Hola amigos!
Estoy en Ecuador y hay mucho aventura aqui!
But this will be a different entry from the past several entries... as I only have 5 days left on this beautiful continent before returning to the States, I´ve been thinking a lot about my journey and where it has taken me, literally and figuratively. So I thought I´d share some thoughts with you...
I´m experiencing many mixed emotions and feelings on returning to life in the United States after 5 months of the backpacker life in South America. I´ve adjusted to the traveler lifestyle well, and I enjoy it. I LOVE the adventure of exploring new places! It is addicting! And being a solo traveler has had its ups and downs, but it´s been a very liberating experience for me overall. I am so grateful to have had this experience.
I can easily see myself returning to South America sooner than later in my lifetime. I have fallen in love with this continent, and there´s still so much left for me to explore and get to know on a deeper level. I just might end up living here for a while...
A few things that I´ll miss about traveling in South America:
-the anticipation, adventure, and thrill of a new place
-learning and practicing Spanish
-contemplative bus rides (and there are the chaotic bus rides too!)
-hearing ¨goooooaaaaaaallllllll¨ no matter where or when, there is always a soccer game on
-meeting people from around the world and sharing travel stories over a glass of the local beer
-what has become my travel ¨routine¨: bus ride, explore, eat, sleep, bus ride, explore, eat, sleep... repeat!
-the incredible and surreal scenery that in the past I only dreamed of seeing and now have had the pleasure of seeing in person
-taking thousands of pictures and capturing that perfect shot
-the liberty of having everything I own now in a 55 liter backpack that I can easily wear and transport
Hard to believe that I´ll be on a plane back to San Francisco in just 5 days (June 2nd), boy, does time fly! But there are many things I´m looking forward to back in the States as well... for example:
-seeing my friends and family again
-visiting my parents at their new home on the east coast and exploring that part of the States
-easily accessible healthy organic vegetarian food (my meat experience was limited to 2 steaks and a few meaty stews in Argentina, when in Rome! but besides that, my body and conscience told me to stick with being veggie.
-drinking tap water and not having to make sure I have bottled water around to brush my teeth
-practicing forms with my martial arts community (it´s not the same practicing in tiny hostel rooms!)
-understanding what´s going on around me and not having to guess what that Spanish word meant
-bluegrass shows!
-not being woken up by roosters or partying 20-somethings during the night
-not having to zip up my bursting 55 liter backpack
-flushing toilet paper!
-endless options for my next steps, meaning with no job or obligations to go back to, I´m currently brainstorming many possibilities for what I´ll ¨do¨ when I return... and on that note... I ask my Bay area friends for a favor...
For the summer (and maybe beyond), I´d like to find a work exchange situation on an organic farm or eco-community in the Bay area. I loved my WWOOFing experience in Argentina, and I´d like to find a similar situation right in my own Bay area backyard. I´m open to almost anywhere, but I prefer the north bay since I know it best. I´m also open to almost any kind of farm work, and knowing me, that includes anything to do with compost and getting dirty! I´m still very passionate about moving communities towards zero waste, and I´ve become more passionate about working towards sustainable food systems, whether that means simply weeding garden beds, delivering CSA boxes, and/or dealing with paperwork and stats. Just putting that out to the universe!!! Friends, if you know of anything along these lines, please let me know! Muchas gracias!
And so, now you know what´s going through my head a bit while I´m on a public bus speeding through the jungles, cloud forests, and mountains of Ecuador. Of course, this is when I´m not holding onto my seat for dear life and praying that the bus driver correctly gauges that he has enough distance to pass multiple cars/trucks/tractors/cows/horses! Public bus riding in Ecuador is nothing short of chaotic!
Thanks for reading! I´ll write all about my adventures in Ecuador next time!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Thoughts on Peru
Yay, I´m in Ecuador! My final country on this South American journey, and I´m super happy to be here. It´s a breath of fresh air after zipping through uber touristy Peru...
My first stop in Peru was the tourist mecca of Cuzco, former capital of the Inca empire and current base for all visitors to Machu Picchu, the most famous Inca ruins. Cuzco is a beautiful city: narrow cobblestone streets, impressive Inca and Spànish architecture, flower filled plazas, and mountain vistas. But it´s not the most enjoyable city to walk around in my opinion because every few minutes someone is asking you to see their restaurant menu, to take a tour with them, to get a massage, or to buy their clothes/souvenirs. And these folks get fairly aggressive, even whiny, when you politely say ¨no gracias¨. I felt like the locals saw us only as walking dollar signs, and not only in Cuzco, but all over Peru.
Early on in planning this trip I decided I wanted to do Machu Picchu on my own, no flag-waving tour guide to follow and no intense 4 day stairmaster hike to get there needed. I´ve been hiking so much on this trip that I knew I didn´t want to shell out $500 for ¨the¨ Inca trail. I`m still happy with that decision. So after a cheap collectivo bus from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo, and then an overpriced gringo train ride from there onwards (my only option), I landed in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu, built literally into the surrounding mountains. I stayed the night there so I could try to get in line early enough for a limited ticket to climb Waynupicchu, the mountain behind the ruins in all those famous postcard shots. I braved the crowds and rain at 4:30 am and still didn´t get it! Meaning 400 people were there before me that early! Crazy! A bit disappointed and not sure where to head first in the early morning fog, I squeezed past the tour groups and kept heading uphill to eventually find myself on a secluded path in the jungle. I felt like I was heading further from the ruins, but I was eager to find a quiet spot to figure out my next steps and to maybe get a view of these ruins to orient myself. After resting a bit, I decided to keep heading uphill, and right then, I ran into two other Americans who informed that we were on the trail to the top of Machu Picchu mountain. I didn´t realize there was another mountain that could be climbed! Cool! After two hard hours of straight uphill, I got to the top of this mountain that´s on the other side of the ruins (opposite Waynupicchu) just as the fog was clearing, and I was rewarded with spectacular views of the ruins and the surrounding mountains! Yay! What an unplanned surprise! And the highlight of my Machu Picchu experience! After a while on top, I climbed down, wandered about the ancient Inca ruins for a bit, and then called it a day. Had a restful sleep that night and returned to Cuzco the next day on another overpriced gringo train ride, complete with an alpaca fashion show, I kid you not.
It was fun to wander around the festive streets and markets of Cuzco on Easter Sunday, but I was ready to leave when I did that night on the first of many Cruz del Sur night buses. Cruz del Sur is an experience in Peru. Oh yeah bus luxury!
My next adventure was a 3 day trek into Colca Canyon (which is deeper than the Grand Canyon) in southwest Peru. Originally, I was going to do it on my own, being weary of organized group treks after my miserable one in Bolivia, but I met some cool folks at the hostel in Arequipa and we formed our own super cool group. The group and guide really make or break an organized tour experience! Our guide was awesome, informative, and always had a chill, positive attitude. The first and third days were intense with the steep hike down and then back up the canyon, but of course, with spectacular views all around rewarding us. And the middle day was nice and mellow with a walk through the canyon´s indigenious villages, a native plant lesson (there are some cool cacti in the area!), and the treat of a swimming pool at our hostel for the night, appropriately named, ¨the Oasis¨. To top off our canyon adventure, we were treated to hot springs on the last day (after our early morning climb up!), and a scenic drive through national park lands with lots of llamas, alpacas, and vicunas to look at. Overall awesomeness! After a group reunion lunch and a pleasant walk around Arequipa´s main plaza the next day, I was on the road again!
My next 10 days in Peru were a series of hostel one-nighters, long overnight bus rides, and gringo tourist attractions aplenty. I was very happy to have the company of a cute Canadian couple on this stretch of my travels. First stop, Huacachina, weird town, surrounded by massive sand dunes, and seemingly solely existent due to gringos coming to sandboard on the dunes. Me included. Ok, I admit, this tourist attraction was quite a thrill! Especially the roller-coaster-esque dune buggy ride! Never done anything like that before, don´t even really like roller coasters, but that was fun!
Next stop, Lima, big city capital of Peru, and for me, an unexpected stop which turned out to be surprisingly fun thanks to the Canadians! We did a little of everything: walked on the cliff-hugging boardwalk over the ocean (hello again Pacific ocean!), found a delicious veggie cafe, walked around the main plaza, toured a church, and topped it all off with bowling at the mall!
Then back to the road... speeding north through massive Peru eagerly awaiting Ecuador. We stopped at two beach towns to break up the journey. First, Huanchaco, as advertised, a super quiet fishing town, but not quite the beach town we were looking for, so it was on to Mancora, beach party town and solely that. But the beach was definitely nice and worth the stop (yay warm Pacific ocean!). Plus, our hostel had the cutest puppies ever! Beach and hammock time: check!!!
My night bus ride into Ecuador was one of the craziest. Totally uncomfortable, crowded, sketchy midnight border crossing, and the rock through the window had the whole bus of locals a bit shaken up, but I made it to Vilcabamba early the next morning, and quickly discovered that I landed in paradise... ah Ecuador!
My first stop in Peru was the tourist mecca of Cuzco, former capital of the Inca empire and current base for all visitors to Machu Picchu, the most famous Inca ruins. Cuzco is a beautiful city: narrow cobblestone streets, impressive Inca and Spànish architecture, flower filled plazas, and mountain vistas. But it´s not the most enjoyable city to walk around in my opinion because every few minutes someone is asking you to see their restaurant menu, to take a tour with them, to get a massage, or to buy their clothes/souvenirs. And these folks get fairly aggressive, even whiny, when you politely say ¨no gracias¨. I felt like the locals saw us only as walking dollar signs, and not only in Cuzco, but all over Peru.
Early on in planning this trip I decided I wanted to do Machu Picchu on my own, no flag-waving tour guide to follow and no intense 4 day stairmaster hike to get there needed. I´ve been hiking so much on this trip that I knew I didn´t want to shell out $500 for ¨the¨ Inca trail. I`m still happy with that decision. So after a cheap collectivo bus from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo, and then an overpriced gringo train ride from there onwards (my only option), I landed in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu, built literally into the surrounding mountains. I stayed the night there so I could try to get in line early enough for a limited ticket to climb Waynupicchu, the mountain behind the ruins in all those famous postcard shots. I braved the crowds and rain at 4:30 am and still didn´t get it! Meaning 400 people were there before me that early! Crazy! A bit disappointed and not sure where to head first in the early morning fog, I squeezed past the tour groups and kept heading uphill to eventually find myself on a secluded path in the jungle. I felt like I was heading further from the ruins, but I was eager to find a quiet spot to figure out my next steps and to maybe get a view of these ruins to orient myself. After resting a bit, I decided to keep heading uphill, and right then, I ran into two other Americans who informed that we were on the trail to the top of Machu Picchu mountain. I didn´t realize there was another mountain that could be climbed! Cool! After two hard hours of straight uphill, I got to the top of this mountain that´s on the other side of the ruins (opposite Waynupicchu) just as the fog was clearing, and I was rewarded with spectacular views of the ruins and the surrounding mountains! Yay! What an unplanned surprise! And the highlight of my Machu Picchu experience! After a while on top, I climbed down, wandered about the ancient Inca ruins for a bit, and then called it a day. Had a restful sleep that night and returned to Cuzco the next day on another overpriced gringo train ride, complete with an alpaca fashion show, I kid you not.
 |
| at the top of Machu Picchu mountain |
My next adventure was a 3 day trek into Colca Canyon (which is deeper than the Grand Canyon) in southwest Peru. Originally, I was going to do it on my own, being weary of organized group treks after my miserable one in Bolivia, but I met some cool folks at the hostel in Arequipa and we formed our own super cool group. The group and guide really make or break an organized tour experience! Our guide was awesome, informative, and always had a chill, positive attitude. The first and third days were intense with the steep hike down and then back up the canyon, but of course, with spectacular views all around rewarding us. And the middle day was nice and mellow with a walk through the canyon´s indigenious villages, a native plant lesson (there are some cool cacti in the area!), and the treat of a swimming pool at our hostel for the night, appropriately named, ¨the Oasis¨. To top off our canyon adventure, we were treated to hot springs on the last day (after our early morning climb up!), and a scenic drive through national park lands with lots of llamas, alpacas, and vicunas to look at. Overall awesomeness! After a group reunion lunch and a pleasant walk around Arequipa´s main plaza the next day, I was on the road again!
 |
| about mid-way down into the canyon |
My next 10 days in Peru were a series of hostel one-nighters, long overnight bus rides, and gringo tourist attractions aplenty. I was very happy to have the company of a cute Canadian couple on this stretch of my travels. First stop, Huacachina, weird town, surrounded by massive sand dunes, and seemingly solely existent due to gringos coming to sandboard on the dunes. Me included. Ok, I admit, this tourist attraction was quite a thrill! Especially the roller-coaster-esque dune buggy ride! Never done anything like that before, don´t even really like roller coasters, but that was fun!
 |
| sandboarding! |
Then back to the road... speeding north through massive Peru eagerly awaiting Ecuador. We stopped at two beach towns to break up the journey. First, Huanchaco, as advertised, a super quiet fishing town, but not quite the beach town we were looking for, so it was on to Mancora, beach party town and solely that. But the beach was definitely nice and worth the stop (yay warm Pacific ocean!). Plus, our hostel had the cutest puppies ever! Beach and hammock time: check!!!
 |
| sunset in Mancora |
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