Signs: Harlem, New York

[Below] The famous Apollo Theater became famous for launching great artists such as: James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Diana Ross, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey and Lauryn Hill.

[Below] The Young Men's Christian Association

[Below] A freshly painted tree? Why???

[Below] A gate along Striver's Row, a more affluent area where the people would strive to live. The back part of the apartments were for the horses. Today there are only luxury cars parked there but some of the original signs still remain.

Harlem, New York

I guess it's about time I posted something about the United States of America - after all, I have been here for about a month now.

I had been to New York city once before about 8 years ago, but it was a very short visit and there was much that I wanted to see which I missed. One of these things was the neighborhood of Harlem.

Thanks to television and the stereotypes it is so apt at portraying, I thought Harlem to be a super dangerous place where I may be knifed or raped or both - and not particularly in that order.

But instead I learned that Harlem is a really hip place to be - and a great place to go out. I went there with a friend and actually the only trouble we had was when a crazy, Caucasian guy saw my camera and consequently ordered us not to take pictures of his building. Incidentally, there was nothing interesting about his building at all and so the thought hadn't even entered our minds - we were just walking past. But he was very aggressive about it.

"Are you angry?" I asked.

"No," he barked, "this is the way that I talk."

We did search for the stereotype... venturing off the beaten track for a little adventure. When we couldn't find it my friend approached some locals to ask, "Do you know where the 'hoods' are?"

"These are the 'hoods,'" was the reply. Harlem has changed a lot over the last ten years. It's not nearly as bad as it used to be."

Graffiti #6: Love

From Valparaiso, Chile:

[Above and Below]
DUELE
("It hurts")

[Above]
CARAJO! L'imagination au pouvoir!
("F***! Power to the imagination!")

[Above]
CON LOS COCOS LLENOS DE AMOR
("With the coconuts filled with love")

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Related Posts

- Graffiti #2: Stenciled in Valparaiso, Chile
- Graffiti #3: Droids in Cochabamba, Bolivia
- Graffiti #4: Police and Authority
- Graffiti #5: Television

South American Signs, Part 8: Retiro Bus Station

Found at Retiro Bus Station - the main long-distance bus terminal in Buenos Aires, Argentina:

[Above] Body Waves in Process

[Above] Please Open Letter to Reveal Shoe

[Above] Do Not Tiptoe Down Stairs Surreptitiously

[Above] No Loners

[Above] "Penis" Aprons Not Permitted

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Related Posts

- South American Signs, Part 4: Easter Island
- South American Signs, Part 5: The Subte (Buenos Aires)
- South American Signs, Part 6: Cusco, Peru
- South American Signs, Part 7: Fire safety on the metro

Mexican tacos... Curse your deliciousness!

There was a taco stand around the corner from where I was staying in Mexico City. They would be there all day and all night - until 3am, if I remember correctly.

Each taco is rather small - I typically engulfed one in two big bites - which means I usually ate between 6-8 tacos to fill my stomach. Oh how I would afterwards. And they only cost $0.25-$0.30 each.

First a tortilla is filled with shreds of beef, chopped sausage, onion and parsley. Then you simply choose your sauce, top it off with a squeeze of lemon and you're set.

I must stop writing now... my saliva is dripping onto the keyboard.

Salsa Quiz

Question: Which of the following Mexican salsas will send you to hospital with excruciating burning of the inner ears, burning throat, body chills and, of course, farts of fire?

Answer: the pickled onion, pepper and chilli salsa.

The green salsa is next in intensity, followed by the red. You have been warned.

Oh... and I don't advise sleeping in a tent after consuming such a salsa. The ventilation is not always the best and trust me, the smell does linger.

I hope we understand each other.

Tulum beach, Mexico... bluuuueeee!

There is a beach behind the Mayan ruins in Tulum.

What I'm trying to say is: Take your swimsuit.

Medication Vending Machine

This is quite sad to see... a vending machine for medication.

Unfortunately Latin America is victim to relentless marketing and fear-mongering by pharmaceutical companies. As a result, most people are programmed to believe that if they don't take their drugs when they are ill they may suffer grave consequences.

This photo was taken in a metro station in Mexico City. Hmm... remember the country where the "swine flu" hit the hardest? Vaccinations and billions of dollars of profit followed thereafter - convenient during a world economic recession, no?

Perfume shop

This exists in many countries around the world but on this occasion it was in Mexico City. The vendors have bottles and bottles of perfume essence and for a couple of dollars they will mix you a flask of the exact perfume you buy in stores for more than $50... Chanel, Givenchy, Dior, whatever!

Chasing birds

In Hopkins, Belize:

Wait... wait...



ATTACK!!!!

Climb active volcano.... done!

Close to Antigua in Guatemala is Volcán de Pacaya - an active volcano. It was one of the most amazing things I've seen in my travels.

I got quite close to the lava flow and was completely mesmerized by the oozing, gum-like lava. And as I walked on the solid, volcanic rock around the lava river I could feel the immense heat radiating upwards toward the surface. As a consequence, the souls of my shoes melted.

[Below] "Danger, Lava Flows"

[Below] Smoke rings

[Below] This was one of my most memorable sights: descending the volcano with headlamps in the darkness, I looked back up to the volcano and saw lava exploding out of its mouth in enormous jets of flame. (I didn't have a tripod so the photo is not very great, but you get the idea).

To climb the volcano you will need:
- trousers, i.e. no shorts
- a pullover: once the sun goes down it becomes very cold
- water: it takes between 1.5 - 2 hours of steep trekking to reach the lava
- closed shoes: trust me, volcanic rock is SHARP... oh yeah, and lava is a little hot and sometimes burns
- a headlamp: it's best to see the volcano in the late afternoon when the sun goes down, which means you will be coming down in the pitch black otherwise.

Ruins of Tikal - Guatemala

Deep in the jungle of Guatemala - among the howler monkeys and toucans - the Mayans build this... Tikal...