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My day started at 8am with my driver Mael arriving on time. We spent about an hour going east from Cap Haitian to a small town,
briefly passing the Sans Souci palace on the way. The road was actually pretty nice, and made of cobblestone surprisingly. It
took us a while to climb the steep hill and without a 4x4 I don't think we would have made it. There was a place to park, and from
here on I was on my own. I had a 7km hike to the castle, and I was immediately bombarded by people trying to sell souvenirs,
offer me a ride on a horse, or simply be my guide. I felt terrible because how many tourists can possibly come here, but I
preferred to walk, didn't want a guide and I rarely take any souvenirs. Two Haitian guys walked with me the whole way trying to be
my guide anyway, and they did point out a snake along the way so people dropped behind. The two guys with me stayed and
one couldn't talk and was out of breathe and the other finally asked me to slow down. I guess I'm still in decent shape considering
I haven't worked out in a while so catching up for Denali shouldn't be so bad, small confidence booster! Anyway, the hike was
pretty good since I did it at a fast pace, but it still did take some time to reach the castle. Once there, a man who was sleeping
outside said something I didn't understand about the guy with the key to the castle being in the village. I kept asking what he
meant and he eventually took a key out himself and opened the door, guess he had just wanted a donation. Once inside I found
the castle completely dark. I almost fell a few times and even the light from my cell phone did little to show the path. There were
some PVC pipes lined up along the walls inside, maybe they were eventually planning to use those as a conduit for cables to get
electricity inside. I spent several hours here, I could write about all the rooms I went into but that would take forever since this
place was so big. One of the most interesting places was on the roof were you could get some amazing views of surrounding
landscape, and even views of other parts of the castle like the courtyard. The roof had no guardrails, just a drop straight down
which would guarantee anyone's death. In a way this is what I liked about exploring these countries. I was free to do whatever I
wanted in the castle, no guides, rules or rails, no rooms off limits. Of course I would respect the castle and not do anything that
would damage it but I literally had this whole place to myself. The guy who wanted to be my guide was still following me around
sharing what he knew about the castle. I realized this would lead to him asking for a tip later on which was fair I suppose since he
did have some good info. He showed me the prison, and a small drawbridge that they had, things that I would have otherwise
overlooked. When it was time to leave and we began down the trail he pulled me aside and demanded $60. I was pretty offended
that he would ask for so much but still I gave him a little bit of money while I explained I had never wanted a guide. He was really
pissed, or was at least pretending to be thinking I'd give him more. This was my 43rd country not my first, I never have a problem
giving generous tips to people in places like this, but I'm not stupid and won't be taken advantage of. He walked with me down the
path complaining the entire time and saying how he had 8 siblings and 6 of his own kids. The more he complained the more I got
annoyed. Once back in the village an old man with a flute walked beside me paying some crazy song and soon after the mob of
people attacked me once again. I jumped into the truck and ordered the driver Mael to pull out. I did give the old man with the
flute some change but the rest of the people were all pissed off and disappointed. Earlier in my travels I'd feel really bad but I had
gotten used to this. To them, I was simply a naive cash cow and they were all doing everything they could to squeeze a dollar out
of me, so we were all doing what was necessary to survive. We drove back down the mountain and the driver dropped me off at
Sans Souci Palace. This was one of the president's palace, the same person who had ordered the citadel built. Both of these
places were designed and built by freed slaves, and it was impressive they could come up with something like this. The palace
had been destroyed in an earthquake, that had also destroyed Cap Haitian also. There were no rooms deep inside the palace
unlike the citadel, so I didn't spend nearly as much time here. I also had this place to myself to explore except for two men in suits
who passed by. They looked serious but after I said bonjour to them they smiled and said it back. There was a main palace
structure, and some other surrounding buildings, all that have been destroyed. Most of the vegetation was taking back the
palace, and I didn't trust the mossy stairs going up to the second floor so I left that unexplored. I did spend a little bit of time at
the church next to the palace which I thought was just as interesting before heading back to Cap Haitian. I spent the rest of the
day back in the mountains until it started to get dark. Then I ventured out alone again into Cap Haitian to find internet. The cafe I
went to was still closed but a guy about 30 who was dressed up walked with me for about 20 minutes until we found another one.
By the time I was done it was dark, but the guy I met picked me up in a taxi cab because I had taken his number. He was super
nice and I was surprised he helped me no questions asked and didn't want anything in return. So today I had accomplished my
goals, seen the citadel and palace, as well as a short hike out into the city, where we both had a beer after I returned.

Since the whole world seems to be heading towards what I hope is nothing more than a mini depression, I have found myself
worrying a lot about what might happen in the future. I have always been a big saver of any money I make, with traveling being
the only exception. Right now one of my parents is completely out of work so money for travel has been diverted to help out and
I've seen a significant chunk of my savings disappear. Since Denali is already paid for there is no backing out of climbing that
mountain in May 09, but honestly a part of me already wishes I could cancel it just because of my current situation. First off I
know there are plenty of people who are losing their jobs, homes, and having their families break, so I'm still extremely fortunate
and grateful that I can even be considering future trips. However, if things stay the way they are now, then I definitely will have to
stop traveling for a while, and even the thought of that really depresses me! More importantly if I lose my job I will definitely lose
my house and have no idea where I'll be living or working. I have always been very good with saving money, so good that I
haven't even had a bed in several months! For right now I'm fine, but its the real possibilities in the near future that worry me.
Mostly the worry is about the rest of my family, otherwise I'd probably be happy about being completely free and know one way or
another I'll survive and be fine. My current plan is to buy some important things I need, and afterwards try to save up more in
case things continue to go downhill. And so I just realized that I began my blog on a depressing note, but at least it shows that
traveling itself is a challenge and not always easy. But the good news is if I lose the house and job, then I could work overseas,
maybe a place in Europe or the Middle East. That's of course easier said than done, but its just one of many ideas I have that
can put a roof over my head and keep me happy.

My Blog

Something I did go ahead and buy even though I shouldn't have is a new macro lens. I did at least get the cheapest one I could
learn I'm excited about all the new photos I can take of small objects such as this insect. And happy birthday to all the Marines...

Nothing has really gotten better, but for whatever reason I feel more optimistic about the future. I also decided to continue
traveling regardless of the economy and what ever other warnings signs I should be paying attention. I realize it could be a
mistake that I might regret later, but I think I'm more likely to regret putting my dreams on hold and not knowing when I'll pick them
up again. How I travel might change, maybe I'll stick to my hemisphere for a while which is actually fine since I haven't done much
in Central America or the Caribbean except for one country in each region. I expect 2009 to be a nasty year but I'm prepared for
it, stocks went up 500 points Friday which is a good sign. I do expect them to drop more overall, but hopefully they won't go down
400 points a day anymore and things will get better or at least start to stabilize. I am learning how to use my macro lens, and took
the photo below about a week after the first one, definitely enjoying it!

Two weeks from today I will arrive to Haiti's capital of Port Au Prince. There is no doubt in my mind that Haiti is the most
dangerous country in the western hemisphere, but the scariest part is that as of now I have no reliable contacts or any type of
plan or person to help me out there. Normally to places like this I'd never just buy the ticket and plan everything out later but
sometimes it's good to be spontaneous. I read some more scary news about Haiti the past few days. Apparently when you arrive
to the airport some gangs are already looking you over for a kidnapping or some other crime, not good for me since I'm traveling
alone and as of now have no one to meet me there. The state department says there is a kidnapping of an American every two
weeks in Haiti with some resulting in murder. And of course, like all the dangerous countries I go to something has to happen
right before I get there or will be there. For Sudan there was the teddy bear, for Afghanistan there were news reports of it being
the most dangerous since the US invasion, and for Haiti it isn't so bad but definitely on the negative side. I've read reports about
increased murders and random acts of violence during the Haitian New Year and following days which seem to make it one of the
most dangerous times of the year to visit. Still, overall I think I'll make it out of Haiti fine but as I get closer the danger of this trip is
starting to become a more reality. My biggest concern is kidnapping, not much I can do about that since I'll be walking around the
shape and do well. Right now the biggest threat to my Denali climb seems to be getting injured in Haiti but hopefully that's not
likely. In the next two weeks I will get more ambitious about finding help in Haiti and already have several ideas.

The Mini Depression
November 1st 2008

A New World
November 10th 2008

Surviving
November 23rd 2008

Pre Haiti Trip
December 15th 2008

Ever since I returned from Afghanistan I haven't been nearly as consistent at eating healthy or going to the gym. Fortunately I
have still been working out and my run times and things like that have actually gotten better, but I know for sure my body fat has
increased. After thanksgiving I feel even nastier, and so I hope for the month of December I'll go back to my hard core training
schedule I was doing from May to Sept. With my Haitian trip exactly a month from today, I plan to focus on eating better and doing
more cardio work outs. If & when I get back from Haiti safely, I can then focus on more specific mountain training programs like
carrying a big backpack which I can do for Jan & Feb and then take the Denali prep class in March and then the actual climb in
May. I find myself stressed about Denali, the climb itself seems overwhelmingly hard and its such a big investment with money
time and training I definitely don't want to fail. It will be interesting to see how hard it really is, but six months seems so far away.

Post Thanksgiving
November 29th 2008

One of my last days in Haiti I set out to find the famous Bassin Bleu waterfall that I had read a lot about online. Actually this day
trip from the capital was more about going to the city of Jacmel but after I found out that Bassins Blue was nearby I figured I'd add
it to the list. My driver yesterday did not initially agree with the price I set on Jacmel. Originally he set a 'good price' of $250, I
guess he thinks thats what I get paid per hour back in the US! I cut it to a fraction of that price but I could tell he wasn't happy with
it. He did have to rent the vehicle and pay for gas which was very expensive, but aside from that he was still making a lot more
than he would have if he just stays in Port Au Prince and shoots guns all night. In the morning he never showed up, I kind of
figured he wouldn't come though so wasn't shocked. I did find another guy in the morning who seemed somewhat sane and
agreed on the same price. He took me to the bank first since I needed to get money and said he had to go home which was
walking distance and gave me the key to the van which was a good sign of trust. After we were done we headed off on the 2 hour
road trip to Jacmel, located on the beach south of Port Au Prince. The two hour trip was mostly uneventful except for a police
roadblock who gave the driver a ticket for having missing side-view mirrors. Once in Jacmel things were going well, I visited
....................................... some places of interest and had a late lunch at a nice restaurant on the beach. Afterwards I
............................................ decided to walk along the beach for a while and I passed by a group of kids about 12 years old
............................................. playing soccer. Most of them had clothes but one had nothing on but tighty whities and another
................................................ kid was completely naked kicking the ball. I think at this point I decided if I ever am bored again at
............................................... home I'll remember what I saw today. There are always a million things to do at home, sometimes
........................................... people are just too lazy even to have fun. If this kid can't even afford clothes and plays soccer
............................................ buck naked on the beach then I don't have much excuse to be bored at home! So after doing a
few more things in Jacmel we decided to head out to the waterfall, and we both had no clue how to get there. I should add that
my driver began to act weird ever since the police gave him the ticket. He seemed to go on about it for a long time as if I would
feel sorry for him and then maybe agree to pay for it. Our first stop to see where the waterfall was, was at a gas station right
outside Jacmel. I went inside to get water and when I returned the driver was talking to a bunch of people who apparently said
they would take us to the waterfall. I hoped he didn't volunteer me to pay anyone so I asked if it was for free and he said yes. The
next thing I know we followed a guy on a motorcycle who brought some girl back and began talking to my driver. After waiting I
asked the driver what they were talking about. He told me he told the girl she was ugly and not sexy and she had responded with
hysterical laughter and got into the back of the car. Apparently this guy was using his hard earned money to pick up a prostitute.
I had assumed we were going to the waterfall now but instead we went into some shabby neighborhood and stopped near a
house that literally had at least 20 gangster guys sitting on the corner. Another girl came out from a house and a few minutes
later a guy on a motorcycle with sun glasses pulled up with another one on the back. I made it clear I wasn't doing anything with
them or paying anything and the driver seemed to think it was my responsibility. Well you can at least buy them a beer right? I
told him he could do whatever he wanted but I wasn't going to pay anything or get involved. We drove off with the three
prostitutes in the van while the gangster guys stared at us as we passed by. The first guy on the motorcycle began to lead us to
Bassins Bleu, and I questioned if he even knew where it was. We passed through a shallow river that the driver was scared to
cross. There were lots of people taking baths here and collecting water for drinking. He had a small boy walk through the river in
front of us to guide us threw and paid him some money. Once on the other side we began to drive up hill on a steep mountain
which our van barely seemed able to handle. This whole time the prostitutes who didn't speak a word of English were ruffling my
hair and asking me things that I didn't understand. I didn't pay them much attention, because I didn't want them to think this was
my idea but I worried the driver had already told them it was. Eventually the hill got too steep to where the van couldn't take it and
the driver refused to continue. He told me to ride with the guy on the motorcycle and he would wait here. I got the driver to
translate and the motorcycle guy said it was a 15 minute ride on the bike followed by a 30 minute ride in a boat. Online I had read
that there were people offering mule rides up the mountain like the citadel, and this road seemed to be going no where. I also
hadn't heard anything about a 30 minute boat ride, and I questioned what body of water this high up on the mountain could last
30 minutes anyway. My driver kept saying George go with him! He had told me earlier one of his Haitian friends ruined his life by
cocaine, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did the drug also. Ever since I had paid him he had started going crazy with buying
small things along the markets and now the prostitutes. At this point I was pretty confident I wasn't going to make it to the
waterfall, and after a failed attempt I could only imagine what the situation might be with my driver and the girls after I returned. I
don't think this is a good idea I told him, and surprisingly he didn't argue but agreed and we returned back. He gave the girls
some money for coming along and then we headed back to the capital. The road back through the mountains was done in the
dark, we did pass by a flipped truck and saw some a huge mob of people surrounding another car crash. I guess today was a
partial success and partial disappointment, but thats the way traveling is in these parts of the world.

Now that I've gotten Haiti, another dangerous country checked off the list, my next adventure is the Denali climb in May. I
returned back from my short trip in Haiti to find the economy slightly worse which was pretty much expected. It does affect me and
I find it harder to motivate myself and go to the gym etc. That might sound silly but I have more responsbilities and payments to
make as a result and it all takes a toll. I did run 7 miles yesterday at a fast pace which was harder than it should have been. I
slacked off during the holidays and obviously in Haiti since I was traveling, but I think in a few weeks I can make it all back up. My
next trip is going to Washington state in March for a one week climbing prep course. It's expensive so I honestly don't want to pay
for it but I'll do whatever it takes to increase my chances on Denali. I am almost determined to do the presidential traverse this
winter in New Hampshire, it is basically a 20 mile trek across the white mountains in some of the harshest weather in the country.
The next few months I need to become a mountain man and climb and train as much as possible. I did also put my life savings
into the stock market after they declined for a week straight. I read some good economic news and was hoping they would
rebound but instead some idiot got on TV with some bad news which sent them crashing. This is more of a long term investment
anyway, so if the stocks/economy ever recover hopefully I can make some $ to pay for some expensive adventures.

Haiti - Jacmel Day Trip
January 4th 2009

Mountain Man
January 18th 2009

Haiti - Hike to the Citadel
Jan 2nd 2009

So here I am in Washington state about to go on my Denali prep course this weekend. I can't believe the day has finally come
and I'm officially training for Denali next week. Fortunately this course do its best to simulate how life is on Denali including the
physical challenges, so it will give me an idea of what is to come in May. The course should be both fun and miserable at the
same time. I will be spending a week on the mountain living in cold conditions and doing lots of hard work like setting up camps,
learning to cook in the cold weather, and traveling through the glaciers. So despite just being a course, this will be much harder
than and even longer than climbing Kilimanjaro! I can't wait to finish the course and hopefully I will be very confident about
Denali. The weeks before this course I have been training by hiking with a big pack and recently started dragging a tire as seen
below. This should help me get used to the sled dragging, but I have been doing it on relatively flat terrain and with lighter weight,
so I expect the prep to be much much harder. I can't wait to start the course just to see what it is really like.

Denali Prep
March 4th 2009

I guess 6 months is a little excessive to call this entry post Denali, but nevertheless its still my most recent trip and still fresh in my
memory. To date, I consider Denali by far my most challenging and greatest accomplishment. A major step forward in my quest
for the 7 summits, only one mountain, Mt. Everest, remains more difficult. The remaining other two mountains, Carstensz Pyramid
in Indonesia and Vinson Massif in Antarctica are challenging but easier. These two will still be hard work, but for me it's now a
matter of finding sponsorship or creative ways to make money. Realistically, I don't expect to be able to raise tens of thousands
of dollars in the next few months or even year or two, especially while we are still in a recession. So that means that I'll be
focused more on my other challenge of knocking out the most dangerous countries in the world. I have made some significant
progress in the past two years by visiting Sudan, Haiti and Afghanistan. I intend to visit Iraq this coming March, but in all honesty I
would prefer to visit somewhere else just because I feel like I have put too much emphasis in the middle east. A better alternative
which recently started to seem possible is a trip to western Somalia. Even though Somalia is just right outside the middle east I'd
feel better going since it is Africa and I haven't been there in almost two years. I have found some interesting things to do in
Somaliland and I found some people to help me, so it seems that this trip is mostly a matter of making a decision to take the risk.

Post Denali
November 29th 2009

I've officially chosen Iraq to be my next destination and if all goes well I'll arrive there March 6th. My dates aren't very flexible, and
since March 7th are the presidential elections I'm expecting car bombs, drive by shootings and all the other chaos that Iraq sees.
I'm not sure if this trip is a good idea, and I have to say I don't feel nearly as confident about this trip as I have with trips to
Afghanistan and Sudan. But my impatience and need for adventure is making me go ahead and do this anyway, so I hope I'm not
getting too complacent with dangerous trips. Since Haiti was the last time I left the US, it's going to be an incredible 14 months
since my last international vacation! Horrible! Especially when I was going somewhere every 4 months in the past. But if you
count my expedition to Denali in Alaska then its still been 10 months. Places on the list in Iraq are Baghdad, Kurdistan, Erbil,
Babylon, and the marsh villages in the south. I'd have about 3 weeks there, so plenty of time to see the country if all goes well.

Vacation to Iraq
December 20th 2009

With Iraq canceled several months ago I have switched my next destination to western Somalia. I arrived to Addis Ababa last
night but with jet lag I found myself fully awake at 4am in my guest house. Today once the sun arrives, I plan to explore this
capital and try to immediately arrange a way to enter Somalia. Flying is the best option, but I wasn't able to book any flights
online and a road trip will take several days. Hopefully it will all work out, but right now my greatest fear is coming all this way and
either not being able to make it to Somalia or having most of this trip being taken up by planning and waiting instead of exploring.

Vacation to Somalia
February 27th 2010

Next Trip: China & North Korea - August 27th 2010!

I have my next intended vacation to North Korea at the end of August, only two more months away! The longest I'm allowed to
visit North Korea is 8 days, so 8 days it will be. I'll also spend some time in China, but not nearly as long I'd like to, especially for
such a large and diverse country. I should at least be able to knock out Beijing and if I'm lucky then some surrounding areas.

If I go to North Korea, then next on my travel list would be another one of the 7 summits; Carstensz Pyramid. I could do this in
November as I have the money, the motivation, and the gear and the only thing I lack is the vacation time from my job! The stock
market has been bad to me the past two months, but overall since I began my initial investing in Jan 2009 I have been mostly on
the green side. Not too bad coming from someone who has no idea about investing in stocks! So my risky plan of investing in the
market to get me up another one of the 7 summits has worked. If I can get Carstensz done then I'll only have Vinson and Everest
left! Those are too expensive to pay on my own, even if the stock market does exceptionally well, but with only have two
mountains left, hopefully that will make it easier for me to get some sponsorship.

So, realistically it's not likely I'll be attempting Carstensz this November due to a lack of vacation time. Since I really awnt to do
this, I will attempt to take unpaid vacation or maybe even a sabbatical since I worry about not having this opportunity in the
future. If I'm able to take unpaid vacation, then I'll certainly take a lot of time off to make it worth it. I'd use all that time to backpack
parts of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and maybe even East Timor. I'll contact HR at my job soon to begin negotiations!

Vacation to North Korea
June 16th 2010