Moved...

I've moved to Wordpress.

http://mattytramp.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there.

-Matt

My Picture Book.

I recently went on a road trip to California and took a bunch of pictures with my new DSLR. I have compiled my favorites into this book which you are welcome to buy.

California

By Matthew Greenwald

Book Preview

Of course you can see all of them here for free.

Back Home... For now.

I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I've since returned to Colorado. I got back on the fourteenth of December. I completely ran out of cash and then racked up some good credit debt. I came back and I've been busy the past weeks with work and trying to find more of it. Not too much interesting happened between Puerto Rico and Now. Though there is a plan to hitch out to California soon for some warmth and fun... I'll try to keep you guys posted.

I'm also buying a digital SLR to replace my old camera so I'll start posting pictures again soon.

To keep you guys here till next time I will post something I wrote a while back. I hope you enjoy it.

Richmond - Arrest, Trail, and Acquittal.

October 18th - 25th, 2007

I had come home, too drunk, from a small party at around midnight. I was still really drunk so I went out to climb something. I had it noticed days before. I had passed it several times before and it seemed too good to pass up. It was the Sacred Heart Cathedral wrapped in scaffolding, just waiting for me to scramble up it. I got to the top pretty quickly and to my disappointment, easily, so a I sat at the top and thought of my next move. Soon I was spotted by a few scenesters who taunted me from below. Instead of realizing I should shut the hell up and climb down, I shouted at them. Almost immediately I attracted the campus police who demanded I come down from the Cathedral. Too drunk to make a daring escape and a mad dash off the back of the Cathedral, I decided to comply with their order. I made way down the ladder and into a pair of handcuffs. They charged me with trespass and sent me on my way. At this point I was pretty hungry and thirsty so I wandered over to Monroe park and then to a pizza place and raided their dumpster for a small cheese pizza. I stumbled back to Eric's and told Toohey what happened and we laughed about it. I slept pretty soon after.
When I woke up I realized I could probably talk to the folks at the Cathedral about the incident. Forgive me my trespasses and what not. I talked to a woman named Brigitte P. about exchanging community service and she suggested I return Monday. So I went camping in Shenandoah National Park and Charlottesville and returned Monday morning. My first assignment was to help setup for a senior outing. I setup tables, and then served them food. I preformed flawlessly and I also helped increase our teams efficiency in a few respects. I took it pretty seriously to be quite honest. I felt that the seniors probably expected I certain level of quality and I felt we could deliver that, so I tried my damnedest.
Tuesday they gave me yard work. I pruned trees, swept walkways, removed debris, and I ripped a dead tree out of the ground with my bare hands. I worked so quickly and effectively that I drew the attention of the workers restoring the Cathedral. One of the more senior workers said "Looking good young man." I was pretty proud of my performance yet again. I think these two days taught me to really take pride in my work. I felt I must return the favor to the good people at The Sacred Heart and I wasn't getting paid, at least not in money. So I decided to be good, thorough, and fast.
Wednesday it rained so I was stuck shredding paper. This time I was restricted by the shredder and not my own abilities. After about ten minutes of shredding it would overheat and shutdown for five minutes. At one point I figured out at what point it would begin to reach its threshold and slow down a bit using this technique I shredded for two hours without a single pause. This frenzied pace created a lot of noise and everyone on the floor eventually left. They returned much later, I realized the door on the room I was in couldn't close because of the furniture arraignment so people were sort of captive to the noise. I filled two fifty gallon trash bags with compacted shreddings and left at four o'clock.
Thursday was my day in court. I needed someone to come with me on my behalf from the Cathedral. Mike came and told the court that I had been forgiven and they no longer wanted to press charges. So my actual trial took about two minutes. I was acquitted of all charges. I thanked mike about a hundred times and we went back to The Sacred Heart. I thanked Brigitte repeatedly and then I left.
Looking back on all of this I really don't think twenty minutes on top of a Cathedral was worth nearly an entire week of my free time and all the stress and worry over the court date. I don't really regret it entirely though as I said I learned a lot about my work ethic and how I can motivate myself and take pride in my work. I think I'll be sticking to cliffs and trees for my climbing interests from here on. Not really.

Back to San Juan.

The next morning they had some bizarre trouble with their rented Jeep so the company sent an escort and she took them to the airport and me to the ferry terminal. When I got to the terminal I was told it was canceled until 1PM due to inclement weather. So I walked up to a bakery and bought a breakfast sandwich. When I got back I was surprised to see Jean from yesterday and this time with her Husband Ron. After some talking about our options we figured the wisest would be to catch a plane back to Fajardo. This turned out to be a slick idea because I'm pretty sure the ferries were canceled entirely for the day. It turned out Tropical Storm Olga had made landfall that day on Puerto Rico. On the way to the airport Ron, Jean, and I discussed our plans for the day when we got back to Fajardo. I said I had originally planned to meet Johnny, rent a car, and head to El Yunque. But now that was looking paler by the minute so I didn't really know. They said that they had rented a car and planned on going to El Yunque and they asked if I would like to come. Of course! So we took the flight back to Fajardo which lasted ten minutes in a tiny prop driven minivan of the sky.

Once there we got into the car and I asked if I could drop in and see if my friend Johnny wanted to come and that we could help pay for gas and the like so we went to downtown Fajardo. We barely made it there and I ran up to the house. Right then I caught Johnny as he was leaving for the Publico terminal. Sheer luck! We dashed back to Ron and Jean and upon realizing there wasn't in room in the car for Johnny I asked if he wanted to default to the original plan and he said not this late and so I was off to El Yunque!

We finally reached El Yunque and we went into the visitor center they watched a brief film and I grabbed a quick bite to eat. Then we headed for the trails. We drove to the very top of the park and we took Mt. Britton trail. I dashed up it with ease and explored a bit while they caught up. Then I repeated the same with the tower itself. The tower was right on the edge of a impossibly steep mountain and was about two and a half stories tall. The view was mostly obscured by clouds but a fierce wind picked up and for a brief moment you could see all the way to the coast before not being able to see twenty feet again. The forest itself was incredibly thick and without the predetermined paths it would be nigh impossible to walk through. It was very damp and muggy yet there was no over whelming odor. Some trees had a slime as thick as apple butter on their trunks and all of them had a healthy coat of moss. Palms as my suspicions proved correct were an invasive species here, brought from the distant Philippines. We also visited the big tree trail and the falls at its end, and coco falls which were stunning. At about six we left because thats about time they close the access gate to vehicles coming or going. You can camp anywhere all night, but if you drive in you have to leave by six unless you park outside the gate. I would of course recommend a visit to El Yunque but a rental car and a fair weather is a must.

We drove back to San Juan and parted ways. I took a bus back to Viejo San Juan and caught up with all of my flat mates. We all had some stories to share for the days past.

Sunny Sombe.

The day after I left for the island of Vieques (be-ah-kez) with Johnny. Once there we caught a Publico to the south side of the island and grounded in Esperanza. Esperanza and Vieques as a whole, was essentially how I had envisioned Puerto Rico when I left Florida. Calm, relaxed, easy going, underdeveloped, and very beautiful. I rented snorkel equipment from Blue Carribe Kayaks and I booked myself for a slot on the Bioluminescent Bay kayak tour. The actual Bio-Bay, as its refered, is in fact Mosquito Bay. The trip to Mosquito Bay would be very doable on your own, for free, if you scoped out its location in daylight or just waited at dusk provided you had a rental car/truck and a kayak. The owner of Blue Carribe recommended I head across the street for food, and after buying a couple of papas rellenas there I walked to the pier that was recommend for snorkeling.

Before I left he taught me an invaluable trick for snorkel goggles. Dish soap. You squirt a liberal amount into the inside of the goggles right onto the glass and then proceed to spread it all over covering as much surface as you can. Just let it dry and when your ready to snorkel just wash it out in the sea water. I snorkeled for several hours and they never once fogged up on me, nor did the soap ever get in my eyes. I imagine it would be wise to use an ecologically safe bio-degradable soap without any antibacterial agents in it as to avoid unnecessary harm to our tiny friends of the sea.

The snorkeling here was not nearly as good as that on Culebra but it was pleasing none the less. I swam all the way out to a tiny island in the bay and snorkeled there for a good while. I decided to return before the storm got any worse or before I became to exhausted to cross the bay. When I was making my way back across the bay I saw a shadowy figure down below me. So I swam closer hoping to see an old sea turtle. To my surprise it was a sting ray and the idea of it coming too close scared the hell out of me so I swam away from it. I soon noticed it was following me. Knowing it was a superior swimmer and wondering if I had invaded it territory I started to go in a new and different direction. This seemed to work as its interest wained and it faded into the distance. When I got back to the pier I decided to snorkel up and down the shore to see what I could find. I found a piece of mother of peal and some cool shells and coral fragments. I also found more angel fish and yet again they decided to follow me. So I headed further still with my new companions and I spotted tiny flute shaped fish swimming near the surface and a big school of nearly transparent and invisible fish near the boat ramp.

Satisfied with my adventures I decided to go find some food. I was walking on the beach when I saw I tiny patch of sand pulsing. I scooped out from it a tiny pinkish crab, that when on the sand was nearly impossible to spot unless it moved. Two cute girls from Ohio came over and looked it over and took pictures of it and me and then disappeared. I walked to Bananas and ordered a Pina Colada and a exquisite Jamaican Jerk sandwich with fries. I explored the tiny town a bit more and met Jean a woman from Phoenix, Arizona who was waiting for her husband to catch up to her, he had unfortunately lost his cellphone earlier and was searching for it. We chatted for a while and then I left to go explore Sombe (Sun Bay).

I walked down the road to Sun Bay and took a wrong turn and found old ruins in the forest near Sombe. Once I had accrued enough mosquito bites I fled from the forest fresh on the hunt for Sun Bay. I figured how could I miss it if I followed the shore line? So I walked down the shore. I came to an odd juncture. To my left was Sun Bay which did look quite lovely but I was in a more adventurous mood. To my right was a small strip of sand connecting this island and the next, however it was below a foot of sea water and was a very peculiar sight. The current in Sun Bay was meeting here with the opposing current but it was clearly and defiantly winning out for some reason, at least at this time of the day. So there was in essence a small salt water river running from bay to bay in between two islands. I kept on towards this tiny island and began down its mild shore. I found a long the way, several tiny trails leading into the forest. Though none of them ever lead very far. The shore was becoming increasingly rocky and difficult. Eventually it wandered up to a rocky cliff that I climbed upon and watched the sea break below. There were quarter sized crabs all over but I figured their tooth pick width pincher's could do no worse harm then a flea bite. Soon the rain determined as ever tried to sully my temporary dryness. I found shelter in the forest under a tiny tree and waited till it past. Contented with my adventure and deciding it was best to get back before sundown I retreated.

Once back in Esperanza I bought a few beers and watched the sunset over the bay and in between two islands. It was beautiful and as many times before I wish I had a camera. I waited for the Kayak tour to form and once it did we all piled into a van and headed to Mosquito Bay. Along the way the driver paused briefly on a back road and reached out to pick some wild jasmine. Its white flowers fragrance was wonderful and we all passed it around several times to sample it. A young couple in front of me said they were from Philly so I asked if they had run into Owen and Alista but they hadn't. We all got out of the van and got into the kayaks and raced out to the meeting spot in the bay. A few feet from shore you could already see the dinoflagellates lighting up around the paddles. Weak at first it grew in intensity. It looked as though every stroke sent bright sparks in slow motion swirling around. Closer to the "hot spot" it looked as though the paddles were wrapped in a ghostly greenish aura. Once at the spot we anchored and got into the water. It was bit cold as it had been raining earlier and this apparently decreased the dinoflagellates luminescence but it was still pretty cool. If you make a similar motion to the kind you perform while making snow angels it looked as though you actually became angelic however brief. We all played with the dinoflagellates for a while but we all became increasingly cold and as a result less interested in the tiny creatures and more in getting the hell out of the cold water.

We all headed back to shore and then drove back to town. I walked to the end of the board walk and sat down to get some food in what turned out to be, for me, an expensive restaurant. So I ordered a bowl of seafood chowder and a beer. Moments after placing my order the girl from Philly invited me over to their table. Alice and Akos introduced themselves and I sat down and we all talked until the restaurant closed. We talked about their adventures backpacking in Europe and also of Akos' hilarious road trip on motorcycles behind a van to a grateful dead cover festival in California. They told me stories about trying to find an apartment during the dot com bust and we talked about music for a good while too. It was a fantastic evening. When the waitress came with our bills they even paid for mine! On the way back to the van I asked if I could stay on their couch for the night since I was tent-less and it was very rainy that night, and they obliged! Thanks again guys!

The Spanish Virgin Islands

Johnny and I went woke up the next day and caught a bus to Rio Piedras at 6:30am, then we took a Publico (shared taxi) to Fajardo on the advice of a local. Our goal for the day was to get to El Yunque and then return in the evening. Once in Fajardo we began asking around for rides to El Yunque and after about an hour we concluded that there were none affordable to El Yunque. I suggested we at least find a place to stay when we come back since we came all the way here, for $9.50 round trip mind you. He agreed so we went to a library and we happened upon the most helpful librarian and one of the most helpful people I have ever encountered. She spent about an hour with us making phone calls and talking to friends. She found a little old lady two blocks away that would rent us a place for $25 a night on a favor. She apparently used to rent this place but when she began having medical problems she stopped altogether so this was very kind of her. Especially considering the fact that we are two Americans and total strangers. We kept asking around about rides to El Yunque and eventually we discovered that there truly are no rides to El Yunque. You can buy a tour package for $85 but this means your stuck in a big troublesome group and restricted to 9AM to 1PM. Or you can hire a taxi to take you about two miles short of the entrance for $60 but you had better be able to miraculously find a ride afterwards. We planned on repeating our journey the next day and then renting a car upon arrival in Fajardo.

I woke up the next morning at six and saw a light flick on in the kitchen. My room has a window and outside that is a tiny courtyard across from the courtyard is the kitchen so I have a direct view of the whole. I knew it must be Johnny so I threw on my clothes and went to the kitchen. He was gone by the time I stepped in so I went to his room and knocked a few times. No answer, suddenly I heard some voices downstairs and I heard Tina the landlady saying goodbye to someone. So I snatched up my stuff and left my key on the Fourier table. I dashed to the bus terminal and caught the bus to Rio Piedras, the number 1. I didn't see Johnny there so I thought maybe that it was the second bus. I knew I could catch him at the Publico terminal and "worst case" at the flat we rented. When I got to the Publico terminal still no Johnny and this time it was the first van for the day so I realized that it was I who had left him in San Juan not the other way around like I had originally thought. There were two girls dressed for the beach standing by the van and they said they were planning on catching the ferry to Culebra. I said what the hell and went with them. The ticket for the Ferry was $4 round trip and we made it to the terminal with plenty of time to spare.

The ferry ride was an adventure unto itself. The sea was a bit rough that day due to winter winds. The ferry bucked and rolled and we all got drenched in sea water. There were a couple of times where I swore it was gonna capsize, but it never did. Little by little most of the people went below deck to the sealed cabin but those of us remaining were getting our moneys worth. This one guy and I were just laughing hysterically at the massive plumes of water washing over the passengers and the deck. Another dude was really concerned about a capsize and I laughed and pointed at the rows of lifeboats strapped to the bridge and said "That's what those are for." I went below to use the bathroom which was in heinous condition because the toilet water was sloshing out every few seconds. While I was below I saw that most of the passengers were totally sick. One kid I saw earlier was on the floor desperately clutching a paper bag and he had a definite greenish hue to him. I went back topside and enjoyed the remaining fifteen minutes.

Once on Culebra I rented snorkel equipment at $13 for the day and took a Publico to Flamenco beach. Once there I met Owen and his Girlfriend Alista both of whom were from Philly. We all took a hike through the forest and over the mountain to get to the less populated beach on the other side that's renowned for snorkeling. It was a beautiful hike with amazing views of the surrounding islands and a distant view of Puerto Rico's east coast. Once at the beach I stashed my pack and donned my snorkel gear. I swam out to the little buoy (a milk jug strapped to the reef) and began snorkeling.

The approach to the actual reef was sudden and startling. At first all I could see was a shadow and some movement and then the clouds above me blew away and I came closer. The sight made my heart race and I felt an enormous rush of adrenaline as I swam over the reef. There were fish every where and a tiny school of Angel fish began swimming with me. They followed me for a long time as I explored and when I crossed to the ocean side of the reef they parted. I saw a magnificent fish that looked like it had a rainbow painted on the side of it. I was so excited by the whole experience that I swam back to the beach to see if Owen and Alista had began. Alista was having some troubles coping with the idea of swimming out to sea without a life vest or lifeguards but I assured her it was very doable. This was of no comfort and so I gave up and me and Owen walked to the far side of the beach and snorkeled at a spot he was told about. It was an incredibly rocky coast line here and getting in the water proved surprisingly difficult but the cuts and bruises we got were well worth it. At first I split off from Owen. I found a massive drop off and couldn't see the bottom of it so I followed the wall and found massive coral shaped like hands. Each "finger" was about as large as I am (six feet). There were little fish all over these coral and the coral over here was much more alive. Also there was a ton of enormous fan like plants waving in the current. The colors were splendid. I popped up briefly to see how Owen was faring and he was up too. We both agreed that it was well worth the walk and the dangerous conditions. He said he had found a really good section and said I should follow him so off we went. He swam between two narrow formations and I followed briefly loosing sight of him. When I emerged on the other side there were dozens of towers and more even larger fingered glove formations wrapped in the fan like leafs. It was a beautiful sight. We decided a bit after this segment that it was time to head back to catch the Publico to the Ferry terminal. I left before them and took my time eating some delicious tostones, chicken, and beans and rice. I briefly napped at the terminal with a wonderful view of the ocean on a sun warmed bench and the ride back to Fajardo was brief and calm. Once back I was reunited with Johnny and we shared our stories.

The next day was spent mostly for rest and preparation for the next. I bought my ferry tickets a day early as I had read and heard that sometimes lines can form at 6AM. Two whole hours before the ticket office opens. These rushes are unpredictable and so I planned accordingly. I got the tickets and a tasty treat from the deli next store and headed back to the flat. The treat (papas rellenas) was a stuffed potato which is in essence a fried ball of mashed potatoes wrapped around a center of seasoned beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, lobster, conch or really any meat you might want. This particular vendor only had beef available. After my day of preperation I retreated back to the flat and enjoyed a quiet evening.

Ponce and San Juan

When I awoke I was in Ponce. I was also incredibly disoriented and dazed. The rainy night before was not the first night where I hadn't gotten much rest. In fact I hadn't really slept since I left my Aunt's house. Luckily I bought a foam camping roll the night before so I could sleep better on almost any surface. I tried to hire a Publico (shared taxi) but instead I got an expensive Taxi by mistake. The driver took me to a small park surrounding an old Cathedral and in front of City Hall that was somewhat close to the Publico terminal. It was a really strange experience. Everyone was speaking Spanish and all the trees where wrapped in Christmas lights but it was balmy out and the decor defied all convention. There were strange chirping noises coming from just about everywhere and there were stray dogs milling about in very social ways. I later discovered the chirping to be the call of the Coqui frog. I tried to sleep on one bench but a cleaning crew came and started using leaf blowers so I moved to the other side of the park. There I attempted sleep on a bench next to a fountain but it soon became to cold to sleep so I walked around some more to warm up. I put on my winter coat for about four seconds before realizing it was still soaked, cold, and quite pungent.

Eventually I found a small spot under a palm behind a burger king. I woke up several hours later and wandered to the Publico terminal. I met a driver going to San Juan and he said if we left now it would cost forty dollars or I could wait for other passengers. So I waited, and waited, and waited some more and I think around noon enough people showed up but I can't really remember too well because I slept most of that time on a lovely little bench. The drive was also spent sleeping, but at one point I awoke in the middle of a mountain range and it was stunningly beautiful. The mountains were very steep, but they were covered from summit to peak in beautiful green foliage. Some had large rocky cliffs jutting out from them too.

San Juan was really weird and the park I got dropped off at was even more bizarre then the last. There were tons of homeless men and women here and even more stray dogs. I made my way to the Library at the University of Puerto Rico. There I found accommodations and some good cheap eats on their internet computers. I was leaving to find the buses when I was greeted by Spyridon. He was a young painter from Tennessee and he was here setting up his exhibit for the University. He got me into the back areas and I got to see the exhibit before it was finished. The gallery was amazing. They had painted posters from a cultural revolution that had occurred several decades before. Puerto Rico was railing against cultural assimilation by the United States and it was very apparent in these posters.

Spyridon also showed me his work which was very religious and it had a pretty unique style to it. He worked with oils and had painted two pieces which were on display outside in this sort of courtyard area. I helped him gather some leaves and flowers to place around the pieces and his friends showed up. His friend Peter and his wife with there three year old son David. We all helped Spyridon setup his display and then Spyridon drove me to Viejo (Old) San Juan. He dropped me of on Calle de la Tanca and I walked to the Castro Guest house where I had my reservation. The Castro was wedged between a Chinese food restaurant and a up scale night club called The Noise and sat opposite a popular bar. I got a room with a balcony for forty a night and bought a cheap bottle of Chilean wine and some ear plugs. I threw the doors of the balcony open to let the wonderful night breeze in popped the ear plugs and started on the wine.

I spent several days exploring Viejo San Juan and Candado Beach. I never did find a job there. Although I did get to see some wonderful things and meet some wonderful people. I met Jaqi from Massachusetts. She lives in Mueyguez and is trying to find a job as a physician. We met at the breakfast bar in the Sheraton Hotel, which is funny because neither of us were guests there. In fact her friend Evans wasn't either. But we all thoroughly enjoyed the muffins and papaya juice regardless. I also met the activists camped in front of the controversial Condado playa (beach) apartments. According to the protesters and most of everyone I've spoken with, the owner, an asshole American no less, bought the land illegally by bribing the government and then began building the apartments. The land itself was a public beach, which was enjoyed, in particular, by less wealthy individuals. I just happened to be walking by and the protesters offered me rice and chicken. They had a spicy senorita making all of the food which I thought was a bit curious, but regardless it was the best rice I've ever had and the chicken was good too.

I crossed the bay bridge and met a young scientist taking water samples, he said the bay was really healthy. He told me a story about the apartments. Apparently one night the protesters climbed the crane and attempted to sabotage it. The police came to stop them and they swung the crane around and climbed down the cable into waiting kayaks. They then paddled across the bay and were apprehended. However the police let them go which in my opinion is a testament of who's on which side.

I spent some time meeting my roommates, Isreali from Florida and Alex from Germany. They are both pretty mellow guys and we've gone on a few missions together. One night we went to a big hotel near the bay and scored four or five pounds of choice beef from a conference that had just ended. We at like kings that night. Alex introduced me to Johnny from Wichita, Kansas and I asked Johnny if he wanted to split the cost of visiting El Yunque and he said he did.