ok. After dinner in Bozeman and a night in Butte, we made it clean through Montana to have lunch in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We found a really cool place called Calypsos Coffee, which had great sandwiches and, well, coffee, and free wifi so that we could catch up a bit. Coeur d'Alene definitely looks like a place where we could spend some more time -- it was a beautiful sunny day and the town is centered around the lakefront. Would have loved to linger a bit, but we knew we could get to Portland that day if we pressed on.

We were able to get out of the Rockies without much fanfare -- it seems that part of the range is not very tall, at least relative to the gaps where the highway goes through, so we didn't really see any bare peaks or anything like that. Before we knew it, we were winding down the other side and out into Washington. I had never seen the eastern parts of Washington and Oregon, so I was surprised to see how dry and hot they were.

We crossed into Oregon and followed the state border along the Columbia River the whole way into Portland, where we set up for the night in a motel near the airport. The next day, Friday, we drove the short distance down to Wilsonville, our new home, met the leasing folks and got our keys, and entered our furnished apartment. It was pretty seamless!

Life near Portland has been good so far. We've been exploring the city when we can and have visited Russ & Jaci a fair amount down in Corvallis, plus had them (and Gwen) up here with us. Don't forget our town's Goat Appreciation Day and a great hike up to Multnomah Falls. This weekend is some time in Portland and an Oktoberfest down near Michelle's work.

Sorry for the late update, but we're alive and well!

Well, again we've fallen a bit silent on the blog, but that's because we're moving again -- from the East Coast to the West! We'll be living in Portland, Oregon for the next few months, something we've wanted to do for years. We'll actually be living a bit south of Portland proper in Wilsonville, and Michelle will be working in Woodburn, but it at least gets us to the area for a while to see if we want to stay longer.

We're actually headed on the road momentarily, so stay tuned for updates. We're taking a northern route, mostly sticking to I-90, so we'll hit a couple new states for both of us (Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming).

See you on the other side!

When last we were writing about Sevilla, we had finished the cathedral and the Alcázar. Located right in between the two is the Archivo General de Indias, which is basically the document archives of all of Spain's conquests in the Americas. When you think about all of the exploring and conquering that they had done in what is now the western US, Latin America, and South America, and think about all the maps, charts, letters, correspondence, permits, drawings, translations, inventories, and such that they had accumulated over 300 years, it's not surprising that they have dedicated a museum to it.

At first glance, I'm not sure if the building full of shelves of untouchable tomes would be interesting in itself (amazing architecture aside), but they seem to do regular exhibits where they pull out a featured set of items and build a nice big display. The current one happened to be about the US in particular -- the missions, forts, natives, plunders, wars, and treaties which involved Spain in the affairs of the US. Between Matt hailing from Texas and the Nate, Michelle, and I having travelled the Southwest pretty extensively, it made for a really interesting time, plus a challenge to our Spanish skills figuring out the displays.

Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures inside save the one to the right and a few others, but we saw many artifacts handled by folks such as Cortez, Coronado, de Soto, and George Washington. I definitely wish that I lived closer so I could see what kinds of other things they rotate on display.

The other thing that we did that day was head to the Plaza de Toros -- every town has one in southern Spain -- which is the bullfighting ring. We had heard in particular that Sevilla's was rather old (18th century) and contained a museum. The tickets were pretty inexpensive and we first got a tour of the plaza itself. This part was mostly about the basics of the building, the organizational structure of who runs the arena, and what the numbers look like (usually six bulls to a fight, every weekend, and during the annual fair week, twelve bulls every night). We found out that you pay for seats based on how close they are to the ring, but also based on whether they are in the sun, in the shade, or start in the sun and later become shade as the fight progresses.

The best quote during this time was when our guide, after she got to the English version of that section of the tour, pointed to a gate and explained that "this is where the matador leaves victorious, and this (pointing to another gate) leads to the hospital," with no trace of humor in her voice. We had to stifle surprised chuckles at her matter-of-factness, actually.

After that, we went inside and got an overview of bullfighting attire, ceremony, and heroic figures of the past 300 years and learned the basics of how a fight progresses.

Now at this point, you're probably wondering what our feeling on bullfights is. Did we attend one? And what exactly happens? A couple guidebooks that we read said that in order to truly understand the Spanish, you have to attend a bullfight. Between that advice and the enthusiasm of our guide, I have to admit that we were pretty into it.

When you look at it objectively, bullfighting is basically getting a bull to run around, taunting it a bit, with many people involved to keep the bull distracted. Gradually, the bull is bloodied up a bit and finally, a sword is driven between its shoulders, into its heart (if done properly), the bull stands and stares for a moment, then usually falls to his knees, and then dies within a minute. Also, a few other details: the bull's neck and back are weakened during the fight so that he has more and more difficulty raising his head, and after the sword, a sort of cleanup crew comes in, quickly severs the spinal cord at the neck with a small dagger, and, while attention is focused on the matador, the bull is dragged a way by a team of mules. Depending on how well the bullfighter did (as judged by the president of the ring draping his handkerchief appropriately), he will receive no prize, one ear, both ears, or both ears and the tail, which are usually tossed to people, often children, in the crowd.

Still with me?

So it's not what you would call a really humane thing to watch by any stretch. What's interesting, though, is the aspect of honor that is brought into it. A bull must fight honorably and the matador (or picador) must fight honorably. A bull that dies in a bullfight has served a noble purpose and has died honorably and will be remembered as such. A bull that tries to run away or jumps the fence has lost his honor. A man who does not fight courageously is without honor. When a bull kills a man, even the bull's mother is killed in retribution (believe it -- we saw one on the wall). Did I mention that honor is involved?

I'm not sure I can compare this to anything that we have in the US. Maybe you can enlighten me in the comments, but I can't think of anything that really comes close.

When you think about all of the beef that we consume, particularly in the US, and that we generally don't know where it comes from, combined with the horror stories that come out of mass slaughterhouses and the obvious abuses of the system that must go on, there is something refreshing about the Spanish view of the bull. Although, just because it's the lesser of two evils...

After the weekend that we saw this museum, and after Nate had left, Matt, Michelle, and I discussed it. We agreed that we all pretty much felt the same way -- we all had somewhat morbid, but culturally-directed, curiosity about attending a bullfight and watching the Spanish people enjoy one. Unfortunately, though, the bullfights in Marbella were priced at no less than sixty Euros a seat! From the tour in Sevilla, we were led to believe that we could get cheap seats for maybe fifteen Euros. But that was Sevilla, and Marbella is a touristy place, so maybe that was a factor. In the end, we did not attend a bullfight, though after Matt had left, Michelle and I watched an entire three hour bullfighting event live on local TV. After this, and because Matt had left, our interest kind of tapered off.

I wish that I could say that I have no interest in seeing a bullfight, but on the other hand, I don't really have any regrets about missing the chance while we were there. It's hard to explain. I'm generally pretty open-minded about other cultures and generally try things (or intend to try things) that might scare off most people, especially in the realm of food, but this was a rare chance to come close to doing something that a lot of the rest of the world either knows very little about or considers barbaric (or both). Bullfighting was something that had my interest for a while, but really, it came down to cost as to why we didn't take part and experience this quintessential Spanish tradition.

Again, hard to explain. But very Spanish.

Next time, a bit more about Sevilla as we wrapped up our eventful weekend there.

• Our Archive photos
• Our bullfighting museum photos
• Wikipedia page on bullfighting

An update for those of you who think we fell off the map... we're alive and well and now back in the States. Two things -- where are we now and what's going on?

First off, Spain was a temporary thing; only for three months, sadly. Though we loved it, we weren't technically there on work, so we were subject to 90-day tourist visas, which is how we planned it from the start. We may end up going back, but it was an opportunity given that I could do some great work there with formerly internet-only folks, and Michelle was between jobs.

So currently, we are in Cape Cod, MA, USA, which we are enjoying. It's a good transition place from Spain back to the States, given the beaches, seafood, and laid-back lifestyle.

Michelle is currently looking into work both abroad and on the West Coast, so stay tuned for updates on that as we make progress.

Again, an apology for being behind on blog posts. We are attempting to live a somewhat nomadic lifestyle, which introduces interesting constraints on time and internet access, so we still have to write about the rest of Sevilla, our visit to Málaga with Matt, two very hot days in Córdoba, Marbella's annual fair week, nearly a week in Paris, and our travels since being back in the States.

Hasta luego!

I'm overdue for a post now, so I'm going to try to catch up at least somewhat. Since the last time I've blogged, which was only a stopgap description of our time in Sevilla with Matt & Nate last month, we spent a day in Málaga to see Matt off, Michelle and I went to southern Germany for a week and saw lots of Stuttgart and Heidelberg, the annual fair has come and gone to Marbella (nearly sending fireworks into our very apartment), and we trekked all over the third of the three major Andalucían cities, Córdoba. By the time you read this, we will be into our last full week in Spain before heading to Paris next week for a quick vacation and then back to the States, ready to plot our next move.

But first, a side note. I just flat out asked her yesterday since I had no idea -- what did the title of Michelle's last post mean ("Don't Eat The Pictures")? Turns out it refers to a 1983 Sesame Street special (of course!) about visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and as such, well, it makes perfect sense to title a post about museums in Germany after it, no? If you were as curious as me, you might be interested in reading more about that topic at Wikipedia or YouTube. If even I didn't know this one, what hope do you have, dear reader, of understanding these cryptic titles? Consider this my promise to you that we'll try harder and, at worst, involve children's shows from this decade/century/millenium in our post titles from here on out. Spongebob, anyone?

Anyway, on with the catch up!

Sevilla

We figured we'd do it up right while Matt & Nate were here and head to the regional capital of Andalucía, Sevilla, or, as its called in English, Seville. I took a Friday afternoon off and we headed by bus (as we often do here) on the 3.5 hour or so trip northwest. I dozed a little on and off, but my biggest two memories were:

• An amazing castle and medieval city perched high on a mountain in the middle of hills on the edge of a crystal lake, which we spent a half hour approaching on windy roads and then another half hour driving away from.
• The crazy, switchback mountain roads up to Ronda, then back down again towards Sevilla, all the while tailgating another, slower bus and being leapfrogged by motorcyclists with an apparent utter lack of any sort of deceleration technology.

All I can say about both of these is that I've learned that Spanish bus drivers really know how to get the most potential out of a motor coach. To say that they push the mechanical limits a bit is an understatement. Picture a master sculptor working clay, or a baker kneading dough. A driver here works a bus like a woodworker plies wood, and he doesn't leave room for error. The brakes groan, the suspension creaks, the driver spins the wheel far left, then far right, then back again, always keeping up pressure on the accelerator and a hawk eye on the road. I'm rather glad I didn't see what Matt did -- a 1960s-era bus, rusted out, grass growing from it, on its side at the bottom of the very canyon we were traversing, presumably left there after its fateful failing sometime during the Nixon administration.

But we obviously arrived in one piece! We got into town, easily navigated the city, and arrived at our very cool hostel, The Oasis. We found out that with four of us, we were entitled to our own room, complete with bunk beds and a view to the street below. Also, we got there just in time to learn that a free group tapas tour and flamenco show were planned, and since one of our goals was to experience a real flamenco show and not a tourist trap, we figured this was a good bet. We were not disappointed.

Tapas Tour & Flamenco Show

We hit the first tapas place and enjoyed a variety of dishes. Matt, Nate, and I tended towards fish and pork, and Michelle rounded out the vegetable choices. There was much swapping of food, good drinks, the open air of a plaza, and a general fun and relaxing time.

After that, we spent a while following our guide through some winding streets while he constantly text messaged with someone and kept adjusting his route, and struck up a conversation with a recent college grad from Idaho who was in the midst of a five month tour of Europe, his first time abroad. He was a nice guy and we were all fast friends by the time we arrived at what was apparently our destination.

Turns out that the flamenco place was a bit hidden and hard to get to and we didn't have time for a second tapas place, but no worries -- we were all ready for the show. We opened a large, unlabeled and nondescript door, entered an old lobby of sorts, turned a corner, and were confronted with a dark hall teeming with hundreds of folks ready for flamenco, tossing back beers and sangria and sitting on long benches under a low roof populated by many unused fans. The weather was still pretty moderate, but the crowd made it a little hot inside -- not hot enough for the fans, though. Admission was free (a good sign) and the place was supported by drinks at the bar, which we took full advantage of.

The show itself was fantastic. It's kind of hard to describe -- it's really not just about the dancing, but as much about the guitarist, vocalist, and (in this group) the flute player. The vocals were the most interesting part, because they definitely had a Middle Eastern feel to them and the lead singer never took his intense stare off of the dancer while performing. It was clear that the group was performing as much for themselves as for the hall in attendance, since they were very passionate and had what the Spanish call duende, or "the spirit", when it came to their performance. I'm really glad that we got to experience this and that it wasn't some sort of tourist attraction but a real show for real Spaniards. A definite highlight.

Alcázar and Cathedral

We spent that Saturday exploring Sevilla's Alcázar (Muslim and later, Christian, palace) and its cathedral, which is the largest Gothic church and the fourth largest Christian church in the world. The cathedral alone took over a hundred years to build.

In the Alcázar, highlights included a painting which is the first known depiction of the discovery of America, an amazing pooled courtyard in the style that we've seen in Granada and other places since, ancient wall-sized tapestries, and beautiful gardens containing a hedge maze, peacocks, Arab baths, and orange groves.

The cathedral was stunning. It included an enormous gilded altar (the most gold I've ever seen), the royal treasury, a minaret-turned-belltower, and -- oh yeah, in case you thought they were slacking -- Christopher Columbus' tomb. Words can't do it justice -- check out the photos (see the links at the end of the post).

We took a break and found a great bar called Cafe Bar Las Teresas, which really typifies Sevillian tapas. We had our share of jamón and wine and, rested up, moved on for the rest of the day.

Next time, I'll talk about the bullfighting museum, the Archives of the Indias, the ren faire, and of course, the bunk bed disaster -- and that's just the rest of Sevilla. Stay tuned!

• Our photos of the flamenco bar
• Our photos of the Alcázar
• Our photos of the cathedral
• Wikipedia: Flamenco
• Wikipedia: Seville Cathedral
• Wikipedia: Alcázar of Seville

We'll be blogging our experiences last weekend in Sevilla soon -- architecture, tapas, flamenco, medieval fair, bunk bed disasters, and more! But for now, I just wanted to post a technical update for the seasoned blog readers out there.

If you use an RSS reader to keep up on this blog or others, we've now got a comments feed. We've always had a regular feed, so that's unchanged; however, now you can reach both through RSS-aware browsers like Safari right from the title bar (thanks to Daniel for some early prodding ;-) or you can reach them both from little badges in the lower right sidebar.

That's all for now!

What is RSS?