| Sayonara Japan! | Hi California! |
I scheduled my sabbatical with a break in the middle. I did this for two reason, first, I really wanted to attend Tania and Vadim wedding and second, going back to San Francisco was the most cost efficient way to travel to Ecuador (even though, my trip sounded like it could have been done very nicely with an around the world ticket, due to airline alliances, Ecuador and Nepal were incompatible).
I spent Friday afternoon doing some errands and going to Google to pick up a delivery (and to make all my co-workers jealous). I finished my 48-hour Friday by having dinner with Louis, Zwia, and the rest of the family.
On Saturday, I went diving with Regis and Sergey to Monterey. I've never seen better conditions there. It was completely flat and the water was a relatively "warm" 54F. We dived at Butterfly house, reaching the canyon through a channel that almost always is too hazardous to cross. The visibility of the first dive was excellent by Monterey standards: 70 to 100 feet.
After a short break, we decided to dive in the same place. The second time, visibility wasn't as good (50-70 feet), but conditions were still pretty good. These were my 14th and 15th dives, which technically make me from a "Novice" diver to an "Intermediate" diver. Special thanks to Regis for taking me there and for providing the two fantastic pictures for this section of my blog.
Sunday morning was errand day. I caught up with my mail, did laundry, returned the rental diving gear, got a haircut, and paid my taxes and a couple of bills. At noon, I went for lunch with Louis, Zwia and family at an Italian restaurant (I haven't had Italian food in a long time). After that, I finished packing for the second part of my sabbatical trip and got ready to go to the wedding.
I then went to Tania and Vadim wedding. They had a very small wedding, just 30 people. So it was an honor to be there and share that important moment of their life with them. I met their parents and it was good to see again some common friends. The ceremony was beautiful, with a seemingly looking grumpy rabbi, that actually turned to be a lot of fun. I was in charge of the video camera and playing the music from an IPod at the right times.
The wedding was at the Testarossa Winery, a wonderful venue with excellent wine. The wedding was followed by a cocktail hour and dinner. But after two glasses of wine combined with my jet lag, I was very sleepy, so I had to excuse myself and went home early.
For those of you curious, I'm still traveling with a carry on only. I switched from my backpack to a small roll aboard suitcase as I don't have to carry my luggage as much. The hardest part was to fit my fins in the suitcase. This what I'm packing for the rest of my trip:
- Diving mask, snorkel, fins, diving computer, day light, 3mm shorty wetsuit, water socks, gloves, and neoprene cap (for snorkeling and key west diving). Plus a safety sausage, and a whistle.
- Ecuador and Key West guide books
- Clothing for 7 days (t-shirts, underwear, socks). One wool sweater
- One pair of pants, one pair of shorts, one pair of swimming trunks
- Toiletries, first aid
- HP Mini 2140 (for blogging) plus adapter and neoprene bag
- Canon SD850 IS and Canon Rebel XSI plus batteries, memory and adapters
- Miscellaneous: adapter 3-prong to 2-prongs for the laptop, headlamp, extra batteries, notepad and pen.
- Money. Ecuador and Key West both use US dollars! (ok, that's not too surprising for Key West)
Coming soon: blogs from Quito, Galapagos, and Key West. Stay tuned.
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