Fairbanks to Home!

I guess I should say I am happy to be on my way home at last. Well, I am!!! I arrived in Fairbanks right on time, well, a half hour later than the scheduled time - on time, I guess, as most airlines go. I waited for my car to arrive, but alas, no ride. Then I had the idea, maybe I should check to see if my car had been delivered. Well, what a pleasant surprize. I found out my keys were waiting to be picked up at the Hertz dealer desk.
After finding my car in the parking lot, I drove through the checkout and found a service station to fill my tank and I was on my way home, at last.
After being on the highway for about two hours, I was starting to fall asleep at the wheel. Figuring I could make it to Tok, Alaska, I continued driving. Bad idea...I ended up in a snow bank 22 miles from Tok, necessitating a tow from the toolies. After signing for a $340 towing bill, I had something to eat at Fast Eddies and continued on my way.
As the day approached, I was greeted with some amazing vistas of beauty. The sun rose on some of the prettiest pictures of the true north - trees frosted with snow and ice. The pictures I was able to take are here for all to see.
I made it home with 9 kilometers of gas left in my gastank. I immediately went to bed and over the next 48 hours had 30 hours of sleep.
Being refreshed by the long sleep, I tackled the piled up mail and communications. As usual, bills to pay and special offers from businesses were all I had to look forward to. Checking my email, a note from the boss to see when I could return to work, which of course, was as soon as possible, to be able to pay for those accrued bills. All in all, a successful trip!!
Next blog, my impressions of the trip as a whole adventure!

Home again! What a Joy!!

Well, the long and winding road has finally led me to my "Home Sweet Home". It was a long road and it had a few twists and turns, but I have reached my final destination, home.
This has been an expensive trip to see a part of the world that many people, from abroad and locally, have told me about, but all in all, it has been a profitable one in more ways than financially. Financially, it has been a bust, as now I have to pay for the privilege of having travelled around Europe. Socially, it has been a great success. I have made many new friends, and acquaintances, in places I never thought I would ever visit. It was also an eye-opener to see how the world of my preconceptions was nowhere near what I had preconceived. The differences in the cultures of the various countries which I visited, were not as great as I had supposed. People still lived as I do at home. They shop, they work, and they pay bills, just as I do.
Where I had thought to learn about the differences of a country and its people, I discovered a disproportionate number of "foreigners" in their place. Immigration throughout Europe has increased exponentially, and it is not uncommon to encounter people from an entirely different culture in place of the historically local people.
This was, in a way, difficult for me to assimulate into my thinking. I am used to being one of the "historically local people". It was hard for me to imagine how a prominent culture could be so overwhelmed by other cultures, that the original culture would begin to lose it's local flavour.
When I think of our Canadian culture, I remember that it is an homogenous mixture of many different cultures from around the world. Maybe, because we, as a physical landmass, are further away from the rest of the world, we are not currently experiencing the massive movement of many cultures integrating with our own. It has been a slow process of change which is not as noticable as it is in Europe. There, the immigration policies of the various countries are more lax than our own. Also, the access to another country is easier for the immigration process.
Here in the Yukon, there is more of an influx of Canadians into the north as more and more jobs become available. "Chechakos", new people who have not spent a winter in the north, have been steadily arriving, finding employment and housing for themselves. Most Canadians can handle the cold of our winters as the climate in the south is sometimes more fierce than we experience in the north. Snow and windy conditions are what make some people dislike the north, but those who enjoy winter sports, in particular, snowmobiling and dog sledding, take to the north, like a seal to water.
The main thing is, I'm home again! Back to my mountains, wild animals by the roadside, creeks, lakes, and rivers to fish in, any number of places to visit and camp at. Sunsets and sunrises, nighttime aurora borealis to watch and photograph, friends to share with - all the things that make this my home.

Seattle...homeward bound!

I would say that this is my last posting on this trip but, actually, there will be a few more yet. I am sitting here in the Seatac airport in Seattle, Washington. It is 2:45 in the morning and the place is beginning to come alive, slowly, of course, but, surely. The night janitors are doing their thing, dusting, sweeping and washing the floors, and not forgetting, the cleaning of the washrooms, a never-ending job at the best of times. The armed security guards are making their rounds and being very unobtrusive, considering the responsabilities of their position. Some of the coffee and snack vendors are doing their early morning prep to be ready for the avalanche of people who will descend on their booths looking for their morning coffee and donut before flying off to unknown destinations.
I won't be leaving the airport until 21:00 hours tonight. I will be able to observe the hustle and bustle of humanity as it flows through the doors and passageways of the airport. I have had the opportunity to observe this anthill of activity in several places on this voyage of mine, airports, bus terminals, train stations and on the streets of many cities as I pass through the rush of humanity going about their everyday activities. I am constantly amazed at the complexity, yet simplicity of this dance of life.
My mind has been working constantly while on this trip, especially on how, no matter where I have been, the life and lives around me doesn't change. There are the complexities of human relationships which, as a whole, we, as humans on this planet, need to observe in order that there is order. Perhaps, my observations won't make any sense to the readers of this column, but, I guess, they are after all, only my observations. People are the same everywhere I have been. They move around the streets, shopping for their everyday food, and other necessities.
They travel to work and to do business, on busses, subways, taxis, trains, commuter trains, bicycles, scooters and motorcycles and, especially on foot. It's no wonder that the average European is in such good physical condition. They drink expresso coffee (a serious jolt of caffeine) and have a sweet pastry or croissant for breakfast. Many will have a quick bun with cheese and meat for lunch, and then eat a healthy supper to end the day. Many drink a beer for lunch, or two, and yet, while travelling around Europe, I didn't see anyone who was drunk. There is a responsibility to those people which is unnoticed in the normal observation of the population. I wasn't looking for the inebriation of the populace as a conscious observation, but when I thought about it for a bit, I realized that I hadn't seen the typical drunkeness which we sometimes observe in our own society. Granted, I wasn't paying any particular attention to the drinkers, but still, as a whole, the population seems to know when to quit!
I'm beginning to ramble here, so I shall close this blog for now and I will resume when I get settled back at home. Whitehorse...here I come.
To my spanish and french friends who are following this blog, I'm sorry that I am not publishing today as I don't know how this would translate into another language with the translator. A la manana, et a bientot!

Lisboa at last!

Well folks, my adventure is drawing to a close. I am finally in Lisbon, Portugal. This is my final European destination and guess what! The fog is so thick, I can barely see across the parking lot at the airport.
Bueno amigos, mi aventura está llegando a su fin. Finalmente estoy en Lisboa, Portugal. Este es mi destino final europea y ¿adivinen qué! La niebla es tan espesa, que apenas puede ver a través del estacionamiento en el aeropuerto.
Eh bien les gens, mon aventure tire à sa fin. Je suis enfin à Lisbonne, Portugal. Ceci est ma destination finale européenne et devinez quoi! Le brouillard est si épais, que je peux à peine voir à travers le parc de stationnement à l'aéroport.
I managed to take a few photographs when I first arrived at the Sante Apolonia train station. By the time I had taken the city bus to the airport, the fog had rolled in off the sea and nothing was to be seen.
Me las arreglé para tomar algunas fotografías cuando llegué por primera vez en la estación de tren de Santa Apolonia. En el momento en que había tomado el autobús de la ciudad al aeropuerto, la niebla se había rodado desde el mar y nada se veía.
J'ai réussi à prendre quelques photos quand je suis arrivé à la station de train Sante Apolonia. Au moment où j'avais pris le bus de la ville à l'aéroport, le brouillard s'est roulé dans de la mer et rien ne devait être vu.
Yesterday, I took a few shots around the airport, but unfortunately, they are not your NORMAL tourist photographs. I have a penchent for looking for the unusual as you can see by the birds on the lamppost.
Ayer, tomé algunas fotos de todo el aeropuerto, pero por desgracia, no son sus fotografías turísticas NORMAL. Tengo un penchent para buscar lo inusual como se puede ver por las aves en el poste de luz.
Hier, j'ai pris quelques coups de feu autour de l'aéroport, mais malheureusement, ils ne sont pas vos photos touristiques NORMAL. J'ai un penchent pour la recherche de l'insolite comme vous pouvez le voir par les oiseaux sur le lampadaire.
Last evening, I was outside and realized the taxis here, are almost as prolific as they were at the Madrid, Chamartin Train Station. In the thick fog, the lineup of waiting taxicabs makes it's ghostly appearance. I will post this blog today and hopefully I'll have something to say before I leave Europe for the long flight home on Sunday morning, with maybe some photos too.
Ayer por la tarde, yo estaba afuera y se dio cuenta de los taxis aquí son casi tan prolífico como lo fueron en la Comunidad de Madrid, la estación de Chamartín. En la espesa niebla, el cartel de espera de taxis hace que su apariencia fantasmal. Voy a publicar este blog hoy y espero tener algo que decir antes de salir de Europa para el vuelo de regreso a largo en la mañana del domingo, tal vez con algunas fotos también.
Hier soir, j'étais à l'extérieur et réalisé les taxis ici, sont presque aussi prolifique comme ils étaient à l'Arrangement de Madrid, la gare de Chamartin. Dans l'épais brouillard, la programmation d'attente des taxis fait son apparition fantomatique. Je vais poster ce blog aujourd'hui et j'espère que je vais avoir quelque chose à dire avant que je quitte l'Europe pour le vol de longue le dimanche matin, avec peut-être quelques photos aussi.

Madrid, Spain

Finally, I am catching up in my blogging. As I have said in previous blogs, my computer has been refusing to connect to the internet at some of my stops. I am now able to catch up to my present location, Madrid, Spain.
Por último, estoy poniendo al día en mi blog. Como ya he dicho en blogs anteriores, mi ordenador se ha negado a conectarse a la Internet en algunos de mis paradas. Ahora soy capaz de ponerse al día a mi ubicación actual, Madrid, España.
Enfin, je suis rattrapage dans mon blog. Comme je l'ai dit dans les blogs précédents, mon ordinateur a été de refuser de se connecter à l'internet à certains de mes arrêts. Je suis maintenant en mesure de rattraper mon emplacement actuel, Madrid, Espagne.
The train on which I arrived in Madrid was one of the high speed trains. In the photo, we are travelling at 267 kilometers per hour. I was unable to get a clear photo of when we were travelling at 300 kph. The close landscape was just a blur, while the distant landscape was passing rapidly. We even had an american movie to watch, although it was in spanish (no english subtitles).


El tren en el que llegué a Madrid fue uno de los trenes de alta velocidad. En la foto, estamos viajando a 267 kilómetros por hora. No he podido conseguir una foto clara de cuando estábamos viajando a 300 kilómetros por hora. El paisaje cercano estaba a sólo una falta de definición, mientras que el paisaje lejano que pasaba rápidamente. Incluso teníamos una película americana de ver, a pesar de que estaba en español (sin subtítulos en Inglés).
Le train dans lequel je suis arrivé à Madrid a été l'un des trains à grande vitesse. Sur la photo, nous nous déplaçons à 267 kilomètres par heure. Je n'ai pas pu obtenir une photo claire du moment où nous nous déplacions à 300 km / h. Le paysage proche était juste un flou, alors que le paysage lointain passait rapidement. Nous avons même eu un film américain de regarder, même si elle a été en espagnol (pas de sous-titres anglais).
As I walked out of the Atocha train station, these two gigantic baby sculptures were there to greet the passersby.
Mientras salía de la estación de trenes de Atocha, estas dos gigantescas esculturas bebé estaban allí para saludar a los transeúntes.
Comme je l'ai sorti de la gare d'Atocha, ces deux sculptures gigantesques bébé étaient là pour saluer les passants.
The city as a whole is very large and spread out for a long distance. Tall, grandiose skyscrapers are at a premium here. The six buildings in the two photos included are the tallest in the city, from what I have seen.
La ciudad en su conjunto es muy grande y se extienden por una distancia larga. De altura, los rascacielos son grandiosos en un premio aquí. Los seis edificios en las dos fotos se incluyen los más altos de la ciudad, por lo que he visto.
La ville dans son ensemble est très large et étalée sur une longue distance. Tall, gratte-ciel grandioses sont à une prime ici. Les six immeubles dans les deux photos incluses sont les plus hautes de la ville, de ce que j'ai vu.
The evening I arrived in Madrid, there was a huge parade, to celebrate "Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos". This is translated as the Cavalcade of the Magi to celebrate the arrival of the Magi at the birthplace of Jesus, on January 5th. There were over 100,000 people lining the street for the parade which was concluded with a concert on one of the busiest thoroughfares in Madrid.
La noche que llegué a Madrid, hubo un gran desfile, para celebrar la "Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos". Esto es para celebrar la llegada de los Reyes Magos en el lugar de nacimiento de Jesús, el 5 de enero. Hubo más de 100.000 personas que bordean la calle para el desfile que se celebró con un concierto en una de las más concurridas calles de Madrid.Le soir de mon arrivée à Madrid, il y avait un grand défilé, pour célébrer "Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos". Cela se traduit comme la Cavalcade des Rois Mages pour célébrer l'arrivée des mages à la ville natale de Jésus, le 5 Janvier. Il y avait plus de 100.000 personnes qui bordent la rue pour le défilé qui a été conclu avec un concert sur l'une des artères les plus fréquentées de Madrid.

Barcelona, Spain

Hi! again folks. It has been a while since last heard from, I know. After getting my internet to work again, I was unable to connect anywhere. Now I can write about my time there.
Hola! más gente. Ha sido un tiempo desde la última vez que supe de, lo sé. Después de conseguir mi internet a trabajar de nuevo, no fui capaz de conectarse en cualquier lugar. Ahora puedo escribir sobre mi estancia allí.
Salut! à nouveau les gens. Il a été un moment depuis la dernière entendu, je sais. Après avoir obtenu mon internet de travailler à nouveau, j'ai été incapable de communiquer n'importe où. Maintenant, je peux écrire sur mon temps là-bas.

I was fortunate to find a small hostel style accommodation right across the street from the rail station. The price was right and the bed was comfortable. The internet access was there, but for some reason, my computer wouldn't connect. When I finally found out the problem, I was on my way to Madrid.
Tuve la suerte de encontrar un estilo pequeñas albergue un alojamiento a través de la calle de la estación de ferrocarril. El precio estaba bien y la cama era cómoda. El acceso a Internet estaba allí, pero por alguna razón, mi ordenador no se conectan. Cuando por fin encontré el problema, yo estaba en mi camino a Madrid.
J'ai eu la chance de trouver une petite auberge de style droit d'hébergement à travers la rue de la gare ferroviaire. Le prix était bon et le lit était confortable. L'accès Internet était là, mais pour une raison quelconque, mon ordinateur ne serait pas communiquer. Quand j'ai finalement trouvé le problème, je me rendais à Madrid.

I had a great time in Barcelona. I walked everywhere. I walked down what looked like alleyways, but in reality were small streets with many small shops with every kind of thing you could possibly want to buy. I found market places with fruit and vegetables, meats - cooked and raw, (some very strange meats too), Candies (called bonbons here), and pastries and cakes. One shop even only had peppers, almost every variety of which you could think.

Tuve un gran tiempo en Barcelona. Caminé por todas partes. Caminé por lo que parecía callejones, pero en realidad eran pequeñas calles, con muchas pequeñas tiendas con todo tipo de cosa que usted pueda desear comprar. He encontrado plazas de mercado de frutas y verduras, carnes - cocidas y crudas, (algunas carnes muy extraño también), Golosinas (bombones) llamado, y los pasteles y tortas. Una tienda aunque sólo tenía pimientos, casi todas las variedades de las cuales usted podría pensar.

J'ai eu un grand temps à Barcelone. Je marchais partout. Je marchais sur ce qui ressemblait ruelles, mais en réalité, étaient des petites rues avec de nombreux petits commerces de toutes sortes de chose que vous pourriez peut-être voulez acheter. J'ai trouvé des places de marché avec des fruits et légumes, viandes - cuits et crus, (certaines viandes très étrange aussi), bonbons (bonbons appelle ici), et des pâtisseries et des gâteaux. Un atelier de même que les poivrons ont, presque toutes les variétés dont vous pourriez penser.

I walked so far one day, that I was able to go to the Sugrada Familia, a church which is still in the process of being built. The church is festooned with sculptures of various scenes from the bible. The stained glass windows are amazing, a sample of which I was only able to see from the outside at night. A photo of this is in facebook photos for Madrid.
Tuve un gran tiempo en Barcelona. Caminé por todas partes. Caminé por lo que parecía callejones, pero en realidad eran pequeñas calles, con muchas pequeñas tiendas con todo tipo de cosa que usted pueda desear comprar. He encontrado plazas de mercado de frutas y verduras, carnes - cocidas y crudas, (algunas carnes muy extraño también), Golosinas (bombones) llamado, y los pasteles y tortas. Una tienda aunque sólo tenía pimientos, casi todas las variedades de las cuales usted podría pensar.
J'ai eu un grand temps à Barcelone. Je marchais partout. Je marchais sur ce qui ressemblait ruelles, mais en réalité, étaient des petites rues avec de nombreux petits commerces de toutes sortes de chose que vous pourriez peut-être voulez acheter. J'ai trouvé des places de marché avec des fruits et légumes, viandes - cuits et crus, (certaines viandes très étrange aussi), bonbons (bonbons appelle ici), et des pâtisseries et des gâteaux. Un atelier de même que les poivrons ont, presque toutes les variétés dont vous pourriez penser.
When I was returning to the hotel, I was also able to photograph the building in which is housed the Water Authority for Barcelona. This building changes colour all night and is a major nighttime attraction.
Cuando regresaba al hotel, tuve la oportunidad de fotografiar el edificio en el que se encuentra la Autoridad del Agua para Barcelona. Este edificio cambia de color toda la noche y la noche es una atracción importante.
Lorsque je rentrais à l'hôtel, j'ai également pu photographier le bâtiment dans lequel est logé l'Autorité de l'eau pour Barcelone. Ce bâtiment change de couleur toute la nuit et la nuit est une attraction majeure.
While I was in Barcelona, there was a partial solar eclipse which occurred. I was fortunate enough to be able to see part of it through the clouds. I have included a photo which just barely shows the eclipse.
Mientras yo estaba en Barcelona, hubo un eclipse solar parcial que se produjo. Yo tuve la suerte de poder ver parte de ella a través de las nubes. He incluido una foto que apenas muestra el eclipse.
Pendant que j'étais à Barcelone, il y avait une éclipse solaire partielle qui a eu lieu. J'ai eu la chance d'être en mesure de voir une partie de celui-ci à travers les nuages. J'ai inclus une photo qui montre à peine de l'éclipse.

Paris, The City of Lights.

Hi, folks. It's good to be back online. Discovered a connection was deleted and had to be turned back on.

Hola, amigos. Es bueno estar de vuelta en línea. Descubierta una conexión se ha eliminado y tuvo que ser encendida de nuevo.
Salut, les gars. Il est bon d'être de retour en ligne. Découverte d'une connexion a été supprimé et a dû être remis en marche.
What can be said about Paris that hasn't yet been said? Not much! I came to know my way around Paris by some trial and much error, but I did get some of what I wanted to do, done. I took photos of the Arc de Triomph, the Eiffel Tower, The Louvres, Sacre Coeur Cathedral, the Champ d'Elysees and some photos of Paris in general. The Eiffel Tower was easy to see from many places in Paris, if you could see through the low cloud cover or the fog over the city.
¿Qué puede decirse de París que aún no se ha dicho? No mucho! Conocí a mi manera alrededor de París por un error de prueba y mucho, pero conseguí algo de lo que quería hacer, hacer. Tomé fotos del Arco de Triunfo, la Torre Eiffel, el Museo del Louvre, la Catedral del Sagrado Corazón, Champ d'Campos y algunas fotos de París en general. La Torre Eiffel fue fácil de ver desde muchos lugares de París, si se podía ver a través de la cubierta de nubes bajas y la niebla sobre la ciudad.

Que peut-on dire que Paris n'a pas encore été dit? Pas grand-chose! J'ai appris à connaître ma façon autour de Paris par une erreur de première instance et bien, mais j'ai eu une partie de ce que je voulais faire, c'est fait. J'ai pris des photos de l'Arc de Triomphe, la Tour Eiffel, Le Louvre, la cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur, le Champ d'Elysées et quelques photos de Paris en général. La Tour Eiffel était facile de voir de nombreux endroits à Paris, si vous pouviez voir à travers la couverture nuageuse ou de la brume sur la ville.
One of the things which interested me here, and for that matter, in most of the cities I have visited, was the lose of culture, native to each country and city.
There is a diversification to all the cities which was there before but not that noticeable. Today, where before, there was a french restaurant on every corner, there is now a restaurant of a different culture or ethnic background. In my pursuit of italian food in Rome, german food in Hamburg, french food in France, I found it difficult to locate.

Una de las cosas que me interesa aquí, y para el caso, en la mayoría de las ciudades que he visitado, se pierden de la cultura originaria de cada país y la ciudad.
Hay una diversificación de todas las ciudades que estaba allí antes, pero no que notable. Hoy en día, cuando antes, había un restaurante francés en cada esquina, hay ahora un restaurante de una cultura diferente o el origen étnico. En mi búsqueda de comida italiana en Roma, comida alemana en Hamburgo, la comida de francés en Francia, me resultaba difícil de localizar.
Une des choses qui m'a intéressé ici, et d'ailleurs, dans la plupart des villes que j'ai visitées, était le perdre de la culture, originaire de chaque pays et la ville.
Il ya une diversification à l'ensemble des villes qui était là avant, mais ne remarque pas. Aujourd'hui, alors qu'auparavant, il y avait un restaurant français à chaque coin, il ya maintenant un restaurant d'une autre culture ou d'origine ethnique. Dans ma quête de la cuisine italienne à Rome, de la nourriture allemande à Hambourg, cuisine française en France, j'ai trouvé ça difficile à localiser.

I hope everyone has been checking out the blog. Please leave comments to let me know you were here. I really like the feedback, good or bad...helps me to make this blog better. The next blog will be about Barcelona, Spain, so stay tuned!!
Espero que todo el mundo ha estado revisando el blog. Por favor, dejar comentarios para hacerme saber que estás aquí. Me gusta mucho los comentarios, bueno o malo ... me ayuda a hacer este blog mejor. El próximo blog será sobre Barcelona, España, así que estad atentos!
J'espère que tout le monde a été consultant le blog. S'il vous plaît laisser des commentaires pour me faire savoir que vous étiez ici. J'aime bien les commentaires, bons ou mauvais ... m'aide à faire de ce blog mieux. Le prochain blog sera sur Barcelone, en Espagne, alors restez branchés!