Sweet Pain: Global Adventures of a Frugal Photographer

By Eero Sorila

A professional photographer, writer, and full-time adventurer, Eero Sorila has visited almost every country on earth. Along the way, he has taken thousands of photographs and gathered countless stories about people and places. These he shares through his work. Eero has authored six books, including two editions of Sweet Pain.

Other books by the same author:

Green Mattress Under the Stars.
Castles Old and New. Vol,I and II.
Lighthouses Big and Small.
Landmarks Ancient and Modern.
American Monuments, co-authored with Mirjam Rand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781796087666

Eero Sorila

Eero Sorila was twelve years old in 1957 when he and his parents immigrated from Finland to Canada. His parents, the late Henry and Alice Sorila faced many challenges, like other immigrants, in adapting to a new life in a new land. Their faith in God was foundational, providing strength in hard times, as it had been in Finland. Initial hardships eventually turned into blessings. Eero, the eldest son, thankfully admits that he also has been a recipient of the blessings. Eero maintains that it has been a profound privilege for him to photograph every province and territory of this great nation. CANADA Photographic Gallery of a Great Nation, is the author’s token of gratitude to God, his parents and Canada.

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Copyright © 2020 by Eero Sorila. 549709

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COVER PHOTO

The bou-bou tree forest in Madagascar is a unique world

landmark.

Photo: Eero Sorila

Cover Photo: Eero Sorila

Cover Design: Xlibris Team

ISBN:     Softcover                978-1-4771-3690-4

               Hardcover               978-1-4771-3691-1

               EBook                     978-1-7960-8766-6

Rev. date: 03/05/2020

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

1.     CONQUERING ORIZABA IN MEXICO 1990

2.     CYCLING MIRACLES IN JAPAN 1991-1992

3.     HILL OF CROSSES IN LITHUANIA 1998

4.     SALT AND WHALES IN MEXICO 2000

5.     ON TABLE TOP, SOUTH AFRICA 2001

6.     MYSTERY ISLAND IN SOUTH KOREA 2004

7.     RUINS TALK, LEBANON 2005

8.     CAPTIVE CAPTIVATES, ST HELENA 2005

9.     SWAN AND ORKNEYS UK. 2007

10.   FIJI CHALLENGES PHOTOGRAPHER, 2007

11.   SPECTACULAR ROCK IN AUSTRALIA 2009

12.   FOOTSEPS OF ANSEL ADAMS 2009

13.   MADAGASCAR PHOTO SAFARI 2018

14.   BENIN MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE 2019

15.   TASHKENT-ALMATY TRAIN TRIP 2019

16.   BRUNEI, LOTUS LAND FOR CITIZENS 2019

17.   OMAN ADVENTURE ON A TIGHT BUDGET 2019

18.   QATAR TO DISCOVER 2019.

19.   UNFORGETTABLE DAYS IN KUWAIT 2019

20.   PALAU CALLING 2020

EPILOGUE

DEDICATION

My parents, Alice and Henry Sorila

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am very thankful to Dr. Stuart Piddocke, Markku Sillanpää, Mirjam Rand, Robert

Grey, and Josephine Sorila who were involved in the creation of this book.

INTRODUCTION

Photography is such sweet pain.

To wait hours for the right quality of light, and then have someone step into the composed picture at the wrong moment is painful. When all has gone well in taking a picture, a branch in a jungle hits the camera causing the plate film to slide out and ruin the picture. That is very painful. Almost every photo trip brings frustration and pain. Yet after forty years I keep photographing. Why? I don’t have a definite answer, but to capture a moment on film, usually through a difficult process brings me unspeakable satisfaction. If anything, that is the SWEET PAIN that keeps me going.

In praise of frugality I cannot say enough. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) one of the founding fathers of the United States condensed frugality into one sentence of good advice; Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship. In my travels I have tried to save money even with small expenses. This frugal travel style has allowed me to travel much more than I would have by being wasteful. There have been times when sleeping in frugal ways have been challenging to a point of pain, but the savings have been sweet. I like the observation by the sociologist Elise Boulding (1920-2010) Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. When I started travelling I almost fainted on a mountain hike carrying a duffle bag full of things. That experience thought me to travel lightly, by carrying the bare necessities which basically are, a toothbrush, notepad and a camera. The most important and expensive among these three items is my view camera, but even that was used when I bought it for $ 125.00. The same camera has served me for decades and I have no need for a new one. The cost of using large format sheet film to do my work is expensive. At $ 20.00 for taking one picture I need to be careful before exposing a film in order not to waste. I would have gone broke in the beginning of my career had I followed the advice, Take many pictures and choose the best, That is a guideline which I cannot afford to follow.

Admittedly I belong to a diminishing minority of eccentrics still using film and archaic photographic equipment, but I am very happy to be there. After trying to capture the perfect picture for forty years I still chase that illusive image. If you dare, come along to a challenging journey during which many desperate situations are rewarded by SWEET PAIN.

Vancouver Canada April 4.2020

Eero Sorila

The list of 170 travel destinations are from the time when I was there. Some of the names may have changed later. Experiences in 21 of them are included in this book, which are marked with asterisk.

Albania

Algiers

Andorra

Antarctica

Antigua & Barbuda

*Australia

Austria

Bahamas

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bermuda

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia Hertsivigoza

Botswana

Brazil

British Virgin Islands

*Brunei

Bulgaria

Cambodia

Canada

Canary Islands

Chile

China

Colombia

Cook Islands

Corsica

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus, Greek

Cyprus, Turkey

Czechoslovakia

Denmark

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Dubai

Egypt

El Salvador

*England

Equator

Estonia

Ethiopia

*Fiji

Finland

France

French Guiana

Germany

Ghana

Great Britain

Greece

Grenada

Guam

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Hawaii

Holland

Honduras

Hong Kong

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

*Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

*Lebanon

Lesotho

Linchtenstain

*Lithuania

Lofoten

Luxemburg

Macao

Madagascar

Malasia

Malawi

Malta

Marocco

Martinique

*Mexico

Monaco

Mongolia

Mozambique

Myanmar

Namibia

Nepal

New-Zealand

Nicaragua

North Korea

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

*Palau

Panama

Papua N. Gunea

Paraguay

*Peleliu

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Qatar

Romania

Russia

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

*Scotland

Seashells

Senegal

Seychelles

Sikkim

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solovetsky

*South Africa

*South Korea

Spain

*St Helena

St Kits & Nevis

St Lucia

St Madelene

St Pierre & Muguelen

St Vincent & Grenadines

Surinam

Swaziland

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

Tahiti

Taiwan

Tanzania

Thailand

The Orkney’s

Tibet

Togo

Toktoyaktuk

Tonga

Trinidad

Tunisia

Turkey

Ukraine

*Ulleungdo

*United States

Uruguay

USA, Virgin Islands

*Uzbekistan

Valamo

Vanuatu

Vatican

Vietnam

W. Samoa

Yugoslavia

Zambia

Zimbabwe

1

CONQUERING ORIZABA

IN MEXICO 1990

Our trip to the Orizaba mountain in the winter of 1990 begins enthusiastically. We four mountain climbers, Ron, Larry, Satoshi and Eric, pile into a 1972 Volkswagen Van just after 5:00 am. We leave Vancouver behind and new vistas like Mt. Shasta in northern California provide refreshing scenery along Interstate Hwy 5.

The naturalist and author John Muir (1838-1914) said of Shasta: When I first caught sight of it over the braided folds of the Sacramento Valley, I was fifty miles away and aloof, alone and weary. Yet all my blood turned to wine, and I have not been weary since.

Our goal is to climb 4,521 feet higher than Mt Shasta. Hopefully our blood will turn to wine upon seeing Mt Orizaba.

1VancouverFlag.jpg

Our starting point for the Mt. Orizaba trip, Vancouver BC is a city of two million people

which gained city status with a population of 5000 in 1886.

After a 14 hour drive from Vancouver we come to an abrupt halt. Once the smoke from the engine clears we push the vehicle three miles to Redding, California. A good morning workout is the only solution to an event like this. The city has a population of eighty thousand and luckily we manage to find an automobile repair shop near the highway. The mechanic inspects the engine. The repair work will take a long time and it will be expensive. These stark realities are very disturbing to us.

After pondering the situation, I walk to the local post office and put up a small notice on the announcement board. "Four mountain climbers on our way to Mexico are stranded because our car broke down. We want to purchase an old car for about three hundred dollars. You can find us at a red Volkswagen Van in the yard

2MtShastainNorthernCalifornia.jpg

Mt. Shasta in Northern California is an inspiring sight as we are driving south. It rises to an altitude of 14,179 feet.

of the Redding Automobile three hundred dollars. You can find us at a red Volkswagen Van in the yard of the Redding Automobile Repair Shop. We also look for old cars in the back lanes. A suitable vehicle is not found. Then Larry, who has been guarding the Van comes running towards us and tells us, the post office notice has worked. The owner of a car has left his phone number but we have to hurry as he and his wife are leaving town shortly for the weekend". Fortunately we find enough coins to make a phone call to the car owner.

The California lady picks us up in her Ford and drives us out to their farm. Soon we are gathered like bees around honey looking at the Dodge that is for sale. It seems that the car was last used to haul hay and chicken droppings, but the main thing is that the motor runs well. The lady rakes out the remaining hay from the back seat and vacuums the chicken poop while her husband looks for the spare tire behind the compost pile. We make a deal and buy the 1976 Dodge Brougham for two hundred and fifty dollars without test driven it. Posting the wanted notice and completing our purchase has taken us about three hours.

We drive off. At least the radio seems to work well and Willie Nelson so appropriately sings On the Road Again. Tickled to death we are laughing and happily back on the road again.

We drive to the garage and transfer our gear from the broken Volkswagen Van into our new vehicle. I have more luggage than anyone else because of an old view camera and a 16mm movie camera. The cameras to go are more important than any of my other luggage and therefore are among the precious items to be taken into our new car.

The broken Van can remain waiting in the yard of the Redding repair shop until we return from Mexico. Hopefully we can tow it back to Canada with our Dodge, but for now we are heading south and to Orizaba!

On California’s highways the Dodge flies like the wind as it has a big engine. It guzzles gas like crazy and at every stop we have to add engine oil, but no worry––in California gas and oil are cheap. Our least expensive gas price is found in Anaheim near Disneyland.

Fortunately Satoshi who is from Japan is used to hot baths and we Finns to sauna, as the car’s heater is stuck in the on position and no knob will turn it off. The seat next to the driver is the hottest spot especially during the day when the outdoor temperature is close to 90 F. We all take turns at the sauna seat in front so that no one has to suffer too long in the scorching heat.

3RonSatoshiEricLerryOrizaba.jpg

The heater in our $250.00 new car? is stuck and it feels like a sauna, but there is nothing wrong with the engine. On the

way to Mt Orizaba we take a break and get some fresh air. From left to right; Ron, Satoshi, Eric and Larry.

We forgot the map of Mexico at home. I have drawn a roadmap into my journal with help from a Mexican man.

When we cross the border to Mexico, a nation of almost one hundred million people, it would take only one Mexican official at the border to ask if we have car insurance to ruin our trip. We are relieved when such question does not come up as indeed we have no such insurance.

After stopping in one Mexican town along the way we cannot get the car started and discover that the battery does not have an iota of energy. We have not even thought of checking the battery along the way. Now we hope someone comes along to give us a jump-start to get the Dodge going. We dangle our jumper cables in front of incoming traffic. A Mexican driver stops and gives us a boost, but we are reluctant to continue our trip in the dark.

We decide to spend the night in this town and park the car on a down slope so that we can push start it in the morning. We all are hungry and order Mexican food in a restaurant, but nothing too spicy. All we need is diarrhea in addition to the car trouble. In the middle of eating our tasty meal the restaurant door opens and a big man walks in, speaking in Spanish something about a car, our car.

We finally understand that our Dodge is parked too close to a street corner and the bus driver cannot make the sharp turn. Our waiter with a white apron joins us to push our car away from the corner. The bus driver is happy to make his turn onto a narrow street and we return to finish our dinner after an evening workout.

Before heading to bed in a cheap hotel we walk through the town and knock on a door of a repair shop where the lights are on. Do you have any distilled water? I manage to ask in Spanish. The shop owner, a stout Mexican man answers "Si––Yes", and on the floor we see a quart of distilled water in a glass bottle as though we had ordered it.

We pay the price the repair shop owner asks and top up the battery.

After sleeping well in a Hotel a stream of morning light illuminates our room in the morning and we are in high spirits.

Freya Stark (1893-1993) a British travel writer expressed her feelings about a similar situation, To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world We are not even sure if this Mexican town is Queretaro or some other town, thus it passes for a strange town. Although we are more than one, the words of Freya Stark describe our morning sensation most fittingly. Full of vigor we return to the car, hoping that the fresh distilled water will help it to start, but that is not to be.

The repair shop owner probably made his best water sale. The liquid is most likely pure rainwater. The battery remains dead as a door nail and we need many boosts on the way to Mt Orizaba. Since non of us are automobile mechanics we cannot blame the shop owner but our own ignorance for not always knowing what we are doing.

I cannot exaggerate our enthusiasm as Mt Orizaba reveals its pristine snow cap in the distance. If ever during the long drive, this is the time when our blood turns into wine. We are energized and hope that the car battery is also.

Finally after thirty two boosts along the way we reach our driving destination of Miguel de Hidalgo. In that village the Dodge engine stops in front of a whitewashed store front as though to tell us, This is where the driving ends. We don’t worry about it now. We first need to climb to the summit of Mt Orizaba.

Orizaba, is on the far side of the Anajuac range about 80 miles west of the city of Veracruz. It is Mexico’s highest and North America’s third highest mountain. The permanently snowcapped summit is 18,700 ft high. Many climbers have lost their lives on the slopes of Mt Orizaba. Sudden unexpected snow storms, a single false step and other untold surprises have taken many climbers’ lives. The first climbing group succeeded in reaching the peak in 1848 under the leadership of an American General named Scott. Knowing that most exciting adventures in life are experienced near the thin line between life and death, we have decided to attempt the Orizaba climb.

4Orizabakiipeily.jpg

The rustic village of Miguel de Hidalgo is at the base of Mt Orizaba. It is a potato-farming community of a few

hundred people. The sight of Mt Orizaba is a source of continuous delihgt for the hard working people.

A friendly farmer in Miguel de Hidalgo invites us into his home, just a short walking distance from where our car stopped. According to a Mexican proverb, Conversation is food for the soul and even with limited knowledge of the Spanish language we enjoy that kind of food. We soon learn that potato growing is the main source of livelihood in this village of a few hundred people, and to become a potato picker is a dream for many of the young people here.

During coffee which is served with tasty tortillas––corn flour crepes roasted on an open fire, it becomes clear that potato-picking time is temporarily over for one picker. Carlos, the man of the house has a new job. He agrees to accompany us to a mountain hut up the hill as a guide and horseman.

5OrizabaclimbMexico.jpg

Miguel de Hidalgo is a family orientated community and one of the first questions I’m asked is about my wife and family. When I

reply that I’m single and have never been married? I can feel shock waves reverberating from the walls which are wall-papered with

potato sacks and newspapers. In our village men of your age are grandfathers? Is the honest comment from one of the young boys.

With some sadness we leave our new friends in this most simple but cozy home where chickens pick crumbs from the floor and the smoke from open fire renders that wonderful camping feeling.

Vast potato fields surround the village and I get a chance to be in a photo with a group of potato pickers.

6Orizabapotatofieldextra.jpg

With potato pickers in Miguel de Hidalgo. The villagers lead an enviably simple life far removed from the troubles of modern world. Crystal clear

water is harvested from Mt Orizaba streams, the air is free from pollution and the good soil renders life supporting harvest from season to season.

On a tour of the village with Carlos we are able to find two unemployed donkeys and Carlos seems to know where to find a few more. You borrow what you need seems to be an unwritten law among the villagers.

We return to our vehicle and begin packing the gear in anticipation of the ride up the mountain while Carlos arranges horses and needed gear. Within an hour he finds two horses, three donkeys, two dogs, straw hats and two young fellows to give us a hand. The temperature before midday has risen above 70 F. and it is still rising. Our resolution to climb the mountain is holding while keeping in mind the Mexican idiom, "A good resolution is like an old horse, which is