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...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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