So after 2 days and 3 nights in Singapore I left for India.
Singapore was incredible- definately a place I shall have to move to some day, at leaast for a year or so... everyone was lovely, polite, well dressed, the streets were clean, pretty, the sun was shining, the exotic birds singing, the ripe sweet fruits over-flowing from the stands, the fusion of numerous asian cultures producing mind-blowing cuisine options...heaven :)
And then 2 hours on the plane to Bangkok, 3 hours at the airport, then 4 hours on another plane and voila: INDIA!!!!!
New Delhi- pretty much the above just the exact opposite :P haha...nah the people are lovely here too, but otherwise yeah, the opposite...
Got picked up by a little angry man, who had been waiting for an hour, and grudgingly drove me to my hotel at 1am...
i was soooo tired that the lack of air-conditioning, loud noises from the outside street, or even strange noises from the next room could not stop me from falling asleep immediately!!!
I woke up this morning ready to explore, you know really be open-minded, embrace the new beautiful colorful indian culture and just LIVE it.... it started out well, colors, everywhere, hassling from every single male as expected, flavorful smells wafting across the street, many many bikes, cars, motorcycles everywhere...just imagine slumdog millionaire and me standing right in the middle of it all. :)
but then it went down hill just a tiny bit when 2 ATMs wouldn't give me money ( dont worry the 3rd one did), then I had to check-out, hassle the price down by alot, arrange a bus to rishikesh finally got one for tonight), then arrange a Delhi tour by car and that is when it kind of really went wrong..it was beautiful at first, all the temples and buildings and general hectiness of delhi life BUT then we stopped at the Red Fort, I got out of the car as usual to explore the sight and meet him back at the car in approx. 30min, but by the time I got back, the taxi driver was nowhere to be seen AND I discovered that my wallet was gone- maybe slipped out in the taxi who knows but it was gone and so was the taxi driver :( that left me in the middle of wild delhi on my own without transport...oh well, I send the taxi driver love, thanking him for the lesson he taught me, hoping he learns to live a better life ( after all there were only about 800 or 900 rupies in there, luckily i had put all the 10 000 rupies and my card i had withdrawn in another pouch in my bag) and started making my way back...I did and everything was fine.. Now i am happily sipping on a lassi ( delicious, praying not to get a delhi tummy in those 24hrs I have here before I depart :P) in a little local cafe, reading and shall be making my way to the busstop shortly..
So hello India, show me what you got and I will listen, watch, learn and love you for it!!!
Dhanyavad
Shukrya xxx
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
AUSTRALIA!!!!!!! finally its happened to me...
Flew into Sydney on the 15th of May!
Stayed in wake up hostel for 3 nights- walked through Sydney for hours and hours and hours, through Surreey Hills, Central, Newtown, Chinatown, the Rocks, Opera house, just EVERYTHING!!! Drank a lot of coffee- they do that in Sydney and just sucked in the atmosphere! thsi included two nights out in some great gay bars- met some lovely people, dyed my hair red, bought some great retro sunglasses and...well just WAS in Sydney!
On the 19th flew to Brisbane - short flight early in the morning, and a quick train ride to bunk hostel!!! first things first: indian VISA!!! had to get done (do not get me started, but lets just say, a lot of hassle!! yeah lets keep it at that). after that a quick package to be sent home ( too much stuff, too little space, too many memories to throw those things away). After that I used the day to wonder through Brisbane for endless hours, they passed by real quick though, as it truly is a very pleasant city!! I decided to make my way the next day already though, because I was not in Australia to be in cities. So Byron Bay was to be the next stop!! Oh little did I know, that it would be the ONLY stop, THE stop, possible the LOVE of my life :D
Took a 3 hour bus ride to Byron Bay ont he 20th of May and resided there until the 4th of June! I arrived and before I even spoke to anybody I knew that this place was special and would really work well for me- and it certainly did!! Laiston, a tall, very handsome, long blond-haired, scruffy looking, bare footed, awesomely dressed guy from texas approached me as soon as I got off the bus and simply asked: where were you planning on staying? That was all that had to be said- I had had no plan, only having heard of the 'ARTS FACTORY" I was going to look it up once there- but with my luck, Laiston worked at the Arts Factory and so before I knew it I was whizzed away in the arts factory bus to my new home! Laiston and I go ton real good very well and so it was not long ( in fact about 3 minutes into the 6 minutes busride) that he asked where I was plannign on staing, the dorms or the campsite?! I was very very keen on camping but did not have a tent BUT once again, fate was there to guide me and Laiston offered to share his tent! Done and done!! I could, and will go on about how amazing it was, how I fell in love, how I walked on the beach( which was 5 minutes away) every day at sunrise and then again at sunset, how I walked around bare foot for 2 weeks straight, how I loved livign ina tent, how the small open kitchen became my favourite spot, how i met THE best people in he wolrd: Nick ( my actual twin), Luise, Linda ( two crazy crazy german awesome ladies), Robbie ( the one I now dream of :)- with the voice of a sexy angel and the ability to play guitarre like a...well rockstar!), Ema ( great scottish-irish girl...plus we kind of have the same pants, so we are officially very bonded to eachother), Matt ( I kind of just think of him as Gandalf- he constantly had a long walkign stick, a cape and long curly hair...come on a litle bti like a wizard dont you think?), Filipo ( the cutest italian EVER), Javier ( the sweetest spaniard ever), Patrick ( the coolest surfer dude from Luxenburg I ever knew and probably will know- after all there arent too many Luxenburgers, let alone those who surf), Johnie ( god I love saying his name - a lovely chilled out dude from Virginia), Chris ( the guy who did my dread - yes its true I now officialy have a dread), ferez ( the nosiest but lovely german) and Mauro ( the italian whom I will never forget..partly because he is just soooo cute and also because he pretty much cooked or offered to cook em dinner every night..bless!!)
And that is it ladies and gentleman- the 'Jungle hut crew!'
Why Jungle hut? Because there was a wooden hut, with open sides, wooden benches and tables, shit hanging off everywhere and it was called the 'Jungle hut'- here we resided many many many hours- jammed int he evenings, or during the day, ate - pretty much 24/7 - created some great sayings, had some unforgettable laughs and generaly just fell in love with each other and Byron Bay! What did we do all day??
Did some crazy trips: liek to nimbin ( those of you who know it must now be nodding in happy agreement), for those who don't- its this little town and basically its just knwo for its weed! Yep, it is just a little village where you go and smoke pot all day...yep, its great!! haha...
Otherwise we had a bonfire on the beach, slept on the beach, some nights we simply did not sleep at all and just talked, drank "goon" ( dirt cheap boxed wine), jammed for hours, and ( dont tell anybody) smoked a lot of weed!! Dont judne- go there yourself and then tell me that you didnt....
I also started making a lot of jewellery so in Byron bay I took a lot of time collecting beads, feathers, shells and stones and created a dozen or more earrings- I gave the most of them to the girlies who made my life so beautiful during those days there but somethign was definately awoken and I am grateful for that!!!
Otherwise we ate ALOT of chocolate ( for those experinced weed smokers- you knwo what I am talkign about?? well imagine this: they called it stoner surprise at the arts factory cafe- vanilla ice cream, then a hot chocolate and walnut brownie on top of that, then another scoop of ice cream, broken up biscuit and then caramel sauce on top, sprinkled with coco powdre - now let that drive you crazy as you think about it- and now think about the ridiculous satisfaction this calorific bombshell can create in a stoned person's life :P haha....)
We went to the buddha bar for live music 4 times a week, that was beautiful, otherwise I worked 4x a week , cleaning the fridges and kitchen of the hostel for accomodation, so I cleaned 3 hours , 4 days a week and this payed for my ccomodation, so those 15$ I would have had to pay for camping there- good deal!!
But I have to stop talkign about that now because it is making me miss it too much - after all I am no longer there!!
I departed on the 4th, made my way back to Brisbane, picked up my, finally completed indian visa ( after having rebooked ALL my flights...who cares that I am already short on money right- lets splash out on last minute flights- oh well, if you cant plan well, or stick toy our plans that it, you gotta pay for it right?), had a final stroll through Brisbane and then went to bed early to prepare for the big travellign day ahead!
on the 5th of June i flew to Cairns early in the morning, then to Darwin- short layover, and then to Singapore!!! Yep, I am now in Singapore!!
Oh hello Asia!! :P
Stayed in wake up hostel for 3 nights- walked through Sydney for hours and hours and hours, through Surreey Hills, Central, Newtown, Chinatown, the Rocks, Opera house, just EVERYTHING!!! Drank a lot of coffee- they do that in Sydney and just sucked in the atmosphere! thsi included two nights out in some great gay bars- met some lovely people, dyed my hair red, bought some great retro sunglasses and...well just WAS in Sydney!
On the 19th flew to Brisbane - short flight early in the morning, and a quick train ride to bunk hostel!!! first things first: indian VISA!!! had to get done (do not get me started, but lets just say, a lot of hassle!! yeah lets keep it at that). after that a quick package to be sent home ( too much stuff, too little space, too many memories to throw those things away). After that I used the day to wonder through Brisbane for endless hours, they passed by real quick though, as it truly is a very pleasant city!! I decided to make my way the next day already though, because I was not in Australia to be in cities. So Byron Bay was to be the next stop!! Oh little did I know, that it would be the ONLY stop, THE stop, possible the LOVE of my life :D
Took a 3 hour bus ride to Byron Bay ont he 20th of May and resided there until the 4th of June! I arrived and before I even spoke to anybody I knew that this place was special and would really work well for me- and it certainly did!! Laiston, a tall, very handsome, long blond-haired, scruffy looking, bare footed, awesomely dressed guy from texas approached me as soon as I got off the bus and simply asked: where were you planning on staying? That was all that had to be said- I had had no plan, only having heard of the 'ARTS FACTORY" I was going to look it up once there- but with my luck, Laiston worked at the Arts Factory and so before I knew it I was whizzed away in the arts factory bus to my new home! Laiston and I go ton real good very well and so it was not long ( in fact about 3 minutes into the 6 minutes busride) that he asked where I was plannign on staing, the dorms or the campsite?! I was very very keen on camping but did not have a tent BUT once again, fate was there to guide me and Laiston offered to share his tent! Done and done!! I could, and will go on about how amazing it was, how I fell in love, how I walked on the beach( which was 5 minutes away) every day at sunrise and then again at sunset, how I walked around bare foot for 2 weeks straight, how I loved livign ina tent, how the small open kitchen became my favourite spot, how i met THE best people in he wolrd: Nick ( my actual twin), Luise, Linda ( two crazy crazy german awesome ladies), Robbie ( the one I now dream of :)- with the voice of a sexy angel and the ability to play guitarre like a...well rockstar!), Ema ( great scottish-irish girl...plus we kind of have the same pants, so we are officially very bonded to eachother), Matt ( I kind of just think of him as Gandalf- he constantly had a long walkign stick, a cape and long curly hair...come on a litle bti like a wizard dont you think?), Filipo ( the cutest italian EVER), Javier ( the sweetest spaniard ever), Patrick ( the coolest surfer dude from Luxenburg I ever knew and probably will know- after all there arent too many Luxenburgers, let alone those who surf), Johnie ( god I love saying his name - a lovely chilled out dude from Virginia), Chris ( the guy who did my dread - yes its true I now officialy have a dread), ferez ( the nosiest but lovely german) and Mauro ( the italian whom I will never forget..partly because he is just soooo cute and also because he pretty much cooked or offered to cook em dinner every night..bless!!)
And that is it ladies and gentleman- the 'Jungle hut crew!'
Why Jungle hut? Because there was a wooden hut, with open sides, wooden benches and tables, shit hanging off everywhere and it was called the 'Jungle hut'- here we resided many many many hours- jammed int he evenings, or during the day, ate - pretty much 24/7 - created some great sayings, had some unforgettable laughs and generaly just fell in love with each other and Byron Bay! What did we do all day??
Did some crazy trips: liek to nimbin ( those of you who know it must now be nodding in happy agreement), for those who don't- its this little town and basically its just knwo for its weed! Yep, it is just a little village where you go and smoke pot all day...yep, its great!! haha...
Otherwise we had a bonfire on the beach, slept on the beach, some nights we simply did not sleep at all and just talked, drank "goon" ( dirt cheap boxed wine), jammed for hours, and ( dont tell anybody) smoked a lot of weed!! Dont judne- go there yourself and then tell me that you didnt....
I also started making a lot of jewellery so in Byron bay I took a lot of time collecting beads, feathers, shells and stones and created a dozen or more earrings- I gave the most of them to the girlies who made my life so beautiful during those days there but somethign was definately awoken and I am grateful for that!!!
Otherwise we ate ALOT of chocolate ( for those experinced weed smokers- you knwo what I am talkign about?? well imagine this: they called it stoner surprise at the arts factory cafe- vanilla ice cream, then a hot chocolate and walnut brownie on top of that, then another scoop of ice cream, broken up biscuit and then caramel sauce on top, sprinkled with coco powdre - now let that drive you crazy as you think about it- and now think about the ridiculous satisfaction this calorific bombshell can create in a stoned person's life :P haha....)
We went to the buddha bar for live music 4 times a week, that was beautiful, otherwise I worked 4x a week , cleaning the fridges and kitchen of the hostel for accomodation, so I cleaned 3 hours , 4 days a week and this payed for my ccomodation, so those 15$ I would have had to pay for camping there- good deal!!
But I have to stop talkign about that now because it is making me miss it too much - after all I am no longer there!!
I departed on the 4th, made my way back to Brisbane, picked up my, finally completed indian visa ( after having rebooked ALL my flights...who cares that I am already short on money right- lets splash out on last minute flights- oh well, if you cant plan well, or stick toy our plans that it, you gotta pay for it right?), had a final stroll through Brisbane and then went to bed early to prepare for the big travellign day ahead!
on the 5th of June i flew to Cairns early in the morning, then to Darwin- short layover, and then to Singapore!!! Yep, I am now in Singapore!!
Oh hello Asia!! :P
Sorry but this I am a very busry traveller you know...
Auckland for 2 days
Bay of Islands for a day- watching dolphins , plus the hole in the rock!
Rotorua one night- cutest hostel ( crash apalace), VERY smelly but omg was the rotten smell worth it, when you dipped yourself into the steeming hot natural springs...treated myself to a full body massage..oops, guilty as charged!
Flew to Christchurch on the 4th of May!!
Seeing that is was based on Canterbury it bloody well looked very much like it! Beautiful church ( went to the evening choir performance- goose bumps appearing all over again just at the thought of it).
Wondered through Botanical garden, went to the Museum of Modern Art etc...
On the 6th the Kiwi experience began!!! 10 days of wonderful fun, amazement, bonding, driving, driving and driving... :)
First day off to Kaikora- WOW!! This place took swimming with dolphins to a whole new level, when 12 of us got on a boat, got driven out to open see, and dressed in full gear dropped into the freezing open waters, with only the glass of our goggles seperating us from the beauty of underwater life. 12 of us, 250 of them- yes, 250 of them, those wild, beautiful dolphins, playing iwth us, swimming under us, next to us, with us...for an HOUR!!! but then it got freezing and I slowly started feeling more and more like a dolphin, as the sensation in my legs started to stop and I felt more like a legless creature more than anything- but as great it is to bond with animals, one does not have to risk losing his/her limbs, I believe anyway...
So after that it was time to properly bond with my new fellow travellers- the main characters in the next few days of adventures: Daniel, Mick, Kate, Chris, Julia, Martha, D, Andy and Marah!! yep, that was the crew.oh AND jonas- a boy, who i now truly believe is my brother, who actually came to pull a joke on me!! i have NEVER seen anyone resemble someone else like that before ( unless they are twins ofcourse)- so Matej, should you be reading this- you have an identical twin called HJonas from Amsterdam, 19 years old, chef, currently in NZ, and....well look for someone who looks like you- thats him!!
Next : Kaikora to Picton and then Nelson - NZ's most renowned wine region, beautiful drive along the coastline, Nelson the sunniest city in NZ- although when we were there is was cloudy..great! :) little side note: tried NZ's winning ice-cream: bronze- lavender and honey; silver- lemongrass and ginger- AMAZING!!!! just thought i would mention that.
Next: Nelson to Westport - Nelson Lakes National Park, beautiful walk, but rainy all day and Westport, osrry to be saying this so directly BUT its a s*** hole...ohnestly- nothing there!!! just a massive supermarket- yeeeyyy..so watched bridget jones diaries, shrek and ice runners with the entire crew and a massive tub of ice-cream in the hostel!!
Next: Westport to Lake mahinapua - down the famous Highway 6. Punakaiki Pancacke rocks, seal colonies, and then the POO PUB!!!! awesome place, old ( 84 year old) man looks after us all. AND cooks an amazing dinner- steak, venicen stew, corn, veggies- you have no ideas how good that tastes when you have to eat shitty cheap food ALL the time- lets just say we were all very happy! and in honour of thsi we had a 'P' party- all dressed in sth. beginning with a 'P'. i was a peacock, but there were great ideas eg. pensioner, panda, priest, present 9 the unevitable penis ofcourse), pencil etc...it was a good ( for some drunken) night!
Next: Lake mahinapua to Franz Josef - WOW! very few words needed: go and see it for yourself! massive galcier, can move up to a meter a day, clear skies, hours of walking, skydive at sunrise- yep, you heard me- 15000ft skydive ( thats approx. 4,5km for those who dont know :P), a yoga class, some clean landry ( yes that is information that can and must be included in here)...We stayed here two nights!
Next: Franz Josef to Wanaka - I LOVE Wanaka! I dont precisely know why, maybe its the cute village, the great health food store, beautiful lake and mountains, cozy cafes OR the coolest cineam EVER!! where you sit in massive couches, sip on tea or hot chocolate and cookies, freshly taken otu of the oven get served at interval- not sure, but it might be the combination of them all!!
Next: Wanaka to Queenstown - wow the trip is over!! Queenstown our final destination , beautiful, freezing, peaceful at day, crazy at night ( and i mean CRAZY- 6 words: the world bar and tea pots- oh dear!!!) had a brill last nigth in Queenstown with the crew- treated ourselves to a japanese meal, sad to leave everyone!
Next: Back to Christchurch - 8 hour drive- LONG!!! Arrived back in Christchurch, last stroll, send soem postcards and then off to bed, after all my flight was at 11am the following day!
A few things to be said about New Zealand: it is stunningly beautiful, unbelievably peaceful, people are truly very friendly, the maori culture is intriguying and very dominant, you are bound to become an adrenaline junkie - i DID! ( for future birthday present ideas: a skydive will do it :P), it is very expensive, the food ( i know that i have been slipping it in there occasionaly) is sooo expensive and all in all it is a country worth discovering! I LOVED IT!
Bay of Islands for a day- watching dolphins , plus the hole in the rock!
Rotorua one night- cutest hostel ( crash apalace), VERY smelly but omg was the rotten smell worth it, when you dipped yourself into the steeming hot natural springs...treated myself to a full body massage..oops, guilty as charged!
Flew to Christchurch on the 4th of May!!
Seeing that is was based on Canterbury it bloody well looked very much like it! Beautiful church ( went to the evening choir performance- goose bumps appearing all over again just at the thought of it).
Wondered through Botanical garden, went to the Museum of Modern Art etc...
On the 6th the Kiwi experience began!!! 10 days of wonderful fun, amazement, bonding, driving, driving and driving... :)
First day off to Kaikora- WOW!! This place took swimming with dolphins to a whole new level, when 12 of us got on a boat, got driven out to open see, and dressed in full gear dropped into the freezing open waters, with only the glass of our goggles seperating us from the beauty of underwater life. 12 of us, 250 of them- yes, 250 of them, those wild, beautiful dolphins, playing iwth us, swimming under us, next to us, with us...for an HOUR!!! but then it got freezing and I slowly started feeling more and more like a dolphin, as the sensation in my legs started to stop and I felt more like a legless creature more than anything- but as great it is to bond with animals, one does not have to risk losing his/her limbs, I believe anyway...
So after that it was time to properly bond with my new fellow travellers- the main characters in the next few days of adventures: Daniel, Mick, Kate, Chris, Julia, Martha, D, Andy and Marah!! yep, that was the crew.oh AND jonas- a boy, who i now truly believe is my brother, who actually came to pull a joke on me!! i have NEVER seen anyone resemble someone else like that before ( unless they are twins ofcourse)- so Matej, should you be reading this- you have an identical twin called HJonas from Amsterdam, 19 years old, chef, currently in NZ, and....well look for someone who looks like you- thats him!!
Next : Kaikora to Picton and then Nelson - NZ's most renowned wine region, beautiful drive along the coastline, Nelson the sunniest city in NZ- although when we were there is was cloudy..great! :) little side note: tried NZ's winning ice-cream: bronze- lavender and honey; silver- lemongrass and ginger- AMAZING!!!! just thought i would mention that.
Next: Nelson to Westport - Nelson Lakes National Park, beautiful walk, but rainy all day and Westport, osrry to be saying this so directly BUT its a s*** hole...ohnestly- nothing there!!! just a massive supermarket- yeeeyyy..so watched bridget jones diaries, shrek and ice runners with the entire crew and a massive tub of ice-cream in the hostel!!
Next: Westport to Lake mahinapua - down the famous Highway 6. Punakaiki Pancacke rocks, seal colonies, and then the POO PUB!!!! awesome place, old ( 84 year old) man looks after us all. AND cooks an amazing dinner- steak, venicen stew, corn, veggies- you have no ideas how good that tastes when you have to eat shitty cheap food ALL the time- lets just say we were all very happy! and in honour of thsi we had a 'P' party- all dressed in sth. beginning with a 'P'. i was a peacock, but there were great ideas eg. pensioner, panda, priest, present 9 the unevitable penis ofcourse), pencil etc...it was a good ( for some drunken) night!
Next: Lake mahinapua to Franz Josef - WOW! very few words needed: go and see it for yourself! massive galcier, can move up to a meter a day, clear skies, hours of walking, skydive at sunrise- yep, you heard me- 15000ft skydive ( thats approx. 4,5km for those who dont know :P), a yoga class, some clean landry ( yes that is information that can and must be included in here)...We stayed here two nights!
Next: Franz Josef to Wanaka - I LOVE Wanaka! I dont precisely know why, maybe its the cute village, the great health food store, beautiful lake and mountains, cozy cafes OR the coolest cineam EVER!! where you sit in massive couches, sip on tea or hot chocolate and cookies, freshly taken otu of the oven get served at interval- not sure, but it might be the combination of them all!!
Next: Wanaka to Queenstown - wow the trip is over!! Queenstown our final destination , beautiful, freezing, peaceful at day, crazy at night ( and i mean CRAZY- 6 words: the world bar and tea pots- oh dear!!!) had a brill last nigth in Queenstown with the crew- treated ourselves to a japanese meal, sad to leave everyone!
Next: Back to Christchurch - 8 hour drive- LONG!!! Arrived back in Christchurch, last stroll, send soem postcards and then off to bed, after all my flight was at 11am the following day!
A few things to be said about New Zealand: it is stunningly beautiful, unbelievably peaceful, people are truly very friendly, the maori culture is intriguying and very dominant, you are bound to become an adrenaline junkie - i DID! ( for future birthday present ideas: a skydive will do it :P), it is very expensive, the food ( i know that i have been slipping it in there occasionaly) is sooo expensive and all in all it is a country worth discovering! I LOVED IT!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Down under!!!
I flew into Auckland ob the 28th of April and it was immediately noticeable that I was no longer in South America- it looked pretty much very like back home, in the UK! We were cruising down the street, on the left-hand side like in England, and the houses whizzing past were not unlike those back home either. The airport shuttle dropped me in front of my hostel- The Nomad on Fort Street- and it was only 5am ie. the feeling that I still had the whole day ahead of me was truly magnificent!!
I checked in and just relaxed in the cozy common room whilst the rest of New Zealand still lay in bed. As soon as the time came to watch the sunrise, I made my way up to the kitchen, which was on the roof of the building...so with a hot cup of coco I was sitting on a bench on the top of the roof in the middle of Auckland, watching the sunrise- knowing that I was the first in the world to see the sunrise- the feeling was beautiful!!! :) after that i was truly ready to go and explore the city now. auckland has a wonderful feel to it and i gladly spent my entire day wondering through all the little streets
I checked in and just relaxed in the cozy common room whilst the rest of New Zealand still lay in bed. As soon as the time came to watch the sunrise, I made my way up to the kitchen, which was on the roof of the building...so with a hot cup of coco I was sitting on a bench on the top of the roof in the middle of Auckland, watching the sunrise- knowing that I was the first in the world to see the sunrise- the feeling was beautiful!!! :) after that i was truly ready to go and explore the city now. auckland has a wonderful feel to it and i gladly spent my entire day wondering through all the little streets
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The final and absolute cherry on top aka my last days in South America...
Night buses...oh the joy!!!!
After a truly pleasant stroll through the historic town, its recoletta, park and winded streets, we all met up for a brill almuerza ( a set meal with soup, main and dessert for 2$) at El German. We all scuffed down our yummy lunches and after packing our stuff at the hostel decided to have one last mango beer ( god it is a delicious drink) before we headed to the bus station.
Bolivian logic: there are 12 bus companies, all of them have only one bus to la Paz a day, all these buses leave within 15min of each other. Brilliant isn´t it!?
night bus. fat, old bolivian man snoring LOUDLY. no toilets. general uncomfort for 12 hours ie. bolivia aint no argentina when it comes to buses.
So we arrived in La Paz early in the morning and the next adventures began.
Day 1: witches market with lama fetuses, black market, street food, slices of pineapple, beautiful churches etc etc....as it was going to be our last dinner all together, we decided to do something special!!!
And in the spirit of me going to India soon, and the Peggs couple having lived there for 6 months, we decided to dare and visit The Star of india. Why am i using the word 'dare' to describe a visit to a restaurant? Well, this happens to be the indian restaurant that claims to have the 'Spiciest Vindaloo in the World'....so we went, we ordered, we tried to conquer, and many of us didn't.....
Simon was the only one who managed to down the entire bowl of the deadly Vindaloo ( to be fair, he had had 6 months of trainign though). The rest of us just started swetting, coughinf, generally taking on a rather red tint etc.....it was pathetic :)
Simon got a t-shirt, as do all who manage to eat the whole curry, and the rest of us got the bill and a nasty after taste the whole of the next day ( the less fortunate ones also got agood work-out during the night, runnign from their room to the toilet :( oops...)
The next morning it was already off to Copacabana- 4 hours on the bus- and one arrives to the tranquil views and surroundings of Lake Titicaca. On the way, the bus has to cross a big river. How do we solve that one, ey? Well, we obviously load all the passangers on a seperate boat, and then just drive onto a massive wooden raft and casually cross the river on that :)
The town of Copacabana was very touristy, with the only businesses being numerous gringo caffees and shops, full of the identical items, BUT the beautiful church, located at the end of the town did make up for it. Upon my arrival in the church, a little old blind lady was begging at the entrance. I scruffed up all my spare change and popped it into the lady's conveniently positioned hat, that was readily being held up towards me at this point. wow, that really set her off. To cut it short, I believe i received a 10000 different blessings and she woudl not let go of me for at least 2 minutes. It was beautiful though, to see that simple change to me, coudl mean the world to her. As my nose seems to be the guide through the entirety of many fo my walks I just happened to find the local market with all their goodies. I also foudn the highlight of this market: the eatery!!! Although I was by far the only gringo in there, surrounded by possibly 99% of the town enjoyign their lunch, I munched on some delicious soup, and anyway, who cares when your stomach is happy and your mouth is full. right?
At 1.30pm I catched a boat to Isla del sol. THE slowest boat ride int he history of man....but the silver lining of this of this tediously long boat ride was that I had enough time to get acqainted with kevin, sabrina, charlie and chema....the two later beign from israel and the others from switzerland, we got talking, to forget that our limbs were slowly loosing all their sensations and that our ass might actually be frozen to the bench. We quickly decided that we might as well stay at the same hostel and compared stories about travels so far. when we arrived on the island, we were all surprised to find that a obligatory 5bolivianos tax fee had to be paid ( so much for developing country, ey? they seemed on it)- welcome- after all just becuase its an island in bolivia dont mean there aint no arrival tax. So after a staggering 200 very steep stairs- the joy the joy!!! break, step step, break step step....we made it to our hostel. The chippery little local boys hopped in front, basically just making us feel bad about our slow old asses, showing us the way to their hostel...
The hostel wwasnothign extraordinary BUt, oh but, the views!!!!! unlike anythign i have seen since guatemala. The LAKE- beautiful, and finally soemthing a little like lake Atitlan (oh how I miss it). After we dropped our stuff of, we decided to explore this island. We walk in one direction- ruins! walk in the other-a hill! In other word, there aint much to do on that island BUT at the spot called 'gate to the sun', the views are really lovely, peaceful and generally very soothing. The others didnt join me, but i decided to just have a proper evening hyke, and so upon my arrival back at the hostel ( the sun had set in the mean time) we were all wrapped up in ALL of our clothing, freezing ,as the night dampness started to set in. A warm veggie soup for dinner to warm up the body and night night, off we went to the land of dreams: after all 9pm is way past our bed time on the island.
All of us woke up for sunrise, gulped down some warm coca tea and down we went, down those 200 stairs we had climbed less than 24 hours ago. Boat back....yep styill took us loooonnngggg!! I had to have a brisk lunch at my fave mercado (the local market) again BUT this time trout-their known specialty!! for 2$...wow what a bargain a and what a treat!
At 1pm I hopped on my bus back to la Paz and at 5:30pm, i found myself already walking through the door of Adventure brew Hostel ( th eboys had moved hostels in the tiem that I had been gone- yep, i just leave and get them to move my stuff for me). very ready to just kick back and relax for the night, i was a little surprised to have to get out and about very soon again.
what you mean i cant just relax?? oh i have to go and organzie a 100 things again?? hm...no surprise there then :)
Ryan had used my absence to get our climb booked, which was going to start the following day, and so important things, such as tryign on shoes, waterproof jackets, trousers, gaiters, crumpets...the whole shebang! was required.Our last supper before the hyke was considered very important by all of us, for different reasons. by ryan and me, because we were convinced we needed as much energy, and fat to warm us up up on the mountain, and by matt, because he kept saying that we might die, and therefore this migth ACTUALLY be the last supper. freak. Basically anythign that smelled good and stared at us from inside those inviting stalls eg. pork bun, chorizo bun, corn, fresh apple juice....anything, qualified for our dinner that night!! i think we defo stocked up on fat that evening.
Not often does it happen that i am desperate to buy candy and anything high in suger but that night i did: cookies, biscuits, lollies, snickers, coke...anythign that will keep me going!! ryan kept saying how we will need emergency rations and how i will appreciate a sip of coke, when i am hanging onto an ice cliff and have no energy left to pull myself up...bla bla bla...basically scaring the shit out of me, and makign me buy alot of unhealthy sugary crap.
6:30am LETS DO THIS!!!
ryan and me, threw on our 'climbing' gear aka trousers, t-shirt, jumper and hyking boots, grabbed our big 60litre empty bags ( they were going to be filled up at base camp with all our hyking gear), grabbed two free pancakes, spread some jam in between them, and with our fingers still sticking together with jam, and our stomachs struggeling to digest two massive pancakes at 7am, we ran down the main street to meet our driver in front of the company's office. We were of course exactly on time, but our other companion, 'amigo japones' as he got to be called by all, was a little late and so we used this time to chat to our guide. When he did arrive, he had a spare loo roll hanging of the side of his backpack, big water bottle loosely hanging out of his arms and about a thousand jumpers hanging off him- we immediately knew that this would be fun! We got reassured of this as soon as we realized that our 'amigo japones' not only spoke no spanish but also no english....yeeey!!! Anyway, we all filed ourselves into a small truck and together with a massive bag of stale bread rolls, which has been our staple breakfast throughout the entire of Bolivia, we trottet off to climb this son of a b****!!!
The first day was GREAT. We arrived at the mountain, no doubt a little surprised by the actual very imposing size of the mountain- Hyuani Potosi- but ready to get active! We dropped our stuff off, had lunch, chicken and rice, at the very unusual hour of 10:30 am, and off we went with our crampons, ice pick, waterproof gear etc, to have our go at ice climbing. it was immense!!! We climbed up vertical ice walls, hanging onto an icepick with our entire strength not to fall into the debths of the below lurking crevices....then down-sailed, then walked up another vertical wall again, thsi time using purely our crampons...basically it was awesome adventure sports all day!! We spent about 5 hours doign this, having fun and getting well acquinted with our gear, which was to become our new best friend during the next two days. We then retreated to the base camp, by thsi point thouroughly frozen through and through, and ready for some hot coco. As we returned, we met our fourth and last team member, Mark ( a 2m tall dutch guy). We pulled on all our warm clothes, and sat down to have our next warm meal of the day at 6pm. A yummy warm soup and more chicken with rice, were actually surprisingly appealing to us, as they did provide certain comfort in the cold rooms of our camp. Afterwards, we started doping up on litres of coca tea and cream crackers with butter and jam ( these became our staple snack of thsi trip- they were truly amazing- but then anything will seem amazign to you int he freezing cold, or am 1am, or after a life threatenign hyke). We met the other two groups that were going to attempt to climb the summit with us in two days, and amongst them were the three great people: Andrew, Shawn and Charlie ( all from the US- brilliant). Shawn taught us all THE essential card game ( according to him that is)- Shithead- and that pretty much , accompanied by more coca leaf and crackers- kept us entertained till bed time aka 8pm. You dont argue about this bedtime hour when you have to get up at 7 am only to hyke a VERY hard piece of mountain.
So that night I struggled to sleep, as it was freezing and I really needed to pee ( obviously) but i am after all very stubborn after my dear old daddy and so argued myself out of havign to venture outside for as long as possible, only to then have to sprint outside for it was getting rather urgent.
In the mornign many of us woke up more tired than the evenign before but nonethelss ready to get going. After a 'surprise surprise' breakfast of bread rolls with jam, coca tea and more crackers ( oh and actually a special treat of a banana) we packed our bags ( thsi time truly packed to the rim with all our gear) and off we went...OM fucken GOD ( excuse my french)!!!! I simply cannot describe how hard that day was. We had to climb a difference of 1000m in height but in about 4km. So actually the distance was nothing BUT with 20kg on your back and your terrain being loose rocks on a cliff side this proved to be VERY challenging ( if only I woudl have known what was to come the next day- ha i would have runned up). I shall not ellaborate on the pain, the anger, the sadness and determination ( actually that i just might expand on...haha) it took to get up to high camp that day BUT the important thig is I did, we all did it, and we smiled once we did. And boy did we have reason to....the views were exquisite, the sky clear as water, the glacier on one side, the entire valley and mountain range ont he otherm and the brilliant afternoon sun. We all dinned on pasta with beef and soem undefinable sauce and for dessert: well more crackers and coca tea. That afternoon we just sat at the foot of the glacier ( to mentally get used to the idea that we woudl be climbign that in a few hours), chatted about our lives and travels so far. It was fun- we were a great group!!!
A quick dinner at 5pm of rice and more beef and off to bed. Rising time was at midnight.
I tried to sleep, i really did, we all did, and i think that mark, the only one of us, managed to get 4 hours of sleep in. me personally, I slept for 3 hours, but some slept for maybe an hours or two max. Anyway, I was WAY too excited, the wind was screaming outside and the brightness of the stars and the almost full moon was intense!!
11:58, 11:59, 12:00- FINALLY!!!!!
We were all ready to go. In record time I had my long underwear, 2nd layer of trousers, two pairs of socks, 5 layers of tops, and scarf on and made my way down, where our guides were already laying out hot water for coca tea and some bread for breakfast ( our eating schedules got seriously screwed up during that 3 day trip). We all rushed to the loos, did what we had to do, in order to get used tot he fact that its midnight, we are awake and have to now climb on ice and snow for 6 hours to the height of 6040m in the pitch black. for me that purely entailed sitting down and sipping on my coca tea and chewing my stale bread roll.
1am. Mark, Ryan, Amigo japones, me and our two guides carlos and david- head torches attached to our helmets, crampons on our ice shoes, waterproof on, ice picks in hand and attached to each other with two ropes, we were ready for this as we would ever be.
It was hard, it was pitch black, the ice was glistening in our torch lights and in those shining from the stars, every step was hard, the breathign was tough from time to time and the peak invisible for most of the time. Ryan started throwing up at around 5800m - with 240m to go- GREAT!!! attached to me by rope, i had to pull him up though. either both of us make it or none of us- and I was gonna make it. At 5am we were at 5090m- the summit in sight, the sunrise lazily waiting behind the horizon, a puking ryan and a MASSIVE ridge of ice in front of us. the final stretch wasnot gonna be an easy one.
WE DID IT!!!!
I couldnt feel my fingers, I was deliriously tired and Ryan was deliriously dizzy BUT we snapped some pictures, congratulated each other as best as we could in the freezing cold, watched the sun rise ( the most beautiful thing I have ever seen) and headed down.
The way down was a lot easier, ryan started to be rather cheery very soon, and so we could even take some cheeky bottomless pics- haha...oh yes, our bolivian guide was surprised when ryan and me both pulle dour pants down at -15 degrees Celsius and posed for him to snap a picture- but as he said later...we gringos are crazy, nothing surprises him anymore..
We made it back to the high camp, repacked everything, changed into 'normal' clothes, gulped down THE best hot soup from a packet EVER and made our way down all the way to base camp. We were there by noon and surely enough by 2pm we were being dropped off int he city center again. I cannot deny that as we made our way back to our hostel i walked down that street with my shoulders slightly pulled back, my stride having a slight pride about it, and with every person we passed I thought to myself: if only you knew, if only you knew what I have already done today!!! The feeling was cereal and wonderful.
That shower we took upon our return to the hostel was great and HOT and we were both very ready to have soem serious down time. this took place at a little venue outside of la paz, watching cholita wrestling- don't ask me how i got talked into it- but somehow i did indeed end up watching women s wrestling. One thing: don't do it to yourself!!! That night we celebrated our survival and return to civilization as heroes with a meal at a Mexican restaurant and then a rather early retreat!!! We NEEDED our sleep.
The next day was to be a CHILL out day!!! it was, but it wasn't. I woke up with a massive cold but my slight obsession 9 more interest should i say) in prisons, made the San Pedro just too appealing. yes, i did go and visit the prison. yes, it was amazing, yes, it was exactly like in the book "marching powder" (read it if you haven't, its really good). yes, it continued my experience of cereal in Bolivia and yes, you will be shit scared but GO!!!! I spent 3 hours there, and loved every second of it. I would elaborate more but really can't. because, no offense, but you woan't understand. i visited the 'la posta' the gringo posh side of the prison. only 100 of the 5000 prisoners live there BUT there was no way i could go into the other population side- they would, no kidding, actually kill me. i did not doubt that after the uproar that simply our entrance through the main gates made in the population side of the entrance area.
That night we had another cultural experience in a Moroccan restaurant ( Very very very good hummus) and met up with Andrew and Charlie from the hike for a beer after...
Again an early night- still catching up on sleep- after all- didn't do much resting that day and the day after that, the 27th was my last day in Bolivia, and South America in general...:(
Woke up at 6am AGAIn but this time had a great reason to: World's Most dangerous road!! you heard me. we had signed up to ride mountain bikes down this road. It is knows as the world' smost dangerous as an average of 200-300 locals die on it every year. look it up on the internet- only pictures really explain the current state of the path. It was SO fun though!!! You basically ride for 3 and a half hours downhill (with only one 8mile cycle up), and descend 3500m. Brilliant!!!
At the bottom we chilled out, had some showers and a all-you-can eat buffet at an animal resort. I spent an hour cuddling up to a little monkey called Cobo (he really liked me and actually nibbled my lip- yep i indeed had a little afternoon lovin' from a monkey :))
That afternoon we headed home and it was indeed time for me to part with the boys- my dear companions- so to have our last supper, we finished our multi-cultural experience in a Cuban restaurant. With a mojito and a rich, very rich, chocolate brownie, we toasted to our good times together and promised each other to have a reunion sooner rather than later. I packed up my stuff and at 1 am I was sitting at my gate at La paz airport to board my plane to Santiago. Woth 3 stop overs, it was a LONG night, and i passed out on airport benches many a times BUT I made it and believe it or not: it was the 28th of April, 23pm and I was sitting in seat 13F, Santiago to Auckland.
yes. My time on this lovely continent had come to and end, it had been beautiful , sad, amazing, challenging and I fell in love with it. I will be coming back, that was for sure and I kept on reassuring myself of it as i heard the plane's wheels accelerating and finally being tucked in by the pilot as i watched the night lights of Santiago swiftly being replaced by the darkness of the below sea!!!!
Bye bye South America and hello NZ!!!
OMG- this is really happening, I am now off to the land of the Kiwis, the sheep and the other side of the world- WOW!!! wish me luck :)
1am. Mark, Ryan, Amigo japones, me and our two guides carlos and david- head torches attached to our helmets, crampons on our ice shoes, waterproof on, ice picks in hand and attached to each other with two ropes, we were ready for this as we would ever be.
It was hard, it was pitch black, the ice was glistening in our torch lights and in those shining from the stars, every step was hard, the breathign was tough from time to time and the peak invisible for most of the time. Ryan started throwing up at around 5800m - with 240m to go- GREAT!!! attached to me by rope, i had to pull him up though. either both of us make it or none of us- and I was gonna make it. At 5am we were at 5090m- the summit in sight, the sunrise lazily waiting behind the horizon, a puking ryan and a MASSIVE ridge of ice in front of us. the final stretch wasnot gonna be an easy one.
WE DID IT!!!!
I couldnt feel my fingers, I was deliriously tired and Ryan was deliriously dizzy BUT we snapped some pictures, congratulated each other as best as we could in the freezing cold, watched the sun rise ( the most beautiful thing I have ever seen) and headed down.
The way down was a lot easier, ryan started to be rather cheery very soon, and so we could even take some cheeky bottomless pics- haha...oh yes, our bolivian guide was surprised when ryan and me both pulle dour pants down at -15 degrees Celsius and posed for him to snap a picture- but as he said later...we gringos are crazy, nothing surprises him anymore..
We made it back to the high camp, repacked everything, changed into 'normal' clothes, gulped down THE best hot soup from a packet EVER and made our way down all the way to base camp. We were there by noon and surely enough by 2pm we were being dropped off int he city center again. I cannot deny that as we made our way back to our hostel i walked down that street with my shoulders slightly pulled back, my stride having a slight pride about it, and with every person we passed I thought to myself: if only you knew, if only you knew what I have already done today!!! The feeling was cereal and wonderful.
That shower we took upon our return to the hostel was great and HOT and we were both very ready to have soem serious down time. this took place at a little venue outside of la paz, watching cholita wrestling- don't ask me how i got talked into it- but somehow i did indeed end up watching women s wrestling. One thing: don't do it to yourself!!! That night we celebrated our survival and return to civilization as heroes with a meal at a Mexican restaurant and then a rather early retreat!!! We NEEDED our sleep.
The next day was to be a CHILL out day!!! it was, but it wasn't. I woke up with a massive cold but my slight obsession 9 more interest should i say) in prisons, made the San Pedro just too appealing. yes, i did go and visit the prison. yes, it was amazing, yes, it was exactly like in the book "marching powder" (read it if you haven't, its really good). yes, it continued my experience of cereal in Bolivia and yes, you will be shit scared but GO!!!! I spent 3 hours there, and loved every second of it. I would elaborate more but really can't. because, no offense, but you woan't understand. i visited the 'la posta' the gringo posh side of the prison. only 100 of the 5000 prisoners live there BUT there was no way i could go into the other population side- they would, no kidding, actually kill me. i did not doubt that after the uproar that simply our entrance through the main gates made in the population side of the entrance area.
That night we had another cultural experience in a Moroccan restaurant ( Very very very good hummus) and met up with Andrew and Charlie from the hike for a beer after...
Again an early night- still catching up on sleep- after all- didn't do much resting that day and the day after that, the 27th was my last day in Bolivia, and South America in general...:(
Woke up at 6am AGAIn but this time had a great reason to: World's Most dangerous road!! you heard me. we had signed up to ride mountain bikes down this road. It is knows as the world' smost dangerous as an average of 200-300 locals die on it every year. look it up on the internet- only pictures really explain the current state of the path. It was SO fun though!!! You basically ride for 3 and a half hours downhill (with only one 8mile cycle up), and descend 3500m. Brilliant!!!
At the bottom we chilled out, had some showers and a all-you-can eat buffet at an animal resort. I spent an hour cuddling up to a little monkey called Cobo (he really liked me and actually nibbled my lip- yep i indeed had a little afternoon lovin' from a monkey :))
That afternoon we headed home and it was indeed time for me to part with the boys- my dear companions- so to have our last supper, we finished our multi-cultural experience in a Cuban restaurant. With a mojito and a rich, very rich, chocolate brownie, we toasted to our good times together and promised each other to have a reunion sooner rather than later. I packed up my stuff and at 1 am I was sitting at my gate at La paz airport to board my plane to Santiago. Woth 3 stop overs, it was a LONG night, and i passed out on airport benches many a times BUT I made it and believe it or not: it was the 28th of April, 23pm and I was sitting in seat 13F, Santiago to Auckland.
yes. My time on this lovely continent had come to and end, it had been beautiful , sad, amazing, challenging and I fell in love with it. I will be coming back, that was for sure and I kept on reassuring myself of it as i heard the plane's wheels accelerating and finally being tucked in by the pilot as i watched the night lights of Santiago swiftly being replaced by the darkness of the below sea!!!!
Bye bye South America and hello NZ!!!
OMG- this is really happening, I am now off to the land of the Kiwis, the sheep and the other side of the world- WOW!!! wish me luck :)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Bolivia and the adventures it brings...
WOW!! The mines were an absolutely eye-opening experience. We left our hostel at 8:30 am, after a very hearty breakfast of eggs, rolls, jam, bananas etc..., and hopped on a bus to the 1st miners' station, to get all geared up! It was funny, to say the least- over our trousers we all had to pull on red, plastic trousers, then massive knee-high wellies, a green plastic coat, a massive belt, with a battery attached, which then connected with a long wire to the torch on our helmet, which was bright yellow, and definitely evoked some sexy looks amongst the group! Our whole group consisted of 16 people, but we got divided into three groups: two guys from the czech republic ( its true, there are actually other czechs who travel- i am not the only freak) , who had their own spanish guide, and then two groups of 7, each with a english guide! I feel like I have to spend a few words on our guide, Rodriguez: his english was fine, and his enthusiasm definitely plentifull, but so was his supply of swear words in English, which he has learnt from the tourists over the years, and so there were several occasions, where I stared at him in desbelief, as he referred to us as "mad cows", or " f****** crazy bitches"!
Anyway, all ready to get dirty, we made one more stop at the miner's market: the tourists are asked to buy dinamite, alcohol, cigarettes or coca leaves for the miners, as a gesture of respect and general politeness! Amongst the 7 of us, we stocked up on a good amount of dinamite, alcohol, juice and coca leaves and were ready to party!!
We arrived at the mines, and a couple of people immediately backed out ( amongst them an 18-year-old lad, who had been boasting about his lack of fear in the bus- I am not going to lie, I laughed quite a lot)!!
Off we went...general idea: started out on the first level, absolutely fine, wide corridors, pleasant breeze and cool temperatures..
the first obstacle came, when we had to climb down a VERY small, slippery, tight ladder, down a dark hole, to get to the 4th level.
general idea: hot, crawling on all fours due to the lack of space, dusty air, strong smell of gas and other fumes, mud up to 50cm at points!!
We ran into numerous miners working and so got a good idea as to what the labour consisted of- whether they were blowing up sections, sorting out the materials or digging their way through scarsely existing holes, all of them were working crazy hard, in conditions that one cannot imagine till one sees it!!
I believe around 5 out of the 30 men we saw in the two hours we were down there, were between 50 and 60 years old, and had worked in the mines for over 30 years! And a further 5 were under the age of 15! The tragic fact, that these men will most likely die of a very serious lung disease, and the young boys' life expectancy is around 48, cast a sad and contemplative mood over all of us, but the truth is harsh and that became very clear!!
Two hours later we all crawled out, swetty, covered in dust, desperately sucking in the fresh air and getting used to the sharpness of the bright noon sun!!
The afternoon was then spent, strolling around Potosi, little stall there, cute shop here, yummy fruits there, strange jelly with meringue here!!!
In the late afternoon, just as I was about to start retreating to my hostel, I found the cutest little convent, which obviously had to be explored!! Judy, a lovely bolivian lady, took me around for almost 2 hours, telling me crazy stories of the lives of the 21 girls that used to occupy the convent almost 300 years ago!! Conclusion: I am never going to become a nun- if I haven't learned anything else in my gapyear, that I now know for sure !!
Later that night I had a good night out with my ozzie friends, in a local little bar, live reagge mucis and all...little tip: do not under-estimate the effect that altitude can have on you when drinking!!! Not saying that I got very ridiculously drunk or anything, just warning those people out there, that might do so!!! haha
The next mornign we all hopped on a bus to Sucre, and off we went bumping up and down little stone roads for 4 hours, till we arrived in Sucre!!
Quite a surprise: really hot, massive, well-dressed people on the streets, just a proper city I guess!!
We all ( by this point we were a group of 9, we were all headign in the same direction and so just stuck together), checked-in at the Amigo Hostel and ready to explore yet another town quickly made our way into the streets of Sucre!
The town is very pretty, with a very spanish feel to the old buildings and little squares!! In the evening we all went for a group dinner at Joy Ride ( not just for gringos, as the menu says), and had a great night!! We all shared two massive tacos combos - altogether 50 tacos, and heaps and heaps of guacamole, cheese, tomato and beef...all for 30 $ JOKES!!! It was a typical south american night: sangria, beer, cheesy music, out-of-breath dancing ( the altitude seriously kicks in)....
Yesterday, Ryan, Matt, Andy and me went horse-riding !!! Haha..it was soo mcuh fun. We rented horses, and with our guide, we roamed around the beautiful surroundings of Sucre!! The horses were basically not trained, so attempting to steer them was useless and caused alot of laughter. Matt had a horse, which nonetheless behaved more like an old donkey, Andy's horse just did anything that my horse did, and Ryan's horse was clearly very keen on hard terrain, and from time to time just started heading up into the hills. My "muchacha" was the most lively one, but seeign that I was the only one who can ride, it was better that way...As the boys struggled to get their horses trotting, I had a few lovely sessions of galloping trhough the country-side!! After about 3 hours our horses started to slowly have enough of it: Ryan's horse actually seriously broke down- legs out, just collapsed on the road and Ryan was lucky enough to have jumped off in time. My horse started standing up on her back legs, because she apparently doesn't like white cars ( my guide could have told me this earlier), and one passed us about every 5 minutes, as we had to ride along a main road for a while!! Anyway, it was fun and for 20 $ absolutely worth it. It is fair tosay though, that Argentina is a horse country, and bolivia isn't!!
In a little town of Yayana, where we finished our ride, we then discovered a strangelly posh swimming pool complex, with a beach volleyball court and a lovely loval eatery!! So the hot afternoon wa spent at the pool, playing volleyball ( or attempting to play on my part), sipping beer...
Slightly exhausted we arrived back home, and just chilled in the courtyard of our hostel..
Dinner was a lot more low-key than the previous night, with a visit to a pizza place ( amazing pizza, not even kidding) and ( I know that this is not very traditional but it had to be done) a banana split!!!
To walk out our acquired massive food-babies, we strolled around the night-lit city streets with my ozzie friends. To finish off a successful day, we listened to some music and drank one last Sol in our hostel, before calling it a day!!
Today, yet another sunny and hot day, is the last day in Sucre! We all, by now almost 20 of us, head to La paz tonight ( its a over-night 12 hour bus), and so we are all using today to just see those last things worth seeing...there are plenty of parks, churches, markets and old building!! That being a great excuse to stop writing, I finish today's entry and off I go to suck in some sun and bolivian city spirit...
Anyway, all ready to get dirty, we made one more stop at the miner's market: the tourists are asked to buy dinamite, alcohol, cigarettes or coca leaves for the miners, as a gesture of respect and general politeness! Amongst the 7 of us, we stocked up on a good amount of dinamite, alcohol, juice and coca leaves and were ready to party!!
We arrived at the mines, and a couple of people immediately backed out ( amongst them an 18-year-old lad, who had been boasting about his lack of fear in the bus- I am not going to lie, I laughed quite a lot)!!
Off we went...general idea: started out on the first level, absolutely fine, wide corridors, pleasant breeze and cool temperatures..
the first obstacle came, when we had to climb down a VERY small, slippery, tight ladder, down a dark hole, to get to the 4th level.
general idea: hot, crawling on all fours due to the lack of space, dusty air, strong smell of gas and other fumes, mud up to 50cm at points!!
We ran into numerous miners working and so got a good idea as to what the labour consisted of- whether they were blowing up sections, sorting out the materials or digging their way through scarsely existing holes, all of them were working crazy hard, in conditions that one cannot imagine till one sees it!!
I believe around 5 out of the 30 men we saw in the two hours we were down there, were between 50 and 60 years old, and had worked in the mines for over 30 years! And a further 5 were under the age of 15! The tragic fact, that these men will most likely die of a very serious lung disease, and the young boys' life expectancy is around 48, cast a sad and contemplative mood over all of us, but the truth is harsh and that became very clear!!
Two hours later we all crawled out, swetty, covered in dust, desperately sucking in the fresh air and getting used to the sharpness of the bright noon sun!!
The afternoon was then spent, strolling around Potosi, little stall there, cute shop here, yummy fruits there, strange jelly with meringue here!!!
In the late afternoon, just as I was about to start retreating to my hostel, I found the cutest little convent, which obviously had to be explored!! Judy, a lovely bolivian lady, took me around for almost 2 hours, telling me crazy stories of the lives of the 21 girls that used to occupy the convent almost 300 years ago!! Conclusion: I am never going to become a nun- if I haven't learned anything else in my gapyear, that I now know for sure !!
Later that night I had a good night out with my ozzie friends, in a local little bar, live reagge mucis and all...little tip: do not under-estimate the effect that altitude can have on you when drinking!!! Not saying that I got very ridiculously drunk or anything, just warning those people out there, that might do so!!! haha
The next mornign we all hopped on a bus to Sucre, and off we went bumping up and down little stone roads for 4 hours, till we arrived in Sucre!!
Quite a surprise: really hot, massive, well-dressed people on the streets, just a proper city I guess!!
We all ( by this point we were a group of 9, we were all headign in the same direction and so just stuck together), checked-in at the Amigo Hostel and ready to explore yet another town quickly made our way into the streets of Sucre!
The town is very pretty, with a very spanish feel to the old buildings and little squares!! In the evening we all went for a group dinner at Joy Ride ( not just for gringos, as the menu says), and had a great night!! We all shared two massive tacos combos - altogether 50 tacos, and heaps and heaps of guacamole, cheese, tomato and beef...all for 30 $ JOKES!!! It was a typical south american night: sangria, beer, cheesy music, out-of-breath dancing ( the altitude seriously kicks in)....
Yesterday, Ryan, Matt, Andy and me went horse-riding !!! Haha..it was soo mcuh fun. We rented horses, and with our guide, we roamed around the beautiful surroundings of Sucre!! The horses were basically not trained, so attempting to steer them was useless and caused alot of laughter. Matt had a horse, which nonetheless behaved more like an old donkey, Andy's horse just did anything that my horse did, and Ryan's horse was clearly very keen on hard terrain, and from time to time just started heading up into the hills. My "muchacha" was the most lively one, but seeign that I was the only one who can ride, it was better that way...As the boys struggled to get their horses trotting, I had a few lovely sessions of galloping trhough the country-side!! After about 3 hours our horses started to slowly have enough of it: Ryan's horse actually seriously broke down- legs out, just collapsed on the road and Ryan was lucky enough to have jumped off in time. My horse started standing up on her back legs, because she apparently doesn't like white cars ( my guide could have told me this earlier), and one passed us about every 5 minutes, as we had to ride along a main road for a while!! Anyway, it was fun and for 20 $ absolutely worth it. It is fair tosay though, that Argentina is a horse country, and bolivia isn't!!
In a little town of Yayana, where we finished our ride, we then discovered a strangelly posh swimming pool complex, with a beach volleyball court and a lovely loval eatery!! So the hot afternoon wa spent at the pool, playing volleyball ( or attempting to play on my part), sipping beer...
Slightly exhausted we arrived back home, and just chilled in the courtyard of our hostel..
Dinner was a lot more low-key than the previous night, with a visit to a pizza place ( amazing pizza, not even kidding) and ( I know that this is not very traditional but it had to be done) a banana split!!!
To walk out our acquired massive food-babies, we strolled around the night-lit city streets with my ozzie friends. To finish off a successful day, we listened to some music and drank one last Sol in our hostel, before calling it a day!!
Today, yet another sunny and hot day, is the last day in Sucre! We all, by now almost 20 of us, head to La paz tonight ( its a over-night 12 hour bus), and so we are all using today to just see those last things worth seeing...there are plenty of parks, churches, markets and old building!! That being a great excuse to stop writing, I finish today's entry and off I go to suck in some sun and bolivian city spirit...
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Mucho amor para Bolivia...in other words I LOVE Bolivia!
The Salar de Uyuni was incredible!
4 days of pure heaven: silence, beauty, nature, animals, no toilets, temperatures below zero every night, a visible milkyway and millions of stars, sleeping in ALL my clothes, getting up at 4am every day to see the sunrise and generally just head out onto the road- as we usually drove in our 4x4 for a good 8 or 10 hours.
Flamingoes, volcanoes, salt planes, weird shaped stones, incredible landscape, bumpy ride, delicious food ( and alot of it)....
i could keep on going! We headed out from Tupiza at 9am on Sunday the 10th. Who? Simon, Emily, Heather and Kevin. Two couples, both from the UK and me. Our driver, Alberto, was a doll and constantly told us stories from his 7 years as a driver through the salt planes. His wife, Elizabeth, is an incredible cook and surprised us every day with new yummy creations. Breakfast ( which we ate at 5am pretty much every morning - you get used to eating at that insane hour) was usually bread with dulce de leche, some hot tea ( my saviour). When she really wanted tot reat us, we had fruit salad from a can or panckakes- yep, they were pretty good! We would then usually head out in our jeep, it still beign dark, we had trouble staying warm, but seeing the sun rise over the beautiful landscape was always worth it. Lunch would be served at noon ( one was pretty hungry by then, as it was 7 hours after breakfast) and would contain some delicious meals, such as lentils, meat, rice or other filling food!
We stopped about a hundred times, to take photos and generally just admire the scenery- although the mornign stops would be very limited in time, as after about 5min I usually had to retire to the jeep- the cold was simply unbearable! We would then arrive at our next accomodation around 5pm and would be ready to eat some more- the cold really gets to you! Plus we were constantly in heights of approx. 4000-5000m above see level,. and it tires you out.
Dinners were epic. Soup- my favourite meal of the day- followed by another warm meal, and then hot chocolate and soem biscuits. As sad as it sounds we were all tucked in by 8pm, wrapped up. fighting the cold, and ready to get up in 8 hours again!
The last night we stayed in a salt hotel- yes, you heard me, the entire hotel was made out of salt blocks: beds, tables, walls, floors, ceilings- todo!! That night,. our last, climaxed with a super hot shower, the firts one in 4 days, and a toilet with a toilet seat ( even a toilet seat can become a luxury when you don't see one for days)!
So all in all it was wicked and i would recommend it to anyone ( also- if you feel like getting some funky photos takes, the salt planes are the place to go- as sad as it sounds, posing next to an apple, and appearing to be the same size on a photograph excited me beyond belief)!
On Wednesday, the 14th, we arrived in Uyuni- a dissapointingly ugly town! But we only spent one night there, exhausted, and ready for some rest in a hotel, which actually had heating, proper beds and a normal bathroom. We all, the five of us, decided to stick together for a bit, as we were all heading in the same direction, and so the next morning, today, we took a early bus to Potosi! The drive to Potosi was beautiful. The landscape varied from sand dunes to craggy rock features to green valleys.
WOW! I think I am in love.
The highest city in the world, at 4080m above sea level, it is lively, pretty and full of bolivian authentic spirit. We arrived, after 6 hours, in Potosi and headed for our hostel, the Koala Den. Only 10min were needed, to drop our stuff, and off we went to explore the city. The little charismatic streets, filled with stalls, markets and smiley grandmas were enought o convince us all to stay a bit longer.
We bought an enormous amount of veggies at the local market for a smashing 6 Bolivianos ( about 90 cents) and whipped up a delicious dinner in our kitchen at the hostel. After swapping some photos, I left the two couples at the hostel and headed out to meet Ryan, Matt and Patrick for a quick beer. Who are they? Ryan and Matt are two ozzie guys, absolutely lovely and they are travelling with Patrick, a welsh guy. We had a nice chat over a couple of beers and it seems like my next few days will be spent with them.
Somethign yous hould knwo about Potosi: it has numerous active mines. Now what could that possibly mean in the travels of Ivy-Victoria? That she obviously has to go and see them! It took me a while, but after some hard-core convincing, I have now signed us all up ( Emily, Simon, Heather and Kevin) for a mine tour for tomorrow mornign at 8:30am. We leave the hostel in the morning, go to a market, so that we can buy somehtign for the miners ( usually visitors stock up on coca leaves, unfiltered cigarettes, 96% proof alcohol or dinamite- yeah its true, dinamite) and then head to the silver mine. We will spend 2 hours underground with the miners!!
Emily, seing that she is a doctor, is concerned about the lung diseases we could catch, Simon (also a doctor) about the possibility of an asthma attack, and Heather and kevin keep checking the statistics of how many people have died in the mines in previosu years. And me? Well I am just bloody excited. First of all, when will I be able to see an active mine- possibly never. And secondly- what would life be without its dangers!!
So with that in mind, I am going to sleep, very excited to have my go at crawling through some extremely small, dark and dangerous mine corridors tomorrow!
Potosi is full of old churches, lovely caffees and little squares, so I imagine the afternoon will then be spent exploring those thourougly.
4 days of pure heaven: silence, beauty, nature, animals, no toilets, temperatures below zero every night, a visible milkyway and millions of stars, sleeping in ALL my clothes, getting up at 4am every day to see the sunrise and generally just head out onto the road- as we usually drove in our 4x4 for a good 8 or 10 hours.
Flamingoes, volcanoes, salt planes, weird shaped stones, incredible landscape, bumpy ride, delicious food ( and alot of it)....
i could keep on going! We headed out from Tupiza at 9am on Sunday the 10th. Who? Simon, Emily, Heather and Kevin. Two couples, both from the UK and me. Our driver, Alberto, was a doll and constantly told us stories from his 7 years as a driver through the salt planes. His wife, Elizabeth, is an incredible cook and surprised us every day with new yummy creations. Breakfast ( which we ate at 5am pretty much every morning - you get used to eating at that insane hour) was usually bread with dulce de leche, some hot tea ( my saviour). When she really wanted tot reat us, we had fruit salad from a can or panckakes- yep, they were pretty good! We would then usually head out in our jeep, it still beign dark, we had trouble staying warm, but seeing the sun rise over the beautiful landscape was always worth it. Lunch would be served at noon ( one was pretty hungry by then, as it was 7 hours after breakfast) and would contain some delicious meals, such as lentils, meat, rice or other filling food!
We stopped about a hundred times, to take photos and generally just admire the scenery- although the mornign stops would be very limited in time, as after about 5min I usually had to retire to the jeep- the cold was simply unbearable! We would then arrive at our next accomodation around 5pm and would be ready to eat some more- the cold really gets to you! Plus we were constantly in heights of approx. 4000-5000m above see level,. and it tires you out.
Dinners were epic. Soup- my favourite meal of the day- followed by another warm meal, and then hot chocolate and soem biscuits. As sad as it sounds we were all tucked in by 8pm, wrapped up. fighting the cold, and ready to get up in 8 hours again!
The last night we stayed in a salt hotel- yes, you heard me, the entire hotel was made out of salt blocks: beds, tables, walls, floors, ceilings- todo!! That night,. our last, climaxed with a super hot shower, the firts one in 4 days, and a toilet with a toilet seat ( even a toilet seat can become a luxury when you don't see one for days)!
So all in all it was wicked and i would recommend it to anyone ( also- if you feel like getting some funky photos takes, the salt planes are the place to go- as sad as it sounds, posing next to an apple, and appearing to be the same size on a photograph excited me beyond belief)!
On Wednesday, the 14th, we arrived in Uyuni- a dissapointingly ugly town! But we only spent one night there, exhausted, and ready for some rest in a hotel, which actually had heating, proper beds and a normal bathroom. We all, the five of us, decided to stick together for a bit, as we were all heading in the same direction, and so the next morning, today, we took a early bus to Potosi! The drive to Potosi was beautiful. The landscape varied from sand dunes to craggy rock features to green valleys.
WOW! I think I am in love.
The highest city in the world, at 4080m above sea level, it is lively, pretty and full of bolivian authentic spirit. We arrived, after 6 hours, in Potosi and headed for our hostel, the Koala Den. Only 10min were needed, to drop our stuff, and off we went to explore the city. The little charismatic streets, filled with stalls, markets and smiley grandmas were enought o convince us all to stay a bit longer.
We bought an enormous amount of veggies at the local market for a smashing 6 Bolivianos ( about 90 cents) and whipped up a delicious dinner in our kitchen at the hostel. After swapping some photos, I left the two couples at the hostel and headed out to meet Ryan, Matt and Patrick for a quick beer. Who are they? Ryan and Matt are two ozzie guys, absolutely lovely and they are travelling with Patrick, a welsh guy. We had a nice chat over a couple of beers and it seems like my next few days will be spent with them.
Somethign yous hould knwo about Potosi: it has numerous active mines. Now what could that possibly mean in the travels of Ivy-Victoria? That she obviously has to go and see them! It took me a while, but after some hard-core convincing, I have now signed us all up ( Emily, Simon, Heather and Kevin) for a mine tour for tomorrow mornign at 8:30am. We leave the hostel in the morning, go to a market, so that we can buy somehtign for the miners ( usually visitors stock up on coca leaves, unfiltered cigarettes, 96% proof alcohol or dinamite- yeah its true, dinamite) and then head to the silver mine. We will spend 2 hours underground with the miners!!
Emily, seing that she is a doctor, is concerned about the lung diseases we could catch, Simon (also a doctor) about the possibility of an asthma attack, and Heather and kevin keep checking the statistics of how many people have died in the mines in previosu years. And me? Well I am just bloody excited. First of all, when will I be able to see an active mine- possibly never. And secondly- what would life be without its dangers!!
So with that in mind, I am going to sleep, very excited to have my go at crawling through some extremely small, dark and dangerous mine corridors tomorrow!
Potosi is full of old churches, lovely caffees and little squares, so I imagine the afternoon will then be spent exploring those thourougly.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Bolivia!! Oh okay.....
* Footnote:
In my previous blog I mentioned several Estancias, one being Estancia La Paz in Ascochinga.
I forgot to mention that it was the summer vacation house for the Argentinian president Rosa for 2 entire periods of his reign...so, that is just an example of how amazing South America is. In Europe you would pay huge amounts of money and all you would get is a 15min tour round the main rooms, and an annoying old man following you round, reminding you not to touch ANYTHING!! Here, we slept in his chambers, ate in his dinning room and sipped on wine in his receiving room- kind of magic!! I feel a bit bad though, whilst sipping away on some good Argentinian red wine with my parents, my mother managed to knock my glass over and so I can now say ( slightly ashamed but also maybe a little proud) that I spilt red wine on the president´s carpet :P
BOLIVIA!!!!!
So Wer drove even further north from salta and arrived in Purmamarca- a beautifully situated villager, with a setting that is unbelievable. With a massive mountian, called "Cerro de las siete colores" ( The Hill of seven colors) you really cannot believe your eyes. As we arrived in the late afternoon, the sun was beginnign to set and...WOW. The netire mountain flames up with colores like copper, brick red, purple, green, blue, orange...nothing like it. We stayed 2 nights and mainly explored the surroundings, visited some of the other sweet villages ( although we had to come to the conclusion that Purmamarca was the prettiest of the lot) and generally took in the culture of the far north. Seeing that my father and I had been searching for the perfect poncho throughout Argentina, we were extremely pleased when we wondered into a little forgotten shop, that turned out to be a treasure chest. Packed with antique ponchos, full of colors, shaped and styles we had more than enough to choose from. Over an hour later, we left the shop, both wearing out ponchos with great pride (and my mother walking visibly further away from us than usual...haha..clearly a bit embarassed. although I dare say more by my father than me, for he walked through the quite streets of Purmamarca, slightly carried away by his new attire, flapping the sides of his poncho like a moth)!!
Yesterday came the day that I had been fearing a little if I am ohnest. Crossing the border to Bolivia. After I said my goodbyes to my family ( I shall be seeign them in about 4-5 months again) I got on a bus in Tilcara, which took me to La Quiaca, the border town of Argentina. On the bus, two blokes from Argentina started questioning me about my journey and as it turned out we would be doing the same route, and so I was once again not alone!
We walked 10 blocks to the border and thats where it began. First standing in line for about 20min to get a stamp for leaving Argentina and then another 30min to get a stamp to enter Bolivia. It was incredible!! As soon as we crossed over into Villazon, the town on the Bolivian side, a man starting shouting at me and following me for taking a picture of the big welcoming sign "Welcome to Boilivia". Slightly frightened, the boys, Javier and Juan, took me under their wing and slowly but surely the guy stopped hassalign me. We exchanged some dollars and made our way up to the bus station. the goal was to leave Villazon ASAP and make our way up to Tupiza. The streets were colourful, loud, manic, women in traditional attires everywhere, babies tied to their backs with old traditional cloths....literally within 200m it was another world. Villazon is in 3,200m above see level and the sun was very stong. We all kept on drinking masses of water as it is easier to get light-headed and kept being astounded by the new surroundings.
HINT: chew coca leaves. yep, you heard me. It is what you think it is. In Bolivia people buy plastic bags full of leaves from the coca plant ( which when processed with millions of chemicals produces cocain). it is completely legal and actually helps a lot with the high altitude. We were lucky and so at 4pm we were seated in a bus to Tupiza, coca leaves in cheek and water bottle in hand, we were all ready for the next adventure. On the border we also met a german guy, called Thomas, and he joined us. Then there were five!!
The journey was a jOKE: the bus crossed, rivers, train tracks, dirt roads ( 70% of the road was not paved)...in other words we payed only 15 Bolivianos for quite an adventure ride!
At 7pm we arrived in Tupiza and straight away got approached by a sweet little girl who was adveritizing a hostel- for 25 Bolivianos a night ( approx. 3 dollars) we couldnt complain. We4 dropped our bags off, freshened up a bit and headed out into the streets- after all it was Friday evening.
Apparently Friday evenign is the night to be out in the town of Tupiza :) The local school just had a ball, so all the streets were full of youngsters clothed in beautiful evening attire. The main square was full of little stands selling local delicacies, and I myself got blown away by "pancho de canela" - basically hot rum with water and cinnamon - ricissimo!!!
But we were all tired and so called it a night around 12pm. thsi mornign it was tiem to part. The boys had been great for helping me cross the slightly manic border buit now they wanted to continue to Uyuni. Me???
Nope. For me it is time to head into the Salt plains - Salar de Uyuni. I depart tomorrow on a 4- day trip around the Salt plains, volcanoes, pink flamingoes and many more incredible things I am sure.
I shall write what I saw once I amk back but for now it is "Adios amigos". I now have to go and buy a sleeping back as the night temperatures can drop down to -5 degrees Celcius and we will be sleepign in simple cabins without electricity.
In my previous blog I mentioned several Estancias, one being Estancia La Paz in Ascochinga.
I forgot to mention that it was the summer vacation house for the Argentinian president Rosa for 2 entire periods of his reign...so, that is just an example of how amazing South America is. In Europe you would pay huge amounts of money and all you would get is a 15min tour round the main rooms, and an annoying old man following you round, reminding you not to touch ANYTHING!! Here, we slept in his chambers, ate in his dinning room and sipped on wine in his receiving room- kind of magic!! I feel a bit bad though, whilst sipping away on some good Argentinian red wine with my parents, my mother managed to knock my glass over and so I can now say ( slightly ashamed but also maybe a little proud) that I spilt red wine on the president´s carpet :P
BOLIVIA!!!!!
So Wer drove even further north from salta and arrived in Purmamarca- a beautifully situated villager, with a setting that is unbelievable. With a massive mountian, called "Cerro de las siete colores" ( The Hill of seven colors) you really cannot believe your eyes. As we arrived in the late afternoon, the sun was beginnign to set and...WOW. The netire mountain flames up with colores like copper, brick red, purple, green, blue, orange...nothing like it. We stayed 2 nights and mainly explored the surroundings, visited some of the other sweet villages ( although we had to come to the conclusion that Purmamarca was the prettiest of the lot) and generally took in the culture of the far north. Seeing that my father and I had been searching for the perfect poncho throughout Argentina, we were extremely pleased when we wondered into a little forgotten shop, that turned out to be a treasure chest. Packed with antique ponchos, full of colors, shaped and styles we had more than enough to choose from. Over an hour later, we left the shop, both wearing out ponchos with great pride (and my mother walking visibly further away from us than usual...haha..clearly a bit embarassed. although I dare say more by my father than me, for he walked through the quite streets of Purmamarca, slightly carried away by his new attire, flapping the sides of his poncho like a moth)!!
Yesterday came the day that I had been fearing a little if I am ohnest. Crossing the border to Bolivia. After I said my goodbyes to my family ( I shall be seeign them in about 4-5 months again) I got on a bus in Tilcara, which took me to La Quiaca, the border town of Argentina. On the bus, two blokes from Argentina started questioning me about my journey and as it turned out we would be doing the same route, and so I was once again not alone!
We walked 10 blocks to the border and thats where it began. First standing in line for about 20min to get a stamp for leaving Argentina and then another 30min to get a stamp to enter Bolivia. It was incredible!! As soon as we crossed over into Villazon, the town on the Bolivian side, a man starting shouting at me and following me for taking a picture of the big welcoming sign "Welcome to Boilivia". Slightly frightened, the boys, Javier and Juan, took me under their wing and slowly but surely the guy stopped hassalign me. We exchanged some dollars and made our way up to the bus station. the goal was to leave Villazon ASAP and make our way up to Tupiza. The streets were colourful, loud, manic, women in traditional attires everywhere, babies tied to their backs with old traditional cloths....literally within 200m it was another world. Villazon is in 3,200m above see level and the sun was very stong. We all kept on drinking masses of water as it is easier to get light-headed and kept being astounded by the new surroundings.
HINT: chew coca leaves. yep, you heard me. It is what you think it is. In Bolivia people buy plastic bags full of leaves from the coca plant ( which when processed with millions of chemicals produces cocain). it is completely legal and actually helps a lot with the high altitude. We were lucky and so at 4pm we were seated in a bus to Tupiza, coca leaves in cheek and water bottle in hand, we were all ready for the next adventure. On the border we also met a german guy, called Thomas, and he joined us. Then there were five!!
The journey was a jOKE: the bus crossed, rivers, train tracks, dirt roads ( 70% of the road was not paved)...in other words we payed only 15 Bolivianos for quite an adventure ride!
At 7pm we arrived in Tupiza and straight away got approached by a sweet little girl who was adveritizing a hostel- for 25 Bolivianos a night ( approx. 3 dollars) we couldnt complain. We4 dropped our bags off, freshened up a bit and headed out into the streets- after all it was Friday evening.
Apparently Friday evenign is the night to be out in the town of Tupiza :) The local school just had a ball, so all the streets were full of youngsters clothed in beautiful evening attire. The main square was full of little stands selling local delicacies, and I myself got blown away by "pancho de canela" - basically hot rum with water and cinnamon - ricissimo!!!
But we were all tired and so called it a night around 12pm. thsi mornign it was tiem to part. The boys had been great for helping me cross the slightly manic border buit now they wanted to continue to Uyuni. Me???
Nope. For me it is time to head into the Salt plains - Salar de Uyuni. I depart tomorrow on a 4- day trip around the Salt plains, volcanoes, pink flamingoes and many more incredible things I am sure.
I shall write what I saw once I amk back but for now it is "Adios amigos". I now have to go and buy a sleeping back as the night temperatures can drop down to -5 degrees Celcius and we will be sleepign in simple cabins without electricity.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Lets keep going North, we are bound to hit the border at some point....
From the end of the world to the centre of the world it might seem. As we departed from Ushuiaia on the 15th, only the grand glaciers lining the horizon, I knew little of what lies ahead. And so when the glaciers and turquoise waters got replaced by the endless sea of Buenos Aires’s buildings, it was a pleasant and slightly confronting realization that I was back in a major city. Buenos Aires is exactly that- a major city. Numerous boutiques line the pavements, with the newest and funkiest designs jumping at you from behind the glass windows. The amount of restaurants could make a hungry person go mad and the smell of steak wafting through the streets from every kitchen door becomes something you become somewhat numb to. We arrived at the national airport, which was very conveniently placed just outside central Buenos Aires and so before I knew it, we were dashing through he busy streets in a taxi, of which the taxi driver is still to receive a formal complaint from me. Little note on the side- taxi drivers are generally known to be slightly on the crazy side in South America BUT Buenos Aires taxi drivers take it to a whole new level and if any one of them happens to, by complete coincidence, get to read this blog then: WHAT the hell are you thinking? Are you deliberately trying to kill someone or are you just plain stupid?? Okay, so now that I ventilated a bit of anger I can continue..:) Anyway, only a few minutes later we arrived at our apartment in Palermo Viejo, a beautiful part of Buenos Aires, where sitting at an outside table in front of a cute café, sipping cafe con crème and reading a novel, is absolutely acceptable ( if not slightly expected). We had 2 full days before we had to head out to our next destination, which was to be Baradero, and so we made full use of them. Rather than rushing my way through all the typical tourist attractions I fully embraced the Buenos Aires life-style for those 2 days: For breakfast we would sit in a beautiful café at the corner of a park in Palermo Soho called Mamaracha. After waking up with a freshly squeezed orange juice and a couple of media lunas, it was off for a brisk walk in the park, maybe a bit of window shopping and generally a well- balanced few hours of relaxation and fun. Light lunches are luckily a concept they do understand in Buenos Aires (unlike anywhere outside of the city) and so a salad was actually an option- for which I was very grateful. Afternoons were spent doing more activities, which demanded little strenuous exercise and so in the early evening, only a quick freshening up was needed before the night part of the day could begin. Bad habit: eating at 10pm. Who has this habit? The entire population of Argentina, and Buenos Aires even more so! I could write long essays on, how steaks are hard to digest when consumed after 9pm, or, how Argentineans have a strange perception of what is a human size portion of meat, or how one basically looses all his/her human rights as to what one wants to consume, due to the fact that there is no option apart from meat BUT that would be pointless so I won’t…but you get the idea!! On the 18th of March it was: no more lazing around and lets get to business – or polo in our case! We spent 8 full days in the surrounding area of Baradero, the beautifully tranquil region north of Buenos Aires. From our picturesque cottage, we could spot Nicaragua in the distance, horses grazing on our outside lawn and purely listened to the angelic sounds of nature. Although it must be said that mosquitoes did become our greatest enemy (just after bloody bums and aching arm muscles), we defeated them night-by-night successfully and so with ridiculous amount of OFF! Sprayed all over ourselves and frantically shutting the door behind us each time we entered the house, not even the blood-sucking mosquitoes could ruin the experience. Our schedule was simple: rise at 8am, munch up on a huge breakfast, spray an entire can of OFF! All over ourselves and head over to the stables. Marcelo, our lovely stable carer, helped us buckle up, saddle the horses and so with little ado by 10am we were already stepping onto the (by the end of the weak very familiar) polo field. We would practice for 3 hours, usually stick n’ ball, to only dismount with cramps along our entire inner thighs ( only the first day to be honest…exaggerating a little here I know) and head into the house for some LUNCH!! We were actually, not kidding, like a bunch of wolves. We ate veggies, and meat by kilos each and so it is only understandable that a siesta was extremely necessary. After a 45min nap and a quick coffee, the horses were being galloped by us, skilled riders, all around the field by 5pm again. In the afternoon we usually practiced games, rules and technique. We would make use of the last sun just barely lighting up the field and would retreat only if absolutely necessary ( in other words, when it was too dark to see the ball on the ground). For 8 days we played a solid 5 hours of polo each day, ate like horses ourselves (although I probably ate more than my horse) and generally fell into bed absolutely shattered each night. Polo was an interesting experience for me. I disliked it a lot at first. I LOVE horses and so the idea of crashing my horse into another horse in order to then attempt hitting a tiny ball with a heavy wooden stick, whilst galloping at full speed and being attacked by another 4 riders on their horses…..no, really not my cup of tea!! But unfortunately, as I was the only girl amongst many guys (my father and brother being rather dangerous as they were new to the game also, and the others being professional so just plain scary as hell) I had to show them what I am made of. It took time, before I managed, but by the end of the week, and after numerous conversations with myself about not being a wimp, I successfully partook and actually kicked their asses. Go girl power!
Down sides: well apart from having bloody bruises all over your bum and not being able to use your wrist because you have been using muscles you didn’t even realize you had….let me think…hmm…oh yes, maybe the fact that my upper thighs acquired the size of a grown male body builder!! Yep, it is official; I left Baradero, with thighs like a sprinter. Its fine, let me calm you down, I have tried my best to reduce my upper thigh muscles (mainly by simply not galloping 5 hours a day) and am slowly getting there. It was definitely a great experience though. But all things, good or bad, have to come to an end and so we headed back to Buenos Aires.
But not for long!!!!
Although, before we did manage to head off again, I managed to meet up with Axel, Charlie and Tom (all former St. Paul’s students) and it was FUN! I am not going to elaborate, simply because you weren’t there, so you wouldn’t understand anyway..haha BUT all I am going to say is 3 words: 69, go there!!
Seriously, transvestites can apparently make for a good night in Buenos Aires…just some food for thought!!
So on the 27th of March it was LET’S GO time again. And so we did. Mendoza was our next destination. We all know that Mendoza is known for its wines, so no surprise there, that we pretty much just visited wineries all day, ate wonderful food, went horse-riding and enjoyed the beautiful hot weather (average aprox. 35 degrees Celsius). For me the true highlight of the trip (and I think that my father- a big wine lover - was slightly disappointed) was the visit to Aconcagua. With almost 7000m, it is the tallest mountain in all of the Americas, and stunningly beautiful. During this visit I only hiked to the bottom of the mountain ( to check out the terrain and conditions) but I am coming back soon and climbing it – its going to be for Ecolibri, my charity, and I have set my heart on it!!! I needed a next challenge ( what after the whole travelling on my own around the world thing) and so climbing a 7000m tall mountain seems about right!! So that’s that…otherwise, the scenery is incredible, striking colours of the mountains, combined with the blasting wind, azur sky and glistening small ponds- truly mesmerizing. From Mendoza on we went- and bussed it to Cordoba. Just a little note on the side- the buses are GREAT!! You just basically fold your chair into a fully horizontal position and sleep like a baby all night…just thought I would slip it in there, for those adventurers, who are planning their own trip to the heart of South America any time soon). So Cordoba…well..not much to say. Kinda’ disappointed. Rained all the time we were there, slightly sketchy. Don’t know. BUT to be fair, it had been hyped up by many, so it had big expectations to fulfil and in all honesty we did find a great eatery and the hotel we were staying in was beautiful (good thing that, as we did have to end up spending a lot of time there).
Forgot to mention some news, which I received just before leaving for Cordoba; received my replies from universities. To my great surprise and joy I had some brilliant offers – top being St. Andrews in Scotland, and Georgetown in Washington D.C. I decided for the latter and so it happens that I shall be enrolling into Georgetown University in August this summer, into the class of 2014!! Very excited about that aspect.
So in Cordoba we rented a car and the next few hundreds of miles were to be crossed by car.
Cordoba - Estancia La Paz (Ascochinga) - Estancia Las Carreras (Tucuman)- Estancia El Manantial des Milegros (Salta).
1000km, 3 days, many stops, incredible scenery!!
Each night we slept at a different Estancia – old typical Argentinean farm – using their horses to go on horse rides early in the morning, walking through rich grounds, milking cows ( yep, I actually milked the cow and then made my own cheese- got it in a bag to prove it). The farms are always very homey and comfortable. I am getting (maybe a bit too much for my own good) very used to drinking my evening cup of tea in front of a flaming fire, with a soft blanket made from lama wool over my lap, and fresh dulche de leche flan to snack on. OMG!!!! I might have already mentioned dulche de leche, but I certainly have to mention it – even twice if necessary. OMG – not much more can be said. It’s basically like caramel but better, richer, sweeter and EVERYWHERE! Haha…its true. Smeared on every cake, served at every breakfast with toast, even put in coffee, this ridiculously sweet “thing” is maybe something I might miss a little. I must admit (and please don’t tell my dad, he might disown me), I will miss the excellent steaks BUT I might miss dulche de leche a bit more. Sshhh…(he would b devastated if he would realize that I am in fact not as obsessed with meat as he is). Although on the note of meat; today we drove from Tucuman to Salta, but on the way we stopped in Cafayate, known to be the most beautiful village in the whole of Argentina. It was soooooo cute! Really glad I saw it, plus they did in fact have some great meat. We stopped for lunch and as my father insisted on ordering himself, sooner than I knew it, I was not only confronted by about 6kg of meat for 5 people ( one being only 4 years old) but the meat also included goat and rabbit. Not judging I kept my mind open and tried it all- wow. I am not going to go into details BUT I am simply going to say: try goat and rabbit. The drive to Salta was amazing!!!!! It’s like driving through the Grand Canyon; Massive, deep red stone formations, pinks, reds, violets, oranges, then slowly as more greenery appears, the mountains’ deep reds start contrasting with the lush greens of the rich flora and the dominating plantains of endless cacti. Yep, one cactus larger than the other, thousands of them…it was wonderful, and as the sun was setting, the mountains were actually flaming up, the colours even richer than in the light of mid-day. So with those burning mountains, prickling 4m-high cacti and yummy rabbit in mind, I now finish this entry. I shall now go and have my ‘traditional’ cup of tea in front of the fire and then off to bed- the beds happen to be very comfy at these farms. Tomorrow morning a morning horse ride awaits and so with no time to waste- that’s all for now!!!
Down sides: well apart from having bloody bruises all over your bum and not being able to use your wrist because you have been using muscles you didn’t even realize you had….let me think…hmm…oh yes, maybe the fact that my upper thighs acquired the size of a grown male body builder!! Yep, it is official; I left Baradero, with thighs like a sprinter. Its fine, let me calm you down, I have tried my best to reduce my upper thigh muscles (mainly by simply not galloping 5 hours a day) and am slowly getting there. It was definitely a great experience though. But all things, good or bad, have to come to an end and so we headed back to Buenos Aires.
But not for long!!!!
Although, before we did manage to head off again, I managed to meet up with Axel, Charlie and Tom (all former St. Paul’s students) and it was FUN! I am not going to elaborate, simply because you weren’t there, so you wouldn’t understand anyway..haha BUT all I am going to say is 3 words: 69, go there!!
Seriously, transvestites can apparently make for a good night in Buenos Aires…just some food for thought!!
So on the 27th of March it was LET’S GO time again. And so we did. Mendoza was our next destination. We all know that Mendoza is known for its wines, so no surprise there, that we pretty much just visited wineries all day, ate wonderful food, went horse-riding and enjoyed the beautiful hot weather (average aprox. 35 degrees Celsius). For me the true highlight of the trip (and I think that my father- a big wine lover - was slightly disappointed) was the visit to Aconcagua. With almost 7000m, it is the tallest mountain in all of the Americas, and stunningly beautiful. During this visit I only hiked to the bottom of the mountain ( to check out the terrain and conditions) but I am coming back soon and climbing it – its going to be for Ecolibri, my charity, and I have set my heart on it!!! I needed a next challenge ( what after the whole travelling on my own around the world thing) and so climbing a 7000m tall mountain seems about right!! So that’s that…otherwise, the scenery is incredible, striking colours of the mountains, combined with the blasting wind, azur sky and glistening small ponds- truly mesmerizing. From Mendoza on we went- and bussed it to Cordoba. Just a little note on the side- the buses are GREAT!! You just basically fold your chair into a fully horizontal position and sleep like a baby all night…just thought I would slip it in there, for those adventurers, who are planning their own trip to the heart of South America any time soon). So Cordoba…well..not much to say. Kinda’ disappointed. Rained all the time we were there, slightly sketchy. Don’t know. BUT to be fair, it had been hyped up by many, so it had big expectations to fulfil and in all honesty we did find a great eatery and the hotel we were staying in was beautiful (good thing that, as we did have to end up spending a lot of time there).
Forgot to mention some news, which I received just before leaving for Cordoba; received my replies from universities. To my great surprise and joy I had some brilliant offers – top being St. Andrews in Scotland, and Georgetown in Washington D.C. I decided for the latter and so it happens that I shall be enrolling into Georgetown University in August this summer, into the class of 2014!! Very excited about that aspect.
So in Cordoba we rented a car and the next few hundreds of miles were to be crossed by car.
Cordoba - Estancia La Paz (Ascochinga) - Estancia Las Carreras (Tucuman)- Estancia El Manantial des Milegros (Salta).
1000km, 3 days, many stops, incredible scenery!!
Each night we slept at a different Estancia – old typical Argentinean farm – using their horses to go on horse rides early in the morning, walking through rich grounds, milking cows ( yep, I actually milked the cow and then made my own cheese- got it in a bag to prove it). The farms are always very homey and comfortable. I am getting (maybe a bit too much for my own good) very used to drinking my evening cup of tea in front of a flaming fire, with a soft blanket made from lama wool over my lap, and fresh dulche de leche flan to snack on. OMG!!!! I might have already mentioned dulche de leche, but I certainly have to mention it – even twice if necessary. OMG – not much more can be said. It’s basically like caramel but better, richer, sweeter and EVERYWHERE! Haha…its true. Smeared on every cake, served at every breakfast with toast, even put in coffee, this ridiculously sweet “thing” is maybe something I might miss a little. I must admit (and please don’t tell my dad, he might disown me), I will miss the excellent steaks BUT I might miss dulche de leche a bit more. Sshhh…(he would b devastated if he would realize that I am in fact not as obsessed with meat as he is). Although on the note of meat; today we drove from Tucuman to Salta, but on the way we stopped in Cafayate, known to be the most beautiful village in the whole of Argentina. It was soooooo cute! Really glad I saw it, plus they did in fact have some great meat. We stopped for lunch and as my father insisted on ordering himself, sooner than I knew it, I was not only confronted by about 6kg of meat for 5 people ( one being only 4 years old) but the meat also included goat and rabbit. Not judging I kept my mind open and tried it all- wow. I am not going to go into details BUT I am simply going to say: try goat and rabbit. The drive to Salta was amazing!!!!! It’s like driving through the Grand Canyon; Massive, deep red stone formations, pinks, reds, violets, oranges, then slowly as more greenery appears, the mountains’ deep reds start contrasting with the lush greens of the rich flora and the dominating plantains of endless cacti. Yep, one cactus larger than the other, thousands of them…it was wonderful, and as the sun was setting, the mountains were actually flaming up, the colours even richer than in the light of mid-day. So with those burning mountains, prickling 4m-high cacti and yummy rabbit in mind, I now finish this entry. I shall now go and have my ‘traditional’ cup of tea in front of the fire and then off to bed- the beds happen to be very comfy at these farms. Tomorrow morning a morning horse ride awaits and so with no time to waste- that’s all for now!!!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Plans can go wrong and that is when the real fun and adventure begins.....
Wow…I have not written on here for a long time and so there is much to tell but I must, as is custom, begin at the beginning and slowly find my way through all the great experiences I have had in the past few days. So Banos ended up being a very beautiful trip. We did indeed end up renting a set of bikes and explored the surroundings of Banos on our two-wheeled machines. There are over 13 waterfalls in the nearby valleys of Banos and so, being the big nature-lovers that Sergio and me both are, set out full of enthusiasm to seek them all out. I could describe how we repeatedly stood there, side by side, sore bums and mouths wide open, as the ear-ripping thunders of the waterfalls glued us to the spot but then that might get boring after the 10th waterfall…They were all astonishing and I repeatedly left, convinced that waterfalls are simply nature’s temples, places for special energy to accumulate. So 8 hours later ( yep that is right, we cycled from 10 in the morning until 6 in the afternoon) and 48km in our legs, Sergio and I, both felt that the day could be ticked off as a success and as a reward treated ourselves to our first meal that day ( I did sneak in a banana earlier in the day and Sergio, after all he is a guy, consumed about 6 sandwiches)…so I must correct myself and say first “proper” meal of the day, of soup and rice with some vegetables ( chicken for Sergio). For dessert, as a massive sweet-tooth overcame me shortly after, I allowed myself a cheeky cup of “Morocho”, the traditional rice with milk; with cinnamon and raisins it really hits the spot ( or for me at least). That evening, me being very ready to call it a day, we met some people who definitely did not think so. They lived in Banos and so had a great insight into the night life of the town- what does that mean?! A groovy reggae bar/gallery/random building situated just on the outskirts of town, with live music, a lovely old barman/owner, and a cool bunch of people. It was there that my next few days already started forming; but I was at that point not aware of that fact. I met Marco over a game of pool (which I am now apparently quite good at…beginners luck, but shhhh don’t tell the others). Sergio and me spent the night with Marco and his friend and partied there, and later on moved to another, slightly busier bar. So it happened that it was 4.10am, and I was suddenly in a hurry. Now you might be wondering where the hell a weird little 19-year-old can be rushing at 4:15am, and trust me most of the people still about did wonder, but the truth is, that my bus for Quito was leaving at 4:40am and I still had to get to the hostel, pack and make my way to the bus station- I was in a hurry!!!! I made it however, and so 3 hours later I was once again letting in the air of Quito’s morning breeze wash over my somewhat sleepy face. It was the 27th of February, and my flight to Punta Arenas, in the south of Chile, was scheduled for that evening. With that in mind, I pulled out my serious “lets go and see something” self and set out into the streets. I did see a lot, and now that I try to recollect it, it seems slightly incredible, but the highlights were the teleferico, (a lift that brings you onto a big mountain, overlooking the entire city of Quito, spectacular) and a beautiful little restaurant (if I can call it that), where I sat and had late lunch with the owner, an old lady and her grandchild. I can say, with complete certainty, that my grandma could not have made a better seafood soup. This lady was so generous and so inviting, I had to take a picture with her and informed her that I might just start calling her my 5th grandma J she smiled and nodded, waving me goodbye and calling me her “ ( Spanish for grandchild). I then rushed back to the hostel ( Centro del Mundo- the receptionist now my good friend) and packed up, heading to the airport. The mood was excellent, little traffic and the thought of seeing my family the following day was no doubt causing a lot of excitement. Little did I know….the earthquake in Chile had fully destroyed any coherent transport throughout the country and so my flight suddenly seemed very unfeasible. As much as I tried to put my situation into perspective, and see that being healthy and alive was in fact something I should be grateful, the thought of getting back into a taxi and paying for more nights at the hostel did annoy me somewhat. But nothing could be done; it was Saturday night and like the lady at the LAN desk said: “There is nothing I can do, so call back on Monday and you might be able to fly to Santiago”. Great, I thought; wanting to fly to Punta Arenas, where my family would be waiting for me the following morning. It turned out that my extra few days in Quito would be very interesting and important I think; now that I look back. I arrived back in the hostel, the receptionist not even attempting to hide her amusement at me constantly walking out of the hostel door, only to always return a few hours later. That same night, Marco, my new friend, walked through the door of my dorm. Staring at him in disbelief, and he kind of staring back, we both smiled-because neither of us knew the other one was staying in that hostel but we both suddenly knew that our days of getting to know each other were not over just yet. Marco is unfortunately German ( I know, strange that I used the word “unfortunately” in this case, if I am German too but….) and this means that he likes to party; and pretty hard for that matter. I will let you figure out the damages for yourselves; but just a few hints: rum, music, 6am, street, tumbling…….The next day, after a coffee and some porridge to perk me up, I was already dragging Marco out into the streets, for some Quito action. We paid a visit to the renowned Medio del Mundo and the Sun Museum about 300m farther, where the REAL Equator line runs across. I could not suppress a quite chuckle when I watched the tourists taking pictures at Medio del Mundo, knowing that the line they so proudly pointed out in their photographs was 300m off the actual one J A long walk, meal of Chinese veggie noodles, and several tired sighs, Marco and me tumbled back into the hostel, kind of happy to just chill for the night! That night another beautiful thing happened when we met Tzlil ( yep, that is actually her name and not just my typing going spastic). Tzlil is from Israel and has enriched me in the 3 days I spent close to her side more than others have managed in years! Her outlook on the world is fresh but more importantly so very defined and unclear at the same time; this provides her with the freedom of thought to be open-minded but enough personal opinion to really seize advantage of certain moments that others might slide by. I walked alongside her and observed or simply listened, my ears suddenly the most treasured of my possessions, as they presented me with the means to hear her share her views……you can probably tell that she made an impression on me but the time we had together was also simply magic. Her, Marco and me explored Quito; heading over to an outside village, located in a crater, with its population not even exceeding 50, we sat on top of the volcano, looking down, the sound of the cows carried in the wind the only soundtrack to our idyllic scene, we were all very happy. During the day we walked, searched, tasted, tired and discovered; at night we talked, shared, celebrated, and grew closer. It was the 2nd of March and the endless calls, as well as the visit to the airport itself the previous day had only resulted in excessive phone bills so far. I had given up and started planning a trip to the jungle- civilization and technology seemed disappointing and the idea of heading into the wild to find an alternative to these seemed inviting……on Wednesday, the 3rd, I headed out on my own- needing some space. I started walking, and before I knew it an hour had passed, my t-shirt was soaked, and I was once more stepping through the door of the airport building. I had seen the sign towards the airport earlier in my walk and decided to head over, just in case someone capable was actually sitting behind the stained glass for a change. It was my lucky day, and because someone wished it to be so, the lady asked me a question I was more prepared for than I was aware myself at the time: “You want to fly to Santiago tonight?” and without missing a beat my mouth pronounced the word “YES” and so it came that I finally flew onto Chilean soil that night. I ran back to the hostel, packed up and straight back to the airport (you can probably predict that it was once again going to be a night without sleep). I left Quito at 11pm and arrived in Quaquil (another city still in Ecuador) 45min later. There we stayed in the plane whilst other passengers joined us on the plane. Then another 2 hours to Lima. In Lima I dozed in and out of sleep from 2am until 7am ( but never actually falling asleep, as you really do NOT want to miss an announcement-trust me). Anyway, at 1pm I was finally in Santiago and little did I knew that the real trouble hadn’t even begun yet. Santiago airport was not much of an airport. Upon arrival we got told to stay in the plane for 40min whilst our luggage got lined up on the runway. Each person then exited the aircraft, and when they spotted their luggage, they grabbed it, flashed their passport at the nearest police officer and ‘welcome to Santiago’ – yep, that was pretty much it!!! I was lucky that I befriended a couple of guys from California, who were being sent down to Concepcion by the US force, to help with the areas badly affected by the earthquake and tsunami. I did not know at the time that my acquaintance with them would come in handy but as I parted from them, I secretly wished I could head down with them and put my energy to some good use. At the airport I got told that there were no flights to Punta Arenas ( where my parents were waiting for me, to join them on board of a cruise in only 48 hours) and so it would have to be the bus…..At the bus terminal it was more good news: “Bus to punt arenas?? ( the lady laughs) that does not leave until Saturday ( it was Thursday)…GREAT!!!! I will admit that wondering through Santiago in the boiling afternoon sun and with the 18kg backpack on my back was getting slightly on my nerves and so I sat down in an internet café, browsing for a good hostel I could crash in for the night. Some might call this bad organization on my account – flying to Santiago and not having any name of a hostel for emergency situations- BUT I felt that even just looking up hostels in Santiago in advance would have given my future events the idea of not getting to Punta Arenas. Anyway, a few minute later and a very friendly taxi man was helping me with my luggage out of his taxi, and into the ‘La Chimba’ hostel. That night was a very nice and relaxing one, but as I did not know what the next days would bring I made sure that night’s sleep was a very good one. The following morning I made use of being in this chic city of Santiago and walked around for 7 hours – yep you heard me right!! Through the Bellavista area, down to Santa Isabel, up to Plaza de Arma, to the Central Mercado and finally up, around and back down from the San Cristobel hill, with the Virgin statue at the top. It was a beautiful day, I tried the typical street treat: Jugo de Huesillos ( roasted oats in peach compote with peach halves) and I even wondered into a LAN office ( my airline). The lady there was very helpful and so I left the office, in fact having a flight to get on, but only on the 6th at 8am. It did not matter though; the boat left at 5pm, so I would make that, and this at least gave me another whole day in Santiago. I could have just had another touristy day around the city the following day but instead I opted for the more ‘ivyesque’ version and headed down to Concepcion. I met Josh and David (the two officers) at 5am the next day. The truck loaded with water tanks, emergency supplies and many more, we all squeezed into the front two seats of the truck. The roads were at points unbearable and my bum bones were starting to make themselves heard –more like, screaming with pain!!!! We arrived and I just stared for a few seconds. Luckily there was no time for astonishment, shock or plain surprise, as the scene was massively hectic (but you can be assured that all those feelings were wildly pulsing through my body)!!! I could write an entire essay only on my 5 intense hours at the scene but I can’t!!! Because I would firstly, start kicking myself all over gain, over the fact that I could not stay longer, as well the fact that it’s just not possible to put my experience into words. Or maybe that it is but I suddenly don’t seem to have the accurate vocabulary, which this scene would deserve or need!! I mainly helped loading stuff on and off the trucks, lifting some gravel, helping some people with equipment or cleaning some surfaces, where medical procedures were to be carried out. I could not be of major help; unqualified, and in comparison to the massive soldier-like men wondering around, my feeble little student body suddenly seemed pathetic – and I swore to myself to change that!!!! (Some heavy weight lifting might be on the agenda in the following weeks). It was the psychological intensity and the sheer novelty of this situation that probably tired me out most and yet I kept running around, looking for anything I could help with. Josh and David, and their entire team, were so impressive, it was a joy to watch them do their work and the sentence: ‘even one person can change a lot’ kept running through my head!! I had to leave at around 6pm, as my taxi would be picking me up from the hostel at 4:30 am, I still had to pack and the ride was long and hard!!! Josh was driving up for more supplies and so we stepped into the gloomy space of the monster truck for one last time (although to be fair Josh was going to be spending a lot more time in that truck, so I guess it was just my last time). The drive back was long, but with little people on the streets and plenty to think about, we both spent it in silence, listening to the crappy radio station or chatting about the things we did that day!!! A hint: if you ever need some food for thought, head into a location hardly hit by a tsunami – I guarantee, you will have plenty to think about – in my case way too much. My brain (by this point exhausted) was ticking over like a clock gone crazy; and seeing that the nature of airports tends to be one full of waiting, sitting around and generally being bored, I had plenty of time to let my clockwork run wild and exhaust my brain even further!!! From the previous sentence you can see that I made it back to Santiago on time, packed up and after a not too bad drive to the airport was soon enough waiting for my plane to start boarding!! The flight was short and so there was not even a point in attempting to sleep. Instead I concentrated on the fact that I would see my family soon and watched the nature below us grow remoter and barer. It was lovely to see my family – I am not going to lie. As much as we independent youngsters like to convince everyone otherwise, when we see the comfort of our parent’s arms (and their wallet for the matter of that :P) we silently sigh to ourselves, thinking: life is good!!! And gee has it been good!!! As my father saw me, for the first time after a long time, he loudly proclaimed: you are undernourished, look like a walking skeleton and this will have to change!’ I knew that my father does not take the topic of nourishment and generally food very lightly and so his intense program to fatten me up began immediately. I will not even pretend for a single second like it was not delectable to feast on king crab, eel soup and local delicacies of other kind. Used to less filling and generally rich in flavour meals due to my low budgets, I enjoy every spoon-full. As my brothers attacked me with news and generally went into over-mode, my already tired brain and body quickly resorted to emergency energy supplies. But after a delicious lunch and coffee in the town of Punta Arenas we boarded to ship, which was to be our home for the next 5 days : Cruceros Mare Australis. We left on the 6th at 5pm and arrived on the 10th at noon in Ushuiaia (the most southern town in the world). It was unlike anything I have ever done before and miles off from anything I have been doing for the past few months of my travels. At 8am the loudspeaker would announce that ‘Breakfast is now being served in the Patagonia lounge’. Not only would this be announced in 4 different languages, but lying in the depths of my numerous feathered duvets I repeatedly woke up being thankful for this extreme luxury, which I know are only very temporary for me. The food is something I do have to concentrate on for a second; it was ridiculous!!!! A delicious buffet was served for breakfast. Followed by another even better buffet for lunch (with a theme e.g. Chilean, Italian, Israeli…), and then DINNER. Okay, it started at 7:30pm and usually finished at about 9:30pm. We had antipasti, then a soup, the main course and finally dessert!!! The chefs on the boat were magicians but the pastry chef was the best magician of them all…every meal we would all (mainly my baby brother and me) storm into the dining hall highly excited by the desserts that would be ornamenting the tables this time! Okay, so now that I have spent more time on food than many other topics lets move on. So the days on the boat where planned out around the three meals. In between breakfast and lunch was one program, and then another after lunch and before dinner. Our schedule contained numerous trips out on the Zodiacs: to watch penguins, walk on the shore, climb up to a few look outs and a glacier etc. and if we remained on the boat we had lectures and presentations on topics such as Glaciology, Shackleton’s expedition, penguins and other southern species. The highlight was on the 9th, when we got woken up at 6am and outside our window was Cape Horn, the southern tip of the world - “El Fin del Mundo”- The End of the World. As we ascended up to the very tip a general stillness and silence overcame everybody. We stood there, paying our respects to the 10 000 dead sailors who lie at the sea bed around Cape Horn and no one could suppress the majesty of this place. I shut my eyes and really thought about it; in front of me was only the Antarctic, the south pole, and behind me the entire world. It is an opportunity for those who wish to take it, to leave the bad and unwanted behind. As I turned around and took a fresh look at the lands above me, I felt like a new page had been turned. I am thankful for having received this opportunity for refreshing my canvas of life, maybe coating it with a new layer of white paint and I left with a sudden surge of renewed energy. When I say that a new coat of paint was brushed over my canvas I do not want to imply that I leave all behind - Quite on the contrary. But there is a difference between learning from our mistakes and moving on, and dwelling on bad memories and experiences. Maybe that is all that Cape Horn did for me; it gave me that last necessary kick, provided me with the right moment to not only realize this but apply it. That could have been the sudden rush of energy I experienced; simply old grudges or bad memories lifting off my shoulders, leaving me feeling lighter. I know that not everybody sets off on trips down to the bottom of the world, but I wish that at least those reading this blog can now take a second and transport themselves there, facing the open see with me and feeling the mass of land, the entire world behind them. Don’t wait like me, it drains you, so take any chance you get to release those old mistakes and memories – you have already learned from them all you can and need – now release them and move onto making new mistakes that you can learn from J
Anyway, on the 10th we arrived in Ushuiaia, the freezing blasting winds almost ripping our ears off. After a short wander round the town, we rented a car, picked up our luggage and arrived at our cabana – now officially one of my favourite places!! A small wooden hut, with walls largely being out of glass, a fireplace in the corner, jocose, and a view beyond believable. And that is pretty much where we have been relaxing ever since. After a cosy breakfast of freshly baked “media lunas” (little croissants) and some fruit and coffee we head out on little excursions, hikes or strolls around the glaciers. Then the day might be intermitted with a visit to the sauna, a dip in the jocose, or simply another coffee with a good book in hand. The weather has not been so kind and so continuous rain / snow at points, has been our companion for the majority of the days. It is funny how rain beating on the roof, and the grey tone of the sky, automatically shifts the body into slight hibernation mode; as if doing excessive exercise does not seem necessary or even worth it. Those are the days that one devotes to the intellectual self – reading, thinking, writing and engaging in other less physically strenuous exercises. So with that said, I am off for a short stroll up to the glacier and then I think a good, long session of reading is on the menu for this afternoon.
Anyway, on the 10th we arrived in Ushuiaia, the freezing blasting winds almost ripping our ears off. After a short wander round the town, we rented a car, picked up our luggage and arrived at our cabana – now officially one of my favourite places!! A small wooden hut, with walls largely being out of glass, a fireplace in the corner, jocose, and a view beyond believable. And that is pretty much where we have been relaxing ever since. After a cosy breakfast of freshly baked “media lunas” (little croissants) and some fruit and coffee we head out on little excursions, hikes or strolls around the glaciers. Then the day might be intermitted with a visit to the sauna, a dip in the jocose, or simply another coffee with a good book in hand. The weather has not been so kind and so continuous rain / snow at points, has been our companion for the majority of the days. It is funny how rain beating on the roof, and the grey tone of the sky, automatically shifts the body into slight hibernation mode; as if doing excessive exercise does not seem necessary or even worth it. Those are the days that one devotes to the intellectual self – reading, thinking, writing and engaging in other less physically strenuous exercises. So with that said, I am off for a short stroll up to the glacier and then I think a good, long session of reading is on the menu for this afternoon.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
What do you get when you combine a 19-year old and Ecuador....?
So lets elaborate on this topic- the last two days have certainly been worth mentioning. Yesterday morning I woke up and headed into the historic center. After a few hours at the National Museum, Sergio and me ( Sergio being my new friend) headed to the male jail of Quito. Sergio was not the one who initiated this visit but the "crazy czech chick" ( as he likes to call me) wanted to go, so we went!!! WOW....that is the first thing I have to say. We arrived in front of the jail, a slightly dodgy area of Quito being the setting, and approached the guards, to ask how we should approach. I had read on some randomer's blog, that Wednesdays were the visiting days in jail and so I thought why not visit a lonely foreigner who doesn't have family or friends visitng him , unlike the others. After a long time in the director's office, convincing him that we are not complete weirdoes, Sergio and me received permission to visit Raymond. You know the show: "everybody loves raymond"? Well I have a feeling that this show might be based on our raymond. Raymond is 63, from London ( we had a lot to chat about), and has been in the Quito jail for 3 years and 7 months. Why? well because they found 3kg of cocain in his suitcase on the way out of ecuador. obviously!!! :) as you do.
anyway...i could go on about how we walked around the jail, chatted to other criminals, sat and listened to 'lemon tree' in a cell, had a lunch of rice and pork in prison, or just tried to keep cool whilst we listened to Raymond talk about 47 deaths in the prison during his stay there BUT that would be pointless, as all that needs to be said, is that it was an experience beyond anything I have had in my life. Quito prison, being the 2nd most dangerous in the world, is generally a place I did not see myself strolling around in on a Wednesday afternoon but as things happen I did. I still have 3 stamps decorating my forearm - VISITAS!!!
After the visit to prison, Sergio and me wandered around the historical city center, looking for some random bookstore ( as he is obsessed with musical theory books). Although we did not find it we did find a beautiful caffee with some delicious local dishes. We sipped on Morocho ( a lovely warm rice drink) and slowly headed home. Sergio got very enthusiastic about the free 12litres of rum&coke at our hostel, but I had one last camomile tea and headed into bed.
Refreshed and revitalized I awoke this mornign ready for another adventure. What form did this adventure take? Well a LONG journey to Banos ofcourse...An hour on one bus, to the main bus station, and then another 5 hours on another bus to Banos. We are staying in hostel Transilvania and our first few hours in Banos have already lived up to their expectations. After some soup and rice for dinner, a trip to the highest volcanoe in Ecuador was on the menu. Surrounded by the cheeriest of people, a small, colourful trolley ascended the volcano, only to drop us off at a clearing where the view was exquisite. Complimentary drinks of Puntas ( the local drink I mentioned in a previous blog), combined with a huge bonfire and a night view of Banos put us all in a serene mood and I ended up bonding with a 58-year-old Argentinian, who is doing a similar trip around south america, like me.
There really are moments when if you listen, you hear your heart saying : yes, now you are truly living your life; truly following your heart and destiny!!! That was one of those moments. I wish I could share the moment with those I love but as I am here alone, instead I embrace the beauty and hope to share it with others through the changes these travels evoke in me.
Tomorrow?? lets see....maybe an 8 hour hyke to the top of the volcano, or a train trip to Puyo, or maybe we just leave it up to fate...yeah i think we shall do that!!
anyway...i could go on about how we walked around the jail, chatted to other criminals, sat and listened to 'lemon tree' in a cell, had a lunch of rice and pork in prison, or just tried to keep cool whilst we listened to Raymond talk about 47 deaths in the prison during his stay there BUT that would be pointless, as all that needs to be said, is that it was an experience beyond anything I have had in my life. Quito prison, being the 2nd most dangerous in the world, is generally a place I did not see myself strolling around in on a Wednesday afternoon but as things happen I did. I still have 3 stamps decorating my forearm - VISITAS!!!
After the visit to prison, Sergio and me wandered around the historical city center, looking for some random bookstore ( as he is obsessed with musical theory books). Although we did not find it we did find a beautiful caffee with some delicious local dishes. We sipped on Morocho ( a lovely warm rice drink) and slowly headed home. Sergio got very enthusiastic about the free 12litres of rum&coke at our hostel, but I had one last camomile tea and headed into bed.
Refreshed and revitalized I awoke this mornign ready for another adventure. What form did this adventure take? Well a LONG journey to Banos ofcourse...An hour on one bus, to the main bus station, and then another 5 hours on another bus to Banos. We are staying in hostel Transilvania and our first few hours in Banos have already lived up to their expectations. After some soup and rice for dinner, a trip to the highest volcanoe in Ecuador was on the menu. Surrounded by the cheeriest of people, a small, colourful trolley ascended the volcano, only to drop us off at a clearing where the view was exquisite. Complimentary drinks of Puntas ( the local drink I mentioned in a previous blog), combined with a huge bonfire and a night view of Banos put us all in a serene mood and I ended up bonding with a 58-year-old Argentinian, who is doing a similar trip around south america, like me.
There really are moments when if you listen, you hear your heart saying : yes, now you are truly living your life; truly following your heart and destiny!!! That was one of those moments. I wish I could share the moment with those I love but as I am here alone, instead I embrace the beauty and hope to share it with others through the changes these travels evoke in me.
Tomorrow?? lets see....maybe an 8 hour hyke to the top of the volcano, or a train trip to Puyo, or maybe we just leave it up to fate...yeah i think we shall do that!!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Keeping busy...
So yesterday was definitely one of those days where you lie in bed late at night and try to remember everything you saw and you cannot imagine that you did all that in one day....although, as you now know, this sensation is starting to become a trend in my current life.
We started off with a free breakfast of toast and tea at our hostel and headed out to the museum of Oswaldo Guayasamin. When I say "we". I mean Rodrigo, Javier and me. These two lovely lads took me in after they saw how lonely and sad I was. One of them had a girlfriend back in Chile ( their home country) who he missed dearly, and the other had fallen in love with an Argentinian girl- so we all understood, which topics had to be avoided and simply enjoyed our day!!
So after the museum we went to start a LONG journey through all the churches of Quito. First the Basilica , a beautiful old building, the highest in Ecuador. We climbed to the very top, and each of us engraved a little love note into the ancient walls of this local jewel. One Basilica later, we already proceeded to the Inglesia de la Compania de jesus. This church is the richest church of the entire Americas, with no less than 7 tons of gold garnishing its inside. It took 160 years to built and we all stood in awe- Rodrigo demanding if he could chip himself a bit of gold off ;) Amongst another 3 churches was also the oldest in Ecuador, the Church of San Francisco, another spectacular church. After re-loading on some food ( burgers and fries for the boys and a banana and 3 grenadias for me) we headed to the winged virgin, which watches over the whole of Quito. Her beautiful elegance and tranquility, which we discovered up on the mountain at 6pm was surprisingly welcome by all of us after a busy day and after taking a few obligatory pictures, we all sat in a plastic chair, lined up along the hill top, one next to the other, a cup of hot Canelazo in hand ( canelazo being a mix of hot sugarcane liquor, cinnamon, orange and lots more). We watched as the entire city started tucking in their blankets, only the bedside lamps lighting up the streets of Quito. We decided to walk home and taste the goods these vaguely lit streets had to offer....wow were there goodies!!! As we passed open doors to local people's living rooms,w e ate at Jose´s table, having some beans, corn and delicious chilly. Only a few blocks down, we then joined an old couple around a table, embellished with a classic red and white dotted tablecloth. for a huge bowl of crag, mussels and broth- delicioso!!!!
As we had stilled our hunger it was now time for some sweet goodies; a local bakery provided this in some form or shape, another coffee shop did so with a cheesecake and coffee and we topped it all off with sharing a rocky mountain with ice-cream!! i would be lying if i would pretend that we did not pig-out but it was necessary, we were celebrating our meeting, as well as our goodbye, as the boys were leaving that same evening. Plus we were all majorly emotional eating :P
The evening ended with a couple of beers with the other hostel occupants and after pouring my heart out onto the pages of my diary is was truly time for bed.
Today, the weather defo on our side, i head into the streets once more for some more quito action. But of that a bit later tonight...after all I don't know what the day has in store for me.
We started off with a free breakfast of toast and tea at our hostel and headed out to the museum of Oswaldo Guayasamin. When I say "we". I mean Rodrigo, Javier and me. These two lovely lads took me in after they saw how lonely and sad I was. One of them had a girlfriend back in Chile ( their home country) who he missed dearly, and the other had fallen in love with an Argentinian girl- so we all understood, which topics had to be avoided and simply enjoyed our day!!
So after the museum we went to start a LONG journey through all the churches of Quito. First the Basilica , a beautiful old building, the highest in Ecuador. We climbed to the very top, and each of us engraved a little love note into the ancient walls of this local jewel. One Basilica later, we already proceeded to the Inglesia de la Compania de jesus. This church is the richest church of the entire Americas, with no less than 7 tons of gold garnishing its inside. It took 160 years to built and we all stood in awe- Rodrigo demanding if he could chip himself a bit of gold off ;) Amongst another 3 churches was also the oldest in Ecuador, the Church of San Francisco, another spectacular church. After re-loading on some food ( burgers and fries for the boys and a banana and 3 grenadias for me) we headed to the winged virgin, which watches over the whole of Quito. Her beautiful elegance and tranquility, which we discovered up on the mountain at 6pm was surprisingly welcome by all of us after a busy day and after taking a few obligatory pictures, we all sat in a plastic chair, lined up along the hill top, one next to the other, a cup of hot Canelazo in hand ( canelazo being a mix of hot sugarcane liquor, cinnamon, orange and lots more). We watched as the entire city started tucking in their blankets, only the bedside lamps lighting up the streets of Quito. We decided to walk home and taste the goods these vaguely lit streets had to offer....wow were there goodies!!! As we passed open doors to local people's living rooms,w e ate at Jose´s table, having some beans, corn and delicious chilly. Only a few blocks down, we then joined an old couple around a table, embellished with a classic red and white dotted tablecloth. for a huge bowl of crag, mussels and broth- delicioso!!!!
As we had stilled our hunger it was now time for some sweet goodies; a local bakery provided this in some form or shape, another coffee shop did so with a cheesecake and coffee and we topped it all off with sharing a rocky mountain with ice-cream!! i would be lying if i would pretend that we did not pig-out but it was necessary, we were celebrating our meeting, as well as our goodbye, as the boys were leaving that same evening. Plus we were all majorly emotional eating :P
The evening ended with a couple of beers with the other hostel occupants and after pouring my heart out onto the pages of my diary is was truly time for bed.
Today, the weather defo on our side, i head into the streets once more for some more quito action. But of that a bit later tonight...after all I don't know what the day has in store for me.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
New record?!
People tend to ask me, "what do you do all day during your traveling?"
So let me give you a taste of my days, for example yesterday;
Wake up at 4;30 am in Gutaemala city, plane to Costa Rica, san jose. Get on a random bus get out in a random village and find an internet caffee. Sit there for a couple of hours, buy 5 mini bananas and a big bottle of water and spend all afternoon in the town center´s park - reading and writing out spanish vocab.
Hope back on the bus, by this point sweating rather unattractively but the show must nonetheless go on.
At the airport a few quite hours pass quickly and so I watch the streets and forests below me grow miniature a second time round.
Welcome to Panama they say. So I feel welcomed and use their public toilets to feel liek I really did something in panama.
One last time, many thousand tears later, we take off.
10:30pm and we arrive in Quito, Ecuador.
I grab a taxi to my hostel, Centro del Mundo- funky little hostel, full of young people. i walk in, immediately confronted by a big drunken bunch, as I happened to arrive on a night where the hostel provides 12 liters of rum and coke for free. Too tired to get excited about this ( and actually genuinely not that excited about it) I drop my stuff onto my bunk bed and sit down for a nice relaxing tea before bed.
The living room consists of a TV and many comfy pillows scattered on the floor and so I be-penciled numerous pages of my diary, slurped on my tea and at 1am I fell into bed- officially knackered like hell.
So yes that is an average day of this 'Ivy on the go'.
In one ay I stepped foot in 4 different countries. Breakfat in Guatemala, morning internet session in Costa Rica, afternoon tea and toilet visit in Panama, finished with a late night cup of tea and falling into bed in ecuador.
i would call that a productive day!
So let me give you a taste of my days, for example yesterday;
Wake up at 4;30 am in Gutaemala city, plane to Costa Rica, san jose. Get on a random bus get out in a random village and find an internet caffee. Sit there for a couple of hours, buy 5 mini bananas and a big bottle of water and spend all afternoon in the town center´s park - reading and writing out spanish vocab.
Hope back on the bus, by this point sweating rather unattractively but the show must nonetheless go on.
At the airport a few quite hours pass quickly and so I watch the streets and forests below me grow miniature a second time round.
Welcome to Panama they say. So I feel welcomed and use their public toilets to feel liek I really did something in panama.
One last time, many thousand tears later, we take off.
10:30pm and we arrive in Quito, Ecuador.
I grab a taxi to my hostel, Centro del Mundo- funky little hostel, full of young people. i walk in, immediately confronted by a big drunken bunch, as I happened to arrive on a night where the hostel provides 12 liters of rum and coke for free. Too tired to get excited about this ( and actually genuinely not that excited about it) I drop my stuff onto my bunk bed and sit down for a nice relaxing tea before bed.
The living room consists of a TV and many comfy pillows scattered on the floor and so I be-penciled numerous pages of my diary, slurped on my tea and at 1am I fell into bed- officially knackered like hell.
So yes that is an average day of this 'Ivy on the go'.
In one ay I stepped foot in 4 different countries. Breakfat in Guatemala, morning internet session in Costa Rica, afternoon tea and toilet visit in Panama, finished with a late night cup of tea and falling into bed in ecuador.
i would call that a productive day!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Emotions = or when we decide to eat our emotions
The purpose of this blog is purely to release my own shock over how much I have eaten today.
William would just laugh and say- 'Its good, you need to eat' but i feel like there is a limit to how much one can eat. Nonetheless emotional eating is definitely to be blamed for today´s intake of food, and crappy food at that!
Let me just give you a rough idea of what leaving love behind can do to you - just see as a kind warning!
Morning: fruit, granola ( so far so good), cookie, 3 more cookies...
Lunch: Curry with rice ( unhuman amounts of curry and rice), followed by ice cream and more cookies
Snack: coffee, cake ( a small piece to be fair), pistachio nuts, dried apricots,
Evening ( this is where it gets good): a whole chocolate bard ( cinammon flavoured though so kind of hard to resist), followed by a beer and a whole meal of tortillas, frijoles and avocado ( just to finish my stay in Guatemala on a traditional note)
I kidn of cannot believ I just wasted my time typing out what I have consumed today but then again i cannot believe a lot of things in my life right now so it seems kind of appropriate :)
Buenos noches...and so with a stomach ready to explode i lie down to dream of what the future holds in store for me
William would just laugh and say- 'Its good, you need to eat' but i feel like there is a limit to how much one can eat. Nonetheless emotional eating is definitely to be blamed for today´s intake of food, and crappy food at that!
Let me just give you a rough idea of what leaving love behind can do to you - just see as a kind warning!
Morning: fruit, granola ( so far so good), cookie, 3 more cookies...
Lunch: Curry with rice ( unhuman amounts of curry and rice), followed by ice cream and more cookies
Snack: coffee, cake ( a small piece to be fair), pistachio nuts, dried apricots,
Evening ( this is where it gets good): a whole chocolate bard ( cinammon flavoured though so kind of hard to resist), followed by a beer and a whole meal of tortillas, frijoles and avocado ( just to finish my stay in Guatemala on a traditional note)
I kidn of cannot believ I just wasted my time typing out what I have consumed today but then again i cannot believe a lot of things in my life right now so it seems kind of appropriate :)
Buenos noches...and so with a stomach ready to explode i lie down to dream of what the future holds in store for me
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