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!