Blog of the Little Bonsai

Personal Blog of Steve Baumber

For those of you still checking into the blog in the hopes that maybe we were just kidding and not really back in Canada, and the next post will be pictures of us by the pyramids or something, I give you some entertainment for your morning coffee in consolation. It's a little something that my Australian cousin Tristram (he of London and Zagreb fame here on the blog) put together when we stopped by in London in October. He's a very creative guy, a talented writer, and also has a great nose for talent when casting up-and-coming actors in his projects... Click here to see a really funny movie! posted by Steve @ 11:00 PM	6.30.2006
We've been back for three days now and it's been a busy round of brief visits and a quick trip to Sechelt to gather up the car and some of the things we'd left behind to get us back into our lives in Vancouver. It's been a little bit of an adjustment, but in many ways it feels as though we are still traveling. Without a home or jobs yet, in many respects I suppose that we still are! On other levels it has been an adjustment to return to the life we left behind. Some things have changed, but it also brings home that eight and a half months is not a huge space in the span of a lifetime and we've found that many things are still the same. Not a bad thing, but after daily doses of different cultures and locations we're both missing the "what's around the next corner" adventure of it all. Being home again brings comforts and friends that we've been missing, but it also means that the pressures and responsibilities we left behind are returning as well. Will we be able to maintain those friendships we made along the way? I think so - at least we'll try our best. Did traveling change us? I hope so, but the changes are very much internal and I have yet to see how they will affect our work and approach to living. Much of what we've seen gave us a deeper appreciation of poverty, relationships, cultures, and what we are capable of in our minds and bodies. But if we look closely enough in the mirror perhaps there is already an inkling of change. If eight months might have changed us, move your eyes slowly left to right to see... still smiling at any rate! posted by Steve @ 11:28 AM	6.22.2006
This is it, the last dispatch. If you want pictures, you'll see them soon enough... Our wine tour was great, and had us careening around in a mini van with our Ozzie driver Brad, visiting old Italian towns, sniffing out various vineyards and generally seeing a good chunk of the Tuscan countryside. This morning from our cosy room in the hostel in Certaldo we went to the capital of the Tuscan region (and the centre of the art world) Florence. You'd think at this point we two seasoned travelers could handle an automated ticket machine in Italian. Somewhere along the line we ordered up two return tickets when a one-way trip was in order, and contributed 2.40 euros to Trainitalia. Oh well. The short train ride over, what can one see in Florence in an afternoon? Well, after a two hour wait in line, one museum (the Uffizi) and with a little effort most of the sights in the centre of town. We had to forego seeing "David", but there's a handy copy in the square where it used to stand, so we had lunch casting glances his way and watching the streams of touristos go by. Florence, like Venice, is overrun, and a quiet corner doesn't exist. Still, the city has a charm in the incredible history on every street. Where Rome had the corner on ancient history, Florence is all the Renaissance history you can wave a palette at. Without more time, I feel we had a taste of the place, and could easily have blown a few more days (and a lot more euros) seeing more. Tomorrow morning is our long train ride south to Rome, and out to the airport, where we stash our bags and grab a ride for the last time on this trip. It's been eight and half amazing months that have gone by too quickly and have given us new perspectives and friends. By the numbers... We visited 14 countries. It took 8.5 months, or if you're one of the lucky ones that get 3 weeks of holiday a year, that's 12 years of holidays. We reached a height of 5,416m (Throng La in Nepal) and a depth of -10m (snorkeling in Nha Trang, Vietnam). The longest we spent to visit one place was 10 days (Vientiane in Laos) and the shortest was 18 hours (Postojna, Slovenia). No wonder we're a bit tired! We've taken about 2,000 pictures, which at 10 seconds a photo should only take 5.5 hours to go through. Bring tea and don't ask any lengthy questions. The total cost... priceless. You knew I'd say that. Thanks to everyone for their emails, news and support while we've been away. We're looking forward to seeing old friends and new ones (congrats Carl and Tara on 7 pounds of new human - hi Sasha!) over the next couple of months until reality sets in. We'll tell stories, eat your food, and repay a few favours. See you soon... posted by Steve @ 12:44 PM	6.18.2006
We have made it to Tuscany, staying in an ancient monestary, a portion of which has become a hostel. We hiked to nearby medieval town yesterday, and today will tour the vineyards. Two days left on the great adventure, and it's hard not to be distracted by our return to Canada. Managed to get some pictures posted for the last blog - scroll down and have a look! posted by Steve @ 1:04 AM	6.17.2006
Ljubljana was good for a night, but despite the laidback feel to the city we needed to get out and see why Slovenia is the backpacker's Switzerland! Sorry, no pictures again thanks to "Administrator Only" crap on the computer. We first headed east to Logarska Dolina, or more happily "Forester's Valley". It was a beautiful green valley tucked beneath the eastern part of the Kamnik-Slavinja Alps, and offered our first taste of the Slovenian Alpine. We managed a couple of good hikes, but once again kept on the move and left the valley behind to cross the country to Bled. Amazing to "cross the country" in an afternoon, but there we were! From Bled we were able to hike out to the Vintgar Gorge, a beautiful canyon carved out by the Vintgar river, and then finish our day overlooking the city from Bled Castle, perched on a lone rock outcrop at the edge of a hill above the lake. It was a spectacular setting, and every bit the way you would imagine a fairytale castle to be. On the move again to Lake Bohinj, further east, giving us access to the Julian Alps. From there we had an epic hike up to the top of Mount Prsivec. At 1,761m it gave us a stunning 360 degree view of the surrounding Alps, including Slovenia's highest (and most revered) peak Mount Triglav. With the snow still clinging to the shaded vallies and higher elevations, it was as high as we could go in our running shoes. The trip down had us clinging to cables pitoned into the rock following the cliffs above a gorge where the Savici river flowed - awesome! No rest for the wicked, we made a spontaneous decision to head to Kobarid, a town only miles from the Italian border. Kabarid is located beneath the backside of the Julian Alps, along the gorgeous blue-green Soca river. As a history of war has been our constant companion during our trip, for those history buffs, Kobarid was the sight of the Soca Line in WWI. It was the scene of appalling carnage by the Italians and Austro-Hungarian troops for 3 years, until Germany sent troops in "blitzkreig" style and pushed the Italians back from the river using poison gas and artillery. Almost 1,000,000 people died in that period, sent to fight by the Big Heads over an area that never really changed hands. To put this in perspective, the FIFA World Cup stadium in Frankfurt can hold 48,000 people. Over the course of 20 games, take each capacity audience and slaughter them out front. And poor Kobarid, occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then the Italians, then the Germans, and then given back to the Italians at the end of WWI, suffered as a chessboard beneath the empire's War to End All Wars. It was sobering to hike and bike through the incredible beauty of the Soca river valley, and still encounter the crumbling fortifications still in place after 90 years had passed. What would it have been like to be stationed high above the valley amidst the beautiful Alps enduring freezing winters, disease, starvation, constant artillery pounding and trench battles I can not imagine. We have now made our way across the border into Italy, spending a day and night in Venice. It's very sad to count the days we have left on our trip on one hand. From here will be a short stay in Tuscany, a day in Florence, and then we catch our flight home. I hope that there will be one more chance to blog before we return, and perhaps post some pictures. posted by Steve @ 12:15 PM	6.14.2006
From Rijeka in Crotia to Divaca, our first stop in Slovenia. Slovenia is a tiny country compared to the others we've been through. From the capital of Ljubljana you can reach any part of the country in half a day's drive. From Divaca we were able to visit two major sites under our own power. A short walk from Divaca through the green countryside brings you to the Skocjan Caves, a series of immense underground caverns carved by water in the karst bedrock of the region. An underground river still pounds its way through the gorge that is one of Europe's largest underground canyons. I'd post pictures, but camera's weren't allowed to be used inside. If they were, the 3km walk, lit by small electric lights, would take hours because there is so many unbelievable limestone formations to gawk at, and it would take some slow exposures to capture them in the dim light. The Mines of Moria must have been based on this amazing place, and we kept looking for the odd Balrog or orc barring our passage! From the caves of Skocjan to a small acreage near Divaca, we found our next adventure. If one were to visit Maranello in Italy, one would be obligated to take a Ferrari out for a test drive. If one finds one self in south western Slovenia, near the town of Lipica, then one is obligated to investigate the local "horse power" there as well. Having grown up with horses, although never as hardcore as my sisters and mum, I felt it was my duty to try out one of the world famous Lipizzaner stallions. The "dancing horses" often visited Spruce Meadows when I was young, and they have always held a royal place in the horsing world. A product of breeding in the 1500's between Andelutian, Italian, Arabian and the Slovenian Karst, the horses are snowy white and particularly suited to dressage and fancy footwork. Like a car lover taking an old Ferrari out for a drive around the block, I can't say that I put the horse through it's paces but it was a pleasure to canter around the ring for a while. We later visited the Lipica Stud Farm, the orginal birthplace of the breed, and not only watched the Lipizzaners be put through their paces by the pros, but also caught some of the World Cup Finals in dressage. From Divaca, up through Postojna, to Idrija, entrance to what used to be the largest mercury mine in the world. From the natural wonder of Skocjan, we dropped 40m below the surface into one of the man-made wonders of Slovenia. 700km of tunnels were built over the life of the mine, with ore being produced for over 500 years. The tunnels gave a real feeling to how cold, dark and lonely a miner's life must have been. Idrija is a beautiful town, nestled in a valley, and it's easy to miss the turbulent history it has seen. The town became part of Italian occupied territory after WWI, and until the end of WWII it became an important centre of Slovenian partisan resistance, which sought to oust both the Italian fascists and the German army. Finally successful in 1944, then came the Soviets, Tito, and the Republic of Yugoslovia. Although Slovenia was spared the horrific fighting seen in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia after the fall of the republic, the remnants of the years of oppression are recorded in the town museum. We are now in Lubljana, and despite the chilly weather and rain (ugh) we're set to culture ourselves up before the next big outdoor adventure! posted by Steve @ 3:45 AM	6.06.2006
Killing time in Rijeka, our last stop on the way to Slovenia, and what better thing to do than to Blog? Damn computer won't let me post pictures though, so everyone use their imaginations... Leaving our busy social life in Zagreb behind (bon voyage Trit, Elena, Emily, Paul, Ev, Ian, Jacquie and Neil) we caught a bus to Plitvice National Park. Once again we were amidst the travertine formations that have created a series of lakes and falls, but on a much grander scale than what we saw in Krka. The hiking trails wander amidst 16 lakes of varying sizes, formed by limestone being collected out of the water and built up in layers by the root systems of plants, mainly moss. The result is stunning blue water spilling over green dams into the next lake below. Swimming is not allowed, and even the boat which ferries you from the upper lakes to the lower lakes is electric. We spent a full day exploring the full 18km of trails, but once again had to jostle our way past tour groups and school groups. We caught a bus in the pouring rain the next morning and decided to flee the newly arrived bad weather all the way south to Zadar. From there we loaded onto what turned out to be a school bus to reach the barren island of Pag. Pag village itself is green enough, situated next to an inlet that leads to large salt manufacturing pools. However, once you climb onto the hills above Pag village you are met with views of the dry, white rocky island stretching into the distance. We also encountered the wind, which howls over the island at such a pace that huge wind turbines have been erected along the ridge overlooking the Velebitski Channel. Mst importantly, our climb to the ridge gave us a view across the channel to spy on our next destination, Paklenica National Park. The bad weather seemingly on hold we bussed back through Zadar and then caught a second bus which dropped us off near the park entrance. We spent the evening wandering along the oceanside, enjoying our last snippets of coastal scenery and a sunset over the Adriatic Sea. That night the wind howled outside our windows, slamming shutters and whistling mournfully through the room. Unlike the gusty chinooks of Alberta that liked to snatch shingles from the roof, this wind seemed keen to pull the entire roof off! After a fitful sleep we got going early the next morning and hiked into the Velebit Massif. The limestone mountains are a climber's paradise, with crags, cracks, overhangs and sheer walls galore, all marked and many bolted for sport climbing. We watched several pairs of rock whores gearing up to scale their way up the many routes on the massive face of Anica Kuk, but our path led higher and further. From sea level we climbed over 3,000 feet to the top of Crn vrh, and were rewarded with a view out to the ocean, and across two other incredible vallies (and the clouds slowly building to the north east). We scrambled back down to the overnight hut in the park, and then hiked out on the stony trails to the entrance. After 9 hours of steady hiking we were ready to take our shoes off! The wind didn't let up that night, and today we were almost blown off the side of the road waiting for the bus to Rijeka. It has been a fantastic experience to explore the natural beauty of Croatia on foot, from the Adriatic coast and the Dalmatian Islands, to the karst river vallies, and now the heights of the interior. Time seems so incredibly short now. Where once our trip stretched before us in a dizzying length of time, it is now compressed down to three short weeks left in our travels. So Croatia must fall behind, as we head into Slovenia this evening on a slow train to Davica. A new country, a new currency, and new wonders to surprise us... posted by Steve @ 5:56 AM	6.02.2006