March 4, 2010

As AJ embarks upon another, well, ‘amazing journey’ a unique and significant occurrence recently played itself out. As travelers with AJ know, every trip is escorted by some combination of Bill and/or Malori-often times with the added leadership of Michele or Stacey or Barry. Behind the scenes are a collection of other players such as marketing personnel, tour companies, airlines and the Jewish Community Center.

The events of last week, most notably the earthquake in Chile, caused a plan of action in our company that has been thankfully unparalleled to date. With the return of our post-Antarctica tour of Easter Island delayed due to the disaster in Chile, Amazing Journeys embarks on a subsequent trip before the previous one officially concluded. With Malori stranded in Easter Island along with 15 travelers (who definitely got more than their money’s worth getting to know this solitary remote island), Bill departs to begin our tour with a new group headed to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. (coincidence that we’re headed back to South America, notwithstanding!). Thankfully, the Islanders and Galapagonians will be airplanes passing through the night as one group has just returned to Miami to finally head home, and the other group heads to Miami to begin their impending tour.

Interesting to say the least, but ultimately goodness, safety and adventure abound for all.

Departing for Ecuador in just a few hours with 23 excited passengers, we look forward to further enhancing Darwin’s theories as we explore giant tortoises, swim with sealions, gawk at strange birds like the blue-footed booby (and red-footed booby), visit natural reserves and animal research facilities…and totally discover a world visited by fewer people on earth than any other locale, save for where we just returned from-Antarctica.

What a world we live in!

Bill and group head to Ecuador sans Malori who is headed home for a well deserved break-in-the action having survived (prospered, even) along with our group, any effects from the Chile earthquake. As a matter of fact Malori and Michele (who staged the rescue mission from our AJ office in Pittsburgh) are quite the heroines. With thousands of people still stranded in Chile, these two single-handedly orchestrated a safe and expeditious (and in many cases, even fun!) way home for everyone.

“M & M” are the best. I am honored to work side-by-side with them and our travelers are blessed to have a team of such dedicated and hard working warriors.

Amazing Indeed!

TUESDAY 3/3/10

Beyond the borders of America life is so different in so many ways. To take an organized tour is a wonderful way to see a glimpse of a destination. But as a tourist, one truly only sees a snapshot of a much larger picture usually not seen. To indulge the culture and lifestyle, however, means you have take a path less traveled in order to see things that most people in the outside world really don’t know about.

Being in the far reaches of southern South America last week for purposes of visiting Antarctica, I took the opportunity on my way home to pay a visit to my friend Eduardo who lives in Montevideo, Uruguay. I’d been to Montevideo on several occasions via cruise ship. A one-day stop each time, we toured the sights and wandered the main city.

Not this time.

Eduardo and I made plans to spend a few days of R& R at his home and at a beautiful resort along the coast called Punta del Este. Sort of where the “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” from South America go.

While this vacation was relaxing and totally pleasant (Eduardo was an exceptional host, making me feel like I was deserving of a lifestyle of the rich & famous), time with my amigo provided an enlightening and sometimes disturbing tutelage on this smallest of South American countries.

Eduardo is a single dad-the idol of two beautiful little boys, age 8 and 10. Fede and Diego call me Uncle Bill even though they don’t know my language and I don’t know theirs. These two boys live in a country where being Jewish and wanting to prosper with a Jewish life means having a future at risk. Uruguay is a hard country with so many daunting challenges, Jewish or not Jewish.

On the lighter side of things I got a kick of the “men in green”. Instead of parking meters, these guys patrol most streets around the country sort of assisting you into your parking spot. A little wave here and a stop there and you are parked safely and conveniently. Tip please. Usually about the equivalent of $.50 is enough to appease these unsanctioned and unpaid but tolerated ‘employees’ of the state. They are everywhere and appear magically every time you pull in and out of a parking spot. Don’t tip them..be wary of spray of water or mean face. Maybe a scratch on your fender.

Interesting to learn, was about the rights of squatters. A vacant apartment can be inhabited by a homeless squatter, but if not reported within 24 hours he has permanent rights to the domain. An expensive lawsuit to remove the vagrant isn’t worth the effort and often times homeless, penniless people can enjoy rent free living just for being there. Eduardo owns a few apartments and thus employs a few “Squatter Resisters”; someone to stake out the vacant domain until Eduardo can rent it again. The few pesos it costs him to keep someone on site is much less cumbersome than the alternative of using the legal system. Another option is a show of force. Forget the law; get a slug to go in and remove the thug.

More disturbing was the news that a new “democratically elected” communist government is about to be put in place. By a narrow 51-49% vote the current socialist left wing government is being supplanted by an even more left wing communist president who has evidently spawned some dangerous international support from the likes of Cuba, Venezuela and the Palestinians. In celebration of the last day of Carnaval, a parade was being marched down the streets of the high-end Punta del Este. Proudly being waved and cheered on were the Palestinian flag draped by the colors of Hamas. Eduardo and I each got chills and decided soon thereafter that it was best to leave.

Back home, Eduardo drives through stop signs on his ways around Montevideo at night. He says the risk of getting a ticket is better than the alternative of what might happen if surrounded by the nighttime thugs who seem to be able to get away with anything they want without serious consequence. Even murderers, Eduardo tells me, are punished with severely reduced sentences thanks partly to a weak enforcement of punishment-fits-the-crime and the ease of using bribes. Bribes go a long way in almost every facet of dodging the law; from paying off the police to avoid a speeding ticket, to a favorable auto inspection…to the re-claiming of Eduardo’s mother’s stolen purse. She got her purse and belongings back, but the cash…what cash??

Its not all bad in Uruguay. Eduardo says Uruguay is the ‘best’ of the South American countries. Hey, he could live in Bolivia., (Bolivia is another even more disturbing story). I had the best beer in Uruguay that I’ve ever tasted. Pelsin beer made in Uruguay is a must for anyone who likes a cold one. Beautiful beaches abound, great food and outstanding weather make this a nice place to visit (…but I wouldn’t want to live here). Eduardo tells me of his plan that is in place to leave Uruguay on a dime if the situation every becomes dire. He has connections and systems in place to make a safe haven in America if this new government buddies up too much to Chavez….or Hamas.

In the meantime, he does his best to make a life for Fede and Diego. I see disappointment in Eduardo’s face. He loves his country, but is deeply ashamed for the direction its headed. Uruguay saved his grandfather from being deported back to Poland during WWII and helped perpetuate his family tree. It’s a place of rich beauty and great potential…and maybe someday soon it will prosper in a better way , as it did a generation ago. For the next 4 years though, the communist party rules in Uruguay and life for Eduardo, his boys and many other Jews and non Jews alike hangs in a cautious state of limbo.

Meanwhile….AJ heads off on yet another Amazing Journey to South America. Departing for Miami tomorrow en route to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with a group of eager Giant Tortoises excited to meet some Americans..and an Aussie, Canadian & Italian too. Watch our AJ facebook pages for updates on the journey…

For more information on other experiences you can be a part of on an Amazing Journey, visit https://amazingjourneys.net/