50 years in San Miguel de Allende

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Bryan Keith

The real reason for my trip across the Atlantic was to help my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  We all met in San Miguel de Allende, a city in Guanajuato that none of us except Elise had ever been to before.  San Miguel de Allende isn’t big but has an incredible art scene.  Its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracting wealthy weekend visitors from Mexico City, and the city houses “one of the largest American communities in Mexico,” according to Wikipedia.  Indeed at the Friday Art Walk in Fábrica La Aurora it seemed that most of the artists were from the US.

AMICI-8662 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Pueblo Mágico Bernal

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Bryan Keith

In spite of the rain we tried to get out climbing a couple of my weekends in Mexico City.  One weekend we went nearby to Los Dínamos, a national park in steep mountains that is literally at the edge of the city, not far from Copilco.  By the time we drove up there (stopping on the way for tamales and coffee of course), walked up to the damp/wet crag (there was some discussion as to whether it was mojado or simply húmedo), and climbed a pitch or two, it was raining for real.  We descended for beers and a yummy lunch, making it, I guess, a successful day.

A weekend or two later, however, we lucked out with the weather.  Or rather we drove far enough north of the city to get away from the storms.  We started on the way to Aculco but en route decided to drive even farther to Bernal (Querétaro).

Bernal is one of the popular Pueblos Mágicos.  It’s cute enough to walk around, but the attraction for climbers is La Peña de Bernal, one of the tallest monoliths in the world.  Wikipedia claimed it was the world’s tallest monolith until I corrected the entry (!); it seems like both Gibraltar and Pão de Açúcar in Rio are taller monoliths.  Isaac, Bigotes (Sergio), Fernanda, Ayex, and I climbed it in four pitches.  The first belay was hanging which makes one feel like a real climber once in a while.

DSCN8687 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Ciclovía en DF

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Bryan Keith

Unfortunately it takes too long to get out of Mexico City for a bike ride in the mountains or forests, but every Sunday there’s a ciclovía.  One Sunday a month they do a significantly longer route.  When Nashelly and I went, it was the short version which meant that Reforma was closed to motor vehicles from the south end of Guadalupe (the main pilgrim route to La Basílica) to Pereférico Norte at the south end Bosque de Chapultepec.  It’s not a huge distance, but I think we spent five or six hours riding there and back.

DSCN8707 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Art, history, and rain in Mexico City

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Bryan Keith

In Mexico an Indian nut is a cashew.  In Turkey an Indian nut is a coconut.  In English turkey is both a bird and a country.  That same bird in Turkish also means India.  If you feel cheated by wasting your time reading this drivel, you should stop now.

In Germany earlier this week I used two of the three sentences I know in German: “ich sprechen kein deutsch” and “ein bier bitte”.  Even though it wasn’t even noon yet, I used the latter sentence twice.

Maybe you’ve figured out by now: I’ve been hopping back and forth across the Atlantic again.  I had a direct flight from Antalya to Berlin where I spent a wonderful evening with Antje at the Greek restaurant near her house.

Antje at the yummy Greek restaurant near her house. by bryandkeith on flickr

Via a three hour stop in Miami I was next in Mexico City where I spent about three weeks with Isaac.  We never ate Greek food, but we enjoyed heaps of tacos and even had an evening of white cheese and rakı to show him how the Turks imbibe.
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A short sea kayak tour in Kekova

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Bryan Keith

Turkey ought to be full of super places to sea kayak.  It probably is.  Look at a map of the SW coast, and you’ll see endless coves and peninsulas.  There is, however, little sea kayaking actually going on.  This seems largely for two reasons:

  1. high taxes on imported recreational equipment make kayaks very expensive
  2. stupid rules (by the coast guard?)

The tax problem can be overcome with money which is how Ferda and I managed to get out for a half-day tour from Üçağız.  However, because kayaks are so expensive, there are few places that have them and of those places few are willing to let the kayaks go without a guide.  What this means is: don’t get too excited looking at that incredible map of Turkey’s SW coast.  Finding a kayak can be very difficult.

DSCN8274 by bryandkeith on flickr

The stupid rules, however, are even more troubling.  Turkey is full of stupid rules.  Many of them prohibit entering just about every body of water you come across away from the coasts.  In this case the rules prevent kayakers from using the coastal water (in some areas) because kayaking is dangerous.  I am not kidding.  That is the reason given.

They let cars in residential neighborhoods, and they won’t let kayakers in the sea next to Antalya.  They claim there’s too much motor boat traffic, making it dangerous to kayak.  Yet — I love this — you’re allowed to swim in the same area.  This summer I was swimming every morning in Antalya.  I was learning how to swim — how to breathe, how to move in a straight line.  I tried to stay near the cliffy shore, but sometimes I’d look up and find myself out in the sea, sometimes even near boats.  Once or twice it felt perhaps dangerous.  You can swim, but not kayak!?

Another place you’re not allowed to kayak is in the Kekova/Kaleüçağız area.  In this case, however, the caveat is without a guide.  The same reason was given here as in Antalya: there’s too much motor boat traffic making it unsafe for kayaking.  Our guide warned us: this is the high season; you’ll need to be very careful of the boat traffic.  Well, crowded for Turkey is not crowded like we’re used to in many parts of the world.  Sure, there were boats, but it felt most dangerous when we were swimming at our designated swim stop, not when we were in the kayaks.

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