The Amazon Jungle

So here are a series of pics from the Amazon basin.  One hour fliight from Quito to Coca.  Two hour boatride (60 k) up the Napo river.  20 minute hike into the jungle and then a twenty minute canoe trip (pic 1) to the Sani Lodge (pic 2).  Three days in the jungle - spectacular!! We had a amazing guide, Havier, who is a Quechua native.  He taught us about the ecology of the Amazon, identified 70 birds and introduced us to the shaman of his community.  Pic 3 are bats.  Pic 4 is a prehistoric bird called a Huitzin.  After a half hour walk further into the jungle-----Pic 5 is Cathy standing at the base of an ancient Seibo tree next to which a staircase has been placed (202 steps) leading to a platform that rises ABOVE the jungle canopy (think Bilbo Baggins in Mirkwood).  Dense forested jungle as far as the eyes can see (next wo pics).  Parrots, toucans, raptors, monkeys galore.   We were told the Amazon would be uncomfortable - hot, muggy and lots of bugs.  It is hotter,  mugger and there are more bugs in Evanston.  Remember, every fifth breath you take comes from the Amazon basin - 20% of earth's oxygen is produced here.  More to follow soon.

Heading to South America

 depending on web access, look for the long-awaited return of my travel blog......

Membership has its privileges

As part of our Tour package we got certain perks.  Our bikers rode across the finish line yesterday:

We were allowed into the "technical area" where the podium and media reside.  Tony and I passed the NBC truck and saw Bob Roll up on the production deck.  We asked him for a photo and he climbed down to join us.  He couldn't have been nicer.

And being in the French Alps is pretty spectacular.

Confessions of a Tour de France junkie

I first became interested in the Tour de France during the Greg LeMond era.  My interest, okay obsession, evolved during the Lance Armstrong years.  Lance played only a small part of this escalation, however.  I had started road biking by then, but more importantly I had become best friends with a fellow rider and TDF devotee, Tony McShane.  Nothing stirs the pot of fandom more than having a bromance with someone similarly obsessed.

Here comes the confession part.  For at least the seven Armstrong Tours, three midsummer weeks for me would go like this:   I would arrive at my office in the morning, immediately power up my computer, and log on to www.letour.fr.  Given the seven hour time difference, the riders were already on the course.  I would check the website in between patient appointments, pretty much every appointment. With any significant race developments I was in touch with Tony, either by phone or text, often as many as a half dozen times a day.  Thankfully, the stage would finish late morning (5 PM French time) and so, finally, some work could get done.

Being here is a spectacle.  Today's Herald Tribune headline says it pretty well.

Last night I learned that Tony and I are amateurs in the TDF-geek world. At dinner I started talking to two guys in our group who put us to shame. They are both physicians. One of them has two small kids. They are seemingly normal appearing guys. They do not get drunk or rowdy. This is their third TDF. And here is a picture of them;

Chewbacca and The Naked Cowboy.
They haul these costumes here from home. The Chewy costume weighs 30lbs. They don these outfits, wait by the side of the road and then run alongside the riders when they arrive. They have been on European TV. Der Spiegel interviewed them this week. Apparently they brought along other costumes.

Clearly Tony and I have our work cut out for us.

Costa wins.

More content to follow but we staked out front row seats and got a great view of the winner. Unfortunately, when the yellow jersey came by, I got blocked by a motorcycle.

L'Alpe d'Huez

We took a coach from Lyon to the top of L'Alpe d'Huez today.  We are at the top of the Alps.  It was a long, hard ride in a bus.  And we took the easy way up.  We got a glimpse of the lower part of the legendary climb the riders will do tomorrow.  Holy crap.  Riding up the intense grade, including 21 switchbacks, on a bike seems preposterous to me.  The fact that tomorrow's stage will require them to do it twice, for the first time in history, is inconceivable to me.  I can't wait to watch it.

The photos

Views of Lyon --- the city at night from on high, Notre Dame, and my meal: chicken and mushroom terrine followed by a PERFECTLY prepared duck in a mango sauce, both were other-worldly. Tony's fois gras wasn't too shabby either.