Starting NYC Artist

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Lonely Planet Lies

I can't stress enough how disappointed I am with lonely Planet at this point. Through my travels in Peru and Bolivia, Lonely planet has led me towards harm more times than I'd like to recall. I'm not being dramatic either.

What lonely planet has are tiny clues, tiny words like "may not" or "at first" that give you real insight into how an activity they are suggesting could actually be harmful to your health. They don't say this though because that would put too much of a damper on things and chances are you will be fine anyway.

Lonely planet grossly underestimates the danger of Peru bus travel. Almost a 1,000 people a year die in peru on their busses. The peruvian bus companies are filled with employees who got their licensing on the black markets.

And going to a tourist agency and paying more for a better bus wont really help your chances, one of the deadliest bus crashes in Peru happened on the much praised Cruz Del Sur Line, killing All on board in a head on collision. Not only that, we went to a tourist agency and were promised the world and when the bus arrived we found out we had been swindled onto a shitty bus line.

We took a bus from Copacabana to Arequipa, the bus was supposed to be an 8 hour bus ride. Lonely planet recommends that if you do take the bus, you should really make it a day trip. We took that advice and it didnt help a bit. Why? For many reasons, first they grossly lie about the trip length, and they stop frequently to pick up passengers in other bus stations and even just passengers along the road.

Our 8 hour bus ride turned into 23 hours and we found ourselves on top of a snow covered mountain passing by overturned tourists busses. We spent the night freezing because the bus had no heating. The bus didnt even stop for dinner and we were also just starving. Not only that, to go to the bathroom we had to just pee on the congested hwy while other cars honked and would turn on their lights to watch.

On that trip alone it was reported that 17 died, I believe many more died from the look of the overturned and abandoned busses on the hwy.

Lonely planet doesn't tell you about all the deaths because well...if you can't afford to fly, there's no choice for you anyhow and what good will scaring you do? But if you CAN afford to fly, you should really know the truth, and that is you need to fly. Don't end up on a hwy in a blizzard freezing, starving, and watching other people die.

ALERT: AVOID INDIGENA TOURS IN BOLIVIA

I have been an idiot most of my trip through SA and it paid off when I found myself in a hospital in Rurrenebaque after taking Lonely planet's expert advice and taking a jungle tour through Bolivia with the group Indigena. The cost was 600 Bolivianos for 3 days. What I did not know at the time was that my entire group would be exposed to lethal amounts of Salmonella. Usually I avoid dangerous/uncooked foods but the tour promised safe food and not only that, the food they gave us was TOO Little --so the hungry group was forced to eat all the salad and other stuff we might have opted out of. I cant stress enough how this tour cheaps out with food, by giving too little and very unsafe food. I came back from the tour and everyone in my group was feeling sick. I found myself vomiting profusely and had to be carried to a hospital. There, I found out I had so much salmonella in me that if I was not treated immediately I could have Died. Died! I spent hundreds of dollars in the hospital and when I finally got out, I immediately went over (with my group who had also been violently ill) and demanded my refund

To this we got a violent reaction from indigena. They told us salmonella took 8 days and they've had "experience" with travelers on the tour trying to get their money back for this and just werent going to do it anymore. We sat there and argued and told them to go to the Dr if they pleased and ask him.

As a side note when I told the Dr I had just come back from Indigena Tours, he nodded and said "oh of course". so this happens ALOT.

The company made me call the manager in La Paz who proceeded to yell at me and tell me that it was no way his companies fault. The manager in Rurre then told us to go ahead and call the cops because we were NOT getting our money back, much less the cost for hospitalization. So we waited and finally they agreed to go to the Dr. and ask him. They did and at first the Dr agreed with us, but then the men ganged up on him and proceeded to scream at him until he said yes, maybe it was possible it took us all a week to get sick.

Then the manager from La paz said to us (and this is priceless) "Okay so you probably did get sick from our food, but I dont think its fair to refund you ALL the money because you still got a tour out of it"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the end, because I had a flight to catch and I was still barely able to walk and exhausted from arguing, we took a 100 boliviano refund, out of 600, and out of hundreds of US dollars in medical fees.

NEVER DO INDIGENA. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH at ALL.

Not only that, the tour itself is not good. I never once felt safe or like the guide had anything under control. We went hunting for an anaconda and when they found one, they proceeded to grab it and poke it while everyone took pictures and turns holding it. That's illegal in Bolivia. Then he tried to catch a cobra for us. A Cobra. But before he had given us NO warning that there were cobras where we were hiking. All he said was "don't worry anaconda is not poisonous". No word on Cobras at all.

Also while hiking, 4 of us got stuck and lost and the guide was too far ahead to even know about it and we were literally abandoned.

I nearly died because of this tour and no one should ever have to go through that, and not for a lously 100 bolivianos.

A Summer in South America

This summer Ive been traveling through SA and have been out of NYC. One of the things I miss most is painting. While down here in Peru I went to a museum and got a really great Idea to start using Gold Leaf! I bought some gold leaf and cant wait to get back to use them. I also cant wait to be back with my paintings again.

4 days. read my next post about companies to AVOID IN BOLIVIA AND PERU

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Moving, Glitter, Much more!

Hi sorry it's been a while...for ALL those people lining up to read this...ahem..

Well I work with tiny baby kids and they are SO creative. I keep doing glitter projects that go over really well. Come to find.. I also love glitter. I'm trying to figure out a way to do glitter paintings that actually come off looking established. I haven't seen anything like that around and who doesn't love glitter? I'm trying first my usual paintings, adding on to my city pieces, and adding the glitter to the building windows, the city lights and and the sky. I've drawn up some sketches for more pieces that use glitter a little more heavily. let's see if this idea falls on its face... I'm off next week so most likely we'll find out then. I can say I did a display piece at school (not grad school) using oil pastels and glitter and that came off looking awesome!

I'm also MOVING. To a place 2 blocks away thats about 18 times the size of my current tiny tiny room. Its a 2 bedroom with just my girlfriend and I, which means one bedroom will be converted into an art studio--which is becoming necessary now with 3 easels and piles of supplies and even more piles of canvases taking over the room like a miserable beast.

In other news, I'm subletting the new place this summer from July 4th-August 15th ish. Rebecca and I will be travelling through Bolivia and Peru! I'm in the market for a small durable mandolin for her, and still trying to figure out what I would like to travel with.