That's right folks. As of now I do not exist. I believe, however, that I am a very blessed man. Allow me to explain!
I got an email from my sister the other day telling me that "Bolivia found my stuff. Call mom and dad." So I Skyped them, and learned that they had gotten a call from the US Embassy in Bolivia saying that someone had walked into the US Embassy with my missing money bag; containing money as well as my passport, credit cards, ID and other documentation. Upon visiting the embassy, I discovered that a local woman had traveled 12 hours each way to drop my stuff off at the embassy. It's amazing how people prove you wrong. In an earlier blog post I'd been talking about my impressions about Bolivians being unfriendly. I'm learning more and more that in whatever situation people are in, they have the capacity for both good and bad. And most people try to be good.
Anyways, I also learned that I no longer existed. Before I left for my tour of the salt flats on the 14th, I got a Bolivian exit stamp for the 16th for when I was sure to cross into Chile. Not having been able to do so, I left one country and didn't enter another. I'm now no longer allowed to leave Bolivia since I technically haven't entered it. Following me so far? So the US Embassy in Bolivia has arranged to sneak me across the border into Peru tomorrow so that I can come back into Bolivia and get an entry stamp to then leave Bolivia and go into Chile. That should be fun. :)
Due to the general delay in my plans, I'm now planning on spending Christmas in Bolivia - hopefully in the town of Sucre with some Canadian traveling friends. I may also visit the mining town of Potosi beforehand. Afterwards, I'll be very excited to finally be able to cross into Chile.
Regarding this whole passport situation, the lady at the US Embassy told me that I was one in a million. I know that there were a lot of people praying for me back home, and I feel tremendously blessed to have so many friends that care about me, and to have God watching over me on this trip.
Oh, and regarding Uyuni, I figure I might as well share some pictures with all of you now, right?
Cheers, God Bless,
Stephen
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Losing Things, But Not Faith
Hello everyone,
Well I set off towards the salt flats of Bolivia with the intention of moving on from there to San Pedro De Atacama, Chile. Along the way, however, I´d somehow manage to lose my money belt containing my passport and credit card (among other things). This would have me traveling back across the country to La Paz to run errands - certainly wasn´t the plan, but I´m dealing with it.
There was a time after the tour of the salt flats where I was sitting in the tour agency office, waiting on a radio communication to see if my money belt had been found. I told the agency manager that I had esperanza (hope), and his response was pretty profound. He said that this was good, because the last thing that I should lose is fe (faith) Nobody would find my money belt, but I´d remember what this man said.
I´m not sure why I´m still here in Bolivia, but I believe that I´m in God´s hands. Who knows, maybe I needed a bump in the road. I´m very thankful for the help that I´ve already received from my family and friends, and will try to keep you all updated on how things are going.
I´ll put up some pictures of the salt flats on my facebook and also here when I get the chance. I think, as the saying goes, that they´ll be worth more than the thousands of words I could have written about them.
God bless,
Stephen
Well I set off towards the salt flats of Bolivia with the intention of moving on from there to San Pedro De Atacama, Chile. Along the way, however, I´d somehow manage to lose my money belt containing my passport and credit card (among other things). This would have me traveling back across the country to La Paz to run errands - certainly wasn´t the plan, but I´m dealing with it.
There was a time after the tour of the salt flats where I was sitting in the tour agency office, waiting on a radio communication to see if my money belt had been found. I told the agency manager that I had esperanza (hope), and his response was pretty profound. He said that this was good, because the last thing that I should lose is fe (faith) Nobody would find my money belt, but I´d remember what this man said.
I´m not sure why I´m still here in Bolivia, but I believe that I´m in God´s hands. Who knows, maybe I needed a bump in the road. I´m very thankful for the help that I´ve already received from my family and friends, and will try to keep you all updated on how things are going.
I´ll put up some pictures of the salt flats on my facebook and also here when I get the chance. I think, as the saying goes, that they´ll be worth more than the thousands of words I could have written about them.
God bless,
Stephen
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Joining the Parade and Going to Prison
Hola todos!
Gosh it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I've actually been in La Paz, Bolivia this whole time. I've had ups and downs in terms of both my enthusiasm while being here, and the intensity of my experiences. As far as the latter goes, I'll save the most intense for last.
I was definitely sad to leave Peru. I'd met some truly heartwarming people there, and had some incredible experiences. I couldn't help feeling a bit singled out at the Bolivian border, as I was the only one on my whole bus full of people that needed to apply for a Visa to enter the country. "Algun de los Estados Unidos?" they asked, "Anyone from the United States?" But I'd already been talked into it by my friends - some travellers, and some at home. And after a brief stop-over in the unimpressive Copacabana, we came onto the hill looking down into La Paz - an incredible panorama which I was disappointed our bus driver wouldn't stop for us to take pictures of. Built into a canyon, an astonishing mess of buildings fill the center and then climb up the canyon on both sides. Until they really do succeed in freeing Tibet, La Paz is the highest capital city in the world.
My first impression walking the bustling streets was that people might not be as friendly in Bolivia as in Peru. People often wouldn't respond to me when I tried to greet them walking by, and there weren't any groups of high school girls running up to me to ask me to take pictures with them. But as someone pointed out to me big cities can serve to rob people of some of their charm. I think if the only South American city I'd seen before this one had been Lima, I wouldn't have had much of a reaction. And of course, maybe the people are just different. Still, I was finding it a bit difficult to make friends in the local community.Gosh it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I've actually been in La Paz, Bolivia this whole time. I've had ups and downs in terms of both my enthusiasm while being here, and the intensity of my experiences. As far as the latter goes, I'll save the most intense for last.
I was definitely sad to leave Peru. I'd met some truly heartwarming people there, and had some incredible experiences. I couldn't help feeling a bit singled out at the Bolivian border, as I was the only one on my whole bus full of people that needed to apply for a Visa to enter the country. "Algun de los Estados Unidos?" they asked, "Anyone from the United States?" But I'd already been talked into it by my friends - some travellers, and some at home. And after a brief stop-over in the unimpressive Copacabana, we came onto the hill looking down into La Paz - an incredible panorama which I was disappointed our bus driver wouldn't stop for us to take pictures of. Built into a canyon, an astonishing mess of buildings fill the center and then climb up the canyon on both sides. Until they really do succeed in freeing Tibet, La Paz is the highest capital city in the world.
My first success was amusing really. I was in an internet cafe, and saw a Bolivian guy playing a video game called Defense of the Ancients that I used to play. I started talking to him, and he said that him and a bunch of other guys would be playing that night and that I should come back. I did, and we ended up playing this game til 2 in the morning!
The weekend approached, however, and my new gamer pals wouldn't be playing games, so I tried another avenue of meeting the locals. A traveller friend of mine has been trying to get me to try Couchsurfing - a worldwide networking site where travellers "surf couches" as is the premise, and locals offer them up because they want to meet people from different cultures, or introduce them to their own. Often this takes the form of just meeting up, rather than the hosting of a couch. I sent out some messages to some La Paz locals, and it wasn't long before I got a response. This Bolivian woman, named Flavia, was planning on going to a local rock concert Friday night with a couple other foreigners, and invited me to come. We stopped for dinner together, and then afterwards made our way to the concert. Along the way, however, we lost a girl from Britain named Anna after she stopped to use her phone, and then mistakenly ran after us in the wrong direction. Flavia was a bit worried about her since it was dark and she didn't know her way around the city. So Flavia went and got a couple nearby police officers and we looked for Anna. When we finally did find her, she was upset because some guy had stolen her phone. We walked around the area with the police officers looking for the culprit, but to no avail. We went to the concert anyways and tried to put the whole incident behind us. At the concert, I met some of Flavia's friends, and we had a great time dancing together to the La Paz band "Atajo" who were fairly decent. Really though, it was nice just to be with some Bolivians doing something Bolivian - even if it had been a bit of a crazy night.
The next cultural experience began on a different day when I heard the sounds of a parade in the distance and felt compelled to follow them. I came upon the group of musicians and costumed dancers during their break, and asked them what the parade was about. I worked out that it was a celebration for Saint Barbara. Good enough for me. Being someone that enjoys a good bit of music and dancing, I asked them if I could join in when they continued. They were very enthusiastic, and paired me up with a large, older Bolivian woman in a bowler hat. The next thing I knew, I was dancing down the street arm in arm with two older Bolivian women in bowler hats in the center of a parade with a full brass band behind us! A few onlookers seemed surprised to see a white guy smack dab in the middle of the whole thing, but we marched onwards. Down one street, down another, all through town. We'd stop every now and then for some food and drink, which they graciously insisted I partake of. This was entertaining for a while, until I realized I didn't really know when this parade would end, and was supposed to meet some friends from Canada who were coming into town that afternoon. And here I was locked arms with these enthusiastic women in bowler hats. Finally we stopped to take a break inside a courtyard, but I was still pinned in, and they insisted I eat more food even though I was starting to get pretty stuffed. What was worse, a group of these women in bowler hats started hitting on me shamelessly! After one of them asked me if I had a woman back in the States, and I answered honestly that I did not, they each started making cases for why I should take them as a wife. I said that I was travelling right now, and just didn't think it would work out, but they continued until we started marching again. Further down the road, we stopped again, and I said that I needed to go. Finally, my dancing partner let me go. She stopped for a second and said "Que triste, eh?" in a sad sort of way. After walking away I'd feel bad. In such a short time they'd completely opened their culture and their hearts to me, and all I could think about was getting away. Such is the way of the traveler sometimes, I suppose.
I wouldn't have any more such experiences for a while, as my two Canadian friends had arrived, and I'd spend a couple days hanging around the city with them. Another group of my friends who I'd met travelling in Peru arrived subsequently, and so I'd spend more time walking around the city, and going to pubs and restaurants. I wasn't very interested in many of the expensive touristy things that my friends wanted to do, and so I let them go do things without me. I'd reached the point of the journey where things just didn't seem to interest me. Climb a mountain? Nah, I just did that. Go on a downhill bike ride? Nah, been there, done that. What would I like to do? I don't know. After a short time, I started getting a little tired of this routine, as I shared with some of my friends back home. I realized just how many good friends I had, when many of them sent me emails back encouraging me, and let me know they were praying for me daily.
I didn't need to make very many preparations. The price of entry (which is essentially a bribe to the police to let you in) has been well circulated - 250 Bolivianos or about $35 US dollars. The only other thing that I'd bring with me would be four Spanish testaments (Bibles) which my parents had given me at the start of my trip. Oh, and I also prayed.
A few of my friends were also interested in the prison tour, and so together we set off walking towards the prison. Shortly after we arrived in the vicinity, we were approached by someone about being led inside. Once inside, there was a woman to explain to us how the tour would work, and tell us about the rules regarding cameras. How the tour would work is we'd have a guide who is a prisoner, and a number of bodyguards (I think about 6) who were also prisoners. The rules for cameras is that you pay 15 Bolivianos to bring one in, the police don't want to see them, and the guide will tell you exactly when you can take them out and exactly what you can take pictures of.
This isn't a normal prison, and it's time I told a bit about why. There are no police inside, and there are no cells. The prison is divided into different sections in which the prisoners rent their cells from real estate agents. Some sections are much nicer than others, and are also more expensive to live in. Prisoners who can't afford to rent a space, sleep in a large outdoor section. Others who can only afford to pay a little, get slums. Rich drug lords live in luxury. There are a surprising amount of women and children inside. Apparently, when the husbands are arrested, they can't afford to make it on their own outside, and so they move into the prison with them. Inside there are also shops, restaurants, several different churches, a football (soccer) pitch where tournaments are held, craftsmen selling their wares, and all manner of things that you might find in a small city. And that's exactly the comparison that's made. The subcommunities that exist within the different sections of the prison function just like city districts.
If you're worried yet, let me remind you that I'm here writing this post, and tell you also that I feel I was called by God to enter this prison, and protected inside by the Same. I've already described much of what I learned and observed in my description above. We really were being led around by prisoners amongst prisoners, and I greeted many of them and shook some of their hands as a display that I wasn't there to judge them. All of these men came from much less fortunate circumstances than I, and the poor decisions that led them there are in many cases a testament to this reality. It was interesting to see how normal life was for some of them inside this very strange place, however. As we walked around the different sections of the prison, we observed a football (once again, Soccer) game. We saw men talking in a restaurant, and playing pool. Most of the men I greeted returned the greeting with considerable more warmth than I'd received outside the prison on the streets. And when we entered the Evangelical church, a group of inmates was there to play some worship songs for us. I found out that a couple of our bodyguards were actually Christians as well, and talked with them a good deal during the tour. When I mentioned the Spanish testaments, one of them suggested that I give them to him so that he could give them to people in the prison that needed them. It really seemed like almost nothing, but who knows what will happen with those 4 bibles. I just wish I had had more. As I would later tell one of my friends, I really felt like I connected more with the Christian community inside that Bolivian prison, than I had in all my travels with my generation of well-off, English speaking travellers from good homes around the world.
Our tour guide refused to take us inside the section with the rich drug lords, and said that section would truly be dangerous for us. Throughout the tour I didn't really ever feel like I was in danger, though, and there was only one situation which would make me uncomfortable. When the tour was over, we tipped our guide and bodyguards (this is how they made their living), and were led outside. Man did it feel good to be back outside.
I haven't felt anything like the slump I was in before visiting the prison, at any point after. I've enjoyed spending time with my friends. Three of us (myself included) took an unguided day trip today to a place outside of town called Valle de la Luna, which gets it's name for the lunar-like landscape that results from all the erosion that is there.
And after a long, and interesting stay in La Paz, we've got tickets to travel to a place called Uyuni tomorrow night where we are going to see the Bolivian salt flats, which are widely said to be absolutely amazing. Following that, I'll either make a stop in the city of Potosi to visit some mines, or make my way straight into San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
Missing and loving all of you back home as always,
Stephen
PS: I didn't take any photos of either the parade or the prison!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Neat People, Neat Places
Hey guys,
Sorry it´s been a while since I´ve blogged, I´ve been distracted by neat people, neat places, and recently trying to pull myself together amidst it all!
After Machu Picchu, our group all stuck with each other for a little bit. We went to see another group of ruins near Cusco in what is called The Sacred Valley (after which we´d all pretty much decided we´d seen enough ruins for a while). We took a bus together to Arequipa, and besides just hanging around together in town, we went on a tour to Colca Canyon, which despite being the deepest canyon in the world, is most famous for the large number of condors that inhabit it. We actually didn´t see very many, since it´s nesting season - the worst time to go, apparently. Still, we all enjoyed just being together.
That would end, however, as it is common with the plight of the traveller. Whether it´s other people going their separate ways, or you going yours, there´s a kind of tragedy in the way that blossoming relationships are waylaid in favor of the road.
I would continue down the road myself by challenging El Misti - the 5,800 meter (19,300 ft) volcano that made like a perfect cone of light blue above the city of Arequipa. I joined into a pre-formed group made up of a Peruvian guide, two German guys, and a Turkish guy, and we set off in the morning (of what day I don´t know, it´s something about travelling that you often lose track) on what would be a two-day trip. The first day we would take a bus on a bumpy dirt road to the base of the volcano at 3,400 meters, and then hike to a camp at 4,500 meters. The second day we would get up at 2 in the morning, put on headlamps, and try to make it all the way up before coming back down and returning to Arequipa.
The first day wasn´t too bad - a fairly long and tough hike, but one which didn´t surpass altitudes I´d already experienced so far in my travels in Peru (On a hike in Huaraz, I´d reached 4,670 meters; A couple days previously, we´d taken a bus over a 4,800 meter pass to get to Colca Canyon, and then spent most of that trip above 3,000 meters). Still, upon reaching the camp, we were all fairly tired (except for maybe our guide), and were encouraged to sack out in our tents until dinner was ready. We would, after all, be getting up very early the next morning to start the climb. Upon being awoken, and stepping out of the tent shortly before sunset later, I was met with one of the most incredible sights I´ve ever seen. What had been just immaterial fog earlier, had turned into an expansive layer of puffy clouds below our camp. It was like we were just sitting on top of them. We were all somewhat amazed, and my dinner got a little cold while I ran around taking pictures. After dinner, we tried to get sleep which was difficult with all the noise of the camp, and perhaps with the altitude as well. It was the highest I´d ever slept by a good margin.
At 1:30am, we awoke to have a breakfast of bread, jam, and tea. We´d leave most of our gear behind in the camp, and set off. I noticed that our number had decreased by one. Apparently, the Turkish guy had gotten sick sleeping at altitude and would stay behind in the camp. About an hour and a half or so after we´d started hiking, I got very dizzy, and my vision started to go blurry. I told the group that I needed to stop and why. During the break, our guide explained to me that my brain wasn´t getting enough oxygen, and that I needed to breath more. Continuing on, I did as he said. I also developed a rhythm with my breathing and my steps, and things went better for me. It would continue to get harder though, the higher we got. We frequently needed to stop to catch our breath, and that sometimes took 10 minutes. Time also seemed to drag on very slowly. I´d check my watch and be surprised at how little of it had passed since our last rest point. After a while, it was agony; hour after hour of slow paced agony.
But I kept going. The other day I´d met a Catholic man who pointed out a verse from the Bible to me: "Why do you say: 'If it is possible?' Anything is possible for those who believe." I held on to that, as I climbed; as I patterned my breathing with my steps. Foot down - exhale. Foot up - inhale. Foot down - exhale. Foot up - inhale. It seemed to take forever. On one of our stops, one of the German guys said he was getting a bit of a headache. On the next stop he said it was worse. I asked the guide if it would be a good idea for him to take some pain killer - I had some. The guide said it would be, and so after he´d taken it and we´d rested a bit we continued on. After we´d spent a while longer scrambling over rocks, the German said it wouldn´t be good for him to continue. The guide told him he would have to wait in that spot until we climbed to the top and then came back. And so the two of us remaining and the guide made our way towards the summit: poco a poco, gasping for oxygen that was in short supply in the air around us. But my head stayed clear, and I was able to catch my breath during our stops. Eventually we closed in upon the summit, until we could see the cross that sat atop it. Once we had our sights upon it, climbing seemed easier, and after 6 hours from the camp that morning we´d reached it.
Along the way, a Peruvian guy had jovially skipped past us towards the top, and our guide had informed us that Peruvian guides such as himself could climb the whole mountain in 4 hours without much difficulty (we´d taken 11 between day 1 and day 2). It was hard to be bothered by that though as we reached the cross and looked down into the steaming crater of the active volcano. To me, it seemed as though faith had moved that mountain, or at least allowed me to climb it. And coming down was a bit of a different story than coming up. We took a different route which was basically just a big sand/rock slide. You could run down it almost just like running down a dune, and we did. It was fun, even though you got dirt in your eyes, your mouth, especially in your shoes, and just about everywhere doing it. We picked up our friends along the way, and reached the bottom exhausted, sunburnt, sick, dehydrated, dirty, and starving. It was had been an awesome experience, but it was nice to get back into town . . .
The next day, I pretty much sacked out.
The following day, I met up with an old friend that I´d met travelling in Iquitos, and I went with her and her friends to a Karaoke bar that night as would seem to be our tradition now (since that´s what we did in Iquitos as well). Once again, I had a blast. Turns out I really like singing and having an audience - who knew? CCR´s "Suzie Q" was my big hit this time.
Today, I woke with all my friends gone, and just me in this town. I spent hours organizing my things which were nothing short of a disaster. I was in a bad mood, and couldn´t figure out why. I´ve been riding something of a ride the last couple weeks without stopping. The mess of my things seemed in a way symbolic of the neglect that I´d shown for my own personal needs; the disorder on the floor, like a kind of disorder inside myself - as I´d been thrown around without regularity into new unfamiliar territory.
I´m hoping to continue my journey tonight - solo, just like it started. I´m going to take a taxi to the bus station, and see about getting on a bus for La Paz, Bolivia. My friends convinced me that I just couldn´t miss it, and so I´m now planning on taking a week and a half before crossing into Chile. I hear the salt flats there are absolutely unforgettable. I´ve had quite a journey in Peru - made some wonderful new friends, and had some amazing experiences. Through it all, I need to remember as I´m getting shaken around the things that are core to me. Another verse from the Bible comes to mind: "And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." It´s something indescribable sometimes - the effect travelling has on you. Personally, I´m missing home. But I´m going to keep on going.
Love,
Stephen
Sorry it´s been a while since I´ve blogged, I´ve been distracted by neat people, neat places, and recently trying to pull myself together amidst it all!
After Machu Picchu, our group all stuck with each other for a little bit. We went to see another group of ruins near Cusco in what is called The Sacred Valley (after which we´d all pretty much decided we´d seen enough ruins for a while). We took a bus together to Arequipa, and besides just hanging around together in town, we went on a tour to Colca Canyon, which despite being the deepest canyon in the world, is most famous for the large number of condors that inhabit it. We actually didn´t see very many, since it´s nesting season - the worst time to go, apparently. Still, we all enjoyed just being together.
That would end, however, as it is common with the plight of the traveller. Whether it´s other people going their separate ways, or you going yours, there´s a kind of tragedy in the way that blossoming relationships are waylaid in favor of the road.
I would continue down the road myself by challenging El Misti - the 5,800 meter (19,300 ft) volcano that made like a perfect cone of light blue above the city of Arequipa. I joined into a pre-formed group made up of a Peruvian guide, two German guys, and a Turkish guy, and we set off in the morning (of what day I don´t know, it´s something about travelling that you often lose track) on what would be a two-day trip. The first day we would take a bus on a bumpy dirt road to the base of the volcano at 3,400 meters, and then hike to a camp at 4,500 meters. The second day we would get up at 2 in the morning, put on headlamps, and try to make it all the way up before coming back down and returning to Arequipa.
The first day wasn´t too bad - a fairly long and tough hike, but one which didn´t surpass altitudes I´d already experienced so far in my travels in Peru (On a hike in Huaraz, I´d reached 4,670 meters; A couple days previously, we´d taken a bus over a 4,800 meter pass to get to Colca Canyon, and then spent most of that trip above 3,000 meters). Still, upon reaching the camp, we were all fairly tired (except for maybe our guide), and were encouraged to sack out in our tents until dinner was ready. We would, after all, be getting up very early the next morning to start the climb. Upon being awoken, and stepping out of the tent shortly before sunset later, I was met with one of the most incredible sights I´ve ever seen. What had been just immaterial fog earlier, had turned into an expansive layer of puffy clouds below our camp. It was like we were just sitting on top of them. We were all somewhat amazed, and my dinner got a little cold while I ran around taking pictures. After dinner, we tried to get sleep which was difficult with all the noise of the camp, and perhaps with the altitude as well. It was the highest I´d ever slept by a good margin.
At 1:30am, we awoke to have a breakfast of bread, jam, and tea. We´d leave most of our gear behind in the camp, and set off. I noticed that our number had decreased by one. Apparently, the Turkish guy had gotten sick sleeping at altitude and would stay behind in the camp. About an hour and a half or so after we´d started hiking, I got very dizzy, and my vision started to go blurry. I told the group that I needed to stop and why. During the break, our guide explained to me that my brain wasn´t getting enough oxygen, and that I needed to breath more. Continuing on, I did as he said. I also developed a rhythm with my breathing and my steps, and things went better for me. It would continue to get harder though, the higher we got. We frequently needed to stop to catch our breath, and that sometimes took 10 minutes. Time also seemed to drag on very slowly. I´d check my watch and be surprised at how little of it had passed since our last rest point. After a while, it was agony; hour after hour of slow paced agony.
But I kept going. The other day I´d met a Catholic man who pointed out a verse from the Bible to me: "Why do you say: 'If it is possible?' Anything is possible for those who believe." I held on to that, as I climbed; as I patterned my breathing with my steps. Foot down - exhale. Foot up - inhale. Foot down - exhale. Foot up - inhale. It seemed to take forever. On one of our stops, one of the German guys said he was getting a bit of a headache. On the next stop he said it was worse. I asked the guide if it would be a good idea for him to take some pain killer - I had some. The guide said it would be, and so after he´d taken it and we´d rested a bit we continued on. After we´d spent a while longer scrambling over rocks, the German said it wouldn´t be good for him to continue. The guide told him he would have to wait in that spot until we climbed to the top and then came back. And so the two of us remaining and the guide made our way towards the summit: poco a poco, gasping for oxygen that was in short supply in the air around us. But my head stayed clear, and I was able to catch my breath during our stops. Eventually we closed in upon the summit, until we could see the cross that sat atop it. Once we had our sights upon it, climbing seemed easier, and after 6 hours from the camp that morning we´d reached it.
Along the way, a Peruvian guy had jovially skipped past us towards the top, and our guide had informed us that Peruvian guides such as himself could climb the whole mountain in 4 hours without much difficulty (we´d taken 11 between day 1 and day 2). It was hard to be bothered by that though as we reached the cross and looked down into the steaming crater of the active volcano. To me, it seemed as though faith had moved that mountain, or at least allowed me to climb it. And coming down was a bit of a different story than coming up. We took a different route which was basically just a big sand/rock slide. You could run down it almost just like running down a dune, and we did. It was fun, even though you got dirt in your eyes, your mouth, especially in your shoes, and just about everywhere doing it. We picked up our friends along the way, and reached the bottom exhausted, sunburnt, sick, dehydrated, dirty, and starving. It was had been an awesome experience, but it was nice to get back into town . . .
The next day, I pretty much sacked out.
The following day, I met up with an old friend that I´d met travelling in Iquitos, and I went with her and her friends to a Karaoke bar that night as would seem to be our tradition now (since that´s what we did in Iquitos as well). Once again, I had a blast. Turns out I really like singing and having an audience - who knew? CCR´s "Suzie Q" was my big hit this time.
Today, I woke with all my friends gone, and just me in this town. I spent hours organizing my things which were nothing short of a disaster. I was in a bad mood, and couldn´t figure out why. I´ve been riding something of a ride the last couple weeks without stopping. The mess of my things seemed in a way symbolic of the neglect that I´d shown for my own personal needs; the disorder on the floor, like a kind of disorder inside myself - as I´d been thrown around without regularity into new unfamiliar territory.
I´m hoping to continue my journey tonight - solo, just like it started. I´m going to take a taxi to the bus station, and see about getting on a bus for La Paz, Bolivia. My friends convinced me that I just couldn´t miss it, and so I´m now planning on taking a week and a half before crossing into Chile. I hear the salt flats there are absolutely unforgettable. I´ve had quite a journey in Peru - made some wonderful new friends, and had some amazing experiences. Through it all, I need to remember as I´m getting shaken around the things that are core to me. Another verse from the Bible comes to mind: "And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." It´s something indescribable sometimes - the effect travelling has on you. Personally, I´m missing home. But I´m going to keep on going.
Love,
Stephen
Monday, November 24, 2008
Returning from Machu Picchu
Hola todos,
I´m back in Cusco, and had a sweet trip to Machu Picchu with some great new friends.
Yesterday was some kind of day, such that I don´t think I´ll forget it anytime soon. After 3 days of biking and hiking we got up at 4 in the morning to put on our headlamps and hike up to Machu Picchu. You need to get there early to hike the peak above it, Wayna Picchu, which they´ll only allow 400 people a day to hike. Steps, steps, and more steps, not to mention all the steps we´d need to go up and down walking around the city afterwards; the Incans had no need for stairmasters. We got up to Machu Picchu, went through the security checkpoint, and just got a glimpse of the city as we speedwalked through the streets to get in line for Wayna Picchu. From the top, Machu Picchu looks very small (it isn´t the iconic view you´re used to seeing - that one is from the guardtower on the other side of the city), but we had fun taking goofball pictures of us doing things like holding up or stepping on the city.
Once we climbed back down to Macchu Picchu, we were taken on an hour long tour of the city which explained things like it´s possible significance, possible reasons that the city was abandoned, the interpreted purpose of different buildings or things within the city. And, of course, the city is most famous for how remarkably well preserved and free from outside influence it is. No Spanish architecture here, but rather a mysterious place with a bunch of rocks that were remarkably well crafted and put together. Of course you can do your own research, or make your own trip sometime. A lot of the history was probably wasted on me. Ancient history to me isn´t usually something I´m too interested in digging up. Truth be told, I was more just interested in taking in the place that was still there today. Some of my friends in the group talked about having a sense in being in a place that was holy in some way. I didn´t feel that way, but thought it was definitely neat, and had a great time taking pictures.
After hiking back down from the city, we waited in town for our evening train. The Irish and the Brits had a rousing debate during a meal we shared. I couldn´t for the life of me understand what it was about, but just listening to it was very entertaining. The evening would be prove to be even moreso. The Irish blokes decided that we should sing songs enthusiastically from our section of the train, at the expense or enjoyment of everyone else aboard. They also talked me into playing my harmonica. While we were singing Queen´s Bohemian Rhapsody some bizarre music started playing. Thinking they were trying to shut us out, we sang even louder. The reason for the music became apparent, however, when a clown burst into the cabin and started dancing around. After some bewildered comments we took this in stride and clapped to the beat, and I played my harmonica some more while the clown danced to it. Once he was gone, things got even weirder. New music played, and a fashion show started up. Various models walked through the isle displaying some fancy outfits. I got a little carried away by the energy of the whole thing, and walked down the row myself displaying my grungy backpacker clothing, but it was all in good fun, and the train staff didn´t seem too put off by the antics of our group. They didn´t kick us off the train at least.
Once we did get off, it was nighttime, in a stopover town where we were to catch a bus that would take us to Cusco. Someone was supposed to be waiting for us with a sign that had some of our names on it and a sweatshirt with the tour agency´s logo on it. We walked around a bit and saw nobody. A guy approached us, and claimed that he was supposed to take us to our bus. We were hesitant, however, when he put our group size at 13 (it was 10) and didn´t know any of our names. He said he was with our agency, but we had given him our agency´s name first, and he didn´t have any kind of identification. Initially we told him that we wouldn´t go with him unless he could produce our names, but eventually we said that we´d get on a bus to Cusco if he agreed that we had already paid for it. When he kept saying ¨no pay¨to us, we took it that he was trying to tell us that we hadn´t paid, and that he was trying to scam us. A couple people in our group started getting very angry with this guy, and the positive energy from the train quickly turned negative. Personally I think both came from being exhausted after the trip, and from what had already been a long day (it started at 4am). I tried talking to the guy in Spanish, but the situation was a bit tense and it wasn´t until backed into a corner he said ¨you no pay, no es una problema¨that we realized we´d been misunderstanding him all along. It probably would have been easy to work that out if we hadn´t come at him like he was trying to cheat us. He hadn´t been. We got on our bus to Cusco, and didn´t have to pay. We apologized to the man. You have to be careful sometimes, but we´d jumped on him before we´d really tried to talk to him.
The night still wasn´t over, however. While we were resting on the bus, it suddenly swerved and crashed into a large boulder. The front end of the bus was damaged and one of the tires was flattened; the rim mangled. We got out of the bus and had to wait outside for them to try and replace the tire. We made light of the situation (one of our group picked up a piece of the bus that had fallen off to take with him as a souveneir), but were really all very tense and exhausted. Eventually (I think after about an hour) they did manage to replace it, and get us back to Cusco. We wouldn´t get home until shortly before midnight. It had been a long and somewhat crazy day. And that was just one day out of 4. :)
The first day had been all downhill mountain biking, and I enjoyed it, but the road was very bumpy, and we had to cross a lot of fjords. These were exciting when we had to hit them with speed, and hope that they wouldn´t sweep us off the road. One of our party had part of her bike fall off. Another had a tire pop, and crashed. Another crashed into another rider. Three of them had to be taken in the van to our first destination. The rest of us were just sore from all of the bumps. We hadn´t been able to look around much at the beautiful scenery, as we had to focus on the bikes and the road most of the time. I´d say it was an adventure in itself.
The other two days hiking, we crossed over some beautiful mountain and jungle scenery, commiserated over how much we were getting eaten alive by mosquitos, crossed over a river canyon by being pulled across in a cage on a rope, met a woman who fed candy to her monkey, ate mangos from the trees, relaxed at some hot springs, played a card game popular among travellers which was fun but which has a name I can´t say, and all the while I enjoyed the company of some fun, good hearted people. It´s hard to capture the impact of an experience. I´m just glad that some of you back at home are interested in listening to me ramble on about it!
Now since I´ve talked so much about my pictures from Machu Picchu, I´m sharing them on my facebook, and you can find them here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85826&l=c50fd&id=591556557
Tomorrow I´ll be taking a day trip with the same group to The Sacred Valley, which has some more ruins, and then tomorrow night I´ll be travelling to Arequipa where I´ll probably do a few things before crossing the border south into Chile. I´ll save the emotional leaving Peru post until then.
God bless all of you,
Stephen
I´m back in Cusco, and had a sweet trip to Machu Picchu with some great new friends.
Yesterday was some kind of day, such that I don´t think I´ll forget it anytime soon. After 3 days of biking and hiking we got up at 4 in the morning to put on our headlamps and hike up to Machu Picchu. You need to get there early to hike the peak above it, Wayna Picchu, which they´ll only allow 400 people a day to hike. Steps, steps, and more steps, not to mention all the steps we´d need to go up and down walking around the city afterwards; the Incans had no need for stairmasters. We got up to Machu Picchu, went through the security checkpoint, and just got a glimpse of the city as we speedwalked through the streets to get in line for Wayna Picchu. From the top, Machu Picchu looks very small (it isn´t the iconic view you´re used to seeing - that one is from the guardtower on the other side of the city), but we had fun taking goofball pictures of us doing things like holding up or stepping on the city.
Once we climbed back down to Macchu Picchu, we were taken on an hour long tour of the city which explained things like it´s possible significance, possible reasons that the city was abandoned, the interpreted purpose of different buildings or things within the city. And, of course, the city is most famous for how remarkably well preserved and free from outside influence it is. No Spanish architecture here, but rather a mysterious place with a bunch of rocks that were remarkably well crafted and put together. Of course you can do your own research, or make your own trip sometime. A lot of the history was probably wasted on me. Ancient history to me isn´t usually something I´m too interested in digging up. Truth be told, I was more just interested in taking in the place that was still there today. Some of my friends in the group talked about having a sense in being in a place that was holy in some way. I didn´t feel that way, but thought it was definitely neat, and had a great time taking pictures.
After hiking back down from the city, we waited in town for our evening train. The Irish and the Brits had a rousing debate during a meal we shared. I couldn´t for the life of me understand what it was about, but just listening to it was very entertaining. The evening would be prove to be even moreso. The Irish blokes decided that we should sing songs enthusiastically from our section of the train, at the expense or enjoyment of everyone else aboard. They also talked me into playing my harmonica. While we were singing Queen´s Bohemian Rhapsody some bizarre music started playing. Thinking they were trying to shut us out, we sang even louder. The reason for the music became apparent, however, when a clown burst into the cabin and started dancing around. After some bewildered comments we took this in stride and clapped to the beat, and I played my harmonica some more while the clown danced to it. Once he was gone, things got even weirder. New music played, and a fashion show started up. Various models walked through the isle displaying some fancy outfits. I got a little carried away by the energy of the whole thing, and walked down the row myself displaying my grungy backpacker clothing, but it was all in good fun, and the train staff didn´t seem too put off by the antics of our group. They didn´t kick us off the train at least.
Once we did get off, it was nighttime, in a stopover town where we were to catch a bus that would take us to Cusco. Someone was supposed to be waiting for us with a sign that had some of our names on it and a sweatshirt with the tour agency´s logo on it. We walked around a bit and saw nobody. A guy approached us, and claimed that he was supposed to take us to our bus. We were hesitant, however, when he put our group size at 13 (it was 10) and didn´t know any of our names. He said he was with our agency, but we had given him our agency´s name first, and he didn´t have any kind of identification. Initially we told him that we wouldn´t go with him unless he could produce our names, but eventually we said that we´d get on a bus to Cusco if he agreed that we had already paid for it. When he kept saying ¨no pay¨to us, we took it that he was trying to tell us that we hadn´t paid, and that he was trying to scam us. A couple people in our group started getting very angry with this guy, and the positive energy from the train quickly turned negative. Personally I think both came from being exhausted after the trip, and from what had already been a long day (it started at 4am). I tried talking to the guy in Spanish, but the situation was a bit tense and it wasn´t until backed into a corner he said ¨you no pay, no es una problema¨that we realized we´d been misunderstanding him all along. It probably would have been easy to work that out if we hadn´t come at him like he was trying to cheat us. He hadn´t been. We got on our bus to Cusco, and didn´t have to pay. We apologized to the man. You have to be careful sometimes, but we´d jumped on him before we´d really tried to talk to him.
The night still wasn´t over, however. While we were resting on the bus, it suddenly swerved and crashed into a large boulder. The front end of the bus was damaged and one of the tires was flattened; the rim mangled. We got out of the bus and had to wait outside for them to try and replace the tire. We made light of the situation (one of our group picked up a piece of the bus that had fallen off to take with him as a souveneir), but were really all very tense and exhausted. Eventually (I think after about an hour) they did manage to replace it, and get us back to Cusco. We wouldn´t get home until shortly before midnight. It had been a long and somewhat crazy day. And that was just one day out of 4. :)
The first day had been all downhill mountain biking, and I enjoyed it, but the road was very bumpy, and we had to cross a lot of fjords. These were exciting when we had to hit them with speed, and hope that they wouldn´t sweep us off the road. One of our party had part of her bike fall off. Another had a tire pop, and crashed. Another crashed into another rider. Three of them had to be taken in the van to our first destination. The rest of us were just sore from all of the bumps. We hadn´t been able to look around much at the beautiful scenery, as we had to focus on the bikes and the road most of the time. I´d say it was an adventure in itself.
The other two days hiking, we crossed over some beautiful mountain and jungle scenery, commiserated over how much we were getting eaten alive by mosquitos, crossed over a river canyon by being pulled across in a cage on a rope, met a woman who fed candy to her monkey, ate mangos from the trees, relaxed at some hot springs, played a card game popular among travellers which was fun but which has a name I can´t say, and all the while I enjoyed the company of some fun, good hearted people. It´s hard to capture the impact of an experience. I´m just glad that some of you back at home are interested in listening to me ramble on about it!
Now since I´ve talked so much about my pictures from Machu Picchu, I´m sharing them on my facebook, and you can find them here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85826&l=c50fd&id=591556557
Tomorrow I´ll be taking a day trip with the same group to The Sacred Valley, which has some more ruins, and then tomorrow night I´ll be travelling to Arequipa where I´ll probably do a few things before crossing the border south into Chile. I´ll save the emotional leaving Peru post until then.
God bless all of you,
Stephen
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Preparing for Machu Picchu
Hello everyone,
I'm in Cusco, Peru, and doing just fine.
After leaving Lima, I went by bus to Ica and stayed in the nearby oasis Huacachina. I actually wasn't very fond of that place either. It was a tourist bubble, put in place so people could go sandboarding - no other reason. So that's what I did. It was alright, nothing to write home to mom about (ironically, here I am). Riding around in the buggy was actually the best part.
I did have a cool experience going to a church service in Ica afterwards though at an Evangelical church called El Shaddai. I understood very little of the sermon, but enjoyed the worship. People here are really passionate about God in a way that not a lot of people back home are. The best part, though, was that afterwards I ended up going to a birthday party of one of the members of the church, named Clarissa. We played some really goofy games that I'd never seen before, and it was really fun. Once again, I see that my most memorable experiences are the ones that I share with other people. Solitude can be valuable too, and I really appreciated it when I was in the jungle. But in general, I'm a people person.
Now, there are a few things that I'm having to cut out of my trip. The first is the flight over the Nazca lines that would have come next. The lines themselves are fascinating, but the flights I decided (and have heard) just aren't worth it. The second is Lake Titicaca. It's a fairly nice looking lake, but everything I've heard about the native people living on the islands there (a major attraction of the lake) speaks to me of a culture that lost it's heritage to tourism, which really turns me off. Apparently this people--isolated from the rest of the world, and beating to the beat of their own drum--also sing songs to you in English when you visit them. How delightful. Really, I don't blame them, they're making a living for themselves like everybody else. It just bothers me a bit, and I need to make time for some of the genuinely interesting places to come.
So instead of going to Nazca, I embarked Monday on a 16-hour bus ride for Cusco. I didn't think it would be so bad, since I'd done one of the same length when I'd gone to Tarapoto. It was though. It was nothing but bad curvy roads, and I couldn't sleep and felt sick the whole time. Once we arrived, however, Cusco was quite a sight to see. It was like looking out into a great big bowl, laid out with a mass of well-crafted mud-brick houses and a vast network of narrow brick streets. Just when I was starting to think that all cities looked the same, there was Cusco. There's no shortage of tourism here, but really the place is pretty cool anyways (I'm putting up a few photos that I took from walking around the town).
And I can't be totally down on the tourism industry, because I'm really quite excited about my plans for a Machu Picchu trek tomorrow. I'll be going with a group of people I met in the bustling hostel that I'm staying in (160 bed hostel), and taking 4 days. One of these days will be downhill mountain biking, the following two will be hiking to Aguas Calientes - a town right next to the ruins, and the last one will be spent visiting Machu Picchu and then taking the train back. The group besides myself, are made up of 5 people from Ireland, 1 from England, 2 from Canada, and 1 other from the US. Should be pretty sweet.
I would like to mention that I was introduced to Irish food here by my new friends, and I think it's my kind of stuff! I had my first taste of shepherd's pie, which is basically just a massive pile of beef, potatoes, cheese, and corn. Oh yeah. Also, I've never had so many people ask my if I wanted a massage in my entire life than I have walking through Cusco. They even try to convince you that you want one after you tell them you don't. Really guys, I'm alright. I'm golden.
Stay tuned for an update after the trek. :)
Cheers,
Stephen
I'm in Cusco, Peru, and doing just fine.
After leaving Lima, I went by bus to Ica and stayed in the nearby oasis Huacachina. I actually wasn't very fond of that place either. It was a tourist bubble, put in place so people could go sandboarding - no other reason. So that's what I did. It was alright, nothing to write home to mom about (ironically, here I am). Riding around in the buggy was actually the best part.
I did have a cool experience going to a church service in Ica afterwards though at an Evangelical church called El Shaddai. I understood very little of the sermon, but enjoyed the worship. People here are really passionate about God in a way that not a lot of people back home are. The best part, though, was that afterwards I ended up going to a birthday party of one of the members of the church, named Clarissa. We played some really goofy games that I'd never seen before, and it was really fun. Once again, I see that my most memorable experiences are the ones that I share with other people. Solitude can be valuable too, and I really appreciated it when I was in the jungle. But in general, I'm a people person.
Now, there are a few things that I'm having to cut out of my trip. The first is the flight over the Nazca lines that would have come next. The lines themselves are fascinating, but the flights I decided (and have heard) just aren't worth it. The second is Lake Titicaca. It's a fairly nice looking lake, but everything I've heard about the native people living on the islands there (a major attraction of the lake) speaks to me of a culture that lost it's heritage to tourism, which really turns me off. Apparently this people--isolated from the rest of the world, and beating to the beat of their own drum--also sing songs to you in English when you visit them. How delightful. Really, I don't blame them, they're making a living for themselves like everybody else. It just bothers me a bit, and I need to make time for some of the genuinely interesting places to come.
So instead of going to Nazca, I embarked Monday on a 16-hour bus ride for Cusco. I didn't think it would be so bad, since I'd done one of the same length when I'd gone to Tarapoto. It was though. It was nothing but bad curvy roads, and I couldn't sleep and felt sick the whole time. Once we arrived, however, Cusco was quite a sight to see. It was like looking out into a great big bowl, laid out with a mass of well-crafted mud-brick houses and a vast network of narrow brick streets. Just when I was starting to think that all cities looked the same, there was Cusco. There's no shortage of tourism here, but really the place is pretty cool anyways (I'm putting up a few photos that I took from walking around the town).
And I can't be totally down on the tourism industry, because I'm really quite excited about my plans for a Machu Picchu trek tomorrow. I'll be going with a group of people I met in the bustling hostel that I'm staying in (160 bed hostel), and taking 4 days. One of these days will be downhill mountain biking, the following two will be hiking to Aguas Calientes - a town right next to the ruins, and the last one will be spent visiting Machu Picchu and then taking the train back. The group besides myself, are made up of 5 people from Ireland, 1 from England, 2 from Canada, and 1 other from the US. Should be pretty sweet.
I would like to mention that I was introduced to Irish food here by my new friends, and I think it's my kind of stuff! I had my first taste of shepherd's pie, which is basically just a massive pile of beef, potatoes, cheese, and corn. Oh yeah. Also, I've never had so many people ask my if I wanted a massage in my entire life than I have walking through Cusco. They even try to convince you that you want one after you tell them you don't. Really guys, I'm alright. I'm golden.
Stay tuned for an update after the trek. :)
Cheers,
Stephen
Friday, November 14, 2008
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.
Hello everyone,
I'm now writing from Lima. I had a wonderful time in Iquitos, even though it was too short. I would have stayed longer, if I hadn't discovered that REM would be playing in Lima. I'll be going to see them with my friend Rossana tonight, and am very excited!
I made a couple new friends in Iquitos, Bryan and Karina. Bryan is from the States though I don't remember which one. Karina is actually originally from Iquitos, but has been living in Canada for the last three years, and is back visiting. It's something that happens - people leave Peru and they want to go back. I walked around the city with them a bit on Wednesday during the day, and then later we went to a karaoke bar, which was really fun. I got nothing for "Heartbreak Hotel," but got a good round of applause for "My Way."
On Thursday, I went with a couple of the guys that I was staying with in my hostel to a lake that someone had recommended to me. It actually ended up being a better zoo than a lake, and even though I haven't enjoyed zoo's much in the past I liked this one quite a bit.
It felt fitting that I would be arriving in Lima by plane, as it would be the second time I would be doing so. The first time had been at the beginning of my trip, and had been full of all kinds of emotions; uncertainty, excitement, fascination. They were different this time, and not in a way I would have expected.
For some strange reason, I actually felt more out of place here than I did the first time I arrived. Things had been very tranquil in the rainforest, and even in Iquitos. In that short time I'd gotten used to people being very open and friendly; to there being what seemed like a clarity to things. I'd liked the idea of coming back full circle in a way to Lima, but hadn't really considered what a shocking contrast it would be.
The air was dirty and full of city noise. My official airport taxi driver was an absolute scoundrel. My hostel upon arrival (which admittedly was at 1am) was full of only semi-responsive drunken party goers. Music from the surrounding bars saturated itself into my tired brain. Whatever has happened to me so far in my journey, it's changed this place for me. None of it was for me. It's quite an experience, travelling from a place to another one that's different. I wonder in part to what capacity this might happen to me when I return back home after the 5 months to the States - the so called "reverse culture shock."
I'm still very much looking forward to what has yet to come on this trip. I'm just ready to put this one city behind me. But first, I've got REM to send me off. And then afterwards, it'll be time for some ancient culture with Nazca and Machu Picchu next on the itinerary.
My best to all of you,
Stephen
I'm now writing from Lima. I had a wonderful time in Iquitos, even though it was too short. I would have stayed longer, if I hadn't discovered that REM would be playing in Lima. I'll be going to see them with my friend Rossana tonight, and am very excited!
I made a couple new friends in Iquitos, Bryan and Karina. Bryan is from the States though I don't remember which one. Karina is actually originally from Iquitos, but has been living in Canada for the last three years, and is back visiting. It's something that happens - people leave Peru and they want to go back. I walked around the city with them a bit on Wednesday during the day, and then later we went to a karaoke bar, which was really fun. I got nothing for "Heartbreak Hotel," but got a good round of applause for "My Way."
On Thursday, I went with a couple of the guys that I was staying with in my hostel to a lake that someone had recommended to me. It actually ended up being a better zoo than a lake, and even though I haven't enjoyed zoo's much in the past I liked this one quite a bit.
It felt fitting that I would be arriving in Lima by plane, as it would be the second time I would be doing so. The first time had been at the beginning of my trip, and had been full of all kinds of emotions; uncertainty, excitement, fascination. They were different this time, and not in a way I would have expected.
For some strange reason, I actually felt more out of place here than I did the first time I arrived. Things had been very tranquil in the rainforest, and even in Iquitos. In that short time I'd gotten used to people being very open and friendly; to there being what seemed like a clarity to things. I'd liked the idea of coming back full circle in a way to Lima, but hadn't really considered what a shocking contrast it would be.
The air was dirty and full of city noise. My official airport taxi driver was an absolute scoundrel. My hostel upon arrival (which admittedly was at 1am) was full of only semi-responsive drunken party goers. Music from the surrounding bars saturated itself into my tired brain. Whatever has happened to me so far in my journey, it's changed this place for me. None of it was for me. It's quite an experience, travelling from a place to another one that's different. I wonder in part to what capacity this might happen to me when I return back home after the 5 months to the States - the so called "reverse culture shock."
I'm still very much looking forward to what has yet to come on this trip. I'm just ready to put this one city behind me. But first, I've got REM to send me off. And then afterwards, it'll be time for some ancient culture with Nazca and Machu Picchu next on the itinerary.
My best to all of you,
Stephen
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Big City on the River
Hola todos,
I'm back in the city again, and man does it feel good! I've waded through swamps; bathed with dolphins and electric eels; ate rice, bread, onions and tomatoes for days on end; gotten enough bites from mosquitos, ants, and other insects to make me not care anymore; spent days on a cargo ship listening to blaring bad music starting at 5 in the morning, and watching random Steven Seagal movies until 12 at night (and been fed more rice). I had a pancake this morning once I got into town, and it was like I'd never tasted a pancake before, it was wonderful. But enough with the stream of cosciousness summary, let's start from the beginning.
Once upon a time, I got upon a cargo ship and travelled to a village along the big river in Northern Peru (not yet called "rio Amazonas") called Lagunas. I arrived in the night, and began making preparations the next morning to set out with a guide in a canoe into the wilderness of Pacaya Samiria. We took a motortaxi as far as it would take us (like the other areas I've seen around here, they like their motorcycles), and then set off.
Now, unfortunately I'm going to have to break down some images you all may have had of me ruthlessly cutting my way through the rainforest with a machete like Crocodile Dundee. In actuality, my guide Javier was doing all the paddling for us while I was laying down in the back of a canoe for 4 days. To be honest, it was more relaxing than adventurous. We did see some animals though, let me see:
We saw a number of little monkeys swinging around in the trees;
Sloths which you could whistle at and they would slowly turn their heads to look at you;
Lot's of different types of birds - hawks which would swoop down and grab fish, mccaws which would all talk with each other in the trees, great big cranes which would fly across the river and make mooing sounds like a cow at night, bocholochos which would make the coolest noises while swinging from the trees like pendulums, and all kinds of others;
We came across an electric eel that was vcry long and I actually lied, I was told not to go swimming with it;
Lot's of river dolphins which were pink and would pop up from time to time alongside our boat;
Tarantulas, iguanas, all manner of insects, lots of colorful butterflies, etc.
And we heard, but didn't see, the howler monkeys which another American who we met along the river described as "the sound of the world ending."
Pictures of animals are unfortunately practically nil since I don't have much of a zoom on my camera, and I was pretty preocuppied with trying to spot the animals which my guide had no trouble seeing.
There were places along the river called refugios which were basic places to find shelter (and land, with recent rainfall there was hardly any land to be found). I met and talked with other travellers, including the aformentioned American, a couple of Europeans and their guides. We caught fish to eat, and the rest of the time ate the aformentioned rice, bread, tomatoes and onions with tea from heated up river water.
We went on a walk into the woods (or rather, the swamp) at one point as well where I climbed a tree and got bitten to shreds by some ants. My Peruvian guide climbed it too, and didn't get bitten at all. Figure that one out. There was another type of tree that you could swing a machete at it, and a white liquid would come trickling out of it which is apparently used for medicine for children. Lot's of cool flora, and vines you could swing on and such. We didn't see very many animals, but apparently one of the Europeans and his guide enountered a group of wild boar that they tiptoed very carefully around.
I had some interesting conversations with the Europeans about American culture and my harmonica playing was a major attraction for the Peruvians who had never seen or heard one before. I gave a concert at each place we stopped for the evening.
We had blistering sun every day on the river, but the second we got back to dry land at the end of the trip, it began to rain. Shortly after we'd arrived back in Lagunas it was raining cats and tapirs, complete with thunder and lightning. I spent the day in my room relaxing from all that relaxing I'd been doing on the river, and listening to the storm. The next day, which would be perfectly sunny, I'd need to wait until nighttime to be able to catch a cargo ship down the river to Iquitos. I walked around the town a bit with one of the river guides, and stopped in at a church service which again being in Spanish was a little difficult for me to follow. I'm still no Peruvian. Got to play some music with some kids a little bit, which was cool.
The boat as I mentioned before was very noisy, but I was able to meet some people. I talked with an older Peruvian gentlemen named William about Blues and Jazz music, and let him listen to my ipod a bit which he really enjoyed. I talked with a tatooed Peruvian artist about God. And I met a guy from California and a guy from Germany which I'm now staying with in a hostel in Iquitos.
All in all, it's been a week without many comforts, but it's been a good time to be able to relax and contemplate. Not a lot of distractions, just a great big open jungle. Sometimes staring out into the expanse of it it seems empty. Of course, listening at night you realize it's full of life and noise, but somehow I think it's noise that makes sense. It doesn't clog up the mind like it does in the city. Having spent some time there, the jungle doesn't seem as intimidating to me anymore. It's just a place with some solitude, and some real nature to see - not like what you'd see where there's motor traffic and smog and clubs and markets. I tell you though, I think I'm ready for some pollution if it comes with pizza and Coca Cola. :)
Hope you're all doing well. It's nice to be writing to you all again. I'll be here just a couple days and then I'll hopefully be able to catch a plane back to Lima where I'll begin my journey south.
Cheers,
Stephen
PS: If you'd like to see more pictures and bigger pictures of my trip, well you'll just need to become my facebook friend!
I'm back in the city again, and man does it feel good! I've waded through swamps; bathed with dolphins and electric eels; ate rice, bread, onions and tomatoes for days on end; gotten enough bites from mosquitos, ants, and other insects to make me not care anymore; spent days on a cargo ship listening to blaring bad music starting at 5 in the morning, and watching random Steven Seagal movies until 12 at night (and been fed more rice). I had a pancake this morning once I got into town, and it was like I'd never tasted a pancake before, it was wonderful. But enough with the stream of cosciousness summary, let's start from the beginning.
Once upon a time, I got upon a cargo ship and travelled to a village along the big river in Northern Peru (not yet called "rio Amazonas") called Lagunas. I arrived in the night, and began making preparations the next morning to set out with a guide in a canoe into the wilderness of Pacaya Samiria. We took a motortaxi as far as it would take us (like the other areas I've seen around here, they like their motorcycles), and then set off.
Now, unfortunately I'm going to have to break down some images you all may have had of me ruthlessly cutting my way through the rainforest with a machete like Crocodile Dundee. In actuality, my guide Javier was doing all the paddling for us while I was laying down in the back of a canoe for 4 days. To be honest, it was more relaxing than adventurous. We did see some animals though, let me see:
We saw a number of little monkeys swinging around in the trees;
Sloths which you could whistle at and they would slowly turn their heads to look at you;
Lot's of different types of birds - hawks which would swoop down and grab fish, mccaws which would all talk with each other in the trees, great big cranes which would fly across the river and make mooing sounds like a cow at night, bocholochos which would make the coolest noises while swinging from the trees like pendulums, and all kinds of others;
We came across an electric eel that was vcry long and I actually lied, I was told not to go swimming with it;
Lot's of river dolphins which were pink and would pop up from time to time alongside our boat;
Tarantulas, iguanas, all manner of insects, lots of colorful butterflies, etc.
And we heard, but didn't see, the howler monkeys which another American who we met along the river described as "the sound of the world ending."
Pictures of animals are unfortunately practically nil since I don't have much of a zoom on my camera, and I was pretty preocuppied with trying to spot the animals which my guide had no trouble seeing.
There were places along the river called refugios which were basic places to find shelter (and land, with recent rainfall there was hardly any land to be found). I met and talked with other travellers, including the aformentioned American, a couple of Europeans and their guides. We caught fish to eat, and the rest of the time ate the aformentioned rice, bread, tomatoes and onions with tea from heated up river water.
We went on a walk into the woods (or rather, the swamp) at one point as well where I climbed a tree and got bitten to shreds by some ants. My Peruvian guide climbed it too, and didn't get bitten at all. Figure that one out. There was another type of tree that you could swing a machete at it, and a white liquid would come trickling out of it which is apparently used for medicine for children. Lot's of cool flora, and vines you could swing on and such. We didn't see very many animals, but apparently one of the Europeans and his guide enountered a group of wild boar that they tiptoed very carefully around.
I had some interesting conversations with the Europeans about American culture and my harmonica playing was a major attraction for the Peruvians who had never seen or heard one before. I gave a concert at each place we stopped for the evening.
We had blistering sun every day on the river, but the second we got back to dry land at the end of the trip, it began to rain. Shortly after we'd arrived back in Lagunas it was raining cats and tapirs, complete with thunder and lightning. I spent the day in my room relaxing from all that relaxing I'd been doing on the river, and listening to the storm. The next day, which would be perfectly sunny, I'd need to wait until nighttime to be able to catch a cargo ship down the river to Iquitos. I walked around the town a bit with one of the river guides, and stopped in at a church service which again being in Spanish was a little difficult for me to follow. I'm still no Peruvian. Got to play some music with some kids a little bit, which was cool.
The boat as I mentioned before was very noisy, but I was able to meet some people. I talked with an older Peruvian gentlemen named William about Blues and Jazz music, and let him listen to my ipod a bit which he really enjoyed. I talked with a tatooed Peruvian artist about God. And I met a guy from California and a guy from Germany which I'm now staying with in a hostel in Iquitos.
All in all, it's been a week without many comforts, but it's been a good time to be able to relax and contemplate. Not a lot of distractions, just a great big open jungle. Sometimes staring out into the expanse of it it seems empty. Of course, listening at night you realize it's full of life and noise, but somehow I think it's noise that makes sense. It doesn't clog up the mind like it does in the city. Having spent some time there, the jungle doesn't seem as intimidating to me anymore. It's just a place with some solitude, and some real nature to see - not like what you'd see where there's motor traffic and smog and clubs and markets. I tell you though, I think I'm ready for some pollution if it comes with pizza and Coca Cola. :)
Hope you're all doing well. It's nice to be writing to you all again. I'll be here just a couple days and then I'll hopefully be able to catch a plane back to Lima where I'll begin my journey south.
Cheers,
Stephen
PS: If you'd like to see more pictures and bigger pictures of my trip, well you'll just need to become my facebook friend!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tell Guns and Roses: Thanks.
Hi,
If you don't understand my title, that's ok. You just don't rock quite hard enough. Unless you're my grandparents, in which case you still do.
I'm in Tarapoto, Peru which is kind of a neat place. It's half in the mountains and half in the rainforest. Basically it looks rainforesty, but you have less of the bugs and heat. As for the town, everyone and their mother drives a motorcycle. Literally there's about 95% motorcycle traffic, and there are motorcycle taxis which are kind of fun to ride in. It's like a carriage being pulled by a motorcycle, and they all swerve to get around each other on bumpy roads. And I must say there are also a lot of pretty women here. I was being driven along in a motorcycle taxi when I saw a gorgeous woman walking down the side of the road carrying a machette. Could be that I'll meet my wife here someday!
Anyways, I visited some waterfalls today called las Cataratas de Ahuashiyacu. Unfortunately I'm not able to upload pictures right now, but they were beautiful. Well, it was basically one waterfall, and there were some others in the forest behind it. I went on something of a mini-adventure with my motorcycle taxi driver into the forest trying to get to another one, but we were unsuccessful. When we returned to the first waterfall he announced to me that he was going bathing and stripped down to his underwear to jump into the pool. He was an adventurous but good-natured fellow.
Tomorrow I'm going to head out on a boat into the Amazon, and will be out of contact for about a week until I get to Iquitos, Peru. Hopefully I'll have a good post for you then!
Chau,
Esteban
If you don't understand my title, that's ok. You just don't rock quite hard enough. Unless you're my grandparents, in which case you still do.
I'm in Tarapoto, Peru which is kind of a neat place. It's half in the mountains and half in the rainforest. Basically it looks rainforesty, but you have less of the bugs and heat. As for the town, everyone and their mother drives a motorcycle. Literally there's about 95% motorcycle traffic, and there are motorcycle taxis which are kind of fun to ride in. It's like a carriage being pulled by a motorcycle, and they all swerve to get around each other on bumpy roads. And I must say there are also a lot of pretty women here. I was being driven along in a motorcycle taxi when I saw a gorgeous woman walking down the side of the road carrying a machette. Could be that I'll meet my wife here someday!
Anyways, I visited some waterfalls today called las Cataratas de Ahuashiyacu. Unfortunately I'm not able to upload pictures right now, but they were beautiful. Well, it was basically one waterfall, and there were some others in the forest behind it. I went on something of a mini-adventure with my motorcycle taxi driver into the forest trying to get to another one, but we were unsuccessful. When we returned to the first waterfall he announced to me that he was going bathing and stripped down to his underwear to jump into the pool. He was an adventurous but good-natured fellow.
Tomorrow I'm going to head out on a boat into the Amazon, and will be out of contact for about a week until I get to Iquitos, Peru. Hopefully I'll have a good post for you then!
Chau,
Esteban
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Into the Jungle
Hola todos,
By now I've seen the coast, and I've seen the mountains. I'm now planning on visiting the third geographical region of Peru, the Selva, or rainforest. Tomorrow afternoon I'm getting on a bus for a city called Tarapoto on the outskirts of the Amazon basin. I plan on spending a couple days there before heading to Yurimaguas, where I'll catch a boat to Lagunas and then visit the Pacaya Samaria national park. Afterwards, I'm going to continue upriver to Iquitos. Iquitos is the largest city in the world to not be accessible by roads. Then I'll catch a boat back to civilization and begin my long journey south, wherever that takes me.
I've had a good time here on the coast, and have spent a good deal of it with the family of a friend from Seattle (Jorge, who was my Spanish tutor). I've shared several meals with them, which have all been wonderful. With them I also toured the city of Trujillo, and visited the nearby ruins of Chan Chan. And last night we danced until almost dawn this morning. Yesterday was the celebration in Peru for both Halloween and Creole music. Jorge's sister, cousin, and two of their friends took me out to a restaraunt with live latin music and dancing and we stayed until 5am. I knew I didn't drag those dancing shoes along for nothing.
Again I've been lucky to have been connected ahead of time with tremendously hospitable people. I don't think there's been anywhere that I've more enjoyed being so far on this trip than sitting around a table with a group of warm individuals who care about me. I'd like to learn how to give that much. Know that I appreciate more than I can say everyone who is praying for me and keeping up with my blog.
Love and miss you guys,
Stephen
PS: I went surfing. Also, I saw the queen of Spain.
It wasn't while I was surfing, though.
By now I've seen the coast, and I've seen the mountains. I'm now planning on visiting the third geographical region of Peru, the Selva, or rainforest. Tomorrow afternoon I'm getting on a bus for a city called Tarapoto on the outskirts of the Amazon basin. I plan on spending a couple days there before heading to Yurimaguas, where I'll catch a boat to Lagunas and then visit the Pacaya Samaria national park. Afterwards, I'm going to continue upriver to Iquitos. Iquitos is the largest city in the world to not be accessible by roads. Then I'll catch a boat back to civilization and begin my long journey south, wherever that takes me.
I've had a good time here on the coast, and have spent a good deal of it with the family of a friend from Seattle (Jorge, who was my Spanish tutor). I've shared several meals with them, which have all been wonderful. With them I also toured the city of Trujillo, and visited the nearby ruins of Chan Chan. And last night we danced until almost dawn this morning. Yesterday was the celebration in Peru for both Halloween and Creole music. Jorge's sister, cousin, and two of their friends took me out to a restaraunt with live latin music and dancing and we stayed until 5am. I knew I didn't drag those dancing shoes along for nothing.
Again I've been lucky to have been connected ahead of time with tremendously hospitable people. I don't think there's been anywhere that I've more enjoyed being so far on this trip than sitting around a table with a group of warm individuals who care about me. I'd like to learn how to give that much. Know that I appreciate more than I can say everyone who is praying for me and keeping up with my blog.
Love and miss you guys,
Stephen
PS: I went surfing. Also, I saw the queen of Spain.
It wasn't while I was surfing, though.
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Aussies, the Irish, and the Brits; Thunder and Parades; Barney and the Virus
Hola Todos,
As you can see, since I haven't been doing anything overly exciting these past few days, I'm milking the post title for all it's worth.
A few days ago (Friday), I decided to change hostels since the one I was staying in was completely empty and I was getting a little lonely. I moved into a more happening place, and that was where I met the Australians. They seemed like fun, friendly chaps, and after we'd lunched together they said I'd be more than welcome to join them on this 5 day trek they were embarking upon the next morning. I was up for it, so I spent the day with them making trip preparations.
As I'd discover that night, my body was making other preparations - and after one of the most miserable nights I can remember (of which I will offer no description other than to tell you that some combination of altitude and bad food produced some extraordinarily ill affects) - I announced in the morning that I wouldn't be coming. They took it well, and told me that it was part of the South American experience. We exchanged contact information, and said our goodbyes. When I awoke to the crack of thunder that afternoon and looked at the downpour outside, I suspected those poor blokes got a bit of the South American experience on their trek as well.
By about 5:30 the rain had let up, and I managed to stumble outside and get down about half of a meager fruit salad from the place on the corner. That night I heard the sounds of a parade going down the street - horns, drums and lots of random booms from fireworks - also taking to the streets now that the rain had granted them a reprieve. It was the second parade in the few days that I've been in town. I'd been excited about the first one, and gone outside to see a large crowd of people with all manner of lights and balloons and banners. But as someone had informed me then: they throw parades for just about everything here. Even though the rain let up, I'd still say that day was something of a wash.
But Sunday, a new crowd came into the hostel - a couple of Irish girls, and a couple of British couples. They were just hanging out in town for the day before heading out to a beach town up north called Mancora. I was feeling a bit better, and so I spent the day with them. They were fairly entertaining, and it made the day go by a lot better than the previous one, where I was camped in my room by myself. I actually picked up some tickets myself to head out on a bus Monday for Trujillo, where I'm looking forward to meeting the family of my Spanish tutor from Seattle, and maybe relaxing a bit by the beach at low altitude as well (possibly surfing).
It would have been nice to have done more trekking here, or even some rock climbing, but it's not the way it worked out, and I'm ready to leave. My first impressions of the city have diminished - maybe in part due to the unfortunate circumstances of my stay (It's Monday, and I still feel rather dodgy) - but I think also because of Barney. The city's surroundings are amazing, and the parades are kind of neat, but also overwhelming is the excess of tourism. Several times now in downtown I've seen men walking around wearing Barney suits to try to get money from people for taking pictures. It's something I might not cringe at in the States, but the purple dinosaur is such a cultural displacement here that's it's a little disheartening. You can't blame the men in the purple suits - you can only feel sorry that this is what a people of a rich cultural heritage have had to resort to to try and make a living for themselves. It's the way the world is running nowadays, and I feel sorry to admit that I'm a part of it. My itinerary for this trip largely runs along what's called "the gringo trail;" the string of tourist destinations that everyone travels when they travel down here. And there are reasons for it: there are things to see that are interesting, and it's been made into safe and easy travelling by the tourism market. I'd like to travel off the beaten trail, but it's a scary prospect a lot of the time. We'll just have to see yet what happens with the people that I meet and the places I go.
There's thunder and rain again outside today. Seems like it's been like this most of the time I've been here (those poor Aussies are still out there walking around in the mountains). I'm taking an overnight bus tonight which leaves at 9pm for Trujillo, and hopefully to some brighter skies.
Cheers and God Bless,
Stephen
PS: Recent pictures are from a hike I did on my second day in Huaraz with a guide to Lago 69. The elevation was 4,670 meters which is over 15,000 ft. The last hill had me breathing pretty hard, and the end of the trip gave me a good headache. It´s the highest I´ve ever been.
As you can see, since I haven't been doing anything overly exciting these past few days, I'm milking the post title for all it's worth.
A few days ago (Friday), I decided to change hostels since the one I was staying in was completely empty and I was getting a little lonely. I moved into a more happening place, and that was where I met the Australians. They seemed like fun, friendly chaps, and after we'd lunched together they said I'd be more than welcome to join them on this 5 day trek they were embarking upon the next morning. I was up for it, so I spent the day with them making trip preparations.
As I'd discover that night, my body was making other preparations - and after one of the most miserable nights I can remember (of which I will offer no description other than to tell you that some combination of altitude and bad food produced some extraordinarily ill affects) - I announced in the morning that I wouldn't be coming. They took it well, and told me that it was part of the South American experience. We exchanged contact information, and said our goodbyes. When I awoke to the crack of thunder that afternoon and looked at the downpour outside, I suspected those poor blokes got a bit of the South American experience on their trek as well.
By about 5:30 the rain had let up, and I managed to stumble outside and get down about half of a meager fruit salad from the place on the corner. That night I heard the sounds of a parade going down the street - horns, drums and lots of random booms from fireworks - also taking to the streets now that the rain had granted them a reprieve. It was the second parade in the few days that I've been in town. I'd been excited about the first one, and gone outside to see a large crowd of people with all manner of lights and balloons and banners. But as someone had informed me then: they throw parades for just about everything here. Even though the rain let up, I'd still say that day was something of a wash.
But Sunday, a new crowd came into the hostel - a couple of Irish girls, and a couple of British couples. They were just hanging out in town for the day before heading out to a beach town up north called Mancora. I was feeling a bit better, and so I spent the day with them. They were fairly entertaining, and it made the day go by a lot better than the previous one, where I was camped in my room by myself. I actually picked up some tickets myself to head out on a bus Monday for Trujillo, where I'm looking forward to meeting the family of my Spanish tutor from Seattle, and maybe relaxing a bit by the beach at low altitude as well (possibly surfing).
It would have been nice to have done more trekking here, or even some rock climbing, but it's not the way it worked out, and I'm ready to leave. My first impressions of the city have diminished - maybe in part due to the unfortunate circumstances of my stay (It's Monday, and I still feel rather dodgy) - but I think also because of Barney. The city's surroundings are amazing, and the parades are kind of neat, but also overwhelming is the excess of tourism. Several times now in downtown I've seen men walking around wearing Barney suits to try to get money from people for taking pictures. It's something I might not cringe at in the States, but the purple dinosaur is such a cultural displacement here that's it's a little disheartening. You can't blame the men in the purple suits - you can only feel sorry that this is what a people of a rich cultural heritage have had to resort to to try and make a living for themselves. It's the way the world is running nowadays, and I feel sorry to admit that I'm a part of it. My itinerary for this trip largely runs along what's called "the gringo trail;" the string of tourist destinations that everyone travels when they travel down here. And there are reasons for it: there are things to see that are interesting, and it's been made into safe and easy travelling by the tourism market. I'd like to travel off the beaten trail, but it's a scary prospect a lot of the time. We'll just have to see yet what happens with the people that I meet and the places I go.
There's thunder and rain again outside today. Seems like it's been like this most of the time I've been here (those poor Aussies are still out there walking around in the mountains). I'm taking an overnight bus tonight which leaves at 9pm for Trujillo, and hopefully to some brighter skies.
Cheers and God Bless,
Stephen
PS: Recent pictures are from a hike I did on my second day in Huaraz with a guide to Lago 69. The elevation was 4,670 meters which is over 15,000 ft. The last hill had me breathing pretty hard, and the end of the trip gave me a good headache. It´s the highest I´ve ever been.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Out of contact
Hey folks,
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm going to be going on a 5 day trek in the Cordilleras Blancas mountain range with some Aussie's I met. Sorry for no recent updates, you'll get one when I return!
EDIT: Didn't actually go, caught a bug. Will try to update tomorrow on exciting events related to sleeping and staying in my hostel.
Stephen
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm going to be going on a 5 day trek in the Cordilleras Blancas mountain range with some Aussie's I met. Sorry for no recent updates, you'll get one when I return!
EDIT: Didn't actually go, caught a bug. Will try to update tomorrow on exciting events related to sleeping and staying in my hostel.
Stephen
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Paragliding is lame. Busing is sweet.
Hola todos,
Well, I´m no longer at sea level in Lima. I´m at 3,080 meters or 10,100 feet in Huaraz, and feeling the effects of the change. My mind is a bit foggy, and my body a bit fogey. So if I´m not as insightful as I normally am, blame that. Not that I´m complaining. Huaraz is probably the coolest city I´ve ever been in, and the drive here was absolutely stunning. But not to get ahead of myself, I went paragliding yesterday.
I wouldn´t say it was life-changing. In fact, I think it was less fun than a game of ping-pong - but of course ping-pong is quite a bit of fun. Why, you ask? What´s not fun about having someone else direct you slowly through the air? Well, first of all someone else was directing me, and second we travelled very slowly through the air. But, of course, trying new things can be hit or miss, and so I´d like to talk about my trip today because it was better.
I was pleased to hit the road this morning, and did so in a comfortable double decker bus. Most of the first half of the trip was a competition between the scenery outside and the distraction of the movies that were being played inside; which in order were, Remember the Titans, John Tucker Must Die, The Notebook and The Invasion. By the second half of the trip, and about the time The Notebook started, the scenery won out. It really kept on getting more and more breathtaking as we went (just to clarify: the scenery, not The Notebook), and I couldn´t stop taking pictures. As always, the real life pictures were better than the digital ones, but I´ll post some of the one´s I took. Unfortunately I didn´t really get any good pictures of the villages we passed along the way, but I´d like to mention that we passed three separate games of volleyball between village children along the way. I was hoping the bus would break down each time so I could run out there and play.
Arriving in Huaraz was even more of a sight, and behind it the astonishing Huascaran (6,768 meters or 22,204 ft). Huascaran was obscured by clouds, and the windows on the bus were so dirty by this point that my pictures of the city didn´t come out very well either, but I´m planning on spending at least 5 days here so just you wait. There´s a lot of hustle and bustle and tourism in the city, but I love the feel of the place. The people seem very zestful, the architecture very tasteful, and the surrounding environment very incrediful (altitude). On a minor note, all of my possessions got soaked while in transit due to some poor planning related to backpack management. Still, I´m very excited about tomorrow as there seems to be a whole lot of cool things to see and do here. Hopefully I´ll dominate the effects of the altitude quickly, so I can get to them!
Also, how is everybody?
Esteban
PS: Actually it seems my internet cafe is closing. Pictures will have to wait.
Well, I´m no longer at sea level in Lima. I´m at 3,080 meters or 10,100 feet in Huaraz, and feeling the effects of the change. My mind is a bit foggy, and my body a bit fogey. So if I´m not as insightful as I normally am, blame that. Not that I´m complaining. Huaraz is probably the coolest city I´ve ever been in, and the drive here was absolutely stunning. But not to get ahead of myself, I went paragliding yesterday.
I wouldn´t say it was life-changing. In fact, I think it was less fun than a game of ping-pong - but of course ping-pong is quite a bit of fun. Why, you ask? What´s not fun about having someone else direct you slowly through the air? Well, first of all someone else was directing me, and second we travelled very slowly through the air. But, of course, trying new things can be hit or miss, and so I´d like to talk about my trip today because it was better.
I was pleased to hit the road this morning, and did so in a comfortable double decker bus. Most of the first half of the trip was a competition between the scenery outside and the distraction of the movies that were being played inside; which in order were, Remember the Titans, John Tucker Must Die, The Notebook and The Invasion. By the second half of the trip, and about the time The Notebook started, the scenery won out. It really kept on getting more and more breathtaking as we went (just to clarify: the scenery, not The Notebook), and I couldn´t stop taking pictures. As always, the real life pictures were better than the digital ones, but I´ll post some of the one´s I took. Unfortunately I didn´t really get any good pictures of the villages we passed along the way, but I´d like to mention that we passed three separate games of volleyball between village children along the way. I was hoping the bus would break down each time so I could run out there and play.
Arriving in Huaraz was even more of a sight, and behind it the astonishing Huascaran (6,768 meters or 22,204 ft). Huascaran was obscured by clouds, and the windows on the bus were so dirty by this point that my pictures of the city didn´t come out very well either, but I´m planning on spending at least 5 days here so just you wait. There´s a lot of hustle and bustle and tourism in the city, but I love the feel of the place. The people seem very zestful, the architecture very tasteful, and the surrounding environment very incrediful (altitude). On a minor note, all of my possessions got soaked while in transit due to some poor planning related to backpack management. Still, I´m very excited about tomorrow as there seems to be a whole lot of cool things to see and do here. Hopefully I´ll dominate the effects of the altitude quickly, so I can get to them!
Also, how is everybody?
Esteban
PS: Actually it seems my internet cafe is closing. Pictures will have to wait.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The city is warm, even though the air is cold.
Buenos tardes,
These last couple days have been rewarding.
Saturday, I checked out the plazas downtown. And even though there's not a lot to do in the plazas, it's neat to see how Peruvians like to just relax outside and talk to each other. There's literally hundreds of people in the main plaza, which is basically just a fountain surrounded by benches and grass. A girl named Yessica approached me wanting to practice her English. She was very nice, and talked me into taking a bus with her up to the top of nearby Cerro San Cristobal. It's a hill with a cross on top of it that overlooks Lima. It had just gotten dark, and the view of Lima all lit up was pretty wowing. At some point, the cross itself lit up, which was great! I didn't get any good pictures of the city with my camera unfortunately, but I got a few cool pictures of the cross, and I'll put one up later. It was fun hanging out with Yessica, and I appreciated that she was willing to spend her evening taking me up there. As both a teacher and a student, she's normally very busy!
Sunday, I met up with Rosanna in the morning, and we spent a little time hanging out before heading to her parent's house. Her parents were waiting to greet me with open arms as well as with potatoes, meat and vegetables. They really were the nicest people, and even though there were some communication challenges it was a great cultural experience for me. Rosanna's mom made fun of my jeans because they had holes in them, and called me "pobre." From her dad, I learned about all the things that Chilean's say came from Chile, but really came from Peru. Her brother, who is a student in the university, was taking pictures and videos of us the whole time. By the end of the meal, however, they were calling me part of their family. And they really meant it. Their willingness to give of themselves, and the love they showed me was amazing.
I spent a good portion of the rest of the day walking around the markets and shops of Salvador with Rosanna. Salvador is the village outside of Lima where they live, and it's considerably poorer than the districts which I've been visiting so far. Rosanna told me about how they got no help from the government to build this hospital, and how their community had come together to build it themselves. There are actually a lot of skilled craftsmen in her village, and many of them make their living by making and selling high-quality wooden furniture that they craft. Rosanna herself has dreams of getting out and travelling the world, but has very limited opportunities to do so. I learned from her parents that it's actually a lot easier for them to travel, because being older it's expected that they'll return to Peru. For Rosanna, the government figures that there's a much greater chance that she won't. Rosanna and I had learned to communicate a lot better since the first time that we'd met, and it was very hard to say goodbye even after such a short time.
I was considering leaving Lima today, but seeing as to how it's already 3pm (I was fairly lazy this morning), I'm just going to see a few more sights, and then schedule my departure for tomorrow. I actually don't want to leave, but I've got more things to see. I hope not, but rather think so, that I'm trying to see it all too fast.
Chau,
Esteban
These last couple days have been rewarding.
Saturday, I checked out the plazas downtown. And even though there's not a lot to do in the plazas, it's neat to see how Peruvians like to just relax outside and talk to each other. There's literally hundreds of people in the main plaza, which is basically just a fountain surrounded by benches and grass. A girl named Yessica approached me wanting to practice her English. She was very nice, and talked me into taking a bus with her up to the top of nearby Cerro San Cristobal. It's a hill with a cross on top of it that overlooks Lima. It had just gotten dark, and the view of Lima all lit up was pretty wowing. At some point, the cross itself lit up, which was great! I didn't get any good pictures of the city with my camera unfortunately, but I got a few cool pictures of the cross, and I'll put one up later. It was fun hanging out with Yessica, and I appreciated that she was willing to spend her evening taking me up there. As both a teacher and a student, she's normally very busy!
Sunday, I met up with Rosanna in the morning, and we spent a little time hanging out before heading to her parent's house. Her parents were waiting to greet me with open arms as well as with potatoes, meat and vegetables. They really were the nicest people, and even though there were some communication challenges it was a great cultural experience for me. Rosanna's mom made fun of my jeans because they had holes in them, and called me "pobre." From her dad, I learned about all the things that Chilean's say came from Chile, but really came from Peru. Her brother, who is a student in the university, was taking pictures and videos of us the whole time. By the end of the meal, however, they were calling me part of their family. And they really meant it. Their willingness to give of themselves, and the love they showed me was amazing.
I spent a good portion of the rest of the day walking around the markets and shops of Salvador with Rosanna. Salvador is the village outside of Lima where they live, and it's considerably poorer than the districts which I've been visiting so far. Rosanna told me about how they got no help from the government to build this hospital, and how their community had come together to build it themselves. There are actually a lot of skilled craftsmen in her village, and many of them make their living by making and selling high-quality wooden furniture that they craft. Rosanna herself has dreams of getting out and travelling the world, but has very limited opportunities to do so. I learned from her parents that it's actually a lot easier for them to travel, because being older it's expected that they'll return to Peru. For Rosanna, the government figures that there's a much greater chance that she won't. Rosanna and I had learned to communicate a lot better since the first time that we'd met, and it was very hard to say goodbye even after such a short time.
I was considering leaving Lima today, but seeing as to how it's already 3pm (I was fairly lazy this morning), I'm just going to see a few more sights, and then schedule my departure for tomorrow. I actually don't want to leave, but I've got more things to see. I hope not, but rather think so, that I'm trying to see it all too fast.
Chau,
Esteban
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Los Primeros Dos Dias
Hola todos,
So I've spent a couple of days here now, and have enjoyed it.
The first day I walked around the district of Barranco mostly by myself, and the second around Miraflores with a contact I had in Lima - the sister of a friend from Seattle named Rosanna.
Both Barranco and Miraflores are seaside districts in Lima, and are among the more well-off districts within the city. I definitely prefer Barranco as it has a more cozy bohemian feel to it, rather than Miraflores which is very commercial. Barranco has more markets and Miraflores has more malls.
Walking around Barranco, the first thing you notice is that the buildings are all very colorful - and are different colors. I'll try to put some more pictures up when I get the chance. The next thing you notice is that when you get to a street, horns are blaring, and people are swerving across lanes to avoid each other, and people are running across them like Frogger would whenever they get the chance. I've gotten used to doing the same. Just walking around, I like the feeling of being in a place that's completely different from anything I'm used to. And also, everyone that I asked for help or directions was more than friendly about doing so, even though sometimes I couldn't understand what they were saying at all. I've also learned that if you make eye contact with street vendors, they'll think you're interested. I was sitting in a fast food resteraunt last night and happened to glance out at the street when a guy was walking by with some crutches. He came into the resteraunt and started trying to sell them to me. The two guys behind the counter started laughing and said something like "he thinks you're a cripple!" in Spanish. I told the gentlemen that I didn't need them, and then laughed with them.
I took a bus to Miraflores, and had a thought - someone from America like myself might be tempted to think that Peruvians were very bad drivers, but it would be false. They're actually very good drivers to drive the way they do and not get into accidents with other cars or hit pedestrians. In Miraflores I picked up a phone for making local calls and a watch (for telling the time . . .). I then met with Rosanna, and we stopped somewhere to talk, and then walked around for a bit. We had a fair amount of trouble communicating, since my Spanish is rather poor (leaving the US I described it as "decent") as is her English. But it was nice to walk around having company, and it made the streets seem friendlier than they would have otherwise been had I been walking around at night by myself. On Sunday, I'm looking forward to visiting Rossana's family. Outside of just meeting people in Hostels (who mostly speak English), I like the idea of being able to spend time with more actual Peruvians.
Today, I think I'll take a taxi to downtown Lima - unfortunately I slept in a bit too long to see the changing of the guards ceremony which is supposed to be interesting. But there will still be things to see. I'll keep you posted!
Adios,
Esteban
So I've spent a couple of days here now, and have enjoyed it.
The first day I walked around the district of Barranco mostly by myself, and the second around Miraflores with a contact I had in Lima - the sister of a friend from Seattle named Rosanna.
Both Barranco and Miraflores are seaside districts in Lima, and are among the more well-off districts within the city. I definitely prefer Barranco as it has a more cozy bohemian feel to it, rather than Miraflores which is very commercial. Barranco has more markets and Miraflores has more malls.
Walking around Barranco, the first thing you notice is that the buildings are all very colorful - and are different colors. I'll try to put some more pictures up when I get the chance. The next thing you notice is that when you get to a street, horns are blaring, and people are swerving across lanes to avoid each other, and people are running across them like Frogger would whenever they get the chance. I've gotten used to doing the same. Just walking around, I like the feeling of being in a place that's completely different from anything I'm used to. And also, everyone that I asked for help or directions was more than friendly about doing so, even though sometimes I couldn't understand what they were saying at all. I've also learned that if you make eye contact with street vendors, they'll think you're interested. I was sitting in a fast food resteraunt last night and happened to glance out at the street when a guy was walking by with some crutches. He came into the resteraunt and started trying to sell them to me. The two guys behind the counter started laughing and said something like "he thinks you're a cripple!" in Spanish. I told the gentlemen that I didn't need them, and then laughed with them.
I took a bus to Miraflores, and had a thought - someone from America like myself might be tempted to think that Peruvians were very bad drivers, but it would be false. They're actually very good drivers to drive the way they do and not get into accidents with other cars or hit pedestrians. In Miraflores I picked up a phone for making local calls and a watch (for telling the time . . .). I then met with Rosanna, and we stopped somewhere to talk, and then walked around for a bit. We had a fair amount of trouble communicating, since my Spanish is rather poor (leaving the US I described it as "decent") as is her English. But it was nice to walk around having company, and it made the streets seem friendlier than they would have otherwise been had I been walking around at night by myself. On Sunday, I'm looking forward to visiting Rossana's family. Outside of just meeting people in Hostels (who mostly speak English), I like the idea of being able to spend time with more actual Peruvians.
Today, I think I'll take a taxi to downtown Lima - unfortunately I slept in a bit too long to see the changing of the guards ceremony which is supposed to be interesting. But there will still be things to see. I'll keep you posted!
Adios,
Esteban
Thursday, October 16, 2008
My Arrival in Lima
Well, here it begins! I hope this will be as exciting of a blog for you all as this trip is for me.
I'm currently at my hostel in the Barranco district of Lima, Peru, and it pleasantly surprised me by having computers with internet access (which are free to use). I doubt that most of the hostels that I stay at will.
Having just arrived, I've got some exploring to do, so I'll keep this semi-short. I did want to send something out, so that you all wouldn't worry!
I flew from San Francisco to Miami yesterday afternoon, and then had a red-eye flight from Miami to Lima. Waiting for the flight in Miami, and surrounded by South Americans all speaking Spanish (which I can more or less, but mostly less, understand), I stood out as the gringo. There was, however, another. I noticed her in the boarding line initially because she happened to have the exact same lime green day-pack from REI that I had. It was comforting to see that someone else was in the same boat as me - the lime green day-pack gringo boat.
As fate would have it, my seat would place me next to a gentlemen, who asked me if I would mind switching seats with his wife so that they could sit together. And that switch would put me sitting next to that very lime green day-pack gringo! So we talked about traveling on the way over, and about what it was like to stick out like a sore thumb, and to be a little intimidated by the idea of getting off of a plane in a foreign country, and things like that. This discussion, also, was comforting because I discovered that she's been to Latin America before by herself knowing less Spanish than me and been just fine.
I would describe my mood upon arriving in Lima as: tired. I know I was probably supposed to say something transcendental about what it was like to step out courageously into the unknown, and be enriched by the experience, but it was 4AM, and I was just tired. One thing I couldn't help but notice, however, was that there were two other white individuals with lime green REI day-packs in addition to their larger backpacking backpacks. It was like we were all trying to be obvious.
Anyhow, since I had to wait around to be able to check into the hostel that I had reservations at, I took a nap in the lounge. I followed the tradition set by a number of people around me and laid across a row of chairs, and got a good 4 hours of sleep in before me and my friends were woken up by a security guard. That's right, I've already been reprimanded by a security guard. It was the first thing I did.
After that, I found my way around the airport - figured out how to get money, use the payphones to call my hostel, and things like that. I ordered, embarrassingly enough, an "American Coffee" for what was probably too much money - I'm in transition, okay? Shortly after 10, I got myself a shuttle to my hostel, and got my first taste of what driving is like in Lima. In a few words: a little crazy.
As for the moment, like I said before, I'm ready to go check things out. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but you can expect them to be forthcoming.
Adios,
Esteban
I'm currently at my hostel in the Barranco district of Lima, Peru, and it pleasantly surprised me by having computers with internet access (which are free to use). I doubt that most of the hostels that I stay at will.
Having just arrived, I've got some exploring to do, so I'll keep this semi-short. I did want to send something out, so that you all wouldn't worry!
I flew from San Francisco to Miami yesterday afternoon, and then had a red-eye flight from Miami to Lima. Waiting for the flight in Miami, and surrounded by South Americans all speaking Spanish (which I can more or less, but mostly less, understand), I stood out as the gringo. There was, however, another. I noticed her in the boarding line initially because she happened to have the exact same lime green day-pack from REI that I had. It was comforting to see that someone else was in the same boat as me - the lime green day-pack gringo boat.
As fate would have it, my seat would place me next to a gentlemen, who asked me if I would mind switching seats with his wife so that they could sit together. And that switch would put me sitting next to that very lime green day-pack gringo! So we talked about traveling on the way over, and about what it was like to stick out like a sore thumb, and to be a little intimidated by the idea of getting off of a plane in a foreign country, and things like that. This discussion, also, was comforting because I discovered that she's been to Latin America before by herself knowing less Spanish than me and been just fine.
I would describe my mood upon arriving in Lima as: tired. I know I was probably supposed to say something transcendental about what it was like to step out courageously into the unknown, and be enriched by the experience, but it was 4AM, and I was just tired. One thing I couldn't help but notice, however, was that there were two other white individuals with lime green REI day-packs in addition to their larger backpacking backpacks. It was like we were all trying to be obvious.
Anyhow, since I had to wait around to be able to check into the hostel that I had reservations at, I took a nap in the lounge. I followed the tradition set by a number of people around me and laid across a row of chairs, and got a good 4 hours of sleep in before me and my friends were woken up by a security guard. That's right, I've already been reprimanded by a security guard. It was the first thing I did.
After that, I found my way around the airport - figured out how to get money, use the payphones to call my hostel, and things like that. I ordered, embarrassingly enough, an "American Coffee" for what was probably too much money - I'm in transition, okay? Shortly after 10, I got myself a shuttle to my hostel, and got my first taste of what driving is like in Lima. In a few words: a little crazy.
As for the moment, like I said before, I'm ready to go check things out. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but you can expect them to be forthcoming.
Adios,
Esteban
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
