We had a slow start. My flight from Las Vegas to Chicago was delayed and I missed my Munich connection. Good news was that my good friends Mary and Fred Garzino came to the rescue and gave me a bed for the night as well as dinner and a good visit. Arrived in Munich Sunday to pouring rain. Has been cold and raining in varying degrees ever since, but have still been able to see the sights and do some biking. The RV is small, but that makes it easier to drive. Tight space, but lots of storage and has everything we need. We have camped alternately in very well maintained campgrounds or in gas station/rest stops on the highway. This is acceptable in Europe. Bought bikes in Munich and went to the Hofbrauhaus in honor ... read more

&slThe International service for Peace SIPAZ (use the English button) gave a presentation on its activities of documenting the human rights violation and political intimidation in the area. Their work is complicated by the fact that they are also a target for intimidation. It was interesting to see other political system and to note the similarities and difference with our own. It certainly gives one insights about how our system works and pitfalls that all democratic system face. We had a meeting with a representative of Center for Economic and Political Research and Community Action url=http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en=es&u=http://www.ciepac.org/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dciepac%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DG/(CIEPAC) (http://www.ciepac.org/ the page is in Spanish but if you click around you will find artic... read more

Chiapas - THE GANG ALL HERE. A group of complete strangers…converging on Posada Isabel… this sounds like the intro to a reality show… I think it would be wise when you’re in a group of strangers that you consider you may be the strangest. Well here we are: The organizers: David A and Peter both are with Equal Exchange, both currently living in the Boston area, David is an old hand at travel in Central America having done election monitoring there. Peter works in the Equal Exchange’s interfaith program and has been active with Heifer Project. Both speak Spanish. Mateo and Hope, Witness for Peace representatives, appeared. Their main base is in Oaxaca but seem to quite familiar with the San Cristobel area. They are in their early twenties; both speak Spanish. If this get... read more

CHIAPAS - GETTING THERE “Getting there” turned out to more complicated than I thought! I traveled with a group that was put together by Stan a pastor with the United Church of Christ. His goal is to provide opportunities for individuals to see first hand the how their participation in Fair Trade projects benefit the small farmers. This particular trip used resources and contacts from, Witness for Peace, a peace advocacy group based in Washington DC, and Equal Exchange a coffee importer, processor and distributor. After my application was accepted I received a travel advisory. Several shots were recommended. I checked around and found the most cost effect place to get the shots was the local Health District. It turns out they have a satellite clinic at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas which is only ... read more