I would say that most people who know me, know that I have a lot of … interests. When I’m asked about my hobbies, my short response is that my hobby is hobbies.

I come from a crafting family, I grew up with a broad interest in the sciences, I read a lot of  science fiction, and I watched a lot of (what would now be called) genre TV. In college I had a hard time deciding on a major and so graduated with two degrees and a huge overload of units. Since then I’ve filled my home and workshop (to Harriet’s distress) with a wide range of tools, collections, books, and supplies reflecting 56 years of quick study and short attention span.

I don’t necessarily think this is admirable, and I wouldn’t advocate this lifestyle. But I’ve come to realize that most folks I know are unaware of the crazy range of my interests. I don’t talk about them very much. Not because I’m embarrassed by them (although I do see Harriet cringe from time to time), but because I think most would be bored by them.

As a separate issue, in the last couple of years I’ve become increasingly frustrated with my writing ability. I write a lot of technical material for my work: manuals, papers, and training materials. They are dense, factual, and tend to be written for others who already have a basic knowledge of my field. I find it time consuming, grueling, and just not fun. I would like to be a better writer, which includes being faster, clearer, more casual, and just..more. I would like to have fun writing.

In the last month it’s finally occurred to me that I can use this blog to deal with both issues at the same time (see how I avoided the overused two birds with one stone metaphor) (oh wait – did I just forfeit my clever moment by pointing it out?). I can just write about whatever project I’m working on, whatever conference I happen to attend, or whatever happens to catch my eye. I’m not trying to capture eyeballs, pontificate to an audience, polish my resume, or create a portfolio. I just need to practice my writing.

So, here’s my new year’s resolution for 2013. I’m going to write in this blog more often. My goal is an entry a day, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sustain that. I’ll start out with good intentions, and probably keep up the entries for a few weeks, but I know me and how my interests wax and wane. I’ll start dropping a day now again and feeling guilty. Then it all becomes an obligation and a burden. So I’ll leave the resolution as a vague “write in the blog more often”.

There, the first entry has been made.

P.S. I meant to make a list of hobbies, avocations, and interests I’ve had over the years. Here’s what I can think of right now: improv, wood-turning, collecting comic books, costuming (cosplay), cheese-making, role playing games (D&D), collecting art, beekeeping, molecular gastronomy (modernist cuisine), knitting, watchmaking/clock repair, collecting slide rules, science fiction, knife-making, robotics, embroidery, video games, board games, live action role playing (LARP), drawing comics, collecting bookmarks,  constructed languages (conlang), armoring, game development, health and fitness, kinetic art, metalworking, puppetry and puppet making, tatting, gardening, and geek culture (which I will use to cover a wide range of genre franchises – Star Wars, Star Trek, Buffy, Firefly, Fringe, Lord of the Rings, Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Lost Girl, Harry Potter, superhero movies, Steampunk, and a bunch of others that are even more obscure). I’m sure there are others, but I’m falling into my embarrassed place, so I’ll let them come up in my future posts. As you cans see, there won’t be a lack of topics for future posts.

Bolivia is landlocked and spans both Andean highlands and Amazon lowlands. It’s geography is varied, it contains the ruins of Inca cities, it has the largest percentage of indigenous population, and proudly displays bright colors. The food looks interesting, bowlers are worn by women, and they make chocolate (as in grow the stuff!); what’s not to love?

We’re also trying something new this time; we’re travelling with just a tablet. Since WiFi is common enough (or so we’ve been led to believe), we’ll have a Nexus 7 (Android) tablet with Bluetooth keyboard and attachments that will connect to our cameras’ SD cards. We plan on our usual updates to the blog, and we’ll be posting on Facebook as well as Twitter. I’ll be testing our email list, so let me know if you want to be on that list and don’t get the test email.

That’s it for now. Harriet will be taking over the blog duties so there will be less equipment talk and more amusing observations on our travel.

Scruntched into one of the old U.S. yellow school busses that ply the roads of Nicaragua, we make our way from Granada through lush green countryside and small pueblos to Rivas. A recent college grad from Minneapolis offers to share a taxi to the ferry at San Jorge. We let Ben do the negotiating and probably overpay a dollar or two, but we make it to the ferry in time.

We disembark on Election Day Eve at Moyogalpa, the island’s largest city which is about the size of La Cumbre Plaza. Honestly. The place we thought we would stay is not taking guests because… something to do with the election. We wander toward our second choice which is also staffed and also not taking guests. There’s a newish two-story building at the end of the street that is obviously not a typical residence. Xavier, like everyone here, doesn’t try to sell us on anything — at all. We’re the only guests so we have our pick of rooms and choose the large one off the private veranda on the second floor with a view of the volcano. $20.

Click on the photo of the main street at rush hour to see more from Moyogalpa.

Like Riding a Bicycle

We slathered on sunscreen and set out on mountain bikes for the tiny hamlet of San Marcos. We had walked south on a paved road in blazing heat the previous day, so a leisurely ride west on the same road, creating our own wind, seemed like an easy way to explore more of the island, get close to the active volcano and enjoy a little exercise.

We puffed a bit up the short hill from the ferry landing to the church and then cruised effortlessly for about five minutes until the pavement ended; then the road had a slight incline; then the potholes that were at first easy to negotiate turned into trenches filled with small boulders or disappeared altogether into long  stretches of deep, black sand, and we had to compete with several small herds of cattle for the less arduous path; and then just as we felt confident tearing over the rocks and dodging grazing horses, sleeping dogs and yellow caution signs, the road began a steep ascent.

Hours later, when we returned thoroughly jostled but free of road rash, Alan (with cold Diet Coke in hand) turned to me and said, “That was fun.” I agreed.

Arriba! Arriba!

The Volcan Maderas Index

4,574
Altitude in feet of the Maderas volcano

2
Number of your blogging buddies who thought they were
taking a morning hike on the easiest trail

2
Number of your blogging buddies who were
sorely (pun and very heavy emphasis intended) mistaken

7.5
Hours in the air Alan and Harriet spent flying from LAX to Nicaragua

9
Hours spent on Volcan Maderas trek

45
Degrees of average incline on the mountain

4.5
Hours climbing up wet, clay-slicked rocks and mud
before deciding to head back through the very aptly named rainforest

0
Number of injuries incurred

5
Number of people we most appreciate today:
our guide,
Alan’s trainer (Mikki) and Harriet’s coach (Tim)
the guy who maintains the stadium stairs at SB City College,
the orthopod who prescribed Napraxen

25
Minutes it will take to clean our shoes and
pound the mud out of our pants

12
Minutes it will take our clothes to dry on the line

*
Rank in difficulty when compared with any of our other
hikes/treks/climbs, anywhere in the world, any time, any duration, any altitude, any weather, and while in any physical condition:
One

(Click on the photo below to see more from our trek.)

Hotel El Encanto

Yup, just like the one on Santa Barbara. Okay, so maybe the room colors lean more toward the primaries than the subdued, but all of them come with a hammock; they are immaculate; the food is some of the best we’ve had in Nicaragua; there’s a view to the water, and depending on which way you choose to snooze in the hammock, a view of Volcan Maderas or Volcan Conception; the garden is much more spectacular than its Santa Barbarian counterpart and it’s filled with hundreds of butterflies, hummingbirds and birds. An added bonus: three very, very sweet dogs.

Carlos, the owner, like everyone with whom we’ve had any interaction, is a sweet, mellow, friendly guy. A native of El Salvador, he lived in Bellingham, Washington for seven years before coming to Nicaragua. Eventually he moved to Isla Ometepe and opened the El Encanto here in Santa Cruz three years ago.

Santa Cruz is not so much a pueblo as it is a dozen hotels, hostels and fincas (farms) spread out over a couple of miles along two unpaved roads. There are lots of horses and pigs grazing alongside –and occasionally in — the road and corn, rice and beans grow easily in the rich, black, volcanic soil. We’ll need to take a 25 minute bus ride to the nearest town with a bank so we have enough cash to pay our tab at the El Encanto and move on to our next destination. The bus ride will be easy; leaving this little gem will not.

Click on the photo above to see more photos from the El Encanto, Santa Cruz and life on Isla Ometepe.

We are safe, sound and sweaty in Granada, Nicaragua where the average daily temperature has been in the high-90s (Note to Gayle: feels like high-90s) and the humidity… well, let’s just say my hair is halfway to Costa Rica.

Granada is a small colonial town where every façade is painted a screaming bright color;  there is little traffic and few motorcycles, large trucks or belching buses around the town center; a few horse drawn carts share the narrow streets; and a very mellow vibe reigns. It looks and feels somewhat similar to Antigua, Guatemala without the glitz and gentrification. Antigua is (or was, several years ago) lovely, but here there’s a more rustic, mas authentico feel we prefer. There are little chi-chi shops and restaurants sprinkled throughout the town in anticipation of Granada becoming the next Antigua and Nicaragua becoming the next Costa Rica. We’re glad to be here now. Click on the photo at right to see more of Granada’s stunning colors.

Speaking of rustic, many of you would find our room a bit too basic for your tastes, but it’s a fairly huge step up for us with excellent indoor plumbing; an efficient, quiet ceiling fan; and a window that looks out on red tile rooftops. Except for morning church bells pealing at an ungodly (no pun intended) early hour, it is perfectly silent. With free Wi-Fi, continental breakfast including fresh pineapple and papaya, and helpful owners who speak excellent English with California accents, we’re quite pleased with our $34 room.

Click on the the rocker photo to see more shopping options for designer chairs, food and basic necessities in the market; a little Day of the Dead celebration; and y otros cosas.

Whodda Thought?

A few things that surprised us and a few that might surprise you: a) We haven’t eaten any mangoes or seen them in any of the markets; b) We saw a few coconuts in the supermarket but nowhere else. c) We’ve encountered essentially no touts or pushy vendors anywhere; d) Harriet has been up by 7:00 a.m. every morning; and, <drum roll> e) Alan doesn’t touch a Diet Coke/Pepsi until after noon and it is often his only soda of the day.

Escuela Por Gringos

Even after 30+ years, we’re excited and admittedly, a little nervous about our first day of school. We each have our own teacher, little mesa and chair, and white board. Alan’s “classroom” has a colorful poster with names and illustrations of vehicles. I don’t have any visual aids but a view of the kitchen. Our tuition includes a small lined notebook and lapicero (pen). I can’t remember the last time I used a basic blue Bic.

We take our 5-page entrance exams. Alan rips through his and proceeds to spend the rest of the week wrestling with irregular verbs, multiple tenses, grammatical subtleties and conversational skills. His teacher, Karla, compliments him on his beautiful accent and cuts him no slack when it comes to using the improper article.

I can’t spell much of anything, even in such a phonetic language, and I’ve never had any formal schooling in Spanish, but between living in Santa Barbara, designing projects with Spanish translations, having had bilingual coworkers and multiple years of beginning French, I can comprehend enough to whip through the first two pages. Numbers. Days of the week. Easy stuff. Page three: vocabulary. Still doing pretty well. My teacher, Arlen, is very impressed until she turns to page four – which I’ve left blank except for a stray word or two — and realizes I barely have the linguistic capabilities of a 3-year old… and so our lessons begin.

After recess, Karla, Arlen, Alan and I join teacher Maria Elena and her student, Jim, a stockbroker from Ojai (45 minutes from Santa Barbara) for 15 minute “grupo dynamico.” It’s a good change of pace — and who doesn’t enjoy a good game of what’s-my-line or name-that-animal? Alan and Jim kick my ass at animals but I hold my own at charades because I know “fireman” and “doctor.” Days later, we play a sort of musical chairs involving a trio of fruits. It’s less informative and doesn’t really build vocabulary or make for a challenging recipe, still, we enjoy the activity. Melons take first; mangoes get trounced; and everyone gets to stretch a bit.

I do my homework every night, uh, sometimes in the morning at breakfast. (Some things never change.) Alan spends a lot of time thinking about conjugating irregular verbs in future popular and present progressive. When class ends at noon, our heads are ready to explode and we walk quietly to lunch.

By the end of the week, Alan is having conversations with his teacher about travel, violence against women, and Karla’s innate fear of clowns. My teacher and I have less serious talks: why she hates to cook; that her casa looks like it was hit by a hurricane because she has a 12-year old son; and how to make mashed potatoes. She is particularly interested in the mashed potatoes.

My vocabulary has increased ten-fold and I can conjugate the beejeezus out of any regular verb as long as it’s in the present. I was calling myself a Nica-Lingua-Buddhist until old buddy Scott H. suggested Buddhanista. (Gracias amigo) My final exam proves I can now go cabeza a cabeza with any first quarter junior high remedial Spanish student. I am thrilled. Alan is ready to sign up for another course just to have the opportunity to practice conversational Spanish.

More Schooling: Chocolate Class

Jonathan (dad was British, hence the name) is enthusiastic, very bright and full of energy… or caffeine, no doubt. He takes us through the history of chocolate – Mayans, Aztecas, the Brits, blah, blah , know it, heard it – and then we get into the manual labor. We start by roasting a couple pounds of fermented cacao beans over fiery coals until the smell of chocolate begins to waft. Then we spend another half hour husking the shells and skins from the shiny, hot beans. Jonathan is fast and pumps out big, naked treasures. Alan and I seem to end up with more nibs. Burning fingers aside, we enjoy the process and gabbing about Nica politics and the upcoming election.

We are given stone mortars and pestles and watch Jonathan demonstrate how to grind a cupful of beans. We talk more about politics, his family, where to get a great meal in town, and, of course, ­­chocolate, while we grind away. Within about 20 minutes, Jonathan’s beans are reduced to a coarse pulp and the natural oils begin to appear. Alan’s mortar is overflowing with a grainy mass and he looks like he has been making mud pies. Mine is better contained but still fairly chunky (not unlike I’ll be upon return), and I’ve ground not only beans but a killer blister on my right palm. We talk and work some more.

Another 20 minute grind by (pun intended). Jonathan has a mortar of smooth, shimmering, almost pourable chocolate. Alan has a shiny paste. I have the more obviously handmade, less refined batch we’ll used first for the Mayan drinks. We use Alan’s for the Aztec round. Finally, we savor Jonathan’s chocolate made with hot milk, vanilla, honey and cinnamon that we’ve mixed together with a special tool. Exquisite.

Then we spot what every Mayan and Azteca woman really wanted for Christmas. F**K this mortar and pestle routine. Jonathan dumps the remaining husked cacao beans into a good old Champion juicer. He and I take a couple turns pushing the plunger and in a matter of less than a minute, we have two bowls of liquid love. He adds it to a pot of chocolate that’s already tempering and then Alan and I scoop enough from that to make our own bars. Jonathan encourages us to add a little something. His first suggestion is peanuts but we think they displace too much chocolate. I settle on cacao nibs. Alan goes for the rum. We agree we must find cacao beans in the market tomorrow.

Click on the above photo to see more from our second favorite school in Granada.

Artist & Pot

San Juan Oriente is a dinky little village full of potters. Every other doorway leads to a small shop and/or pottery “studio.” We soon learn to distinguish the nice production pieces and colorful schlock from the fine art. When we meet Leandro — a young man who is a third generation potter and gifted artist – and tell him we think his work is the best we’ve seen anywhere in town (it’s true), he can’t stop beaming. He immediately gives us a discount; he is truly an artist; we can’t bring ourselves to bargain.

Click on the photo of Leandro to see more of the arts and artists of San Juan Oriente.

Next up: Ometepe

NOTE: We haven’t had Wi-Fi in our rooms and Alan’s computer has been on the fritz which makes writing muy dificile, and email, blog posting and other internet activities somewhat limiting. Sorry fans.

It’s now official (meaning we have the tickets). We are going to Nicaragua for our annual trip.

We were having a hard time deciding on our destination this year. Nothing was really inspiring us. But our friend Sylvia (who’s half Nicaraguan) convinced us that the food, the scenery, and the people would make it the sort of place we love to visit.

In addition, we’ve decided to spend the first week taking Spanish lessons. We’ll find an immersion school where you spend half the day in class learning the language and the other half taking tours and trips around town just speaking Spanish. It’s something we’ve both wanted to do and the tourist town of Granada seems like a great place to do it.

Other than our flights and the Spanish course in Granada, we don’t have much else planned. Nicaragua has been experiencing some flooding and so we’ll make our plans based on what we find. We are particularly interested in visiting the Caribbean coast since our experience in Guatemala was short but very memorable (amazing food!).

Harriet will be taking over the blog during our travels, and I’ll be posting to Twitter and Facebook (@alanirwin). We’ll send out announcements to our email list. Let us know if you want on or off of that list.

Not much time left, so back to packing!

Okay, before we make the big announcement, we want to share with you the last few entries that trickled in via email:
- Vincent (in Paris): Corrida, Mexico; Colombia
- Shyan (in Singapore or Malaysia): Liechtenstein
- Beth: South Dakota
- Christy: “I’m so glad you’re doing this; sounds like it’s become quite the affair…”
- Rob: “Yukon Canada  R u getting married?”
- Ron: “I’m betting you’re going to the distant landlocked country of Nevada, which has two major tourist-laden cities, Reno and Las Vegas, Gold production is a major industry in Nevada and if altitude is an issue, it must be Reno, where the altitude is 4500 feet.  Are you two getting married there?”

The Entries are:

EUROPE: Andorra; Austria (Salzburg, Vienna); Czech Republic; France (Loire Valley); Macedonia; Moldova; Romania; Greece (Santorini); Hungary; Serbia; Switzerland. ASIA, SOUTH ASIA & SOUTHEAST ASIA: Afghanistan, Bhutan; Cambodia; Kazakhstan; Mongolia; Nepal; Tibet (2); Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan. CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia; Mexico (Guadalajara, San Miguel Allende, Corrida); Columbia; Paraguay; Peru (Machu Picchu). U.S. & CANADA: Bingham, Utah; California Sierra; Colorado (Aspen or Vail, Whistler); Grand Canyon; Lake Tahoe; Las Vegas; Memphis, Tennessee; Missoula, Montana; Missouri; Mount Rushmore, South Dakota; Sun Valley, Idaho; Nachitoches, Louisiana; Reno, Nevada; Sacramento, California; St. Genevieve, Missouri; Tulare, California; Yukon Territory, Canada. MIDDLE EAST: Jordan (Amman, Petra). AFRICA: Botswana; Burkino Faso; Ethiopia (Addis Ababa); Kalahari Desert; Malawi; Mali (Bamako or Timbuktu); Rwanda; South Africa (J’berg, Cape Town); Sudan; Uganda; Tanzania; Zambia; Zimbabwe. OTHER: non-specific Caribbean island; Hades

Some cyber gremlins messed with Alan’s system and a whole slew of comments didn’t appear on the blog (in a couple different places) until just this evening. (Sorry.) We urge you to read them all. Geez you guys are clever. We had to expand the prize categories.

And FINALLY, the winners are:

MOST THOUGHTFUL
While some of you were ignoring clues and basics of geography and instead were trying to think of countries most of us would be hard-pressed to find on a good globe, others should be commended for their thoughtful analysis and reasoning. Kudos to Tara, Amy, Nina.

BEST IMAGERY
A very honorable mention to Beth for Mount Rushmore where “Harriet is going to don a white tyvek suit and lowered by ropes, scrub out the president’s noses with a toothbrush.”

MOST DISCONCERTING
Our house sitters, Kimber & Ben, guessed Mali. (Uh, guys, you know where to reach us if there’s a problem, right?)

MOST DISCONCERTING, Honorable Mention
Stephanie is going to be there with us… and she guessed Sun Valley. (Honey, if you don’t want to hang with us, just say so.)

TWISTED
A three-way (tie): Chuck, Andre and Michael for Kabul, Hades and Sudan respectively.

TWISTED, Honorable Mention
Laura L. and Judy S. for Memphis, TN or Hachitoches, LA in JULY! Are you nuts? Ed for “Slaughterhouse fantasy camp in Tulare”

BEST SUGGESTION THAT COULD HELP PAY FOR THE TRIP
From Todd and Gabi: “We’ve been beaten to the Nevada guess. The judge, Harriet’s nervousness, wearing white: you’re planning to rob a casino.”

MOST CREATIVE, Honorable Mention
To Elinor who entered Hollywood for among other reasons because, “The gold industry would be Oscar and gold albums. And the river runs thru it would be that one we get stuck up without a paddle, shit.”

MOST CREATIVE, First Runner-up (and not just because Ann is Alan’s mom)
“Well Darn, I thought it would be Santa Rosa. We are landlocked, We have a river, Russian River or we can run a hose from the front yard to the back, We will keep the house set at 90 degrees, keep Harriet from going upstairs to solve her altitude problem, We have an in-house Gourmet Chef, a bumper crop of escargot, an in-house tour guide who will take you to all the wine tasting you could ever want, (after which who cares what you eat and would solve Harriets attitude problem), concierge services, 4 stars on the door and only 30 bucks a night. Oh, well. Good Luck Harriet.” Seriously rethinking our trip now… and if any of you want to hang out with Ann in Santa Rosa, we highly recommend it.

MOST CREATIVE, JUDGES CHOICE
This goes to Andre & Tracy for: “You are going to Andorra to attend the International Beekeepers and Fencing Conference For Cohabitating Adults. Tracy and I were thinking of going, but realized neither of us are beekeepers . . . or fencers.” Brilliant… and if only it weren’t sold out for this week…

FREAKISHLY CLOSE
Shannon, having just returned to the States after leading wine and beer tours in Italy and Spain, with just a few little clues on Day One guessed simply, “Sacramento.” So, so, close. The contest was almost over before started.

FREAKISHLY CLOSE, Honorable Mention
This goes to Nina, not because she guessed correctly, but because on Day One, she responded from Truckee, California, a mere 30 miles away from…

drum roll, please…

RENO, NEVADA situated on the scenic Truckee River with an elevation of 4,500 ft.; average July temperature in the 90s; and host to the USA Fencing National Championships in which Harriet will be competing. There will be 28 women from across the country in her division (Veteran Women’s Foil), 15 of whom are rated (meaning they’re very, very good and have tons more experience). The odds of her taking home a medal are about the same as those for she and Alan taking wedding vows, so hold the congratulations on both accounts for now.

However, congratulations are in order for GRAND PRIZE WINNER, CHUCK CAIL, for his entry posted on June 30th at 12:01 p.m.

Thanks to everyone for playing along. If anything truly blog-worthy happens in Reno, we’ll let you know. Now, get back to work or your summer vacation or read something interesting.

Lots of love,
Harriet & Alan

Now, a few of you have asked for extra hints and more clues; and very early on, someone was so, so, unbelievably close. Really. Almost. Right. There. As a result, we’re going to speed things along, give you some extra help, and join together clues #5 and #6. But, as they say on Top Chef, there’s a twist: you only get one final entry. You can repeat or modify a previous guess; you can modify or second someone else’s guess; or you can take the plunge with a new guess. But remember, you only get ONE final guess so make it good. Oh, and you have to post your answer on the blog so everyone can see it. We will unveil the winners there as well.

Remember, in addition to the Grand Prize (first person with the correct answer), there are awards for the most creative answer and the best suggestion for our November trip. (There’s some heavy competition in that category.) And to encourage those of you who’ve yet to venture any guess whatsoever, we’re offering an autographed photo just for playing. How can you resist? So strip off your inhibitions, dust off that old atlas and give us your best guess.

Here are a few little things that might help:

Earlier entries via Alan’s email:
Vincent & Jean-Pierre: Botswana (until they realized the “Bs” were out)
Jean-Pierre: Paraguay (until he got the clue about English being the dominant language)
Rob: Zimbabwe
Also note there are some recent guesses that showed up in earlier blog posts.

Clarification:
The answers you see on the blog put forth by “Alan” come from Alan Herzfeld, not dearly beloved Alan Irwin.

Bonus Clue:
Harriet likes wordplay. You might consider reviewing everything carefully. There may be clues in addition to the official clues within a blog post. Today’s posting, for example, has a little gem (or two or more) in it.

Bonus Clue:
Marla, Harriet’s older sister, asked, “Would Dad go there?”
Answer: Yes, but it wouldn’t be his first choice, nor would it be yours or Gayle’s. However, if he were still alive, Dad would try to meet us there. Alan’s mom has some trouble with altitude, otherwise, she’d like to go there.

Time for the big finish everyone. READY? ALLEZ!!!

Clue #5
Jet lag is not a concern.
We fly out of Santa Barbara Wednesday morning, July 7th, and make one change of planes.
Alan and Harriet have both been there before.

6th and Final Clue
This is something Harriet, in particular, never thought she’d be doing and feels slightly ill thinking about it.
Alan is pretty calm about the whole thing.
There will be a Judge.
Harriet will wear white.

Careful… careful…

Uh oh. A few of you seem to have dropped out and we suspect there are some who are waiting to do a last-second-eBay bid/guess sort thing. Maybe it’s time we answered a couple of questions and reviewed a clue that seems to have slipped by many of you.

To answer Sylvia’s question, the destination does not start with the letter “B.” So Bolivia, Botswana, Burkino Faso, Bamako and Bhutan are all out, however they’ll all be considered for November.

Clue Review: We’re all clear on the geography (landlocked) thing and that the average temperature this time of year is about 90 degrees. Good. Now let’s give Clue #2 another look-see, shall we: “a week in Paris… one of our very shortest… trips” means “less than a week.” Not that we wouldn’t spend more time in airports and in the air than at the destination itself if there were a compelling reason or free ticket involved, but in this case, we paid for our airfare and we’ll be “there” longer than we’ll be traveling to and from there. Hell, this little contest is lasting longer than we’ll be there.

Clue #4 (Trivia)
We do not need a visa to travel there.
The predominant language is English.
It is a popular tourist destination.
In addition to tourism in two well known cities, the major industry is gold production.

Oh, in answer to Gayle’s altitude/attitude question, we’ll just say that “altitude” was not a typo but we readily acknowledge Harriet’s “attitude” is (always) a consideration.

We’re very pleased with the entries so far. Quite impressed, actually. Keep ‘em coming. Remember, you can enter as many times as you’d like. We might even consider throwing in an extra prize for perfect attendance, persistence, or sheer volume.

We’re hoping that a few of you might appreciate a bit of clarification and perhaps a little geography lesson before you make your next guess so here goes…

There were several votes for Bolivia. The temperature there right now is in the 50s — not our idea of “hot” as mentioned in clue #1 — so we’re going to shift Bolivia to the list of suggestions for our November trip. Just to be clear, by “hot” we mean the forecast calls for temperatures in the low 90s. This is the average temperature for July.

Here’s a little clarification on that whole “landlocked” thing mentioned in clue #1: We consider the states of Missouri (Keith’s guess), Montana (Laura L’s 2nd guess), Nevada (Diane and Judy) as landlocked even though the U.S. is not a landlocked country. So those guesses stand. Any state or province bordering on one of the great lakes, however, would not be considered landlocked. Peru is not landlocked but Kristen specifically guessed Machu Picchu which is inland. Hmmm. Clever. But we’re going to gently toss it anyway since temperatures there are in the low 70s right now… and we did the Inca Trail a few years ago. Sorry.

Guesses that came in via email rather than as comments on the blog:
Sylvia: Bolivia (although she acknowledged it is winter there now) or Bhutan
Wayne: Bolivia or Uganda
Kathryn: Bolivia or Moldova
Judy: Las Vegas
Amy: Serbia and/or Hungary
Kristen: Machu Picchu
Shari: Burkino Faso (Incorrect answer but we’re awarding bonus points for including a great description and good link.)

And now, your third set of clues:

Clue #3A (As they say in Lonely Planet, “Dangers & Annoyances”)
There are some safety considerations; we’ve invested in proper equipment and protection and will likely buy a couple more items as soon as we arrive. Magellans’s does not carry what we need (except for sun screen).

Clue #3B (Health & Immunizations)
Malaria is not one of our concerns.
The tap water is potable.
No immunizations are required for us although it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get our tetanus boosters.
Altitude may be a challenge, especially for Harriet.

Looking forward to more thoughtful, ingenious responses.

Congratulations to Laura for being the first to respond with “Cambodia.” Been there, done that, incorrect answer, but she does get bonus for being first to buzz in. Bonus points, too, to Diane for guessing a destination as well as a purpose.  Nina was the first to respond by email. A San Francisco native and major world traveler herself, Nina emailed all the way from quaint little Truckee (one would have expected Mongolia or Uzbekistan) to participate. However, she did not venture a guess so no prizes for her at this time.

So that you’re all playing with the same information, there were two other guesses on the first day of this competition that came via Facebook. Jonny — who did a lot of major hard traveling long before the internet, ATMs and even wheeled luggage; has known Harriet for more than 35 years, lived and traveled with her — guessed Bhutan. Keith, who has done the same guessed Missouri.

Thanks for playing!

And now for today’s clue…

Clue #2 (Budget)
Except for a week in Paris, this is one of our very shortest, most noteworthy trips. Not including airfare, on a per day basis, this will be one of our most expensive trips. There are $25 rooms to be had but we won’t be staying in any of them. We’re springing for something with a few stars for at least a couple of nights.