Wanderlusting

Ho Ho Home!

2007-12-23T00:04:00.001-06:00

After a wonderful time in Floripa Liz and I headed up to Rio de Janiero for our final days. Our first day we were able to enjoy the famed Copacabana beach. Unfortunately our last two days it was grey and rainy. We still found things to do and enjoyed our time in the city. Including going on a walk and accidentally stumbling across the famed Rio Favellas (most dangerous slums in the world).

After many Delta delays we finally made it home, a day later than we had hoped, but safe and sound. It was great to be greeted at the airport by Meghan with a big sign reading, "Liz y Erin Welcome Ho Ho Home!"

We are excited to be home and can't wait to see everyone for the holidays.

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!

Beach Bums!

2007-12-12T13:44:00.000-06:00

Liz and I arrived in Florianopolis, Brazil after a slightly painful overnight bus ride. We had gotten so accustomed to the luxury buses of Argentina, that after what we paid, we never expected to be back at Bolivian style buses. It was hot then cold, the seats barely reclined, and we both had to sit next to strangers. Liz had some old lady yell at her at 3 am to tell her she was in the wrong seat. I had a young brasilero sitting next to me who made himself quite comfortable sleeping on my shoulder, but he shared his blanket, so I couldn't really complain.

We took a short cab ride to our hostel that is actually located in Lagoa de Conceição. We just happened to luck out by staying at the best hostel in the world, Tucanos Backpackers. It is an old house that Caio and Lilia, a brother and sister team, converted just a month ago to a beautiful homey hostel. This is my recommendation for all to stay here next time they are in Brazil.

We spent our first day walking around checking out the town, napping in hammocks, and making our dinner in the kitchen. There is only 7 total travelers staying here. We all made fast friends as we drank caipirinas and vodka with guarana juice before going out. One of the guys who works here at night was teaching us to dance Forro, a traditional dance of Brasil. We all piled into car and went to the local Forro party. It was live music and watching the brasileros dance was amazing. We all danced too, but certainly not as well! We had a blast.

Next day we woke up to a wonderful breakfast, a huge spread of fresh fruits and everything else you could want. We put on our new bikinis (very Brazilian - tiny in the hiney) and headed to the best beach in the area Praia de Mole. We laid out and surfed in the enormous waves. It was loads of fun. We tried a traditional snack at the beach too of frozen blended Açai fruit with bananas... Amazing!

We met up with our American friends we had made on the bus ride over, Alex and Jeff, and made plans with them and the Aussie girls, Nicki and Mandy, that stay at the hostel to go to a Churrascuria for dinner. We all met up at our hostel for some caipirinas and vodka guaranas and a few rounds of ping pong before heading out. We had a massive meat dinner that was amazing. Went out for drinks again at a local bar and had tons of fun. The boys had so much fun with us we even convinced them to check out of their ritzy hotel and stay at our hostel. It's just too much fun here!

We decided to stay off the beach the next day to let our burned skin rest. Instead we went into town to check out the markets.

The following day Liz and I went on a walk with Nicki and Mandy along the Costa de Lagoa. After about a 2 hour walk we ended up at the end of the road which was tons of seafood restaurants specializing in the local fair. We had loads of prawns and fish. It was all delicious. We took the boat ferry back and went straight to town for our dessert of frozen açai.

Nicki, Liz and I made dinner for everyone in the hostel that night and then we all went out to a bar with live music. It was really entertaining as the guy was singing Beatles and CCR but had a really strong Brazilian accent. It was funny. And as it was the weekend the hostel had filled up to nearly 20 guests. But everyone was so cool and we all got on so well, that we all hung out together.

the following day we went to the Praia Mole again, but we rented an umbrella to cover our still slightly sensitive skin. But we couldn't stay away for too long from splashing in the surf and eating frozen açai.

That night at the hostel Caio and Lilia hosted a BBQ. We all sat outside enjoying cold beers and tasty meat. Everyone went out clubbing, but Liz, Alex, Jeff, and I decided to take it easy and just went to a local bar. We didn't stay out long as everyone was exhausted. Jeff and I were hungry and decided to get some food at a stand on the way back. As I was eating this brazilian style hotdog I knew I had made a mistake. I came back and went to sleep. Didn't actually sleep any and spent the whole next day sick with food poisoning. Liz was still able to go out and enjoy the day at the beach.

We have really loved our time in Florianopolis. And of any places we have stayed this is the first that I truly don't want to leave. It is paradise.

Iguazu Falls

2007-12-09T15:27:00.000-06:00

After returning from Mendoza we had a few more days in Buenos Aires before we had to say goodbye. We really loved the city and tried to get in as much as we possibly could. We saw some museums, walked around our favorite neighborhoods, and had some delicious meals. Our last night Maria (friend we met in the Bolivian jungle) stayed with us. We went out to dinner with two Argentine guys we made friends with, Nacho and Oscar. They brought us to the best fondue restaurant I've ever been to in my life. All I know is that we were dipping cooked meat into melty cheese and drinking red wine. What more could you ask for?

Our next stop: Iguazu Falls. These are the most impressive waterfalls I have ever seen in my life. They are situated right at the Argentine and Brazilian boarder. We arrived at the falls at 8am on Saturday morning. We stayed until 4 pm just walking around seeing all the falls have to offer. We also went on a speed boat ride that brings you right under the falling water. It was so fun. We were screaming and giggling like kids! We got completely soaked, but it was great as it was so hot all day. It was one of the best days we have spent in this trip. We walked around all day seeing so many waterfalls. It was really impressive.

Our hostal, to our surprise, has the nicest swimming pool we've seen in ages. It's huge, clean and cool. This hostal is more like an all inclusive resort for young people. It looks like the setting for an MTV spring break edition. And the people act it is sometimes as well. Our first night we took it easy because we were tired from the overnight bus ride and had to be up early for the falls. But Saturday night we decided to let it rip. The hostal hosts a huge Parrilla (bbq) and all you can drink caipiriñas party. They even had some samba dancers for entertainment. At one point, both Liz and I were pulled up on the stage to dance samba and god knows what else with the group. It was loads of fun, but that might be the caipiriñas talking! We met a group of young Swedes and joined them after the hostal party to a bar in town called Club Bar. They gave us more caipiriñas there, then we went dancing at another dance club Cuba Libre.

We spent Sunday laying around the pool. We heard it was about 40 degrees Celsius. Sounds hot right, yup that's a whopping 104 degrees Fahrenheit! It was too hot to stay in the sun. We mainly swam around in the pool and also hid in the shade reading books. A friend we met in Mendoza, Ben, showed up in the afternoon. So we wemt in to the city and had dinner. We called it an early night as we knew we had an early morning check out and a lot of errands to take care, i.e. getting Brazilian visas!
We are now on our way to Florinopolis on the beach of Brazil.

Mendoza

2007-12-05T12:27:00.000-06:00

One of the top cities we wanted to see in Argentina was Mendoza. And (sadly) because our trip is coming to an end soon, we had to pick a weekend and get there.

We took an overnight bus and arrived in the afternoon finding an amazing hostel complete with a pool. The city itself is beautiful. It is right at the base of the Andes and has this great atmosphere everyone would enjoy. All the streets are lined with trees, and there are 5 city squares or parks in the center of town. The main park has statues, fountains and a huge stretch of booths of an outdoor flea market. Next to the park is a pedestrian mall filled with outdoor cafes and tons of boutiques and shops. Erin and I sat for a while and people watched, then headed back to go to bed early... we were going wine tasting the next day!

We went on tours of 3 different wineries. The first one was the largest of the 3. The coolest part of this tour was seeing the HUGE casks they use while making the wine. Erin says they are the biggest she has seen, normally they are about 250 liters, these were taller than us! The largest one (which Erin is helping herself to) is the 3rd largest in the world.

Normally the smaller casks last 5 years before they are recycled into furniture, floors, serving platters, this large one can last 250 years! The wine from Weinert was ok. We had 3 different tastings and my favorite was the dessert wine that had a strong honey flavor.

The second winery was Vinniterra. The guide for this was a hoot. He was very knowledgable and gave a great funny tour. This winery was pretty new, the owner used to be one of the head honchos of a huge commercial winery but sold his stake to start his own smaller family company. One of the neatest things I learned was for some of the fermentation process, they put the wine in steele barrels and add logs inside in order to get the oaky flavor. The wine here was really great, Malbec was our favorite.

The last winery was Carmine Granata. It was the smallest of the 3. It was more artesinal and independent. You could definitley tell a difference between this and Weinert. The wine here was pretty good too, but we only got to sample 1 type, their Malbec aged 6mos.

The best part of the day was lunch. We had this great spread of cheeses, meats, little dishes filled with snacks. Olives, beans, corn, artichokes, just a table full of food. And all you could drink wine. Who doesnt like that?

At night, we went to dinner with a group from the hostel. It was pretty fun, most were cool peoople. Erin and I shared the parilla aka Argentine BBQ and it was great.

When we got back to the hostel we got a great suprise! My cousin Ryan was waiting for us! He came over from Santiago to party with us for the weekend. And we definitley crossed that off the list. Erin went to bed around 3a, Iturned in around 630a and Ryan about 8a. We ended up hanging out with all the people that work at the hostels bar. (They chill in the backyard when they´re finished working, about 4a). Before we knew it the sun was coming up!

The next day Ryan and I went to a huge park on the west side of town. It was beautiful and reminded me of Golden Gate Park in that it was fairly large and had tons of activities to do. Clearly it was a great hangout for everyone. Kids doing bike tricks, soccer games galore and families having picnics. While Ryan and I were at the park, Erin was helping out a fellow American traveller from our hostel. She spent the day translating for the girl at the police station and hospital. Not a fun job for anyone, but she did a great job.

We decided to make our last night quiet. We had a great dinner and hung out at the hostels bar. Erin went to bed around 1a after being exhausted from her day of working as a translator, I went to bed around 3a and Ryan made it home as we were waking up. This kid knows how to party!
As with all South American citites Sunday´s are slow days. We found a place for breakfast along the pedestrian mall and then found a place for Ryan to get his haircut! The men down here have a classier version of the mullet that everyone has. Ryan mentioned wanting one and when we walked by a barber we convinced him it was now or never.

The rest of the day was spent lounging by the pool waiting for our bus to take off. Mendoza was great but we were ready to head back to BA to enjoy our last week in Argentina.

Our Tigre Trip

2007-12-05T10:42:00.001-06:00

After spending a couple weeks around Buenos Aires, we decided to get out of the city and explore. First trip... Tigre. We were told of this cute town about an hour north of BA that we needed to check out. It is right on a delta and has a great outdoor shoping market, good restaurants and close enough to make a day trip out of it. After one of my Spanish classes we met up and took off. The train to get there was about an hour and went through all the suburbs of Buenos Aires, including past where the president lives. We ran into a guy on the train whom we went out with on the first night in town and he reiterated how nice Tigre was and also told us of a new art museum to check out. We were pumped. Shopping, good food and a great museum? Perfect day!

We arrived and headed straight to the Puerto de Frutos. Not just a fruit port, it has hundreds of stalls of things to buy. Supposedly, that is. When we arrived there was nothing. It was like a ghost town. A few people had their stalls open but most of it seemed tacky or useless junk. Confused, we asked around and found out that the market is really only hopping on the weekends. We went on a Tuesday.

Disappointed, we decided to head to the art museum. The town was small but was on a number of rivers. It also didn´t have many bridges so we did a lot of walking. We came across a tourist information booth and asked what the best way to get to the art museum was. She told us we could take a collectivo (bus) but that the museum was closed on Tuesdays. Good to know. She did say there was a Naval museum up the river and there were plenty of restaurants nearby. We decided that was our best bet and started walking. The town really was beautiful. We followed the river bank which was lined with trees and lovely old houses. Being so close to Buenos Aires it is a major destination in the summer for people getting out of the heat and it also is a huge spot for rowing. About 10 huge mansions owned by different rowing clubs lined the banks.

We arrived at the Naval Museum and was told that it was closed! Just kidding, it was open but just for an hour, and we were told it wasn´t enough time to see everything. We smiled and said that it was fine, we´d be ok. And we were. We spent about 45 minutes looking at old ships, models of old ships, flags, weapons and everything involving the Argentine Armada. I thought the most interesting was the collection of artifacts from the exploration to Antartica in the early 1900s. I couldn´t imagine going 100 years ago without today´s tecnology and fancy warm clothes North Face makes!

After the museum we had a great din at a restaurant on the river. We were the only ones there! (quite common for us) but it was early after all, Argentines eat late, like 10pm; we sat down at 530p. After yummy fish and delicious wine we headed back to the train station. We wanted to make it back in time for our yoga class. We did, but were so full (and a bit tipsy) this class was not our best one.

Busy, busy Buenos Aires

2007-11-21T14:45:00.000-06:00

Lizzie and I have been keeping ourselves very busy here in the bustling city of Buenos Aires. We have signed up for Yoga class that we go to twice a week and we love by the way. We have a great instructor from Texas so he does a bilingual class. It's just the relaxing we need.
We have also dolled oursleves up a bit going to the salon for our hair and nails. We needed it!
Our first big event here in BsAs was Creamfields. Creamfields is an electronica-techno music show from England. Big techno djs such as Chemical Brothers, Too many djs, and LCD Sound system. Not really Lizzie and my kind of music, but everyone we met was going, so how could we pass it up. It started at 3pm, but we didn't arrive until about 10pm. As music would be raging until early morning we figured that was early enough. We danced all night and ended up having a really fun time. We left at about 4am, but people went on well into the next day.
Other than that we have been doing lots of shopping and sight seeing.

Last Tuesday James, Liz's brother, came for a visit. We were so excited to have some family come stay with us. We were really excited when he showed us that he had brought some Peanut Butter!!! We had been craving this sweet snack for months! But that wasn't it. He had an even better surprise in store for us. Cooking lessons! He was taking us to learn how to make some traditional South American fair. We jumped up and down as we were so excited.
The woman in charge, Terecita, is a cute little Argentina. She greeted us with a big smile and showed us into her warm kitchen. First lesson - Empanadas! Liz was especially excited as she had been wanting to learn the art of empanadas for the whole trip. We made two kinds, meat and corn. We even learned how to make the dough for frying and baking. It was so much fun and she always kept our wine glasses full.
After there we made our way to the futbol stadium to watch Buenos Aires' River Plate team play soccer against Arsenal. The game was crazy. The fans jump, yell, cheer, and even light off fireworks! River Plate lost in the end in penalty kicks, but it was a good game to watch.

The next day we took a bike ride through the whole city on a tour. It was a great way to really get an idea of where everything is and how much there is to see.
Then came James birthday! We had another cooking lesson at Terecita's. Parilla aka Argentine BBQ. Meat. Our driver, Buda, picked us up and drove us to the local butcher, best butcher in town. We picked out kidneys, intestines, sweetbreads (glands), morcilla (blood sausage), skirt steak, flank steak, ribs and more. We had loads of meat and I doubted we would be able to eat it all(very wrong). There were two Canadians staying at the bed and breakfast that joined us in our parrilla lesson. The guys tended to the charcoal and Terecita taught us how to make the tradicional sauces. The chimicuri is amazing, but the others were good too (I'll make them for you when I get back).

They put all the meat on the grill and slowly brought it over for us to eat. I can't forget to mention the wine! We started drinking at about 11am and didn't stop until we left that evening at about 6pm! Terecita knows her wines and picked out a fabulous selection. As for what our favorite new meat are - James' favorite was the ribs, Lizzie loves intestine, and I loved the morcilla! Yum. We just ate and ate and ate for hours. They surprised us at the end with a cake for Jamie. We all sang happy Birthday and stuffed ourselves even more.

Our last cooking lesson was brazilian Poa de queço and muceca de pescado - a delicious cheese bread and fish soup. With that we made rice and fried bananas. We also learned to make caiperiñas (traditional brazilian drink similiar to mojito). All amazing!

Our original plan had been to make our own attempt at a Thanksgiving dinner. But with out really knowing how to work our stove, and being exhausted from three days of cooking with Terecita we kind of flaked out on the idea. But at the last minute we thought we had at least try. So James and I went to the store to pick up an already made rotisserie chicken while Liz started on the mashed potatoes and salad. We even got apple pie for dessert. So, it wasn't the original Thanksgiving we had hoped for, but it was still family and it was delicious.

For our last event we had planned with James we were going to go to the Miguel Bose Papito tour concert. We were so excited and had been listening to the cd all week. We got all dressed up and wondered why when we arrived no one was around. We found out the concert had been cancelled due to illness. This is us being very sad.

We have really been loving BsAs and can't wait to see what is next!

And the winning number is....

2007-11-11T16:27:00.000-06:00

011 54 11 4953 3821

Now you can call us!

I'm not sure how to do it exactly, but the country code is 54 and the city code is 11 then our apartment number is 4953 3821. We don't have an answering machine or voicemail. So, either email us to plan a time to chat. Or, just keep calling. We'll be home sometime!

Come visit, or at least MAIL US STUFF!!!

2007-11-08T13:36:00.000-06:00

Erin Tyrrell and Elizabeth Mitchell
Pasteur 783 6B
Balvanera 1028 Capital Federal
Buenos Aires, Argentina

This is our current address for at least a month. It a cute little two bedroom apartment with pastel pink walls and little decor. We have bought some candles and are dressing it up slowly. We have been cooking great meals at home and are so excited about that! Today we also went on our first run. I got a little lost (but don't I always!) But I figure it is a good way to see the city and get our barrings. We found a place to start Yoga classes and are looking for Tango, Salsa and Spanish lessons still.

I expect to start seeing the mail pile up!!!

From here to there

2007-10-31T11:55:00.000-05:00

Well, Liz and I seem to be on a whirl wind tour of southern Bolivia. As we were planning to get to Buenos Aires by November first, we have been rushing down there. Our first stop after La Paz was Cochabamba, only a 8 hour overnight bus ride. We relished in the hot hot heat and crazy humidity. We went shopping straight away to buy more tank tops! We also saw a couple of the can't miss sights like an old mansion built by a rich miner (at one point he was one of the 10th richest in the world). The house, and especially the gardens were beautiful. We also hired a cab to take us up to the high hill to see a big Jesus. Liz and I took pictures under the big Jesus, holding our arms out singing, "She's got the whole world in her hands!"
We are going to hell for sure. We really took it easy in Cochabamba and had a nice time. We boared another bus to take us to Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz is another world compared to what we had been seeing in Bolivia. It's rich, it's white, and it's clean. No stray dogs running wild, no beggars (ok, less beggars), and amazing international cuisine. Again, it was so hot here as we had been spending most time in the altiplano of Bolivia (around 4,000 meters) and now we were at a nice 400m. The sun baked us, but we were loving it. Our first night there we ran into our old friend, Ruairi, whom we met climbing Machu Picchu. He and a friend were bellied up at (you guessed it) and Irish pub. We left with them to head to the hot spot of San Miguel. This area is lined with bars and clubs. All the young people are on the streets drinking outside their cars blaring music louder than the clubs. Just like home (well, almost). We had some beers and chatted. The next night we went out again and partying with rugby teams that were in for a championship. Needless to say, we were out quite late. Our days were spent just relaxing and enjoying the heat. Our last night we stayed in at our hostal and hung out with other travelers recouping from the weekend.

On the bus again to Sucre. We arrived after a short 14 hour bus ride. We arrived in Sucre at about 7 am. We got breakfast and immediately went back to bed. Seems we didn't get much sleep on the bus. But we did manage to get some colds. We found people to be very rude and unpleasant in Sucre. We only stayed two days and made our way to Potosí.

In Potosí we did the obligatory miner's tour. It is tour that takes you underground to the silver mines of Potosí. Unfortunately for us it was the Halloween, Day of the Dead, and All Saints Day holidays which meant everything in Sucre and Potosí were closed. But for the tour it was a good thing as the miners were taking the day off because it meant much less dust in the air.
It is already hard to breathe as Potosí is the highest city in Bolivia, but being underground with all the miners dust in the air made it really hard to breathe. We wore bandannas over our mouth and nose, but they did little good. We climbed (hand and knees at some points) through this Bolivian mine and have never felt more uncomfortable. After descending to the third level we heard a lone clank clank clank.
There was a miner. One sole miner still working even though it was a holiday. Turns out he was working by hand in the dark. His head lamp had burned out. So we sat there and gave him light, water, and some Bolivianos (money). He was so happy and grateful. We were hoping he would take a break and go spend time with his family,but he wanted a few more hours of work. It was amazing. Remind me to never complain about a job again! Liz (the crazy girl) even held live dynamite after we left the mine and blew shit up!

We spent just one more day in
Potosí and caught a 14 hour bus to Villazon. We arrived in Villazon at 5 am with no sleep as it had been the bumpiest, worst ride yet. Poor Liz's seat didn't even recline at all. We bought a ticket to head 24 hours to Buenos Aires. We waited until 10 am and boarded that bus. The bus drove us about 5 blocks to the boarder of Argentina. We all got out of the bus and waited at the boarder. Still not sure what we were waiting for. We did not board the bus until 2 pm. We were not the most pleasant people at this point. I tried to stay at a distance from everybody as I was sure I would snap any moment.
But once finally able to board it was a nice bus and we had the whole bottom level to ourselves. They served good food and played decent movies. We were able to sleep, thank god. We finally arrived in the mother land at 4 pm the next day.

Liz and I are so excited to have gotten to Buenos Aires. It is a beautiful big city and we love it. On the bus ride we made friends with a Canadian Chad. We found a hostal and decided we had to go out and celebrate our new found city! We had great steak dinners at a nice restaurant that played Tango music! A great start. We went out from there, met more travelers and stayed out until 5 am on our first night.

The next day Lizzie and I were on a mission to find an apartment to rent. Mission accomplished! We found a great two bedroom apartment in a great neighborhood, in between Recoleta and Palermo. We even have a pull out couch for visitors! So, no excuses... we will be here for one whole month. You are all invited!

Madidi National Park

2007-10-20T13:49:00.001-05:00

Liz and I arrived back in Rurrenabaque and were asked if we could wait a day to start our jungle tour as the planes weren't coming in and they were waiting on some people. Sure, no problem. We just hung around the lazy town of Rurrenabaque eating and drinking these amazing chocolate banana peanut butter shakes at Piraña, a local hang out.
The next day we left for the Madidi office. Only one other tourist had made it, but we loaded up the boat and headed out on a 3 hour boat ride. This boat, luckily, had cushions and a roof to keep the blazing Amazonian Basin sun off our skin. Taking anti malaria pills makes me extra sensitive. The ride was beautiful, we stopped for a lunch half way there and got to see how the indigenous people live.
We arrived at Madidi and we're introduced to our guide, Ramel.

After dropping off our bags and meeting our roommate Peter and the huge tarantula he found in the bathroom(!) we headed off us on a sunset boat ride on Lago San Fernando. The boat was one half of a tree that had been hollowed out by hand, it was so neat. We saw lots of birds, loads of fish jumping, and we're basically eaten alive by killer flies. We stayed out on the lake until the sun was gone and found the first stars.

We went back to the main cabin for a delicious dinner and then we went out for a night walk through the rain forest. Ramel and Liz had flashlights (I lost mine). But it turned out best when we turned off the lights and just stood still listening. Then Ramel would quickly turn on his light and point out what he found. Usually a small mouse or bird. We, unfortunately, never found the allusive Puma nor anything else too exciting. We did find enormous bugs, though.
The next day we were scheduled to take a walk through the rain forest to Lago Gringo. About every 10-15 feet Ramel would stop and point out something. Bugs, spiders, which animals were making the noises we could hear. He knew so much about all the plants. Which helped with stomach problems. Which could cure the sting of a huge ant. Which plants to stay away from because they had jumping ants that sting like crazy. He told us of the trees that could make you blind if you touched the sap. He showed us where the termites lived.

(They taste like mint!) We had been walking about 4 hours when we notice we are not quite on a path anymore. Yup, Ramel had gotten us lost. We didn't say anything and just continued to follow him blindly deeper into the vegetation. I actually liked it, I felt like an explorer. But we could have used machetes! After about a half hour of this I asked him if we were lost. He assured us that even though we lost the path, he still knew the way. We did eventually find the path again. Only to begin to feel the rain drops. The thick canopy above kept us dry for some time, but then it started to down pour. We hid under a palm tree. That did little good. We waited for about 40 minutes getting soaked and decided to make a run for it to the cabina waiting for us at Lago Gringo. We made it there, soaked and starved. Ramel had our lunch in his bag so we set us camp, ate a great lunch then rested on the hammocks in the cabina. We waited for a couple of hours, but with the rain showing no sign of stopping we decided to head back. Luckily there was another route that only took about 30 minutes to reach our main cabina.

After getting dry and having a nap we went back to the main cabina for dinner. They pointed out the enormous cayman that was floating by on the lake. During dinner Rosa Maria stopped by to see how we were enjoying our meal. Rosa Maria is the founder of this ecolodge. And she is one incredible woman. She was born in the jungle to a Belgium mother. She has lived her whole life in the jungle. She and her mother have fought against dictator regimes, and other corrupt political leaders year after year to save rain forest. She has had everything she owned burned to the ground because they didn't like what she was doing. She also had to flee Bolivia and was exiled in the USA for some time. She is highly educated and has worked with groups like Stings to help save the planet. Aside from all of this she is incredible because she survived a viscous cayman attack.
She used to swim every morning in the lake very early. About 2 years ago on her swim she saw a cayman heading right for her. The trick to avoid a cayman is to swim under it and come up on the other side, as they have a hard time turning around very fast. Unfortunately she didn't swim far enough and basically came up for air right under his nose. He bit her and dragged her under water. They struggled and she fought hard. For some unknown reason he did let her go. She swam to the surface and called for help. He basically ate off her quadriceps muscle and all the tendons. She endured 16 surgeries of re grafting muscle and tissue from other parts of her body. She is lucky to be alive - and walking! We enjoyed talking with her and learned so much. We stayed around for a few hours drinking chelas (beers) and talking with the rest of the staff.
That night laying in bed I heard the craziest sound. It sounded like a deep roar and I was convinced the Puma was just outside our cabina. The next morning I asked Rosa Maria what it might have been. She asked me to make the sound I heard, I tried but felt like an idiot. Rosa Maria then introduced me to Chaco Mano, he too, grew up in the jungle and knows every thing about it. His special talent is to imitate nearly every animal sound. She asked him to do the Puma, monkeys, howler monkeys, cayman, and so on. I was so impressed. It was the coolest thing ever. Most likely what I had heard had been a large male cayman.
After breakfast we set out to do some piraña fishing, but Liz and I were mainly just feeding them as we caught none. We had lunch then caught the boat back to Rurre.

We came walking up the street to find Maria (from our Pampas trip) waiting for us. She was headed to dinner with two English girls she had met in the jungle. So the five of us met at Moskkito, the gringo bar, for happy hour. Turns out in the jungle every thing is fresh squeezed juice. A Greyhound is vodka with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Amazing and dangerous. We had a couple of cocktails then went to a lovely dinner at La Perla. We all ordered the house specialty which is Surubi fish in a mustard garlic sauce... again, amazing! It was so fun to sit around the table with a bunch of girls and have a girl talk session! It's usually mixed company, so it was quite refreshing. After dinner it was back to Moskkito for more cocktails and eventually dancing.
We had a blast our last night in Rurrenabaque. The next morning we met for breakfast and lazed around the local pool for hours. It was just what we needed as a break from the incredible heat. We boarded the plane in early evening and were back safe and sound in La Paz.
Now, Liz and I hadn't really yet taken advantage of the La Paz night life and we were determined to do so. We have been sad missing all the football games at home, but we found something that felt quite similar. We went to Oliver's Travels, an English pub in the center of the city. There we watched the Rugby World Cup Final between England and South Africa. The bar was divided with travellers from both countries. Liz and I claimed to be "Swiss" in that we were neutral. We were really rooting for England, but it became quite clear that was a losing battle.
After the game ended we went to dinner. We had a Coca mojito! That was wild. We met up with friends at the Loki Hostal for a TOGA party. We were basically the only ones with out togas, but it didn't matter much. Then it was out to one of La Paz's hippest (and most crowded) dance clubs, Orange. We danced all night long and loved it.
We are now headed to Cochabamba.

Pampas Baby!

2007-10-20T13:16:00.000-05:00

Rurrenabaque (Rurre) is a small town on the edge of the jungle. If you are interested in going there from La Paz there are a few ways to get there. A)By plane. A good option, pretty cheap and is quick 45mins or so. Downside is that the flights are not reliable as there is just a grass landing strip in Rurre and if it rains, no planes. B)Bus. Buses in Bolivia are not the nicest. Not much leg room, no bathrooms on board and is usually packed to the gills with locals. Also the trip is about 18 hours on a good day with much of the way on the worlds most dangerous road. The country has recently built a new road for part of the way, but for the remaining part, its a narrow 1.5 lane dirt road along the side of mountains. C)Jeep. Almost as expensive as the plane but is 12hrs. The upside is that the trip is 5-8 people and you can make as many stops as you like. For our trip Erin and I chose to fly. It was a no brainer and we were so excited to leave La Paz the 5a wake up call did not even phase us.

We arrived at the airport and waited for a bit, it slowly got busier with other travellers. We checked our luggage and crossed our fingers. No flights had been taking off in the previous few days due to smoke in the Rurre area from forest fires. We hoped it was a good day for us. And it started off great. We lined up to board and ended up chatting with Alex and Patrick a German-American couple from San Francisco and a girl named Maria from NY. We exchanged info on our upcoming jungle treks, discussed our overall travel plans and just were really excited to meet fellow Americans travelling. (We´re quite uncommon). The next thing we knew the plane was delayed for an hour due to smoke. We ate breakfast at the cafe, and waited some more. We were just about to teach them our favorite Carioca card game when we were allowed to board! This was it! Or was it? We probably jinxed ourselves when we started snapping pics on the plane because we were then told it would be another 20 minutes. The next thing we knew the flight was cancelled all together. Our options were now taking the next plane (scheduled to take off at 430p the next afternoon but no guarantees), or we could take a bus that left at 11a that morning. The 5 of us realized that we could split a jeep and get there that night in time to do our scheduled trips the next day. After a few calls we found a driver and got excited about leaving (again). The driver picked us up at the airport and after a trip back into La Paz to get more money, we were off!

Most of the 12 hour ride was uneventful. The ride was pretty bumpy, roads curvy but there were great views of the country. We had a bit of a problem just after it got dark when we got a flat. Patrick helped our driver change the tire and we were back on the road in no time. (Thankfully Patrick neglected to tell us that the spare was as bald as could be...) Just after midnight we pulled into Rurre, happy to have made it that day just a few hours behind our original schedule. Our hostel had a bar next door and we decided that we needed 1 quick beer before heading off to bed. The next morning Erin and I met up with our friends again before we headed off on our own. That was when we decided that we liked their company so much we would postpone our jungle trek in order to take a pampas trek with them. (the pampas is more of a grassy version of the jungle. similar animals and insects with fewer trees). After letting our tour company know we would be back a few days later to go, we signed up with the new company and were once again ready for our next adventure.

We loaded our stuff into the jeep and got psyched up for a 3 hr jeep trip followed by a 3 hr canoe ride. The 5 of us were under the impression that it would just be us on the trip but we made a stop on our way out of town and picked up 2 French guys Pierre and Charles. As they walked up we all really hoped they would be fun and add to the dynamic of the group. Our fears grew when we talked a bit to them and realized they had opted for the bus ride the day before and it took them 21 hours! They had just gotten to Rurre about an hour before we picked them up and hardly talked the entire way to the Pampas. We were way off though, it was the bus ride that made them tired. Without them our trip would have never been as fun. They were great!

The jeep drive was long, hot and bumpy. And we got another flat about halfway through the trip. (Patrick by this time is really good at helping change flats). We arrived at the head of the river and moved all our belongings to a canoe, lathered on sunscreen (no sun cover overhead) and started our trip. Along with the 7 of us came Sabino our guide and Freddy our cook. This was where the fun started. We were barely on the canoe for more than 10 minutes when around one bend was an alligator, within just a few feet of us! (the river was about 20 feet across and pretty shallow)Then another! Then really exotic birds. Then capibara (cousins of rats, and are the largest rodent in the world, which us girls nicknamed ROUSes, Rodents of Unusual Size, Princess Bride anyone?). It seemed like every corner had another surprise for us. Beautiful cranes, storks, turtles and monkeys! About halfway through the ride Sabino let 2 canoes pass us before he pulls the canoe over to the bank. We were all kind of wondering what he was doing when he pointed up to some trees and there were a bunch of little monkeys looking down at us! Sabino started calling to them and they came down and seemed just as curious about us as we were about them. We were so close to them, it was amazing.

We made it to our cabin in enough time to unload our things and head over to a nearby bar. We had a beer, watched the sunset and relished the idea that we were finally there. The previous 2 days had taken a lot out of us. After dinner Sabino took us on a night canoe ride. Armed with bug spray and flashlights we headed out on the river. Sabino taught us to shine our lights on the river bank and look out for glowing eyes. There were so many. Big alligators, small baby alligators all looking right back at us. After seeing them in the daytime it was really cool to see them glow at night. When we returned to camp Sabino informed us that we were going to get up early and watch the sunrise, see the animals and listen to the birds in the early morning. We dutifully agreed and went to bed, all 7 of us in one dorm room. The beds were basic and uncomfortable. And it was sticky hot. We did get mosquito nets, a blanket and a small pillow but everyone was so tired nothing mattered. After getting used to the jungle noises, we all went right to sleep.

We awoke at 5am to howler monkeys. They are larger monkeys and make the craziest noise. I think its similar to the noise your stomach makes when you are very hungry but MUCH louder and nonstop. We were curious as to whether they do this every morning (love nature wake up calls!) or if they had another reason to do it. We soon learned that they like to howl when it is going to rain. We climbed into the canoe and started off in search of the sunrise when we realized that it was cloudy and beginning to rain. No sunrise for us. Sabino turned us around and headed back to camp.

After breakfast Sabino told us to put on rain gear, grab the rubber boots that were stacked up nearby, we were going searching for Anacondas! After a short boat ride we pulled up to the bank and got out. And started walking. In the rain. At first it was kind of fun. The grass was just above the knee and we trudged though on the prowl. After cutting across a huge swampy field we came up to a small pond. Sabino motioned for us to stand on the edge as he slowly zig-zagged through the pond. Anacondas like to stay at the bottom of the water and usually lie straight as a stick. If he felt one with his boots, he would pick it up and show us. We searched in different puddles like this for about 3 hours. And if I was not there to live through it I would never think that the jungle gets cold. But it does. It got a bit windier, half of us had holes in our rubber boots and there were no Anacondas. We all decided that we were ready to be done. Unfortunately Sabino takes his job very seriously and continued to search. Our new French friends start singing to us as entertainment and at one point when Sabino wanders off, Pierre teaches us Ticky-Tocky. He used to teach it to kids at a summer camp but his Rugby team adopted it as their favorite post match, drinking dance. You can only imagine what we looked like, in the middle of the jungle, drenched and cold doing a crazy French song and dance. It was great, at least it helped us warm up. Sabino soon abandoned the search and we headed back to camp. We got warm dry clothes on, had lunch and took a long nap.

That afternoon Sabino took us out fishing for Pirañas. And to spice things up it was going to be a contest. Bolivia vs. Germany vs. France vs. USA. We made him promise however that if it started raining again (it had stopped when we were eating lunch) he would take us back to camp. We fished for about 30 minutes (France up by 2 or 3)when it started raining again. True to his word we started up the motor and headed... in the wrong direction to our camp. We soon pulled up to a farm along the river. He pointed to a building and we all went in happy to get out of the rain. We walked in and realized that it wasn´t a shelter just in case it rained, it was actually someones house! 2 bedrooms, an open area with a few hammocks and kids everywhere. Two families was eating lunch when we came in. It was a bit awkward but clearly we weren´t the first or last tourists to use their house to get out of the rain. The family had snacks and drinks for sale... definitely a way to subsidize their income. The Bolivia vs. Uruguay football game was on the radio and we listened in along with a few more locals that had come to party as well. After 30 minutes or so a few of the men went outside. We were a bit curious and watched them go outside. That is when I looked out the front door and lying on a board next to a tree was a pig. A recently killed pig. It actually was still squirming a bit. I told the others and we all looked on in shock. Sure I eat meat but don´t usually see the process. As interesting as it was, it was kind of gross. Really gross when the dog came over and licked the blood on the ground. At this point the rain had slowed and we headed back to the canoe. We all walked pass the pig and made comments. And the men working on the pig laughed! I´m sure they thought we were the crazy ones! Then Alex shouts to watch out and on the ground in front of us are hooves. Unfortunately the hooves were not currently attached to an animal. And nearby in a tree we see the head of a lamb, wedged between 2 branches. The lamb was the owner of the hooves. YUCK. It was like we were in some kind of scary movie!

Back in the canoe the Frenchies (they liked being called that) and Sabino smoked us in the fishing contest. I believe they had 15 to our 6... not sure how many Sabino had but I´m sure it was a lot... It started raining again and by this time we really were done. We headed back to the cabin and changed into dry clothes and had some tea to warm up. For entertainment Pierre and Charles taught us the Wolf game. Its a strategy game where 2 people out of the group are wolves. The rest are villagers, some with powers, some not. The point of the game is to kill the wolves before they kill the villagers. After a few minutes of explanation we start to play and are quickly addicted. Even after spending only a day (or 2) with the people in the group everyone can kind of read each other. But then it gets tricky... are they lying? How well can I read them? How well can I read Erin? How can I convince them that I am actually a villager when the want me gone? It was great fun and even when we were served dinner we continued to play. It was only when Sabino came in and started telling us stories about being a guide when we stopped.

Sabinos stories were incredible. He had been a guide for about 13 years and before that he had lived with an indigenous tribe for a year studying natural medicines. He had even learned their language and taught us a few words. He told us of a time he was searching for Anacondas and found a huge one, or rather it found him. The snake was huge and it bit his hand and then coiled around his neck rather quickly. Luckily there was another group and guide with him because it took all those extra people to get him untangled. Another story was the time he was bit by a tarantula. The poisonous kind. He had learned from his time in the jungle to use iguana skin to get rid of the venom and to basically save himself. Truly amazing. The most scary story he told us was of the Cannibals that lived in the Madidi National Park. Madidi is one of the largest national parks in Bolivia. But when we heard that there were Cannibals in the area we freaked. It isn´t something Lonely Planet ever mentioned when it talks of what can be seen in the jungle. He said that we were safe and if we were ever trekking through Madidi our guides would know where not to go. But he did say if they found us, we would not survive. Thanks for the info Sabino.

By then we were pretty tired and ready for bed. Unfortunately Erin any my beds somehow became covered in Bat Guano. Great. Rather than switching the sheets we opted for a new room. We said goodnight and once again after getting used to the jungle noises were fast asleep.

We awoke to rain. Again! We were supposed to take a morning canoe ride and but we all vetoed that idea, Sabino included. Rather, we slept in, had a nice breakfast and played Wolf. Then Sabino surprised us with a marvelous gift! He had found an alligator skull the day before and was telling us that he uses the teeth to make necklaces. We all figured he would make them for himself or sell them. We were all completely taken aback when he pulls out 7 necklaces!! He had stayed up late the night before making them and gave them to us! It was so unexpected and so special, truly a great gift.

We continued playing Wolf when we looked outside the cabin and saw monkeys! All these monkeys were walking along the boardwalk that connected our cabin with a nearby bar. The monkeys were going on the other side of the cabin to eat the organic garbage left nearby. We all ran out and were watching them when Sabino asked if we wanted to feed them bananas. Who wouldn´t? At first I was scared, I thought they had claws and when they grabbed the banana they also grabbed your hand. But the monkeys had fingers! Little baby fingers! They were so cute! We watched for a bit more and took turns feeding them when it started raining again. Back to playing Wolf!

After lunch we packed our things and headed out. The plan was to make our way back to get picked up by the jeep with the possibility of swimming with the pink river dolphins. We were all pumped but Erin was the most excited. We saw people swimming with them on our canoe trip in and we wanted to do it, except for the idea of getting nibbled by pirañas. It would be worth it right? When we arrived to the area they usually hung out in, Sabino pulled us up to the bank and got out. Nearby was an alligator and he marched right over and touched it! We were all tempted but I don´t think anyone got as close. Except for Erin, but that was against her will s Sabino picked her up into the air and carried her over to the alligator - she screamed the whole way (but I think she liked it)! That´s when we noticed the dolphins! 6 of them swimming around and playing. They do not have as large of a dorsal fin as bottle nose dolphins so they are not as easy to spot in the water, but every so often they´d come up to the surface. Beautiful pink river dolphins. We were all talking about going in to swim when Sabino told us we couldn´t. There was a cayman nearby and it was too dangerous. (They are related to alligators but are larger and more aggressive. Alligators wouldn´t go after us but caymans would). Normally the dolphins protect from the cayman but Sabino explained there were not enough, there needed to be 10-15 dolphins. Dissappointed we watched a bit more and then continued on our way.

We arrived back at the pick up area and decided after 3 days in the pampas we ought to do a show for the people who were just getting there. Ticky-Tocky anyone? We loaded into the jeep and headed off. Slowly. All that rain made the dusty dirt road mud. We were even warned not to open the back vent windows because if we tipped they would break. Tipped? Yes, it actually came pretty close. Too close for comfort but our driver got us out of the huge tracks we were in with only a scare. The other thing that kept us busy was watching for two toed sloths. Sabino pointed out the trees they lived in and we looked and looked. Patrick was the first to see one!(and the most excited, he and Alex had been looking for them the entire trip). We all got out and took pictures and watched him make his way SLOWLY down the tree. Poor guy was soaked (like the rest of us) but was really cute and remarkable to watch.

We made it back in the early evening and decided to meet out for drinks and dinner to end our trip on a great note. Our trek into the pampas was crazy, rainy and incredbly fun. We never stopped laughing. We laughed so hard we cried and our stomachs hurt. Who would have thought that a 3 day rainy trek into the papmas would be such a good time? Many thanks to Sabino, Maria, Pierre, Charles, Alex and Patrick for such a memorable trip. Hope to see you all again soon!

La Paz, Bolivia

2007-10-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

We have taken a few days here in La Paz to regroup and relax. Poor Liz caught yet another stomach bug, so we have been waiting that out before leaving for an extended adventure. We have been enjoying our days here though. This is the most crazy congested city we've been to yet, but we like it. There are people lining every street selling everything from underwear to batteries to makeup. It's strange, I haven't figured out if there are any real stores yet, or if everything is just on the street. The weirdest thing being sold are these packets you can buy that consist of herbs, flowers, tokens, little figurenes, and yup you guessed it... dried Llama fetuses! It's some sort of a witchery/good luck thing. But it smells wierd and I don't feel the need to buy one.
We have been doing a lot of shopping here as it is the cheapest country we've been in yet. We had developed a saying "I'll buy it in Bolivia". And now we are putting our money where our mouth is. Also, eating has been a pleasure as it is ridiculously cheap! We eat like Kings for about 2 bucks. I love it.

We did just get back from our trip to Copacabana on Lago Titikaka. It was absolutely beautiful. We spent the night out on Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). Unfortunely, due to some forest fires up north there were loads of cloads in the sky preventing us from seeing what was sure to be an impressive sunset. There is a lot of legend associated with Isla del Sol and it is a very important part of the Inka history. The Inka believed that the very first Inka were born of the Isla del Sol. The island is were the Inka Kings came to rest and relax. And just across the water is Isla de la Luna (Island of the Moon) that housed all of the most beautiful virgins in the Inka time.
I was amazed to be there, as I remember learning about Lake Titicaca as a kid and thinking that it was the most hilarious name for a lake ever. Never knew one day I'd be floating along enormous lake. I had to keep reminding myself I was on Lake Titikaka! Wow!

We had a great guide, Wilmer, that even played the traditional flute while we were in the old resting place of the Inka King that is over 500 years old.
We are back in La Paz, for a day or two, and tomorrow we will be making our way up to Rurrenabaque.

our Bolivian misadventure

2007-10-01T16:36:00.000-05:00

Liz-
Erin and I are were so excited to start our Bolivian adventure we thought nothing would get in our way. Little did we know...

We booked our trip into Bolivia via the Salar de Uyuni which consisted of a 3 day Jeep trip through the Bolivian countryside. Starting in San Pedro, Chile and ending in Uyuni, Bolivia. Since we were already in Chile we figured this was the easiest way to begin the next leg of our trip. Our guide book warned us about the tour itself and of the tour companies and that the quality varies not only from agency to agency but from guide to guide. We figured that we had the patience to deal with anything and we were ready to go.

We met up with the other 3 couples going on our trip outside the agency at 8am on Friday. Erin and I were both a bit tired from partying a bit the last few nights. (We made a few friends the last time we were in town and ended up going out with them again...) Our van drove about 30 minutes until we got to the Bolivian border where we went through customs, ate a quick breakfast and then met up with our guides. Our group of 8 was split in half, 4 to a Jeep. Erin and I ended up with a couple from Sweden Per and Elin. In the other Jeep was a couple from Italy and a couple from France. We had no idea how this decision would affect our trip.

The first day of our trip was kind of a blur. Erin suffers from major motion sickness and took a Dramamine. I wasn´t feeling terribly well and thought the drive might make me sick so I took a Dramamine too. For anyone that doesn´t know, these babies put you to sleep! We visited Laguna Verde, which is a beautiful green lake, due to arsenic and other minerals. On windy days you can see the color, on calm days the lake makes a mirror image of the mountain it sits in front of. We all got out for a few photos and then jumped back in the Jeep. At 4300m it was cold! The next stop was Laguna Polques, which was hot springs we had the option of taking a dip in. Since it was cold we opted not to. We did get out and walk around, take some pics then were ready to get going... Emilio our guide did end up going in so we waited (and napped) and then took off. Next stop was the Sol de Mañana geyser. At this point we were at an altitude of 5000m. We walked around and were struck with the sweet sweet smell of sulfur (as Erin called it Bog of Eternal Stench). All around us were boiling pools of mud. After a bit more of a drive we pulled up to a group of buildings. Emilio told us that this was our hostel for the night, while we unpacked he would get lunch. (This was the most he talked to us all day. He gave us a bit of info on the places we stopped at, but not much more than the name, altitude and what we looked at.)

After lunch we relaxed for a bit and then Emilio took us to Laguna Colorada. It is a beautiful blood red lake that we could see from our hostel, all 4 of us were up for it. He dropped us off and said he´d meet us about 200yds away. We took pictures, admired the Flamingos (who would have thought Bolivia would have Flamingos?!) and started walking back to the Jeep. When we climbed in, he asked (as beautifully translated by Erin) ¨You´re done?¨ We nodded and then went back to the hostel.

Erin -
The second day was much like the first. Lagoons, flamingos,yadda yadda. That night we stayed at a refugio and the room we ate in was made of salt. Salt walls, salt seats, salt tables. Very interesting. At dinner that second night our guide told us we had two options. Either get up at 4 30 am to be on the Salar by 5 am to watch the sunrise, or leave at 8 am for just the regular tour. We opted for the 5 am sunrise watching. So, we headed to bed early and set our alarms. The bells went off and we were up. We brought our bags to the door to be loaded in the jeep. But the jeep was no where to be found. And neither was Emilio. The woman who ran the place explained that sometimes Emilio would sleep at home at night. Apparently he is from a small village near by. Not to worry, he should be there any minute now. So we waited. And waited. Liz read a book, I took a nap. We played cards with the Swedes (who, by the way, have no card playing skills what so ever).

Around noon a man came to tell us that there was a party in the small town last night. I guess there was a soccer championship or something. Our jeep was spotted buried in the sand and Emilio was still no where to be found. He offered a solution. There was a radio in the next town over that got turned on at 2 pm. We could use that to call the tour agency in Uyuni. So, we went with him because he was driving there, even though it was only 1230. We went. We sat. We waited.

I was pissed at this point, but tried to keep a positive attitude. Sure we were stranded in the middle of no where, but we really had no where else to be! At about ten til 2 the townsman who was in charge of the radio let us into this little hut. He turned on the CB radio and started in with his yelling, "Americamericamerica" or "Globo uyuni globo uyuni globo uyuni". After about 15 minutes of this someone answered. I tried not to laugh as this man explain our situation over the radio. It sounded quite dire, "Tourists are stranded, guide is missing, please send help!" The agency agreed to pay for this tiny towns only taxi (beat up station wagon from the early 80´s) to take us across the salar. Ok, we´ll do it.
Upon returning to our refugio we spot the jeep. Emilio had returned at nearly 3 in the afternoon. At this point I was spitting fire and it was aimed right for Emilio´s head. "How could you do this? Did you have fun last night getting drunk? We are mad. We are angry. We are furious. Let´s pack up the car and go." I was saying all of this to him as he lay on a mattress on the kitchen floor. I should have realized there was more trouble ahead.

We all loaded in the jeep and set out across the beautiful Uyuni Salar. 12,500 square kilometers of nothing but salt and sky. About 30 minutes into the drive I notice we are swerving randomly. Granted, there is no road, so you could drive where ever you want, but it seemed weird. I look over at Emilio and he is sleeping! Yup, that´s right eyes closed mouth open asleep. And for some reason I didn't totally panic. Instead I turn around to Liz and whisper, "he´s asleep". Liz, with a look of sheer terror pops him on the back and I yell "wake up". He comes to and now I am freaking furious! I start yelling at him to let me drive! "Stop the car and I´ll drive," I said. But he mumbled something and just kept going. The car starts sort of sputtering and acting weird. I ask what in the world is going on and he calmly tells me we are running out of gas. Oh great! We are in the middle of NO WHERE with no one in sight and are now out of gas. So, the car stops and all we can do is wait. Liz and I take this opportunity to take some pictures. Eventually a few jeeps show up and share some gas. Then another jeep shows up. It´s Javier, our savior! He was sent from the agency to pick us up. We didn´t hesitate and loaded our stuff into his jeep to continue our journey. He was a much better guide. He explained stuff about the salar and played good music. We were so happy to be rescued.

Javier took us to an island in the middle of the salar that had cactus and a few animals. We then made our way to Uyuni. He brought us right to the agency where they were very apologetic. After a little discussion they agreed to give us back a portion of the money we spent on the trip. I was shocked, but I don´t think they wanted any bad press. Word of mouth is crucial to these tour operators.
So, with that behind us, Liz and I grabbed a pizza and boared an 8 o´clock bus for Oruro, Bolivia.
This was not such a comfortable ride. The man behind me kept digging his knees into my chair back and the guy in front of Liz kept trying to recline onto her lap. We slept some, thanks to the wonders of Dramamine and Benedryl. We arrived very early in the morning. Before the sunrise. We waited for light and made our way to our hotel.
We spent just one night in Oruro as there is not much to do. But we did enjoy every meal, but not as much as the people seemed to enjoy having us! They were always so grateful. In one place they made us take pictures with the baby there! It was weird, but nice. We felt like celebrities!
We are now happy and safe in La Paz! We took a four hour bus ride here. We were amazed to see the lights over the city as we pulled in around 7. The city is huge and is constantly bustling with people, cars, and noise. We've enjoyed eating great meals for about 2 bucks a pop! Shopping, shopping, and more shopping! And planning our next adventures!!!

We're back in San Pedro

2007-09-27T19:55:00.001-05:00

Liz and I wanted to get up to Bolivia and the easiest way was coming back through San Pedro de Atacama. We are only back for two days but we lived it up to the fullest.
Last night we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner and then when out on the town (or village I should say). We went to the 'happeningist' bar around 6 Grado. We were shocked when the police came to shut it down because people were dancing! Apparently that is against the law here (very Footloose). The moon was shining so brightly in the Southern sky we decided that it was probably a good idea to go for a hike. So at 2 in the morning I went hiking out to Death Valley by the full moon's light. It was the most impressive thing I've seen. It was beautiful and the moon was so bright you could see everything around you. We arrived in Death Valley after about an hour of trekking and then climbed the most monstrous sand dunes. Some of the people brought sand boards along, so once we made it up, we all sand boarded back down! It was so much fun. I am still finding sand all over! Sand boarding is like snow boarding only harder. We made the trek back in the early morning. When I arrived at the hostel to sleep the sun was rising.
We had two hours to sleep and we had to get up to ride! We had booked a five hour of horseback riding tour. We were hurting, but it was worth it. It was just us two and our guide, Rodrigo. Liz was very brave on her first horse ride. She rode Poroto and I had Estrella. An Estrella (star) she was. There were several times when we got to just go for it and let them run. We did a lot of cantering and I even got Estrella up to a gallop for a bit. It was so invigorating. We loved it!

Lizzie´s note:
Yes, the horse riding was fun, and I´ve been dying to go. My horse however had a mind of his own and didn´t like to go slow. I´m pretty sure mine was galloping at some points but I was so busy holding on for dear life, I didn´t quite enjoy it like Erin did. But, now I´ve done it and can´t wait to do it again! PS We were in sand dunes when he took off, a much softer landing if needed!

Again we had a nice dinner, but called it an early night as we were leaving for Uyuni, Bolivia early the next morning. That adventure to follow shortly....

Erin Brocolli and Liz Taylor do Santiago

2007-09-23T15:10:00.000-05:00

We loved hanging out with Katherine so much in San Pedro we decided we better head down to Santiago while she is still there. We had heard so much about the city and the wonderful family that she was staying with, we couldn't wait to get there. We arrived on September 17th, the day before the big Chilean parties. The 18th of September is their independence day and is celebrated all over. So much so that when we arrived in Santiago it seemed like a ghost town. No one was anywhere to be found on the streets and all the shops were closed.

Liz and I were lucky enough to stay at the same house as Katherine with the most amazing people ever. Ernie, Marcelo, and Carolina. Apart from that I was elated when I walked in the door and was greeted by a parade of wagging tails! Four dogs and one kitten! I am seriously in heaven to have all these pets around. All the dogs were rescued by one of their friends and adopted by Ernie and Marcelo. The three of them have made such a wonderful inviting home we were so lucky to be able to stay there. Most of our nights spent in Santiago we all sat around the dining room table eating delicious food prepared by either, Ernie, Marcelo, or Caro (I´m hoping we learned a few things in the few days because it was always AWESOME), drinking copious amounts of Chilean red wine, and playing a new card game called Carioca. We talked a lot (luckily Ernie is half American so he was able to translate for Liz, while Marcelo (of Rapa Nui decent) didn't speak as much English). The words Marcelo did speak were always hilarious as he made up english words by adding -ation to the end of any word. Much like someone who doesn't speak Spanish would add -o or -a to the end of an english word. Drinkation, Sleepation... you get the idea. Before long we were doing it too! They also gave us new nicknames in no time. Erin Brockovich was turned into Erin Brocolli and Liz quickly became Liz Taylor.

On the day of the 18th Katherine, Caro, Liz and I went to what is called a Fonda - which is basically a carnival of sorts. It really was not the rambunctious street fest we were preparing for so we decided to sit under a tent, drink cheap beer, and chat. We had fun, but decided to head back to the house and have a little party there. That was loads of fun - again eating and drinking and staying up all night.

Liz and I took a two day trip up to Valparaiso to see some more sights. Valpo is a beautiful city on the ocean with brightly painted houses on hills. We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast owned by one of Marcelos friends that had an amazing terrace looking over the whole city. Beautiful! One thing every one must try in Valparasio is Chorrillana. It's this crazy mix of french fries, grilled onions, egg, and meat. I can't really explain it other than to say it was AMAZING! I may have had a small heart attack while eating it, but it was worth it!
From Valpo we went to Isla Negra, one of the homes of Pablo Neruda. Neruda is considered one of the greatest and most influential poets of the 20th century and I recommend to all of you that you read a bit of his work. Neruda designed Isla Negra himself taking years to build. He loved all things having to do with the sea so much so that his whole house is built like a ship. The doorways are small and narrow, similar to a ships, the floors are all planks made to look like one of the decks, and windows that look like port holes. Aside from designing the house to look like a ship, he has tons of different collections in each room of the house as well most of which have a nautical theme. A huge room filled with beautiful seashells, different masks from all over the world and one of the neatest was his collections of the La Sirenas (wooden women, a few men, from the front of ships). A majority are in his living room facing the ocean. The house was also designed to have the most amazing view of the ocean. The house is built on a bit of a cliff over looking black rocks that gave Isla Negra its name. We were there on a day that was incredibly windy, but it made for the most impressive views with huge waves.
We got back to Santiago on Katherine's last night there. The family hosted a despedida, or going away party, for her. Again, more food and drinks! It was very sad to see Katherine go, but we are talking her into meeting up with us again in Buenos Aires for Thanksgiving (right, Katherine?)!

Our last day in Santiago we walked to Cerro San Cristobal. It is a big hill in the middle of the city that has been turned into a city park. We rode up on these space age looking trolleys, much like ski lifts. Heading up offers a great view of the city below. We were lucky in our timing that we were up there for the sunset. The mountains off in the distance glowed pink and peach and was just gorgeous. By the time we headed back down it was dark and we got to see all the sparkling lights of Santiago.
Santiago is much like Chicago. It's big but the neighborhoods are all really cool. The city is nestled in the mountains and it is just beautiful. Its very clean, modern and has a great public transportation system. (Better than Chicago!) We both decided we'd come back any day and stay with Ernie and Marcelo and Caro if they will have us!
Liz and I are headed back north to make our way into Bolivia! We can't wait to be back in the Andean atmosphere with high high altitudes and low low prices!

Antofagasta, Chile

2007-09-14T12:07:00.000-05:00

After a month on the road, Erin and I have been able to chill out at my cousin Ryan´s in Antofagasta and recoup. And let´s just say that compared to places we´ve stayed at, Ryan is living like a king. He has a great apartment on the 21st floor in one of the tallest buildings in the city. The place has awesome views of the Pacific. A great suprise for us after staying a few too many days in one of the driest deserts in the world. Did I mention water? Because we really got spoiled with doing laundry, taking awesome high pressured hot showers and being able to drink the water. Ok maybe not drink it since Ryan told us it was filled with high amounts of Arsenic and Lead but at least we didn´t have to worry about parasites.

In a short time living there, Ryan has also made friends with fellow gringos teaching at an American school in the city. We met this group our first night, when we were only able to drop off our bags before Ryan whisked us down a few floors to one of their apartments and the small group of us polished off about 11 bottles of delicous chilean red wine.

The rest of the week kind of blurred together. We slept in everyday, went to the nearby grocery quite often, cooked, drank a lot of wine, salsa lessons and went sight seeing. Antofagasta is not a popular tourist spot but we still got great tours thanks to Ryan. He took us into the desert one day to show off where he´s working as a geologist for a mining company. (in case anyone is keeping track, Erin and I were the ones sleeping in. Ryan was up early and off to work everyday weekends included.) We visited the Tropic of Capricorn and the landmark of Antofagasta the Monumento Natural La Portada which is a beautiful stone arch on the coast. Other day trips included the local mall simply named ¨Shopping¨ which is identical to our malls back home but with different stores.

Our biggest adventure was one afternoon when we decided to go exploring along the peninsula north of the city to see where there was supposedly a large amount of sea lions hanging out. Ryan had never been but had gotten directions from a friend. One of the key tips from the friend was to have 4wheel drive if you go. Thankfully Ryan is driving the ´red beast´ a lovely 4wh drive pickup loaned to him by his company. We were off on our adventure driving along the coast, going from major highway to smaller highway to gravel road to dirt road to no road just tire tracks. The scenery along the way was beautiful. Large cliffs right out of the water with hardly any vegetation. It was overcast but every so often the sun would peek out and make whatever it touched glow. We drove up a curvy hilly ´road´ and started down when Erin and I started having flashbacks from our scary bus rides. It was 1 lane if you could call it that. Very curvy and steep. I shut my eyes and trusted our driver. Close to the bottom we could see a 4Runner apperantly stuck in a pretty deep trench. At first it looked abandoned but as we got closer we could see a few guys inside. They flagged us down and asked if we could help pull them out. We really had no idea if they were telling the truth or if they had alterior motives. They had bloodshot eyes and looked pretty ragged. After a few minutes of discussion we decided to help them out. Ryan backs the truck up so they can tie their van to the red beast. Still skeptical, Erin grabs the rock hammer Ryan uses for work, Ryan hides his ipod and cell phone and I decided to stay put, knowing I´ll come up with something to do just incase. After a few minutes Erin jumps out to see what the guys are up to. She comes back and informs us that all they have for a tow rope is clothes line. Not gonna do it but they try anyway. She hops back in, one guy gets in their truck and the other is in back to push. Ryan guns it and starts off, and we feel no kind of resistance from the van... the rope has broken, suprise suprise. Ryan gets out and checks to see what he´s got in the back of the truck. Luckily someone made him a decent emergency kit complete with tow ropes and a pretty hefty pocket knife. He hands the guys the rope and pockets the knife. After a few minutes of tying the vehicles they´re about ready to try again when 5 more people show up. They´re part of the stranded group and the 3 of us feel a bit scared all over again. Erin grabs the rock hammer, Ryan shows us his new treasure and I again, brainstorm what I´m going to do just incase. The new group all gets behind the 4Runner to push and we try again. This time there is definite resistance and ´red beast´is working hard to get going. It appears to be working when someone notices our truck is actually sinking deeper into the sand has stopped pulling the 4Runner. All of a sudden they´ve unhookd their truck and are backing it up right to where it came from. Ryan realizes they have a plan that may work and he moves the truck so it´s at an angle fm the other one. One more time and it works, after a few minutes the 4Runner is free. We unhook and Erin and Ryan chat a bit with the guys. (I decide to stay in the truck, just in case...) Apperantly they´ve been stuck since 4am that morning, we were the only ones all day to stop and help. Ryan is also advised to not drink and drive. Makes you wonder...
Unfortunately by this time it´s getting to be pretty late and we´ve all decided that we do not want to try that steep road after dark. We drive about 100 yards toward the coast and park. We were still hoping to see the sea lions but alas, they were nowhere to be found. We walk around and explore and decide it would be a great day trip with a group of friends to play capture the flag or hide and seek. There were tons of random rock formations of all shapes and sizes. It looked like a giant took huge handfuls of wet sand and dropped them making some kind of abstract sandcastles.

We start driving back when we realize the 4Runner is still there and most of the guys are walking back down the cliff. Once again we wonder what they are doing there. They´re not stuck... why haven´t they left? We drive slowly toward them expecting to be flagged down again but nothing happens. As we start up the cliff we realize just how steep it is and we are very thankful that ´red beast´ is quite powerful. Ryan suggests that they probably can´t drive back up and will need to find another route. After a few trouble areas we make it to the top. We head home thankful that a) we have 4wh drive b) they did't have alterior motives and c) it wasn´t dark yet.

Erin and I planned on heading to Santiago to celebrate the independence day at Katherines on the 18th. Unfortunatley we don't realize just how big of a holiday this is and procrastinate buying our bus tickets. We went from bus company to bus company one afternoon trying find a way to head south. The only tickets available were leaving the 17th. The trip is 18 hours and we´d miss the festivities. We thought about renting a car but that too was impossible, nothing available until the 20th. We decide to bite the bullet and fly. The tickets were a bit more expensive than we planned on but, it saved us from staying in Antofagasta and or taking a loooong bus ride.

We spent the weekend going out with Ryan and his friends. We went to a really cool bar and had our first experience with Piscola - local drink with the ever so strong pisco mixed with the soda of your choice. Delicious but dangerous! Then we set out to go to a dance club. Upon reaching the door we see that there is an emense line. Not ones to wait (especially Miss Impatient herself) Erin decides to go up to the front of the line to have a conversation with the door man. She asks in her ever so innocent tone, how much does it cost for "foreigners" to come in, and oh yeah by the way do we have to wait in this line? Not only did we get right in, we didn't pay, and we got into the VIP section of the club. We danced and drank, and it was a blast. The next night we just stayed in making a great dinner and drinking more chilean vino tinto. It was a really nice way to spend our last night.

Off to Santiago!!!

Adios Peru, Hola Chile

2007-09-07T16:52:00.001-05:00

A few last words on Peru. I loved Peru. It is my favorite country in all of South America. Yes, it is the first to visit, and this opinion may change, but I loved it. The country was so beautiful, the people were so awesome, we had so many good experiences there, I´m just en fuego for Peru! A place I will definitely return to one day.
Liz and I thought we´d spend our last day in Cusco on a four hour horse back ride, but that turned out to be a very bad idea. We paid about $20 the night before, and when we arrived we realized we just couldn´t do it. The poor horses were emaciated and litteraly on their last legs. Being the animal lovers that we are, we just couldn´t bring ourselves to ride these poor horses. The kid running the place tried to tell me that it is normal for horses in the Andes to be so skinny because of the altitude. I told him I thought that was weird, because it didn´t seem to affect the people that way. So, with the horse men thinking we were crazy to waste our money and just turn around and walk away we walked down back into town and instead went to an Inca Museam. That turned out to be very interesting and educational and a great way to cap off our few days in Cusco.
We really loved Cusco, as we found it to be a backpackers haven of sorts. There is much more tourists there which causes the locals to harrass you a lot more, but it also creates much more restaurants that serve things other than meat and rice. For our last dinner we went to a really nice place, 2 Nations. I had the best Alpaca steak ever! (thanks for the recommendation Mick!) I also wanted to comment that not all chicha is like dirt water. We did have chicha in restaurants in the city and it was more like a spiced drink, very refreshing. So, if ever in Peru don't be afraid to try the chicha.
Also, a favorite little part of mine of Peru was being given a Quechua name by our Quechua speaking guide in Machu Picchu, Ricardo. He named me Ch'Aska Nuhuicha - this means "ojitos de las estrellas" or "little eyes of the stars". I just eat that shit up!

Well, so much for "old iron sides Erin" I got hit and I got hit hard by some nasty 24 hour little bug. I had the pleasure of vomiting upon first entering Chile and all the night long on our way to San Pedro de Atacama. Liz was the best friend I could ask for as she held my hair back and rubbed my back. It was miserable! But I am happy to report I´m feeling much better. And hopefully that will be it for the travelers bugs!

It was so great to arrive in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile and have Katherine arrive just a few hours later. Reunited! The three of us have been having a blast in what can only be described as the driest place in the world! I think that is actually San Pedros claim to fame. This is a serious desert! We have done some fun tours of geysers, cactus forests, natural hot springs, lagunas, a salar (salt flat) and we saw Valle de la Luna, which was amazing. We got to run down the most amazing sand dunes.
We also had the fortune of being taken out by our waiters at Ayllu restaurant one night to a crazy local Penas Party (I don't think I need to tell you what we initially thought this party was called!) It was actually a traditional party where a live band played folk music. We danced all night and were the only Gringas in the place. We got a lot of attention, but we are used to that! I loved it!

Liz and I will be heading next to Antofagasta to meet up with her cousin, Ryan for a few days. Then we make our way down to Santiago for the 18th. Think fourth of July only way better - big time Fiestas!

Machu Picchu

2007-09-01T12:44:00.000-05:00

I almost don´t even know where to begin. It seems like forever since we´ve had a chance to email or blog. So this might be a long one! Lizzie and I just got back yesterday from a four day trek out to Machu Picchu. The tour was called Inka Jungle -and it certainly was. Let me begin first by telling you about the most exciting/scary bus ride of our lives. Liz had only recently confided in me that one of her biggest fears in life is tipping over in a bus. And it almost happened. It was a wet and rainy day which left the "road" messy. I say "road" because apparently the normal route had just experienced a land slide, so we were on a new road that was being made as we were on it and consisted of mud only. We were heading down a mountain and it was a rather rocky ride. We thought we were going to tip over in any minute. The Peruvian people on the bus were even freaking out. People were praying, crying, screaming to be let off the bus. Then it happened! We nearly slide off the mountain stopped only by our drivers brakes and a small pile of mud. Everybody had to run off the bus in a panic. I freaked out more upon getting off when I saw what almost happened. Let´s just say it was a far way down and wouldn´t have been pretty.

A bunch of people pushed the bus back and got it back onto the road. We didn´t really want to get back on, but that was our only option. We made it safely to the drop off point where our group and one other group got off and were fitted with helmets, gloves, and bikes. We started our descent on the lovely paved road. It was rainy which made it slippery, but fun. The views were very 'Gorillas in the Mist-esque'. We were having a blast for about the first hour on the nice paved road, but before you know it the rain was gone the sun was beating down and we were on an unpaved bumpy ass road! That fun lasted for a very painful three hours. What made it even worse was my chain kept on falling off and Liz couldn´t get her gears to shift.

That was fun going up hill! But all in all it was a good experience. We got to Santa Maria and our guide, Omar, checked us into a hostel. We shared a very nice dinner with our group. The other three in our group was, Ruiari - Irish bloke, and Maddelena and Michael - Swiss couple. We went to bed very early as we had hours of hiking the next morning.

Hiking was beautiful. We were going through the Peruvian jungle. Lots of banana, orange, mango, papaya trees and coffee and coca leafs. It was very tropical. Lots of parrots flying over head too! And the pleasure of some freakishly strong mosquitos. No, we didn´t feel them flying up our pant legs divouring our legs, but lets just say we are still itching and it looks like we have scurvy! The day started out pouring rain, which was nice as it kept it cooled off. The fog was amazing. As a kid I always wanted to open the window of a plane when we flew through the clouds to feel what they were like. Here I could just reach out and touch the clouds. There was some climbing up that was pretty difficult, but we made it. We had a stop at a little hut that fed us bananas off the tree and fresh squeezed orange juice. That lovely stop was topped off by the Gun´s and Roses tune of 'Welcome to the Jungle' playing in the background - very apperpeaux. For part of the day we hiked on the actual Inca Trail. It was amazing!

These were the steepest stairs built between 1000 and 500 years ago. We took a couple of breaks along the way to hear history of the Inkas and then met up with the other group for a nice lunch at a ´rest stop´ along the way. The people who fed us had a sign in book for all their visitors... hundreds of trekkers from all over the world. It was pretty cool to see all those who had passed before us.
The highlight of the day however was the hot springs. After a day of hiking we were rewarded with a dip in natural hot springs. There was a catch. In order to get to the springs we had to cross the river. The way to do it? Via cable car. It consisted of a cable maybe 5 inches in diameter stretched about 100yards across a swirling, rocky river below. Normally 2-3 people get in and are pushed across. Lizzie and I got in with another guide (who preferred to stand... crazy!)and we were pushed across. A bit more than half way we lost our momentum and were stopped over the water. The car had a system of ropes that connected from one side to the other, we were then pulled by rope for the remainder of the way across. The most frightening part of all? Right as you climb in there is a cross marking the memorial of some people who died in 1999 when the cable fell. Not a good thing to see right before you´re pushed!

The ride was definitley worth it. The hot springs were great. It consisted of 3 huge pools of different temperateures of water. We quickly changed and got right in, not paying much attention to the construction crews still working on one of the pools. After a cold shower the night before and knowing we´d only get a cold shower tonight, we soaked up the hot springs!

That night we arrived in Santa Teresa. We had gotten to know the other group of hikers pretty well by the second day, that group was a Spanish couple and two German brothers, Manuel and Pasqual. We shared some Pisco Sours and Cusqueña cerveza after dinner and decided to head to the local discoteca with our guides. This place was unbelievable!!! Talk about local. It was a tiny little room with a disco ball, animal pelts hanging on the walls, and a seven year old behind the bar! We drank and danced all night. It was a blast. The guides were trying to teach Liz and I some crazy Peruvian dance - but it mostly was just bounceing around. It was a great night, but again we had an early morning.
The next day we took a 40 minute bus ride to some railroad tracks and began on the trail to Aguas Calientes (last stop before Machu Picchu). This turned out to be a terrible trek as you had to walk on the railroad tracks, but they weren´t evenly spaced. So you had to be looking down the whole time. Ouch. That lasted about three hours. Once in Aguas Calientes, Lizzie and I decided a nap was much needed and let the others do an extra trek up a different mountain to see the sunset over Machu Picchu. That night we had a nice dinner. Liz, Riuari and I met up with two English guys, Mo and Matt for a few beers before hitting the hay. Poor Matt and Mo. Who knows what agency they signed up with. They paid about 50 bucks more than us and both had terrible accidents the first day on the bikes. They were all scratched up with road rash - oh yeah, and they weren´t even given helmets! But they survived. As we all did.
The next morning was an early one as we were to begin our accent up the mountain to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. We got up at 4 and were trekking by about 4:30 am. We walked up about 2,000 steps by the moons light. This was tough, but so worth it.

The minute you reach Machu Picchu you are taken a back by the stunning beauty and pure amazement that it evokes. The sight was unreal. The sun coming up and the clouds rolling over it was breath taking. It was a hard climb to get up there, it´s amazing to think that they constructed such a magnificent city in the clouds like this.
We had a two hour guided tour by the very knowledgeable, Ricardo. He told us about how their civilization lived by three laws: work hard, be honest, and love. They had some fascinating practices, such as in their jail they tied prisoners up by their hands to die there and be eaten by the condors (vulture like bird). If someone stole they chopped off a hand, if a man cheated on his wife they opened up his gut and took out his intestines, if a woman cheated on her husband they hung her on a cliff by her hair. There were also a number of temples up on the mountain. One of the most fascinating practices came twice a year on the summer and winter solstices. The temples were constructed in such a way that the sun would shine directely in one window 6/21 and another on 12/21. Another amazing aspect of the buildings was that they were constructed to be earthquake proof. The buildings were built with wider stones at the base and taperd up so if an earthquake hit the waves would be absorbed.
There are a few theories as to how the last Incas hiding in the hidden city were wiped out. Crazed Amazonian, moved to another place, or most likely disease. Machu Picchu was "discovered" by an American archaeologist, Hiram Bingham in 1911. However, peoples living in the surrounding areas always knew off it. So it´s not that it was really discovered by him, he just brought it to the general public´s knowledge. Along with taking all the artifacts found there up to the Peabody Museum at Yale. The Peruvians are still waiting for what is rightfully theirs to be returned (it was supposed to be returned after a 2 year loan). Still waiting.
All in all it was amazing and I recommend everyone seeing it. Definitely a must see!

We got in last night about 6p. We met up with our trekking friends for some celebratory dinner and drinks and a night on the town... after much needed nap and hot showers.
We are going to hang out in Cusco for a few days before heading to Northern Chile to meet up with my friend, Katherine and possibly Lizzie´s cousin... Can´t wait for our next adventure. Miss you all!

Nazca, Perù

2007-08-25T15:50:00.000-05:00

Today Lizzie and I were awoken by the very friendly lady on the bus at the very early hour of 5 am. We waited in this small town for our tours to start. When Lizzie and I first decided to go to South America we had a nice dinner with my family at a Peruvian restaurant. The owner, Cèsar, told us all about the Nazca lines. This was a can't miss Peruvian sight. No one knows for sure the purpose of Las Lìnias de Nazca, but we do know they were created between 200 BC and 700 AD. They are an amazing collection of lines, geographic shapes, and animals. Some believe they were created by aliens, or used to communicate with them as they are only visible from the air. However, other theories suggest they were of religious origins, signs to communicate with gods and deities. It is possible that shaman who did some crazy mind altering drugs could ¨fly¨ to plan and see these shapes through the mind's eye. Who knows. All I can tell you is that it is truly an amazing sight. My favorite animal is the monkey. He has a very curvaceous tail, Liz is partial to the Hummingbird.
It's really cool. Liz and I both got VERY sick on the little Cessna flight. There was only room for 6 people including the pilot. We'd pass by a design on the right side, then he'd tip the plane quite hard to pass it again on the left. I think everyone on the plane got sick. It was only a half hour ride. When we landed they gave us alcohol on a cotton swab to sniff. Not sure that it helped, but it was a nice gesture.
We also visited a pre-incan grave site that held bodies from 1500 years ago. The graves had since been robbed by grave robbers, but they just wanted the ceramics and gold the people were buried with, not the bodies. So archaeologists have restored many of the grave sites so you can see into them, hair and all.

Nazca is a sleepy little town besides those main attractions. So we are boarding a second over night bus to Cusco! I can't wait.

Sorry to all those home in the midwest that are dealing with so much water. It seems like one natural disaster after another. We're thinking of you here.

Arequipa, Part 2

2007-08-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

First off, thanks for the comments and emails, we love hearing from you!

Wednesday we woke up, took nice hot showers (we could get spoiled, we hear in Bolivia that they aren't as common) and started our day. We decided to do some sightseeing around the city. First stop, the Santa Catalina Monastery.

According to our guidebook, it was a place that wealthy girls moved to when they turned 18 so they could be taken care of for the rest of their lives and live the way that wealthy girls were supposed to. It made sound as though it was some kind of House of Ill Repute and that the Catholic Church did not have too much control over.

The monastery itself is huge, it takes up an entire city block. There are a number of large courtyards, a couple galleries filled with paintings of Catalina and other important people from the monstery. A larger room for some of the girls to bunk in and a ´bathing area` that looked more like a swimming pool. The dining room came complete with a pulpit. There are many rooms all over the grounds for all the women who had some kind of leadership position in the monastery. Some had private kitchen areas, most had private fireplaces, all had private altars.

The grounds were pretty amazing. All the bedroom areas had ceilings but since the weather here is so moderate, most other areas did not have a roof. It was pretty neat to see the channels built into the ground for the water runoff. There were gardens and planters just about everywhere, which was very beautiful.

Yesterday we took our whitewater rafting trip, it was really great.
We were picked up at our hostel at 9am by our safety kayak guide Gustavo and our raft guide Frank, and went on to pick up the 4 other rafters. We drove through town to get our boat and gear and a bumpy 25 minute ride later we arrived to the Chili River. No joke, that´s the name and thankfully for gear we recived a wetsuit top and bottom, helmet, shoes and lifejacket... the water was freezing!

Next up we were given our instructions. Forward! Backward! Stop! Get down (in the boat)! Positions (back out onto the sides of the boat)! Frank also explained that we were going to go down rapids up to class 4. Yikes! Did I mention this was my first time and Erin´s second?? After a few games on dry land we were ready!

The trip was awesome. The water cold. Erin and I agreed how weird that we seemed like the only ones that were paying attention when it came to paddling and paddling right. The British girls on board, were nice but didn´t quite get the cue to paddle and the other two people never seemed to get the idea of paddling in synch. No big deal though, we made it! Gustavo was the safety guide/cameraman. Every so often we´d pause at the top of a set of rapids, wait for him to get into position and then we´d go down so he could take pictures. Toward the end we wondered what would happen if someone did fall out and our safety guide was out of his boat shooting pics... but thankfully we stayed in the boat.

By far the best part was going down the class 4 rapids. There were actually 2 sets, the first set we had to get out and walk down the bank while Gustavo took his kayak and Frank bravely took the boat by himself. The second one, was all ours.

Erin and I were in front and unfortunaltey don´t remember all of it since we both had our eyes shut going down, but that´s irrelevant. We screamed, shut our eyes, opened our mouths screaming and enjoyed it!

Overall the trip down the river was 1hr 45 minutes with a water and chocolate break in between. (Rafting is hard work! Not really but I wanted to make it sound like we earned the choclolate:)It was so much fun and we cannot wait to do it again. Did I mention that Erin wants to be a rafting guide someday? Cause she does. One of her many plans!

Erin and I also decided to do some dancing at Dejavù last night. That was a blast! It was our first night out on the town. We've been too exhausted most nights, but we promised ourselves to go out at least once in Arquipa. There was a live band playing traditional latin music, plenty of locals to show us the moves, and even more cerveza Arequipeña flowing.
On to Nasca!

Cabanaconde

2007-08-20T16:54:00.000-05:00

Upon finding out that we completely missed the fiesta of Arequipa we decided to board another bus for another adventure. Liz, Jeremy, and I woke up at 5 am and got on a bus to Cabanaconde. This is a small village high in the Andes - elevation 3191 meters. We had a lovely lunch in the town and decided to head out for a trek. We noticed that we were the only gringos with out a guide. Did this worry us? Yeah, for a minute. Then we decided we had the brains and brawn to make it on our own. We choose the 5 hour trek from our rudimentary map and headed out. We didn´t get very far before we realized we made a grave mistake and we should try an easier route. In the mean time we saw amazing breathtaking views. We headed back towards the town to start a new route. We choose a 2 hour route the second time. Not before long we were lost again. We found ourselves walking through the local's farms. All of a sudden we were being waved over by a family that was in the middle of a celebration of sorts. The kept waving us over and invited us to join their humble party. One woman, Tania, told us that this was her family´s plot of land and they were having an annual party to bring good luck as they planted their maiz (corn) called Sembrillo de Maiz. This was to ensure a good harvest. They had offerings of all sorts, bread, candy, soda, and CHICHA! This was my first experience with Chicha. Chicha is a traditional drink made from fermented corn. The had a big jug of it that they mixed with a power. I was convinced this powder was dirt, but Jeremy insists that it is ground corn. They pour a huge glass of it and pass it to me. I take it graciously, but slightly hesitant. I take a sip. I get a big chink of un mixed dirt/ground corn and have to choke it down. I pass the glass to Liz for her sip, but no. They begin to yell that it´s mine. All mine. Liz will get hers next! So I just chug the stuff to get it down. Jeremy and Liz keep asking how it is and of course I reply that it´s good. You should have seen the look on Liz´s face when she took her first sip! Priceless. She didn´t want to, but she choked it down too. It took her a little longer and I kept prompting her under my breath. It would be rude to not accept a offering like this - she attributed my ability to drink it so fast to my working in a bar and ability to chug anything!

Eventually we left the family after watching them plant the corn and headed on our way. They sent a 10 year old to be our guide for the first 15 minutes so we wouldn´t get lost again. We made our ever so painful trek down this mountain. We could see at the very bottom of the canyon what looked to be paradise. There were palm trees and green grass and even a pool. As it turns out it was paradise, Paraiso - the place we would be lodging at for the next two nights. It took us about 2 and a half hours to reach our destination. I can´t even explain the sights we saw on our way down. The Andes are so beautiful and more massive then anything I´ve ever seen. It was awesome. Going down hill wasn´t easy, but we knew we had a reward waiting at the bottom.

We were greeted near the end by a small woman and her baby that is wrapped in a blanket around her back. She walked us to our hut. A small hut put together by what looked like bamboo shoots, or maybe sticks. It had palm tree leaves as a roof. It was perfect. They made us a terrific dinner of Alpaca with veggies and rice - very common dish around here. We spent that night around the dinner table with a couple from Germany on a 14 month journey drinking our not so cold Arequipena beers. We went to bed at the dark hour of 8:30pm. We were exhausted!

The next day we enjoyed the views and relaxed. Jeremy and I went on a mini-hike to find a way to the river while Liz rested from her new found intestinal problems. We never made it down to the rio, but we came back and joined Liz in a refreshing swim in our pool. The rest of the afternoon consisted of lunch, cards, another swim in the pool and a quick(cold outdoor) shower before the sun went down behind the mountains and it started getting cold. We chatted with other travelers by a bonfire and Liz got a special tea made from leaves picked by our hosts. Dinner was spaghetti and you guessed it, Alpaca! Pretty chewy, but thankfully Jeremy didn´t mind finishing ours.

We were pretty tired after the long couple days and it was dark by 830p so we decided to go to bed. Also, our wake up call was at 6a as we had to start our trek out of the canyon before the sun made it to hot. Pity for the other travellers who were going to start their hike at 3a! We were smarter than that :)

In the middle of the night, Liz got up for a quick bathroom run. The stars and the moon were so bright where we were, you could almost make it without a flashlight, but due to rocks and ditches for water and a random wheelbarrow the kids of the owners played with as obstacles, a light was necessary. As she comes back in a hurry, and breathing heavy all she says is ¨there´s something out there and I don´t know what it is.¨

We decided to share a bed as we were both freaked out by whatever it was walking around outside our hut and we were freezing! We got some sleep but would wake anytime something made a noise. We'll never know just what was stalking Liz and I'm glad for that. (I forgot to tell you this little story that prompted our paranoia). The jail in Ica crumbled to the ground after the quake and set 700 convicts free. They've recaptured a staggering 27 prisoners!

Liz and I decided to take the journey back up on Monday morning by mule. Our muscles hurt and we were not prepared for the thin Andian air. Jeremy hustled up in under an hour and a half. I was scared out of my mind on the rocky ride up the mountain on a mule that wasn´t so sure footed as they claim. But we made it.

We are back in Arequipa and plan to spend a few days here getting the lay of the land. We are also learning quickly how to navigate the streets. When crossing the street we´ve found its in our best interest to get behind Peruvians and run across when they do. Otherwise we never seem to find the right time to go. There is a constant stream of cars 98% taxis that are very impatient and very daring. We´ve seen many almost accidents with in a few days!

Liz still needs some rest to recuperate from the intestinal parasites. But we are planning a white water rafting journey for tomorrow. We'll keep you posted as always! PS We´re trying to post pics but it is SLOW to upload. We´ll try again later.

Arequipa

2007-08-17T16:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Liz and I are safe in Arequipa. We were supposed to board the bus at 6pm last night. We didn´t get on until 7:30 - nothing I´ve been told is ever on time. We are learning this quickly. Liz and I (for an unknown reason) got bumped up to first class! Our fellow American traveler friend, Jeremy, was waiting for us on the lower level. We were in a nice private room with two other passengers. Comfy seats that recline all the way. We were supposed to arrive in Arequipa at 8 am, but did not arrive until noon. Several times in the night the bus would pull over to the side of the road so that oncoming traffic could pass. We all had to wait our turn. The roads were full of debris from falling rocks and the in some parts the road had foot wide cracks from the quake. We drove through Pisco and Ica. Those were the towns most devistated by the earthquake. Peoples homes were crumbled to the ground. They had pulled matresses and refridgerators out side and were sitting by fires. It is very cold at night. But for the most part our journey was good. We watched a couple of movies, I took some dramamine and was out for the night.
The woman who ran our hostal in Lima said her brother would be waiting for us at the station. I hoped he wouldn´t be there since we were four hours late. But we were greeted by a sign for Elizabeth and Brin Tyrrell (so far no one can ´get´my name). I´m not sure why he even met us there, he didn´t have a car and just took a taxi with us. I am having a hard time understanding his spanish too, so it makes it hard to communicate. And poor Liz never has any idea what were saying until I remember to translate. Sometimes I make things up so that he thinks I understood hom, but I´ll tell Liz Í really have no idea what he´s saying... something about war´ for example. He helped us find our hostal and then took us on a little tour to some Portals at the edge of hte city. Very beautiful. We also had a great vantage point for the Misti Volcano. Don´t worry, it´s not active.
Arequipa is beauiful and the weather is awesome. We are heading out tomorrow though. Our next plan is to head up to go hiking in some canyons and swim in hot springs. But we will return to Arequipa for a few days before heading to Cusco.

TERREMOTO!!!

2007-08-16T16:01:00.000-05:00

That´s right people we survived an earthquake. Coming from Chicago I´ve never experienced such a shock in my life. Liz and I were at the bus station buying our tickets to Ariquipa when the whole place started to shake. It felt like I was riding a moving bus. Everyone started screaming and running. We just looked at each other and decided we better run out of there as fast as we could. The buildings, windows, and bilboards were shaking. It was such a long tremour, probably 2 minutes long. Which seems like a long time. We have to catch a bus in a few hours so I don´t have much time to write, but I wanted you all to know that we are fine. The places hit harder are in the south, Ica and Pisco. When we arrive in Arequipa I will continue our Lima story. Since the big shake we have felt two more mini-quakes (they may be after shocks). It´s truly a unique experience!

Just know that we are safe. And we are very happy. Everyone here is so nice! Beyond belief. We are loving it.

Getting Ready...

2007-07-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

Erin and I just finished a fabulous weekend at our friends wedding. Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Johnston! Lisa and Dane make the happiest of couples and boy do they know how to celebrate. They have great friends and families and we really, really enjoyed our time with everyone.

But now after talking about our trip to everyone all weekend it is hitting me that 2 weeks from tomorrow we leave! Erin and I have been making plans and getting our clothes and other stuff organized. Believe me, it's hard to pack for 4.5 months in only a back pack. Luckily we are planning on sharing some clothes (that's ok, right Erin??) and we are going to share some of the gear too. I've ordered a bunch of 'travel clothes' from 3 different websites and so far am disappointed in what I've gotten from the first two. Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm, they're scheduled to come this week. Otherwise I'm going to need to learn how to say I only have 1 pair of pants in Spanish...

Just a friendly reminder, Erin and I would love if we had visitors... Buenos Aires will be great in November...

Just getting started

2007-07-02T11:19:00.000-05:00

Liz and I have a lot of talking and planning to do. We are just six weeks away from setting off for an amazing journey through South America. On our drive to Iowa we made a list of everything we could think of that we would need to pack. We are bringing very limited stuff. Not too much because of course we have to carry it on our backs.
We fly into Lima, Peru on August 14th. Aside from that and our flight home we have no real plans. We hope to let the wind take us where it will. We will be flying home from Rio de Janiero, Brazil on December 20nd. We plan to see Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. A few people have asked if we are missing Ecuador - so we might have to stop in there as well. We are open and willing to go and do whatever.
We are both so excited and can't wait to leave. Liz and I have plans for Friday to go over our travel binder, travel guide books, and watch Motorcycle Diaries. Maybe we'll drink some Pisco Sours too...
I wanted to make sure that everyone is aware that we welcome visitors. Everyone is invited to come meet up with us anywhere down there. So if I didn't invite you personally - this is your invitation. I realize with the long and expensive flight (and all the vaccines needed) it might not be feasible for most, but you are welcome.
We are going to miss our families and friends while away but we have much to look forward to.
We are both hoping to grow and change with our experience abroad. Personally, I hope to gain patience as I tend to be a hurried person. And I've heard you need a lot of patience down there! I hope my Spanish improves (I know it will). And to gain a new outlook... get perspective on shit!
Can't wait and stayed tuned...
We'll be in touch when we land