It also gives us a chance to do some things we wouldn’t have had time to do normally and see our peoples more! So far we’re doing a night tour of alcatraz and going down south for a Disneyland/Magic Mountain adventure. We also might head out to FL to see the Harry Potter World place and Miami, which would be totally awesome. SO, that’s the update from here for now, back to catching up on So America. I believe we’re on Day 3 of the Inca Trail.

Inca Trail Day 3 – Happy Jenni(?)

Elevation Change Overview:

• Chaquicocha (3,450 meters, 11,318 feet)
• Puyupatamarca (3,600 meters, 11, 811 feet)
• Winaywayna (2,644 meters, 8, 674 feet)

Approximate Elevation Change:  1,106 meters (3,628 feet)

Distance: 10 kilometers

Time: 6 hours

(Thanks again, T, for the math info!)

Waking up this morning to tea and hot water is lovely, but I realize as I leave my tent to use the bathroom that my legs don’t work right. I”m finding it next to impossible to move and going up and down stairs is torturous. Seriously, I”m taking them sideways and one at a time where I would normally be clomping along one foot in front of the other like a regular human being. At this point I’m taking 4 Ibprofins in the morning and they’re not really helping, so pretty much nothing is helping. Breakfast is served amid more mosquitoes and we finish our packing up. I’m a bit slower at this than normal, and we all ready our gear for rain which takes some time, so we’re the last to head out. This is actually a good thing because I know I’m just going to have to move aside to let people pass me anyway. The up side of today is that it’s only a half day hike with the promise of a waterfall at the end of it as well as an evening of relaxation. So we begin….

Uphill, of course, and fairly steeply. I’ve moved completely past any kind of competitive feelings at this point and am just taking them at my own pace, which happens to be extremely slowly. It’s a pretty walk and there’s lots of fog and ruins peeking out mysteriously. I discover along the trail that the company purchased Scott’s Machu Picchu ticket in advance and Dylan recommends I use my kindle’s internet option to let him know so he doesn’t purchase a second superfluous ticket. So here I am, in the middle of the Peruvian mountain jungle, holding my kindle up to the satelite gods in hopes of receiving some slight signal that I might tell my husband the good news. Believe it or not, I got a freakin’ signal and I was able to send out the brief email (We have machu picchu ticket for you, do not purchase. Meet at entrance by snack bar ).

Finally we get to a place where we can see Puyupatamarca, the final ruins before reaching camp and it’s magnificent. Truly, just incredible. Peruvian mountains surrounding a deep canyon with a river and these ruins clinging precariously, but doggedly, to the side of another mountain as if there to watch over the valley (which, in fact, may have been its purpose).  After resting here for a bit and taking photos we begin the hike down to the campsite, which of course, includes steps so steep I’m pretty much climbing down with hands and feet. Not to mention the fact that many of the stones are loose, Dylan almost took a tumble ahead of me while trying to hold onto one of these tricksy rocks. Seriously, you remember the staircase that Frodo, Sam and Gollum have to climb up at the end(ish) of Return of the King? I went up and down that staircase like, 4 times during this trip.

Anyway, right before our campsite we came upon some llamas that are kept by the state to keep the shrubbery down (and, presumably, the tourists happy). We, of course, petted them and took photos as proof of our nature sighting (athough not too much since they’re VERY dirty and I was also afraid of being spit on ) and finally made it up to our camp. This camp has SHOWERS! But they are very cold, so we decide to do a “quick” hike down to a waterfall that V has advertised is by a set of ruins worth seeing, and bathe there. I’m pretty excited about this idea because I can feel clean and rinse my smelly clothes at the same time! This is how I picture the waterfall/ruins “quick” 15 minute hike: We walk along a path that is straight and does not in any way contain stairs, till we arrive at a beautiful waterfall surrounded by trees. After our swim we continue along said easy pathway to spectacular ruins where we take pictures and dry off along the way.

BWAHAHAHAHA! How I ever managed to deceive myself so fully is beyond me. The reality is that we’re climbing through the campsite, which, of course, is tiered, and then along a gentle downward sloping path until we get to Winaywayna. These ruins are, by far, the most beautiful we’ve seen, and we’re completely alone. There are pictures, I will let them speak for themselves. We are told by V, who was nice enough to accompany us this far and give us some more historical information before heading off to take his shower and break, that the waterfall is “just over in there”; over there being down the 5 tiers of steps of the ruins and then more downhill path and far away to the waterfall. You cant even see the waterfall from where we are, although we can see the area where it should be. We get down 4 flights of stairs (looooong flights) and I see that we STILL have more stairs to go before we even hit the path and I give up. “Later, guys” I say to D & T and begin trudging up the stairs I just descended, taking photos along the way to hide the fact that I’m pausing for breath every few minutes.

When I finally get back to camp (unhappy at having been double crossed by my imagination) I sit down and watch an approaching storm. Honestly, this was probably the most meditative portion of the whole trip. Our campsite was perfectly situated to overlook the mountains and valley, which were absolutely gorgeous, and watching a thunder storm come through the mountains from a distance of 10 or 20 miles was perfectly picturesque and tranquil. After about 20 minutes of sitting and watching, T comes up the path, having also been defeated by the waterfall trek, to announce that only D had the wherewithal to advance. At this point the porters were nice enough to give us some hot water for washing, so we had in tent sponge baths (slightly disappointing after hoping for a waterfall bath, but at least it was a bath of sorts) and hung around watching the storm until D got back. He had a wonderful experience at the waterfall, and was dry when he returned and we all went into our tents to hang out while the storm came upon us. It was lovely to just lay back and read while the rain came down and we stayed that way for a full 3 or 4 hours before dinner.

Dinner happened, and then we had a pow wow with our porters, said thanks to them and gave them their tips, then said goodnight for the last time. The next morning would be a 4am morning and we had to be ready to go fairly quickly so the porters would be able to get on a 4:30 train back to Oyatatambo. And that’s it for day 3…. probably the least angry day of them all, although i won’t even talk about the bathrooms until tomorrow….

Inca Trail Day 2 – Happy Jenni

Elevation Change Overview:

• Llulluchapampa (3,700 meters, 12,139 feet) -Warmiwanuscca (4,200 meters, 13,779 feet) -
• Pacamayo (3,300 meters, 10,826 feet) -
• Runkuraqay (3,800 meters, 12,470 feet) -
• Chaquicocha (3,450 meters, 11,318 feet)

Approximate Elevation Change: 2, 150 meters (7,053 feet)

Distance: 15 kilometers

Time: 8.0 – 9.5 hours (depending on individual pace)

I wake up to the sound of the porters getting things ready for us but am grateful to lie in my cold cold sleeping bag for another hour or so. Finally, when it is time to get up I hear a pleasant “buenos dias” and when I open my tent, there is Victor offering me a steaming cup of coca tea. Also, a bowl of hot water to wash with. Seriously, this totally makes up for the cold nights sleep. We all have breakfast tea and breakfast and then make ready to go. Today is supposed to be the second half of the hardest part, and nothing could be worse than yesterday, so I’m READY! I can even see the end of the climb, dead woman’.s pass, from the beginning of the trek which really helps with the motivation level.

I”m slow up, as usual, but am not as exhausted as I was yesterday and all the way up, Victor is hanging behind with me, offering encouragement and conversation. When I finally make it to the top I’m so happy and proud! D&T have been waiting for over an hour, but that’s ok. I made it! It’s all downhill and easy from here. Slight uphills, but no big deal and downhill is NO PROBLEM for me!

So we begin our descent. First of all, the porters are incredible. We’re walking down the jagged, uneven, slippery stone stairs and they’re RUNNING. Seriously. It’s so steep that my little bag feels like it’s trying to throw me off the mountain, but these guys have about three times the weight and they’re just running like they’re about to visit the corner store or something. There’s a large waterfall to the left and the view is gorgeous. It’s nice to be able to really enjoy the natural setting and catch my breath. I can see the path ahead of us, and it looks pretty scary to be honest, but I’m not going to think about that. Right now I’m thinking about lunch and how excited I am to be done with the hardest part of the whole trek.

Lunch is excellent, as always, although we happen to be really far from the bathroom. Seriously, it’s like a trek in it of itself. Once lunch is finished it begins to rain. I have to wrap myself in my cheapo poncho so that my clothes and bags don’t get wet…. and UP we climb! And I do mean up. Actually, this climb is pretty killer, I would say that it’s as bad as yesterdays. Victor keeps saying just a bit longer, but I’m starting to not believe him. Starting to get into angry Jenni territory here, I thought this was supposed to be an easy hill. And when we get to the top, there’s no campsite in sight. Yeah, actually pretty much angry Jenni from here on out.

Angry Jenni

It’s just like yesterday! Every time I hit a place I think should be the top of this disgusting hill, there’s more! Here’s a lake. Awesome. First it’s far away, then it’s here, now I’m above it and I’m STILL CLIMBING! Finally we get to the top and have to descend even STEEPER steps than last time and they’re totally wet because of the rain. I’m pretty terrified of dying right now. We go through a natural tunnel and Victor tries to scare us, but we’re all too focused on getting through the day to feel any other kind of fear. On our way down, Victor points to our campsite, which is at the bottom of the mountain and THEN BACK UP AGAIN!

It’s a damn good thing that we’re in the cloud forest, it is amazingly beautiful and I can hardly appreciate it. I just start taking pictures, lots and lots of pictures so that I can remember the beauty and forget the pain. (To be honest I’m starting to forget the pain already). I’m also starting to really curse how far away from the bathroom we were at lunch. I thought I’d be ok until we reached camp and so didn’t bother trekking the mile or so it would take to go before we began trekking again, now i’m not so sure. Finally when I arrive, one of our porters is waiting to show us to camp, i have to make the poor man wait while i use the restroom. This camp is the beginning of my legs being next to useless. It is also the beginning of our mosquito infestation. Mosquitos so small that they leave bites in your hair. UGH! I feel like I’m trapped in my tent when we get to camp because there are like, 30 just outside my tent. Dinner and sleeping, at least tonight Victor had teh brilliant idea of filling our water bottles full of boiling water so we had a hot water bottle to go to sleep with. Thank god for small favors.

Until Next Time!!

Inca Trail Day 1 (Happy Jenni)

Elevation Change Overview:

• Kilometer 82 (2,750 meters, 9,000 feet) –
• Llactapata (2,650 meters, 8,692 feet) -
• Wayllabamba (3,000 meters, 9,840 feet) -
• Llulluchapampa (3,700 meters,  12,139 feet)

Approximate Elevation Change: 1,150 meters (3,772 feet)

Distance: 15 kilometers

Time: 8.0 – 9.5 hours (depending on individual pace)

3:30am wake up and we’re on a truck by 4:15 heading out to kilometer 82, the beginning of the Inca Trail. It takes about an hour and a half to get into Ollataytambo (don’t try to say it without hearing it) and we’re amazed upon arriving to find 4 half frozen porters have been riding in the back of the pickup the entire way! Lesson one in how amazing these guys are. Anyway, breakfast and then off to the marker and the beginning of our adventure.

We are handed out sleeping bags and mats to carry and although they’re not too heavy they take up a HUGE amount of room (See Angry Jenni). T and I also use the last western toilets we will see for 4 days (I do not appreciate this as much as I should). After getting our passports stamped at the checkpoint (!) we start “easy”, and although T and I are dubious about the definition of easy here, it is quite beautiful. We’re walking along the Salkatanay River with mountains in the background and some beautiful flora along our path. I establish myself as the slowest in the group as I puff my way up to where everyone else is waiting for me so that Victor can give a history lesson. These lessons dotted our 4 day hiking trip and were all fantastic. While Victor is giving his speech, I discover that the bottom of my backpack unzips and allows for enough extra space so that the sleeping bag is no longer that big of a deal (whew). More walking and steadily increased difficulty until we reach our very first checkpoint, lunch time! We are impressed to find tents already set up and separate wash bins to get cleaned up for the meal which is delicious!

We were warned that the second half of the first day and the first half of the second day were the hardest points on the trek… and I’d done a lot of reading on the difficulty of the trail itself, but I obviously didn’t take that seriously (See Angry Jenni).  However, the trail itself is absolutely gorgeous and while it’s raining a bit, i’m covered by the trees and walking along different creeks and waterfalls that are created by said rainfall. Victor has taken up the rear for this part, which basically means that he’s following me at an insanely slow pace just in case I need emergency oxygen or something. About 3/4ths of the way through I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever make it up all the stairs that are ahead of me, every time I turn a corner there’s another group of 50 staring down at me. Still, Victor is encouraging and I finally make it into camp, falling exhausted into my already set up tent and resting for a bit before changing out of my sweaty clothes into dry ones, having tea and a wonderful dinner with T,D&V and going to sleep looking forward to my coca tea wake up call.

Take Two – Angry Jenni

Good mood until I get my sleeping bag. WTH? This thing is as big as a tent! I went through a lot of trouble to keep my bag small and now I have to deal with THIS? Shit. Ok, it fits into the bag (barely) and the mat can be clipped onto the side of the bag. I shouldn’t be so irritated, but I totally am. I should have remembered to bring my own sleeping bag home from burning man instead of sending it back with Jason. Oh well, time to use the bathroom before hitting the trail. Victor is a fun guide and happy to chat about himself, he’s got a new baby (!) and used to work the cruise circuit so it makes for interesting conversation, that is before I get left behind due to hills that don’t seem very gradual to me… Back to good mood when I discover that my bag expands while Victor is giving some history on the alcoholic and hallucinogenic qualities of the agave cactus. Lunch time I have to use the first squat toilet, there’s shit everywhere. WTF? I guess I’ll have to wait. Luckily someone sees my horror and cleans it up, but then while I’m using it (i don’t squat very well, btw, so it’s awkward for me) some strange man decides that a closed door isn’t enough and has to look in through the window. Yeah, sure you’re sorry asshole. Still lunch was way better than expected and my good mood lasts until about an hour after lunch. HOly shit, I can’t do this. Seriously, it’s like climbing a never ending staircase that you can’t even see the top of because it keeps twisting around. Giving you false hope that once you turn THIS corner, there will be flat land. Then the stairs laugh in your face when your hope is dashed to pieces against their unfailing stone surface. “We’ve been around for hundreds of years, and we WILL break you” they seem to say to me. And they almost do. I try everything except the emergency oxygen; coca leaves, frequent breaks, self deprecating humor, nothing is working and I’m moving into mindless leg pumping territory, hitherto unknown to me. All of a sudden, after hours of this grueling wasteland I see one of our porters! And Tents!!!! Only to be told that this camp site is not ours and we’re a few more minutes ahead. Are you fucking kidding me??? I’m about to break down. When I reach my tent, I do break down. 30 seconds or so of exhausted tears, please don’t talk to me right now, I’m having a physical breakdown. Now I have to deal with fucking squat toilets? These things are fucking gross and my body is not equipped to use it correctly. I’d rather go in the bushes but I’m surrounded by strangers. Fuck, I’m just going to bed.

Day Two to Follow Shortly

It had taken us a half an hour to walk there so we asked one of the security folks if there were any restaurants around (the area itself was sort of deserted except for the Fonda itself). The guy gave us quick directions to one of the nearby streets and we went in search of food. To no avail. We walked…. and walked…. and walked. Finally we had gone so far that we were back to where our hostel was. We all made a democratic decision to give up on the party, eat in one of the restaurants next to the hostel and go back home for a bottle of wine and another of beer that was waiting there (mine and Patrick´s respectively). For all of you who are lamenting my inability to party on Independence Day, do not fret! After about an hour of quiet chatting, the manager came into the common room and told us he was going to turn off the lights and TV and that we must go out and dance Thus began another hostel night filled with music, wine, dancing and good conversation. There were a few Brazilian women who were excellent dancers and we learned how to samba, the traditional chilean dance of Cueca and I taught everyone how to twist (after much harassment from my fellow hostelmates, they demanded I teach them an “American” dance). It was an excellent evening and went well into the night.

Next day was sleeping in, watching Manchester kick the crap out of Chelsea and heading to a large park called Parque O´Higgins to experience a true Chilean Fonda. I went with Meghan who needed to get some cash, and I discovered that I needed some too. Little did we know that EVERYTHING was closed (Sept 18th is the official day of independence) and ended up having to walk for about an hour until we found an accesible atm. Once that was achieved, however, we were off! Exiting our metro station stop, we realized we were in for quite an exciting day.

There were so many people exiting and entering the station that it was like leaving a sold out concert, people were squished up against one another and moved at a snails pace. It wasn´t much better once we reached open air and there were food stalls and hawkers selling goods before we even entered the park. Once we got in, we went in search of food. There were open air food stalls everywhere, and when I spied one that looked tasty I asked the guy bbqing how i could have one of his delicious skewers (in decent, but broken spanish, of course). A word on Chilean spanish. It´s sort of it´s own dialect. They speak extremely fast, and they also tend to drop the “s” and sometimes just the end of the word. With this in mind, I had absolutely no idea what his response was, nor could I understand the woman within who wouldn´t just give me a price. So! I moved on, hoping I wouldn´t starve due to my limited spanish and inability to understand responses. Finally we found a BBQ place with an obvious line for skewers and also GIGANTIC barrels of terremotos, so we decided to eat there. Everything was very tasty and it was a great people watching spot.

This might be a good time to mention that 99% of the people there were locals. I saw probably 4 tourists aside from the two of us and they stuck out like sore thumbs (as we did, I´m sure), so it was a cool experience to not be in a touristy area and to see how folks there really celebrate. Basically it was a huge carnival with food and music and a large Fonda in the center for more drinks and dancing. It was a good time, but exhausting (the crowds never let up, no matter how far into the faire we got) so we left after our food, taking photos and watching people on our way out. Getting back into the metro station was insane! I think there´s only one entrance to that station and it took us at least 20 minutes to go as many feet. After arriving back at the hostel, I took it easy, had a shower and went to bed with a wake up call for 6am (ick!!) to take a cab to the airport and Cusco.

The next day was quite an adventure. I pride myself on my airport efficiency and always carry on my bags, but I had a bottle of wine I had bought my wonderful husband in Argentina and I needed to check my baggage. Getting through in Santiago was no big deal (aside from a ton of people checking baggage and having a minor panic attack because I couldn´t find my essential exit immigration paper (I did find it eventually, phew!)). The layover in Lima was another story entirely.

I exited the plane, went through customs with my carry on, and realized the woman in Santiago didn´t check me in for my connecting flight. Shit. Alright, over to the machine to check in, nope, can´t find my reservation. Alright, into the line to check in at the counter. Waiting… wating… why the hell are there no clocks in AIRPORTS?? I see this everywhere I go and it still amazes me. It´s the single major flaw in every airport design ever. Anyway, I get to the counter the woman asks me “Where is your luggage?”. I say, “Won´t it be transfered to my plane? I have a sticker that shows that it will meet me in Cusco.” “No,” she says. “You must pick it up from the other side of customs”. At this point I´m panicking. I ask how long I have until my flight leaves and she tells me I have 20 minutes to get my bag before bag check in is closed, but I´m OK on flight time. I ask if they will even let me through the wrong side of customs and she says it should be ok.

So I race back over and ask the security guy in broken, but understandable spanish, if I can go back through to pick up my “mochilla” (I have no idea how to say luggage and can´t take the time to look at my translator). Thank god Peruvians speak more slowly and clearly, I convince him and am able to go back through customs where, low and behold, I cannot find the conveyer belt that belongs to my flight. I ask a random guy who works in the airport and he tells me my luggage will be transfered directly. UGH! I finally go to customs help and after a few minutes of frustrated conversation I find that I do, indeed need to take my luggage through. But where is my luggage? I go over to the LAN counter to ask about my flights luggage and finally see my backpack waiting patiently on a cart. Apparently the flight emptied pretty quickly.

OK! Grab bag, go BACK through customs, explaining to the woman that I had to come back through and that she already has my official customs form, race back to the LAN check-in line, wait…. wait….. OK! Check-in! And I just make it. Whew! At this point I´m sweating from anxiety and exertion and still need to hurry to get to my gate before boarding starts. I make it though, and the uneventful flight and taxi gets me to my lovely hotel in Cusco where I meet up with Dylan and Theresa, have some dinner, do some exploring, watch Trainspotting AND Inglorious Basterds and go to bed!

That was Monday. Tuesday, yesterday, we did some more exploring and found a lovely cafe/restaurant that had great food, fantastic decor, friendly service and Scrabble! Dylan won, of course, and I was stuck with a “Z” at the end and totally lost… a lot Dylan had woken up not feeling very well and got worse through lunch so he decided to head back to the hostel and nap while Theresa and I decided to go exploring some more. We walked around finding some lovely churches (which will likely be on our walking tour today) and an old arch. Theresa wondered allowed if it was a magical arch that would take us out of the tourist area so we decided to investigate. She was right! Going through we found another church and a HUGE market with clothes, hats, bags and other such things on one side and a gigantic assortment of very fresh looking produce and other edible items on the other. We made a mental note to go back, if it wasn´t, in fact, the market that the walking tour today ends up at

Afterwards we made our way slowly back to the main area and our hostel, finding super cheap clothes, men running corset stores, impressive government buildings and a real love for old town Cusco. We also, through a 6th chocolate sense, managed to find the chocolate store that was recommended in the guide book without even trying! We had delicious hot chocolate and purchased some delectible chocolate treats to share with Dylan for dessert. Almost home now, we decided to climb some stairs… there were maybe 20. At the end we had to stop to catch our breath. It´s difficult getting used to, this altitude change. We also discovered where an Indian Place we would like to try is, found a waterfall in a plaza and made it back to the hostel.

Dylan was still napping so we hung out for a few hours until it was time for dinner. We all admitted that we weren´t that hungry so we´d find a place where we could get something small. We found “The Cavern of the Orient” which inexplicably served French food. Still, they had a very inexpensive prix fixe menu so we decided to enter. It was really awesome, actually. A small cave-like room with interesting art and candles. We all decided that even though we weren´t that hungry we would get the prix fixe menu which was 4 courses I had deviled eggs, onion soup (sorta), a veggie omlette type thing that resembled hash browns and chocolate cake. I ate about half of everything and was saddened to learn I couldn´t bring the rest of my hash brown thingy home. Still, it was a fun time with good food. We were all wiped so we came home and went to bed. Overall a great day.

Today we take our walking tour and who knows what else. You´ll have to find out next time Until then!!

Tuesday we went to Valparaiso! Such a beautiful and amazing city. There’s graffitti, good and bad, everywhere and the city’s layout is so unique, I”ve never seen anything like it. There are little trolly like cars that take you up the super steep hills that the city boasts of and you have a great view of the surrounding area. We had lunch in a great bar called bar ingles and then spent most of the day walking around and taking photos. We eventually found a wonderful little cafe with real coffee and sweet treats where we enjoyed a nice break from climbing all of the hills and stairwells. It was a lovely day and we had a nice time sharing some wine and more cheese that night.

Wednesday we decided to take a free walking tour with the “Spicy Chile” tour group. Our guide, Nicholas, was very friendly and knowledgeable, but about halfway through we discovered that while important landmarks were being pointed out to us we weren’t going in to see any of them. We were planning on doing some more wine tasting on Thursday, but with the cost of the tours combined with all the important and beautiful looking buildings we decided to go back through the city and see all the spots we were interested in. At the end of the tour we went off to have Chile’s famous sandwiches which I’m forgetting the name of right now. Lumpillos? Something like that, I’m sure my friends will correct me THen back home to the hostel to recover from a full day of walking. We ended up watching an uneventful futbol game between Argentina and Brazil, no on won.

Thursday we set about seeing all the sites we didn’t get to go into the day before. A church in PLaza de las Armas, the Museo de las Artes Bellas, Santa Lucia Hill, Pablo Neruda’s House and statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of the tallest hill in the city. The Museum we went in had a special exhibit of Degas sculptures that was very impressive, I had no idea he sculpted as well as painted and found that his study of movement in sculpture was impressive. Santa Lucia Hill is the hill where the city was founded and used by the Spanish to win the wars against the indigenous Mapuches. I lied in my last post, the independence day here is to celebrate statehood which happened in 1810. I have never read any of Pablo Neruda’s poetry, but his house was most impressive! Built like a ship it has many different wings that are only accessible if you exit the building and walk up stairs or across courtyards. He was apparently a great collector of things, from doorknobs to bottles to paintings of watermelons. It was quite wonderful to see the house and all his stuff, and his nobel prize for literature was also on display, an impressive medal. Before the trip up to the Virgin Statue we stopped for some GIGANTIC beers and some delicious nacho like fries at one of the long strips of cafes that defines Bella Vista (the neighborhood we were in). Then up to the top of the hill we went and took pictures and waited for sunset. The “Funicular” that took us up was old and the hill was extremely steep so it made for some thrilling travel. We had dinner at a “Mexican” place that gave us free pisco sours and came back to pack up and get ready for the inevitable departures.

Friday morning D&T left to start their 50 hour bus ride from Santiago to Cuzco and E&D and I had time for some lunch and hanging out before they had to leave for their flight back to Southern California. It was a sad day for me and I used it to get my laundry done and take it easy. Early to bed and late to rise and I feel great today. I’ve walked around the city a bit and tonight I will be going out with some of my hostel mates to check out the tents that pop up around the city in celebration of their independence day. Apparently the tents are filled with traditional Chilean food and drink and there’s dancing and such. It should be a good night and Ill update you on the details.

I leave on a flight to Cuzco on MOnday, so for now I’m enjoying as much of Santiago as I can. Until next time!

• 6 Flights
• 3 States
• 3 Countries
• 40 hours of travel (flights and bus)

That’s a start. I began by visiting family down south in GA and FL.  The first day I came into Atlanta a bit late, so I headed up to Duluth and I had the pleasure of seeing and catching up with one of my oldest and best friends, Lissa. It was a real pleasure to be able to spend time with her and after so many years it was wonderful to discover that it was like no time had passed. I also had a chance to see her older sister who is now a mother of two and it was great to catch up with her as well.

Afterwards, I headed down to Florida to visit my mom’s sister, Uncle and Grandmother. It was wonderful to spend time with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Lee and got some good advice and support regarding Scott and I’s up coming move to London. Aunt Sue and I spent a lovely day getting massages and having lunch and we all had a nice time catching up and chatting over a nice dinner in. I also got a chance to see my Grandmother who is not doing too well after two hip surgeries in one month, but who is hanging in there like the matriarch she is. I’m glad I was able to get out before the move.  After that visit I drove back up to Calhoun, GA to visit my Dad’s Mom. Seeing Grandma Louene was a real treat and I also was able to spend time with Uncle Jon and her brother, Uncle Jimmy. It’s pretty quiet in Calhoun, but we had a good time spending time together and we took a nice trip up through their mountains and to a large lake and back. It was a wonderful week of family visiting and I’m glad I was able to get to it.

Coming back from GA, I flew to Las Vegas to meet up with Scott while he was working in the VMWorld conference. Always a good time in Vegas, my friend Yvonne came out on Monday and we spent the whole day together at the pool and then dinner. It was sooo wonderful to catch up and spend time. I also got a chance to meet Scott’s boss and some of the guys he works with. I say guys because the parties were all filled with slightly awkward nerdy guys or super douchey sales guys, but very very few women Still, we had a good time ourselves, visiting our favorite bar (Nine Fine Irishmen) where we got free beer courtesy of VMWare (score!!) and trying the new restaurants that have sprung up. BOuchon is the most notable, super delicious. After the conference we got on yet another flight and headed up to Reno where we rented a car, supplied up and headed to the Black Rock Desert and Burning Man.

Burning Man is a hippy festival. Now that’s out of the way, it’s also one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had. I also didn’t do any drugs. Seriously, 50,000+ people on this flat expanse of desert, all there to have a good time, share music, food and alcohol (along with some more choice ingestibles) and art. Art just everywhere. Stationary art, moving art, human art. And at night the playa (as it’s called) just explodes with light and music and color and sound. There are art cars filled with people and music and bikes all lit up with LED’s and other luminescent things and people EVERYWHERE. And the burns, the burns were some of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen. They had a true to size trojan horse that was 4 stories high and burned for 45 minutes. Huge licking flames that set off fireworks and radiated heat for a quarter of a mile. Spectacular. And the man burn was even more impossible. Even before the burn, firedancers whos bodies were unseen made the playa dance. It was like seeing thousands of fire spirits twirling and dancing around the man in anticipation of the coming inferno. There was also the temple. A full sized, 5 towered, two storied building, beautiful in its architecture and filled with pictures and letters and writing that people wanted to see burn. There was an “earth harp” attached to it, a series of long cables with weights to tune it attached strung between the main building and the tower. It was probably 500 feet across and played by someone with heavy gloves covered in rosin. Seriously beautiful. There was also a mechanically controlled series of gongs inside of many sizes on the first level that would play a pre-arranged pieces. So intricate and lovely, the music was delicate and reminded me of Thailand. The final night we were there, the night the man burned, Scott and I road our bikes around the entirety of the camp, a feat that took us a couple of hours. Seeing Burning Man at its height is something that is truly indescribable. We have some pictures and videos, but the best word is the first I’ve used, magical.

After Burning Man, the same night around midnight, we headed back to reno in hopes of staying in a hotel for a few hours before we got on a flight back to Las Vegas. Alas, we did not plan and there was a huge conference and every hotel in Reno, Virginia City and even South Tahoe was filled to bursting. Not a single room to be had for love or money (well, to be fair, we only offered the latter). So we ended up sleeping for a few hours in the parking lot of the Grand Sierra. Not exactly ideal, but served its purpose. We woke up grumpy, washed the car and got on a flight to Las Vegas to celebrate our one year anniversary in the highest fashion. We stayed in the MGM in the Sky Lofts and let me tell you, it was an amazingly luxurious place to stay, and hugely relaxing after roughing it in the desert and rental car. We stayed mostly in the casino, preferring our own company to the lights and entertainment of the strip. On the day of our anniversary we had a fabulous dinner at one of the Joel Rubichon owned restaurants in the casino which was amazing. Our room was constantly filled with desserts, including a lovely spread and a card from Scott’s fantastic parents and we had a HUGE shower and jacuzzi tub. Really the height of luxury and relaxation. Also, spending one on one time with my wonderful husband was a fantastic treat.

Directly after returning home, doing laundry and re-packing, I got on a flight to South America. My 12 hour flight from SFO to Mendoza, Argentina had a layover in Lima, Peru and Santiago, Chile. Luckily, I didn’t have to get off in LIma and Santiago was an easily navigated airport. Arriving in Mendoza mid-morning, I met up with four of my very best friends, Eric, Damara, Dylan and Theresa. We walked around the city of Mendoza getting lunch, refreshed ourselves in our hotel and hostel, respectively (E&D were in a hotel and D,T and I were in a hostel) and had a lovely dinner in one of the local restaurants. Service in Mendoza is slow and lovely, I think the only way it could be improved would be with the introduction of water when you sit, otherwise it’s such a great thing to be able to have a dinner that lasts at least an hour. I arrived on Wednesday, Thursday we went on a fantastic wine tour of the Maipu region. Three wineries and a HUGE lunch. The wineries were amazing, the second of which I purchased 4 bottles of wine. Lunch consisted of a gigantic spread of meat, cheese, pickled things and spreads for appetizers (which I ate a lot of), rice and cheese and pasta and cheese (which I didn’t eat much of due to fear of over fullness due to carbs) and a dessert of ice cream (helado) with dulce de leche (caramel). Everything was accompanied by a really decent and bottomless red table wine. After the tour we went back to our hostels, relaxed for a few hours and then got ready for a fancy dinner at a place called 1884 in the southern part of Mendoza. It’s a restaurant who’s owner and main chef has turned to fire cooking and was amazingly delicious. We had: Ribeye from the parilla with chimichurri, patagonian potato galette; Baby goat roasted in a wood oven with tasty herbs; The best mushroom risotto over; Roasted pumpkin, arugula, and pecorino salad. All delicious stuff and a really good time. Friday we took a tour of Aconcagua, which really was a tour of the area with a quick photo stop a few miles from the tallest mountain in the Americas. We didn’t mind though due to traveling some beautiful mountainous country that is reminiscent of Yosemite and Zion, but seems “newer”. The mountains are jagged, craggy and intimidatingly beautiful. There’s still snow in the areas we visited, so we had a snowball fight before drinking hot chocolate while we watched people ski at one of our stops. The whole trip was a tiring 12 hours, starting at 7:30 and getting back at 7. Afterwards we grabbed some food and then headed back to pack and go to bed.

Today we took a bus into Chile where we are right now, staying at the Hostel Princesa Insolente a beautiful and fun hostel in Santiago. Today is also September 11th, the 10th anniversary of the Twin Tower Attacks, but in Chile it’s the annivesary of the US backed coup that toppled Allende and placed Pinochet in power. People celebrate this day by throwing stones and protests, so we are staying in. Next weekend in the 3 day celebration of independence from Pinochet’s reign, so that should be amazing. Our hostel is having a BBQ tonight, and we’re looking up things to do while we’re here. On that note, I’m outtie. It’s been a big update and I’m having an amazing time. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of 5 people happily traveling together, but it’s been like coming home for me.

Until next time!

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that some people just don’t have the ability to up and travel. Lots of kids, working multiple jobs to keep food in their mouths and a roof over their heads. You do have to be in a certain position to be able to do something like this. But i maintain that just having kids is not a roadblock to long term travel and also that pretty much everyone I know between the ages of 25 and up could do so. Anyway, I’ve been posting articles about this recently because it’s close to my heart, but here’s a good one from someone who’s actually set up a business to help people make career breaks and travel extensively. Think about it, this person was a normal 9-5 er and upon traveling was inspired to start her own business. I don’t know if I”ll ever be able to articulate the change and improvement travel has on people, but I can keep giving examples

Here’s the site: http://inside-digital.blog.lonelyplanet.com/2011/07/30/career-break-travel-myths/?affil=fb-fan. I hope you enjoy!

xoxo

Me

A lot has gone down in the last 4 years. I traveled through a lot of Central America, I met the man of my dreams and we traveled to (in order (i think!!)) New Orleans, Germany, France, Hawaii, Thailand, Mexico, Australia and London. I’m officially at 4 continents and 18 countries! Not too shabby, eh?

I’m starting up again because I’m about to begin a whole new phase in my life…. well, the second half of a new phase. The man of my dreams and I got married almost a year ago, September 5th, 2010 (it’s a good round year so it’s easy to remember our anniversary years ). I am ecstatically happy with marriage and can’t imagine it any other way. As part of the pre-wedding promise, Scott (said dream man) and I will be moving to London this year for two years!!!!!! Every time I think about having residence in one of the biggest, most exciting cities in the world I start to get way too travel itchy for my own good. I’m really looking forward to learning the city and culture as well as traveling (SO CHEAPLY) through Europe and Northern Africa.

Before that October leap, however, I will also be: Traveling to GA and FL to visit family and friends for a week, going to Las Vegas with my husband for a work conference, going to burning man with my husband, doing something nice after burning man for our one year anniversary on the 5th, and going to South America for a month(ish) to visit my dear friends Dylan and Theresa (who just got married in May and are on their yearlong honeymoon trip) and Eric and Damara. I will be visiting Argentina, Chile and Peru, respectively with the possibility of Bolivia. Yes ladies and gentlemen, that means that in 2.5 months time I will be visiting the US south, going to the hippie-est festival of them all, celebrating my one year wedding anniversary, traveling to South America for the first time and moving to another country. Sounds daunting, no?

Truth be told I’m being torn in two between stress and excitement, but the stress “half” is really only 10%. I’ve been waiting for these next two months my whole life.

So! Before all that craziness I might come in now and again to throw in some anecdotes about Scott and I’s adventures over the last few years and once I get a move on you’ll be able to read it all here first.

I hope everyone enjoys and I look forward to comments (seriously, it might be the only reason I write these things )

Cheers!

Me

 New Years was also a blast. I hung out with my friend Yvonne in Vegas and we partied at my favorite bar there (Nine Fine Irishmen…and how) and ate lots of good food. New Years itself was kind of a drag because there were about a zillion people on the strip. For those of you who don’t know, they close down the ENTIRE strip and it just gets PACKED with people. It felt a bit like the Vatican at easter. In any case, the rest of the time there was great and tons of fun. Thanks Yvonne!!

I then spent the first week of Jan with my grandparents and that was really nice. I haven’t seen them for quite some time, so it was wonderful to be able to spend some quality time with them. I’ll try to get back out there this summer.

Other than that, I’ve been losing in poker and having a great time catching up with everyone this new year. I’m missing some people and enjoying spending time with the rest. This year promises to be a great one and a good build up to what I hope to be an incredible 2008/9. Time will tell.

Oh! If you have the ability to go see “Pan’s Labrynth” do so. Excellent movie. There are a lot of good ones out right now actually. If anyone wants to see one with me, drop me a line

 Until next time!

 Still, it’s a difficult time when all but one of my best friends are out of town and I don’t have any Christmas plans. What does one do on Christmas when there isn’t anywhere to spend it? I was hoping to do a Christmas like my Thanksgiving, friend infused, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to be happening. There’s not a whole lot I can do about it, but I’m considering renting a car for the weekend and driving down to Yosemite or something. I’ve never been and I think it would be a fun experience. We’ll see.

 Anyway, ups and downs aside, things are going well. Poker has become a weekly excitement, although I haven’t won yet. My friend Jing-Yi is moving up to this neck of the woods which should be awesome, and I’m getting myself a bike for Christmas, which I can’t wait for. That’s about all for now, there will definitely be an “after vegas” update.