wanderlust : travel writings

Date: Tue Mar 19, 2002 7:50 pm
Subject: Chris's mis-adventures in Patagonia

Thanks to the crash of the high tech economy, and despite my early-mid-life-crisis-must-go-find-myself-in-Tibet-and-get-traveling-out-of-my-system trip last year, I find myself on the road again... I now admit that Traveling is just part of my system. At any rate, I am on the road, and you are on my trip update list... I can only muster up the energy to send one of these emails out once every few weeks or so at the most, but if you would rather not hear about my misadventures, let me know and I’ll remove you from the list... (and only be mildly offended)

This year instead of going to the Far East, I have come to the Far South...

With a friend of mine, (Adam Stein, who also exited stage left of high tech) jumped a flight to the tip of Patagonia and South America to the southernmost Argentinian town of Ushuaia. I'm almost seven weeks into my trip, so I'm a little behind on the old updates. I will try to summarize everything up briefly and let you go to adam's swanky web site for details and pictures:

(http://www.adamstein.org/albums/patagonia/)

Luckily for the reader, most of what we have been doing is trekking (a fancy word for hiking), so a detailed update would just have repeated the phrase, 'and then we hiked some more and it was really hard and pretty and cold and evenings with adam (and his socks) in the tent are dreamy' a bunch of times. Brevity is better.

We started out on a quest to get to Antarctica. Armed with only vague rumors that you could get these typically 3-8K trips for a fraction of the price if you just popped up and and the ships weren't full (old Russian ice-breakers that have been converted into Luxury cruise boats). We also discovered you could take a private sailboat for 28 days to Antarctica... an adventure that seemed too amazing and asinine to pass up. Unfortunately, to make a really long story (and the first 9 days of our trip) short, everything was booked up except for one sailboat. We were all set to go to Antarctica on what was without a doubt the worst sailboat in the harbor with a grumpy Italian sailor that had only been to Antarctica twice. With great pain (because Antarctica is supposed to be VERY, VERY cool), we let better judgment overpower raw stupidity and decided to not sail across the Drake Passage (the world's most treacherous Ocean crossing) on the Don Vito. The punch line to this decision was that we sailed on the Don Vito on a short 4 hour cruise from Ushuaia to Puerto Williams, Chile... on the way, the engine broke.

Sad that Antarctica was not going to happen, but having explored every option and annoyed (and bought drinks for) every sailboat captain we could find (we even tried the Chilean Navy to hitch a ride), we went hiking. We headed out from Puerto Williams for the southernmost hiking trail in the world called the Dientes Circuit. The Dientes Circuit was an amazing trail crossing back and forth over the Dientes Mountain range in the middle of the island. A wild country trail (there wasn't really a trail, just stacks of rocks and paint marks here and there) with amazing vistas. We only got lost once... sure, it was for a day and a half and was within the first 2 hours of the trail, but it was only once and we made it out only adding roughly 8 hours of brutal bushwhacking to our 4 day hike.

From Isle Navarino we jumped a small (very very small) flight north eventually reaching Puerto Natales. From there we trekked the Torres del Paine-- a very popular 10 day circuit that is supposed to be one of the top 10 hikes in the world. It was amazing. The low point of that trip was when Adam and I were sure we had Giardia (one of the high ranking really nasty stomach illnesses). Once again, not our fault, really. Our guidebook said the water in patagonia is drinkable, but neglected to mention (we found out after we drank some untreated water) that beavers are a major carrier of Giardia. Tierra del Fuego is infested with beavers (to the tune of 75K of them having started from 25 mating pairs in the 1950s, giving a new meaning to busy beaver). Even worse, Giardia gestates for 1 to 2 weeks so you don't know if you have it. Bummer. As it ended up, what we really had come down with 8 days after drinking beaver water was an incredible case of stupidity. You see, we had bought this incredibly yummy jelly for our peanut-butter and jelly tortillas. Thanks to our fledgling Spanish, we didn't figure out until a day too late what 'laxante' meant. We had actually made peanut butter and Laxative Jelly sandwiches. The good news is we dodged the giardia bullet and got our yearly supply of fiber (we had roughly 6-10 times the recommended dose of the 'jelly' in our lunch...) So far, that is the only stomach problem either of us have had, amazingly.

ANYWAY, I'm failing at brevity here. Torres was incredible, and we also did some ice climbing on one of the glaciers... an incredibly cool sport, and we are both quite hooked. From Torres we went back to Argentina to the city of El Chalten to hike around the Monte Fitz Roy. Fitz Roy is a climbing mecca and also had some amazing trekking... We hired a guide for a couple of days and did some more ice climbing, which was sweet. On our last day of our trek we got snowed out... However, the snow was deep enough to make a very large snowman, so that is exactly what I did instead of hiking the last 4 hours straight uphill in knee high snow. (keep in mind it is the end of summer down here)

Now we have back tracked to Puerto Natales Chile and have spent a few days recovering and uploading digital pictures. Later today we jump a four day boat up to Puerto Montt, Chile to continue our hiking adventures in the lake country. So far we've got about 200 miles of trekking under our boots... But lest I get too healthy, I have maintained a delicate trekker-couch potato balance by imbibing my fair share of the local cheap beer in between treks (which is cheaper than both water and soft drinks).

I'll close with some of my favorite people we've met. Just when I started to feel pretty good about how cool I was for taking off and traveling, I ran into people that have shown me that, actually, my adventure is pretty mundane and I am a pansy. First there was Uwe, a independent German documentary film maker that spends the summers in Tierra del Fuego developing his ideas for documentaries (he produces, films, edits, writes, and directs the films entirely) and them sells them to public television all over the world. He was doing one on the indigenous peoples of Tierra del Fuego and another on the Beaver infestation. There was Lisa and Evans... an American couple that both made McKinsey Consulting partner, immediately quit, bought a sailboat, learned how to sail, and have spent the last 4 years circumnavigating the globe. She writes books on sailing, he consults occasionally to make ends meet. We've also run into a Patagonian mad scientist, start up restraunteurs, mountain climbers, volunteers, roving doctors, and lost and vagabond ex patriots from all corners of the world. My new heros, however, we met yesterday in our hostel. James and Matthias are on a little bicycle tour. They started in Alaska, and are 621 kilometers from finishing their 21 month and 28,000 kilometer journey. Dragging a pack over a few mountains suddenly seems less hard-core.

Okay, nice and brief, just like I planned (still reading?). Again for pictures and more detail, Adam has set up a sweet web site that is tracking our trip. I may put up one later (someone out there let me know if you have a hosting option for me), but for now go to:
http://www.adamstein.org/albums/patagonia/
and enjoy! (I bear no responsibility for Adam's opinions expressed in the web site and assure you any stories about me contained there in are outright lies)

I hope all is well with you and yours.

Let me know how things are going!

Smiles and Sore Feet...
-Chris

(addendum to this first message)

Hi all, for some reason many folks didn't get my first update, so I'm shooting it out there again under the yahoo groups umbrella (at the end of this message).

For those of you who did get the original email I'll augment the last week which has been kind'of non-eventful, so it actually will be brief.

The boat ride from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt was actually quite amazing as we cruised through the Chilean Fjords. However, we were in some pretty cramped bunk space in a big dormitory next to the engines, so it wasn't exactly luxury. To add to our high class cruise, the ferry portion of the boat was filled with about 12 massive truckloads of cattle that became more and more pungent through the 4-day cruise. None the less, it was a great trip and we met some fun folks. Although we hit an all time low the last night after a little poker night when we realized that one of the people we were having beers with was only 14 (he was travelling with his family). 14 would be exactly half of Adam's and my age (as he kindly pointed out.) Feeling a little old on the road!

Tomorrow we hit the trail again in Chiloe, an island off the coast that has a great traditional culture, and where Salmon costs about $1.30 per kilo!

That's if for now!

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Date: Wed Apr 10, 2002 1:19 pm
Subject: Patagonian Bad Hair Days...

Thanks to all of you who have sent me loving queries to see if I am still alive down here. In fact, yes I am, and doing very well. The delay in this email is that I have been working on a website of my very own, and now the first version is ready.

Keep in mind that this is still really rough, and the website picks up about a a month into the trip... it will be a while until I get the beginning of the trip together. Also, you might recognize that I stole everything from Adam's website (thanks, Adam!). Check it out!

http://www.barkingweasels.com/~ctaylor/

Thanks to my friend Jeff Hotz for hosting the site.

As the info on the website is still pretty basic, here is a quick update.

Over the last month, Adam and I have--suprise--done a lot of trekking. We have hiked beaches, rainforests, and volcanic plateaus. We were brought to our knees by long passes and rendered speachless by mountain vistas. We fished and feasted, ate uncooked shellfish and kilos of unwashed berries, and we were introduced to a proper English Easter brunch. We skinnydipped in hot springes, braved steaming geysers and poked our fingers in boiling mud. We climbed a smoking volcano, choked on the gases, and slid all the way down. We taught a brit to trek, and were rewarded by seeing Patagonia through unjaded eyes. We met a clown turned raft guide, a painter turned trance party organizer, a physics phd turned photogrpher, and even a six foot seven nude swiss man. And we even, occasionally, imbibed a drink or two and shook our booty on the dance floor.

Lastly, and sadly, Adam and I have also gone our seperate ways... Adam wanted to head north, and I wanted to see more of Argentina, so Adam is jumping a plane to Quito, Equador, and I am heading across Argentina to study Spanish for a few weeks in Buenos Aires. We both agree however, Patagonia was a hell of a time, and our timing and weather and, I think, companionship could not have been more perfect (except for the snoring...)

So that is the update... in fact, nothing too out of the ordinary or stupid had happened in the last few weeks and I was thinking yesterday afternoon that I wouldn't have a ridiculous story to convey... And, then, as if I had asked for it... the bluebird of disaster flew into my life...

One unfortunate factor in our timing of spliting up was that it was 2 days before my birthday. Being alone and in a fairly large city I had decided to treat myself to a few luxuries. The first was a little shopping for a birthday outfit that did not involve convertible pants and fleece. Apparently, South American men don't have big asses, so I failed to find fitting pants but picked up a smart shirt. The funny and disasterous part of the story is kinda given away by the context... I also decided to get a birthday haircut.

I really thought I had this nailed. I had looked up some critical words, gotten the lay of the land from a friend who had just had a haircut, and knew exactly what I wanted. As you may know, I dislike short hair... When I got my long hair chopped off before the trip, I was pretty psyched to grow it long on top, which I had somewhat achieved after over 2 months in Patagonia. Unfortunately, I also achieved scruffiness on the sides and back which I was going to trim.

I thought short on the sides and nothing off the top (no, no, nada, nada, point to top of head, no, nada, no) had been communicated. She nodded and smiled, I nodded and smiled. She got the clippers out and removed side and back scruffiness with deft stylest movements. I smiled, she smiled. Then, without warning, the clippers swooped over the top of my head and removed all ambitions for a stylish haircut. It was too late... damage done. What could I do but force a smile and hope she knew what the hell she was doing. I now have a crew cut. And an uneven one at that (as my new mates so nicely pointed out last night). I came out of the womb with more hair than I have now, so it is as short as it has ever been. I am sure my mother will love it, the jury is still out on the view of the rest of the female populace.

Felix Cumpleanos a Mi.

You can see all this and more on my website.

Let me know how all of you are doing... I should be in pretty good email contact over the next few weeks.

Smiles and lots of scalp.

-Chris

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Date: Fri May 17, 2002 1:40 pm
Subject: Grubby Backpacker Hits the Big City

¡Hola Mis Amigos!

I hope everyone is doing well.

I decided I was sick of changing cities every week and trying to hand gesture my way through South America. So, I have changed gears in a big way and landed in Buenos Aires for 7 weeks to take a Spanish lessons and enjoy this fantastic city. In mid-June I fly to Jamaica for the wedding of a friend of mine, and after that the schedule is a bit fuzzy...

The web-site is pretty up to date, so I will hit you with a couple of quick stories and send you on your way.

BA is a beautiful city, and it is an interesting time to be here with the financial crisis underway (although very difficult for the Argentinos as their life savings is trapped in banks that are all going bankrupt, and they don´t exactly have the FDIC down here). BA is a VERY modern city--it is similar to living in a NYC that is a fourth of the price where everyone speaks gibberish. : )

I stepped out of backpacker mode and rented this incredible 3 bedroom + study flat in the middle of one of the coolest parts of town. Fantastic place I am sharing with a Canadian guy. My favorite feature is that my bedroom has a whole wall of closets with over 20 different compartments... a bit excessive considering that I have 2 pairs of pants and a couple of shirts. I have also managed to put together a pretty interesting circle of friends here including mountain guides, doctors, a gaggle of journalists, and a whole set of unemployed younger Argentinos.

One of the more remarkable qualities of Buenos Aires is the night life. If you go to a restaurant before 10 pm, you will be the ONLY person there. About midnight the restaurants are getting crowded, and around 1:00 am they are starting to thin out. Discotechs open between 1 and 3 and stay open until dawn. If you go to a disco before 2:30, it will be empty. It peaks around 4:30 or so from what I can tell. Frankly, I am too old for this particular night-life regimen, but it provides for a few good laughs now and then. For instance, this past Wednesday I met some folks in a bar near my flat that were going to a trendy club in town. Since it was 3:30 am on a Wednesday I thought that getting in surely wouldn't really be a problem. When we got there, sure enough there was a line, and I would have never gotten in had the people I was with not known the guys at the door. Simply ridiculous. Oh, and pretty much everyone in the club (and most clubs) look like (and some are) super-models. Go figure. There is also the mystery of how the women here fit into the pants they wear... some advanced Jean technology as far as I can tell... a subject I plan on doing a little more research on in my remaining few weeks here... : )

Gotta go study some Spanish!

You can see some updated pics on my webste: http://www.barkingweasels.com/~ctaylor/

I should also have the beginning of my trip up there soon as well. Enjoy.

Also, you can actually give me a call on my apartment direct line (so run up that company phone bill and give me a buzz!). I'll be in the apartment until June 7th.

+54 11 4822 4625 (54 is the country code for Argentina)

Sonrisas,

-Chris

p.s. the hair nightmare continues... it was fine when my hair stood straight up when it was only a half inch long... now it is almost two inches long and it continues to assert itself vertically no matter how I try to coax it flat. It is a sweet look if you like plush carpet : )

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Date: Thu Jun 27, 2002 10:32 pm
Subject: Backpacker GO HOME

As I was having a pedicure in my Jamaican beach house being served a mango daiquiri by one of the six house staff, I realized that something had gone horribly wrong in my low-budget travels.

It was that damn sweet apartment in Buenos Aires. After 6 weeks of living large in BA, eating at fantastic restaurants, and going out with new found friends every night, it was REALLY hard to pick up the (increasingly heavy) backpack and head back to hostels and room sharing. I sucked it up however and spent one last week in BA watching and mourning the world cup with Argentina and saying goodbye to some fantastic friends I had in BA.

The day after Argentina got knocked from the world cup, I headed off on my own to Uruguay for a few days of soaking up the wonderfully relaxed culture and people. Although similar to Argentina, there are all these little differences that give the country a completely different vibe, and it was a nice place to contrast and review my time and experiences in Argentina.

My stay in Uruguay was short however as I headed off to a buddy’s wedding in Jamaica. For all of my single friends out there, I highly suggest throwing a week long wedding somewhere incredible and inviting me. The wedding week I spent lounging around in the sun in a fantastic beach house surrounded by the equally fantastic friends of the bride and groom. A good time was had by all, and the wedding was the most picturesque I have ever had the pleasure of attending.

Lest you think that was the height of my un-backpacker like behavior, what I did next surprised even me. With my flight scheduling, I had 2 more days in Jamaica to spend alone (everyone else had these job-thingies to go back to). I wanted to do a little diving and go somewhere where I could meet people, so I decided to go the route of the all-inclusive resort where you pay one (high budget) price, and then get all the food, drink, and activities you would care to partake of. There are a load of these types of resorts in Jamaica, so after reading the descriptions, I decided to go to the only one that wasn’t pretty much couples only. What I didn’t know was that my choice for these last couple of days—hedonism II—was pretty much couples as well, except that these couples were mainly middle aged swingers. If you want to go somewhere were most people are unattractive, walk around nude, and swap wives, this is the place for you. This however, really wasn’t the scene I was after. It was entertaining for a couple of days however… there are some really bizarre people out there… save yourself the money and images that will haunt my nightmares and take my word for it…

I escaped Hedonism with my chastity and my tan lines in tact and headed off to what has proven to be the strangest destination of all--home. My flights back to South America route through the States, so I decided to take a few weeks and say hello to everyone and change out my underwear. After that I think I am going to spend 1 or 2 more months in the Jungles of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay before returning to so called real life.

I would love to see those of you who are in Boston, NYC, or Austin, so let me give you my schedule as follows:

Now until Sunday the 30th: Maine
Sunday the 30th: Boston
July 1 -> July 11: Austin
July 12-> July 16th: NYC and Boston
July 17th: Paraguay

My schedule is wide open, so please, please drop me a note and let’s coordinate!

I have pretty much done zippo on the website since last update, but I will remedy that when I get back to Austin, so check it in a couple of weeks: www.barkingweasels.com/~ctaylor

Hope to see many of you soon!

Smiles,

Chris

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Date: Fri Aug 9, 2002 4:03 pm
Subject: the sweet smell of adventure

Ola from Brazil.

Where were we... ah yes, back in the States for 3 weeks. Being gone for so long you forget the little things that make the States so special. For instance, I didn´t realize how much I missed paying $4 for a cup of coffee or $6 for a beer. (In Brazil, at current rates, $6 would get you about7.2 liters of beer in a bar... recently, myself and another traveler took this math from the theoretical to the empirical to our great regret the next morning.) Also, after 5 months of relatively perfect health, 2 days back in the States and I was on my butt sick for a week. It was fantastic, however, to see all of my friends in Austin, Boston, and NYC... After moving my tickets back 2 or 3 times, it was time to return to South America.

And, it was time to take the trip up a notch. My pedicure was getting a little rough around the edges, and I felt like jumping into the jaws of adventure again. Little did I know that I could do this through good old American consumerism thanks to Right Guard. As I was re-stocking the essentials, I found a new deodorant with the scent of ´Adventure´. After a quick sniff test (I have smelled of adventure before, and it was not always so pleasant)... I picked up my Adventure by Right Guard... so now, whether I am wrestling Crocodiles in Amazonia, or just relaxing by the pool, I can rest assured that I at least am covered by the sweet smell of Adventure...

Lest you think I am all aroma and no bite, I have actually been on possibly the most adventurous stretch of my trip so far. For starters, I flew from NYC into Asuncion, Paraguay where 6 days before they had massive riots, declared martial law, arrested 250 people, and closed the border... that all blew over in a few days, so after a quick US consulate check I decided to go ahead an fly in. Except for a big police presence, one would never guess the country had gone through so much turmoil the week before. Asuncion was an interesting city with a culture very different from those I had been to previously... very mellow, but also very poor. Quite a transition from viewing the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC to visiting the Galeria de Bellas Artes in Asuncion which was one small room with a totally random selection of about 8 paintings and 6 sculptures.

Having spent the majority of a day trying to get a bus ticket out of Asuncion, I decided it might be best to evacuate the country while I had the chance, so I headed up to Bonito, Brazil. Bonito is one of those places you stumble on traveling and find yourself there a week later. Cute little town in the middle of fantastic geologic formations, tropical springs, and yes, Adventure. In living up to my deodorant, I first did a SCUBA dive in Lago Miseriosa which is this little lake (like 40 meters wide) that goes down over 220 meters deep. The dive is kind of a cave dive where you drop down into this little tube and check out the formations... we went down over 35 meters, which is pretty damn deep to be looking up... Next, I repelled 72 meters (that is about 230 ft for you non-metric types) through this ridiculous cavern and then did a cavern SCUBA dive at the bottom. Absolutely amazing. The interesting bit was that you had to use ascenders on the way out. to pull your way back up the 230 ft rope... the fun comes in that there is enough stretch in the rope that every time you pull up, you swing up and down a meter or so... that gets a little disconcerting about half way up. The climbing process takes about a half an hour, and is a little draining both emotionally and physically. Lastly in Bonito I went snorkeling in this amazing river that had thousands and thousands of tropical fish and perfect visibility. It was like swimming in my childhood aquarium for 2 kilometers (in fact, I really did see some of the fish that I used to have in my old aquarium... how cool is that?). Probably the best snorkeling I have ever done.

Not enough adventure? I went from Bonito into the Pantanal which is a swamp the size of Texas that has fantastic wildlife viewing. I first went to a pretty touristy but basic camp where you do long walks and horse rides through the pantanal and check out loads of birds, alligators, monkeys, and other medium sized animals whilst sleeping in hammocks and taking cold showers. The camp was not enough, however, so an English bloke (Nick) and I decided to rent a car and spend a few days driving down this ridiculous dirt road that goes 150 km through the pantanal. Along the way you cross 141 wooden bridges, most of which could use more than a little work, and many of which have dozens of Caiman crocodiles under them. We had a great couple of days surrounded by the most interesting scenery and wildlife I have seen by car. I also have over 60 mosquito bites, but hey, this is Adventure.

Now I find myself in a large city named Cuiaba preping for my last little Pantanal adventure. Nick and I are going to rent a boat for a couple of days and see the Pantanal from the river... we might even do some fishing along the way and snag us a few piranha...

After that, I have NO idea where I am going... I was headed to Rio, but I may re-route and head north to the Amazon proper for a few weeks... I´ll check which way the wind is blowing next week...

Smiles and Itches...

Chris

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Date: Thu Oct 3, 2002 4:19 pm
Subject: Brazil in Slow Motion

Greetings from Forteleza, Brazil...

Sorry it has been so long since I have written, but I have
completely lost track of time down here... By my original plan, I was supposed to be in the Amazon about 4 weeks after hitting Brazil. It has been 10 Brazilian weeks now, and I am STILL a few weeks away from the Amazon... so much for planning. There are a couple of good reasons for this, however. The first is that there are all of these hidden places along the way that you just HAVE to go to, and I rarely pass one up. Some of them are fantastic (such as Morro de São Paulo, an island beach village where I went 5 days without wearing any type of footwear.) Others are best left hidden, such as São Tome das Letras (self proclaimed to be one of the world´s 7 most spiritual cities) where I missed enlightenment completely and instead spent 2 days being lectured in Portuguese by Brazilian hippies on the environmental policies of the US.

Those of you at home working 20 hour days are going to hate me for the second reason for my tardiness, but traveling is actually really tiring. When traveling alone, every little task becomes stressful. Turtling all of your life possessions around on your back, arriving in strange cities in the middle of the night, seeking out lodging and food when your grasp of the language is abysmal, constantly having to make new friends with every move, it all adds up. So when you do find a nice place to lay down the backpack, a few folks to talk to, and even a little daily routine, it is all too easy to sit back and let a couple of extra days slip by. Anyway, Mom, that is why I am not home yet : )

The good news is that despite my tardiness and occasional tiredness, I am having a fantastic time, and I have even managed to see a few things along the way. The list is way too long to go into any details, but here are the highlights:

In Minas Gerais (large state in central Brazil) I explored old gold mining towns, visited enough beautiful colonial churches to make up for 10 years of relative heresy, learned to run a horse, missed enlightenment and UFOs in the one of the world´s most spiritual cities, and spent a fantastic week with a Brazilian friend´s family seeing Brazil with the locals.

In Rio I went hang gliding over the city, spent a few days gawking at the beach, got conned into wearing a speedo for 15 minutes, managed not to get robbed, mugged, or killed, partied like a rock star, and had the last beer of the night at 9:00 am watching the sun rise over Rio from the famous Christ statue.

In Bahia (cultural state in the northeast), I explored Salvador with its rich history and ridiculous night life, spent three days hiking in the rain to Brazil´s largest waterfall, and clocked a fair amount of beach time, andI stayed up for the beach sunrise 3 days in a row just because there really wasn´t any reason not to.

I will leave you with one last funny story about my continuing losing battle with my quest for a decent haircut. In an attempt to avoid the previous hair salon disaster (a language in common is an important quality in a hair dresser), I have been attempting to cut my own hair. Luckily, I am armed in this battle with only the best tools including a comb, a mirror, and a pair of swiss army knife scissors. How is that working out for me you ask? Well, last night I had the third person this week tell me I look like Elvis and then point to my hair. One person even added ´I bet you get that a lot´. It might be time to learn the Portuguese for ´please don´t shave me bald´ and make a return to the south american beauty salon.

From here I am headed along the beach north for a week or two to the amazon port city of Belem and then up the Amazon by boat to do some Amazonia action for a few weeks. I will return to Austin somewhere between the last week in Nov and 2nd week of Dec where I will reevaluate this thing called work and keep my promise to mom to be home for the holidays.

I hope this note finds all of you heathly and happy on the home front and those of you still traveling around. Let me know how you all are.

Smiles,

Chris

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