Bahamas to The Dominacan Republic

Georgetown
From Emerald bay Marina we said ‘adios’ to Kathryn, utilized the wonderful free facilities, (laundry, showers, and movie rental, WOW!) From there we staged Fowel Cay and left the next morning. Sailing through the Bahamas we passed Long Island, and Conception Island, making our way down to Rum Cay. On our way down we ended up in a parade of sail boats that just happened to be going in our same direction. Andemanie, Iato, and Jackster.

Rum Cay
We anchored in Rum Cay and spent two nights there. The island didn’t consist of much. Richard and I took the dinghy in for a look. Population: 60. Not much, however, it was interesting seeing buildings and plantations that were once the home of slaves in the 1700’s. And interestingly enough, all of the people on the island were direct descendants of the slaves that were brought over from Africa. The ‘town’ was rundown, poor, and filled with warmhearted people.

From Rum Cay, we, Blue, along with the tree other sail boats waited for the best weather we could get inorder to make the long trip down to the Turcks and Cakoe’s Islands. The decent weather arrived, wind from the East and we made for an early departure. We sailed for almost 48 hours, taking turns sitting at the helm and sailing the boat. The first day the seas were pretty big, 3-5ft, choppy, and a few swells came our way. We held on to the boat most of the day as if we were riding a bucking broncho. The next day the wind slowed down, along with the seas. The four boats made it to the Turks and Caikos just in time for a brilliant sunset. I had slept wonderfully that night, seeing how I had not slept for more than 4 hours in a row. The next day we took off at the crack of dawn for another long trip, this time crossing to the Dominican Republic. The other captains of the sailboats we were will all told horror stories of this particular crossing, huge seas striking the boat right on the nose. I don’t know what happened but we had the most spectacular weather. Perfect wind, calm seas, sun; what more could a sailor ask for. We ended up motor sailing for only 10% of the time; this was practically unheard of for that passing. Once again Richard and I took turns at the helm, he got the graveyard shift, while I covered the late night and early morning shifts. The stars were amazing, breathtaking in fact, the moon had set early making for star-filled skies.

Land-Hoe! The DR!

At about 5:30am the sun began to rise, and right in my face. We had the nose pointed straight East. My first view of the Dominican Republic in the daylight was thrilling. Lush green hills, low mountains, dark blue oceans, all lit up by a glorious sunrise. We motored into the anchorage at 7am, and about half way through one of our buddy boats, Jackster, owned by a couple from England, ran a ground, basically they were in water that was too shallow for their boat. We attempted to help them get out, connecting a line between the two boats, but we didn’t have enough power. Thank goodness a local fishing boat helped them out. It was a HOT day, 85 and sunny, and now being in a 3rd world country, and in a very small town, there would be NO fans, or air-conditioning for that matter. We anchored and were boarded by immigration. It had been a while since I had last used my Spanish, so peaking to them felt pretty good, let me tell you! Dominicans have a very unique Spanish, very closed, so it has taken mw a while to get used to. From there we took the dinghy over to the customs office; which had one tiny window. By the time we were done, I was one big sweat ball! After adding one more stamp to my passport, it was time to explore the town. Luperon, as it is called, is very poor, little kids running around naked, people selling fruit, clothes, and what not on the street, a bank that could not change Dollars to Pesos, for some weird reason, and ubiquitous dogs around. I guess the town grows on people, I have meet many sailors who have been here for years, a “casa Blanca” style town I guess.
We’ll see what else this tiny eclectic town had to offer.
Hasta Luego!

ahhh the life!

Well the Exuma Cays continue to be our home....

The other day we did some hard core sight seeing! We went to feed some pigs, and yes, they swam out to our boat! From there we snorkeled along an amazing cove with a cave! The fish were all the colors of the rainbow, and let me tell you, we got swarmed by a blue/yellow/white fish, I am talking schools of fish (thanks to the bread crumbs!) WOW!

From there we sailed to Emerald Bay. The wind was ok, and we ended up reaching 7km with some help from the motors. Richard put out a fishing line, hoping something would bite! Low and behold it did! MAHI!!! He reiled in the fish and I helped gut it! Later that night, thanksgiving night, we fully enjoyed fresh fish, the best I have ever had! It was a nice little celebrations with Richard, Kathryn, myself and the mahi!

Next stop...Georgetown to wait out some bad weather, and then SOUTH!






Fishhhhhh!

check it out on video

Grand Bahama and Rose Island...

Last days on Grand Bahama

On Grand Bahama Island Richard and I met a lot of ‘fellow’ sailors. One couple, Kim and Steve, who sail the Fine Lion, are incredibly funny people! Alex our next-door neighbor was also a ‘hoot’ he was a unique sailor new the entire sailboat life. We frequently hit up the Corner Bar with these people. We also came to understand that there would be a traditional Fish Fry along the beach, needless to say, we were there! The Fish Fry was fun, full of people, some bohemians and some tourists, fresh fish and perfect island music. We ate the freshly fried fish, that was accompanied by macaroni and cheese casserole Bahama style (a thick rectangular mesh of cheese, overcooked noodles, and some funky spice), chickpeas and rice, and a nice cold beer! After dinner, the dance floor started to fill and I busted a move to a few songs, especially the Cha-cha slide, I mean I had to show off my moves! Haha

The next day a Rent-a-car was at our disposal, at NO cost to us, wohoo! We took advantage of this situation and explored the island, went grocery shopping, and visited some property that our neighbor Alex was interested in purchasing. Let me tell you, we went to this International Bazzar area, where there were supposedly shops, restaurants and what not, We arrived and it was EMPTY, completely barren. That goes to show how the economy is affectiong international tourism, WOW! The grocery store was well, tyipicall for being out of the states, worse than most in South America. The selection was mimimal, however we restocked most everything we were missing, checking the expiration dates very closely!

Later that day Kathryn, Richards’s girl, and my old employer came into town. She flew in; we enjoyed a nice dinner and were off to our next destination, Rose Island. I had the first shift at the helm, while Richard and Kathryn attempted to get some shut eye. It was about a 4hr shift. I kept track of our heading, speed, and other data on the deck log. A few boats came and went, one cruise ship was right on our tail for a while, there was some fuzzy communication on the radio, and other than that, I stayed awake by polishing off a bag of animal crackers, YUM! And it was my turn to get to bed!

The waves/swells were not that bad. The boat rocked me to sleep. 8am, and it was my turn again. It was a lot nicer sailing during the day. We had to sails up, the main sail, the Genowa sail, and both motors going. We reached a max speed of 7.5km that day. We pulled into the Nassau marina to fill up the fuel tanks. There were three huge cruise ships docked as we pulled in, they were MASSIVE! After fueling up, we made our way to Rose Island, a small island right off Nassau. We anchored there for the night. After dropping anchor, Richard geared up and dove on the anchor making sure it was well attached, later that evening and the following day we were expecting 25k winds.

Day two at Rose Island was spent relaxing and exploring. Our sailing buddies Kim and Steve of the Fine Lion ended up anchoring in the same bay. I swam over to their boat to say hi. They were both eager to invite me for some Conch salad. Steve did some diving earlier that day; he speared two lobsters and a few Conchs, nice! We took their dingy and did some exploring on a nearby island. White soft sand, a hammock, and an old green chair are what our findings consisted of. Later that day they both came over for dinner. We ended up eating the FRESH lobster, and let me tell you , I have never ever had such fresh lobster! YUM!

The next day we hauled anchor and set sail for a new destination on the Exhume chain of Cays. They day was choppy, windy, rainy, and gusty. We sailed for 7hours with wind up to 25knots, and reached speeds of 10kmh! We had to reap the main sail so that the wind didn’t give us too much power, also so that the sails would take it! Half way through the journey the clouds came in and gave us a nice rain shower! The boat seemed as if it were a bunking bronco and we all had to hold on to something to stay standing! As our destination came into sight, land hoe! Kathryn and I prepared to hook the mooring ball which would act as our anchor that night. Let me tell you it was one HARD task! First, the wind then the current, and finally trying to steer the boat with such slight maneuvers! Our task was to use a pole and hook a thick line attached to the mooring ball, bring up the loop at the end of the line and connect it to the boat. After about three attempts, we got it, too bad it was over a cable, which it should have been under, ok, re-do! Two poles in the water later, a who-knows-what kind of, know later and about 10+ attempts later we FINALLY got it! What a stressful ordeal!

That night we all enjoyed our cocktails to the max!

After a night of being rocked to sleep, as the wind didn’t die down until the morning, it was a whole new day! I woke up to one of the most breathtaking sights on earth! Little islands surrounding us by 350 degrees, shades of blue, green, and white water, white soft sand, and islands for miles and miles! Words are not enough to describe the beauty. That day we spent some time exploring the island. We were about to go for a swim, Richard jumped in first, and all of a sudden SHARKKKK!

Instincts told us to get away, so Kathryn and I backed up, while Richard, who was still in the water yelled “lower the latter” so that he could get back in the boat! So much for swimming! After visiting the office, one of three buildings for miles, they informed us that it was a harmless shark and all it wanted was some food scraps! Thank God! We also hiked along the island. We took the dinghy to a beach, anchored it, explored the beauty of the island, and returned! Too bad that high tide was coming in and our little dinghy was about to be taken away! We trudged through 10meters of knee high water and arrived at the boat, the anchor was hardly attached to the sand underneath! Good thing we didn’t end up swimming back!

Grand Bahama

We made it! Two days ago Blue crossed the Gulf Stream and made it to Port Lucay on Grand Bahama Island


Grand Bahama is one of the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, and the closest major island to the United States, lying just 55 mi (90 km) off the state of Florida. Grand Bahama is the fourth largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and cays. Richard and I began our trek across the gulf stream at 12:30 am. We left Lake Worth, where we anchored the day before, departing from West Palm Beach, and made our way to the headwaters. The river and the ocean colliding made for a choppy beginning.

We motored and used two of the sails, the main sail, and the Genoa sail, our greatest speed fell around 8nm. We sailed all through the night. The stars were amazing, even though the full moon lit our path. Richard took the first shift, and then it was my turn. After going to the bathroom and having my urine experience ‘g-force’ I made it back up to the cockpit, feeling a bit queasy. It is recommended to stay on the main deck, aka, not go below, and I did. Oops! Well after a short puke fest, I felt better. Some sateen crackers helped me stay awake while sailing the ship form 3am-6am. Basically I had to stay on the lookout for other boats and make sure we had a full sails. It was then Richard’s turn to sail, and mine to go back to sleep. I t was hard falling back to sleep because the boat was rocking so much, but thanks to my iPod it wasn’t that hard. 9am, my shift, and it was light out! Exciting! The water was SO blue, I mean bright blue. Eventually we came to see land, which was Grand Bahamas. We entered into the inlet and docked at a marina. For the past two days we have been here, at the marina. Fixing some things that broke, washing down the boat, and obviously enjoying some cocktails, I mean HAPPY HOUR!!!!! Life is good!

A little history:
The Spanish gave the island the name Gran Bajamar, meaning "Great Shallows", and what the eventual name of the Bahamas islands as a whole is derived from. Grand Bahama's existence for almost two centuries was largely governed by the nature of these "great shallows" - the coral reefs surrounding the island were treacherous, and repelled its Spanish owners (who largely left it alone apart from for infrequent en-route stops by ships for provisions) while attracting pirates, who would lure ships onto the reefs where they would run aground and be plundered. The Spaniards took little interest in the island after enslaving the native Lucayan inhabitants. The islands were claimed by Great Britain in 1670. Piracy continued to thrive for at least half a century after the British takeover, though the problem was eventually brought under control.

Grand Bahama was to remain relatively quiet until the mid-nineteenth century, with only around 200-400 regular inhabitants in the capital, West End. In 1834, the towns of Pinder’s Point, Russell Town and Williams Town were established by former Bahamian slaves after the abolition of slavery in the British empire. The island was still little developed until a brief boom in economic activity during the American Civil War, when it was a center for blockade runners smuggling goods (mostly weaponry, sugar and cotton) to the Confederacy. A second brief smuggling boom occurred during the years of prohibition in the USA.


some pics of the boat... the deck, the kitchen/hall/bathroom...

We made it! Bahama Mama style!

The big day

Eze's birthday

Eze about to fly the glider and Eze playing a little soccer!

West Palm Beach and then some...

Sleeping on the boat is amazing. The boat, obviously rocks from side to side, acting like a cradle; every night the waves rock me to sleep. The bathroom, also known as the head, is one of a kind. When one flushes the toilet, also known as the head, the flusher heeds to be held down until the pump pumps the sewage up, over, and then down to the reservoir. The kitchen/living area, known as the saloon, is very spacious; there is an entertainment system, a work space, couch/table combination, and a nice big counter with lots of room for storage. The kitchen, known as the gully, is well, small, but much larger than on other boats. The there are tons of appliances that all fit like a puzzle, the fridge holds a lot, the microwave and convection oven get the job done, the stove and oven, the stainless steel sink, the cappuccino maker, toaster, and not to forget all of the storage space. Richard is a great cook who likes fresh, organic, natural foods, this is the first time I have eaten this well in a long time, I mean who knew there is a special knife for slicing cheese or cutting tomatoes (can you tell I have been living like a college student since I have graduated? I have however steered away from boxed macaroni!) The entire boat is like a puzzle, every floorboard, sole, has a storage compartment underneath it, which is one of the challenges, remembering where everything is stowed. My room, known as an estate, is quite spacious! I have my own closet, a few drawers, some shelves, and a bunch of windows, better known as portholes, and hatches. The deck of the boat if filled with rope, lines, that control the sails, whether it be the jib sail, the screecher sail, or the main sail. Well, I hope that gives you an idea of how I have been living the past week.

The past few days I have also been brushing up on my meteorology skills, thank goodness for that meteorology class I took at WSU! If you have not heard a hurricane has been brewing up just south of Cuba. Richard and I have been tracking it since Monday; however the meteorologist just deemed it a class III hurricane. Obviously, we will continue to monitor it as if moves north.

Day 4-6 have been spent on the open waterways of Southern Florida. Day four we departed from Stewart, FL and sailed south to Lake Worth, FL. My first time sailing the ocean, funny thing there was not enough wind, so we motored down. It took us about 5 hours until we entered the ICW (Inner Coastal Waterway), a river way between the coast and the mainland. We anchored there. The next morning, day five, we were going to make our way down to Miami, however the weather was not favorable, the hurricane was growing and we did not want to go to where there may be winds of 30-45MPH! The next day, same story. We woke up, checked the forecast and no good. Richard came up with the plan to stay north, basically were we were, until the heavy winds would pass. Those days, waiting out the weather were spent, lounging around, reading, working on mini projects, going for a swim, journaling, cooking and eating, what a life! Day six and we moved a little further south. We are not docked in a slip in West Palm Beach, FL. Conveniently, this marina is only 45min away from where Ezequiel is. He is going to come visit tonight! Yipeee! And because of the bad weather, I get to go stay with him for the night and celebrate his 30th birthday with him tomorrow, the 9th of November! Yeah, thatís right 30! Hahahaha

Paloma, the tropical storm, which turned into a hurricane, forced us to wait out the weather in a nearby harbor. Taking up anchor for the first time was not that bad. On Blue, there is an anchor that is mechanically controlled, yep that means no pulling up anchor for my ëmuscularí arms! Haha! We motored down the ICW, going under my first lift bridge, and docking at West Palm Beach Harbor. Docking was also an experience, learning what line goes where, how it should be tied down, putting up the bumpers, and connecting all the cables (water hose, electrical cords) to the dock. After getting all settled in Richard and I attended the local farmers market. We stocked up on fresh produce, beard, and pasta. Later that day Ezequiel picked me up, West Palm Beach is about 1hr 15 min away from Ft. Lauderdale, where he lives. Ezequiel stayed for an amazing dinner, and then we took off, back to Ft. L to celebrate his BIG day!

Sunday the 9th, the big day of Eze turning 30! Ezeís dad, Carlos, invited us to a local deli for a truly ëAmericaní breakfast. From there, an intensive soccer match, lunch, and then the surprise! The b-day giftÖ a flight in a glider airplane. We made the drive to the airport in Holmestead, and Eze got the flight of his life, aerobatics and all! From there we made our way back to West Palm Beach, back on the boat for me! We stopped and enjoyed an amazing dinner at a Japanese restaurant, and obviously had dessert! Cheesecake Factory proved to be more than sufficient! My famous words ìwhy did I do this to myself!î, I was SOOOO full!

Back on the boat
For the past three days we waited for hurricane Paloma to pass, which it did. And now, we have to wait for our ëweather windowí. My days have been filled, by visiting Starbucks, roaming the downtown of West Palm Beach, running on some amazing paths (by the ocean front, and weaving in and out of neighborhoods filled with castle like houses!), reading, writing, checking the weather forecast, and meeting locals. Hopefully a nice weather window comes and we can make our way over to the Bahamas.

Oh Ari, this is for you
Spain, Costa Rica, Canada, Mexico, Portugal, Tunisia, Italy, Germany, Check Republic, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil for 30 minutes. Cheers!

Day 1, Errands

Sunshine and a gentle breeze was my wake up call. Richard, the captain of Blue, and I spent the day running errands. We filled up two carts with grocery bags, went to about 4 different sail boat stores, and two other random stores. I finished settling into my quarters. My room is nice and spacious, full or storage, and has a cool cross breeze from the ports and hatches. I have an emergency exit window right next to my bed that is parallel to the ocean, I can't help but look for fish everytime I wake up. After a long, and hectic day, we were spent.

That evening I went for a run, taking advantage of my time on land. On my run, I saw a family dumpster diving in back of a locar restaurant, sad. It made me think of South America, as well as how lucky I am to have such a wonderful like, and amazing adventure ahead of me.

Dinner time with some of Richard's old sailing friends. Old, as in friends from the past, as well as in age. We dined at one upscale restaurant, and thank goodness my parents taught me what forks to use and when!

Seting Sail with 'Blue'

Time to set sail!

About seven months ago, an old employer and friend of mine heard that I was going to be in South/Central America. She knew that I was gong to have an evenful, unconventional year and informed me that her significant other might be looking for a crew to help him sail the Carribean and Bahamas in late October. I was so excited to hear of such an opportunity.

While I was traveling South America this opportunity became a reality, and that is when I decided to skip Central America, in turn for the Bahamas and Carribean. I ended my South America trip in Colombia and then flew to FL to visit Ezequile, the BF, and await my departure on 'Blue'

I ended up spending two months in FL working at Offerdahl's Cafe, one month to gain some income, and the other awaiting the departure date.

Well that day has finally arrived! Tomorrow, the 5th is the big day. TAKE OFF!

Ezequile drove me up from Sunrise, FL, where he lives, about 2 hrs North to Stewart, FL where the boat is docked. We arrived, said goodbye, and I spent my first night sleeping on a sail boat. Not bad! I got a good first night of sleep.

The Science Museum of FL

A nice day at the museum. The exhibit was about flight, perfect for Eze, he is so fascinated by aviation!

Offerdal's Cafe my new 'job'

2 months in Sunrise requires a job. One, because Eze goes to school from 9-2 and coaches tennis from 3-8:30. Two, because I could use some income! Offerdahl's http://www.offerdahls.com/ My co workers ended up being great! Offerdah's is located in Weston, an area of FL where a lot of rich Hispanics live, predominately from Venezuela. Needless to say the customers that come in make bank and at times are hard to deal with, especially the rich mama's.


My co-workers...Lester, my boss, and the father of Bella, a one year old princess, cracks me up every morning! Lee, trained me in. He is crazy! He knows all the customers on a first name basis, is jam packed full of energy, and is always trying to practice his Spanish with the attractive Weston Mamis. Dully and Magda, sisters from Colombia, are the line cooks! They are the women who prepare people's food day after day with a smile. Dully basically became one of my best friends in FL, we have loads of fun at work, making fun of each other, cooking up weird snacks, and making fun of the rich and snobby women. Sebastian, Seabass, is a shift lead from Argentina, one nice guy! T.J. is the assistant manager, he is a dad, raper, and wanna be gangster, or so it seems. Anthony the baker who shows up at 4am, wowo, is the comedian of the group! He is actually thinking of doing stand up. Every day at work I am surrounded by great people, and appreciate them inviting me into their lives.

St. Augustine

For one of Eze's classes he had to go on a little field trip to St. Augustine, one of the oldest cities in the USA. To make the trip a little more exciting, he invited me along. We took off form Sunrise, Fl at 3am and arrived in St. Augustine at 9am for the beginning of the tour. Eze's professors were very informative.

After the day long tour, we made our way to ORLANDO!!! Eze reserved a nice hotel, we ordered pizza in, enjoyed a bottle of vodka, and went out to PARTY!

Welcome to Miami Bienvenido a Miami

Celebrating our 2 year aniversary was fun!! We went to a water part up the coast!








It was Eze's first time ever at a water park, VERY EXCITING!

Adios Bogota!

Back to Bogota. After the sisters from V de L kindly invited me to drive back to Bogota with them I arrived to Diana's smoked filled apartment. I spent the next few days getting ready to leave, Florida, was calling my name. I made a few purchases, gifts for friends and family, and did what I loved the most in Bogota. I hung out in coffee shop, met random people, and went out on the town. I also met up with Chris, a Canadian Spanish teacher and avid rock climber, whom I had previous met in another city. He invited me to go rick climbing with him in a town just north of Bogota, Suesca. Suesca is known for the rick climbing, nothing else. We arrived lat at night, found a local restaurant still open, we were starving, and enjoyed the typical chicken, rice, and plantain meal. The next day we geared up and headed to the ROCKS! I ended up doing some pretty serious climbing, a 10a, It was intense, but day fun! We climbed 4 walls, I belayed Chris, and he did the same for me. He did some very technical climbing, while on the other hand, I just tried to make it up the wall. I think I am going to get into it when i arrive back home in Minnesota.

I took 3 means of transportation to get back to Bogota to celebrant my last night there. One bus, the transmilienio, and a taxi. I was not in a hurry but wanted to get back to Diana's house, where I was staying so that I could get ready, finish packing, and have some dinner. I asked her, before I left if she would leave me the keys, in other words, give them to the door man so that he would let me in. Well upon arriving to her apartment, after a very long day, the doorman informed me that she did not leave any keys and that I was locked out. Great! So, I went to a locutorio, and placed a call to her cell, she answered and told me to call back in 10 minutes, well I did, and no answer, in fact she did not answer for the next 2 hours. I finally found her brother cell number, called him, took a taxi to his work, got the key, and let myself in. What a mess!!!

After finally getting sorted, I made my way to the downtown area of Bogota for one last crazy night! I danced the night away with Diana's friends and family, some of my friends from the hostel I stayed at before, and NO DIANA, interesting. Well, We called it a night at 3 am, got back to the apartment at 4am, and I hoped into an airport taxi at 5am. No sleep! The airport was insane, people all over, I finally got the the gate and relaxed until boarding began! home to the good US of A!

Baby Ostrich

the ending of a great trip

Ezequiel left in a hurry. I ended up staying that night at a hostel, the Platypus in an older part of Bogota called, El Candelario. After meeting tons of amazing travelers from all over the world, once again, we hit the town. We walked through the winding narrow streets of El Calendario, drank some chicha, a traditional beer made of corn, strolled along the streets taking with 'hippies' who were selling their artesanias.

Next stop, Vily de Leyva. The bus from Bogota landed me in and the driver literally dropped me off on the side of the highway. From there I found a bus heading to the small town of V de L. Weird thing, on the bus there were 2 Argentina guys who I met in Northern Peru. We exchanged stories about of trips as we rode the bumpy small but to V de L. It is an amazingly quaint town known for its kite flying festival, and is also known as a hot getaway spot for Bogotanos.

I spent the next 4 days in this tiny quiet town getting to know some of the locals.

The German Wine Guy:
I found a map of the city and found the 'to-do-list'. I realized that I could walk to 3 of the places on this list, however it would take me a while. I began my walk, and didn't really trust the map, so I stopped and asked many people if I was going the right way. I ended up stopping at a 'Bodega' a Vineyard, and asked for directions. The old man with a peculiar Spanish accent, who looked like Santa, ended up inviting me for some wine and a little snack; I think he felt bad for me. He then offered to give me a tour of the 'hot spots' and we ended up spending the entire day together. HE took me to view dinosaur fossils, statues from the indigenous, a convent, and an ostrich farm. The ostrich farm was super interesting! The birds were so tall, big-eyed, and bizarre looking. I had never seen one up close. I did do a report in 3rd grade about them, and now I finally got to see them up close and personal! strange

The facts I learned..
-run at speeds of about 74 km/h
-Ostriches usually weigh from 200 to 285 lb
-bird has just two toes on each foot, resembling dinosaurs
-they are farmed for leather, meat, dusters, jewelry, and are also used for racing.

What a fact filled day! The German man, Don Paulino, ended up inviting me back to his home the next day for some more wine, a wine tour, and traditional German food. The bodega was huge, his family was kind, and the others on the tour were teachers from Bogotá, needless to say, it made for some great conversation!

The Sisters:
After trying to use the ATM with no success I asked two women near by if they could help. They ended up inquiring about my journey, and when they found out I was traveling alone, they invited me to stay with them at their cabin in the hills. To find out it would be a safe situation, I chatted with them for a while, and found out the reason they invited me into their home is because their other sister was warmly welcomed into the unites states a while back. What goes around comes around, right? The next two days the sisters introduced me to their 95 year old mother, who fascinated me with the stories of her life, introduced me to traditional foods, arepas, pamela, leche chocoatada. It was a great few days spent with 3 amazing women.

Bus Ride, Taganga, and Another Bus Ride

After spending one more night in Cartagena we took an early morning bus to Taganga, a coastal city 4 hours east. The bus ride was not bad, a short 4 hrs. We arrived in Taganga and guess what, yes, we found a place with once again NO air conditioning, hahah! 2 fans though! It was an apartment right off the beach, not bad. That night we went on a short little hike and found a great lookout, the view of Taganga and all the fishing boats, the mountains in the background, and the ocean was spectacular! Dinner time, called for some whole made pasta sauce, great bread, and a nice cold beer. We ate dinner right off our porch, played cards and went on an evening stroll, it was a relaxed night, as I was feeling a bit under the weather :)

Waking up to the sound of fishermen and waves rolling into shore was not bad. After eating a wonderful breakfast, french toast, we hiked east to find numbers of beaches, each one unique. Taganga has a beach, however it is very polluted, (trash in the ocean and what not, lesson for un DON'T LITTER, or even PICK UP SOME TRASH AND GIT RID OF IT!) so we made our way to the 'nicer' beaches. The hike was rocky, hot, and dusty, after hiking for 1hr in the heat we finally arrived to the end of the path, yet no evident beach. We hiked down the cliff a bit more and found a steep path to some boulders that lined the shore. Carefully, we hiked down and found the most romantic private spot on some huge boulders. The afternoon was spent, just the two of us, the ocean, and some fish and snails. Our spot was perfect, it was on the side of a cliff, so when we got hot, we dove right into the ocean. When we had enough of our private spot, there was really no where to stretch out, and no sand, we hiked along the coast, barefoot, to the next beach. There we found loads of people snorkeling, not to mention a ice cream man selling ice cream, he was pushing his cart in the ocean, not on the sand, only in Colombia, and joined in the party.

I saw the most amazing fish in my life! A sword fish two feet long, bright blue, and about one inch wide, many angle fish, some eels, and numerous sea enchants.

That evening, we caught a night bus to Bogota, where Ezequiel's flight to Argentina would be departing from. The bus ride was a long 18hrs, good thing I got to spend it with Eze. As we got on the bus, we couldn't sit down, there was someone in our seats, and we were not about to give up these seats, #1 and #2, loads of leg room, and great view of the TV. The guy, was a JERK, we asked him to move, " we have the tickets for those seats, what does your ticket say?" I don't have one yet, he said, the driver has yet to give me one, Obviously he got the hook-up from the driver, and the driver said they could have the seats. After about 10 of bickering, the military, who was checking every passenger as they entered, interfered, and put the bus driver and customers in their place and granted up the seat, rightfully so. Well, the entire bus ride this Colombian punk did not stop whiling. He kept on saying "green-go-home", referring to us and Gringos. Well, Ezequiel recently told me, yesterday, that when we stopped for breakfast, he noticed that there was gum in his hair, NO WAY! that punk!!!! So, Eze, the smart one he is, emptied a bottle of water onto his seat, hahaha nice thinking! I never noticed any of this that day, but looking back, what great revenge!

We eventually arrived in Bogota, and Eze took off to Argentina. One to visit home, but primarily to renew his student visa, hoping to finish school in December. All went well for him, and he is now back in FL, coaching tennis and about to start up his last semester at St. Thomas University. What a magical week with the boyfriend in Colombia!

Enjoying the sunset on Playa Blanca

Our Home for the night

Cartagena, Colombia

What was supposed to be the 4 hour bus ride to Cartagane, from Taganga seemed to take forever, and it did, 6.5 hours. We stopped numerous times along the highway to pick up as many passengers as possible, (This is a very common practice in S. America, bus drivers pack the buses with people, hence more money for them. It makes for quite an uncomfortable ride).

I finally arrived in Cartagena, an old colonial port town on the Northern coast oc Colombia. The town was steaming hot, no air conditioned rooms were available, only rooms with fans. I ended up checking into a hostel, Holiday. In my dorm room there 7 beds, and not one of them had a top sheet, only the bottom fitted sheet, why,because the heat was SO intolerable! I could hardly sleep that night, one for the stuffy heat, and two because Ezequiel, my boyfriend of 2 years, was arriving the next day for a one week visit. It had been 4 months since we had last seen each other, quite some time.

The next day I woke up with a huge smile on my face. I ran some errands, wax job, groceries, and moving to a new hostel with Windows and a good fan. I went to pick up Ezequiel, I was driven the the airport on the back of a Motorcycle, fun!, and could hardly wait to get my arms around him and give him a big kiss!

Well, like most flights now a days are late, his was too! 2.5hrs! It was the longest in my life! At the airport I got to know all the families who were awaiting loved ones as well. Some families had gone for 2/3 years without seeing their relatives.
needless to say, as Ezequiel finally walked though the exit gates we both had mile long smiles!

That night we spent the night roaming the romantic streets of Cartagena. Stopping to see the old wall that surrounded the town, ancient fortresses, and old churches, we couldn't stop looking at each other!

The next day we made our way to the 'tourist dock' and got on a boat that headed for Playa Blanca. We made the journey to the desolate island with a couple from Australia, the same one I did the Lost City trek with. The boat ride was great, a pack of dolphins followed our boat for some time. We arrived to the island, had a typical lunch, fish , coconut rice, salad, and fried plantains, and looked for somewhere to spend the night, we had the choice of hammocks or a tent, this island was evtrymely desolate.

We spent the day lounging on the beach, getting a massages on the shore with coconut oil, and walking along the beach to watch the sunset. We shared a 'box' of wine with the Australians and then ended up spending the night in a small red tent. It was hard to sleep, all of a sudden we heard weird noises. There were huge crabs crawling onto our tent, weird! The next morning we woke up after a rough night of sleep to find crab tracks all around our tent. More lounging around the island, and then It was time to catch the boat back to Cartagena.

We cooked spaghetti at the hostel, took a well deserved shower, there was no running water on the island, and went out for a night on the town. A Cuban bar across thre street seemed appealing, and it was, we spent the night dancing to salsa, ballenata, and cumbia music. Ezequiel says I still need to work on shaking my hips, typical northern American!

Taganga and the Lost City

Taganga, Colombia

At the moment, I am trying not to itch the loads of mosquito bites (EZE, say it, BITEEES) all over my body! Arriving to Taganga was well, interesting. The bus I was on, to total a whopping 16 hours, broke down, and the entire bus had to wait for 45 min. and transfer to another bus. Well, that bus like the previous one was FREEEEZING! Everyone was cuddling with a blanket or something, all I had was a scarf, (it was 90F and I figured they wouldn’t put the air conditioning up so high, but they did!) I arrived in Taganga, a small coastal town, got off the bus and immediately started to sweat! HOT and HUMID! I checked in to an amazing hostel, met loads of fun people, Germans, aussies, English, and such people. We spent the day on the beach trying to cool off. While at the back town I arranged what I would be doing for the next 6 days, a trek to a lost city in the jungles of Colombia.

The 6 day trek to the Lost City (La Ciudad Perdida)

The hike entailed 6 days of roughing it… sleeping in hammocks, eating loads of rice and beans, being bitten by hoards of mosquitoes, gnats, and other crazy jungle bugs, hiking between 4-7hrs a day, through mud, rivers, uphill climbs, slippery downhill slopes and what not.

Miguel, a local guide, led our fabulous group: a couple from Australia, AL the Israeli, Steve, the English man, and Micah from Holland.

A 3 hrs ride into the jungle, lunch in a small town at the edge of the jungle and then the beginning of the trek. About 10 min. into the trek we ran into a group who was just finishing there trek, they were wet, muddy, smelly, filled with bug bites and torn apart, one girl’s shoes were basically falling apart. FUN! The first day the heat got to us, sunny, hot, and humid, we were all walking balls of sweat! Thank goodness for the river, we were halfway into the days hike, and our guide Miguel asked us if we wanted to swim in the river, Heck yeah! It was deep enough to do cannon balls and what not. Getting out of the river I almost stepped on a BIG spider, yuck! 4 hrs later, we arrived at out camp. It a shelter situated along a river. There was a make-shift stove with wood for fuel, room to hang at least 15 hammocks, a table and a bathroom, well just the bowl and wood around to create some privacy. We had a snack, watermelon, and then went to a nearby waterfall and jumped in for a refreshing end to day one. Dinner, rice, beans, meat, and salad, a game of cards and time for bed, I carefully got into my hammock, pulled the mosquito net over me, and hoped that I would be able to fall asleep (it was my first time sleeping in a hammock).

The rest of the 6 days was similar, hiking long hours in the heat, crossing rivers, swimming in the river, being eaten alive and what not. One highlight was when we arrived at the homes of indigenous people from the area. They all had long hair, spoke hardly any Spanish, wore long white cloth, and survived off the land. Other bizarre sights, the army ants carrying leafs to their castle, fresh pineapple, bananas, watermelon, and other fruit unique to the area, getting my feet wet every chance I could to cool myself down, waking up in the middle of the night having, itching attacks, the jungle noises at night, and of course the endless hours of card games with the group!

The third day however, was spectacular. We arrived to the ´Lost City´. At the entrance there were about 6 soldiers with big guns, kind of scary. As I hiked up the 2,000 stairs leading to the lost city, I spoke with one of the soldiers and he informed me that they were mostly there to protect the tourists from the FARC, good news. After my entire body was about to give up, these stairs were killers, I arrived at the top. There were terraces of rocks that were once home to many indigenous. We spent the night in the Lost City, without a care in the world, it was so peaceful there. The next two days we made our way back to civilization. All in all we were very lucky, we missed the hard rainfall every day, and no one got hurt badly. It is weird, sitting in front of a computer after spending the past 6 days in the jungle filled with animal noises and no worries.

2 days until Eze comes, super jazzed! A shout out to Maria and Maggie R, happy BIRTHDAY!!!!

COLOMBIA

Bogotá, Colombia

Arriving to Colombia was interesting. I took two buses, stood for 2hrs on one of them, took a taxi to the airport in Ecuador, flew to Panama City, Panama, found out my flight was overbooked, (even though my flight was CONFIRMED, I had to wait for 4 hrs until the next flight) and FINALLY arrived in Bogota. Diana, a friend of mine (she and her cousin, Jaime, worked at Coon Rapids HS, where I did my Student teaching last fall). I spent a week with them in Bogota. They showed me all around the huge and amazing city which is full of life; the central plaza, the night life, and all of the amazing parks. Diana, Jaime, Diana´s cousin Diego, and her brother, Juan introduced me to Aguila, the national beer, aguardiente, the national liquor, which tastes like black liquorish, yuck, and chichi, a fermented beer(needless to say, Bogotá was loaded with party!). I met both Diana and Jaime´s family, they were all so welcoming.

After spending a week with them, I realized what an amazing country Colombia is. Besides the problem with guerilleras, and the anti-government organization, FARC (who are responsible for the kidnappings) it is a country filled with friendliness. From Bogota I traveled to San Gil, a small town also filled with amicable people. I visited a waterfall, and played around in it all day long. I along with a new friend hiked up to the top, stood under the raging falls, and then hiked to the bottom and did numerous cannon balls into the pool carved out by the water at the bottom. The next day, along with some more new friends, Chris from the U.S, and two Aussies, we took a mini bus to a nearby colonial city, and hiked from there to another city, which was even smaller. The hike was not bad, but the heat was definitely getting to me, it was 100 and humid. After getting back to town, I enjoyed some of the ´street food´ . Corn on the cob roasted over hot coals, fresh squeezed lemonade, and some whole made ice cream. From that adventure, I went on my next, caving. In a nearby town there is a cave that extends for 20K, and then some, the entire cave has not been explored. A group of 5 travelers and a guide geared up putting on helmets, and head-lamps. We entered the cave, trudging through water, and ducking under the stalagetites and stalagmites. In one part of the cave, where it was so narrow, we had to swim under a passage for about 2min, it was scary! It was quite impressive and an out of this world experience!

At the moment I am in the Northern coast of Columbia soaking up the sun! Tomorrow I am off for a 6 day hike to the ´Lost City´ and then on the 14 Ezequiel is coming to visit.

Montañita, Ecuador

Moñtanita is a very small beach town that is home to surfers and partiers alike, good thing we were there on a weekend! The two hour bus ride from Puerto Lopez was not bad, too bad we were about 3hrs late in arriving to Moñtanita. Shane, one of my super good friends from Winona who is traveling south america, and I were susposed to meet up at 2pm. Noa and I arrived at 4:30, oops! Good thing because Shane and his crew (Chris, Ryan and his girlfriend) were going to leave at 5pm! Noa and I began to walk down the main road, and all of a sudden I heard, ´SCHOLZZZZZZZZZZZY´It was shane! It was awesome to see him, we kind of have this wierd long distance friendship and only see each other about 3 times a year.

That weekend consisted of pure celebration! Friday night, and lots to do in Montañita. We checked into our hostel, with hammocks on the porch and made our way to the volleyball courts. Of course we got all sandy, and went in for a dip. The ocean was nice, the waves were the perfect size to play in. From there, we took advantage of the great party that Moñtanita had to offer. Along one of the few roads in Moñtanita there is a row of little cabinas that serve whatever you may want, specializing in mohitos and other fruity driniks. We spent most of the night there, just chillin, and then went to shake our booties! It was a great night, which ended at 5am.

Saturday, and I swear I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I woke up sick as a dog, cold wise, runny nose, cough, headach, and aching eyes. I went to look for my glasses and they were no where to be found! Great I though, one more of my possessions lose in South America. I then went to pack my purse for the day, and realized that I hardly had any cash, hmmmm, I dug a little further and NO WAY, all of my cash in my big wallet was gone, along with my student ID cards, and my cell phone! GREAT! I was so mad! What had happened is that during the whale watching excursion on Puerto Lopez I stored my bags in the storage area, we had to check out by 11. Well, someone found a little treasure when they went into the storage area and stole all my cash! So mad!

Well, I got over the situation, thanks to Ezequiel´s cheering me up. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the beach and a nother night filled with fun. I made the best of my time in Montañita with Shane, Chris, and Noa because as Sunday came, were were all off in different directions. It was time for me to say ´adios´to some amazing friends. It was especially sad saying goodbye to Noa, we had spent about 3 weeks travelling together, and I will never forget our crazy times, especialy with the peanutbutter!

Next stop, Guayaquil to catch a flight to Colombia

Puerto Lopez, Ecuador

The city of Puerto Lopez in Ecuador is a poor community, definitely third world. Seventy percent of the economy of Puerto Lopez falls within the fishing industry but as more and more fish are hauled from the sea, the small fisherman such as in Puerto Lopez are being asked to do with less to survive as the waters are being depleted. It was sad to see that the other option besides the fishing industry for this community is the exploitation of the whales that exist in this area. Every year during the months of June through September a pod of humpback whales migrate to the waters off Ecuador. The waters of Machalilla National Park in Manabi are breeding grounds for the whales and a growing tourism industry is taking hold. I guess I can say I supported the community by going whale watching.

Noa and I, along with some tourists form France, Spain, and Ecuador, got on a small fishing boat. We headed out to sea. About 20 min. into the ride we saw our first glance of humpback whale. It was huge, enormous, blue/black with a white mouth. The whale came out of the sea, it was perpendicular to the horizon, and made for a great view. Everyone was is awe. From there on we spent the next three hours on a whale hunt. One thing that bothered me is that when we did find a whale or two, sometimes our driver came very close to them. I know that the laws of Ecuador prohibit this, however they did it, I still don’t understand why. We saw at least 5 whales, it was a brilliant experience!

Next stop, Montanita to meet up with Shane!

Adventures in Banos Ecuador

Making my way down...

Baños, Ecuador

The cloud followed us all the way to Baños, Ecuador, a small town nestled at the foot of a volcano. Noa and I landed at The Hostel Santa Cruz and met some of the most amazing people. We spent the day resting from the long treks, washing our nasty clothes, ourselves, and resting up. We watched a movie at my favorite restaurant in the world, Casa Hood. The movie, Touching in The Void, is a documentary about two guys who attempt to peak one of the mountains in the Cordillera Blanca, which is in Peru. I was hiking in the same area where they began the hike, needless to say, WATCH THE MOVIE!

That night we met the travelers in our hostel as we sat around the campfire drinking some beers. A couple from California who are VERY green and inspirational with the way they live, a older man who had been traveling-living in South America for the past 10 years on a moter bike, Mary from Canada, Aileen a teacher from Ireland, Mike from NY, and Karen from Israel (this was actualy our 3rd time crossing paths). We were a very dynamic group and spent 4 amazing days together in Baños.

We went on a ´short hike´which turned into a very long hike. Wanting to get a great view of the volcano we hiked to a few look out points. We arrived at the first one, after trudging through mud, and the volcano was covered by clouds, booo. Mike didn´t let this discourage the group as we all hiked to the next look out point with hopes to see the volcano. As we hiked up the volcano we passed fruit farms, bizare looking plants, and mean dogs. We got a litte lost, but made it to the look out point. Sitting there for about 10 min and nothing but clouds. All of a sudden, David, yelled, there she is!!! The colouds spread and we had a great view, niccccccce! Optimism pays off! On the way down, on one of our breaks, we saw it give off a plume of smoke, crazy!

The next adventure with the group, a bike ride on a road filled with waterfals and then canyoning. The rainy and cloudy day began at 9pm as we all rode along the road stoping at various places of interest, a hudge waterfall, a bridge where Noa and Mike jumped off, and finaly we reached the river where our canyoning trip began. We got of our bikes and were covered with mud, fun! good thing we were going to be jumping in a river. We all suited up with the canyoning grear, hiked up to the top of a river with many waterfals and made our way down. We rappelled down four waterfalls, and slid down 2, no jumps! By the last waterfal we were FREZING! But all had smiles on our faces after seeing what we had accomplished!

The best time in Baños was spent at Casa Hood. We all gathered around a big table and ate the best food ever. We talked about life, I felt like I had know this bunch forever, however we had just met! What a fun time in Baños, I will never forget the people I met there. Next stop, Puerto Lopez, Ecuador.

The Quilatoa Loop

I asked a fellow traveler what the best part of Ecuador was and she told me the Quilatoa loop. Two weeks later Noa and I found ourselves exploring this loop just south of Quito, Ecuador.

Latacunga to Chiclao to Quilatoa and back to Latacunga, it may sound easy, yet at the moment this path seemed very complex. Noa and I took an overnight bus from Cuenca to Latacunga and arrived at 5am. We walked for about 12 blocks, with our packs on, to a trashy hostel. We then recouperated, we took a 5 hour nap, ditched our packs and took the necessary things with us in our day packs, and made our way to Chiclao. After curving through hills and valleys we arrived at the small, windy and cold town of Chilao. Noa and I met some English boys on the bus who were about to embark on the same adventure. We ended up getting a cabin with them and spent the next two days hiking with them as well, what a fun bunch! That day we hiked down into what Chiclao is known for, the amazing lagoon which was once a volcano. The hike down was not bad, the way up however was a killer! The lagoon was 'brilliant'as the british boys would say. It is a bright blue pool sourrounded by old valcano walls. We returned from the hike hungry as could be. That night we were served dinner by a little old lady who wore a peacock feather in her hat and had 'gold' beads coiled around her neck. After dinner we all huddled around the fire for warmth, however that may have been counteacted by the beers consumed, oops!

The next day we all woke up to a loud birds. I saw my breath as I poked my head out of my sleeping bag, burrrrrrrrrr! After we all woke up, it took the boys a while, we made our way to breakfast, onece again served by the little old lady. We asked her, as well as the other workers, if they would direct us to the Inca cave we were hoping to find. Well, no one wanted to poing us in the right direction, they all wanted to guide us there for $15, no thank you! Once again we were in for an adventure. We made our way over a hill, through a valley, found a hut used by pastors, hiked thorugh a cloud, and eventually spotted what looked like a cave, however there was no path there. We made our own. Hiking through long thick grass, brush, and bumpy terrane we arrived to what we hope to be the Inca cave.

Returning from the cold taxing hike, we made our way into the cabin for a warm glass of tea, YUMMM. It was time for Noa and I to move on, Quilatoa was our next stop.

We arrived, via the back of a truck, to a small welcoming village. It was somewhat warm, the sun was shining, and we ended up in a wonderful hostel. With time to spare, Noa and I went on another hike. We passed a cemetary and made our way to the bottom of a valley, what a spectacular view. As we arrived to the bottom we say a group of girls leading a group of sheep, fields of flowers above, and lovely rays of sunshine. Noa and I took advantage of this beauty and took a nap!

Day two in Quilatoa...
We woke up to an amazing breakfast served by the hostel, eggs, toast, yougurt, granola, fruit, juice, coffee, and then some, wow! Good thing we got a good heary breakfast, we had a 7hr, hike through the cloud forest ahead of us. We bagan the hike wondering when we would arrive to the cloud, and ended the hike wondering when it would leave us! The hike was bizare, we saw sights ulike anything I had ever seen. We found the cloud forest, or sould I say it found us. We could only see 2m infront of us. We ended up approaching a a wierd shape, which ended up beign a group of 7 cows, wierd! The cloud began to rain on us, every inch of life had drops of rain on it, including us. We ended up getting lost, but found our way, however, we didn't make it out of the cloud!

Cuenca, Ecuador

After abreath of fresh air in Vilcabamba we made our way to Cuenca, famous for El Parque Nacional de las Cajas.

We arrived late at night had a wonderful dinner, after spending the majority of the day on the bus a good dinner is critical and a beer. At the hostel, we ran into some friends from Switzerland and Germany whom we spent a great deal of time with in Huaraz, Peru. The next day we went to the park. Little did we know the elevation of the park was at 3,000M, what did that mean, COLD and RAIN! Five other travelers were headed the same way so we all hiked accross the park todether. Let me tell you Noa and I must be bad luck. Out of 7 people none of us could find our way around the park, even with a map in hand! The park was great, clouds sourrounded us along with a mist, which eventually turned into a rain. The ground was boggy, everytime I took a step I sank in a little, good thing for water proof boots! By the end of the day we were FREEEEEZING! To make our way back to Cuenca we had to catch a bus that was susposed to pass by every hour, well who knew when it would come. Noa and I began to walk down the highway with our thumb out in the fridged air. After about 15 min of walking a nice Jeep pulled off the road and offered us a lift. We got in and were escorted down from the high land back to our hostel by a very nice man named Patrik. After an intensive day of hiking, we went out to eat with the crew. That night, we endulged in 'CUI' a traditional food of the regions. What is cui you may ask, well guinea pig! It was nice, very juicy, salty and tender!

Ecuador and the 'hikes'

I woke up this morning itching my ancle which is filled mosquito bites, thank goodness for itch cream!

For the past two weeks I have been making my way around Ecuador to the places I missed last year. Noa, my travel buddie from Israel, and I crossed into Ecuador with no problems, and ended up in a small, bizzare town called Vilcabamba. We arrived late, at 12am, and there was NOTHING open, this is wierd seeing how most families have dinner around 9/10pm. We spent our time in Vilcamamba hiking around, three days of fresh air, one has to love the sent of flowers and plants all around!

Hike one, to Mt. Mondongo. Noa and I made our way to the begining of the hike and accidently passed the enterance, oops, yet eventually found it. From the ENTRANCE we made our way up the mountain wich would peak at 2,500M, so a nice 4 hr hike, right? Well, we got to a cross situated at the top of what seemed to be the top. We broke out our chololate and celebrated, oops! We then realized there was another cross atop aonther mountain so we continued on. The path to the next mountain was not so great, it was actually pretty dangerous. One wrong step, and adios! slowely but shurely was our slogan as we climbed on all fours to reach the top! The view was great we could see for miles and miles, fields of crops, the city, and the river!

Hike two, through the ecological forest. Vilcabamba is know as the ecological center of Ecuador. The flor and fauna is at its best and researchers from all around the world come here to take advantage of it. Some time ago, a group of researchers labled all of the plants, trees, flowers, and whatever else there was to find. Noa and I hiked by the river and the old river walls, and guess what, yep we got turned around, hu? Eventually We made our way back to our amazing hostel, it had hot tubs and a steam room, niceeeeeeee, and relaxed!

Hike three, a quest to find a waterfall in the national park...
Most of the people traveling in South America tend to travel North or South on the'gringo trail'. With that said, it is not uncommon to run into the same people more than once. Noa and I ran into a friend from Huaraz, Inon, and we all went on the 6hr. hike together. We stroleld through town, then through the surrounding family farms and eventually arrived to the national park. The map we had, it was an OK map, indicated we would cross three gates, walk about 20 min inbetween them, arrive at a corn field, and then 40 min further we would see the waterfall, not to mention run into a troll and answer his riddle, right? Well sounds easy.We ended up doing exactly so, there were tons of paths so it was hard to choose what one to follow. Well, with our luck, we didn't find the waterfall, but we had lunch, tomato and avocado sandwiches on what Noa and I call the best bread in Ecuador, by the raging river and enjoyed that.

Ecuador and the 'Nube

Peru´s Beach at its best: MANCORA!

After such an extensive hike in Huaraz, the coast was calling my name!

Last year I went to a small beach town, Mancora, and had a great time. So why not have a great time twice! Two long bus rides, for a total of 22 hours, and I was there! I arrived at 6am, took a mimi-taxi, a motorcycle with a buggie attached, to my hostel. I arrived and crashed, I got no sleep on the long bus rides. I woke up, to use the bathroom, and there were TONS of crickets all over, NASTY! And then, I went to take a bite of my cookies, and after biting down, realized there were billions of ants crawling all over the cookie, AHHHH! Not such a great morning. That day I went for a run on the beach, and then took advantage of the sun! Later, I met up with the two Isralies who went with me on the trek in Huaraz. It was fun to see them again. I also met loads of travelers who were enjoying the beach and the waves. That night, fire on the beach. It was great, the locals were there playing the drums and guitar.

The next day, I took advantage of the sun once again, and yes mom, I did use sunscreen! Later, I decided the waves looked good, and rented a surfboard. It was my first time surfing alone, kinda scary! Thank goodness, a local, Rob, who also lived in CA, came over and gave me some tips! He later invited me to a 4th of July celebrration, a BBQ, with other people from the States who were volunteering in Mancora. After a few hours of ´catching waves´ I washed the salt water off, and made way to the BBQ. Chicked, salmon, and a dish from everyone made for quite a feast, with no kitchen I contributed some beer! It was great spending the night with other Americans, and an invitation for more surfing!

Rob, myself, and two other surfing studetns made our way over to a beach down the coast, it was BEAUTIFUL! The best part was, there was no one there and we had the waves all! Rob gave me some great pointers, and I got a bunch of waves, NICCCCCCCCCCCE! Paddling like crazy, I swear this is the hardest part of surfing, we went for lunch. Ceviche, a local dish of fish marinated in the acidic juices of limes and lemons was ohhh so good!

That night, was a party night. All of the travelers, we all came to know eachother, went out on the town! Dance dance revolution with tons of nationalities, what a great time! I also happened to run into, Raul, one of the surfers I met in Lima, and we decided that I needed to surf one last time in peru!

The next morning was not so fun, RESACA, but the 8am waves cured it all. Raul, his friend, and a surfboard showed up, and we all hit the waves one last time. Cutting it a little too close, Noa, my traveling partner for the next few weeks, and I rushed to the bus station and jummped on our 11am bus to Ecuador! Adios crickets!

Traveling North

After being in Lima, Peru for quite some time, I decided to head North to Huaraz. Huaraz is a small city located on the Cordillera Blanca and Negra, which is a range of snow capped mountains. Actually, the most beautiful mountain in the world is located here, as well as the tallest in Peru (Dad).

After a long, uncomfortable over night bus from Lima, I arrived to Huaraz at 7am. From there I checked into the worlds most amazing hostel. We are talking, comfy beds, a kitchen, a tarrace, toilet paper in the bathrooms, a movie renting room, and free internet, nice I know! I took the day to aclimate myself to the town, located at 2,000M, and booked a 4 day trek through the cordillera. That night I took advantage of the movie room and watched a movie, The Interpreter, with 2 other Americans. Ttoo bad at the very end the DVD began to skip, WHAT, this possibly the most annoying thing in the WORLD!

The next day I woke up at 5:30. A taxi picked me up at 6, if forgot my scarf in the taxi, way to go, and met the rest of the crew, who would be my family for the next 4 days. Our guide Miguel was a jokster, a couple from Spain, a couple from the States, a couple from Switzerland, 2 isralies, ,and myself, EZE, it would have been fun to have you at my side! We all introdiced ourselves and took a van to a very small village, at the base of this breathaking mountain range, and began the hike.

Day one consisted of making our way from the foothills to the bottom of the mountains. Uphill and dowhill, crossing rivers, and climbing over rocks. We arrived at base camp, set up camp, and enjoyed what our guide called ´happy hour´snacks and a hot drink! The sun went down behind the mountains and from there we all began to get really cold. I packed on the layers, and warmed up a little! We had a spectacular dinner, soup, chicken and rice, even desert! After dinner, card time and then BED! To warm up my sleeping bag, which was frozen, I put bolied water in a canteen and tossed in to the bottom. Going pee at night was not fun, SOOO COLD! That night, sleep was meerly impossible, it was 0F!

The next morning we went to hike over a mountain pass, the altitude grew to around 3,000M, what did this entail for us? Well, slow bodies, and headackes! Hiking over the mountain pass was a killer on the legs, not to mention the lungs! We all made it, and then downward we went, what goes up must go down. Arriving at camp was the same, cold cold cold!

Day three of the hike, one more pass to cross, this pass zig-zaged for about 2miles. Huffing and puffing, the entire gourp made it to the pass, at 4,000M! the view was stunning, there were no clouds in the sky, therefor all the mountain peaks, about 7 of them, were visible. After the pass, we went down a bit, not that much, and reached an óptional´addition to the what had already been a long day. Well, why not, ,when in rome, do like the romans. 1 hr into the éxtra hike´and we arrived at the base camp of people who would be summiting various mountains around us, wow what ambition! And also, encouragement to some day summit one of these vary mountains. We passed their base camp, and headed up. Zig-zaging through fields of loupin flowera and amazing views of all the mountain peaks, we arrived at a Glacier lake. Pieces of that glacier were floating on the lake, it made me want to hop on them, NOT an option! However, I did fall in the lake, well my foot-leg did! We wanted to do a ´facebook´pose on a roke in the lake, and I slipped, nice! No fun hiking back to camp with a wet boot! That night we all celebrated the feats which we had accomplished, the Spanish brought a bottle of rum, which we all passed along, needless to say, it was a bit easier falling alseep that night!

Day 4, the final day we made our way down what we had come up. Passing over rivers, villages, and finally into warm weather. Within 3 hours the temperature jumped from 20F to 60F, wow!
We made it to the bus stop, where we were to be picked up, and celebrarted with a beer. We all had some candies left over, and handed them out to the poor kids of the village, their smiles were better than a ´gracias´. That night, we all arrived back in Huaraz and REALLY enjoyed the HOT shower at what I call the best hostel ever!

South Ameica I (Guiding the Pacific Challenge Crew)

June (6-24-08)

Student free and weird!

I am happy to report that the first South America Pacific Challenge trip was a success!
The students, all 11 of them, Steph, my co-guide, and Vanessa, the professor, took off last night at 2:30am. After spending 41 days with this wonderful group of people, I already miss them, however, it is nice to be alone, and free as a bird!

Since the past e-mail I sent we, the PC group, has done quite a bit!

Rurembanque, Bolivia was to be our first encounter with the jungle; however, there was a glitch. We were supposed to fly there, yet due to Bolivian elections all airports and most businesses were closed. What did that entail for us, a 17 hour night bus ride on an Extremely bumpy road that hugged the edge of cliffs, rivers, and fallen rocks! IT was really too bad, because three students ended up getting sick, let's just say, the side of our bus was not the nicest sight the following morning.

We geared up and headed to the jungle, also known as the pampas of Bolivia. A 3hour dust filled bumpy ride in 4x4´s lead us to the bank or a crocodile infested river. We all hoped on wooden canoes, which were powered by motors and cruised down the river to our lodge. What a sight, tons of alligators, caimans, birds, monkeys, gigantic rodents, pink river dolphins, and what not. The next three days were spent in the outdoors, thank goodness for mosquito nets! We went on an anaconda hunt, and our guide captured one, Carl, a student held it, and got super freaked out, and dropped it, oops! We also went fishing for piranhas; I did catch a few, and ate them for lunch. Went swimming in with the pink river dolphins, and yes, in the same river with alligators, caimans and piranhas, yep a little dodgy!

From the jungle, we went to Copacabana, which is a little city on the edge of Lake Titicaca, and enjoyed La Isla del Sol. We took a boat to this little Island and hiked the heck out of it! After a three hour relaxing boar ride, on the largest high altitude lake in the world, we hiked to some ruins of the Incas which is where the Inca culture was supposedly born. The hike was intensive, yet well worth it, up and down the spine of the island. That night we slept hostel with a great view to the gigantic lake!

Next up, Peru! We crossed the border, hassle free, wohooo! Cuzco, Peru, also the capital of the Incas, was our home for the next week. The students had a few free days, which was nice for Steph and I to relax, relaxing we did. The first night in Cuzco we went all out! I am talking dancing on top of the bar all out! The next day I met up with Jose, my Machu Pichu guide from last year whom I became friends with, it was great to see him again! We did all of the planning and coordinating for the Machu Pichu hike, which yes, I co-guided with Jose!

The Salkantai Machu Pichu hike! Yes, once again I busted my butt to get to the top of Machu Pichu on this 5 day intensive hike! Day one, up hill climb on the foothills of the Salkantia mountain pass, I was not feeling so great, stomach wise, oh no! That night at base camp, the coldest night of them all, I was miserable! I fell asleep shivering in my sleeping bag with a roll of toilet paper in hand L Day two, awful! I woke up feeling as if a knife were stabbing me in my stomach, no way was I going to hike a super steep uphill hell of 7hrs, and then a downhill hike of 6! I made it to the top of the pass with the help of a horse! Yep, I was miserable but made it! Hahha Day three, I was feeling much better! It may have been due to the offerings we gave to the Paccha Mama, mother earth, at the top of the Salkantai mountain pass. Day three consisted of hiking up and down the jungle, following the river bead. We got to pick avocadoes, coffee beans, bananas, and other exotic fruits. Even better, that night was spent soaking our soar muscles in the natural host springs, ahhhhhhhh Day four, feeling even better! A morning jungle hike and afternoon rail way path lead us to Augas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Pichu. We arrived at Aguas Calientes, burnt out and ready to celebrate! We all invested in a bottle of beer and peanuts! It was a big accomplishment for us to all arrive healthy and happy, a few other students, 5 to be exact also got a stomach bug, thank goodness not as bad as mine, also two girls have asthma, so it was abig deal for them all to make it, good work! That night we got to sleep in beds, wohoo! Good thing, because the early wake up call, 4:00am, the next day was rough!

Day 5, Machu Pichu. After our last hearty breakfast, we hiked up the side of mountain which Machu Pichu is located on top of. Basically it was 40 minutes on the stair stepper; yep I beat my time of 1hr from last year! Arriving at the top, for the 2nd time was thrilling, even better was the wide open eyes of all the students! Jose, our guide, lead us through the winding ruins explaining every bit! What a thrilling 5 days!

5 DAYS OF ROUGHING IT DESERVED SOME RELAXATION

Ica was our stop, an oasis town surrounded by sand dunes. We all relaxed at the sides of the pool, soaking up the sun, reflecting on the hike, and I can't forget the cannon ball competition between the boys! We went on a dune buggy ride, sand boarding, and played king out the mountain atop the sand dunes.

Lima, Peru, the last destination for the students. After a 5 hr bus ride, which is NOTHING, we arrived to the big city. We sent the students in taxis to the hostel, but apparently the directions we gave the taxi drivers weren't the best! The four taxis had a hell of a time making it to our hostel; ours had to ask policemen on the corners and random strangers, FINALLY we arrived, and the students did as well, 15 minutes later. Lima was filled with nights at the bar, tons of food, jazz shows, shopping, last minute work for Steph and I, and family dinners at our hostel. Our last meal was spent at a local Peruvian restaurant where we indulging in many typical plates, cebiche, yucca frita, chicha beer, and a chocolate cake! After dinner steph and I ran to a bakery, bought an entire chocolate cake, for 12 soles, wohooo 5 dollars, and very carefully brought it back to the restaurant, it had no cover. Over dinner, we all recapped the trip, talked about our dreams and goals, and said our goodbyes! What an amazing group of people!

And that is the end of phase one of my trip!

Up next, northern Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia!

May (5-31-08)

Buenas Noches!I am reporting to you all from La Paz Bolivia. The past few weeks have been, well, EXTREME, that is what the students like to call all of the activities we do.Iguazu falls was, once again, breathtaking! The best part for me, was seeing the eyes of the students open as wide as they could, as they all stood in front of the falls in pure amazement! after a day at the falls we volunteered with a native community in Northern Argentina called, The Guarani. We traveled 3 hrs to an EXTREMELY remote area, no running water, hardly any electricity, ect. We arrived and as the van pulled into the village children came up running and waving their arms with gigantic smiles on their dirty faces We spent the day preparing nutritious food for the village. This entailed, carrying buckets of water from the stream, purifying the water with sheets, making a version of egg salad salad, we cracked 350 eggs, ahhh, making chipas, a traditional fried flat bread, juice, milk, and bread. That day, we fed a village. The kids came running when they heard the lunch bell ring, this would be the only healthy meal they receive this month. We served the kids, then the teenagers, then the nursing ursing mothers, the mothers, the elders and then the men. We all connected with the kids, and they craved attention, they were so dirty, their clothes were falling off, however, the smiles they produced let us know they were leading a happy life. It is satisfying to say that we fed a village!From Iguazu we took a bus, for 29hrs, to Salta, Argentina. Salta is a very arid region of Argentina that specializes in the best Émpanadas, comparable to hot pockets, in the country. In salta, we did some Extreme activities. Some of the students went bungee jumping off of a bridge, and the next day we all went river rafting down the Juramiento river, they were class lll rapids. We all got wet, no one fell out of the boat, and the scenery was the best. As we went down the river the guides pointed out dinosaur foot prints, coral form centuries ago, and random species of animals. We all got our geology lesson for the day. After rafting we ´zip -lined across the river. From one wall of the river to the other we flew, we were attached by a harness to a cable our means of stopping, gloves! We crossed the river on 4 zip lines. the faces of some of the students were the best, they were terrifies, yet by the last zip-line they all wanted more!After Salta, we crossed the Chilean boarder. After a 14 hor bus ride, which is nothing! we crossed the Andes mountain range and arrives in San Pedro de Atacama, the driest desert in South America. We spent a night there and then headed to Bolivia. When we arrived at the Bolivian boarder, the control asked for our VISAS, WHAT!!! Last year I didn´t need a visa! SO... the boarder control took out passports, they gave them back to us in Uyuni after we payed 100 dollars, and a small late fee! WOW! Well, After hearing about the VIsa situation, our tour guide, Sonia, met us at the border. She is a cute, short, typical Bolivian. She guided us along the 3 day desert-salt flat tour. We made the trip in 4by4 Jeeps. Our backpacks were tossed on top, and we all crammed in the trucks! The first day we passed by many lagoons with flamencos, took a bath in host springs, and all experienced altitude sickness. This was not fun! I had a cold, and with that the altitude got the best of me, let´s just say, good thing a plastic bag was near by. That night the temp droped to 0F, thank goodness for my down sleeping bag!The next morning we all woke up with a crazy headache! Our guide Sonia,. provided us all with an herbal remedy, coca leaf tea! The next few days we made our way up, down , and around sand dunes. THe last day was spent in the salt flats of Uyuni. This wonder, consists of miles and miles of SALT flats, mountains surrounding the salt, and an island of cactus in the middle. I am now in La Paz, trying to get rid of my sniffles.

May (5-15-08)

Buenos dias!

I have officially been in Buenos Aires, Argentina for a week! How exciting, and let me tell you, a lot has happened!

I arrived in BsAs, and Ezequiel´s aunt and uncle picked me up from the airport, Cristina, the aunt, was jumping with joy, it had been two years since I had seen them. We arrived at their home, where I stayed for the next three days, and toasted with Chapman.

I had a great time with his family, we made sushi, YUM!, went to El Tigre, a delta river, and had a typical Argentine lunch, Asado, lots of wine, salad, and bread.

After a weekend filled with fun, work began. I moved from their house, which is further away from the city, to the center of the city with Laura, the girl whom I lived with two years ago when I taught English in BsAs. I visited all of the families with would be hosting my students, that was taxing! and tied up a few loose ends.

The students arrived on Thursday, safe and sound. Stephanie, my co-guide, and Vanessa, the Spanish professor, made sure they arrived safely.

That day we explored the capital and the port, went to a milonga, a place where people dance tango, and ate traditional food.
Yesterday we toured ´ La Boca´ and did some more taste testing. Alfajores, empanadas, and some Quilmes beer. That night all of the students found out what the night life in BsAs is like! We went to a Boliche, club, and danced the night away until 5 in the morning!

Today all of the students moved in with their host families, so I will have some time to myself, nice nice!

It has been loads of fun connecting again with old friends, visiting familiar places, and of course, eating tons of ´dulce de leche´!

Next stop is Iguazu Falls!

May (5-8-08)

As most of you know, I have recently embarked on a grand journey, (some of you may not, so let me explain what I will be doing for the next year and how I got there). After traveling to south America many times I was approached by a former professor of mine, Dave Wright. He is the founder of a program called Pacific Challenge that specializes in travel study trips to Australia and New Zealand, check them out at: http://www.pacificchallenge.org/. Dave wanted to establish a travel study trip in south America, and approached me to head it up. Over the past year I have been working to create, coordinate, market and get this trip to South America underway. At the moment Pacific Challenge South America has 11 college students, one professor one guide, and myself, traveling to South America for the first trip. I arrive in Buenos Aires May 10th and the rest of the crew arrives the 15th. We begin the trip in Buenos Aires, Argentina, head to Iguazu falls, over to salta, cross the Andes, drive through the desert, fly to the jungle, hike Machu Pichu, surf some sand dunes as well as some waves, and then the students depart from Lima, Peru back to MN June 24th. As for me, well I plan to stay in South/Central America until December. I don't know what exactly I will be doing, but let me tell you, it will feel amazing to be as free as a bird! After my travels end in December, I will be back home for Christmas with the family. From there I plan to co-guide the Pacific Challenge Australia New Zealand trip in January, February, and March. April, apply for teaching positions at a Spanish Language Immersion School in Minnesota, and then if enough students sign up for the Pacific Challenge South America 2009 trip, I am back to South America for a few monthshen in July, I being what most people refer to as an 'adult life' yep, getting a place, starting my teaching job, and living la vida loca! We'll wait and see how everything pans out.

At the moment I am in Miami FL, visiting Ezequiel, my boyfriend, his dad, and grandmother, who is visiting from Cordoba, Argentina, before I depart for this travel study trip and then some. If anyone feels the urge to visit me this fall, airfare to Central America/Bogota, Colombia is not too bad! Think about it!

www.mytb.org/PacificChallenge08 is the address to a blog that the trip participants will be adding to. Feel free to visit and make comments!