This log is current to February 9, 2006

While we continue to work on the Al Simpson biography, we haven’t stopped exploring!

January 1, 2006 in San Felipe, Mexico
MAN, was it a short night. We had a late and strange New Year’s eve celebration on the Mexican Baja.

Bulbous American women in sequined dresses “sang” karaoke(!)  A guy leading a large dog around with his belt hoisted the animal onto Don’s lap and it knocked drinks all over the place.  We salsa-danced at midnight with an awesome 81-year-old Mexican lady.  A different woman, depressed to tears over having turned 30 years old, turned out to be residing in the other half of our bungalow. She spent most of the predawn hours screaming profanely at the top of her lungs, and then smashing furniture. Happy New Year!

We enjoyed San Felipe, near the head of the Sea of Cortez. It has a terrific tide, averaging 12-13 feet, leaving even large fishing boats completely aground at low tide.

Now we’re back to writing the Al Simpson biography, a job that will consume 2006. Don has reached 440 draft pages, with no end in sight!

We had a terrific 2005 and hope you did too -- and that you continue following our adventures in 2006, our seventh year.January 6, 2006 in Arizona.

Tragically, we have received more reports of violent attacks by the Burmese Army against villagers. They recently burned a village, and displaced over 1,200 people in attacks against villages and IDP (displaced persons) hide sites in Southern Karenni State.Troops from Burma Army battalions 421, 426, 428, and 424 continued their attacks against Karenni villagers in Southern Karenni State. Burma Army soldiers from battalions 426 and 428 burned down 26 houses Gee Gaw Ber village, forcing all 610 residents of the village into hiding. In this area there are also 341 villagers from the nearby village of Toe Ka Htoo who fled in fear of further Burma Army attacks. 255 people from Pah Poe (Papo) village, which was attacked on Dec. 17 are also in hiding. The total number of new Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the area is 1,206. The 1,206 now in hiding are with out shelter and the temperatures in this area are very low. The people are hiding at elevations between 3,500-6,500 feet and the freezing level is at 4,000-5,00 feet.
 
To learn more, or how you might help, please contact the Free Burma Rangers, a group risking their lives to help the innocent villagers. www.freeburmarangers.org

January 12, 2006 in Yuma
We have learned more about Andy Mathis, the “sailor” we befriended six years ago.

We learned that almost everything he told us was untrue. He never sailed around the world with his dying wife; she did not die at sea, nor did she ever sail; he never had a heart attack while single-handing during a hurricane;  he never killed an American Marine officer in Vietnam or had his thumb bitten off by the Vietcong or was ever in the military; he never did the numerous other things he claimed to have done in order to gain sympathy, support and trust.

We now learn he swapped his small boat named Tethys in Langkawi, Malaysia, and left Maryland with money due his girlfriend and her son. He left without paying federal or state taxes for years, just like decades before when he left his wife and then-toddler son then never paid a dime of child support.

Photo: Andy with the pillow he says his wife made before she died at sea. Because of this pillow, he said, he named his boat Promises, honoring his promise to her not to stop sailing just because she died. She never sailed. She is not not dead. We now communicate with her frequently. The entire story is a fabrication, a scheme to inspire sympathy and support.

Andy Mathis earns the Gypsy Wagon Greatest Liar Award. In more than six years meeting people all over the world, we have never met a person so determinedly irresponsible and untrustworthy.

We are sorry for the people he deceived, lied to, and who were left worse off in numerous ways for having known him. Andy, we trusted you, cared about you, believed in you and helped you. For shame!

Meanwhile, our friends who really sail, Rich and Jane of Deale, Maryland are at sea right now, sailing aboard a friend’s 35 ft. catamaran nonstop from Beaufort, NC to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

We believe they departed January 11. We’ll let you know when they safely arrive.

January 15, 2006 in Yuma. This is our license plate. If you see us, let us know. Book update: Don’s draft biography on U.S. Senator Al Simpson (WY-Ret..) has hit 222,000 words -- about 530 pages -- with no end in sight!

By the way, we’re starting to wonder about this Yuma, Arizona. The other day a guy was charged with beating his wife of 50 years to death with a hammer. Another guy was discovered having sex with a goat -- and not just once! In addition, a high school football team here is called the “Criminals.” If that isn’t enough, the Northern Arizona semi-pro football team is know as the “Lunatics.”

We have still not received word that Rich and Jane have arrived safely in the British Virgin Islands on their crewing voyage from North Carolina.  They have now been at sea for approximately ten days, which is approaching the twelve days we spent sailing to the Caribbean just over a year ago. 1-24-06 update: still no word from Rich and Jane.

January 26, 2006 in Yuma
Our friends Rich and Jane (see above) are safe -- and we are relieved. They were crew aboard a 35-foot catamaran sailing from North Carolina to Saint Croix in the Caribbean. A total of five people were aboard. They were hit by a storm that built seas to 22-feet. They deployed a drogue chute for three days to keep the boat under control. Then hardware that raises the mainsail failed, and failed again after Rich climbed the mast to attempt a fix.

We’ll post photos when we get them. The owner of the catamaran will continue on the Australia. Here is a link to his website. http://www.freewebs.com/lbrosius/index.htm

More Tragic News from Burma: Our friends at the Free Burma Rangers continue clandestine operations to offer humanitarian aid to innocent villagers under constant attack by the Burmese Army. These photos were sent at great personal risk from a hiding place in the Burma jungle.

We once lived across the border, in Thailand, and came to know the brutality of the Burma Army.  We are posting this information in the hope that people around the world can know the horrors that continue while attention is focused on Iraq.

These photos show people risking their lives to help the injured and sick villagers in southern Karenni State. The Army recently burned the village of Gwe Ga Per, captured, tortured and killed villagers, placed land mines and attempted to kill the family members of the two Karenni families now on the run.

Here are the words of a Free Burma Ranger: “While we were moving out with the family of Sa Nu Nu who were fleeing the Burma Army, two more Karenni families from the same village joined us. The son of one of the families, Saw Naw Ku, had been captured at the same time of Saw Nu Nu and six others. All were tortured and one man killed and decapitated, but Saw Naw Ku managed to escape after Saw Nu Nu escaped. This family of five; Saw Naw Ku, his two young sisters and mother and father were very weak and sick. The mother was vomiting and collapsed as we walked with her. She cried and we could see she was not just physically sick but also very distraught to be leaving her home, farm and homeland. We gave her an IV, prayed with her and rigged a hammock stretcher and carried her on to a safer area.”

The Free Burma Ranger’s (FBR) mission is to provide hope, help and love to internally displaced people inside Burma.  Using a network of indigenous field teams, FBR is able to carry out research into human rights abuses, casualties and humanitarian needs of people too often forgotten by the outside world. FBR provides medical, spiritual and educational resources for IDP communities as they struggle to survive Burmese military attacks.

For more information, please visit www.freeburmarangers.org

January 30, 2006 in El Golfo, Mexico
We’ve been exploring northern Mexico, the area at the north end of the Sea of Cortez.

There isn’t much at El Golfo, but there is a HUGE tide. Not only is the tide 12-16 feet, the bay slopes so gently, that when the tide goes out, the water recedes in some places almost out of sight.

This makes trouble for the local fishermen, who have to wait for high tide to get their boats in the water.

For people who lack four-wheel-drive, El Golfo represents the end of the road. It’s possible to follow the Sea of Cortez further south, but not with a passenger car.

Along the highway near El Golfo, one finds signs of vacations gone wrong. This trailer, now abandoned, was likely someone’s pride and joy. Now it will stand empty until the elements take it.

In the most remote areas, the Mexican government has established places where water is available. Getting stranded there would put one in desperate straits quickly.

In the town of El Golfo, the skeleton of a whale adorns the parking lot. It exceeds 15 feet in length, and the skull is six feet high. From the northern end of the Sea of Cortez, it is hundreds of miles to the open Pacific Ocean.

February 3, 2006 in Yuma
As long as we are busy writing a book, we thought we’d show you a few photos of the subject. Look for a photo essay in the essays section, or just Click Here.

We have also added pictures secreted out of Burma at risk of death. They are in the Burma section under Mind and Heart.

February 3, 2006 in Yuma
Don, a pilot, has been at the controls of fighter aircraft and a B-52. But he’s never been in the monster C-5 Galaxy.

It has a wingspan of 222 feet and maximum wartime weight of 840,000 lbs. They land at the Yuma Marine Base, keeping Don’s nose glued to the fence.

February 6, 2006 in Yuma
Late last night we learned that Andy Mathis -- see above -- told strangers in Maylasia that he sold his boat and was returning, via Kuala Lumpur, to the U.S. He said Seattle was his target (where his “other boat” was docked). He also said he was in Maylasia and used his boat to help save tidal wave victims, a total crock since he’s not really a sailor and only went there two months ago.

February 8, 2006 in Yuma
We are currently considering an off the beaten path journey to far western China. Don has been there twice and is eager to show Becky the amazing sights and sites.

Photo: Don took this shot of a fruit seller in Turpan, a down on western China’s Silk Road during a U.S. Senate trip. Notice that he looks more Turkish than Chinese, indicative of the fascinating mix of cultures dating back to Marco Polo.

In our Essays section you will find Don’s report on his last Silk Road trip. Or, click here.

We are heading to Cody, Wyoming from Yuma, Arizona for a few days, the reason to be reported here soon. This is our license plate. Honk if you see us!

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