Meandering in South America

Mas...

2009-03-06T21:10:00.001-08:00

i've put a few more photos up...enjoy

Fotos!

2009-03-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

I´ve finally posted more photos...sorry for the long delay folks. There on flickr.com, check them out!

Lake Titicaca

2009-03-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

Lake Titicaca is one of the highest lakes in the world standing at 12,500 feet above sea level. On the lake are many islands where different groups of people have lived for hundreds of years. One of the most famous groups are the Uros people who live on floating islands constructed out of totoras or reeds that grow in the lake. Basically these reeds form floating chunks of dirt that they then plant their roots into. On top of these the Uros people lay down many layers of cut reeds constantly putting down new layers as the old ones are always rotting away. Walking on the ground provides a squishy and bouncy feeling under your feet. Not only is the ground they walk on made from these reeds, but so are their houses, boats, and tourist souvenirs. They also eat them. There are about 2,500 people who inhabit these floating islands and they have a school, medical center, and church. The Uros began living on the lake a few hundred years ago in defiance of the Inca rule and have been there ever since. They even grow potatoes and the like among the reeds. Talk about a different way of life, it was unbelievble to observe this other world so removed from the one I live in and even from what I have observed these last few months in the rest of South America.
I also got to visit the island of Taquile, which is a bit farther out into the lake. There are about 2,000 people in the community there and it´s a gorgeous island with a winding stone path that weaves in around the hilly tops of the island. All the men who live on the island wear these beautiful hand knitted hats that are brilliantly colorful and looks a bit like goofy night caps. Married men and single men are distinguished by the patterns on the hat and only married men wear the colorful purses around their waists that are filled with coca leaves and given to friends as a way of greeting.
I´ve been in Peru for a little over a week now and am in awe. It was like night and day crossing the border from Chile as it is obvious how much more developed Chile is than Peru. The poverty you see on the streets is very obvious and heartwrenching and many buildings have been damaged by devastating earthquakes the last few years. More then half the population lives under the poverty line and there isn´t really much of a welfare safety net to catch any of the people who need assistance. That being said, Peru is a gorgeous country rich in colorful crafts, delicious food, lush canyons, and an amazingly kind people.

Climbing Volcanoes

2009-02-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

We left at 7 am to drive to the base of the volcano. With clear skies and ice pick in hand, i started the slow climb up the icy path with the guides and fellow trekkers. We climbed about 1447 meters in 4 hours slowing making our way towards the top. The icy path marked out for us was only wide enough to put one foot in front of another and as I looked behind me all I could see was the steady stream of people behind me and the clouds lingering below them. As we got closer it began to clear and I could see the top...it didn´t look so far away. Two hours later when I reached the top, my legs shaking and my arms just barely raising my ice pick to plunge it into the icy wall I used to steady myself and use for leverage, I took a deep breath and smiled proudly to myself. I didn´t have time to enjoy it much though as I was soon pulled in for a congratulations hug by one of the guides and then told to quickly pull on all my protectiver gear, ie my jacket, snow pants, gators, and gloves. Then with legs still a bit shaky I climbed up around the rocky ledge that surrounded the mouth of the volcano. Ok, so not to sound too dramatic, but well looking into the depths of that volcano looked a little like what a pit of death might look like. Steam and gases rising, and hising, a sickening dry heat that fills your mouth, nose, and and lungs. A dry void of rocks and ash, blackness that reached into infinity. It´s the kind of thing you can´t stop looking at even though you get a strange errie feeling when you do. Well as the volcano is actually still active, the sulfuric fumes are, well, posionous so we weren´t allowed to stay all that long, before packing up, catching one more glimpse of the top of the world and the mountains in all directions and then heading down the volcano...on our butts. Yes this was the fun part, sliding down well carved ice slides so to speak controlling the speed with the ice pick. The ice pick was my best friend that day. I slid down slides for probably an hour terrified that I was going to fly right off the cliff edge and laughing with sheer pleasure like a 7 year old child at the same time.

A vacation from a vacation

2009-01-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

I arrived on the evening of the summer solstice (winter solstice for you people above the equator) to my new home, a fading yellow house surrounded by eculyptus trees and a roaming herd of goats. Well I thought maybe I would stay for a week and see how it went...I stayed for three. I am of course referrring to the last three weeks I spent volunteering on a farm just south of Puerto Montt, Chile. I ate delicious veggies from the garden everyday, harvested lettuce and carrots to sell, planted new baby lettuce and beets, dug holes, weeded, and ate the most amazing local honey I have ever eaten. I didn´t realize that honey could become a daily staple. It was a very tranquil three weeks complete with daily swims in a lagoon that overlooks the gulf of ancud, a christmas eve dinner of freshly caught fish from the nearby river and mussels from the nearby bay, a new year´s eve celebration of bonfires, pisco, and guitar playing, a 24th birthday where I was sung happy birthday to in 6 different languages, and new friends from England, France, and Chile. After three weeks i have finally pulled myself away and gone to the enchanted island of Chiloe wandering around in the little towns that dot the island and the magnificent wooden churches. I am now heading north once again hopefully towards volcanos as well as beaches on my first love the pacific ocean. Happy New Year´s everyone....starting it off very well I think with the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday, whahooooo!

More Photos!

2008-12-17T09:50:00.001-08:00

Hey peeps, I´ve uploaded more photos on to Flickr...they are on Facebook as well. I´m back in El Bolson at the moment relaxing and visiting the people at El Pueblito hostel that I befriended last time I was here...gearing up for the next chaper of my trip: Chile (Noemi you better be buying a ticket to Santiago as I write this) and hopefully some WWOOFing! Happy holidays to all, besitos

A hiker´s paradise

2008-12-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

Well it has been quite a while since i last updated this blog, but I have been under the spell of Patagonia for the last two weeks hiking like a madwoman (and my feet are paying for it now). I left El Bolson and started heading south with my new hiking buddy Hana. We made it all the way down to El Calafate to see the famous Perito Moreno glacier, which was unbelievable. It spills out between mountains looking like a valley of jagged blue lava slowly pushing itself and spilling over on to the unmovable cliffs in its path and farther into the lake beneath it. All day you hear the sound of gunshots and thunder echoing in surround sound as the glacier moves and shifts, cracks, and breaks. Huge chunks fall sporadiacally off of its jaggad peaks falling into the water with an amazing spray of ice meeting water. The perfect ending to the day came minutes before we pryed our huge eyes away from the glacier to return on the bus to town. Suddenly a piece of ice 10 times larger then anything we had seen throughout the day let out a thunderous crack and broke off plunging into the water sending a wave of ice and water into the air and a gasp throughout the people lucky enough to see it. After leaving El Calafate, we continued on our way to El Chalten, a tiny little town only 23 years old situated inside a national park. This meant that in the morning, we simply rolled out of bed and walked 2 minutes to the trailhead of our choice for the day. We got amazing views of Fitz Roy, which people actually climb (I will be forever in awe of mountain climbers). The town inself is quite nice as well, one of those towns that is so small that by the time you leave, you feel as if you know the entire town. Our last night there we went out to the only 2 bars in town to drink fernet y coke (fernet is an alcohol made with herbs that is quite bitter that I actually like unlike most) and home brewed beer with some locals who had befriended us. We ended up being pulled into the celebration of some climbers who had just returned from a week of climbing Fitz Roy and were celebrating by singing, drinking copious amounts of beer, and screening their unreal photos from atop the mountain on the wall of one of the bars. It was hard to tear ourselves away from El Chalten, but we soon arrived in Puerto Natales, Chile and were in awe of our new surroundings all over again. We spend a day getting all our ducks in a row before heading to Torres Del Paine National Park to tackle the ¨W¨trail for 4 days. Our first day we hiked along a glacier lake against the infamous Patagonian winds. For the first time my backpack was a blessing and not a hinderance as I probably would have gotten blown over without the weight of it on my back. Day two we hiked through meadows and along tourquoise lakes that looked as if they belonged in the Greek Isles save for the snow capped mountain tops rising behind them. Day three we hiked for over 10 hours, which was a push mentally as well as physically as my hiking shoes began to turn on me...blisters galore. It was worth it however as we hopped across numerous streams and rivers drinking the delicious, fresh, and icy cold water from the snow melt off the above mountain ranges. We arrived at the final valley in the ¨W¨hiking into the valley via a thin path carved high up into the mountain side with glimpses of the Torres around every bend and the rushing river hundreds of feet below us. We hiked out on the fourth day dreaming of a hot shower and a hot meal, but completely thrilled to have experienced that gorgeous park for 4 days.

Photos photos!

2008-11-24T10:20:00.000-08:00

I have finally posted photos on flickr. yaya, it only took me a month. Just type in mslyons1016 and they should come up. i´ve also posted a few on facebook for you people who do that. besitos!!!

hiking wonders

2008-11-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

so i went on the most amazing hike yesterday. im in el bolson by the way, which is 2 hrs south of bariloche. very refreshing after bariloche, which was spectacular, but too resort like for me. el bolson is very much in the hippie style of northern california. so this hike started out common enough with some dusty trails and a walk through the woods. the farther up i got though the more astounded i became. the view of the surrounding snow capped mountains was unbelievable and we were soon following the rio azul, which has the brightest blue water i have ever seen. it´s pure melted snow and crystal clear. we hiked farther up along this river gorge until we got to a series of wooden ladders and makeshift bridges over the gorge. finally we arrived at a refugio where we were welcomed with a steaming cup of mate and a place to rest and eat our lunch high up in the mountains. the refugio consisted of a cozy wood cabin, an impressive garden, chickens, and horses...these people are living completely off the grid in one of the most tranquil place i have ever been. the hike impressed me and the people at the refugio who have choosen to live such a simple and rustic life impressed me even more. how they got their horses over those dodgy rocks where you are a foot away from death i´ll never know. i am staying at a great hostel where they make their own beer and cook the best asado i have had yet in argentina. dad, you would be in heaven...looks like i might get ¨stuck¨here for a while, but i better enjoy it as i think im going to head down to el calafayte next to see the mother of all glaciers and the bus ride is around 28 hours...loving the shaved head, you boys might be on to something!

Plans are for changing

2008-11-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

hola hola,

well the farm thing opened up but it was too late as i had already left on a 20 hour bus ride south to the gorgeous town of bariloche. ah well it looks like there is another one in chile that might work out so i might head there after i'm done doing the southern route in argentina. bariloche is absolutely stunning and the view from my hostel is top notch. not too much to report yet as i just got here but will have more stories soon i'm sure. that's all for now! oh one more thing...i shaved my head, well actually two dutch guys, two guys from california, and one guy from australia shaved my head...pics coming i swear.

Wine and Bikes

2008-11-12T06:36:00.000-08:00

So I went wine tasting yesterday while riding bikes, a great combination don´t you think? It´s nothing like wine tasting in Napa where everything is well marked and every winery is full of wine snobs. It was much more relaxed and quite the adventure as we were constantly getting ourselves lost. Every winery we went to we picked up another biker. It was amazing, one moment you would be riding on a main street where you´re dodging construction sights and then you turn onto a side road and all of the sudden you are riding under a canopy of gorgeous lush trees and you look to your right and there in the distance is a view of the breathtaking Andes.

A sigh of relief

2008-11-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

I feel as if this huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I think I began to become interested in politics right when Bush was elected for the first time in 2000. So for the past eight years as my interest in politics has grown so has my cynicism. My hopes were hanging by a very thin thread before the election, a thread that would have been obliterated if McCain had won, but now I feel that at least we are maybe headed in the right direction again. A long road awaits us, but at this moment it seems doable. I´m in Cordoba now a lazy and slow paced city full of college students and Che memorabilia. I´m off to Mendoza soon to sample some of that fine Argentinian wine and then hopefully to a farm for a bit to take a break from the hosteling world and save some money. I was supposed to head to the farm this coming Thursday, but some volunteers there are now staying a bit longer, which interrupts my plans to head there. So I have to wait until next weekend to contact the farm again and see whats what. Kinks in the plan are part of the adventure in a unplanned trip such as this though right? I guess stalling in the Napa of Argentina is not all that bad though.

We did it!!!

2008-11-05T04:14:00.000-08:00

WHAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The mother of all waterfalls

2008-11-04T05:36:00.000-08:00

Wow. Wow. Wow. There is no words or photos that can do this waterfall justice. Seeing it in person was simply breathtaking. The waterfalls I am refering to is the Iguazu waterfalls that border Argentina and Brazil. Quoting a good friend of mine who said when asked why are waterfalls selfish, she replied, ¨They fall where they please¨ Thanks Q. Well this definitley applies to these roaring cascades of water. It literaly looks as if the earth opened up and water from all corners of the earth just came pouring into the gaping hole. About 10 years ago a group of very impressive people built a labrinyth of catwalks that take you right to the edge of the falls. So you can literaly stand on the edge of where la garganta del diablo rushes downwards in an impressive whirlpool of water to the rocks below. I read that something like 400,000 gallons of water falls every second from this natural wonder. Well today is the election day and I'm in a tiny little town on the border of Argentina and Brazil full of palm trees and red dirt roads, a funny place to be maybe on this important day, but it should be interesting all the same. People have been asking me about it all day. I think many people are just as curious as i am but i think i may be a bit more nervous then them. Well hopefully tomorrow we will all be celebrating.

2008-10-31T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well I´m wrapping up my days in BsAs. I´ve been winding my way through the busy streets avoiding colectivos (buses) and lounging in parks filled with trees covered in budding purple flowers...yes it´s spring here. I took a Spanish class this week to give my brain a much needed grammer review, which was helpful. This city is really quite amazing. Everyday I have stumbled upon a new gorgeous park or an amazing piece of architecture that looks like it belongs in the middle of Paris or Madrid. I think the most interesting thing I have seen while being here though is the cemetery in Recoleta (a particular neighborhood). That sounds morbid I guess, or maybe it´s fitting since it´s Halloween and all. The cemetery is more like a small city with street names and everything to direct you to different graves. The graves of course are all housed in these grand mausoleums carved in marble and such. They are quite dramatic and many famous Argentinians have been laid to rest here including the notorious Evita. Anyways its a very ominous and mysterious feeling place. Part of me felt as if I was wandering through a grand memorial to the deceased legends of Argentina and another part of me felt as if at any moment a vanpire might jump out at me and suck my blood. I´m heading up to Iguazu Falls next...the huge waterfalls that are on the border of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil...more to come on that adventure. Happy Halloween, I´ll be eating Kinder Buenos in honor of it for all those fellow Sevillanos reading this. Chau.

Elections

2008-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

So yes our electorial system is flawed and we have had an incompetent president in the white house for the last 8 years, but...in Argentina if you are running for office, you have to print your own ballots and distribute them to all the polling stations. Seems a bit dodgy doesn´t it? Also the first person to arrive at the polling station has to man the station. Can you imagine getting to the polling station to vote and instead of getting a sticker, lucky you, you get to stay all day and work at the station. it´s also very common for presidents to not finish their terms here (though that might have worked nicely for the U.S. these past few years). Though this can be a good thing sometimes I´m sure, I would also think that it could make things all the more disruptive. Hang in there people, only 10 more days...and then everything will be right once more in the world, this financial crisis will end, terrorist networks will dissolve, and global warming will be a thing of the past. A pipe dream maybe, but at least hopefully we´ll be headed in the right direction again, and yes I promise that in the future this blog will actually be about my adventures in Latin America and not about the upcoming election.

South of the Equator

2008-10-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

So I have arrived south of the equator! It feels sort of surreal to finally be here after thinking about it for so long. I am staying with my old friend Rachael who has made my transition here so easy. Not only did she meet me at the airport, but she also then let me pass out on her couch for hours and then made me an amazing dinner. Thanks Rachael! I spent the whole day today just wandering around trying to get my bearings. Buenos Aires (BsAs) reminds me a lot of a city in Spain, except that in Spain I wouldn´t be overloadig my system with mate, which I have already been doing in the 30 hours since my arrival. It´s strange to be away from the circus that is the upcoming election, but it´s kind of a relief. I was starting to pull my hair out waiting for it all to be over. Ok, well that´s all for now. If anyone wants a real live postcard, email me your snail mail address and I´ll send one at some point. Ciao for now!

Heading South for the Winter

2008-10-15T17:42:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

So I'm leaving for Argentina on Monday. I don't know how long I'll be traveling around for, I guess it depends how the election turns out. Anyways check in from time to time if your interested. See ya on the other side!