I'm back from the jungle! I'll admit right up front that it wasn't exactly what I had anticipated. It was challenging on so many different levels but we decided to stick it out instead of leaving early. We are now in Brazil but I really need to catch everyone up on the jungle adveture first:
We were originally going to go to Parque Machia which is another one of the parks that is operated by the same group. We had chosen it because it was the less rugged of the parks. It was in a town, had electricity and hot showers. We thought it would be a good compromise: jungle living without all of the hardships. We arrived in the town very late at night and decided to stay in a hostel until the morning. When we finally arrived, I felt immediately unwelcome. The volunteer coordinator wasn't very friendly and told us that they didn't really need our help at that park. After some discussion Caitlin and I decided to head to Parque Ambue Ari (the truly jungle oriented park). I'm not sure why we weren't more turned off immediately but I guess we figured we got these expensive rabies shots for a reason.
Ambue Ari is located 45 minutes from a major town and about 10 minutes (by bus) from a much smaller town called Santa Maria. Even though Santa Maria is fairly close, the park does seem very removed from civilization. We began to crave soda (or anything cold) almost immediately and loved weekend trips into town. The experience is so hard to characterize because it was such a multi faceted one and no explanation will ever truly sum up what happened out there in the jungle. I'll try anyway:
Ambue Ari, unlike Machia, is almost exclusively a cat park. This means that almost all of the volunteers will be assigned to work with either a puma, a jaguar or an ocelot. At the time that we arrived many people were leaving and we were actually able to choose which cat we wanted to work with. I chose to work with Niko, a two year old girl Puma. I chose to work with her because she sounded like a troubled little kitty which seemed right up my alley. She had been injured a lot as a baby and now is extremely afraid of almost everything because of this trauma earlier in her life. I also was looking forward to working solo. It has been a long time since I have had to spend so much time with myself and I wanted to challenge myself to be alone with my thoughts. Needless to say it was one of the most frustrating months of my life. In part, because Niko never really warmed up to meand in part because I hate spending 7 hours a day by myself.
I would spend my days on my stomach crawling towards Niko until she got too scared. She would then hiss and run to the opposite side of the cage. I tried talking to her but soon became very bored by my own voice. I tried to play with her but she was too intimidated to relax around me. I started to become frustrated when I would come back to camp and hear that Caitlin's cat had come right up to her and licked her straight away. I suppose it is more normal for cats to be afraid of people but I admit that I just felt jealous and frustrated. I wasn't able to get her to trust me enough to try to take her out of her cage, which was the ultimate goal. Oh well!
It wasn't totally awful though! I had a lot of time to think about what I want to do next. Fall has always been an important time for me, a time of new beginnings. I sat in the jungle and wondered what I wanted to start this year. Looking back at the past seven years, I can see a lot has changed for me since I was living in Utah but there is still a lot left to be done. Of course, that is life isn't it? Being in the jungle reminded me a lot of living in treatment actually. Specifically, jungle life and treatment life are very isolated. It's the only time where I have had the luxury to remove myself from everything. No cell phones, no internet, no news. Just you and the people you are living with. I love it. If I didn't hate bugs I would consider living a truly rural life in a commune somwhere. Then again, I hate communal living. The point is, everything seems more in perspective when there is less to worry about. You can just exist and see what happens next. I think I mentioned earlier in this blog that learning to live in the moment is my goal for this trip (hopefully it will translate to my acting work as well!).
Personal struggles aside, I found the community to be a difficult one. The group of long term volunteers generally weren't very nice and the permanent staff weren't much better. This was what bothered me more than the bugs or the dirt. I had committed myself to spending a month with the least personable people I have met in a long time. As some of the long term volunteers started to leave the experience became much more pleasant. New, nicer people started to arrive, making the camp a more friendly place. I hope to be able to go visit them in their home countries someday.
I'm on my way to Brasilia today which will be a long bus ride. I'll try to write something more descriptive about the park. There was a fire after all, I'm sure that would make a lovely story!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Stuck in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Hi! It´s been a while and a lot has certainly happened. I think I am going to try to remember the most interesting moments and write them down:
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
As I think I mentioned previously, we stayed at a party hostel in La Paz. A party hostel is just like any other hostel except that they provide their own bar. Alcohol leads to drunk people which leads to sleepless nights for those of us who didn´t want to go out that night. I don´t actually have a problem with crazy, drunken nights but I did find it strange that people came from all over the world just to spend their whole time inside of the hostel. Most of the other people in the hostel never left which to me seems to defeat the purpose of their trip in the first place. No one seemed to want to actually explore La Paz. Caitlin and I rarely left the hostel ourselves but that was due to a relapse of altitude sickness.
COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA
After La Paz we headed to Cochabamba. Cochabamba is the closest town to the animal reserve, so we decided to stop and rest for a few days before working really hard for a month straight. The town itself was pretty uninteresting. We stayed at a hostel near the bus station so that it would be easier for us to get out of town when the time came. The second night that we were there we encountered our second major problem (the first being our lack of funds in Copacabana).
Hostel Elisa happened to have free cabel TV and we were watching some movie about illegal border crossing when we heard a thundering knock on the door. We were both startled by the loud and sudden knock. No one said anything which I think added to our fear. Some unidentified person was banging down our door without announcing their intentions. They knocked again and still we said nothing. A third knock. Still nothing. I´m not really sure why we didn´t ask who it was at this point but I think it just seemed liked our space was being invaded. In addition, there were constant gun shots in the background which added to our fear. Surely if it was someone from the Hostel they would tell us why they were knocking: the toilets are broken, there is a fire etc.
At this point Caitlin and I were cowering in the bathrooom with our most valuable possessions. We figured that if someone broke down the door we could quickly lock ourselves into the bathroom. Finally, we heard one more knock at the door. I decided I should finally go ask who it is was, the intruder certainly wasn´t fooled when we had turned out the lights. ¨Who is it?¨ (in Spanish of course). The answer came in broken English: ¨My name is Nathanial. I´m a tourist, don´t be scared.¨ This was too much for me. I had just that day read about scams involving fake tourists. To make it worse he told us not be afraid which only increased my suspicion. At this point we completely panicked and went back into the bathroom. Logic went out the window the moment I thought I was about to be robbed but now I was entirely paranoid. The window in our shower led to an air shaft which led to the shower next door. I was now convinced that this was someone who worked at the hostel who would then climb through the air shaft, (a very tiny one at that) steal our things and then of course murder us.
We spent the next half hour deciding what to do. When no further knocks came we decided the scary man had maybe left but that he might come back as soon as we were asleep. Staying the night in the hostel became unimaginable. We decided to take our most valuable things on our backs but leave the clothes. Our escape must be quick, we didn´t have time to take everything. Suddenly transformed into secret agents we stood in front of the door ready to unlock it. I tried to communicate to Caitlin in our secret hand code but realized we didn´t have one. Whispering would have to do. We finally worked up the courage to open the door. Caitlin, the black belt, stood guard as I locked the door again behind us. We walked as quickly as seemed natural out the front door of the hostel trying to avoid any last minute traps. We finally found our way to a hotel and spent the night there.
After retrieving our things the next morning (which weren´t stolen) we went to lunch next to the hostel. A man came up to us and declared that he was the man who had knocked at our door the night before. He had wanted to know what tourists do in Cochabamba.....
I´ll never really know if we just overreacted or if he was truly a threat but I do know that the way he banged on our door was certainly a weird way to try to make friends.
ANIMAL RESERVE, PART ONE
We took a bus that day to Villa Tunari, the small town that contained the animal reserve we were headed to. Our purpose for being in Bolivia was about to be realized.
Traveling to the town was a bit complicated because we had to tell the bus driver when we wanted to get off. The bus itself was going to Santa Cruz but we were going to get off early. We told the bus driver who told us to knock on the window in three hours to remind him to drop us off. Three hours later we were at some sort of police check point. We asked around and found that we were still and hour and a half away. The directions from the reserve told us to get off after a bridge. It seemed like we went through a town and over a bridge every twenty minutes. We knocked a couple of more times but were told each time that we still weren´t there. When we finally did arrive late that night it seemed like a better idea to stay in a hostel and then go find the reserve the next morning.
As it turned out the reserve was farther down the road and over the aforementioned bridge. It would have been dangerous to cross at night since there wasn´t really a place to walk, so it turns out our decision to stop was mostly for the best. I say mostly because our nighr was restless. Several drunk people came in shouting around one in the morning. Around four we were awoken again. This time some woman was crying about some guy right outside of our door. I´m not sure why she chose that exact spot....
When we finally arrived at the reserve we were told that they needed more help at the other reserve at that we would have more fun there since we could work with big cats instead of birds. The idea that we would actually get to play with pumas and jaguars was enough to convince me that we should head to the other reserve instead. We got back on a bus and headed to Santa Cruz. We´ve been here ever since.. and it seems like we might never leave.
SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA
OK.. can´t sit at this computer anymore. I´ll tell you later when I get back from the animal reserve. Basically, I got sick to my stomach so we decided to stay another day. We were finally going to leave today but Caitlin realized that she had left her debit card in an ATM. The machines here keep them during the transaction which can be confusing if you aren´t used to it. On our way to call her bank, I stopped to take out more money myself. The machine ate my card....
So here we are, still not at the reserve trying to figure out where to send our new cards. Wish us luck!
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
As I think I mentioned previously, we stayed at a party hostel in La Paz. A party hostel is just like any other hostel except that they provide their own bar. Alcohol leads to drunk people which leads to sleepless nights for those of us who didn´t want to go out that night. I don´t actually have a problem with crazy, drunken nights but I did find it strange that people came from all over the world just to spend their whole time inside of the hostel. Most of the other people in the hostel never left which to me seems to defeat the purpose of their trip in the first place. No one seemed to want to actually explore La Paz. Caitlin and I rarely left the hostel ourselves but that was due to a relapse of altitude sickness.
COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA
After La Paz we headed to Cochabamba. Cochabamba is the closest town to the animal reserve, so we decided to stop and rest for a few days before working really hard for a month straight. The town itself was pretty uninteresting. We stayed at a hostel near the bus station so that it would be easier for us to get out of town when the time came. The second night that we were there we encountered our second major problem (the first being our lack of funds in Copacabana).
Hostel Elisa happened to have free cabel TV and we were watching some movie about illegal border crossing when we heard a thundering knock on the door. We were both startled by the loud and sudden knock. No one said anything which I think added to our fear. Some unidentified person was banging down our door without announcing their intentions. They knocked again and still we said nothing. A third knock. Still nothing. I´m not really sure why we didn´t ask who it was at this point but I think it just seemed liked our space was being invaded. In addition, there were constant gun shots in the background which added to our fear. Surely if it was someone from the Hostel they would tell us why they were knocking: the toilets are broken, there is a fire etc.
At this point Caitlin and I were cowering in the bathrooom with our most valuable possessions. We figured that if someone broke down the door we could quickly lock ourselves into the bathroom. Finally, we heard one more knock at the door. I decided I should finally go ask who it is was, the intruder certainly wasn´t fooled when we had turned out the lights. ¨Who is it?¨ (in Spanish of course). The answer came in broken English: ¨My name is Nathanial. I´m a tourist, don´t be scared.¨ This was too much for me. I had just that day read about scams involving fake tourists. To make it worse he told us not be afraid which only increased my suspicion. At this point we completely panicked and went back into the bathroom. Logic went out the window the moment I thought I was about to be robbed but now I was entirely paranoid. The window in our shower led to an air shaft which led to the shower next door. I was now convinced that this was someone who worked at the hostel who would then climb through the air shaft, (a very tiny one at that) steal our things and then of course murder us.
We spent the next half hour deciding what to do. When no further knocks came we decided the scary man had maybe left but that he might come back as soon as we were asleep. Staying the night in the hostel became unimaginable. We decided to take our most valuable things on our backs but leave the clothes. Our escape must be quick, we didn´t have time to take everything. Suddenly transformed into secret agents we stood in front of the door ready to unlock it. I tried to communicate to Caitlin in our secret hand code but realized we didn´t have one. Whispering would have to do. We finally worked up the courage to open the door. Caitlin, the black belt, stood guard as I locked the door again behind us. We walked as quickly as seemed natural out the front door of the hostel trying to avoid any last minute traps. We finally found our way to a hotel and spent the night there.
After retrieving our things the next morning (which weren´t stolen) we went to lunch next to the hostel. A man came up to us and declared that he was the man who had knocked at our door the night before. He had wanted to know what tourists do in Cochabamba.....
I´ll never really know if we just overreacted or if he was truly a threat but I do know that the way he banged on our door was certainly a weird way to try to make friends.
ANIMAL RESERVE, PART ONE
We took a bus that day to Villa Tunari, the small town that contained the animal reserve we were headed to. Our purpose for being in Bolivia was about to be realized.
Traveling to the town was a bit complicated because we had to tell the bus driver when we wanted to get off. The bus itself was going to Santa Cruz but we were going to get off early. We told the bus driver who told us to knock on the window in three hours to remind him to drop us off. Three hours later we were at some sort of police check point. We asked around and found that we were still and hour and a half away. The directions from the reserve told us to get off after a bridge. It seemed like we went through a town and over a bridge every twenty minutes. We knocked a couple of more times but were told each time that we still weren´t there. When we finally did arrive late that night it seemed like a better idea to stay in a hostel and then go find the reserve the next morning.
As it turned out the reserve was farther down the road and over the aforementioned bridge. It would have been dangerous to cross at night since there wasn´t really a place to walk, so it turns out our decision to stop was mostly for the best. I say mostly because our nighr was restless. Several drunk people came in shouting around one in the morning. Around four we were awoken again. This time some woman was crying about some guy right outside of our door. I´m not sure why she chose that exact spot....
When we finally arrived at the reserve we were told that they needed more help at the other reserve at that we would have more fun there since we could work with big cats instead of birds. The idea that we would actually get to play with pumas and jaguars was enough to convince me that we should head to the other reserve instead. We got back on a bus and headed to Santa Cruz. We´ve been here ever since.. and it seems like we might never leave.
SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA
OK.. can´t sit at this computer anymore. I´ll tell you later when I get back from the animal reserve. Basically, I got sick to my stomach so we decided to stay another day. We were finally going to leave today but Caitlin realized that she had left her debit card in an ATM. The machines here keep them during the transaction which can be confusing if you aren´t used to it. On our way to call her bank, I stopped to take out more money myself. The machine ate my card....
So here we are, still not at the reserve trying to figure out where to send our new cards. Wish us luck!
Friday, October 2, 2009
La Paz
No time to write anything because Caitlin and I are going to go get Indian food! We saw a menu for it at our new hostel and decided we couldn´t pass up the opportunity to get our favorite food. This hostel is the first ¨party¨ hostel we have gone to. There are hundreds of people here I think. The hostel is located inside of a large colonial building which has been converted into dorms. There is even a bar where we can get our first shots free upon arrival....
We met a man who quit his job after 15 years and is now taking 3 years to travel the world. Maybe someday I will be so lucky.
I´ll write more later when we have some free time. The highlights will include: stranded in a town with not enough money to eat dinner, a bus that broke down several times on our way to La Paz and of course the story of my first present from a male suitor.
We met a man who quit his job after 15 years and is now taking 3 years to travel the world. Maybe someday I will be so lucky.
I´ll write more later when we have some free time. The highlights will include: stranded in a town with not enough money to eat dinner, a bus that broke down several times on our way to La Paz and of course the story of my first present from a male suitor.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Machu Pichu and Back to Cusco
Hello! I am sitting at an Internet cafe while waiting for our next bus. Tonight we will be leaving Peru and heading to Copacabana, Bolivia. We decided to go to Copacabana which is a town right next to Lake Titicaca. We could have gone to Puno, Peru and visited the lake and its islands from there but we decided we were ready for a slight change of scene. We also chose Copacabana because La Isla del Sol sounded a little less overrun by tourists than the islands accessible from the Peruvian side. I am a little sad we are going to miss the floating islands though. There are some man-made islands on the Peruvian side which were constructed from reeds (I believe) when the Uros people decided to isolate themselves from the Incas. I can´t even really comprehend the idea of constructing my own island but it sounds really cool. Unfortunately, I think the people no longer maintain their isolation since they now sell tours of the island as one of their major sources of income.
I should have mentioned that we are currently back in Cusco. We went to Machu Picchu really early in the morning yesterday. We got up at 4 in the morning so that we could be one of the first people to Machu Picchu. By the time we got to the bus station there were already 200 or so people in front of us in line for the 5:30 bus. It was such an interesting case study in human nature. Everyone was trying to cut the line or find ways to get to Machu Picchu first. I have to admit I have those tendencies as well and I tried my best to keep control of my senses as we waited for the bus.
The bus ride reminded me of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Our bus was racing up the mountain, hurtling towards the Machu Picchu entrance gate. Caitlin felt sick (as I did on the return trip) but for the moment I was enjoying the extremely overpriced roller coaster ride.
One of the reasons we got there so early was so that we could get one of the few hundred tickets to climb Wayna Picchu. Wayna is a mountain behind the ruins that once scaled provides an excellent view from above. We decided to climb it at 7 instead of 10 so that we would be less tired later in the day.
The climb was awful. I haven´t really exercised much since I got Mono last November and was completely unprepared for the climb. The trail has stones which essentially creates a staircase all the way up the mountain. Needless to say I am sore today. The climb, though difficult, was a great experience. There are more ruins at the top and the hike made us feel like we had accomplished something, although I don´t know what exactly. Unfortunately, the fog never cleared so we couldn´t see the main ruins from the top of the mountain.
The main set of ruins were huge. We were essentially seeing the remains of a fairly large city (at least for the times). I liked that we were able to walk wherever we wanted. There weren´t any ropes so we were allowed to stroll through courtyards, temples, terraces and all of the many houses seemingly without limits. The city seemed somewhat endless once we were down inside of it and walking around. I jokingly picked out a house from among the many and imagined my daily walk to the market or the temple.
The whole time I was there I kept wondering why I am here? What makes these ruins more special than any of the other ruins in Peru? Why is it more coveted than the pyramids in Mexico? More sought out than Stonehenge? I don´t actually know if Machu Picchu has more visitors than the above mentioned places but it is certainly more expensive!
The truth is, I´m not entirely sure. I think the setting is part of it. These people chose to build their city in one of the most awe inspiring settings I have seen. The city is high up in the mountains, seemingly hidden away from the rest of the world. The mountains themselves have such dramatic peaks. Wayna, for example, seems to shoot up out of nowhere. It towers over its surroundings as do many of the other mountains in the area. The climate is definitely tropical or sub tropical adding to the mystery of the place. These alp like mountains are covered with jungle foliage instead of snow (although I am sure it does have snow during the winter).
The other part of it I think is similar to the reason people visit Stonehenge. How did these people construct the city? To me it seems somewhat impossible without the help of modern technology. Each house is made out of hundreds of stones piled together to form walls. I don´t even know where the stones came from but somehow they were able to assemble millions of them into an entire city. It seems quite advanced. I spent most of my time fascinated that the whole city was built at all, not to mention that it is still standing so many years later.
Overall, I´m glad we went even though I must admit I felt somewhat disappointed by the experience. Whenever I go to tourist sites with such high expectations I often find myself somewhat disappointed by what I end up seeing and experiencing. I think sometimes I approach life like that too and that´s why I went on this trip. I wanted to take a break from planning my future to take time to enjoy what I experience on a daily basis. I hope that by the end of the trip I will have changed some of my expectations. I´d rather live for today and then just see what comes my way. I felt able to do that as I struggled up the mountain yesterday. I literally didn´t have the strength to think about anything beyond the task at hand. Moments like that can be hard to come by. That made Machu Picchu and the whole experience worth every penny.
-Sarah
I should have mentioned that we are currently back in Cusco. We went to Machu Picchu really early in the morning yesterday. We got up at 4 in the morning so that we could be one of the first people to Machu Picchu. By the time we got to the bus station there were already 200 or so people in front of us in line for the 5:30 bus. It was such an interesting case study in human nature. Everyone was trying to cut the line or find ways to get to Machu Picchu first. I have to admit I have those tendencies as well and I tried my best to keep control of my senses as we waited for the bus.
The bus ride reminded me of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Our bus was racing up the mountain, hurtling towards the Machu Picchu entrance gate. Caitlin felt sick (as I did on the return trip) but for the moment I was enjoying the extremely overpriced roller coaster ride.
One of the reasons we got there so early was so that we could get one of the few hundred tickets to climb Wayna Picchu. Wayna is a mountain behind the ruins that once scaled provides an excellent view from above. We decided to climb it at 7 instead of 10 so that we would be less tired later in the day.
The climb was awful. I haven´t really exercised much since I got Mono last November and was completely unprepared for the climb. The trail has stones which essentially creates a staircase all the way up the mountain. Needless to say I am sore today. The climb, though difficult, was a great experience. There are more ruins at the top and the hike made us feel like we had accomplished something, although I don´t know what exactly. Unfortunately, the fog never cleared so we couldn´t see the main ruins from the top of the mountain.
The main set of ruins were huge. We were essentially seeing the remains of a fairly large city (at least for the times). I liked that we were able to walk wherever we wanted. There weren´t any ropes so we were allowed to stroll through courtyards, temples, terraces and all of the many houses seemingly without limits. The city seemed somewhat endless once we were down inside of it and walking around. I jokingly picked out a house from among the many and imagined my daily walk to the market or the temple.
The whole time I was there I kept wondering why I am here? What makes these ruins more special than any of the other ruins in Peru? Why is it more coveted than the pyramids in Mexico? More sought out than Stonehenge? I don´t actually know if Machu Picchu has more visitors than the above mentioned places but it is certainly more expensive!
The truth is, I´m not entirely sure. I think the setting is part of it. These people chose to build their city in one of the most awe inspiring settings I have seen. The city is high up in the mountains, seemingly hidden away from the rest of the world. The mountains themselves have such dramatic peaks. Wayna, for example, seems to shoot up out of nowhere. It towers over its surroundings as do many of the other mountains in the area. The climate is definitely tropical or sub tropical adding to the mystery of the place. These alp like mountains are covered with jungle foliage instead of snow (although I am sure it does have snow during the winter).
The other part of it I think is similar to the reason people visit Stonehenge. How did these people construct the city? To me it seems somewhat impossible without the help of modern technology. Each house is made out of hundreds of stones piled together to form walls. I don´t even know where the stones came from but somehow they were able to assemble millions of them into an entire city. It seems quite advanced. I spent most of my time fascinated that the whole city was built at all, not to mention that it is still standing so many years later.
Overall, I´m glad we went even though I must admit I felt somewhat disappointed by the experience. Whenever I go to tourist sites with such high expectations I often find myself somewhat disappointed by what I end up seeing and experiencing. I think sometimes I approach life like that too and that´s why I went on this trip. I wanted to take a break from planning my future to take time to enjoy what I experience on a daily basis. I hope that by the end of the trip I will have changed some of my expectations. I´d rather live for today and then just see what comes my way. I felt able to do that as I struggled up the mountain yesterday. I literally didn´t have the strength to think about anything beyond the task at hand. Moments like that can be hard to come by. That made Machu Picchu and the whole experience worth every penny.
-Sarah
Monday, September 28, 2009
Lima to Cusco
Hello! I haven´t written anything yet because I mainly just wanted to go out and have fun.
When we arrived in Lima it brought me back to my arrival in Buenos Aires almost two years ago. This time it was just Caitlin and I in a station wagon instead of the mini bus crowded with my fellow students. It was a very different drive. In Argentina I was really struck by the way the buildings on the outskirts of BSAS looked. They were falling apart, sometimes entire walls were missing. It was also a longer drive. I felt like we drove for 45 minutes before we got to our dorms. My drive with Caitlin seemed so different.
The buildings were falling apart too but it didn´t seem as drastic. Instead of miles and miles of houses we immediately seemed to be in the heart of Lima. There were trago monedas (Casinos) everywhere. I was immediately attracted to them because they were covered in flashing, bright lights. It reminded me of the feeling I had when I first came to Times Square. It was on a much smaller scale this time but the lights drew me in. I was excited to be here. I was back in South America, a place I associated with so many positive feelings.
My time in Buenos Aires was probably the most fun I had in college. The homework load was light and good friends were all around. We would party and explore. I don´t really miss the parties that much but I do miss the excitement of exploring a new place with new people. I´m hoping this trip will be like that.
I never wanted to become a snob about my time in Argentina but Lima seemed very dull in comparison. Not as many parks, too much smog, not as many circus people on the streets.
I´m glad to be in Cusco now. A lot of tourists but that also means lots of people from all over with whom I can share experiences. It also just seems like there is more culture here because of its history. The city is beautiful. Houses extend out from the center up the hills. The central plaza has several churches and lots of people selling paintings, clothes, etc. My favorite was groups of indigenous women with their alpacas. You can pay them a few soles to take a picture with the animals. Caitlin and I saw a really cute baby alpaca and couldn´t resist. Pictures will follow at some point.
The most shocking thing about Cusco for me was the altitude sickness. For some reason I thought I would be immune to such things. Wrong! Caitlin and I thought we were really out of shape at first. We couldn´t breathe walking up the hill to our hostel. I got the worst of it though and got pretty sick to the stomach. I´ll just leave it at that.
We are in Aguas Calientes now which is the town closest to Machu Picchu. Tomorrow we are getting up at 4 in the morning to get there bright and early. Our guidebook said that this town is touristy and overpriced. That may be true but it is also beautiful. A city nestled in between mountains with a river running through. Perfect!
When we arrived in Lima it brought me back to my arrival in Buenos Aires almost two years ago. This time it was just Caitlin and I in a station wagon instead of the mini bus crowded with my fellow students. It was a very different drive. In Argentina I was really struck by the way the buildings on the outskirts of BSAS looked. They were falling apart, sometimes entire walls were missing. It was also a longer drive. I felt like we drove for 45 minutes before we got to our dorms. My drive with Caitlin seemed so different.
The buildings were falling apart too but it didn´t seem as drastic. Instead of miles and miles of houses we immediately seemed to be in the heart of Lima. There were trago monedas (Casinos) everywhere. I was immediately attracted to them because they were covered in flashing, bright lights. It reminded me of the feeling I had when I first came to Times Square. It was on a much smaller scale this time but the lights drew me in. I was excited to be here. I was back in South America, a place I associated with so many positive feelings.
My time in Buenos Aires was probably the most fun I had in college. The homework load was light and good friends were all around. We would party and explore. I don´t really miss the parties that much but I do miss the excitement of exploring a new place with new people. I´m hoping this trip will be like that.
I never wanted to become a snob about my time in Argentina but Lima seemed very dull in comparison. Not as many parks, too much smog, not as many circus people on the streets.
I´m glad to be in Cusco now. A lot of tourists but that also means lots of people from all over with whom I can share experiences. It also just seems like there is more culture here because of its history. The city is beautiful. Houses extend out from the center up the hills. The central plaza has several churches and lots of people selling paintings, clothes, etc. My favorite was groups of indigenous women with their alpacas. You can pay them a few soles to take a picture with the animals. Caitlin and I saw a really cute baby alpaca and couldn´t resist. Pictures will follow at some point.
The most shocking thing about Cusco for me was the altitude sickness. For some reason I thought I would be immune to such things. Wrong! Caitlin and I thought we were really out of shape at first. We couldn´t breathe walking up the hill to our hostel. I got the worst of it though and got pretty sick to the stomach. I´ll just leave it at that.
We are in Aguas Calientes now which is the town closest to Machu Picchu. Tomorrow we are getting up at 4 in the morning to get there bright and early. Our guidebook said that this town is touristy and overpriced. That may be true but it is also beautiful. A city nestled in between mountains with a river running through. Perfect!
Monday, August 31, 2009
I always wanted to write my memoirs...
Hopefully this blog will be somewhat interesting to read. I’m sure my family at least will give it a shot.
I thought maybe this would be a good way to keep everyone updated from the road. Only 22 days until my plane lands in Lima, Peru!
I thought maybe this would be a good way to keep everyone updated from the road. Only 22 days until my plane lands in Lima, Peru!
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