Tuesday, November 2, 2010

the curtain has fallen

he curtain has fallen

From my room, my penthouse view, I can see nothing. The curtain of rain is metaphorically and visually drawing this journey to a close. The sound of the rain on the roof serves as thunderous applause to time well spent.

I look at my bag and think of the rain jacket I have not yet needed and sigh as I unpack what I just packed for the last time. In shorts, flip flops, tshirt and hat I zip up my rain jacket to walk to the chiropractor to help relive my sciatic nerve before tomorrows flight.

It feels good to be going home. And I am glad to be leaving from where it all began: medellin.

My Spanish is much improved, but that's not hard to believe as I was limited to I want, I need, I have and I am when I arrived. In maslow's hierarchy these verbs could lead to a sufficient existence but not a satisfying or exciting one.

I knew no one but had friends of friends who took me in. I am staying with one and will meet the others for a farewell dinner. When I invited them for sushi it was 85 degrees. In the cold rain outdoor seating is a little less inviting.

In Colombia I have seen some of the craziest lightning of my life. Right now I do not see it but the roar of the thunder leaves me little doubt of the intensity of the show.

In some regards I am sad to leave. Although I am ready to go home I am not quite done seeing things. This creates a nostalgia for things I do not yet know. I guess it's nostalgia for the feeling of exploration.

And while I am eager for the company of people who know me well, I will miss those who will become my far flung friends from everywhere.

Today I was going to go hang gliding. Given the rain I am happy to have missed that one last adventure.

And so to work I return. Excitedly. With the closing of the curtain here today, the rain a cleansing intermission, act two of my life with bgi begins.

that BGI space, it is amazing. I never felt alone this whole time as I was constantly held by you all. in joy... aly

these are a few of my favorite things

These are a few of my favorite things....
Ecuador
Quito:
Secret garden hostal
St Augustine heladeria for lunch
The many parks
Walking in old town

Canoa beach town:
Coco Loco hostal
The surf shack
Nice town, beautiful beach

Otavalo:
Riviera Sucre hostal
Casa mojanda inn/ mimi and Jim's

Coatapaxi:
Secret garden cotapaxi hostal

Vilcabamba:
Ishcayluma hostal
Cosmos cafe
Pizza at cafe across the square from cosmos.
Mandango hike with Jacob

Galapagos
Moonrise travel

Peru:

Cusco
Jacks for breakfast
Hielo dress shop
Fresh juice every morning in San Pedro market.
Fruit!!!!
Chicha restaurant
Ciccolina restaurant
The potato lady in san blas.
Hike templo de Luna
Maccu Picchu

Lima:
La Mar restaurant

Bolivia:
Uyuni salt flats

Chile:
Navimag boat to Patagonia
Lee and Emma
Torres del Paine
Backpacker Kawaskar hostal

Puno
Bike ride with jen
Eco etnico hostal, poolside cocktails
Rafting.

Pisco Elqui:
Magic hostal! Forgot the name
Loved this town
Observatory tour

unposted thoughts, recently found

well, it seems silly, but I never realized I did not post my final post from the trip. I was looking through my notes in my phone and I found two more entries. I know no one is reading this now, but I feel compelled to complete the process.

So please forgive the untimely nature of the posts. :)

Sunday, April 18, 2010

departure

Home. On a slow northbound trajectory. I have been excited for the turning point and it turns out to be quite different from the halfway point. The turning point is now.

Yesterday as I ran my final errands in Cusco I realized that I have spent more time here than anywhere in my travels. At the same time it feels like I have traveled more of my own path in this place than anywhere.

Cusco, a muddy depressing mess in recovery from floods when I arrived. I wanted to go home. Today, leaving toward home I realized in six weeks I have seen transformation. This city has worked so hard to go beyond repair and recovery. And the work is everywhere.

So has it been with me. Three weeks of meditation, yoga, fasting, breathing exercises etc... In this time I have felt enormous as a part of the greater whole of the universe moving in concert with the whole to evolve our reality. I have also felt smaller than a grain of sand with the whole of the universe saying, you are one grain of sand. All that you do is insignificant in the big picture.

Where is the balance in identity? Part of my take away is to know that all that I do is sigificant to me and that the butterfly theory applies to me as well as a butterfly. One conversation, one person inspired could have repercussions unknown and unplanned. Let's hope those repercussions are positive. :) but even that engenders responsibilty and awareness of my own words. I may never be significant but my life can be if I strive to be my best self.

Six weeks on and off in cusco and I see that I have embraced the friendly advice of John Perkins: be afraid of nothing, be aware of everything. As I have faced uncertain situations fear turns into courage because I have no choice but to move through it. As I become more courageous the heart opens and compassion flourishes. And I can better see what is right in front if me.

Six weeks to feeling home in a place where I was first afraid of despair. And I suspect there will be moments when I feel the pang of homesickness for cusco.

Homesick for the place my wallet was stolen. Homesick for the place where unknown friends became known and took care of me until funds arrived. A place that made me trust others and myself.

I walked around the town early this morning, mourning my departure from a place that has given me so much. Enjoying it as it started to come to life. I super appreciate those who have made my life here seem like home. besos!

passing beauty

I am on the bus to Cusco and the splenor of the landscape grips my attention. I had thought I would read through my bus trips but find that often I am content watching beauty as we pass over the world.

In Bolivia I observed an elegance in the desert. With little flora to enhance the beauty it somehow acheives elegance at the most elemental level. The mountains rise up without the texturing of flowers, trees and shrubs but instead are painted red, black, orange, white and gold by the mineral elements that have shown themselves on the surface. The landscape appears soft and surreal when in fact it is harsh and unforgiving. In the Bolivian desert life is a surprise. Unexpectedly, rabbit like creatures peek from rocks, vicuña bound across the plains towards the next water source. And when you arrive at the lagoons large flocks of flamingos congregate, the thirst if the vicunas is satisfied and sometimes a fox lurks. But as you travel through it, the sun is so bright, the air so dry and water so scarce that you hardly expect to come across life. To witness life in this environment is to see the strength of nature.

It makes me wonder what is the barest necessity for a beautiful life? Is a simplified life a more beautiful life?

Why is it that simplifying my life seems so complicated? How do I fit simplicity into my complex world? Sqeezing in meditation and rushing to yoga seems like the purpose is defeated. I want to garden more, sing and dance, cook for friends. It all takes time. And exercise? How to I best respect this body which is my vehicle for service? The answer is in the simplicity... The body thrives. However the work, the service done by the body adds the complexity. Oi vey... As grandma Jeanne used to say.

All this comes to mind as I transition from the austere beauty of Bolivia to the verdent highlands of Peru.

From my vantage point in seat numer nine, I see the earth as it was made, not as we have made it. Where there are people I see them working with the land that is. Living with the earth not so much on the earth. Their lives seem simple. Their lives seem far from easy.

A strangely beautiful part of being in the Andes is that I am living in a narrow band of sky. The clouds are so close, it often feels like walking in the sky. Sadly I feel like I am walking in the discovery channel as often as I feel it is reality. I don't even own a television and I feel like reality mimics tv.

How can I work in this world in a way that helps to create more natural authentic experiences for everyone?

I love the work that I do. I am ridiculously happy at the thought of returning to it. As I have traveled I have had conversations with people who enthusiastically endorse the need for BGI and those who are incredibly skeptical. Both types of conversations make me see the importance of this work. Both inspire me to spend my life making a better world possible.

So....
How do I come back into the work gracefully and maintain some of the simplicity of this time away? How to transition as naturally as the landscape rather than feeling like someone has simply changed the channel of my television?

borderline

So how was the border?

We arrived on the Peruvian side, stood in line, relinquished Peruvian visas. Walked across into Bolivia.

It was so easy. Another long line where I filled out paperwork, paid money, submitted photo I had taken just in case, showed my ticket out and gave a copy of my passport. There you have it, a few simple steps to being a happy US citizen in Bolivia!!!

Who could know that the return trip would prove more difficult.

Sitting contentedly on my direct bus back to Cusco we stopped for a routine check. Show the nice military man your passport and visa please. Not a problem. Back on the bus.

Exit bus to exit Bolivia. Fairly gruff but a quick process. I ask where I go next and get told "Peru". Not really helpful. Asking a second person yeilded the same answer. Mystified one of our party asked the obvious. where is Peru?I'm sure this is part of immigration's entertainment because they laughed and pointed across a bridge.

I walked across the bridge and it was not obvious where to go. I ask a police officer who takes me, not gently, by my elbow and steers me into the building on my left. It says national police, not immigration.

I am suddenly inside a movie. Concrete room, shuttered window, bare light bulb, one rickety table and two unsmiling officers.

"Tiene drogas?"

Do I have drugs. No, of course not.

They dump my handbag and my daypack out to search my belongings, repeatedly asking about drugs. How did I fall into this reality?

They look at my wallet. Since my wallet was stolen and I left my travel towell somewhere I have been using the mesh towell bag as my wallet. It has two pockets and it closes with a zipper. It's not ideal but it works and I have a wallet at home.

They wave the "wallet" in front of my face yelling because my money is disorganized. I explain slowly in my wonderful Spanish that my wallet was stolen and now this is all I have.

"Why is your money disorganized? Are you on drugs?"

No. All my money for a current country goes in one pocket. The back pocket is a mish mash of currencies.

"then where are your bolivianos?"

Because I am leaving Bolivia, I traded them for soles at the bus station this morning.

"entonces, no drogas?"

No.

"pass"

I start to organize my things.

"hurry! Get out!"

I shove things in my bag and leave, seeing two other girls waiting to go in. I cannot say anything as I am being escorted out.

Into immigration and three minutes later on the bus.

Now as I write this a woman next to me in the airport asks if they did not bring in women police for the search? I think the whole point was pulling in women just to terrorize. Good times for all in the border towns.

high on salt

So... I have developed some travel habits that are rather uncharacteristic of my Virgo nature. I am an admitted list maker, even for cleaning my house. Daily errands. Work. Travel itineraries. I like to know times and places. I bought innumerable guide books and read for months. I made plans. The books were heavy. I left them all at home. First step out of character.

I wanted to go to Bolivia but read that for US citizens it is very difficult. All the canadian, Aussie and European friends I've made empathized with laughter the plight if the American where visas are concerned. Reciprocity.

Bolivia: 140.00$, six months of bank statements, submit photo to government, itinerary, proof of ticket to exit. Apply at consulate three weeks in advance.

Forget it. I ruled Bolivia out.

QThen I chatted with some folks. No, aly, just show up at the border with passport, copy of passport and money. They'll let you in. Don't fly, it's harder.
So while in cusco with mickey I moved my own flight back a week and did a quick Internet search for a trip to the salt flats.

Wow. One company, direct bus to La Paz, transport to Uyuni and back again. No planning for five days. Awesome!

Direct bus overbooked. I got booted off twelve hour trip and on 22 hour trip. Lame. Off a semi cama (reclining with foot rest) to Classico (semi reclining no foot rest). Last leg, 8 hours no toilet. Grrr. :)

But arrival in la Paz went smoothly and overnight to uyuni was comfortable with only six of us on a bus. Two seats fully reclined is sort of like a twin bed. I slept.

With five others at 11 am we set off on three days of sights. The salt flats.... An incredible expanse of white. A village constructed from salt blocks. And fun with the camera too! We traveled between 4500 and 5300 meters all week. The sights left us breathless in all ways. The minerals of the area color lagoons in different ways. Each lagoon supported a population of flamingos.

Food was mediocre, housing like concrete bunkers, people great fun, worth the trip and the effort??? Absolutely. I rank my salt flats tour in my top ten. So much fun!

bouncing back... to peru

At four am I got up on April 1st to catch my plane to Lima. It is always a challenge to dress appropriately for transitions. Bundled in my warmest clothes I happily headed south to 85 degree sunshine.

First on our agenda in Lima was to take cate of machu picchu tickets. They went from non existent to sold out very quickly when it reopened. Through my guide book (everyone traveling thinks they are mis-guide books) we found Olga who informed us that there were tickets for one day only, round trip on the seventh. We paid, overpaid, in cash and were told to puck up tix at the office in cusco on the fifth. Leap of faith, but Olga seemed honest.

We left Olga in seach of lunch. Arriving at La Mar at 230 there were no tables available and quite a line. This did not bode well for hunger but created an expectation for the palate that was well met. Oh my god... The food was so good I am returning to Lima just to eat again! Thanks to Peter Doane for the hook up!

That night we met up with Paulina for some beverages. Next day we met my friends Paola & Jacob for sushi buffet. Also very delicious! Then off to cusco!

We spent Easter Sunday watching a military parade and hiking in the temple of the moon area. I had been before with my class. I should post my writing of that experience after this. So much for chronology. Mickey and I had a nice amble under clouds and blue skies. We,too, walked along a road thousands of years old. I showed her the temples of monkey and moon. It was a lovely arrival back to cusco.

Monday afternoon we went to the office for our tickets. Not there, but no worries, Sr Lizandro will have them at the hotel at 6 pm. Or not. Tuesday we went to Ollentaytambo to see ruins and visit with a BGI applicant who lives here working with a group of women weavers. Awamaki was an impressive vision of Kennedy's and after three years it is doing amazing work. This iswhy I love my job. So inspiring: the people I encounter!

We had Kennedy (with her VERY fluent Spanish) call Olga and Sr Lizandro as our supposed tix were for the next day. At 7 pm a very nice guy came and explained that we would leave at 330 am for the bus to catch the train. On the eighth. Wrong date! Some hurried calls and no worries, tomorrow we leave at 330. They will have our tickets then. Okay....

AND- it was amazing and super fun. We met a sweet Canadian woman and the three of us giggled our way through a tour. Being with people allowed me to be my silly self and we took photos of me swooning on rocks, glamour shots through ancient windows and mimicing the llama. Good times!

As we were heading back to the train we paused by the river. I can easily imagine after being here during the rainy season how powerful and damaging the floods must have been. The river was fierce! Just as I moved to capture it on video, my batteries died. Thankfully the end of the day!

We returned home, exhausted, quick dinner and sleep.

Thursday after breakfast we sought out the perfect place for Mickey to get her new tattoo. A beautiful Puma now covers a faded mickey mouse. This was my third friend to get a tattoo in Cusco with me alongside. From my perspective it looked painful but Mickey bore it well!!

Friday morning at 6 am Mickey left just as dawn was breaking and my twenty days of companionship from home came to an end. In a way it made being on my own a little more daunting. For the moment.

That night- direct bus to La Paz, another to Uyuni and my long anticipated tour of the salt flats!


aly

Friday, April 16, 2010

out of time...

I also want to add a word of apology that my posts are not nearly in real time. I write them in the notes section of my iPhone, a tedious task, email them to myself and then when I am at an internet center I can cut and paste them into the blog. Sometimes things just do not happen in a timely fashion. I also am not exhibiting the best writing skills for the same reason; typing on the bus usually on a small screen means there are typos and punctuation errors. When I type in an internet center the punctuation really goes out the window. For example, I have never found how to get the colon so you get ellipses. The question mark is questionable. I can see it but cannot make it happen on the screen. What to do... see, here a question mark would come in handy! I feel like a failed english major. I might conquer this handicap of ignorance if there was consistency from place to place in how to access these keys. Alas, that is not the case.

I thank you for your patience.

in joy,
aly

vacation from vacation

I have often heard others on this trip talk about their vacation from vacation. A funny concept until you spend months on end unpacking and repacking your bag moving from town to town and identifying yourself with a story day to day.

Spring break brought respite; vacation from vacation came to me in the form of Devin and Marshall on break from BGI.

I cannot describe how nice it was to stay in a house I know (thanks to Mimi and Jim!) with friends I love, cooking food that tastes of home. Just having a kitchen to play in and dinner conversation that extends beyond travel was a source if joy.

What did we do with ourselves? Not much. :) we went to Otavalo, visited weavers in Peguche, ate lunch at lake cuicocha, explored the town of cotacachi, Devin and I lounged in fluffy grass while marshall climbed to the top of fuya fuya. On all of our field trips we were accompanied by Patricio, our very sweet and competent taxi driver.

After four relaxing days at casa mojanda we left to stay at Secret Garden Cotapaxi. Secret Garden has been my favorite hostel in my travels. They are in Quito and provide a great community feeling with delicious dinners on a rooftop terrace. About 40 people eat there each night and many travel companions meet and make plans at this table. Secret Garden has a second location two hours away and this is where I went with the boys.

Secret Garden Cotapaxi is situated on the far side of a valley at the foot of a 5900 meter volcano: cotopaxi. The inn is off grid, dinner nightly by candlelight, after dinner music around the fireplace. Hammocks strewn around a patio. Need I say more? We drank beers, laid in hammocks, read books and discussed various ways we might make the world a better place. For two days.

One of the hostel workers observed that we were skilled in the art of doing nothing and we felt compelled on day three to do a hike. To 5000 meters. I was shocked at the difficulty I had breathing, stunned by the beauty, though. It's a funny thing, as a child I always envisioned the soul's location to be in or near the lungs. On this trip my lungs were burning, I could not speak: my soul was glowing, I had no words. My eyes, though, they were feasting and feeding the soul!

A perfect ending to our stay at cotopaxi, to feel as though you are on top of the world with much beloved friends.

Onward to Lima to meet Mickey and visit machu picchu!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

marching into spring

A month ago, ago sitting in front of the cathedral in cusco my wallet went missing. I was waiting for my ride to my three week yoga workshop and in the midst of many offers to shine my shoes (which had been shined the day before) I lost a lot of money for the workshop and my debit card. Not ideal. However, had it been a week earlier it could have sent me home. To lose a debit card is rough in a foreign country. Wells Fargo was not especially eager to ease my troubles either. But my new aquaintances in my class stepped up and loaned a total stranger money and shared their food. For a girl who hates to ask for help this was yet another opportunity for learning.

Thankfully I was rescued by my parents who kindly sent me money for my retreat and the lodging. Whew! And knowing my new cards would be delivered by dear friends visiting at the end of the month, life became bearable on a tight budget.



So the yoga retreat. Last time I thought I would do s&e yoga was last summer. I made it about 12 minutes in to the video and decided I was bored and stopped. My first day at the retreat I went through two 1 1/2 hour ashtunga classes. With a light lunch in between. After the second class we moved into "training" which involved push ups and core work. The thought occured to me that I might just die.

Second day of class... Full moon. Traditional ashtunga practice on the full moon is 108 sun salutations. Gulp. I made it through 47 before I gave up and succumbed to shivasana also known as corpse pose. I excelled in shivasana! :) I forced myself up for the last few sets of sun salutations. I deeply admire my classmates who did it all. To be fair though, they had already been there for a few weeks. I was joining at the half way point.

After three weeks of yoga, meditation and fruit fast I left feeling stronger physically, emotionally and spiritually.

There were some days off the fast. With my limited budget I fell in love with the offerings of a woman known to us simply as the potato lady. For 1 sole (about40 cents) she makes perfectly fried stuffed mashed potatoes with a green dipping sauce. She rolled her cart into the street everyday around 5 pm.

To go to Cusco and see the Potato Lady we had to walk down a smelly muddy street to the main road and catch a cab. On the return trip we would pray that late at night we could bully and bribe the cabbie to drive us up the muddy road. (muddy with standing water and contributions from dogs, cows and pigs.)

Kiersten, one of my fellow classmates, had a heart of gold and took to feeding and naming all the random dogs on the walk. We always walked down with snacks for the dogs. Such kindness!

The situation with the stray dogs here is a daily heartbreak I never anticipated. You see the with mangy fur, with ribs protuding and all too often missing mobility in one leg as a result of a car hitting them. How it makes me miss Lucy! So the daily act of Kiersten walking, feeding and naming these dogs was deeply admired by all of us.

The retreat was actually a teacher training for three people and four of us were there for yoga and dream journeying. Basically visualization exercises. It was an interesting time. Towards the end Danny and Virginia came into the class and Paulina, who was staying at the retreat center, joined as well.

Somehow we decided to journey (physically not dreaming) on an impromtu trip to the jungle. We took an overnight bus to puerto maldonado and made our first home in a hostel that I cannot describe. However I would have gladly paid more for a toilet seat!

Thankfully we moved to a lodge outside the city complete with exotic animals, a yoga room (aka dining room), a wonderful owner and, yes, even toilet seats.

Pepe the howler monkey fell in love with Danny and curled his body around dannys head and neck. Pictures are, of course, on facebook!

Our final yoga class together was intense and the intensity of the heat of the jungle lent a bikram like affect to the class. Ashtunga is a very physical yoga in the cool of cusco. There were many moments where I considered collapse!

After a beautiful and intense evening together, with the sounds of the jungle unparalleled in my previous experience, I flew back to cusco and on to Lima.

In Lima I was down to 63 dollars... Incredible food town and I ate in something not unlike a denny's as far as quality goes. But I ate contentedly; Excited knowing within a few days Devin and Marshall would be arriving bringing with them a promise of cherished friends, comfort, much laughter and my debit cards!

As usual, typed on my phone. Sorry for typos!

In joy...
Aly

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

march madness

I am surprised to come to the site and see that I last posted on March 1. It has been a rather crazy month but in the best of ways. I left Chile in the same abrupt manner in which I arrived. Last minute rather than taking a week to get out I got on a marathon bus ride to Peru. Over 50 hours. As you might imagine traveling by bus in a rapid fashion means you eat a lot of bad food. Between my own parasite issue and others food borne illness I shy away from bus station foods which leaves me with crackers, chips and candy. In Chile you often get a meal on the bus. A lovely young man in white shirt and tie comes through the bus handing out sandwiches. I learned to appreciate the sandwhiches. IN the morning breakfast on the bus is cookies and juice. Less desireable but still edible.

The landscape of Northern Chile is surreal. The desert spills into the ocean with massive sand dunes threatening the pan american highway. I enjoyed that. The border crossing into peru was a little stressful with me not knowing what the process was exactly and trusting everything to my taxi driver. I arrived and another woman from the collectivo made sure my new taxi driver into the peruvian city was trustworthy. She also went and argued for a good rate on my money. Oh the kindness of strangers... a lesson I would becvome quite familiar with in my time in Peru.

I spent the night in an ¨"expensive" hotel. I think it was 30 dollars. It had a bath. I was so excited!!! it had no hot water. so at midnight after 50 hours of bus I took a cold shower and fell into bed to begin my Peru experience the next day.

According to lonely planet I was in for a 6 hour bus ride to Puno and Lake Titicaca. According to my taxi driver, 8 hours. IN reality it was near twelve. Gove were the men in crisp white shirts, gone were the sandwiches and cookies, gone were the toilets that functioned. I leave the hellishness of this bus ride to your imagination but at this point my body was DONE with buses. My experience was not, however, anywhere near ended.

Puno was not a very interesting town. I am sure my opiinion was colored by the non stop drizzle and the fact that as a town it was empty of other tourists. There were four of us in the hostel. we went to the floating islands in lake titicaca. It was interesting and we learned how they make the floating islands out of reeds. I watched as a woman finished a wall hanging and knowing that their existence is dependant on purchases I bought it. I have seen so many massed produced crafts that I felt great satisfaction in getting something from the hand of she who made it. Other than the island tour there is no reason to be in Puno so I made ready to bus to Cusco.

I met this lovely couple ion the island tour. They were also heading to cusco. They told me about their bus. A full cama bus (that is where the seats fully recline into a bed, lunch, 7 hours and 40 dollars. The girls in my hostel suggested that we book through the hostel. Although this seemed like a VERY BAD idea (it was) the hostel owner was right there and overheard us. I felt obliged. 40 dollars later and early the next morning I got on my unbelievabley bad bus with no bathroom, seats that do not recline and traveled for 13 hours in a rain that ignored the fact that we were inside a vehicle. With my window closed, I shivered against the wall wearing my rain jacket with hood up so as to stay dry. rain came through the roof and the closed window. At this point I was so happy to be staying in oone placve for three weeks.

I was about to begin my three weeks of yoga, meditation and dream journeying.

to be continued...

Monday, March 1, 2010

grounded in the stars...

There is a valley in central Chile that is  possibly overlooked in the standard travel route. The Elqui Valley is known for everything from incredible desert landscapes, some of the best skies for stargazing and the observatories to back that claim up, UFO sightings, energy vortex and last but not least grape growing. The sun shines hot here, in a manner that makes you feel your bones are bleaching even as your skin is turning brown. And yet it is so comforting like the perfect bath but dry, very dry.

As I traveled through the valley by bike, bus, car and horseback I was amazed that the spring fed rivers could support such an immense grape growing region. Pisco is made here. Many people do not realize that there is a cultural battle happening between Peru and Chile for the right to claim the origination of Pisco, but there is. I, for one, take no side but will enjoy them both.

 It's odd I see so many images I want to capture but they pass fleetingly as I am often in transit when I see them. Instead they must contribute to the feeling I have for a place rather than existing in isolation as photos.

The vineyards roll out across the valley floor but are starting to climb the steep slopes as well. The mountains themselves have little natural vegetation beyond cacti and scrub brush. It looks as though we have brought agriculture to Mars. The hill sides appear to be brown and quite plain until you actually look at them. Closer inspection reveals purples, pinks, orange, peach, yellow and brown swirled together. Somehow the muted colors evoke a nostalgia for a past I never lived.

So the towns are long and skinny along the road etched into the mountainside. Lots of shady trees to help with the heat and the trees contribute to the sensory experience through their coolness, their many shades of green bringing relief to the eye, and their constant rustling soothing the wandering soul. Pisco Elqui was a slice of paradise for me.

When I was staying in La Serena it was raining and there is not much to do on the beach in the rain. I had decided to go to PE for a few days, but needing something to do that day I decided to visit another town in the valley. An hours bus ride brought me to vicuña, a sleepy town with piercingly blue skies, that I explored for about two hours. After lunch I decided to walk to the distillery for a tour. Lonely Planet's aptitude for accurate information is lacking so I was not surprised when my 20 minute walk was 40. Still not seeing the distillery I decided to inquire at the gas station but before I got there a car slowed down and asked why I was walking sling the road, obviously a tourist.

Some conversation resulted in my climbing in the back seat with the kids and spending the day with this sweet but somewhat crazy family.

We visited two other towns, had lunch, went to museums and ate ice cream.  Just another day with the family. It was lovely although I did not get to go on my tour.  They dropped me at my hostel around 9 pm. It was a perfect day, not going according to plan.

Next day I traveled back through the valley  to the town of pisco elqui. I checked in to my hostel, an empty dorm for three, in the middle if an inn of high end adobe casitas. Garden paths led down through the casitas to the pool. Ah pool on a 90 degree day. But the pool could wait.

I explored the tiny town. Musicians plaing in the square could be heard on all six blocks! I found the tour company and booked a 30 km bike ride, the astronomy tour and a horseride. With my time planned out for three days I went into adventure mode. The bike ride was fun, uphill was HARD, the scenery amazing.

On the horse ride my body got to be in adventure mode but my mind could go where it pleased. I started to think about being present ( why be present when you can think about it!)

Reality is the string of sights sounds smells touches and tastes.  How the moment touches the five senses brings us into presence. However this sort of presence ignores the greater whole of the earth and for me it is a challenge to find the balance twixt the two. I strive to be present to my reality whilst realizing that the construct of my reality depends on the well being of the earth as a whole. Can you get so caught up in being present that you ignore responsibilty for the greater good? Sometimes presence makes me forget I have work to do. But maybe moments, hours or six months of presence is restoring me for the work. One little example of where I go given time.

Pisco Elqui was perfect, the people so nice, just enough adventure balanced with rest. Just what I needed to prepare me for four days on a bus.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

a reflective moment...

Two Months...

It's been two months since I stepped off the plane bewildered and lost and feeling so small in Colombia. Which in itself is funny since I did have a moment in immigration when I realized I was the tallest person in a room of about fifty people. ;) but small is how I felt on arrival.

After two months... What has unfolded?

I might be walking a little taller in who I am. I might trust myself a little bit more. Two months might be too soon to say.

In planning this trip I could not understand the oft repeated question: "aren't you afraid?" or sentiment: "you're so brave". After all it is just traveling and I have no fear of kidnapping and my range of experience did not extend to any other possible fears.

So first on traveling alone. I had no idea how challenging this would be. How often I could be at a loss for where to go, how to get there and how to do what I'd want to do once I arrived. Transportation is a constant puzzle and it is appropriately in spanish. sometimes I am lucky and logistics are a problem with solution but mostly it's just a puzzle!

I've studied spanish, took more classes here. Satisfied myself grammatically but NOTHING can grow your vocabulary faster than experience and the quality of experience is directly tied to the ability to communicate: vocabulary. So if you want to know my name, age, where I am from, if I am married with children, how long I've been traveling, where I have traveled and where I still plan to go... I'm all set. However this conversation takes about ten minutes. Twenty if we talk about work and family. It's not very deep.

And it is a part of a larger issue when traveling alone. The questions above are standard intro conversation. Everyone from taxi drivers to grocery clerks will ask these questions. The shock that I am alone and the pity that follows are things I never expected. I was initially surprised at the personal nature if the questions. It made me feel unsafe. And as I did not have imaginary friends as a child I can't just lie about them now. This is getting easier to deal with but it is a daily reminder you are alone... You are alone.

So given that... How have I done? I have made good friends in short spurts of time. I have had to overcome an innate shyness and put myself out there over and over again with strangers. It's like the first day at a new school every three days! I am proud of how I have done in this regard. It gas been hard and rewarding.

The other area of challenge is just getting around. Buses are tough! Whenever I successfully navigate a multiple bus trip I feel triumphant! Tomorrow is another opportunity for success! But I am arriving in a place without a pre arranged hostel and cannot find any online... a bit of a puzzle.

If it seems as though I am whining it is not the intent or the case. I am merely sharing the answers I have discovered to questions posed before I left.

I feel good. Every time I am afraid, I survive, and usually find fun along the way. I am faced with who I am daily and as it is the primary company I am keeping I am more compassionate with myself than ever before. In general I can take self responsibility straight into self criticism. I have had to soften in this.

Two months in there is some stretching, some lengthening. There is also a great appreciation of the people who support me and hold me in their hearts. The thing is I am hardly traveling alone in this world. I even appreciate the technology designed to keep me connected.

So I guess I left with a naive sense of fear, I am present to it in many forms each day, and in facing it daily I hope to strengthen courage. In the end compassion, courage and love are the primary tools I need to contribute to a better world. It is here in South America where I can best develop the practice of courage.

In joy...
Aly

post puerto natales

so... a bit latein posting this but Ihave been having technical difficulties. :) No big surprise there!

As I walked to the bus stop in the morning the bitter cold wind cut through my clothing as though I wore none. After a week of being here it still catches me off guard. I am early for the bus in hopes of finding hot chocolate. I hope in vain. It is too early forthis town.

Yesterday I followed the advice of lonely planet and found myself at Patagonia Dulce: apparently the holy Grail of chocolates. I have to say I did enjoy my six dollar hot cocoa but I am not sure it was entirely worthy of it's reputation or its price tag.

On the other hand Torres del Paine is worthy of its price tag. While my time here did not go according to plan it has been a good experience and I know I will return to do a bit more in this region. It is beautiful in a rugged and austere hway, really unparalleled in my experience. Of everywhere I have hiked the wind rivers comes closest in feel if not scenery. There was definitely a moment of severe chill and satisfaction reminiscent of Indian Pass with Kevin and Jack in 1996.

I cannot recall a hike in the States with comparable pain however. Descending from Lago Grey my left knee began to have shooting pain. Depending on my right and recently "rehabilitated" knee more heavily only led to an awareness of my patella slipping off track and beginning a familiar and dreaded grind. Sleep granted me little relief that night as every move I made in my bag woke me up with a startled cry.

In the morning I told Lee and Emma to go ahead and that I would go home early on the boat. I was SO incredibly disappointed that I just sat in despair as they headed down the trail.

I thought about my predicament and decided that as the hike to the next Refugio was easy I should try. I could rest there for another night and possibly make it up to see sunrise on the towers.

The walk across to campo Italiano was beautiful with gently rolling hills and a trail that was smooth and unchallenging. Unless of course every step taken causes pain. It was estimated as a two hour walk but after two hours I was only half way there. I turned around and slowly made my way back to the ferry pick up point, feeling defeated and exhausted when I finally stepped on the ferry to head back to puerto natales on the bus.

However, it was beautiful, that which I saw up close. And I will be able to see Lee and Emma's photos of the areas I only saw from the boat.

As my friends all know, I do like a plan but I think I do fairly well when the plan falls apart. I got to experience a decision point that really was a test of compassion for myself. I could have pushed on but at what cost? I am happy that I turned around. I could have really gotten hurt and then where would I be for the rest of my trip? Now I want to return and do a series of three hikes down here someday.

When I got back to PN I had nowhere to stay. I returned to my hostel limping only to find there were no rooms. I must have looked pretty pathetic because while I was searching for a room on the internet, Omar magically came up with a dorm bed for me. It is always a challenge for me to ask for help. I cling to the illusion that I am self sufficient. So this week was good as I needed to rely heavily on the kindness of strangers.

I am now in the airport at Punta Arenas. There are only two airlines servicing this area. The bus ride over was through a beautiful expanse of nothingness. Starkly beautiful. it felt as though the sky was low to the ground. As we approached a lake I could not determine what was in the lake... Pink plastic buoys or something. I laughed out loud as we got closer and I could see it was flock of flamingos! Shortly after I looked out again to see an ostrich running through the brush. As it was completely unexpected it was quite a treat!

This evening Puerto Varas again, then off to Pucon. I also think I may look into helping/volunteering in the Maccu Piccu clean up work. I think I would like that.


aly

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

on the navimag...

It is amazingly comforting that the sounds of a ferry are nearly ubiquitous. I find the rumble of the navimag to be familiar and comforting. When reading the website, which I will admit was a minimal effort on my part, the acommodations sounded less than ideal but this was a part of the adventure! For my 420$ I would be fed three meals a day and sleep in a dorm bed with 42 other people.

The decision to do this trip is definitely one of my more spontaneous moments. While sitting on the beach in the wonderful town of Canoa frustrated by the lack of reliable bus information (buses are very reliable, information and time tables are challenging) I remembered some sort of boat in Patagonia. Realizing I have nowhere to be until feb 27 I thought, " why not take a quick jaunt to the bottom of the world...?" and a quick skype call and a half hour of Internet time I had done next to no research and some quick spending and returned to coco loco to pack up for an overnight bus.

The sleep one gets on an overnight bus is a bit liquid and gooey... Waking and dozing never certain which state is real.

To follow an overnight bus with an overnight flight is sure to cause some delerium. To be delirious and landing without a clue is less than ideal. On the final leg of my flight I sat next to a Chilean man who was quite helpful. I was reading my lonely planet guide for chile, purchased for 52$ in the Santiago airport along with my 7$ water, and I realized that Puerto Montt was not a nice place to be, even for one night of serious catch up sleep. The man next to me agreed with lonely planet and advised me to take a 20 minute bus to Puerto Varas.

A hostel was easily found, although expensive like all things in Chile. And I set about exploring the tiny town on lake villarca. Pto Varas is heavily influenced by German settlement about 125 years ago. The architecture is charming and the setting quite picturesqe. There is a good selection of German foods available and the desserts looked quite delicious. I enjoyed a lunch of pork chops, potatoes and saurkraut with a locally brewed German style beer. The first meal I have enjoyed since the parasitic invasion of my being!

So pto varas was a nice intro to Chile and I took the bus tp Pto Montt in the morning. I'll admit to having a bit of trepidation around the trip. After my rash decision I met up with some folks who did not quite enjoy the four days on navimag. In the book it says if the weather is bad it IS a miserable trip, and that if you have not arranged everything in advance you will be cold and hungry in pto natales with nowhere to stay. This has proven not to be the case.

Having wrestled with whether or not to go, I arrived at the terminal to discover it was delayed twelve hours... Loading at 11pm for a 4 am departure. What to do? Giving my area a listen I picked out some British people and proceeded to befriend two couples. To my great delight Lee and Emma are hoping to walk the W trail in Torres del Paine. They are also winging it and we will find equipment to rent.

The Navimag itself is a lovely ferry. The set up makes me think I was onto something with my ferry campus idea. The dorm beds are quite nice, lockers are ample, showers and toilets clean. And the food appears to be surprisingly good. Although...

I am ashamed to say that 2009 brought my first walmart excursion and 2010 as of today I have eaten my first farmed salmon. Not a moment to be proud of and pondering the travesty of salmon farming as I ate I could only eat about five bites. Chile would like to out perform Norway in salmon farming exports. It's heart breaking.

Arrival in Puerto Natales last night, delicious dinner in town. We rented equipment today and are leaving on a bus at 7:30 am.
more to come and someday some pictures too.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

ecuador.... in short

of course those of you who know me realize thatïn short¨is a relative term. And you also realize that I am a terrible typist on an american keyboard, so of course, you will forgive funny mistakes like umlots for quotations...

So I arrived in Ecuador on January 1 after a long day. I had a wonderful stay in Quito in a hostel called the Secret Garden where I met some great people to roll around with for the better part of the week. My spanish lessons went well in Quito and I am now comfortable chatting with anyone about my travel, slightly fluent (haha) when discussing my work and still at a loss if I do not know the context of the conversation.

Quito is home to many churches and I went and saw many of them. Beautiful structures that cannot possibly fill on sundays... there just ae too amny to believe that they are ever full! In the basilica I found myself alone with my friends and almost sang amazing grace just to hear the cathedral´s acoustic capability but just as my friends had me convinced to do it a tour group came through. So we climbed the stairs to the bell tower and looked down 279 meters to the bottom. dizzying and lots of ladders. flip flops not recommended for this.

I met with Lynne and Bill and they graciously connected me with wonderful people in Ecuador and most importantly gave me some sense of grounding in this country. I traveled to Otavalo on Jnauary 8 where I stayed with Mimi and Jim in their lovely house in casa mojanda. After a month of enormous cities this was the breath of fresh air that I needed. Otavalo is a market town for indigenous artisans and the market was incredible. The downside of six months of travel is that I really cannot buy things because I simply do not want to haul them around.

I Otavalo I visited a shaman recommended by John and Lynne... and in the end it turns out that Mimi and JIM are god parents to the shaman´s grand-daughter. I had two days of "cleansing" which involves a lot of chanting and prayer as well as some process involving my bare skin and stinging nettles. If I sound at all sarcastic here, I do not mean to. It was a deeply moving experience and I felt grounded and a strong sense of well being as I left.

The feeling of well being was short lived however, as I soon fell ill. I am not one for anti biotics but when lab tests revealed a healthy colony of parasites I was all for the kill pill. There is a time and place for everything and in ecuador- or south america in general- I might be more likely to use pharmaceutical technology!

Only part of my stay was at casa mojanda and for the illness phase I actually was in town at Riveria Sucre... a clean very friendly hostel. On my first day there I met a group of 16 people who were down from Seattle... all associated with Pike´s Place Market. They were kind in my days of sickness AND they served an even higher purpose. They were people to do things with. As a solo traveler I am limited in the things I can do and guides tend to like groups better than singles. So I latched on to these fine folks for a few excursions around Otavalo and hitched a ride in their mini van to the beach.

We arrived in Atacames on January 18th. I cannot describe the heat that I experienced there! It was raining but I couñld stand still in the rain and break a sweat! There was some fun swimming and the folks from Pike´s Place proved a high spirited group of fun havers! Atacames is a tourist town empty of tourists except for us so it had an eerie twilight zone feel to it. It is also where I discovered that it can take a few days to lñeave a place because figuring out bus logistics on the slowest interwebs I have ever used... ok the slowest since somewhere around 1995... it took an enormous effort but by Thursday I was on my way to Mompicci to catch a bus to Canoa. Wouldn´t you know that after all that ewffort, I find out you cannot catch the bus from Mompicci to Canoa. And where atacamas was hopt, I could escape to our shady grotto of a hostel, waiting and figuing things out in Mompicci involved wading through sticky stinky mud with a nice hot mist coating me!

However, since I have the blessing of st christopher as well as several other talismans, I did meet up with Tori and John who were also on a quest for Canoa. The three of us got on a bus that dropped us in tres vias. a town of five buildings, possibly more dogs than people and certainly more chickens than people. We were assured that a bus would take us to... chamanga where we would find transport to... pedernales and then into canoa. After an hour of watching chickens cross the road, but failing to interview them as to why, a bus did indeed pick us up and take us to chamanga. In chamanga we were hurried off the bus and onto this open cart safari like vehicle. The fare was collected by a young kid who climbed around the out side of the bus to collect from us. Lots of cows were also on the road to pedernales. In pedernales we happily boarded a real bus again and in a few hours time arrived at Canoa.

Canoa is idyllic. It is a town of about 6 blocks on one street and housing along four other streets behind. There is no ATM so you have to take a bus to get money, but it is also incredibly comfortable and filled with laid back surfers. And SAFE, which I love! There is certainly an ex-pat population that is small enough to work really well with the locals. I met this super sweet couple of artists from Colombia and chatted with them quite a bit over the course of five days. They travel and make art and sell it. sounds lovely... if you can make art.

At the hostel Coco Loco I met Maggie Mae and Mariah from Vermont and New Hampshire down in Ecuador for a little surf adventure. These two ladies were just wonderful companions for the week. We swam, ate and walked together. I appreciate them allowing me to be a part of their vacation. Someday I hope we visit one another in the states.

Maggie Mae and Mariah were headed to Otavalo and I was about to begin my next day or two of planning a bus journey south. This one seemed harder than the last and in the end I decided it would be easier to ride the bus to Quito with the girls and do something from there. I was not meant to go to Montanita. However, I remembered Tomas telling me about a ferry to Patagonia. A quick Skype call to him and some time on the computer and before you know it I booked a flight to Patagonia and the ferry to Puerto Natales.

here I am waiting to catch the ferry tomorrow. If all else fails and you cannot find the bus route... why not go to patagonia?

I will arrive in Puerto Natales on Feb. 1. I should be better about more frequent shorter updates.

in joy,
aly

Friday, January 8, 2010

with burning eyes and beating heart...

Hola Mis Amigos,

I am suffering through an unfamiliar keyboard to give a little update.

After a somewhat exciting new years eve, I left Medellin to fly to Quito. Spent about an hour with immigration in a blazingly hot room all to discover that I AM a nice person and it was just a computer error and I was free to leave the country... whew because this was where I discovered my spanish is limited to things I am familiar with not interrogation!

My time with Wai and Paula in Medellin was so lovely and I am so appreciative of their sharing the apartament with me and the fact that I had a room with a killer view and an incredibly comfortable bed. ah some nights it was pure liss to lie down!

I enjoyed the smaller town of sabaneta very much and will look forward to seeing my friends again in May. In the meantime some highlights were:
an impromptu concert in the park. If Twitter were happening here I would say that a tweet went out for all musicians to gather in the park but I know it was something more organic than that as this is not twitterland. Guitars, flutes, drums and vocalists... a stand up bass. it was pretty awesome.

Wai and I went out to a bar where there were dancing horses. pretty cool. I also got to pet a cow there. The cow got to lick wai.

Later that same night we went to a place where there was much sunging, employees were in costume, lights were sparkling and decor was decidedly strange. There were dancing midgets at this place. Half way through our half bottle of rum the colombian equivalent of a neil diamond imersonater arrived and started crooning. He came and sat on Wai´s lap singing to him. I was too close for a photo. It was a riot. very surreal.

Wai Paula and >I had a trip to the exploatorium and the aquarium that was also quite fun.

NYE I made dinner at the house. went out for a mdnight drink and came home fairly early. Not sure when the bullet came whizzing through my window but it was next to the bed in the morning and my book was damaged. I did not wake up as it is common to have explosive fireworks throughout the night during the holidays. the bullet missed the window glass but came through the window frame. Downstairs there was a lot of glass as it it the actual window. Strange way to start the new year. Better though than last year. it would be tough to be worse than last year.

Now through the immigration mess and into quito. Thankfully I was met at the airport and delivered after a terrible day into a hopstel that smelled bad, had no windows, my pricçvate bath was shared and filthy. I cliosed the door. took a breath and thats when it hit me that there was a bullet in my room, immigration hassled me and I was all alone in quito. Then came the tears. :)

Fortunately I was able to switch to their other hostel and had a somewhat better room for the night. with internet (did I mention no internet?) I immediatyely called sarah lucy miller and felt much better. I also decided I needed to wear my Belive in Yoursaelf necklace in addition to my BGI sundrop. Thanks LIbby for the support!

Found a new amazing hostel in old town and moved the next day. The secret garden has wonderful dinners and breakfasts on a roof top terrace, the feel of community is delightful and I stayed here for five days while I took more spanish. Met some lovely under twenty-five year olds (you all know how I am !) and rumbled around with them for a few days. Today we all go separate ways and are all in the internet cafe catching up.

We went to the Mitad del Mundo and then the real equator museum. Very fun in the museum. I gotr a diploma for successfully balancing an egg on its end on the equator. Kate did as well. Must be the oregonian advantage! lets see, we also watched water drain in different directions on either side. cheesy cheeky fun!

I am off to Otavalo today... am excited that the next part of the trip is beginning. Many thanks to Zac for the connection to his family here. wonderful dinner last night and new friends to meet this week.

love to all...
aly