Mouse and Marmot

Travel Quote: Everyday Things - Bryson

Travel Quote: Foreign Lands

Travel Quote: Your Own Path - Gillies

Travel Quote: A Bird Without Wings - Saadi

Spain: Buen Retiro Park

One of the best attractions in Madrid is the sprawling Parque del Buen Retiro. The park grew slowly over several centuries as different royal families added bits and pieces for their own and their courts' recreation. The large pond, which is crowded with rowboats on a nice day, was originally used for mock naval battles and other aquatic shows. Eventually the park, now 350 acres, was passed to public ownership. And the public has embraced this organic oasis in the heart of its capitol city. 

Near the park is a street lined with bookseller stalls. Kelly spent an hour or so perusing all the old Spanish books, and found a 1923 French trigonometry book (1 euro), and a cool 1951 Spanish transportation book full of ads (10 euro).

It was a nice day out and the first day of Easter break. People were relaxing in the grass, and dogs were everywhere. Spain is definitely a dog country and the paths held almost as many dogs as people. At one corner, there were two giant dogs as well as a dust-ball of a Pomeranian yapping around at their feet. The owners did not seem to mind us stopping to watch the comical scene. We continued along small paths and wide paths, enjoying the shade until we reached a formal garden. Across from the formal garden was Carlos IV monument, with a huge lake out front - the Estanque del Retiro. The line to rent a rowboat looked like it was several hours long so we took the path around the lake and watched the boats, instead.

Street performers were everywhere and drew happy crowds. One man on a unicycle declared that he would do extraordinary things - but we never got to see them. Two puppet shows entertained the children. We stopped to watch one about a dog who was guarding a hen. The dog was tired so he would ask the children to watch the chicken for him. Yet, as soon as he laid his head down to take a nap the kids would begin yelling "Aiee! Perrito! Perrito!" because some intruder would be sneaking up behind him to steal the chicken. The dog would jump up and beat back the intruder, getting the chicken back. This puppet show was a lot more engaging for the kids than the other, which was more of a Punch-and-Judy style. 

At the large Monument to Alfonso XII, people climbed the steps and watched the crush of boats in the lake. Even the rollerbladers had climbed the steps to get a better vantage point. Fathers chased toddlers around the base of the steps, kids climbed the lion statues and lovers kissed passionately, oblivious to everyone. 

When we came back through Madrid to fly home, we spent our last afternoon at Retiro Park. It was sunny, the weather was warm, and it was much less busy than it was the first time because vacations were over. We rented a rowboat and paddled around the lake for an hour. Even with much fewer people it was still hard to navigate the pond without running into others.

A main avenue ran through the park. People walked and jogged on the edges while rollerbladers took up the center, some showing off tricks. Some had set up music and little cones to skate through. Others, were taking what looked like a beginner class, wobbling unsteadily. 

At the conservatory, black swans swam next to fat white ducks. Turtles sunned themselves on a half-submerged log. Nearby, in the garden, male peacocks strutted their feathers and the ladies did their best to ignore them. Old men fed the bird bread, which the males were too busy to eat and the females used as an excuse not to look at the shaking tail feathers behind them. 

New York: Rodents Galore

You can't send mouse&marmot somewhere and expect to not get picture of rodents. But New York was an especially rodent-filled trip. 

The squirrels of Central Park were preparing for winter by collecting leaves and creating cozy dens up in the bare trees.

We saw our first black squirrel - an adaptation left from when forests were darker. Not so useful now in a land of grey and green. 

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) warned of the dangers of certain rodents.

And at the famous FAO Schwartz toy store, we picked up a new friend, Pack Rat.

Japan: Days 1 & 2 - Meeting some moose in Anchorage

We left Seattle at around 5 pm and arrived at the Captain Cook hotel in Anchorage, around 10 pm. It’s a nice hotel, though the décor is a bit dark and outdated. I had dinner at the F-Street Station, a former hangout for pontoon plane pilots (in Alaska they are called pontoon planes, not float planes). The place was full of locals and it started to get really busy by the time I left.

It rained a lot that night and drizzled in the morning. I decided to skip the bike rental idea and just walk around to see how far I got. Eventually, I ended up on the coastal trail, heading south. Supposedly this is the trail to take if you want to see moose and it did not disappoint. About 3 miles into the hike, I ran into a huge bull moose. He watched me, but I kept my distance and let him cross in front me. 

      The autumn leaves were in full color and the aspens, dressed in golden hues, were especially beautiful. I passed earthquake park (not terribly exciting) and on to a place with beach access. On the beach, the water was brown with glacial runoff, and I don’t think it ever gets any clearer. At this point, I was already over halfway down the trail, so I decided to continue on and (hopefully) catch a bus back. Shortly after I entered Kincaid park, I ran into another moose, this one was very young and had just two pegs for antlers. He calmly munched leaves as I stopped to take a picture.

At about mile 7.5, a man came walking briskly down the trail and warned me about another moose - this one he said was “all Bullwinkle, and shaking its antlers”. He said to go ahead, but to be careful. Luckily I didn’t run into the bull and at mile 12, the trail ended.  I walked into a community center to ask about a bus. Unfortunately for me, the bus doesn’t go to the community center, so I had to walk an additional 2.5 miles out to Jewel Lake Road. This turned out to be a very long walk, and I would have been better off with the bike. But then again, I may not have seen any animals. At Jewel Lake, I caught the bus back to Anchorage (and spent an hour inside Dimond Mall while waiting for a transfer).

The trip to Tokyo was uneventful. We had a tech stop in Sapporo, which took a little longer than usual because they had to de-ice the wings (they had about a half inch of ice in some places). We got in around midnight, so when I checked into the Keio Plaza, it was already the next day. I took a four-hour nap before heading out again for Nikko.