arrived in Puerto Maldonado

the airport is as minimal as you can imagine. touching down felt a little like a scene from a movie or national geographic. from the sky Madre de Dios is flat and densely forested. jungled? ha. i kept seeing glints through the trees and realized there was water under all that leafy green. the rivers are bright orange and finger together to form the Madre de Dios. closer to Puerto Maldonado the clearcut logging looks grossly out of place.

well, i was hoping for a warmer climate but was not prepared for this. 88·F when i walked off the plane. and humid. so basically like DC. “motorkar” is a kart attached to a motorcycle. that was my transport into town. there are not really any cars here, only motorcycles. it took me three rides to find the place i get my pass into the Tambopata National Reserve. my hostel is minimal too. 2 beds in a room all to myself, cept one has bugs. i think when i return here after the jungle i will treat myself to a nice hotel. it will be my last couple nights in South America.

so, what am i doing here?

i have volunteered to work at a research center in the jungle. i hear that my work might include repairing buildings, harvesting brazil nuts, trail maintenance, building a solar oven, and caring for an orphaned capibara. i work 3 hours a day then have free range of the trails in the jungle and the hamocks. a brochure i have says of the region “the wealth of its biodiversity is immeasurable.” 632 bird species (yay!), 1200 butterfly species, 169 mammal species, 205 fish species, 103 amphibian species, and 67 reptile species. i am pretty psyched. i have three long days in Puerto Maldonado waiting for my canoe up the river.

and it just began to rain.

Lima Lima Lima!

… gets another post cause andrea and sarah are with me now.  though we have been mostly been splitting up during the day.  i am doing prep stuff for sean`s visit, for going to the jungle afterward, and finally for my flight home.  today i packed my bike and put it in storage.  it was fun to work on my bike.  i rode it here a little but i have mostly been warned that it is dangerous.  i have a sneaking suspicion that Peruanos are waaaaay cautious.  from everything i have heard.  very over protective. 

i am trying to get last minute vaccinations for the jungle.  i am basically all set though. 

so the big reason for this post is that Val took me out to the most amazing meal.  peru is VERY proud of their cuisine.  i have been hearing about it for a long time, and not just from Val.  i am glad i let her sit me down with a good meal.  for lunch we went to the old local favorite El Mardisco in the Lince neighborhood. 
we shared:
ceviche de cojinova (white fish chunks “cooked” in lemon and onion with a side of sweet potato, chocolo – this bizarre, giant dense corn – and seaweed)

plate of jalea mixta (battered and fried white fish and calamari with yucca fries) 

we each had a chicha morada (purple maize juice with lemon and cloves)

and a pisco sour (the grape alcohol pisco, corn syrup, lemon and egg white froth)

there was a plate of “popped” giant corn too.  i guess the shell of the corn is so tough it doesn`t explode.  but is kinda fluffy inside.  dry.

so.  mmmm.  i am starving now.  this was a really rich meal, lemony.  i didn`t think i’d be able to eat it again for a couple days at least.  not to mention, this place made it perfectly.  i was surprised just HOW RAW the fish was… so i would not want to eat it just anywhere.  i learned that lesson when i tried to get a moqueca at the corner counter in salvador.  being brazilian or peruvian does not MAKE you a good chef.  so, i am hoping Val will take me there again when i stop in Lima before my flight to the states.

hum.  what else?  we went to a parade with some fun dancing and costumes.  there was this little fair nearby of people selling everything imaginable and a couple stages with kids doing dance routines.  weird.  we tried good food and drinks.  last night we braved the the Pizza Ave. where each restaurant sends hawkers running out with menus and promises of free drinks.  it is so unpleasant.  imagine a squad of cheerleaders running at you all talking and trying to coral you.  you need to exercise your zen.  block out everything.  we discussed our strategy before heading in.  this was good.  we walked the length then took the best beer and garlic bread offer.  the pizza was good. 

then we had a crazy ice cream and headed out to Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood.  the bars were empty so we played pool.  Val has dance party plans for us on wednesday night. 
another night i went out with Val and met this military contractor from Iraq.  i hadn`t heard about this underhanded military stuff yet.  he was a tremendous bore, but now i am tempted to go back and ask him more questions.  frightening.

gotta tell you about Valpo

it is true… i skipped a whole chapter.
about three weeks ago andrea and i left Santiago, Chile for the west coast… Valparaiso. 
it was once an important port city.  the port is still in use but the city has feels more like a retreat from Santiago.  It is older and has more character than the resort beach cities to the north.  i will leave you to the Wiki explaination of its history because it is very interesting and caught my attention when i first thought of moving to South America.  before Buenos Aires we had planned to live here.

anyway.  valparaiso is a special place. 

a short bus ride from Santiago.  we followed directions to our little hostel in Cerro Alegre (happy hill).  the buses are easy.  the “collectivos” are shared cabs.  the city undulates over dramatic hills.  Cerro Alegre is a popular one for tourism, with colorful murals, cafes, and boutiques.  we spent 4 or 5 quiet days there over Easter weekend.  the hostel was delightful.  a young couple had opened it 5 months earlier.  they had an interesting story.  the bar they owned and lived in in Santiago burned down and they didn`t have insurance.  needing money quick they took bar jobs on a cruise ship.  a heartless job as the ocean is without law and no one looks out for you.  after two years they tried to start an avocado farm but couldn`t afford to dig the holes to plant the trees.  they moved to Valpo and were going to open another bar.  they anxiously waited 3 weeks for the agreement on a place to go through and on the day they were finally going to sign they saw this house and bought it instead.  they are very happy with the change in their lives.  they have a 3 year old daughter (Sophie’s birthday is TODAY!) and a friendly rabbit ( named dulce de leche) that licks your toes while you hang your laundry to dry.  Matias and Constantina are both painters.  Constantina is writing a screen play for a movie based on a story a traveler told them.  the city provides funding to artists if you can show progress.  what a concept.  it is apparent that there is a lot of support for the arts in the city. 

SO.  andrea and i just walked the streets and enjoyed the dramatic vistas, colorful architecture of buildings perched on hillsides.  we visited Neruda’s second home.  we found ourselves in the port where there was a lot of commotion as hawkers competed to fill their boats with riders.  not knowing where the boats went we picked one and learned that it was a tour around the coast, in spanish.  saw a giant sea lion lounging on the nose of a boat.

everything was closed on Easter and then on monday as well.  tuesday we went out to visit Neruda’s third, most interesting home in Isla Negra, just to the south of Valparaiso.  there is nothing else in Isla Negra but the house is on the beach and the beach is one of the most beautiful i’ve seen in my life.  (aunt b. i got you some sand)  it would be a dangerous surf to swim in but i loved it for the crashing waves and swirling, seaweed tides.  very contemplative.  further south is the blue collar beach resort, Cartegena (abandoned this time of year.)

nada mas.  very laid back couple ‘o days.  andrea left me there and returned to BA.  i returned to Santiago on my own. 

my second stay in Santiago was drawn out cause i had to wait till monday for a bus north.  i think i stayed 5 or 6 nights.  one day i did nothing.  tried to save money by stocking up groceries instead of eating out, though the restaurant options in Chile are WONDERFUL!  i rode my bike, visited a winery (Concho y Torro), visited the precolombian artifacts museum, and the ZOO!  i had been hearing strange noises from the roof deck of my hostel and now i know why.  the zoo is set on the mountainside about the city and was great.  i felt like a kid there.  the animals all looked healthy and were active so it was not a depressing visit (except that fathers couldn`t restrain themselves from amusing their children by feeding the animals.  that was hard to stand by and watch.)  the zoo is also home to a lot of rescued animals.  i saw animals i had never heard of.  and all the animals were really close, so i realized just how big a lion or polar bear are.  they are HUGE!  so are ostriches.  i enjoyed the giant aviary the most.  a rainbow of colorful birds in a mountain forest setting. 

i have to mention that the hostel this time around was horrible.  it had been one of the best i`d stayed in and this time there were some very inconsiderate travelers staying there.  some young english bros… such a shame.  the first night back though i met a friend who was heading to Brazil.  fun to talk about the trip he was preparing for.  then i got on a bus to Lima. 

my make-shift Peruvian Bus family and Lima

the 50 hour bus ride between Santiago and Lima, Peru was something of a bonding experience.  i felt like a survivor on that show LOST.  we had a whole cast of characters on board.  at the end i was introduced to the families i had heard so much about and we kissed and hugged goodbye like old friends.  weird and… sweet.  and typical of the friendly people i`ve met in south america. 
today was my second day in Lima.  my hostel is nice and small.  i actually have a room all to myself.  the owner and his two friends who run the place are extremely enthusiastic and friendly.  it is located in Miraflores, where they direct all the tourists to stay.  it is very safe with upscale restaurants and shopping.  i have walked the local sites: parque de amor and the giant mall with cosmic bowling were worth visiting for the view of the ocean…  met up with an old family friend who happens to be studying here for a month.  we had a fantastic Brazilian dinner then out for dessert.  also met up with Val!  she lives here.  she took me to the pedestrian way dubbed “Pizza Ave.” 

today i ventured out to the center and to Plaza de Armas.  it was incredible and i will have to explore there more next week.  SO many churches and eccentric religious icon vendors.  i visited the sanctuary of Santa Rosa.  there are many fun stories about Santa Rosa…  for instance, the devil tried to torment Santa Rosa as she prayed.  he hid in a lemon tree above her but failed to shake her from her meditation.  when he gave up the tree was left burnt to a crisp but it still bore fruit for many years after.  Santa Rosa slept only two hours a night.  her bed was made of two logs and a pile of rocks for a pillow.  to stay awake she suspended herself by HER HAIR from a nail in the wall.  (!!!)  there’s more. 

afterward i wandered around till i found the church of san francisco and the catacombs.  the area around there is neat.  the architecture is amazing.  i don`t know what to call it.  look at the photos.  i love the wooden bays typical on the second floors.  these crumbling buildings now house single room operations of printing presses and silk screeners.  building after building, street after street.  bizarre.  somewhere in there is also the china town of Lima.

san francisco church was amazing.  one of the most interesting churches i`ve ever been in.  great tour.  beautiful.  there were friars playing soccer in the courtyard. 

well, i am sorry i won`t have more photos of the areas outside of Miraflores.  i don`t feel safe/comfortable taking out my camera.  and there’s nothing to see in Miraflores. 

ah.  hungry now. 
looking forward to cusco.  sean is meeting me to hike the inca trail to Machu Picchu.  more soon.  xo

two in one day! santiago, chile

i went BACK to BA after the farm.  i decided to travel with my bike (not ON it) so that i don´t have to fly back to BA after Peru.  i have a date but not a plane ticket yet… i am coming back to the states May 25th-ish.  i hustled some stuff to the post office to ship home and and headed out with andrea right away.  but not before making a brazilian meal with our former house mom marina.  we improvised a darn good moqueka.  mm! 

so andrea and i headed north to mendoza.  a place i had been looking forward to for a long time.  wine country.  i will update this part with the facts and figures but an insane amount of wine comes from this little city below the andes but otherwise in the middle of nowhere.  an insane amount also never leaves here, as the wineries all have sorts they don’t release.  anyway, nice little place.  we stayed at a fantastic hostel (the Alamo) and made FRIENDS!  yes, crazy.  we have long ago tired of the hostel scene but lo, we met a fun and laid back group.  played cards and pool.  during the day andrea and i rode bikes, explored the parks, went rafting.  mendoza is great for lazing around or getting into adventure sports.  and drinking wine of course.  we made it out to a winery tour and museum.  bought some merlot jam that i will try to reproduce for you cause it was yummy. 

we left mendoza over the andes passing piled plastic bottle shrines for safe travel and red shrines of red stuff for i don´t know what.  it was a breathtaking ride on the bus.  when you come thru on the Chilean side you zig zag out of the shear face mountains with rocks slides around you.  a river grows.  a dilapidated and abandoned railway hiccups along.  a line of colorful houses appears, surrounded by flowery landscaping and sometimes a horse.  tall green and yellow trees sway with a hint of autumn.  snow capped mountains beyond.  like a movie set.  a convent wall of broken stucco, rusted bell tower.  faded colors, yellow, blue, papaya, green.  so so nice.

then we arrive in santiago.

noone i talked to was impressed by santiago but so far i love it! 

we are in another fantastic hostel…  Bellavista Hostel in the old bellavista neighborhood.  so far is that santiago has more of what i want.  good design, good ethnic food, variety, thrift stores…  parks and museums.  yesterday during sunset i rode my bike up the giant hill with the statue of the virgin at the top.  it was a good 45 mins. uphill.  high.  the view was amazing. the city was a lot bigger from up there.  took a wrong way in the dark on my way home but it was seredipitous because i found other parks, an crazy light show water fountain, talked to people for directions, and rode into an indian food festival!  oh my gosh!!!  andrea waved me down when i passed a bar they were at.  had a drink and FINALLY got a hot shower.  going to more museums today.  maybe thrift shopping, though i hardly need anything else to carry.  yea. 

i am thinking of you all a lot.  miss you and hope you know i love ya. 

the farm!

unfortunately i did not have an opportunity to write during my two weeks in Puerto Montt, Chile.  i would have had a lot to report about all the things i was seeing and doing at the organic farm i was working at. 
i booked it down to Bariloche, AR where i was surrounded by chocolate, volcanoes, and icy blue lakes.  didn’t stay long enough to enjoy it though, i rushed on to Puerto Montt, through the Andes.  it was a beautiful route with towering pine forests, rivers and hidden farms.  in Puerto Montt i found a van that would take me to Metri, a 40 min. ride.  they droped me off at the end of a gravel road that ran up a hill away from the ocean and into the forest of pines and hazelnut trees.  down this road i found another gravel drive where i happily ran into Mike Bush and Allison (from OR)!
we worked on la granja de Matias.  it is a small family farm.  Matias grows a lot of lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, cucumbers etc.  he makes apple cider vinegar and goat cheese.  while there we built a greenhouse, milked goats, picked a ton of apples, climbed trees, swam in a lake, hiked around, played banjo… we made our meals with what we picked on the farm supplemented by homemade bread we bought at a house/store down the gravel road.  my hands were blackberry stained the entire time.  i took a “shower” with water from a pot i heated over a woodburning stove.  some of it really tested my … patience?  but it was a magical time.  i might say it was the most beautiful location to live.  i am planning my own sustainable homestead for someday. 

aight.  NOW i am in Santiago, Chile.  i might as well start a new post to separate the time that has passed.  chau.

Buenos Aires: take three. the last leg, i think…

an update is overdue… except that i haven’t been doing much to report. most of the activity has been taking place in my head. aftercarnaval , which ended well and timely, the city had taken as much abuse as it could handle. it reeked. it was sticky. the people were spent. everyone in our apt. came down with colds and some weird fungal rash. tears came easy. it was great! no, seriously. you just had to be there.

well one thing – the last night- Fat Tuesday we made our way down to Barra. a route we hadn’t been on yet. it is the upscale tourist neighborhood. there was a completely different feel. the route was along the ocean so it was less hectic and claustrophobic. the shore at night looked like the edge of the earth, disappearing to black with the sky. the people looked different too. race and social class seem to go hand in hand here as well. and there were more tourists.

anyway, we saw fat boy slim. that was aight. then we found a good place to stand and we just stayed there, dancing on top of the wall, letting the parade pass us. the best part of the night was that there was this dirt cliff across the street from us. some people had climbed up there to be at eye level with the bands passing on the trucks. so there was this dude up there by himself… he would wait till abloco came near then he’d put on this red helmet with a toy truck strapped on top, he had some crazy outfit covered with toys or something… all red and black. then he would stand in this rock ‘n roll pose with an electric guitar and whale on it like he was playing along with the bands. i imagined that he was recording his performance with thecarnaval as back up. he was hilarious! he would, like, lay down for a nap in between bands.

so that was fun. we also had masks that night. and actually stayed out late enough to see the trash trucks following the crowds home. you could feel the city breathe a sigh of relief.
we said goodbye to salvador with heavy hearts. in the cab to the airport andrea spotted the billboard which read “Salvador will miss you. See you next carnaval.”

we spent four short days in Rio where we met up with Val and her irish man for a futbol game, spent one fancy, but quiet night on the pool deck of the Copacabana Palace, and got in some blazing hot beach time. the beaches were insane. there is a lot of sand before you hit the water but in between there is a dense zone of people. the “zones” are as distinct as neopolitan icecream. saaaaand. people and umbrellas, hardly room to walk. then the frigid water. water was a perfect contrast to the extreme heat. like a cold plunge after the sauna. we were drained.

now i’m in Buenos Aires formulating my plans. i have a room in an apt. with andrea. her friends were in town. we went out a little. i’ve been really tired. overwhelmed with making decisions. the weather is cooler and the city is rained on almost everyday. then it clears up and is beautiful. i’ve been getting up early, sometimes before seven! i sit with tea and read, write or draw. listen to music. no pressure to do anything. i saw two movies.Borat was dumb. but Perfume was pretty excellent. it was a twisted book but i would definitely recommend reading it. its weird to have a movie about smells…. the book is very descriptive in ways the movie can’t be.

i am surprised to be so happy to be back. feels very familiar to me and there are things i will miss like the street scape and casual bars at night. it is tempting to stay here till the end of the month. my plans have evolved again and i am scheduled to leave the apt on sunday . i think i am heading south to work with mike bush on a farm in Patagonia. i am not prepared to go which stresses me out. i haven’t quite got the money thing sorted out.uhg. and i don’t have warm clothing or a sleeping bag yet. uhg. my plans keep changing so i won’t bore you with the details, but i have a rough goal of being home in June.

i am really really really looking forward to seeing my friends and family and getting into the stuff i want to do at home. the next big things. because adventures happen everywhere we go. lessons learned. ciao.

i was dirty.

to give you an idea of how dirty i was… i didn´t even bother to take my shoes off when i took a shower just now.
i think i am ready to talk about carnaval. i feel like i´ve ridden the bull and can tell the tale.
today i feel like a survivor.

at the same time, telling it is like reliving it and i suddenly feel exhausted.
carnaval started on thursday last week. (thursday and friday were work days, monday and tuesday are holidays.) today is sunday. i´ve gotten a bit of carnaval every day and each day has been a little different. first of all, salvador has three carnaval parade routes. our apartment is centrally located, two blocks from the thick of it though it sounds like its below my window.

thursday, friday, saturday… progressively fun. the ultimate street party. thursday was just a preview. we bought some beers and got acquainted with the way things work. there is a mac truck covered with speakers and topped with a band. there are hired hands to that carry a rope barrier around the truck. this is the party space for people who paid to be in there. they are identifiable by costume which the buyer alters for personal flare. then a support truck, another mac, follows. its equipped with bathrooms and beer. the whole roped affair is called a “bloco.” people pay anywhere between $40 – $400 USD depending on the band playing on top to hang out within the rope. its supposed to be safer within. i doubt it. i´ve concluded that paying to be in a bloco is a big waste of money. its great when groups of people make their own costumes cause that´s really the fun of it.

friday night we headed into pelourinho to see olodum. then pelourinho sucked us in further and we spent the night dancing with aliens. there were some great moments… the couple kissing and being surrounded by skirted men chanting, liz losing control of her limbs and falling down a hill, the Nevada drinks, molly´s alien friend…

saturday was the greatest. we all went out with our neighbor fernando, to look for a band on a cd i bought. we didn´t find it but we then headed back toward campo grande. dancing all the way. stopped in the plazas for food. we had a little dance party with a group of baiana ladies. they were DRUNK and getting down! they got a kick out of us i think cause they kept pulling us into their circle and then directing us how to dance. one wanted me to really get down… to the ground. she showed me how and she was like an 80 year old woman in a giant traditional white dress. we stumbled home. (boys punched. matt said he feels people checking his pockets)

sunday. till tonight i had been in crazier crowd situations. i´ve been in some pretty hairy mosh pits over the years. i started to think, sure, this whole carnaval thing is pretty wild for the common citizen, but i´d seen worse…
well… let me retract that claim.
mother, turn away from the computer screen…
tonight was a city wide mosh pit of 2 million people. there is nowhere to go for relief. not even within the roped blocos.
at some point i stopped worrying about my money (only carry $10 anyway) and concerned myself with my well being. then i stopped worrying about trying to stick with my friends… then i stopped worrying about my feet and the most disgusting pools of scum that i was pushed through… then i stopped worrying about keeping my clothing intact…
all that was important was survival. and finding my street. after i lost my friends one block from home, i spent two hours trying to get there. stuck in the tides of people and blocos i was directed past my exit twice. doing loops around the block. i could hardly tell where i was cause the city was transformed with decorations. (more to tell… check back)

its scary out there.
thank god its been raining to keep the temperature bearable.

hobo robs gringas! (not really)

rumor around the neighborhood is that the gringas were robbed by a “hobo.”  I don´t know how a “hobo” became our assailant, but it is both interesting and nice that the neighbors are aware of us and perhaps looking out.  when they ask, we explain that we were not robbed but our ATM information was stolen at a machine without us knowing it. 

i got a pleasant surprise yesterday morning when the woman across the hall delivered groceries our landlady bought as a gift for us.  the was alarmed when she actually showed up!  but she wanted to invite us to lunch at her house today.  lunch is the big meal of the day ´round here.  typically people get a 2 hour lunch break from work!  Alessandra, the landlady, is making frambrosa (?) a Brazilian dish.

i am recovering from the dumps.  took care of business this morning.  no bank resolutions – but i found a source of money till i get a new bank card.  then we went shopping.  never would i subject myself to shopping as a means of cheering myself up, but in this case i knew what i was looking for.  that´s the key.  i bought 3 amazing bikinis.  these days i rarely bother with underwear.  straight to the swimsuits.  they are smaller, thus cooler.  and this way i am ready at any moment to jump in the ocean. 

some have asked about the ocean…  some know i have a little ocean phobia…  my brothers for instance.  after matt was stung by a manowar when we were kids – i am the one who never got over it.  on family vacations i made either matt or dane tow me into the water on a raft, not wanting to touch the ground.  and more recently at Ocean City i was sure to stay in close proximity to friends – as a force field to any dangers.  here it is usually just andrea and i and one of us needs to stay with the blanket on the sand.  so i brave the ocean alone.  sometimes there are kids nearby but there is so much beach so no need for crowding. 

the sand is like powder.  its HOT.  there are no rocks.  no shells.  no trash.  just sand.  the surf is strong.  surfers and body boarders hang out between large rock formations that separate the different beaches.  people hang out on the rocks.  i steer clear of the rocks.  i like to keep my eye on the sand underfoot.  i am startled by the shadows cast on the sand underwater.  i can see clearly through the aquamarine.  but its just my shadow.  there doesn´t seem to be anything to be afraid of. 

trying out tagzania…

something i wanted to do long ago but didn´t figure out.  i stumbled on this today.  give it a shot.  let me know if it´s confusing or helpful and maybe i´ll keep it up. 

Tagzania: Items by penttilatron 

had lots of time today to putz around cause i´m nursing my swollen feet.  managed to LOOSE ALL MY MUSIC on my ipod.  dumb.  guess i´ve got room for all my new south america music that i´ll be collecting.  we´ll trade when i get back.  okay?  (i´m super bummed) 

in other news:  andrea bought three new bikinis today, our apartment is feeling good, the sun is about to set so i´m going to go enjoy that.  tah tah.   xo