Itinerant's Itinerary: El Camino del Diablo - the road not taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.       

      - The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

Two roads diverged ...

     I haven't even begun my Discovery Ride in Arizona with its theme of immigration, and I'm already regretting the road not taken.  When first planning my trip, I wanted to travel the Camino del Diablo, or the Devil's Highway, along the Arizona-Mexico border, but as it happens, I couldn't take that road. 
     Part of the inspiration for my trip was the book The Devil's Highway by Luis Urrea.

The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

     A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, it is the gripping true story of twenty-six Mexican immigrants - fathers, sons, and brothers - who tried to cross the desolation of the Sonoran desert into the United States.  Only twelve survived the ordeal.  The account is a moving story about courage and strength of men trying to better their lives and support their families, and it vividly describes the faces and souls of modern immigration in Arizona.  So naturally, I wanted to travel the Camino del Diablo.
     The Devil's Highway is believed to follow the Native American footpaths dating back over 1,000 years.  Today, it remains an unpaved trail across a forbidding desert, originating near Yuma and crossing the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, ending at Ajo, Arizona.

The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and area of El Camino del Diablo
(the Devil's Highway is marked in red)

The trail is never more than a few miles from the border.  You can read an account of a trip along the route from a few years ago in National Geographic.

Saguaro cacti along the Devil's Highway

     The first European to describe the area was Captain Melchor Diaz, a member of Coronado's expedition, who in 1540 led a group north to California.  He didn't survive the trip and his death is the first recorded on the Camino del Diablo.  The route was rediscovered in 1699, when one of the toughest explorers, Jesuit Padre Eusebio Kino, mapped the region and travelled the trail several times.  But it then fell into disuse until 1848 when gold was discovered in California, and the Devil's Highway seemed like a shortcut to riches.  So starting about 1850, fortune hunters set out along the trail, totally unprepared for the heat, the desolation, and the lack of water.  Ten years later, when Raphael Pumpelly crossed the Camino del Diablo on horseback, he estimated the number of dead at Tinajas Altas, one of the few water holes along the trail, at 2000.  Three years later, a member of the International Boundary Commission, while surveying the area for a railway line, estimated the deaths at 400.  Whatever the actual figure, the Commission declared that the deaths at Tinajas Altas were "a record probably without parallel in North America."  After the train lines were completed the trail again fell into disuse for over a century.
     However, in the late 1980's, the deaths began anew.  As Arizona-Mexico border surveillance, border walls, and alien arrests all increased at the urban border crossing sites, illegal immigrants were funneled into more desolate crossing areas like the Devil's Highway.  So today, people die in the desert every week.  The organization Humane Borders has documented and mapped 1755 deaths along the Arizona border in the decade between 1999 and 2009.

Recorded Migrant Deaths along the Arizona-Mexico border, 1999-2009 (from Humane Borders)

     Friends and family advised me not to take the route on my trip, arguing that the risks of traveling by solo motorcycle were too great.  In the end, my plan to travel the trail in May was moot.  The highway is closed annually by the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge from March through July, during Sonoran pronghorn fawning season.  The Camino del Diablo became my road not taken.
     So you can imaging my distress when I learned that the literary inspiration for my trip, The Devil's Highway by Luis Urrea, had been banned from the Tucson public school system.  In 2010, the Arizona legislature prohibited any school district from offering classes that promoted the overthrow of the U.S. government, promoted resentment toward any race or class, advocated ethnic solidarity instead of being individuals, or was designated for a certain ethnicity.  The law even triggered a segment on The Daily Show in April.

     In January 2011, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne declared that the Mexican-American Studies program of the Tucson Unified School District was in violation of the law and therefore was banned.  Moreover, all the books related to the program were also found to be out of compliance and were removed from schools to be placed in district warehouses.  The list of banned books was extensive, and included five books by Luis Urrea, most sadly The Devil's Highway.  The book banning stimulated Tony Diaz, a Houston teacher and activist, to become a Librotraficante, or book smuggler, by organizing a caravan to bring the offensive books from Texas into Tucson in March of this year.

     The students of Tucson may not be able to experience The Devil's Highway, and I may not be able to travel El Camino del Diablo, but I urge you to take that route nevertheless.  Don't let The Devil's Highway be your road not taken.  Become a Librotraficante.  Read it for yourself.  It will make all the difference.

Itinerant's Itinerary:  Reflections on Arizona v. United States

     In anticipation of my Discovery Ride with its theme of immigration, I have been closely following the Supreme Court case of Arizona v. United States, which addresses the legality of the Arizona immigration law known as SB 1070, sometimes called the "show me your papers" law.  According to the statement of legislative intent, the law was designed to make “attrition through enforcement” the official policy of all state and local agencies in Arizona.  Oral arguments were heard before the court yesterday, and a decision is unlikely before June, after my visit to Arizona in May.

Protesters in front of the Supreme Court Wednesday, May 25 during oral arguments in Arizona v. United States

     According to the American Immigration Council, the Supreme Court will not rule on the entirety of SB 1070, but rather will only consider the following four provisions that were blocked from taking effect by lower court judges:

1. Section 2(B) requires state and local police officers to attempt to determine the immigration status of any person lawfully stopped if “reasonable suspicion” exists that the person is unlawfully present in the United States. This section also requires state and local authorities to determine the immigration status of any person placed under arrest, regardless of whether the person is suspected of being in the country unlawfully.
2. Section 3 makes it a crime under Arizona law for unauthorized immigrants to violate the provisions of federal law requiring them to apply for “registration” with the federal government and to carry a registration card if one has been issued to them.
3. Section 5(C) makes it a crime under Arizona law for immigrants who are not authorized to work in the United States to apply for work, solicit work in a public place, or perform work within the state’s borders.
4. Section 6 authorizes state and local police officers to arrest immigrants without a warrant where “probable cause” exists that they committed a public offense making them removable from the United States.

     However, the remaining provisions of the bill are not currently being contested, and may remain in force regardless of the decision of the Court in this case.  As a physician, I was interested in Section 5, 13-2929 of the law which would not be affected by the Court decision.  It specifies that those who "conceal, harbor or shield or attempt to conceal, harbor or shield" a foreign person who came to the United States illegally are "guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor" punishable by a fine of at least $1000.  If the action involves ten or more illegal aliens, the crime becomes a felony.
     It could be argued that health care providers who fail to report illegal aliens under their care would violate the law and be considered criminals.  The bill provides physicians with no guidance as to what constitutes "reasonable grounds" to suspect that someone is in the country illegally, leaving the particulars of suspicion to anyone's imagination.  Will health care providers in Arizona need to ask for documents before seeing certain patients?  Will physicians themselves need to carry their own passports at all times, depending on their physical appearance or accent?  How does this affect migrant and community health centers in Arizona, that are funded through the U.S. Public Health Service and are committed to providing care in underserved areas?   Will it force health care providers to choose between the dignity of their profession and the indignity of arrest or conviction for violating the law?
     This provision of the law may threaten one of the oldest traditions of medicine, that physicians shall protect patients and their confidentiality, regardless of nationality or race.  When I visit Arizona in May I hope to be able to talk to patients or physicians about whether the requirement to produce immigration documents has impeded patients' access to care or has violated the trust that physicians and nurses work to earn from their patients.  

     This news video discusses additional legislation recently proposed in Arizona (but not yet passed) that explicitly requires hospitals and doctors to screen for immigration status and report illegal immigrants to authorities.

Itinerant's Itinerary: Jumping from an African bush plane

     What is it about milestone birthdays that makes us take inventory of our lives?   It's often said that milestones force us to face our mortality.  And when we face our own mortality, we reassess what we have done and how we have lived.  But if recognizing our mortality is the reason, why do we do then celebrate milestone birthdays with risky adventures?  Maybe because it makes us feel so alive!
     Mrs. Itinerant Traveler was in South Africa for her 50th birthday and learned of a pair of bush pilots who also took people up for parachute jumps.  Naturally, she jumped at the chance to jump, especially since she had never done it before.

     The pilots ran their operation from a bush camp outside of Capetown.

Mrs. Itinerant Traveler in the bush camp waiting to get started.

     After a few brief instructions, she was suited up for her jump.  She was slated for a dual jump with an experienced instructor.  

Her instructor cinches her into her jump suit.  Watch your hands there, buddy!

     In a dual jump, she would be tethered to the front of the instructor, as they would descend under the same parachute.

The instructor demonstrates the position for a dual jump.  Watch your hands there, buddy!

     She and her instructor then boarded a single engine plane for the trip into the skies.

    

 She and her fellow jumpers board the plane on a dirt runway, soon to be airborne.

     And then she jumped!

Soaring a few seconds after opening the chute

Descending to the landing zone

Preparing for landing

A perfect rump landing

A good landing is any landing you walk away from

The triumphant 50 year old jumper

     Mrs. Itinerant Traveler has subsequently jumped again here in the states, and vows to jump again to celebrate her 60th birthday.  Bon voyage!

Itinerant's Itinerary:  Tampa Bay Blues Festival

     We're off to the Tampa Bay Blues Festival at Vinoy Park in St. Petersberg tomorrow.  We can only attend the Saturday session, so we'll miss the Friday and Sunday lineups.  Tomorrow we'll get to see:

Albert Castiglia

Toni Lynn Washington

The Mannish Boys

James Cotton

Darrell Nulisch

Tower of Power

Jimmie Vaughn

     The big headliner for Friday is one of my favorite bands, Roomful of Blues. 

Roomful of Blues

     Sunday's biggest headliner is the great Delbert McClinton.

Delbert McClinton

      Next week I'll write more and have more photos about this weekend's blues by the bay.

Itinerant's Itinerary:  Tunis

     We visited Tunis a few years ago, before last year’s Jasmine Revolution.  For years, Tunisia was known as a relatively progressive North African country, with a large middle class, liberal social norms, broad gender equality, and welcoming Mediterranean beaches.  But in January 2011, it launched the wave of revolt that became the Arab spring. 

There is regular ferry service across the Mediterranean Sea to Tunis from Italy, a short distance to the north.  Libya lies to the east and Algeria to the west.

Tunis is comfortably situated along the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea

Islamic mosques, with taller spires, stand out from from shops and homes with flat roofs

     Tunis was known for relatively safe neighborhoods with whitewashed buildings, exterior blue trim, and flat roofs.

A beachside home with traditional colors that looks out over the water

A middle-class residential street in Tunis

The Itinerant Traveller with Itinerant Son and Daughter photographing a traditional home.

One Tunis home we saw broke from tradition with an orange door bordered in black and white

     While there, we were told that women had equal status in society and it was true that we saw Tunisian women walking the street without traditional dress or male escorts.  However, we never saw Tunisian women in the coffee shops, restaurants, or retail shops, unless they were working.

Two women in Tunis dressed very diferently but walking alone without escorts

We saw no Tunisian women customers in restaurants or shops

A woman weaving a rug in a Tunis shop

     For all its modern traits, Tunisia had a repressive government and astonishing corruption among its elite that became intolerable once the economic recession of southern Europe spread to the country.  When we visited it was illegal to photograph the exteriors of government buildings or the presidential houses, and there were armed guards in the areas to enforce that prohibition.

We took a prohibited photo of the president's beachside home as we drove by

     The Tunisian uprising began in December 2010, when a fruit vendor set himself on fire to protest his lack of opportunity and the disrespect of the police.

     In what became known as the Jasmine Revolution, street protests ousted the authoritarian president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled with an iron hand for 23 years.  In January 2011, Mr. Ben Ali left the country, after trying unsuccessfully to placate the demonstrators with promises of elections. According to government figures issued later, 78 protesters died and 94 were injured during the demonstrations.  In June 2011 he and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, were convicted in absentia of theft and unlawful possession of cash and jewelry. The judge in the case sentenced them to 35 years in prison and levied a $65 million fine.

     In the months after the revolution, Tunisia struggled with continued instability, new tensions between Islamists and secular liberals, and a still-limping economy.  However, in the country’s first free election, millions of Tunisians cast votes in October 2011 for an assembly to draft a constitution and shape a new government.  It remains to be seen what kind of democracy will evolve in Tunisia and how the rights of all citizens will be restored.

     It may be an opportune time to visit Tunisia, since it is now trying to revive its tourism industry.  Here is a link to a recent NewYork Times article about visiting Tunisia after the revolution and a slide show of recent photographs.

Itinerant's Itinerary:  Polo Match

Last weekend I went to a polo match in Plant City Florida, as a fundraising event for the Children’s Cancer Center of Tampa.  I had never seen polo played live before and it was a perfect day for an outstanding event.  Over 500 people attended the event and it raised money for a great organization.  If you are looking to donate to a worthwhile charity, you could do a lot worse than giving to the Children’s Cancer Center.

Somewhere along the right hand column I have posted pictures from the event.

Itinerant’s Itinerary:  Victoria Falls

We had the good fortune to visit Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Africa, some years ago, before the economic strife and political tensions surrounding Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe made tourism there dicey.  The falls are located on the Zambezi River, between Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

In southeast Africa, the Zambezi River is the border between Zambia in the north

and Zimbabwe in the south.  Botswana is to the southwest and Namibia to the west.

 

The waterfall was originally named for Queen Victoria by Scottish explorer David Livingstone in the 19^th century, when the countries were settled by British and South African pioneers as Rhodesia.  Since Zambia’s independence in 1964 and Zimbabwe’s subsequent independence two decades later, the preferred indigenous name is “Mosi-oa-Tunya” — literally “Smoke that Thunders”. The waterfall is one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and a UNESCO World Heritage site; UNESCO recognizes both names for the falls.

An aerial view of the Zambezi River and the face of Victoria Falls looking to

the west, with Zimbabwe to the south (left) and Zambia to the north (right).

We stayed at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge which was an experience in itself, filled with exotic warnings. 

After we checked in, the bellman led us to our room along an outside walkway lined with warthogs in the grass and small monkeys in the trees.  We were warned not to feed the animals along the walkway or we would never be rid of them. 

Safari Lodge warning sign

Baboon on the walkway at the Safari Lodge

Warthogs in front of the Safari Lodge in Victoria Falls

The bellman pointed out the hotel restaurant, a separate building about 50 yards down the driveway.  He advised us to use the hotel van that made regular round trips to go to dinner, and he warned not to walk to the restaurant at night despite the short distance, because water buffalo commonly cross the property and may injure or kill pedestrians. 

Giraffes crossing the driveway at the Safari Lodge in Victoria Falls.

In our room the bellman instructed us in the use of the mosquito netting that hung over our bed and showed us our balcony that overlooked a waterhole behind the hotel. 

View of the waterhole behind the Safari Lodge from our room balcony

He advised us to keep the balcony doors locked at night or when we were gone during the day, not for human security, but because otherwise monkeys would come into our room and defecate on our bed.  We dutifully followed all the instructions, but we could never master the complexity of the mosquito netting, so I guess amid all the other wildlife we risked malaria at night.

The waterhole behind the hotel property attracted animals that could be seen from the hotel.

Elephants at the Safari Lodge waterhole

The hotel also had an outside deck bar that overlooked the waterhole, so at sunset the water attracted animals and the liquor attracted guests who could view elephants, giraffes, buffalo, and antelope while sipping gin and tonics.

Deck at the hotel bar overlooking the waterhole

Our first night’s sleep was interrupted by heavy pounding outside our bedroom balcony.  The night was moonless and impenetrably dark, so we couldn’t see what was happening outside, and since we had been warned about the risks of monkey bed-defecation, we didn’t go out on the balcony to investigate.  The next day we asked about the pounding at the front desk, and we were told not to worry that it was a very common event.  Elephants apparently come alongside the hotel at night to scratch their backs by rubbing up against the building foundation and the lower balconies.  Why were we so concerned?

We walked a short distance to the town center and then to the falls along a walkway through the small Victoria Falls National Park.  The walking path begins at the rear of the property of the Victoria Falls Hotel, which is a classic Edwardian-style hotel of the British reign, built in 1904, and a fossil of colonialism captured in amber.

Victoria Falls Hotel

The waterfall itself was enormous, wet and loud.  While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, Zimbabwe claims it to be the largest. The claim is based on a width of over 5,600 feet and a height of over 400 feet forming the largest area of falling water in the world. 

Despite the size, the viewing stations are close to the face of the waterfall and are constantly engulfed with the mists from the falling water.  The roar of the falls is loud enough to limit conversation unless shouting.  The name “Smoke that Thunders” is entirely appropriate.

The Itinerant Traveler enjoying the mist at Victoria Falls

While in Zimbabwe we kayaked down a calm segment of the Zambezi River upriver from the falls.  Our party included Mrs. Itinerant Traveler, me, our river guide, and another tourist, a young man from Ireland who was traveling solo. 

The Itinerant Traveler watching kayaks being unloaded

 Mrs. Itinerant Traveler and me in our inflatable kayak on the Zambezi River

While the scenery was breathtaking and the company congenial, the most impressive parts of the paddle trip were the dark humps scattered along the river, each representing the head or back of a hippopotamus resting in the shallows.  Our guide warned us that despite all the carnivorous predators in Africa, most human deaths resulted from hippos and buffalo.  Unwary boaters particularly would float over a hippo hump and startle the animal, resulting in the boater and craft being capsized and attacked by the now angered giant.  We carefully followed the kayak guide’s path and gave wide berth to the dark river humps.

Hippos in the Zambezi river, while canoers pass by

The kayak trip was fun but tiring.  After dinner we fell into bed and fortunately that night our sleep was not disturbed by itchy elephants.  The next day we had planned to go on a horseback safari ride, but Mrs. Itinerant Traveler opted out, claiming exhaustion from the kayak trip.  If truth be told I was tired too, but didn’t want to miss out on a horseback ride.

The group for the horse safari included two African guides, me, and three Israeli men who were filming a travel documentary for the National Geographic television network.  Unfortunately they had been robbed the night before.  They were camping near Victoria Falls and had all their video equipment and tapes stolen in the dead of night.  Needless to say they were somewhat disgruntled and dejected, having weeks’ worth of work disappear, to say nothing of the violation of being victimized.  Despite their troubles they remained friendly and optimistic, recounting other episodes of tribulation, excitement, and danger that are apparently par for the course in their line of work. 

Itinerant Traveler and fellow riders ready for a horseback safari

A horseback safari is unique since one can ride slowly amidst herds of buffalo, warthogs, giraffes, zebra, and even antelope without spooking off the animals.  Apparently the animals perceive that horses are not predators, yet they don’t separate the rider from the horse.  I would imagine that hunters on horseback hold a distinct advantage.  We spent the morning in close observation of dozens of creatures in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park.

 African water buffalo barely stir as our horse safari group passes through the herd

When our guide spotted fresh elephant dung, we began to track a young bull elephant, and soon found him quietly eating leaves and grass.  The guides told us that elephants were different from other animals, for some reason feeling threatened by horses and riders, so we would tread with caution. 

The guides usually use an elephant spotting for what they called “an exciting photography opportunity”, but since the Israelis had been relieved of their camera gear, I was the only rider equipped for this photo op.  They called it “exciting” because it involved inviting the elephant to make a false charge at us, after which I would take a picture.  The guide explained to me that he and I would ride toward the elephant, which would then bleat and flap his ears and make a short charge at us until we retreated.  The elephant would then, having demonstrated his dominance, allow us to come close enough for an undisturbed photograph.  Sure enough, as the guide and I rode toward the beast, it played its part with great noise, stomping and indignation, and we retreated quickly.  Unfortunately however, when we retraced our path toward the elephant the second time, it once again bleated, flapped, and charged until we retreated a second time.  The guide then assured me that the elephant surely had now recognized our submissiveness and would allow our closer advancement.  The third time we approached, the elephant responded with its loudest snorting yet, its widest flare of its ears and its longest charge, as we rapidly rode away.  I asked the guide why the elephant continued to charge at us.  The guide told me that only one false charge was the rule, but maybe this elephant hadn’t been told the rule.  Not feeling assured, I tried to tell the guide that the photo wasn’t all that important to me, but he insisted we get the picture.  His new plan was for us to again approach the elephant, but this time the guide would take my reins as I held my camera.  When the elephant charged I was to take the photograph and the guide would then hightail it away leading my horse behind him. 

And we did it.  I almost fell off my mount as the guide took off away from the charging animal, but we got the picture.  Most importantly the Israelis laughed and applauded.  These were professional photographers who apparently routinely encountered danger and excitement in their work and they applauded.  Their accolade made my abject fear almost manageable.  The image is blurry and poorly exposed, but as travel photography, it’s my finest hour.

An elephant charges seconds before we retreated rapidly on horseback.