(From El Fin del Mundo - Ushuaia, Argentina)
Got lots to update, but in the meantime I just wanted to wish all my friends and family Happy Holidays. Off for a Navidad fiesta at the hostal. Hope you all are enjoying the Holiday season too!
After the Mototaxi Junket and leaving the guys in Puno I´ve been steadily moving south. First a 7 hour bus ride to Arequipa where I stayed for a day then took another 7 hour bus to Tacna, a border town in Peru. In Tacna I stayed long enough to grab my things and walk over to the international terminal where I could catch a collectivo taxi to the border of Chile. Imagine 6 adults stuffed in a sedan with no AC on a very hot day with all the windows down and spanish love songs blaring on the radio. I got the lucky spot of center front.
We officially left Peru and then we were dropped off in what was the madness of an employee strike at the border of Chile. I arrived at approximately 3:00pm. I officially passed into Chile at 9:52pm. All I can say is that I was glad to have a book and to have met someone close by that spoke a little English. After bombing into Arica on another collectivo, this time I got to ride in the backseat (with windows down and music blaring again), it was too late to catch a bus so I grabbed a cab into town and found a place to stay.
I had been trying the previous few days to buy a ticket with Sky Airlines down to Santiago on the internet with no success. The Chilean that spoke english at the border said he got the same errors trying to buy a similar ticket. Sky is a domestic airline in Chile that has really cheap tickets if you can actually buy them in advance. There was an office in Arica so I went there as soon as it opened and since I was trying to buy the ticket so soon to the travel date the price was quadruple what it was 5 days earlier when I began my futile attempts. So defeated in that department I picked up my things and got a ride to the bus station where I boarded the next bus to Santiago. It´s billed as a 27 hour bus ride, but mine turned out to be 34 due to various delays. The main delay came at a checkpoint a few hours out of town where employees were striking once again. While they watched movies on the computer in their offices we milled about for 3 hours then they came out, briefly perused the contents of our luggage, and we were on our way again. Far less intimidating than the armed pat down stops in Ecuador, but still mildly annoying given the delay.
More pictures are on my flickr photostream at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14158549@N02
Resting on my laurels in Santiago and getting ready to head off to the coastal town of La Serena for some much needed beach time. Just wanted to give a quick update on where I´m at and what I´ve been up to. More pictures and posts coming soon...
The first ever Mototaxi Junket went off with a few hitches, but it was still amazing. I got to cross the Andes in a Mototaxi with a great group of new friends all while knowing that with your support I was spreading the word about Operation Smile and helping to support their work down here in Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay. For a blog of the event go to: www.mototaxijunket09.theadventurists.com/wondermoto. General news of the Junket can be found the homepage http://www.mototaxijunket09.theadventurists.com/
A tremendous thanks to everyone for their support in this event!
Before racing to Huancayo for the Junket delay I got to enjoy a wonderful time on Lake Titicaca and Amantani Island (Post coming soon) after finishing the Lares Valley trek to Machu Picchu. I finally have pictures up of both excursions at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14158549@N02/sets/72157622504272671/ - Lares Valley and Machu Picchu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14158549@N02/sets/72157622726596652/ - Lake Titicaca
It´s been quite the month in Peru - a real planes, trains, and automobiles (buses, minivans, taxis, and mototaxis) experience. I travelled by bus down to Lima from Ecuador, then to Cusco, then rode the train from the end of the Lares Valley trek to Aguas Calientes, took a bus to Puno, boated to Amantani Island, then in one day boated the 4 hours back, caught a minivan to Juliaca, a taxi to the airport, and flew back to Lima so I could catch yet another bus to Huancayo. From Huancayo I rode my mototaxi back to Puno where I then started my voyage southward to Santiago by bus (42 hours worth of bus). Quite the zig zag route back and forth across Peru. Why not fly you say...Well as Paolo Nutini put it, "I´m short on money and long on time, slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine." So bus it is!
Chile so far has been a breath of fresh air (aside from the many hours by bus it took to get here and multiple border and checkpoint strikes). It´s more expensive than Peru and Ecuador, but more modern as well. I´m staying at a shabby little place next to the beautiful Santa Lucia park before hitting the coast. Looking forward to some beach time before heading south into Patagonia for a spell.
Cheers!
(and definitely not in an Axl Rose kind of way)
Where to even begin... This is one of those unplanned side trips that blew me away and makes me so thankful to have the opportunity to travel and see such amazing things. I decided to stay out of the mountains for the time being, even though Ecuador has many that I would love to stand atop of, and headed down into the Cuyabeno Reserve in the Amazon for a real life episode of Planet Earth.
We were very lucky to have ideal conditions and a stellar guide, Luis, who was not afraid to pursue any wild animal. I got to see an anaconda, a black caiman, a spectacled caiman, a pink river dolphin, yellow spotted amazon river turtles, several types of monkeys, many different birds and insects, and flora that was just amazing.
A few highlights (in addition to all the great sightings listed above) include:
I have pictures posted (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14158549@N02/sets/72157622427378297/), but they don´t do the place justice. It was an experience for all your senses...the smells, the sounds, the sights, the tastes, and textures.
I could go on and on, but I won´t. If you ever find yourself in South America near the Amazon, go! It´s amazing!
I had the fortune of meeting a couple of Norwegians (Magnus and Jan) at the climbing area in Quito. On the way to Old Town that night they asked if I wanted to join them on a mountain biking trip in Cotopaxi at 7am the next morning. Was I game...? Of course!
We got to drive through the park with stunning views of Cotopaxi, the world´s highest active volcano, Rumiñahui, Loma Gorda, and Pamba. There is a lot of flat grassland (paramo) with stunning peaks rising up to incredible heights. Not like the mountain ranges in Washington at all.
We had a brief stop at the museum for a little info on Cotopaxi and the park where we were all informed that Cotopaxi is overdue for an eruption, but not to worry as we had bikes. Apparently there are 50 to 100 seismic events a day that they monitor and warnings are issued if they think it´s going to blow. The big risk to everyone is not lava flow, but water running off the mountain (glacial melt) and picking up all kinds of debris along the way. They believe that the last time it blew, the water took only 24 hours to reach the Pacific Ocean, which is really far away...exactly how far I´m not sure, but it´s far.
When we arrived at the parking lot, 100 meters below the climbers refuge, the wind was blowing so hard you had to lean into it to stay upright. After a brief conversation about do´s and don´ts (like don´t go flying into a blind corner because we´re sharing the narrow road with cars) the fun began, and oh did it ever.
We did 8km of good downhill to the first flat then got off the main road for a little singletrack action. After about 16km, we stopped near a picturesque river with wild horses grazing for lunch. After lunch we wrapped up the riding with another 16km of mostly downhill and flat terrain. I was pumped for it all and had so much fun! It´s great when your guide says stay between mountain x and mountain y.
Big thanks to team Norway, they sure know how to have a good time.
Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14158549@N02/sets/72157622484413256/
So medical treatment here in Ecuador is a little different. As you may have seen from my photos on El Cristal I was eaten alive by every known bug in Intag. They have multiple types of Mosquitoes, tenacious fleas, and a few other little hungry buggers that I have no known name for.
So I ended up with bites up and down my legs, on my feet, arms, chest, stomach, and back. Just about everywhere. This made sleeping and sitting still in general a bit difficult with all the itching. After several restless nights and the discovery of fleas in my bed (they stopped feeding long enough to have a hop onto my book to see what I was reading) I told Blanca that we had to do something. She seemed offended at my suggestion of fleas so the next night I killed a few to show her and the next afternoon I found myself in Penaherrera at a Cabina/store. Blanca did most of the talking and insisted I was having a reaction to mosquito bites. After some back and forth I was ushered into a back room for an injection. After fishing around in my arm for a proper needle position in my vein, the doc or whoever she was told me the injection would have to be given in the booty. Given the constant itching, I didn´t care. A bit of a tingle later I walked out the door with some supplementary pills and my pockets $2.15 lighter. Before leaving I was also instructed to put all my bedding, mattress included, in the sun for the day, and I was to stay out of the sun and take no hot showers. Hot showers? I had to laugh at that one, there´s no hot water, let alone a shower.
At first there was a mild relief from the itching, but I continued to get bitten so the next week I walked the hour and half to Penaherrera and was told that the woman that gave me my previous shot wasn´t there so I needed to go to the Medico 2 streets over. In I went, armed with by basic Spanish. Given the visual nature of my condition it wasn´t too difficult to get across and everyone had response similar to, ¨Ay, moscoes.¨ After 3 hours in the small waiting room I got my turn with the doctor. She spoke a few english words and seemed to be excited to use them. After getting another shot in rear, more pills, and some vitamin supplement she thought would help I was given a cheerful good-bye with instructions to return in 2 days. Much to my surprise, this was a free clinic so no charge.
In 2 days time I would be back in Quito, so I found the medical services I thought would most likely have an English speaking doctor. No such luck. The Internacional Medico was all spanish speaking and more of a hospital, no general services. I was given the location of a clinic down the road and bit and so off I went. Medical services are slightly more here (I´m getting reimbursed 100% by my travel medical so no biggie). After a $22 charge and a 2 hour wait I found myself in front of another doctor. The examination was a little more thorough and he sent me on my way with a slew of prescriptions.
I found a Farmacia on my way back to the hostal and was mildly surprised by the needle and vial I was given. Apprently this shot would be a DIY affair. So back at the hostal I pulled out an anteseptic wipe from my first aid kit prepped the area and got it over with.
I´m happy to report that I am nearly sleeping through the night and don´t seem to be getting new bites. I had all my clothes laundered in hot water to kill off any stowaways, which I noticed a few fleas had hopped aboard for the trip to Quito. Here´s hoping that the sitatuation is remedied in full within the next few days.
...and I WON!
Being in El Cristal for so long I was seriously jonesing for a nice hot shower. I was hoping to get one in my brief stop at Picalqui, but the water was down at the Hacienda again. After arriving in Quito I made my way back to Old Town and while in route to the Hostal I stayed at before spotted an advertisement in a hostal window that caught my eye. Private rooms with bathrooms, Hot Showers, Kitchen, Free Internet, and Free Coffee and Tea - all for the bargain price of $6 a night. I was sold at Hot Shower, however this proved to be one of those instances where my irrational optimism overrode my logic that for $6 bucks it´s very likely to be a tepid shower at best.
After my evening of errands I stripped down and was ready for my long awaited shower. A turn of the handle created a sputter of ice cold water that burst forth from every side of the shower head but down. I turned the handle a bit more each way to see if anything changed...nothing. I´m in a $6 a night hostal so I figure repairs are not likely to be instant or very good. Not wanting to be denied the shower I was longing for I decide to go MacGyver and fix it myself.
In my birthday suit and armed with a small safety pin and my trusty 2¨ swiss army pocket knife I took on the electric Automatica Relajacion shower head. After removing the plastic sprayer cap it was quickly obvious that the holes were all clogged or melted shut due to the cheap plastic construction. I could see where someone had tried to fix it before by applying a bead of silicone around the circumfrence, but that obvuisly wasn´t working. I turned the shower on with out the sprayer cap and got a nice hot stream of water so I knew that at worst, the hot stream would do.
I cleaned the holes that were clogged with the safety pin and cut open the rest. After a good rinse I replaced the sprayer cap and Voila! My hot shower was on, complete with a happy dance and song!
you prepare that encloses the beans in a plastic lined space. The beans are then spread out to be dried by the sun. During this time you hear the constant snap crackle pop of the shells bursting open and releasing the beans. After an ample amount of solar drying long sticks are used to wack the rest of the beans free from their shells. This goes on for quite some time and there is a pause mid wacking to turn over the layer of beans and give the ones on the bottom a chance at brief sun laden freedom. 
ough the shell remants for any whole pods and shake out any loose beans before discarding the shells. Once the top layer of shells is gone you hand what´s left into mounds then scoop them into bags. After this the beans are cleaned, with the help of a little wind power, by repeatedly pouring them from one canasto to another from about shoulder height. As the beans pour down loose non-bean matter is blown away by the wind. After this is completed you then pick through the remants again to get all the beans out as quite a few don´t make it into the other canasto.
ability to use their own language was a rewarding challenge. There were no materials or support so I just had to wing it and draw up my own lesson plans for some basic english vocabulary and phrases. I taught multiple grades, often at once, so the content had to be easy enough for the younger students and interesting enough for the older students. I can´t say that I always achieved this balance. 
myself into! They wouldn´t take their seats, they ran around hitting and kicking each other, and were just generally out of control. The rest of the classes that day went much smoother as many of the older students seemed to have a desire to learn some english or at least a curiosity in the strange foreigner fumbling in Spanish before them. I spoke with the head profesora, Rosa, at the end of the day and explained the hitting and kicking going on in the earlier class and asked about whether they had any classroom rules. She rectified the problem with a small lecture and reminder to all the students about proper behavior at the school. Each day thereafter I had 2 to 4 classes that either consisted of one of 5 smaller groups of students or 2 large groups that would combine the smaller groups for a single lesson. In total I had aboout 35 students that ranged from about 6-12. School runs from 7:30 to 12:30 with about an hour of breaks.
f I was lucky I got one with thicker rope that cut less into my shoulders and/or collar bones. I hauled with canastos strapped with the netting of a bulk produce bag, old electrical wires, and nylon rope. I hauled things I never dreamt I´d be carrying and given the location of their house the loaded trip back was always up hill and no less than a 45 minute trek. I carried beans, yucca, potatoes, camote, a piglet (that squealed, squirmed, and crapped the whole way), an old truck tire (to make a feeding trough for the new piglets), panela, plastic sheeting, and groceries. 
urn on the spigot. Intermittent water was an issue at Blanca´s and at the Hacienda in Picalqui. Having a single water source at the outdoor lavabo (wash station, see photo on the right) meant that you washed dishes, clothes, yourself, and anything else by scooping out buckets of water onto the washing platform. The toilet had a garbage can full of water just outside and a smaller bucket for flushing should you need to. 
I finally got to El Cristal Monday night after 5 + hours of bus travel from Picalqui. It was dark by the time I arrived and my host family lives a good 30-45 minutes from the main and only road in town. (This is such a sleepy little town that the dogs take up residence in the potholes on this road.) The primary method of travel is on foot and they live up on a hill so you follow a path lined with grazing cows and pigs for a bit then hike up a little trail to get to their house.
I was excited to load and post about killing and eating my first (and most likely only) cuye - otherwise known as a guinea pig, my host family in El Cristal, and all the beauty and primitiveness of life in the Intag region. Unfortunately, on the bus back to Picalqui I missed my stop since I fell asleep and had to catch another bus back north. Distracted by watching for the little kilometer signs that would indicate just where I was a sneaky thief got my camera out of my bag. I thought it rather peculiar he exited the bus so quickly in the middle of nowhere and it made sense later as I went to download photos and discovered I had no camera.
After a little luggage shuffling to make weight and a mild paranoia that I wouldn´t be able to enter Ecuador (thanks to nearly every airline employee I spoke with in the US and American Airlines refusal to check my baggage to Quito) I sputtered out of the US and was welcomed, no questions asked, into Quito. Passport stamped!
A quick cab ride and I was in my hostel having cervezas on the terrace overlooking Old Town. The city here is bustling. I much prefer Old Town to the touristy Mariscal district. There is a lot of activity of all kinds going on. For example you´ll find a bakery next to a welding shop, next to an internet cafe, next to a import clothing shop, etc.
Near the hostel are many local places to eat and a bullfighting arena where we got to see a free exhibition...although no bulls were killed. It was pretty nifty and quite a dance those matadors put on.
Today I leave Quito for Picalqui where the volunteer Hacienda is. I´m excited to get out into a more rural part of Ecuador and get a flavor of the culture. While the hostel has been great I feel like I´ve been immersed in British and Australian culture with all the travelers. It´s been pretty fun hearing some of their stories and getting tips on future travels though.
Note: On day one my camera broke so pictures are minimal and hopefully coming soon. I was fortunate enough to find a replacement before heading out of Quito so I should get some good pics of the Intag region.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14158549@N02/sets/72157622132070492/
Finally leaving.
The house is rented, the dog is in a happy new home, and all my worldly possessions are stowed away. Ready or not, I'm off for the year of my life.
First Stop - Quito, Ecuador for a little hostel living and language lessons that will be much needed. Then it's off to the Hacienda on Monday for some farming lessons and more language lessons before arriving at my host family's farm for a month.
More to come, gotta get to the airport for now.
Yippee Skippy! The long awaited last day of work has finally arrived.
Things I won't miss -
After much scheming I've decided to go with individual flights and a South America pass instead of a round-the-world ticket. If you've never heard of a round-the-world ticket it's essentially a ticket priced according origin of travel, number of continents, mileage, and class of travel. The idea is that you leave your destination and travel in a single direction for up to 1 year before returning. There are 3 alliances of airlines that make up round-the-world networks and offer tickets: SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and OneWorld.
Sounds ideal, but when you dream up your itinerary there may or may not be airlines within the alliance that serve the area you want and some ping-ponging from continent to continent may occur which adds up miles (i.e. if you want to go from Capetown, South Africa to Livingston, Zambia you may have to fly through London). You are also limited in the number of flight segments you can take, both overall and within a region.
So after being told I had to go back to the drawing board and rethink my travel desires I decided to take matters into my own hands (with the help of the Internet of course). Thanks to amazing fare search engines like Kayak.com and Mobissimo.com and a regional fare pass from OneWorld, I was able to line up a set of fares to where I want to go and when that are comparable to an RTW ticket, but without the restrictions. I've booked the first leg and the rest will come later as I nail down more definitive time lines. You do run the risk of increased fares, however, with fare monitoring and flexible travel dates you can minimize any potential impact.
Fly on!
With 142 days to send-off the planning stage is ripe with ideas and peppered with tasks. Blog, check.
