Perdido in South America

2009-09-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

The video/slide show is up. Because of size I had to split into 2 files. Please click on below images to view.

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Summation

2009-07-12T08:57:00.004-07:00

Summation I:
It was fun. Not necessarily life changing, especially in the sense of finding my calling or deciding to give my life savings to a charity (although I know many organizations that could really use $27) but possibly life refining to the degree of any 6 months you spend doing anything and likely even slightly more so in a new and different environment, but to be fair and true it really was more simple enjoyment than anything else.

Summation II: Common sense statements, learnings and literary wanderings based on aimless wanders

On this day I find myself starting over this section once again, and as always my gaze wonders from the gnarled up notebook and this time lands on the transparent turquoise of the Caribbean, viewed from a point above, however I can´t seem to see through the clearness, thanks inpart to the rare whitewash to my right and the sun´s reflection blanketing and bounding towards me from left yonder.

My goal of sorts for the last few weeks has been to look through the fun, and jot down learnings, important takeaways and experiences to partly justify the experience (money spent, over 250 hours of bus travel and a few good bouts of food posioning), but really to finally sit down, examine, pick apart and highlight the last 6 months of life... of constant movements where at the time it often wasn´t easy to tell what I was experiecing or that a seemingly normal moment would be one that still impacted me months later.

However, it´s been suprisingly difficult to write, I guess because there is so much to remember and because I´m impacted and learn from the unknown and different and this has been a place where adaption is easy, but rarely truley needed because life here just doesn´t seem that different anymore and has seemed that way for a long time now. Especially ringing true through the tranquil tan encircled gaze at nothingness and absolute natural beauty I´m wearing now, somehow seeing two things at once. But to attempt to fight through the excuses, complacency and fear of coming across as preaching here it goes.

1. My first day in the Bolivian orphanage I saw kids showing off their soccer skills, dragging me by the hand wanting to show me their special place or thing in the facility, laughing at me and making fun of my poor spanish language skills, height, hair color, etc., stealing my sunglasses and wearing them around proudly, and demonstrating how cool they were by breaking the rules. Some kids were outgoing and tried to be at the center of attention. Some shy. And some of the little ones just wanted to hang out hoping to catch the feeling of love from a new, possibly parent aged figure. I felt like I was home.

In my mind the kids here behaved exactly as they would back home.

In fact, the people I´ve encountered in South America just seem like the same normal people I´ve known for years. Sure the adults are slightly molded by the environment, but the differences have been few.

I guess one of the big differences here is that strangers are usually more willing to help you, especially the poor. At first I attributed this to them having less to lose, but I think it´s really the community way in which they live. With poverty sometimes at extremes and personal privacy barely present, these people survive living as a group and it seems normal for them for people to ask for help and them to give it.

In addition, one of the highlights has been meeting, talking with and usually sampling the local beers with travelers from well over 20 countries. It's always interesting to hear their perspectives on politics and country sterotypes, but I've found I have more in common with these people than most back home.

People from different places are really really similar (first common sense statement).

2. While in Lobitos a man selling bread from a basket perched on his shoulder would come by our hostel every morning. It would cost 33 cents for 8 pieces of bread. He couldn´t have made much, his clothes were rags, and I never saw him lose his smile.

On many bus journeys and a few strolls I would find myself in a very poor section of town. Shacks would line the street with gaping holes in the roofs, in the walls, and in the people´s shoes that inhabited them. However, one thing would almost always be a constant in one of these sections of town, tons of people would be outside. Usually congregated around the local store or restaurant, with music shaking through the dusty air, and the people playing a table game of sorts or talking, smiling, and laughing. The joy would be constant... And there is something so much purer in poor joy.

Refreshing to see the cliche living vibrantly around you that money doesn´t make happiness.

3. I´ve encountered far fewer beggars in South America than I have in the US. People want to work. In most places the poor try to at least sell something and earn money.

4. I´ve talked to many travelers who have traveled the world over and it´s interesting the countries they mentioned with the friendliest people - Iran, Afghanistan, Philippines, Laos. For me Colombia has been the warmest and most welcoming, a bit of a surprise given the US´s rocky history of international relations with Colombia and arguably some continued questionable operations within. What´s even more of a surprise is that formally uneducated Colombians can hate the US, know I´m from the US and still separate me from my government and treat me warmly... a tough concept not even always understood by the most educated

Countries aren´t evil and people are different than their governments

5. Travel times have a whole new meaning. For example a 4 hour trip has become a short ride instead of a debate if there is enough time to make the journey for a weekend.

6. With the group I have been traveling with the last few weeks we've debated the highlights of the travels and changes if we did this trip over again. The highlights are many and cover the whole list of countries, different experiences and many people, while barely any regrets surface.

For me all the countries and almost everything was good.

Bolivia was amazing. A wide range of different cultures, beautiful varied landscapes and was amazingly affordable. Peru was also really good and I wish I had another month to spend there and cover whole sections of the country that were completely missed.... But I guess more time could have been used in almost every place... possibly setting up a return visit for one day.

Next
Fly home tomorrow. I might try to put together a video from the travels, but not sure if I have the technical capabilities. Therefore, if I do it I´ll probably post it here in a month, if not, this is it...

Colombia Caribbean

2009-07-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Mud Volcano
Day trip from Cartagena to the largest mud volano in South America

Largest... and apparently best guarded and safest

Los Naranjos
Set off by myself in seach of Caribbean surf to the "town" of Los Naranjos. When I got dropped off I realized it wasn´t a town at all, but instead barbed wire encircled private drives. After getting turned around at one I ventured to the next which happened to be a coconut farm and I found a hammock to sleep in for 2 nights.

Los Angeles Coconut Farm- a good place with basically all you can eat and drink cocos given that you climb up a tree to retrieve them.

The beach - with suprisingly decent surf (not pictured here) and the friendlest local surfers I´ve ever encountered. Waves decent enough to break my board (ripped leash plug out) and then fixed with some resin a guy had on hand.

And I finally got rid of the surfboard, trying to sell it to this great local guy for a few bucks and he forced me to take more.

Parque Tayrona
Arguably the most beautiful Colombian beach and one of the best in the world. Had to hike about 2 hours to get to Cabo San Juan where I slept 2 nights again in hammocks. This time perched on a point with a 270 degree view of the clear turquoise.

Tough to beat lodging

Tagonga
Currently staying in fishing and vacation town of Tagonga eating up days until flying home. In a 3 day open water SCUBA diving certification course.

View of Colombia

Next
Getting SCUBA certified, laying on the beach, drinking incredible fresh fruit juices

Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena

2009-06-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Bogota

Few day stopover in capital city. Walked around town and stumbled across a party on the 30th floor one evening with panoramic city views.

Medellin

Another few day stop, this time in Pablo Escobar´s former hometown. In parts, was the most upscale city of the trip so far.

The perfect utensil for eating chicken - plastic gloves

A rare chance to do something good for the body

Cartagena
Night bus up to the Carribean and the romantic city of Cartagena (especially true if you find it romantic when your significant other is constantly wearing a thin coat of perspiration).

The travel group at the moment on the hotel deck, Michele, Ant, Abdi, Shane.

Playa Blanca

Boat trip to snorkle off the coast of the Rosario Islands and then stayed a night at Playa Blanca.

Slept in hammocks about 20 ft from the clear blue for about $3. I have a deep love for hammocks, a love for taking siestas in them and for what they embody, but found out it´s not the most comfortable way to spend the entire night.

With the beauty come the bugs

Some of the guys left earlier hitching rides of the back of locals bikes

Next

Bumming around the Carribean coast for the next 2 weeks. Re-entry into reality is coming soon, with a return plane ticket having recently been purchased for July 13th.

Ecuador and the start of Colombia

2009-06-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

Montanita
Ecuadorian beach town similar in look and feel to Mancora, but probably had a bit more laid-back vibe in day and fesitive mentality after dark. A good place... unfortunately we arrived on a Sunday night in the off-season so it was quiet and the sea was chop so we didn´t stay long.

Banos
A return to the mountains to a town which is named after it´s hot springs or baths (also the word for bathrooms). Probably rained more in the 5 days we were there than it has in the prior 5 months of travel, so pictures are limited to ensure continued camera operation.

We did visit the hot springs, but they were nothing special and not worth writing about... well except when an English guy I´m traveling with used an elderly lady´s bar of soap for the pre-shower and she didn´t appreciate it, but that was just somewhat typical, confusing and hilarious spanish comedy.

I also did a 3 day white water kayaking course. Two days in a swimming pool and then a day on the river.

Learned to roll over, sometimes it worked...

and sometimes not so much. A good time with the highlight of course being on the river and the highlight of that was coming across 8 or 9 Ecuadoran boys swimming/bathing in the river. After a minute I had 4 of them hanging off of and sitting on the Kayak as I attemtped to paddle downsteam.

The Evil Empire of Colombia
So before the start of this trip (and really for the last 26 years) I´ve read and likely watched the same Colombian news highlights as you of how FARC is running wild and how this drug rich country continuously plots how to poison America´s youth. I had no desire to come here.

However, every person traveling that I talked to that had been to Colombia not only recommended it, but listed it as a highlight, with the most common claim being that the most friendly people residing in the sud americas live in this great dangerous evil empire. After hearing the same praises repeated, I set aside almost a month to travel here, basically ran though Ecuador to make it, and shockingly somehow lost even more faith in the always "objective" American media.

Cali
Toured around the town of Cali for two days. A good stopping point to break up the journey to Bogota, but was a nice big somewhat typical city... probably the richest city I´ve visited in several months. Was also rummored to have the most attractive woman in the world (often aided my modern plastics), but didn´t seem overly superior to other places.

Armenia
Stopped in Armenia to do a coffee tour. Found one about an hour out of town via local busses and then a 2 km walk down a plantane tree lined road.

Bean picker - makes about 15 cents per kilo picked. Picks around 70 - 100 kilos per day.

The winter cafe picking atire

New Zealand guy I´m traveling with, Shane, drying out the beans. Over a two hour tour where we saw and participated in the whole process.

Ant, Shane and I and one of the best cups of coffee I´ve ever had.

Next
Night bus to Bogota tonight.

Lima and Northern Peru

2009-06-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Lima

Esentially a living cesspool.

Stayed in the rich beach-side suburb of Miraflores. Also a cesspool, just with more money, American fast food chains, and an overcast/smog layer hovering over possibly the most polluted and trash strewn beach/sea out there.

Two notable things happened in Lima:
1. Bought used surfboard, wetsuit, bag
2. Rode in the backseat of a cab wedged between 2 prostitutes. Long story, but we assumed they were well intentioned locals, and soon after our 30 minute cab ride began I realized their intentions were slightly different than well intentioned.

Chicama (Puerto Malbrigo)

10 hours north to small fishing and surf town famous for claiming to have the longest left hand wave in the world (2km - 4km rides on a good swell)

For the first 2 days had a bit over head-high waves with a few sponsored surfers in the water and professional photographers on the beach.

The foam stairs: A beautiful long peeling wave with a view from our deck. Other than surfing, ate cheap seafood and slept.

Mancora

North another 8 hours to resortish town of Mancora, white beaches, clear lake-like water and large leafs roofing the restaurants and beach shacks. We were there mid-week in the off-season, so not too much craziness, but a fine place to relax for a better part of a week.

Traveling in style

A bit of an oxymoron - resort hostel where we stayed for about $10 per night

Beach soccer

Lobitos

Small small town about an hour south of Mancora and one of the highlights of the trip so far. Historically a military base. Now a hot spot for off-shore oil. And also a world class surfing beach since El Nino reconfigured the beaches a few years ago, with about 7 waves breaking within 2 miles of town.

View from the one hostal in town

The hostal - $5 per night. With food probably spent between $10 - $15 a day for the 9 days I was there.

A pretty good swell hit while we were there, probably peaking with about 3 foot overhead waves

Small town got a bit crowed when the waves hit. A few videos being shot from the beach.

Now:

Arrived in Montanita, Ecuador yesterday. Another beach town to relax for a few days... a hard life

2009-06-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

...So it´s been a while. I´m still alive. Most of the past 2.5 weeks have been spent in small towns where finding Internet access has been a challenge. For example, in a surf town in Northern Peru now called Lobitos, where just keeping the water running proves to be a challenge. Staying in Lobitos for the swell to hit and then probably off to Ecuador early next week. When I make it to a large city I´ll update this properly.

Machu Picchu

2009-05-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

From Cuzco set up tour to Machu Picchu. 4 day 3 night trip was alternative option to "the Inca Trail" for about 1/3 the price and the ability to make a reservation 1 day instead of months in advance.

Day 1:

Biking. A decent of about 9,000 ft over 55 kms on half asphalt, half dirt roads snaking along the mountain side. Not as steep or extreme as the Death Road, but some good steeps and curves.

The road

The Urban Zone

Day 2:

Hiking along an old Inca trail (apparently 8 Inca trails go to Macchu Picchu).

About half the trek we walked along narrow mountain edge treking trails

And the rest of the time cruised along dirt roads, I believe which were part of the Inca trail system

By far one of the better groups I´ve been part of, with 9 nationalities represented. We stayed in small "hotels" instead of camping and were able to frequent several of the small town/tourist bars.

Day 3:

More Hiking.

A morning winding along a valley floor

And the afternoon of walking along railroad tracks to make it to Aguas Caliente

The highlight of the trip for me was on the third night a guy in our group heard of a side hike up a mountain across the valley from Macchu Picchu. 5 of us from the group climbed up for the sunset (would have been more, but about half the group came down with a food poisoning aliment of sorts).

The first half of the hike was basically straight up on ladders fashioned out of trees and old logs acting as rungs held on by one nail each.

A good shot looking down at the ascent that I stole from Alex. Easily one of the more exteme/dangerous hikes around

The 5 of us and 6 beers at the top. In total there were 8 people at the top of the mountain to see the sunset, slightly more managable than the 4,000 at Machu Picchu.

A slightly less common shot of MP and the road up

And the hike down in the dark

Day 4:

Machu Picchu. Woke at 4 AM to climb the steps up to Machu Picchu.

The ruins

Inca stone

The surrounding mountains

20 hour bus to Lima tonight. The plan is to find a surfboard and explore the surf up the northern Peruvian coast.

La Paz, Jungle, Lake Titicaca

2009-05-09T05:26:00.000-07:00

La Paz

When approaching La Paz at night it looks like sky scrapers encircle the valley center of the city, towering over the few tall buildings that exist in the middle. However, as you ramble closer you see it´s not buildings, but houses and shacks that climb the montains around the city and their lights blanket the valley. These mountainous peaks would be a challenge to climb, yet somehow homes exist.

La Paz is a unique city in many regards... I think. I actually saw very little of the city by day, except if you count 3 out of 5 sunrises I was still awake for. I do know I managed to rack up a hostal bar tab over twice the price of the room (and that bar closed at 1 am), found excuses to celebrate stuff with white people from all over the world, and toured the city via taxi under the late late cover of dark. I don´t even have any acceptable pictures to post from the city, but it is visually attractive.

Besides the late night debauchery, the highlight of the city was the big decent.

Bike tour of "the most dangerous road" ... plunges 11,647 ft over 39 miles. Nicknamed the "Death Road" because so many cars went off the side of this one laner that´s positioned atop a curvy cliff and hugging a mountain side. With the recent opening of a new road few cars still use this road, but bike tourists have continued to justify the name with 3 dying already this year (according to the guide).

No one died from our group but a girl fell off (speed wobbles) and broke her two front teeth in half. The next day another girl from the hostal fell and got a concusion.

A good trip and a big rush

Likely the second most deadly road

20 hour bus trip north to the junlge town of Rurrenabaque. The trip covered only 450 kms so we averaged about 15 mi per hour along one lane cliff roads (for two way traffic) with the only protection being a blaring horn warning oncoming traffic of our approach.

Pampas Tour

From Rurrenbaque went on a 3 day tour in a carved out tree canoe around the Pampas Del Yacuma, a fluvial pain of the Amazon Basin.

We saw some wildlife:

Went Anaconda hunting

How not to hunt for Anacondas, demonstrated by the Swedish girls being terrified of mosquitos

How to hunt for Anacondas (I think) ... unfortunately no Anacondas this day

Went fishing for Piranhas

and swam in the murky waters with river dolphins, not far from where aligators lounged in the sun or lurked just below the water (apparently alligators are afraid of the dolphins). Best quote was from the guide, "En Bolivia, todo es possible, pero nada es seguro." (In Bolivia everything is possible, but nothing is safe)

Sorota

Visited tranquil hillside village of Sorota, hoping to do some mountain biking, but the guide was out of town and I moved on after relaxing for a day.

Lake Titicaca

A few hour stop in the lake-side town of Copacabana before taking a 1.5 hour boat ride to the Isla Del Sol.

Met up with a guy from the Pampas tour and a few others and stayed in a hostal with a great view of the lake.

The room looked a bit like a jail cell, but it was the cheapest room of the trip so far... $2.04

Hiked around island in the morning, about 20 kms

got lost in mountain side farm plots

wondered through small villages

Local gals chatting up the group trying to sell a random mixture of quality homemade goods

Now

Arrived in Cuzco, Peru this morning. Likely venturing up to Macchu Piccu in a few days.

Sucre

2009-04-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

10 Days in Sucre. 10 days well spent. 300,000 person white-walled town was a tranquil setting for more spanish lessons, volunteering, $1 lunches, my first South America professional soccer match and 4 am nights at the gringo bars and discotecas. Shared a room with Shaker (guy from Detroit who is one of the few Americans I´ve meet during the travels and even one of the fewer that I would want to travel with).

The Market

One of the most amazing things I´ve ever seen. Heaps of fruits, veggies, meats, juices all grouped together in their respective family, stretching a whole city block and 3 floors in height.

Prepared lunches ranging from $1 - 2 that is a heaping homemade Bolivian meal. The challenge is fighting off the women trying to lure you in to eating at their table without viewing the whole runway first.

My Casera (women I always got my fresh strawberry juice from for 40 cents for 2 glasses).

The Orphanage
Volunteered in an orphanage of 40 boys, Hogar Sucre, where I played futbol with the kids, helped with homework in subjects that I had hoped I would never see again, and continued my assult of awful Spanish speaking across the Sud Americas.

An amazing facility, especially in terms of the offerings provided in this "3rd world" country. From what I understood, when the kids turn 10 they learn how to work in the metal shop (welding, scuplting, etc) and the wood shop. There is a field of corn and other plants where the kids learn agriculture and I saw many of them weaving (all in addition to going to school). There also are 2 futbol fields, a horse and 3 dogs roaming around. By American standards there are a lot of dangers for the kids to grow up with, but its refreshing to see a place not safty proofing life from an early age.

I gave my camera to the kids and most of the pictures are from them.

The clothes often are "overly worn" and the shoes most likely lack shoe like qualities, but besides this and a different language, the similarities between kids here and there has never been clearer. The same excitement with life, hope and goodness exists within their actions and eyes. It´s even more impressive to embody this spirit with the life many of them have experienced.

Next
Arrived in La Paz this morning and will likely stretch out the birthday celebrations for a few days while touring this city that reaches into the sky.

Bolivia - Tupiza, Uyuni, Potosi

2009-04-15T16:06:00.000-07:00

Bolivia is extreme in many senses of the word. It´s incredibly poor and rugged and beautiful and the first country I´ve visited whos culture lacks clear Western influence. It´s what I wanted to experience during this trip and the degree of poverty at times continues to be unbelievable and the beauty of the culture amazes.

Crossed border at Villazon and paid $135 visa fee (reciprocity at its finest) and was surrounded by markets overtaking streets, offers for $1 home-cooked lunches and wrinkled indigenous faces with blank stares hauling around backpacks made of folded colorful blankets.

Tupiza to Uyuni
Went on a 4 day 4WD tour between Tupiza and Uyuni with Shane (New Zealand) and Ant (UK). Most of the trip took place between 12,000 and 15,000 ft (altiplano region) where chewing on the ounce of coca leafs we bought for 70 cents from a corner store before the trip helped ease altitude sickness (note: coca leafs are legal and aren´t cocaine). Stayed in small adobe walled and straw roofed villages and one night a hotel made completely out of salt. Saw red rock formations (similar to Bryce NP), gysers, lagunas, deserts, more flamingos and llamas than you can count and the salt flats... which are amazing and almost indescribable

Getting schooled in futbol by the girls in the first town where we stayed

Small village hut

Laguna Verde

Flamingos

Salt Flats

Crazy perspectives of the salt flats as I crush Shane (image not altered)

Potosi
Took a night bus to Potosi (7.5 hours, $5). Laughing when our bus showed up and they started throwing bags on the roof and exhausted by the end of the trip. All seats taken and I had a women sleeping against my legs and a woman sleeping against hers, etc. Since no bathroom on bus it stopped halfway and everyone (men and women) used parking lot and road as the restroom.

Potosi Cooperative Mine Tour
Went on tour of famous Potosi Cooperative Mine. Famous for numbers of deaths it´s caused (believed to be over 8 million people in the last few hundred years) and continued unsafe working practices. Before arriving at mine stopped at a corner store in town to buy miners gifts... gifts included coca leafs, 96% alcohol and dynamite (yes they sell dynamite at the local corner store).

Ant, me and Shane before going under. Toured the tunnels and talked to miners for 3 hours about 300 ft underground.

And you think your job sucks: This guy had to take out 60 of these carts per day, each weighing about 1 ton. He works about 13 hours a day and makes 50 Bolivianos for his efforts ($7 USD per day). Most miners start working as teenagers and often die within 10 or 20 years from breathing in the noxious gases and dust.

Sucre
In the "modern" city of Sucre now. Likely will stay a week to study spanish and tour the surrounding area.

San Pedro de Atacama and Salta

2009-04-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

San Pedro de Atacama

Explored this 16 block or so dirt road oasis town for a few days with the Dutch twins (Franca and Lieke) that I met in Caldera. All the buildings seem to either be hostels, restaurants or tour operators but somehow this pueblo manages to avoid most of the tourism tackiness that usually follows the foreign herds.

Rented bikes for 3 days to explore the surrounding landscape that has a strong resemblence to the red rocks of Southern Utah.

Valley de la Luna with salt floor

Great mountain biking trail that wound its way along canyon floor

Franca cruising under and through the turn

The perks of traveling with girls
Biked out of town in seach of a lagon with directions scribbled on a scrap of paper (i.e. turn right at the tree). 40 kms later we shockingly ended up in middle of desert / middle of nothingness (pictured below) far away from water. I headed back to town for a siesta while the girls continued to search out this pool of earth´s life blood.

Well soon after I left the girls got a flat tire and just happens the first car with 3 Chilian guys hit the brakes and gave the girls a ride back to town. The hombres were on their way to a hot spring and invited the girls to come along and somehow I ended up being "invited." Anyway the guys were great and we lounged in the hot springs and then went out to dinner with them. After dinner we drove again out of town, kicked the truck into 4WD, drove around a national park gate, and drank wine by ourselves in park usually quite crowded during normal hours starring up at the sky.

Walter, Hector, Hans, Franca and Lieke at the hot springs

Also, lucked into a free star gazing tour out of town with some large telescopes (this area is rumored to be one of the best places in the world to look up at night)

Salta
A largish town (500,000ish) with a authentic but friendly vibe. Highlights include being the only tourists at a local market and eating cheap, doing laundry for the first time in a month (a much needed thing since I only have 2 shirts), Asados (BBQ) on the hostel roof, playing in pretty competitive soccer games organized by the hostel with people from Argentina and the international futbol powerhouse nations, and listened to one of the better international complaint session about America from several who had started imbibing early in the afternoon.

Next
Taking a night bus tonight to the Bolivian border and crossing tomorrow. Franca and Lieke are staying in town and I´ll be traveling the next bit with a guy from England and a guy from New Zealand that I met at the hostel here.

ps, I´m running on 2 hours of sleep from a BBQ that went late into the night so if any of the above doesn´t make since this could be why.

Valpo - La Serena - Caldera/Bahia Inglesia

2009-03-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Valparaiso

Studied spanish for a week and stayed with a Chilian family up a steep coble stone and dirt street lined with a mix of multi-storied brightly painted houses and small tin walled and roofed shacks squeezed in where space allowed. Took a few breaks from school while in town and visited Pablo Neruda´s house (Chilian poet and communist figure), treked up through graffiti walled streets to a sanctioned "open air graffiti muesum" that displayed less artwork than the ascent, and visited touristy Vina Del Mar (beach 15 minutes to north).
Highlight of town was staying with the family. Two nights they had family or friends over and included me in festivities. Early in night I could communicate a bit as questions were said slow and repeated often. Later in the evening the words flowed like the wine and cheap beer being thrown back and I was reduced to the ever smiling, ever oblivious tourist.

La Serena

Stayed in beach town 2 nights 7 hours north of Valparaiso. Water was too cold to swim, but highlight was playing in a beach soccer game with 6 Peruvian and 3 Brazilian guys.

If you can zoom in on picture you can see first hand the complete awesomeness of the zip off shorts... once again coming through in the clutch.

Two of the Peruvian guys invited me to the bar with them later in the night to watch the World Cup qualifying match between Chile and Peru. After a bit of thought I decided I valued my life too much and skipped out on the invitation.

Caldera and Bahia Inglesia

Yet another 6 hour bus ride to the north (Chile is a long country) I currently find myself in Caldera. A town supported by fishing and tourism, with the summer tourist boom having been over by almost 2 months now. I´m exploring the town with two girls from Holland that I met on the bus and we stayed in a hospedaje in the middle of town with only two others last night.

Just a few kms down the beach and pictured below is Bahia Inglesia, a traquil resort town to the core with empty streets this time of year, minimal restaurants and hotels open and clear water lapping at the shore. A good stop for an afternoon.

Next
Taking a night bus tonight to the northern desert town of San Pedro de Atacama. Should have a few more pictures in the next posting. Is it really almost April?

Valparaiso and a quick mention of Santiago

2009-03-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Since there isn´t too much to report on from the last week below is an excerpt (possibly slightly over-written) from the journal...

As I write this, sitting on one of many steps that cloth a large portion of Valparaiso´s hills, I can gaze through the fog and smog and blaring 90´s pop music to capture a blurily visible 8-sided straight-edge cutout of the Pacific pasted between color-clad row houses on the horizon. In the foreground are colors and wires. Lots of overhead wires that jut out to attach to anything, and maze their way above the coble streets and dirt roads acting almost like chains. One of many components keeping complete "beauty" from entering this city, but also successfully managing to lock-in authenticity from above.

Authenticity well deserved as a port city I can view in minature fashion on my free glossy 4-color tour bus company map with a half-halo of freshly inked black "X´s" indicating barrios to avoid. However, everywhere I´ve gone there has been colors climbing the hills and no black smears yet, in this brighter, more extreme and much poorer replica in a sense of San Francisco.

A few days ago I was in Santiago which the best description I can think of is "a big non-descript city" (I´ve never been a city person though). The highlight of my time there was when I opted not to pay $1.25 for a train ride to the top of a mountain in the middle of the city and instead walked up the road. After 20 mins or so I started talking to a passing biker and over the next 4 kms he slowed his peddle and I quicked my pace, and we both talked horribly in the other´s language about many things (some of which I still don´t know). At the top I was met with a fine, yet smog filled view of the sprawling city and surrounding mountains and of course verbal exhaustion.

Next up:
I´ll be staying in Valparaiso for the next week, and hope to piece many of the vocabulary words I´ve been learning from traveling and reading kids books together... through formal Spanish classes and in discussions with the Chilian family I will be living with for at least 6 days. Should be interesting to escape the comfort of English tounged companionship found at almost every hostel. It also wll be interested to see how bright the city´s colors appear at the end of the week.

El Bolson - Bariloche

2009-03-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

El Bolson

A much needed place to relax we thought for 2 days that instead turned into 7. Took in the hippyish market, town´s plethora of home-made ice cream and microbrews and blackberry bushes linning the hillsides.

4 day hiking trip in surrounding mountains - landscapes weren´t as epic as the south, but will fondly remember for two reasons.

1. the Water - Pictures and words do not give it justice, but here it goes anyway... Glacial fed, winding through to dot the bottom of the curvy valley´s "V", clear to this translucent blue hue, where the trout swim just below the surface. Criss-crossed by suspension bridges with broken boards that act as the one way to make the ascent possible and also a fine entry point into manhood reducing clear blue refreshment.

2. the Refugios - Stayed in these mountain-top/river-side huts/shacks instead of camping. In other places refugios are often nice huts at the side of a camping trail where you can stay in realitive luxury and recharge. These refugios were people homes of sorts, constructed largely out of materials from the forest and 6 hours and 3,000 ft up "the hill" from town. We slept on a old mat on the floor for $6 - $10 per night.
Some of the construction of the cabins is reminiscent to 1800´s carpentry and is truly remarkable while other parts like using trash for repairs is a bit interesting. They also make their own food and more importantly brew their own beer. The beer actually wasn´t that good in flavor, but when you drink it sitting next to a glacial stream as the sun goes down, there isn´t much else better.

Suprised I haven´t seen the passion for soccer I was expecting, however, this field a 6 hour hike up and an hour down from a glacier is impressive dedication

Bariloche
2 hours north to the "large city" of Bariloche. Michele and I and an Australian guy Tim that we met at the Hostel rented a car and toured the siete lagos (7 lakes) for 2 days.

At one point we went through a military checkpoint while I was driving and got stopped. So my spanish is still "a bit iffy" and when there is pressure it´s non existent. So I understood that the military guys were asking me if I had any drugs in the car. I meant to say, "no, I don´t have any" but instead I said, "no, i don´t have the drugs anymore". So the dog went through the car and the bags and luckly, it was true, no drugs.

Day Hike up to Frey Refugio just out of Bariloche

Crazy clear/blue lake, the border looks dirty but it´s just that the water is so clear and somewhat shallow you´re looking at the bottom

As a final note - I need to pass along my thanks to Michele. We´re headed our separate ways for now, but over the last 2 months or so of traveling together she was my spanish professor, (although I´m not sure if that is a good thing for the resume), translator, pseudo mother of sorts of a sick "child" with mountain top food poisoning and more importantly good friend.
Auf Wiedersehen. Au Revoir. Adios. Widerluege. Laew phob gan mai. Goodbye

Fitz Roy and a 30 Hour Bus Ride

2009-03-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

El Chalten / Fitz Roy

Arrived in this small Argentian town (likely the same line I will use on almost every posting with a different country name inserted) which has many hiking trails for the Fitz Roy mountain range leaving from several points of town. Did a 3 day backpacking trip around the park and a longer day hike. Incredibly lucky again with deep blue skies.

Hiking (unfortunately you can´t see the beard which is growing in nicely)

Highlights included:

Picking the way along the a river bed and then climbing over bolders for 1/2 a mile to have our own front row seat to a glacier and glacial lake.

Climbing a pass and experiencing the furor of the Patagonian winds as people were dropping to all fours at the summit not to be blown away (lake pictured above, just below pass)

Climbing over 3,000 ft in less than 3 hours, the last hour off the trail and almost straight up, to have a 360 degree view from the peak of a mountain

34 Hour Bus Ride
Patagonia in context - taking a 34 hour, largely dirt road bus trip north and passing though maybe 3 places you can call towns (actually 34 isn´t a fair number as this is the time the bus office claimed, however, with the bus arriving over 2 hours late (we were the origination point) and an unexpected 3 hour bus transfer we still made it in just under 30 hours). An interesting trip though as it had hints of the Kerouacian era route 66, but you can feel the tourist boom to this area coming in the fresh dirt and asphalt currently being laid parellel to the old route.

A common view out the front windshield

Now in a town called El Bolson, and I´m sure you already guessed it but it also has great hiking, but slightly different landscapes. The town is very organic/hippish and has several microbrews I´ll be sampling tonight.

El Calafate and Torres Del Paine

2009-02-25T06:21:00.002-08:00

El Calafate
Arrived in this south west Argentian town about 2 weeks ago. Nothing overly special about the town except that it acts as a base camp to Patagonian wilderness.

Spent a night in Lago Roca, walked around a huge ranch and caught the first glimpes of Patagonia mountains and vastness.

Michele and I on a day trip to Los Glaciares National Park. Beauty in a tour bus image thivery kind of way.

Torres Del Paine National Park - Chile
Crossed into Chile to visit this famous national park.

Took on the 8 day, 100+ km backpacking trek around the W trail with my 40 liter day backpack, Michele´s 65 liter "backpack" (duffel bag with shoulder straps), rented tent with broken zippers, 8 days supply of food, 1.5 liters of wine, Michele´s extra pair of shoes which I discovered later in the trek, and unpredictable weather whiping through with the constant winds, changing in a moment from sun to rain and snow at higher elevations.

Landscapes

One of the most beautiful valleys I´ve seen. Unfortunately also one of the worst places to experience food poisioning while camping at night (luckly the last night) and hiking down the next day devoid of liquids and life.

Next up crossing back to Argentia and heading a few 100 kms north to El Chalten for another multi-day backpacking trip around the Fitz Roy.

Uruguay

2009-02-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

Tried to post sooner, but today is first time I had Internet quick enough to post multiple pictures ... likely will be a recurring theme throughout the trip.

Went to Uruguay to basically to take a vacation from the vacation after a grueling week of spanish lessons in BA and with multiday trekking trips in Patagonia looming in the almost visible horizon. An amazing, relaxing country and experience...

Colonia

Took 3 hour ferry from BA to Colonia. A picturesque cobbled street town on the water, with old buildings and open air restaurants

Manantiales

A small beach town a 15 minute bus ride north from rich and touristy Punte Del Este. Met a guy on the bus that insited on helping us find our hostel and taking us out for a coffee (Still a bit paranoid of people being overly friendly but only slightly now).

Highlight of the town were the waves, A-frame, head-high to 4 ft overhead, "one of the best days of the year." Had my leash snap for the first time about 300 yards from shore and luckly got a few offers for rides in. This is the picture from the day before of a guy surfing when the waves were smaller.

Punte Del Diablo

Planned to stay in this small sand road fishing/surfing village for 2 nights, instead stayed 5. Complete beauty. A national reserve to the north leaves endless kms of unbuilt beach.

Stayed at a hostel in an 8 bunk dorm room in a small shed behind the house where you wake up because mosquitios are biting you, however, the view from the deck (below) and 1 minute walk to the water easily makes up for the discomfort.

A steady diet of wood coal cooked seafood and meat and wine and cervezas. Pictured (from right) Michele, Two French guys we traveled with a few days, Santiago the Argentinan surf instructor and Sabena a German Woman

A beautiful town and the beautiful common bathing atire

Cabo Polinio

A small small town a bit south of Punte Del Diablo. The bus drops you at the side of the road and the only way to get to the village is a 20 minute 4-whd ride along sand roads and the beach. At the end you are dumped in the "middle" of this small hut/cabin community that is situated on a point jutting out in the atlantic.

Both places Michele and I stayed had no electricty and manual flush toliets where you fill up a bucket from a well and pour it in the toliet.

The crazy/beautiful places you stay while traveling on a budget

typical afternoon

Probably would have stayed longer but neither of the last 2 towns had an ATM so had to move on.

La Pedrera

Yet another beach town, but bigger... 2 or 3 paved roads. Felt like we were at the epicenter of commerical beach culture after the last week.

Next up

Flying down to El Calafate tomorrow

Buenos Aires

2009-01-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

BA has treated me well... a fun, safe, beautiful big city that feels more European than South American. This is probably one of the most expensive stays of the trip and I think I still only went over the $30 daily budget one or two days... including dinning on fine steaks most nights and sampling many liter cervezas. The drivers are crazy (at least twice as crazy as the cabs in NYC) but every person I´ve come in contact with has been incredibly warm and welcoming.

Went to an Argenitian folk concert the other night which was by far one of the highlights of the time in the city. The band we saw was Onda Vaga (check out band link http://www.ondavaga.com.ar/)

The hostel I´ve been at has a roof deck, perfect for socializing and drinking beers with people from all over the world. I´ve already met/toasted with people from 14 countries and counting.

Tomorrow I am off to Uruguay which I believe is really the start of the trip. The plan is to hop from town to town (if you can call some of them towns) up the coast. There is not a plan from there except to make it down to Patagonia while it is still summer. I´ll be traveling the next leg of the journey with a Swiss woman, Michele, I met here and who will likely get many good laughs as I struggle to speak this second language for me (she speaks 5).

Street soccer court in La Boca

Common Street Market

The land of Tango... somewhat of a Tango pose with Michele at a famous restaurant/theater

2009-01-26T04:31:00.000-08:00

To begin and explain:

Perdido = Lost
"Lost" has many degrees
I guess the objective or goal of this trip (which I have tried to avoid setting) is to get lost (ranging in the full spectrum of degrees) in another part of the world, another culture, another experience... this is likely one of the more attainable goals I´ll ever have given there are no real plans, no timelines, and no real contraints except a lack of money and limited spanish language skills, which likely will make ¨getting lost" that much easier...

"in South America" = the region to get lost in and star of this story (understanding "en sur america" would be propper espanol para no hablo español bien y escribo muy malo)

Keeping with the spirit of the trip and aforementioned goal I have no idea how often I will update, however, to track my aimless wanderings I think you can click the subscribe button and be notified when/if new entries are posted (not sure exactly how it works).

I had serious reservations about creating this world wide web peering glass into my life, but have been suprised by the positive response and interest I received regarding this trip... therefore, here it is. I´m going to try to treat this as a journal of sorts, so if you´re offended easily or are considering hiring me upon my return and swashbuckling tales of all night drinking and irresponsibility might negatively effect your decision then please don´t follow.

Also, hopefully this is the longest entry and I plan to let the pictures and capitions save me from the heavy literary lifting.

Day -1: The sack of stuff and a clean shaven version of me