July 23, 2003

Captain Carlito's Way

no further word out of peru from agent willie or uncle ben since their last update detailing the perils of chasing llama herders. a little concerned about this, and so we decided to send in a special ops team lead by the wiley veteran, Captain Carlito.

here is the Captain's first report from the field:

    Been here for about a week and figured it was time to drop bojon headquarters a line ... no sign of agent willie or uncle ben. have spoken to a few locals, but nobody has seen anything. am totally digging peru, though: a most excellent assignment.

    Captain


    Machu Pichu was incredible. We bussed to the Urubamba river then trained down stream to the town of Aguascalientes, which sits alongside the roaring rapids and almost completely fills the very narrow valley. Shrouded in clouds nearly 4000 vertical ft above the train tracks is Machu Pichu and another 1200 ft (heights are my estimates) is the peak of Huana Pichu.

    Maria and I roused ourselves at 4:30 to get an early start in an effort to beat the crowds, headlamps on, hoofed it up the step trail, made almost exclusively of stone steps which crossed the switchbacking road that a few hours later would be bringing tourists by the busload to the ruins. On the way up we passed only three other early birds and after a sweaty and exhausting hour+ we arrived at the gates and on through to the ruins. The Inca trail group camps are a good two and half hour hike from the ruins, and so we were able to enjoy breakfast with a breathtaking view before any other trekkers arrived.

    Captain

    tomorrow am off on a 5 day high altitude trek around a Massif called Ausangate. Next week are Pervian Independence Day celebrations, they seem to be gearing up for some serious display of military might judging by the parade practices we found ourselves in today.

    Military

    Not sure if any of this is related to agent willie or uncle ben. will continue to scour the scene. maria and i may have to befriend a few locals to get a better fix on the sitch......

    Locals

    more to follow.....

    Saludos

keep up the good work, Captain!!!

Posted by bojon at 08:34 AM

July 22, 2003

Blubber Buffet for Uncle Whitey & Co.

a whale washed up on ocean beach the other day, causing quite a stir among the locals, both in the water and out. the partially decomposed creature turned out to be a fairly rare Baird's beaked whale that measured out to a whopping 41 1/2 feet.

Moby Dick

most troubling to the surf community was the presence of dozens, if not hundreds, of shark bites throughout the carcass. shark experts measuring the size of the bite marks estimated that some of the sharks were likely at least 18 feet in length.

Dinner

shark experts also speculated that the whale's bodily fluids and its cantankerous stench were likely continuing to attract sharks to the area.

this hypothesis was confirmed by our very own agent mcbryan. fresh off his bigfoot siting in alaska, mcbryan was chased from the water on monday by a great white that surfaced about 15 feet from one of his buddies. how about them apples?

The Landlord

to read more about the beached whale and the shark danger, check out the article on surfpulse.

Whale Tale


Posted by bojon at 09:15 AM

July 20, 2003

Hey Toto, We're Not In The Lower 48 Anymore

agent mcbryan recently took a little bojourn to Alaska with his family and sent in this report:

    My folks and I spent 5 extended summer days on the Kenai peninsula, about 3 hours south of Anchorage. With 21 hours of sun each day, we spent lots of time outside . . .

    Alaska

    Saw a fair sampling of the Alaskan wildlife: Bears, Bald Eagles, Moose. Sockeye Salmon were in between runs, but we caught a bunch of big ole Alaskan trout that are bigger than your forearm.

    Trout

      Every time, before you come out of the cabin, make sure you look both ways outside the door. Treat the trail the same as you would a highway crossing. You never know what you might see out here.

    This is what our guide told us when we first arrived at Wilderness Lodge. We weren’t in the “Lower 48” anymore. The feeling was different here. I wouldn’t call it overly threatening, but you had that sense that anything could happen.

    A little sage advice from our guide: if you are approached by a moose, run like hell and hope it doesn't chase you. However, if you encounter a bear, the best thing to do is to make some noise, stand your ground and make yourself look big by raising your arms over your head . . . trying to run is fruitless . . . bear will almost always catch you.

    and if you run into bigfoot, take a picture . . .

    Bigfoot

    Killer highlight from trip was cruise leaving Seward out through Resurrection Bay . . . northernmost ship worthy port in Alaska that does not clog up with icebergs. Water temp - about 38 degrees - made ocean beach feel downright toasty.

    Cold Shower

    on water, we saw most of the Alaskan staples: Otters, Whales, Sea Lions, Glaciers, Puffins . . . impossible to describe the vastness of it all, and there is no way that pictures can do it justice . . . just gotta get up here and experience it for yourself. stellar read if you're into this sort of thing: “Danger Stalks the Land” by Larry Kaniut. It contains about 50 true tales of death and survivial that will blow your mind.

    Alaska is unlike any other part of the US. There is real danger here – the life and death kind, but there is also real beauty, the kind of natural beauty you'd be hard pressed to find in more "developed" places.

    Team Alaska


Posted by bojon at 10:21 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2003

Bojon is BIG in the Maldives

this is what i'm talkin' about . . .

Kingdom o' Bojon

Posted by bojon at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2003

Bravin' The Brew In Machu Picchu

the adventures of agent willie and uncle ben continue as our heroes criss-cross peru taking on altitude sickness, transporation chaos, bad beer, and menacing viruses.

Dynamic Duo

here's an excerpt from willie's last missive:

    ...have now arrived in the town of Huaraz after negotiating the 12,000 foot pass in the back of a bus. complementary game of bingo was provided, as well as a slice of chicken with rice...not bad....huaraz sits nestled in a valley surrounded by 6000 meter peaks...all jagged, serrated ridges with nasty fluting at unbelievable heights....check out the book Touching the Void...about a misshap on Siule Grande, just south of here...Huaraz is a mining town, but attracts climbers from all over the world....it also boasts a hopping bar built for bilbo baggins....gets going at about midnight...pounds out latin music (putting mariochhi bands to shame)...but then kicks into hard core techno late night...memories of Stadium in Jakarta raised the blood pressure as sexy hunnies sent their hips into constant giration...llhama herders by day, sweet peruvian dancers by night...we set out on our first acclimatization hike yesterday, huffing up to 13,000 feet to a glacial lake at the bottom of a massive slab of granite...i felt unduly weak and soon collapsed under a rock, slept for 3 hours and awoke realizing i have contracted a wicked virus..no doubt from the bilbo baggins hut where i pounded bad beer (most without carbonation) and chased after llhama herders until the morning....i have been flat on my back for 2 days trying to get the feet again...luckily uncle ben is nearby with the full pharmacy of drugs...i have been force-fed horse pills that have entered my gullet after the mantra ¨aey, that´s the ticket!¨.....constant flow of liquids into the body and then directly out again....recylcing at its most efficient level....i am hoping with all hopes that i will be fit for the next round of acclimatization forays...today i will miss...but uncle ben has left his little satchel of horse pills behind...now, what was that recommended dosage again?...

godspeed, fellas!

In balance or Imbalance?

Posted by bojon at 12:08 AM

July 09, 2003

What's New From Peru?

so agent willie is down in peru this month traveling with his dance troupe.

The Troupe

between shows, he and uncle ben are checking out the sights and doing more than a little mountain climbing.

here's a snippet from his latest update:

    doode,
    wicked mountains...freaking massive ravines..absurd Inca ruins....catching email in Cuzco, Peru...awesome throwback town...sweet hunnies and bad beer...just came back from Machu Pichu...climbed some steep slopes to catch the views and snap pics....will be heading to the town of Huaraz in a couple days to hook up with our guide and attempt our mountain..weather is excellent..train ride into aquas caliente (base of machu michu) was dicey...train felt like it was gunna derail at any time..have not been hichjacked yet..have not gotten food poisining yet..so all is well....have the bojon flag ready to unfurrle at the top...snapped multiple rolls of film in the peruvian hinterland..will give sweet slide show upon return...picking up email again in Lima before return, so let me know if you want anything sweet (alpaca hats, wall hangings, freaking just about anything) and can bring it back..all the dancing has been great...the shows have been packed...we're famous in peru. anyway, back in a flash, perhaps with a new peruvian bride.

get your bojon on, willie!!!

Go Willie


Posted by bojon at 08:58 AM

July 03, 2003

Hey Oaktown, Can I Get A Woo-Woo?

seems like the east bay is sprouting all sorts of fads and cutting-edge trends these days.

first off, straight outta richmond, we've got the Homies - thumb-sized figurines of streetwise latino characters wearing over-sized urban duds and packing muy attitude. reportedly, these bario caricatures are sweeping the nation, having become exceedingly popular with both inner city and suburban kids alike.

Homie Dont Cha Know Me

then we have a recent news feature from oakland on Whistle Tips - metal plates welded inside a car's muffler that create a screeching whistle noise that is audible for almost a mile. residents in oaktown are trippin' about this one:

trendspotters take note: the east bay's got it goin' on . . .

Latino Mars Blackmon?

Posted by bojon at 09:20 AM