Back in South America!

Hi again folks--

That´s right, I am back in South America! Ok, so I am actually sitting here in the hostel in Bogota getting ready to head to the airport in a couple of hours to head back to NYC yet again, but I have been back here in Colombia travelling with Shannon for the past couple of weeks. She left early this morning for her flight, which mostly means she will probably actually make it back to the states today. I, on the other hand, have an afternoon flight, which means I should arrive in the states within 72 hours or so.

I know this because that is how my trip to get back to Quito started off. I boarded a flight in NYC for a 3, or rather 7, hour flight to Miami. We cruised down there for a while, saw a spot of rain, and then decided to hang out in Palm Beach for a couple of hours. Note to self not to sit near the bathrooms again, as when you have people on a plane for twice as long as you are intending to, well, let´s just say that odor starts to creep out......anyhow, we finally move on to Miami, where my flight is delayed by an hour. This is OK, as virtually everyone else on the plane missed their connetions. Well, the one hour delay turned into 7. They finally put us on a plane, and after waiting 45 minutes to pull away from the gate they announce there is a ¨strange piece¨ inside one of the engines and they are hoping to scavenger up a new plane to take us to Quito. We wait another hour or so and mysteriously a spare plane materializes out of nowhere and off we go. Or off goes us and most of our luggage. My luggage enjoys a two day holiday in Miami before deciding to join me in Quito so we can move on to Colombia.

Colombia is, as always, an entertaining time. Some good memories for us to enjoy are such things as the waitress in Pasto, who, when Shannon asked for some chocolate ice cream for desert, gives us a look, disappers, turns up with two dishes of unidentified desert and says ¨this one is for you, this one is for her, eat it, you will like it, it is delicious¨. One desert was a cake and the other was a custard of some kind--good stuff, but not exactly ice cream. Another fun time was chatting in the back of the bus from Ipiales to Pasto with my new Colombian friend Jose, who is asking me about my taste in music, while telling me his favorites are Kansas and White Lion. Now I know all these folks are stuck in the 80´s, and the brand new Iron Maiden t-shirt I could have bought yesterday just underscores this, but are those really the best two bands he could find? I did my best to convince him they were both top notch. We did, at least, agree on the musical merits of the Scorpions.

Shannon, unfortunately, fell ill right before a 10 hour bus ride through the Andes to Cali. Considering the fact that it was also probably the 4th time we had crossed this mountain range in two days, and as they always do in Colombia--passing other cars on the curves and then slamming on the brakes when we go around a curve in the left lane and are confronted with a large truck coming at us about 15 feet away, this did not make for a comfortable day for Shannon. We later met some people from Cali, and the both of us are trying to smile (but mostly we probably looked pained and constipated) and say how nice that is with the recent memory of that city in our minds. No offence to the lovely Caleños we have met, but that town is a shithole if I have ever seen one. I would provide more details, but really don´t think there is any point.

Anyway, we got to go to Salento which you folks know is my favorite town in Colombia, so that was fun. We also did some time in Bogota and Villa de Leiva, which as lovely as it was, was rather disappointing as the town square (apparently one of the largest in the Americas) was also the most barren thing I have ever seen, constisting only of the rocks that make up the ground.

We did go see some live salsa music, which turned out to be an event so tramautic I can´t even go into details yet....

Beginnings, endings, and knowing the difference

Hola again armchair travellers!

So here I am back in los Estados Unidos! I must say that returning home has bought on a number of conflicting emotions, very similar to what I was feeling when my trip was ending in Patagonia. I have done some time in the south and so have had the opportunity to do such things as honk for Jesus and eating my weight in all things fried.

But my return to NY has been strange. As happy as I am to be home, I am also feeling like perhaps this is not my place anymore, or perhaps more accurately I am just wondering where I fit. Perhaps I have outgrown it, as I do with every place I go after a while. The other day I took a walk in the park and got to hear such things as one of the UES moms saying to the kids “want to see the rats?” and a couple sitting next to me on a bench wondering if dogs get anorexia. Now you all know I am prone to odd considerations, but canine anorexia? Really. I felt for perhaps the first time in a long time that I could not relate to these people, which of course brings on the wondering if I ever did relate to them. Funny NY things that I have seen already...Barbara Walters having lunch near ABC the day she came out with what was apparently was a big bombshell about her affair with a black senator, raccoons following me in central park (this is odd, even by NYC standards), and “regular” coffee, meaning that it comes with sugar and milk unless you say otherwise.

And so here I am left to contemplate what was before, what will be again, and what will be next. I have spent so much time in my life thinking that my constant need throughout my life to move on to whatever is next is a fault, and have realized that perhaps it is not a fault as much as just a state of being for me, and that there is nothing wrong with it. As with all things we think about ourselves as a fault (like having fat thighs, for instance) you end up just stressing about it and thinking there is something wrong with you, rather than just saying that this is something that is different about me from other people, and it is what it is. Perhaps this is the reason why I end up leaving all my romantic relationships and not seeking out new ones now—this need to always be changing locations, people, jobs, and myself. Perhaps I am terrified of meeting someone great and someday feeling that need to move on...but I digress.

I realize I truly am excited and come alive when I am planning something new. A new job, new travel, or moving to a new place. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with this, and the piece I always think in missing in finding happiness in wherever I am is simply that my nature is to always be seeking something different. And there is nothing wrong with this because the world is huge, and there are many different things, people and places to do, and my nature is to experience as much of it as possible in this short time we are allocated on planet earth.

And so enough of that for now and we will just spend a moment reflecting on this year. Let's start with a few things I have learned this year, such as I am not talking myself into things anymore. Either they are right, or they are not right. This includes jobs, dates and clothes. Either it fits or it doesn’t and if I am feeling that it doesn’t in some fashion, I am simply making the decision it is not right and moving on. I am not making apologies for myself, which does not mean I will not apologize for my behavior when it is inappropriate, as it is for all of us at one time or another. Other lessons, while possibly not so profound, include such things as:

1. Don’t take a minibus in the wee hours of the night from Bogotá to western
Colombia with drunk people if your language ability is not stellar.

2. Don’t take airsickness pills just a few minutes before getting on a small
plane.

3. If the sign says “Comida Mexicana” it most certainly is not.

4. Serving rice and potatoes at one meal is acceptable in many parts of the
world.

5. Hardboiled eggs can be mixed in with anything, and often are.

6. Tarantulas always come back.

7. All conversations will eventually lead to whether or not you have a boyfriend

8. Any bus that says express will not be (including in NYC!).

9. Yes, Ham is a vegetable—especially at customs.

10. The real trick is determining the age of the llama you are bargaining for.

And then there are these other things, that are just things that I have done and a few highlights of the great experiences I have had....

1. Pushed my body to physical limits with extended treks climbing mountains and
descending into valleys. And having to climb back out again!

2. Had great sex…..and also had my heart broken.

3. Adjusted to living in a world where I did not understand 60% (or more) of
what was going on 100% of the time.

4. Hiked on glaciers.

5. Paraglided over coffee fields, tobacco fields, and oceans.

6. Watched the sun rise at 5,000 meters (over 17,000 feet for those of us
metrically inept)

7. Gone searching for caimans and snakes in the night.

8. Made cocaine, while avoiding the guerillas who think it their own.

9. Eaten a common pet.

10. Gotten attacked at Carnaval.

One of the things I haven't done is get sick--and I am not sure how I pulled that off while everyone else was puking or having the shits in the bathrooms of a number of shady hostels. Bolivia you know who you are. And I also didn't find myself in any compromising positions in which I really felt unsafe (other than that one in Peru which was totally not my fault!), and this after I have had a number of stalkers in different countries.

There are so many other things I have encountered and learned this year, and while I don't have time to go into them all, I know you all have been following my blog this past year so know what many of them are and that I don't need to. I also know that the longer I am here, the harder it is to reflect and so will go ahead and post this for now. I will probably do a last follow up to put down more thoughts and things to reflect on, especially from a perspective of being back in the EEUU and so will keep you posted on when to look for it. In the meantime, thanks for all your support and sharing this year vicariously, and will leave you with a couple of last photos from my last nights in BsAs watching the fabulous salsa dancers at a Cuban club in Buenos Aires, and a couple of pics from my first place back en los estados unidos, courtesy of my new friend Annie whom I met in Colombia and again in Ecuador at her home in Miami.

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Returns/?albumview=slideshow

And thanks again to all the amazing people I have met this year whom have made this trip amazing and all of you on the US end that made this possible, including friends, family, and the world's most amazing subletters. Yo tuve muy muy buena suerte y gracias por todos mis chicos!

One of my favorite quotes this year is from Gavin, from Ireland, made in Bolivia. He said “the cigarettes are so cheap, is seems rude not to smoke”. And while I am not here to make a case for smoking, I am going to use this quote to my own devices. I am not a religious person, but this does not mean I don’t believe in a higher power of some sort, a sort of which I don’t believe humans really have the capacity to understand. What I can say at this point is that I have a very blessed life, for living in the country I do and having the advantages I have. So to whatever powers are responsible for my life, one thing I can say is that I have so many opportunities and advantages in this life that most other people on the planet never have, and because of this, it would be rude of me to live a life of discontent.

Susanna

My final dinner here in Buenos Aires--yes it is going to be a ham sandwich! With a steak!

So this pervasive melancholy feeling that has been surrounding me for the last week or so and made my behavior not such a favorable sight to behold (you know who you are and again I apologize) has apparently followed me to Buenos Aires. I arrived here from Bariloche on Saturday, and for the life of me can´t seem to find anything that can make me happy. Which is really unfortunate as I came back here a bit early in order to do and get a few certain things that I simply have not been able to find since I got here!

I am actually afraid to call my friends here and subject them to my current behavior, and am not sure how to get out of the funk. I guess with the impending departure I am feeling all the mixed feelings other travellers have told me about.

While I am excited to go home and see friends and family and get started on whatever may be next for me--and the prospects are great--I am also feeling sad of course about ending my travels, leaving new friends I have made, and maybe a little bit unsure of how to make the adjustment back to ¨normal¨ life. This is my life now, and even Buenos Aires, which I love dearly, is failing to snap me out of this current mood I am in.

Perhaps these feelings stem from a very poor mistake I made back a few days ago. I admit it friends: I took another Andesmar bus. I know Shannon is going to kill me when she hears this saddening news, and in my defense, I thought I was purchasing a ticket for Tur Bus, but they stuck me on the Andesmar crossing the border from Chile into Argentina. The ride itself was not bad, but can you believe these people had the nerve to not even serve a ham sandwich as a snack??!!

Anyway, back to now. The city is different, as I guess are all places when you leave and return. Walking around the city the other day, I couldn´t quite put my finger on what was so different. I finally realized that the street signs, which used to be sponsered by the Personal cell phone company with a blue banner on top, have been replaced by the Claro cell phone company´s red banners. A little thing, yes, but enough to put me out of my element and not sure what is going on. Favorite restaurants have closed, and new ones have opened in locations of previous clothing stores. Even the local dogs are out of sorts. Normally they act like they are on their way to a party, the office, or the home of a friend, but today there were some running around barking and growling at people...very strange.

But also, as always, the city has not failed to make me laugh. Cruising toward the centro to find my faovrite pants in a smaller size (this is a purchase not to be apparently) I came upon Plaza de Mayo and what was evidently some kind of waiter contest. There they were, cruising the loop so to speak, decked out in their waiter uniforms, carrying a tray containing a pepsi, a bottle of water, and of course a full glass of the ever-present-in-Argentina Tang, which these people have convinced themselves is actual orange juice. Just going around in circles apparently all afternoon. There did not appear to be any signage of any kind, other than the usual headlines about the Malvinas war veterans shoddy treatment by the government, which would explain the behavior of these waiters. Assumingly they were not there just because they had nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon......

Other things I have filled my time up with recently are things like getting down to Michael Jackson and the Village People at the hostel party the other night, travelling through the Lake District near Bariloche in a car I rented with a new friend, watching said friend get down to Barry White in the middle of the street in Bariloche, being terrified by some animal from the llama family as it ran straight toward me in the car, and once again seeing some amazing views.


So I am off to the airport in a couple of hours to head to Miami where I get to relax for a couple of days with a new friend on a boat watching the sun set and putting away some margaritas....can´t think of a better way to end this trip! It has been a great year and I am looking forward to doing some reflecting on the year´s experiences and lessons learned. Soon I will post some more pictures from my last night here in Buenos Aires at the Cuban salsa club and also hoping some fun pics of us chicas hanging out in Miami. In the meantime, here are a couple from recent days.

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Mas%20Argentina/?albumview=slideshow

Who does this shit?

Hiking on glaciers in Argentina. Kicking the tops of coffee plants while paraglding in Colombia. Jumping off bridges in Ecuador. Sandboarding in Peru. Climbing out of mud during a landslide while mountainbiking in the rain in Bolivia. Horse trekking in the rainforest of Chile. Riding in the back of an ambulance in Uruguay. Who does these things, you may ask?

Before we answer that question, lets think of some other things I do....occasionally I get massaged and polished by strange men. And I pay them. Occasionally I don´t pay attention and get covered in presents leftover on the streets by the local hounds. Often I walk many kilometers in a day, during rain, snow, and unbearable heat. More than a few times I got completely covered in mud when caught off guard. I have smelled things on the streets of South America whose origins are something that I don´t care to think of. I have seen more this year than many people do in a lifetime.

Who am I? That´s right friends, I am a pair (yes its a plural and let´s not get particular about the language now people!) of Timberland hiking boots, style number...well apparently that has worn off and anyway is no longer important in my identity. I was born in some factory somewhere, and sold by a snobby salesman at the Tip Top shoe store on W 72nd street in New York City sometime in 2004 or 2005. Sold on sale I might add! The shame of it! But we won´t go into my personal issues just now (sniff).

Prior to this year, I did a bit of walking around New York City, but mostly just hung out in the closet waiting for my big break. Well, it came when blondie decided to take this trip and that she was too cheap to buy a new pair when she had a perfectly decent pair sitting right under her nose. About time, I think!

I have had a great year doing some amazing things in South America, even though recently I sustained a personal physical trama when working my way out of the aforementioned mud in Bolivia. I have cracked a bit and am taking on water. I am praying blondie is not sitting here as we talk thinking I should be replaced! Just think--fired, and after all we have been through together! Maybe some kind soul from Timberland is out there reading this right now, hearing my pleas for help and will offer to have me fixed for free. If anyone is in the know of any of those folks, please put in a good word for me. Down below, you will find a link (well, what passes for one anyway) of some photos of me on my exploits in Chile. But for now, I will leave you with a word from our sponser....

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Chile/?start=0

Quick note I see about the photos..apparently not only does the hyperlink on Blogger not work, also the photos that I rotated don´t bother to rotate in the slideshow either, so will put up the link to the photos and you can view them however you like.

Hello again armchair travellers! I see the boots have taken on a plea for help into thier own hands. Hmph, and after all I have done for them this year, there is just no trust! Anyway, enough about our issues for now. Hugo if you are reading this, there might be some sort of advertising gimmick in there for you I am sure!

Here I am back in Argentina after crossing the final frontier (haha) yesterday from Chile back into Argentina. I am hanging out here in Bariloche where I have big intentions of doing some kayaking. Intentions that might be foiled by the wind and there has even been talk of rain! Whatever! Guess I will have to find some other way to fill my time here.

Went on an absolutely amazing 2 day horsetrek into the mountains of Chile and the temperate rainforest. There is no road, so the only access is by foot or horseback and it was incredible--another highpoint in my year of travel. The Navimag up from Puerto Natales was also a lot of fun and scenery was beautiful. I will be here for several more days and then back to Buenos Aires for a couple days of packing on the pounds with wine and steak before heading up to Miami just a week from tomorrow! Can you believe it? I´ll have a couple of cool days hanging out on the Miami docks courtesy of my new friend Annie before getting back to the real world.

In preparation for my impending return, I am sending out an invitiation to all the New Yorkers to inform you that you can contribute to the Unemployment Fund! That´s right, you too can purchase food of your own choosing, bring it to my house on the upper east side, and I will cook it for you and entertain you with tales from as yet unpublished chapters! Fascinating titles available to choose from include such things as:

Rodents in My Room in Bolivia

Selected by the Chilean Man as This Month´s Navimag Shag--Tips on How You Can Keep
It From Happening to You!

This Month´s Spanish Lesson--Is Masturbate a Reflexive Verb?--Myths and Realities

Yet Another Awe-Inspiring Patagonian Vista.....Yawn

Attacked by Small Rock Wielding Children!

Not in the New York area? Don´t be left out! Coming soon my Paypal account will be set up to receive deposits and you can select the food, wine, dinner guests, and stories to be told in your honor! My close friend Shannon the filmmaker will film it all and edit it with a personal introduction just for you and send it in the mail or via an online link if you wish! Don´t delay and order now!

In all seriousness folks, it has been an amazing year and I am very blessed and can´t wait to see all of you people again soon! Keep tuning in as more is coming in the next couple of weeks!

muchos abrazos y besos,
Susan

Reflections on arrivals....and departures

Hola again armchair travellers!

Hard to beleive I arrived here in South America a year ago today. What an interesting time it has been--I have not reviewed my initial blog in a long time where I laid out what my plans for the year were going to be, but do know that other than arriving in Buenos Aires and heading to Ecuador to begin volunteer work, everything else has changed. Funny how life happens that way :)

Speaking of departures, I sit here now in Puerto Natales uploading some pictures from my hiking here in Patagonia while waiting to board the ferry to Puerto Montt, which has been delayed by a day for departure. It is a cute little seaside town, and I am considering going to Puntas Arenas tomorrow for a few hours, but really with long term travelling you realize how many places that are near each other sometimes look all the same. I went to Torres del Paine yesterday, and although it was lovely, it was covered in clouds and honestly after some of the hiking I have done in el Chalten and seeing Fitz Roy and the Perito Moreno glacier, it wasn´t as spectacular as I was expecting it to be...but again, that comes from seeing a lot of incredible things this past year.

In just a couple of weeks I head back to the states--I am already dreaming of a New York pizza and some wickedly strong coffee. Guess I will also have to deal with getting a job, but am not going to think of that just yet.

So last week I went and did 2 days of back to back 8 hour hikes to see the Fitz Roy secotr of the Andes in el Chalten, and also did a day tour to do ice trekking on the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina. That was a whole lot of fun and we ended the day with scotch on ice and alfahores--the living doesn´t get much better than this!

I am looking forward to the ferry trip next, spending a week hiking and kayaking in Bariloche and then heading back to Buenos Aires for a last chance to eat as much cheap good beef as I can and consume large quantaties of Argentinean wine for pennies before heading back. And I guess I will have to deal with the impending loss of attention from Latin American men. As irritating as they can sometimes be, I will give them credit for not having any issues regarding, and even expecting, rejection. And they are very cute--hhmm, should be a number of them on a 3 day cruise that I can torture for a while :)

Ah well, as this trip wraps up, I am finding myself spending a lot of time thinking of my life before it and what options are going to be open to me after it, and enjoying contemplating change. This year I have had a departure from a life that no longer suited me, and an arrival into the unknown, where everything is an opportunity, you simply need to choose to look at it that way.

Saludos amigos--thanks for joining me on this journey and I will post again before I leave this fine continent and coming soon will post a best of wrap up, so look out for it--There are so many great things to be thankful for!

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Patagonia/?albumview=slideshow

In a land without pigs

So it turns out that the Buenos Aires shag haircut is not totally restricted to the city of the same name. I know this because at this moment, yours truly is sitting here sporting one. I am in El Calafate now, after spending several lovely days in Ushuia and one not so lovely day in a number of busses from that town to this one.

It being Semana Santa and all, and with my failure to need heed the lesson of this week from last year, I have been hanging out in Calafte for 2 days now because I did not book my glacier trekking tour early enough to actually get on one this week.

Desperately in need of a haircut since I was wearing an unintentional shaggy do, I went for a cut this morning. They offered a straight cut and of course I foolishly asked the age old stupid question of what would be best for my hair, where they did some kind of zig zag motion. Now you people know I like to take chances sometimes and figured what the hell, it is just hair. I admit I have been a bit afraid to look in the mirror since I left that place spying a good 6 inches of my expensive blonde hair on the floor, but if the look on the face of the woman here in the internet place is anything to go by, it is probably not great. Oh well, such as life, and hopefully there is still enough of it there to wear a ponytail!

Other things I have been up to since leaving BsAs include such things as seeing the penguinos in Ushuia, and taking a nice hike through Tierra del Fuego national park with some really nice folks I met there. I beleive I may have attained a singular ham-free day, and also became embroiled in yet another Argentine male soap opera. Really this not taking no (admittedly this is when one is inclined to be saying no)for an answer can be exhausting sometimes!

My obsession with the ham continues. Having 17 hours on a bus, you have plenty of time to contemplate such things as: Why is there no bacon? What is the origin of all this ham since there is not a single pig to be found in this country? What the heck are all the Isreali travellers doing if all the food is covered in ham and they don´t eat pork?

Manaña I am off to Chalten for a couple of days hiking in the Los Glaciers national park and then returning here to Calafate to do my trekking on the glacier! I am pretty psyched about that. After that I am off to Puerto Natales in Chile where I will check out the infamous Torres del Paine and then board the Navimag Ferry for 4 days of cruising through the Chilean ice fjords to Puerto Montt.

So I will work on finding an answer to these life changing questions and hopefully have something to report the next time I check in...hasta luego chicos and enjoy the couple of photos here:

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Ushuia/?albumview=slideshow

Hotter than the FDNY? That´s right, Argentine firefighters!

Although that is not them in the photo, that is us working our way across the landslide in Bolivia!

Hello and thanks for tuning in again armchair travellers! So here I am wrapping up my month of total glutony in Buenos Aires. My pants are noticibly tighter and my eyes are suffering a bit from sun that insists on waking me up at noon everyday.

It has been a good time and I can even admit to having made some advancements in learning a few of the 50 past tenses that the Spanish language insists on having. I have also done some fun museums here, been the the movies (! yes, not very exciting for you people who can do that any time you want to, but a big deal for me!), boogied with some Colombian cuties, and of course had many philosophical discussions about whether the $3 bottle of wine is really better than the $2 bottle.

Other than that I admit I haven´t done a damn thing. A lot of reading, a lot of cooking and eating, and even occasionally a bit of studying. Not a very interesting update for the blog I am afraid, but I so needed this time to just do mostly nothing and have a rest so I can do Patagonia right!

Speaking of Patagonia, I am off tomorrow morning at some hour that I was unaware actually existed on the clock to head to Ushuia, which is the southernmost city in the world. And with what has become my travelling modus operandi, I of course really don´t know what I am going to be doing there. I understand I can do some kayaking in the Tierra del Fuego national park, and there is also supposed to be some amazing prison museum as apparently the town was a penal colony at one time. Also, the penguins should make thier debut this trip down in these parts, so I am really excited about that--although I understand they smell something awful!

And long overdue and included here are pictures of the WMDR! I don´t really have time to label them or even sort through them, so am putting the whole thing up and you can just run the slide show. Also included are pictures of what the ride looks like when the weather is cooperating! See if you can find me in some of those pics--sometimes the hair shows. :)

Our pictures are the ones you start seeing of the really shitty weather...the good weather pics are first.

Other pictures I have been on to in recent weeks are pictures of signs. You all will probably mostly not find them interesting, but since things like pedestrians having the right of way are a total and complete rarity here, I thought was interesting to take a photo of the only pedestrian crossing sign I think I have seen all year. Also here are the pics from Carnaval in Oruro--everything is just kind of thrown together.

Wow--must say in looking at the best of WMDR pictures, it is clear I must return to Bolivia and do this ride again in good weather! Good thing that visa is good for 5 years.....

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Worlds%20Most%20Dangerous%20Road/?albumview=slideshow

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Carnaval%20y%20mas%20Argentina/?albumview=slideshow

Ah, back in Argentina, home of the...ham

Hola again campers! Can´t believe time is winding down on this trip. Seems like for so long I was waiting to go, and now I have less than 2 months left before back to NY and reality. But we are not quite there yet and so will continue to enjoy life here--in Buenos Aires! Where else can you find a museum devoted to ham? Yes this was really the name of it ¨Museo del Jamon¨ and I must say I was rather relieved to see upon closer investigation that it was actually a restaurant. Not that I would have doubted they would have such a thing!

I decided I am quite exhuasted from all the travelling and really needed to take a time out and chill out somewhere I like and maybe study some more español before moving on to enjoy Patagonia. So here I am back in Buenos and oh how delightful!

So far since my return about 3 days ago, I have been out to eat a few times, and no matter what I ordered, I ended up getting either a ham and cheese sandwich or a ham and cheese omlet. Really it is unclear why they even bother to have menus when they are always going to bring you whatever they want so long as it has ham and cheese in it! And of course, once they deliver the food, you never see them again. Not even serving other tables. Weird. Oh well, at least it has been tasty and I haven´t had olives and eggs served on my steak yet (mostly because I haven´t had a steak yet) but I am sure that now that I have said so I will get some olive action today.

Anyway, back to our story. When we last left off, I was heading out on a tour of the Salar de Uyuni, which is the largest salt flat in the world. It is currently the largest salt lake in the world because it is the rainy season, and so was totally covered in a couple of inches of water, as you will see from the photos. I went with 3 lovely Argentine boys :) and a couple from Hong Kong. I got to play interpreter again as the Argentinians didn´t speak English and neither did the tour guide.

I must say this is one of the most amazing things I have seen this year. We saw the salt flats, laguna Colorado and laguna Verde, geysers at 5,000 meters, and mice beating the heat of the desert. The company was great and we had our own cook who travelled with us. The snoring by the Hong Kong couple will not be discussed, although I must say the second night we all had to sleep in the same room (only I was with them the first night) and the Argentinians were freaked and talked shit about it all the next day. Mostly because the guys had started suffering from some altitude sickness and didn´t get to sleep all night long. Hong Kong of course had no idea what they were saying, but I did! haha! It was all in good fun though and we had a great time.

As the others returned to Uyuni, I headed with Hong Kong into Chile at San Pedro de Atacama, which is the driest desert in the world. And after Bolivia, unbelievably expensive and so full of Chilean tourists that it took a good few hours to find a room for the night!

So back to the here and now and my contemplation again of the ham and why it plays such an important roles in the lives of these peole. Hmm, reading over what I have written here, it is clear that perhaps I too am becoming a bit obsessed with the ham.....

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Uyuni%20tour%20y%20Chile%20y%20Salta/?albumview=slideshow

Looks like I forgot to add these photos earlier of La Paz and Sucre and such..pics coming soon of carnaval and a few action shots of the WMDR!

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Bolivia/?albumview=slideshow

Casualties of the World´s Most Dangerous Road

Upon reviewing my very long day mountain biking the WMDR, I have to admit that I think there may be casualities, perhaps even a death. That´s right friends, it is possible that my trusty hiking boots may not survive the encounter. They have been with me through thick and thin and haven´t let me down, but I think forcing them to spend the day in the freezing rain, snow and crossing through rivers may have been just too much for them. They are taking on water now at an alarming rate....although it is possible that it has taken all of a week for them to actually dry out, considering I put them through one of the rainiest weeks ever in Sucre right after that!

Since you don´t often get the chance to ride a mountain bike down the Andes, descending 12,000 feet in 64 kilometers, I really felt I had to do it, even though it is the rainy season and not recommended to do it. It poured so hard all day long, I didn´t even take my camera. The day started out at over 4,700 meters--that´s over 15,000 feet--in the freezing rain. Actually the day started out with the bikes on the roof of the bus pulling down power lines as we made our way through La Paz, but that is not important here.

The goggles were covered after about 2 minutes of riding, and taking them off made it worse as then it just went right in your eyes. The reason people enjoy this ride so much is the scenery--sheer drops offs as you wind your way down the road in which so many vehicles have been known to go over the edge. Unfortunately, we had mostly white out conditions all day as so couldn´t see much, which is really disappointing. Oh well. It was a good, difficult ride, and of course we got to enjoye a flat tire and a snowstorm on our way back up the mountain into La Paz. Not sure if there will be pictures here as I have been waiting a long time for this lady to put the photos on CD, and don´t think they are going to show up any time soon. If not, you´ll see them here later!

After that I hung out in Sucre for about a week just waiting for Carnaval in Oruro to begin. All I have to say about that is it was total and complete chaos, people got robbed and attacked and everyone was drunk for many days on end...not that this is a bad thing, but the parade went from 7 AM to the following 4 AM. In fact it is not quite over, and even though I spent 7 hours on the worst train ride ever to Uyuni at 2 AM this morning, there is still a band playing here! I guess it will all end on Wednesday, by which time I will touring the salt flat with not a marching band in sight. AS for the train ride, I guess if I had gotten in line 2 hours earliers, we would have gotten the good seats, that go for around $12. But no, we got shafted with the $4 3 people to a bench seats in the back. With all the people, admittedly including us, who had not bothered to shower since sometime around the beginning of carnaval. I guess at least the train made it there, as the Bolivian bus requirement for each trip seems to be a mechanical breakdown of some kind, a flat tire or 3, or a landslide. Or more often a combination of those factors.

OK, so the photos are not happening and so will put up some kind of Bolivian fiesta of photos when I am done touring the salt flats later this week.

As for the photos up top, for those not in the know, this is what passes for a traditional Bolivian musical instrament. I kid you not. Disfruta!

Bienvenida a Bolivia, Cien dolares por favor

Hola again armchair travellers! So here I am in Bolivia! After paying my $100, giving a copy of my financial statement, yellow fever vaccination, airline reservations, hotel reservations and right leg, I was allowed entry into this great country. That´s right, the new visa requirement for US citizens just went into effect last month, so I got to participate in that whole drama. But cash aside, I have to say I am really enjoying Bolivia so far.

As I was sitting in a cafe in La Paz today, I enjoyed the best nachos I have had since arriving in South America, and also got to hear one of my favorite songs, which was sandwiched right in between the biggest hits of Leo Sayer and Air Supply. In general, Bolivia seems to be about a decade behind in the music scene here, so enjoying hits of the 80´s let me know this cafe was a really hip spot.

So far I have enjoyed some time at Lake Titicaca where it is just damn cold (albiet beautiful), a week or so here in La Paz, and a few days up in the Bolivian jungle-- where I did my best to sweat all over everything and feed as many mosquitos as possible. I got lucky and flew up to Rurrenebaque and back on the days that my flights were actually scheduled! It being the rainy season and them having a large grass football field for a landing strip apparently causes many cancellations. I got to hear and see the howler monkeys (the coolest sound ever!), a few mackaws, and even spotted a caiman that is between 5-7 feet long. I am pretty sure they told us that the caimans live in the lake only after we went swimming though.......

Anyway, La Paz is a great town--everything you are looking for in a Latin American city: complete chaos, dogs sleeping in the middle of busy streets as cars swerve around them, a guy on a unicyle juggling swords, and the smell of fried chicken permeating over the whole town owing to the fact that there is a chicken shack about every 5 feet. These people know and love thier fried chicken like nobody´s business.

Some Bolivian observations so far:

It is obvious we are in the south because in an instant all the travellers went from Aussies and Europeans to Aregentine and Chilean tourists. Although there has also been the stark reappearance of the dreadlocked gringo travellers as well. Must be because that Bolivia is cheap that the travellers who can´t afford shampoo and soap congregate here. That said, I have also met a number of great European, Aussie and Kiwis here as well.

Secondly, not only is the vocabulary we know and love such as palta and anteochos back, but also back is the fact that everyone needs to get a room. If there is a spare spot anywhere, people are making out.

I got the best haircut here--although it was expensive, coming in at right around $15. I also got goat cheese! I almost cried, it was so lovely...although it is Bolivian goat cheese so not the best in the world, but still! It went down well with that Bolivian wine of varying quality.

Anyway, I have a lot of other observations that as usual I can´t think of when I sit down at the computer. But maybe I will get into that bottle of wine I have upstairs and have some inspiration and upadte this thing again later. Here are some photos for you people to drool over:


http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Lake%20Titicaca/?start=0

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/La%20Paz%20y%20Chalalan/

On our next episode we will discuss the art of chewing coca leaves and enjoying your cocktail simultaneously as it turns out this can in fact be done!

Mystical Machu Piccu for the New Year

Happy New Year!

Hi folks, I trust everyone had a great new year and woke up the next morning next to someone they don{t know. :) I, on the other hand, got to spend my new years eve at Machu Piccu! Of course I was sick and we were getting up at 4:30 the next morning to go up to the ruins....and our hot tub was cold, but it was a great time nontheless!

Mom and Mary came out and we had a nice relaxing time checking out Lima for a couple of days, where Mary and I went paragliding. A second time for me, but a first for Mary. And I also cheated mom out of her chance to go as we didn{t know the wind was going to disappear while I was up there...not the first time this has happened. It disappear so much we had to land down on the beach (which is basically just a pile of rocks) and hail a cab to take us back up the hill!

So after that we took off for Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Spent a couple of days just acclimatizing in Urubamba and visiting the ruins at Ollantytambo before heading off to Machu Piccu. And of course, it is absolutely amazing. And we are not just talking about the ruins here people--the hot men are back! I{ll fill you in on the goods from Bolivia when I get there. :)

So here are some pictures, sorry I am feeling so lazy today and not writing much. I have been on the internet for 2 hours now naming and rotating pictures and such and now am just tired.....that and a guy just sat next to me that doens{t smell all that good.

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/sweidmann/Machu%20Piccu/

But stay tuned next time when we will discuss the things you MUST know when negotiating the purchase of a llama at the local market.