Sì, estoy viajando...solita! ¿Y a ti que te importa?

I´ve been waiting to use that phrase for awhile now...¨Y a ti que te importa?¨ It means basically, ¨What´s it to you?¨ I can´t count how many times I´ve heard this word clouded in surprise...¨Solita?¨ Single? Yes, I´m single. I´ve been single for I don´t know how long now. Why is it that we´re in the 21st century and people still seem shocked when I say that I´m traveling by myself? I actually enjoy traveling by myself. I can make my own rules, go where I want to go, stay where and when I want to stay, I can...well, I´m now sounding like I´m a street pup. Anyway, I live by my own rules.

So when I´m tired of a place or like something especially well; I can decide to move on down along the road or I can decide to stay. Today, I decided to move on along the road. I´m heading to Puerto Natales tonight on a bus. I have enjoyed my time in Punta Arenas though. I went to see the penguins this morning. And I visited the Alice in Wonderland type cemetary here while it was open. I shared the rest of my bottle of Chardonnay with some women sitting next to me at lunch. I helped a guy from Colorado ask about his hat that he had left at the restaurant four days before. I´ve had a busy day.

The penguins first, and probably because the rest of the stories really aren´t that interesting. We took off at 8:00 and after mysteriously meeting up with my trip-mates we headed on to Otway Sound to see the penguins. It reminded me of my almost kidnapping story in Arequipa. Some taxi-driver showed up and asked them if they were going to see the penguins. They said yes, so off they went, in the wrong taxi. I´m still not sure how in the heck we found them...I thought about asking but knew I wouldn´t get a straight answer so I left it alone. Miraculously we caught up to the taxi on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere. Seriously...I didn´t fall off the turnip truck last night. Anyway, the five of us, including the driver and the guide took off to the penguin place after an odd start.

The penguins were incredibly cute and had to be incredibly cold as the wind was blowing probably 30 miles and hour or better. At times it would be raining, then it would turn to snow. It is an absolutely beautiful place but cold. The strange thing is that it really isn´t all THAT cold. It´s windy but I just had on a thick pair of pants and my windbreaker jacket with a fleece pullover under it and the only things that were uncomfortably cold were my fingers (I had forgotten my gloves...very smart Holmes!). There are around 10,000 penguins at the location we visited compared to 150,000 some odd at the other spot.

They were all cute though and very into their daily activities. There were some digging holes, some waddling around (semi-lost looking), some hanging out at the beach looking at the frigid water, some in the frigid water taking a bath and playing with their rubber duckies (okay, I didn´t really see any but I´m sure they have bath toys). They looked cold though. There was one bigger penguin talking a lot and when he did, everyone seemed to listen and head that way. It was kind of like a preacher with all his disciples....very cute. Apparently his sermon wasn´t that good because it didn´t take long for the crowd to disburse. I think he might have been trying to convince them to enter the frigid water. They didn´t fall off the turnip truck last night either.

I would give you more interesting facts about penguins but I don´t think you really care. I took some video but of course I don´t have the correct cable out of the 20 that I brought with me so you´ll have to wait for the trip recap sometime next year. It´s amazing I have two backpacks, one big one and one small one and in total I´m probably carrying close to 20 kilos. I don´t really even have that much stuff with me. I think it´s my hiking boots. Too bad I can´t ditch them somewhere to lighten the load. Something tells me I´m gonna need them on down the road though. But in all that stuff that I´m carting around I don´t have the right cable...figures.

Anyway, I´m gonna go try to find some lunch then catch my bus. Up next...Torres del Paine. Not sure how long I´ll be able to stay there. Hopefully at least a couple of days. Merry Christmas all!

What´d you do with the pit?...I hid it.

In the past week, or two weeks perhaps, more funny things have happened that I can count on my little fingers. Since I last wrote to you from Valparaíso, I´ve been to Viña del Mar (which is right outside of Valparaíso, another beach community), I went to Mendoza, met the Sarfatis back in Santiago for a few days, and am now about to leave Puerto Montt for penguins in Punta Arena.

Fortunately, I´m not as jaded as I was the last time I wrote. I´m doing much better now. And am ready to tell you about some of fun and not-so-life threatening adventures. After leaving Valparaíso last Monday, I found a bus headed to Mendoza, Argentina. Their motto? ¨Tierra de sol y vino¨...Land of sun and wine. I figured you´d like that one. I certainly did.

I found a pretty cool hostel called Break Point where I met some really neat people...Joe (the plumber) from Virginia, Victoria (from Sweden...and yes, she had blonde hair and blue eyes), and Youandi and Meryn (from Holland). Joe and I ended up taking a somewhat dangerous bike and wine tour. Everyone always says never to drink and drive but I´ve never heard anything about drinking and biking. It really should be added to the list. After the third stop I was feeling pretty good.

The first stop was a chocolateria, which was where I thought I was going to get some treats. And I did, it just happened to be chocolate liquor, which was about 19% alcohol. I thought I was going to be able to blow flames! It´s a good thing I didn´t try their 80 proof absinthe made from I don´t remember what. That would have laid me out on the floor right there. Needless to say, I was ready for the probably 10 mile bike ride to the winery at the end of the road after that. It was a beautiful day, there was a light breeze, the sun was shining, a few clouds in an all blue sky. I was enjoying life...until the trucks started whizzing by at light speed.

It said the in the book that it was a beautiful ride, except for one thing...the busy road, with no shoulder. Now, on my bike at home, which I haven´t ridden in probably three years, we´re friends but we´re not one. My bike has no problem throwing me at any moment. Okay, maybe it´s not my bike, maybe it´s me but still, the end result is the same, I end up on the ground. I didn´t have any crashes on my one-speeder fortunately. I could have used another gear going up those little hills however. It was amusing though and I did really love the ride when the traffic slowed a little and I could thoroughly enjoy the Cottonwood tree lined road.

As for the wine (with the exception of the chocolate stuff), it was incredible. We technically only drank at two bogedas (wineries) but between the two, had between five and six glasses of wine each. I´ve decided that if you pay for your tasting, you get a full glass, not just the traditional sip. I know they put those little spitton thingys there for a reason. My friend Cary used to call throwing out alcohol ¨alcohol abuse¨ so in order not to be an abuser of alcohol, I drank all of mine, except for the last glass which Joe helped me out on. I told him if he wanted to bike back with me, he´d have to help.

Besides having tons of vinyards in Mendoza for grapes such as Malbec (the most popular in the region), they also have Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Bonarda, among others. They also produce a considerable amount of olive oil. (I´m a fan of the trees, which when in the sunlight have leaves that look like they´re made of silver.) Mendoza is located in the desert and is a great place to grow wine. Apparently, the Malbec grape came from France where it wasn´t growing very well and because of the sunny and dry conditions, it thrived here. I went to five bogedas in total ranging from 70,000 bottles a year to 30,000,000. That´s a lot of wine. I learned how they make it (I didn´t realize that they also age wine in bottles as well as in barrels), how to tell if it´s good or not when you swirl it in the glass, and of course, it didn´t take me too long to figure out how to drink it. Patagonia is another popular region for a different type of wine so you can only imagine how much fun I´m going to have this week. :o)

After my wine country tours, I took a bus back to Santiago, which got stuck at the border for over three hours, which meant I was late for meeting the Sarfatis. I could only imagine how freaked out they were when they got there and couldn´t find me and couldn´t call me because my cell phone was dead. While I was trying to find a phone to call them, I ended up running right into them...literally. Apparently, they had gotten hung up in the airport with filling out their paperwork. We got them settled into their hotel and after eating breakfast I headed to my hotel to get settled back in for a few days.

We originally had plans to meet up at 1:00 that afternoon and finally about 4:30 they wandered into the lobby of my hotel...horror story in hand. After countless wrong turns in a taxi, wandering the streets of Santiago on foot, and asking countless strangers and policemen for assistance, they finally found my hotel. Fortunately, we were at least able to giggle about it a little. We then took off to visit the largest church in Santiago, see the local market, and have dinner. The next day we planned to meet at 9:30 am outside the Palace to watch the changing of the guard.

The changing of the guard was...well, not happenin´. How is it that you can travel thousands of miles to see something and then it doesn´t happen? So, we took a picture in front of the palace and headed off for the famous outdoor market. I´ll have to admit, it was pretty impressive, full with fresh fruits and vegetables, all kinds of meats, including pigs´ hearts, anything that you would ever want to buy and some things you wouldn´t care to. I also found some herbs on the street that were for a variety of illnesses, one even said it cured impotence. Interesting.

There really isn´t a whole lot to do in Santiago besides museums so we opted for the pool. When I got there, Helen and Peter both told me they had gotten scolded for having food at the pool (pastries, strawberries, and apricots) so Helen had moved the food up to a shaded area above the pool. Dr. Sarfatis was having fun while swimming and Helen and I were playing the part of Greek Goddesses. It wasn´t long and Peter said, ¨Helen, throw me an apricot.¨ So, she dropped one down to him. After awhile she said, ¨What´d you do with the pit?¨ And he, in his funny Greek accent answered, ¨I hid it.¨ I couldn´t help but laugh as it sounded like something a 5 year old would do...if you´re not smiling, then you had to be there.

That night, we decided to meet for dinner. I couldn´t get a reservation for the restaurant my uncle´s friend had recommended so the hotel the Sarfatis were staying at suggested one. When he called for a reservation they said they didn´t think it was possible, then, okay, sure, table for 4 at 8:15. My friend, Anton, whom I met in Cusco, had come to Santiago for the day in route to Mendoza, so I invited him to join us for dinner. It´s amazing what you need a reservation for these days. Apparently in Santiago, you need a reservation for a buffet. You can´t imagine the looks of surprise on our faces when the waiter said there wasn´t a menu, only a buffet. We went ahead and ate there. There is a reason the guidebook says the food in Chile isn´t all that much. A Chilean told me the other day he though it was similar to American food...and he didn´t mean that as a compliment.

Anton had to catch a 10:30 bus to Mendoza so he left a little earlier than we did. So when I got to my room and saw his bag and jacket still sitting there I was a little surprised. I thought maybe the desk people wouldn´t let him up. So I went to check. No, he hadn´t been there. That´s strange. So I went back up to my room to wait. About 5 minutes later there was a knock on my door and a frantic Anton was standing in front of me. Just in case the bus was late (which is frequent here) we took off for the station, via the Metro. When we got there, nada. The Metro was closed and we already knew a taxi was out of the question since a football game had just finished...the streets were crazy. So much for trying that one. All I could offer as a consolation was good company and a bed for the night. So, we stayed up talking about great 80´s bands the rest of the night. I got an email from him yesterday and he had made it to Mendoza and was getting ready to leave for a wine tour.

Puerto Montt is another port town. Thankfully I haven´t had the same luck as in Valparaíso. I went hiking Volcano Osorno yesterday. Even though I was the only one on the tour, I still had a good time and I´ll have to say that my guide was really good at taking my picture. It was incredibly cloudy though so I wasn´t able to see the crater. It was a little rainy out but generally a good day. I got some amazing photos of the lake though when the sun started to come out from behind the clouds. Today, I´m heading for Punta Arena for probably the next day or two, then I´ll be off to Puerto Natales. I´m not sure if I´ll make it down to Tierra del Fuego or not. I might head north to El Calafate in Argentina. The book says that if you´ve seen Torres del Paine and The Perito Moreno Glacier then you´re not going to see anything except more of the same.

Valparaiso...Not the City for Me

Well, I made it on a bus today to the coastal city of Valparaiso. Although it maybe charming when the sun is out, I´m thinking that this isn´t the place for me. I did happen to find a very cute bed and breakfast, that is half price if you pay in pesos as opposed to dollars. Go figure.

It has a wonderful view and my cute little room with a bathroom across the hall reminds me of my room at my parents´house with angled walls. My room, unlike this one, doesn´t overlook the bay which is pretty spectacular. I was writing in my journal before lunch, while I was thinking that I was kind of diggin´this place, talking about how great everything was and of course, it doesn´t take much to change your mind, which is exactly what happened with me.

I´m actually on my way back from Pablo Neruda´s house, the famous poet. Now that was something spectacular in and of itself as well. He had delusions of being a sailor given the decor of his house but apparently didn´t really care for the sea. He accomplished a variety of things during his lifetime, a Senator, a Communist, an artist and designer, a collector of odd art (hot air balloon plates), and of course a Nobel Prize winning poet.

It was on my way back from his house that I decided that this wasn´t the place for me. I waited for a bit outside the museum to see if a cab would pass and when none did, I thought, well, at least it´s not uphill. So I took off on foot. Of course, Chile is like Peru and they are definitely not in short supply of street dogs either so as I was walking I was watching them sleep, wander around sniffing for food, or playing together, when the road for cars I was walking on suddenly ended and became a pedestrian street. This wasn´t a problem until I rounded the corner to see 5 guys all dress in black, hanging out. Not where I wanted to be. So I quickly sort of ducked down and went up the way I came thinking, ¨I´ll find another way down.¨

I´m sure the guy who was standing on his balcony when I walked by the first time thought I was a nut when I came walking back up the street. I took another pedestrian road (as that was my only choice) and started to say a prayer, ¨Please don´t let this be the same...Great! There they are. This is not good.¨ I said, ¨Hello. What´s up?¨They said hello as well. You always hear about people saying the hair was standing straight up on their spine. Well, I didn´t stop to ask them if they could see it but when one guy touched my shoulder when I passed and made a not-so-nice comment, it was all I could do to keep walking at the same pace until I rounded the corner where I can promise you I certainly picked up the pace (and I´m not talking salsa here folks).

Besides the time when I might have been kidnapped in Arequipa, this is the first time I have felt threatened or at least had a really bad feeling. I´m alive though and very thankful that I don´t have anything other than a close call to type about. Tomorrow morning after breakfast I´m going to catch the train to Viña del Mar where hopefully it will be little more my style. Maybe it´s because I was expecting a little more based off of what I read in my book but I´m a little disappointed with this city. The nice thing is, is that I can call my own shots and when I´m done, I can be done. And I´m done, except for stopping at the store I saw as I left my hotel to buy a bottle of wine which I plan on drinking while I read poems this evening.

Crossing the Border at Midnight

I had originally planned to cross the border this morning but last night when I arrived in Tacna, one of the southern most cities in Peru, I ran into two ladies who were headed that way so I jumped in the taxi with them. Yes, this is how you actually travel in South America...it´s called collectivo. Basically, you find some people who are going the same way you are and you pitch in to pay for the taxi.

Crossing the border was much easier than I expected. Especially with my visa that I´m pretty sure had expired two days prior. The man didn´t say anything to me about it. He only asked when I planned to return to Peru. My answer...January. So, that was it. They checked my luggage for illegal substances and I am now free to venture around Chile.

The ladies I was with found me a hotel which was very nice of them since my guide book doesn´t have a single page about Arica. I got up this morning and after walking for over an hour, finally found an ATM so I could get some Chilean Pesos. After that, I was able to pay for a taxi to head to El Centro to find a travel agency. I now have in my possession a plane ticket to Santiago. Once I get there I have NO, count ém NO plans. I´ll either head to Buenos Aires, Mendoza, or Tierra del Fuego, basically Patagonia, and the southernmost tip of Chile. It just depends on what I feel like.

So far, I´m liking Chile. I´m not quite sure what to think of a plane ticket that costs just over $100,000 pesos. And it´s pretty odd when a bottle of water costs you $400 pesos. Basically it´s the same as 300 soles for the plane ticket and 50 centavos for the water. It sure does sound scary though. I´ve wandered the streets for awhile, found a local fish market...so cool! And of course, found an internet place where for less than 25 cents I can play on the internet for an hour. Speaking of, my time´s almost up and I need to find some lunch.

If you´re counting...11 days until Christmas! Chau!

A Few Reflections & Lessons Learned From Life So Far in Perú

It’s hard, really hard to believe that today I’ve actually been living here for three months. In that time I’ve done a lot of things, other than what the typical traveler does. For all intensive purposes I really haven’t traveled all that much. Two trips in three months while living in a foreign country isn’t much, at least it seems that way right now. As I was taking my last walk home from school yesterday afternoon, I was reminiscing about my time here. I’ve had some really fun moments, some really stupid ones, a few sad ones, and of course, the out-of-this-world incredibly funny ones.

I received my certificate/diploma yesterday from CEICA, the Spanish school that I’ve been attending…220 hours. That’s a lot of Spanish for someone who is technically on “vacation”. Heck! That’s a lot of Spanish for someone not on vacation. In 220 hours, I’ve learned all 16 verb tenses, I’ve learned countless phrases, an incredible number of words including adjectives, adverbs, verbs, nouns, pronouns, etc., I’ve learned tongue twisters designed to help people like me trill r’s (which I can most definitely do now), and I’ve learned how to properly construct complicated and not so complicated sentences. I can write in Spanish, I can listen to someone speak Spanish and generally understand everything that they’re saying, and best of all, I can speak Spanish. I can speak Spanish so well that for the past two and half months I haven’t really needed to use English at all, except to discover a new word or phrase, clarify something in school, or explain to someone in English what someone just said in Spanish. How cool is that!?!

So, what else have I been thinking about besides all my Spanish? Well, I’ve definitely run the gauntlet here as far as minor health problems (most of which I won’t write about…you’re welcome). I’ve learned a few things about taking the bus, local city buses and long distance buses; I’ve learned some tips for public bathrooms, and several other things that fortunately didn’t cost me my life.

Well, because I’m all into education and learning from someone else’s life or as some might say, mistakes, here are some specifics on the things I’ve learned thus far. Hopefully, my learning experiences in the near future as I travel around the rest of South America will also turn out to be things I can laugh about as they’re happening or shortly thereafter.

· My first lesson: Street dog have coodies. My little friend Guizi, who is absolutely adorable and sweet, is also the one who I’m pretty sure, is to blame for the hives I’ve had the past 1.5 months. I read up on it and it is possible for dogs to have bed bugs (which is the nice name for these nasty little creatures that I know I’m allergic to) and although you can never be positive about these things, it’s pretty likely that he’s the origin for my itching, which leads me to my second lesson learned. (Oh! Before I forget, a Guizi update: The little guy is doing incredibly well, he loves his family and they love him. He hasn’t had any accidents in the house…ever. Everyone is impressed with him…another perfect match!)

· Lesson #2: It’s possible to get a medical license from the Goodwill. This might sound a little strange but I’m pretty sure not all doctors here went to medical school. This of course is a bit of a generalization since I’ve only had experiences with two doctors and being a doctor’s daughter I understand that it is a little difficult to diagnose the origin of a strange rash that is sometimes there and sometimes not. But the last thing I want to hear is something I already know. “You have a very strong allergic reaction.” Well, duh. Thank you. How much do I owe? The first doctor I went to gave me some medicine that we commonly use in the States on cows and horses and is designed to kill parasites. Apparently, I’m not a parasite, as I’m still living and I’m sure if I did have any, it killed ‘em dead. It’s taken awhile but I finally don’t itch all the time although I do end up with red splotches from time to time. I can say one thing. A doctor’s appointment is cheap here. An office visit is between 50 and 70 soles which translates to $15 to $21 American. But doesn’t the saying go…you get what you pay for???

· Lesson #3 (is actually three-in-one): The bathroom. Part #1: Always bring your own toilet paper. Part #2: If using your own toilet paper, or someone else’s, if you have a friend, always put it in the trash can. I can say from experience it only takes about 5 weeks to really get the hang of that. Part #3: If you can’t see markings on the bathroom door (i.e. a picture of a little girl, the words: damas, chicas, hombres, men, women, etc.) it’s probably best to wait to see which door someone else picks, and I speak from experience when I say this. While hiking the Inca trail we stopped for lunch at a common area. There was a bathroom there, which I went in search of, after our lunch. When I arrived, I looked and looked and couldn’t see any identifying markings, although I did notice that there were two entrances. Finally, I peeked in one, thinking surely someone will be in there, and no one. So, I thought, it’s probably one of those unisex bathrooms, I’m on the Inca trail where generally people use the “eco-toilet” so I picked a door and went in. When I came out, there couldn’t have been more boys in the bathroom. I just kept my head down and walked as fast as I could towards the door. As always in these cases, there is always someone there to point out your error and for me, it was a Canadian, who followed me out of the bathroom while loudly proclaiming “You DO know you were in the BOY’s bathroom, right???” Ugh. Yes. Thank you.

· Lesson #4: Always double, triple, quadruple check the time of your departure. Now, at this point you might be thinking I’m talking about reconfirming the time of the departure for changes with the airline, as it’s common for them to change departure times with little or no notice. But alas! I’m simply talking about looking at the departure time on your ticket. It’s also helpful to really know military time here. (i.e. 20:00 is 8:00 pm, 22:00 is 10:00 pm, that sort of thing.) When I purchased my bus ticket for Cusco (my Machu Picchu trip two weeks ago) the lady at the counter told me not once but three times I needed to be at the terminal by diez, which is 10:00 for a diez y media bus, which is 10:30. She even said it once by writing it again on my ticket. What I failed to notice is that she wrote 20:00 which is most definitely NOT 10:00 pm. After an interrogation session about the departure time of my bus from Juana, I finally decided to go search for my ticket to prove to her I was right about the departure time. Oh no…20:00…there’s 24 hours in a day…so 20 can’t mean 10:00, oh holy heck! It’s 8:00. I’ve missed my freaking bus! Fortunately, while everyone else was panicking, I was able to laugh hysterically as it was my own stupidity for not looking at the ticket before 8:35 the night it was scheduled to leave. By the way, bus tickets are non-refundable but fortunately are cheap. My solution to the problem? I bought a rather cheap plane ticket the next morning to Cusco and arrived only a few hours before I was originally supposed to get there.

· Lesson #5: Use Facebook. If you’re not already using it and you’re thinking of traveling, forget Myspace. I may have met a few people who don’t use Facebook but I haven’t met any who use Myspace. It’s a great way to keep up with people you’ve met and who more than likely you’ll see again along your travels. I saw yesterday that a guy I ended up traveling with to Puno and Lake Titicaca took a picture with a girl from my Inca Trail group in La Paz, Bolivia. How wild is that?!? If you’re completely repulsed by online tools for keeping up with your new friends. Then at least make sure you get their email address…these are people who live in prospective places to visit in the future after all…plus, incredible people!

· Lesson #6: Always stay within sight of at least one member of your group…at least you’ll end up lost together. If you read my Inca Trail blog post then you already know that I got lost on the Inca Trail, which I’m sure most of you (including me) thought was impossible since generally speaking there’s only one way in and one way out. I know…leave it to me. If it can happen, it will. I can say that if you are lost, sometimes it’s helpful NOT to know that you’re lost. You’ll enjoy it more. So, just try to remain oblivious. Hopefully you’ll be in a group of people who like you and actually notice that you’re missing. And if you’re really nice, then they’ll send someone looking for you. Brent is my hero! I probably would have made it to Machu Picchu a day early if it hadn’t been for him.

· Lesson #7: Always buy souvenirs. Not I’m not talking about the chincy souvenirs like cheap little key chains (there are some nice ones out there) or well, there are a whole host of basically nasty things to choose from. My favorite things to buy in Perú? Of course, Baby Alpaca. I’ve definitely bought more than my fair share of this stuff, which here is incredibly cheap, authentic, and ooooohhh so soft, which include frazadas (blankets) and chalinas (scarves). I also happened to pick up a casaca (jacket), a chompa (sweater), and the most gorgeous abrigo (winter coat) you’ve ever seen in your life. I’ve also purchased several chullos (stocking caps), fundas de almohadas (pillow cases), and cuadros (paintings). While I have purchased several things for my family and friends who are making this trip possible for me, I also have purchased lots of things for my house so that when I am back home (wherever that may be) I will always remember this place, and the other places I’ve been. (I learned that trick from my Aunt Susan. It’s like being every place she’s been when you enter her house…it’s an amazing, peaceful, and energizing feeling that overcomes me every time. I love it.)

· Lesson #8: ALWAYS get a massage, at least one, while you’re here. I love massages but I hardly ever spring for one. Why? I guess because life gets a little too busy or maybe I’m a little too cheap. Every time I get one I always think, “Why don’t I do this more often?” Especially here. I got my first massage here probably three weeks ago. I had been incredibly sick for what seemed like an eternity, my head was killing me, and I needed to try something a little different. Renato had mentioned a massage and it sounded like a good idea to me. So, we took the bus to a little blue building. And yes, they had someone free. For the next hour, I enjoyed the most amazing, least expensive massage I’ve ever had in my life. What does a good massage cost in Perú? In Arequipa it’s 15 soles which translates to $5. Incredible! After Machu Picchu I treated myself to a massage in Cusco, not one but two…count ‘em 2 hours, complete with hot stones, for 30 soles…$10 bucks. Not that’s what Robert would call an entertainment value! Surely now you understand what I’m talkin’ about Holmes.

· Lesson #9: Buy a good camera and USE it!!! I bought a really nice camera this summer, a Canon PowerShot S5IS. I love it! Occasionally I wish I would have bought a more expensive, manual focus camera but this one is easy for other people to use (other than figuring out how to turn it on) and takes great pictures. Buy lots of memory cards and you’re in business. You can always delete them when you get home. Plus, take multiple pictures of the same view/scene with different settings. You’ll be surprised when you get back home. I’ve had a hard time choosing between the black and white of Machu Picchu and the color version. It’s the same thing but incredibly different looks.

· Lesson #10: NEVER color your hair in a foreign country. This is one of my most recent lessons. When I got here I had what I referred to as an irresponsible hair do, blonde on top and dark on the bottom. This week, I went from a blonde who needed to get her roots touched up to more of a dark redhead, to what I would consider florescent orange, to a cross between a strawberry blonde and a honey color with an orange tint…and now, although I’m not really happy…I’m a brunette. What a disaster! I don’t think I need to clarify this one anymore…the florescent orange speaks for itself I’m quite sure. I’m not laughing yet but I have high hopes for this adventure as well.

· Lesson #11: Always be open to exploration and new things. One of the things I love most about travel is the fact that you can be headed in one direction and then bam! You meet someone or a group of people and then you’re headed off in a different direction for a place that two minutes earlier you didn’t know existed. Nunca digas nunca, which translates into English directly…never say never. Keep your mind open and never be afraid to say “Hello!” (or here, Hola!”) to that stranger who sat down at the table next to you. Now of course, if he or she resembles Jack the Ripper or some other lunatic, I’m definitely not going to suggest you strike up a conversation; you always have to be smart. But if you can get out of your comfort zone just a little, you’ll be incredibly surprised at exactly how easy it is to make new friends. After seeing the pictures of the inside of a prison in La Paz that one of my newest friends took (where you BRIBE your way in) I’m wishing I hadn’t planned to come back to finish my last week of school this week. Of course, I love school but what an adventure! And yes, he did make it out…he’s enjoying amazing wine in Chile now.

· Lesson #12: Get off the beaten path and get to know the people. There are a lot of towns where you’ll run into lots of gringos. Cusco for instance. When you’re doing that and hanging out with tourist all the time you don’t really get to experience the culture. Now I’m not saying that everyone needs to find a local family to live with but find some places that aren’t in your guide book. To do this though, it is really helpful to know a little of the local language and here in Perú, that doesn’t always mean Spanish. It also means Quechua which is the native language of the Andean people. Fortunately, the majority of the people here speak both Quechua and Spanish. I’ve learned a few words in Quechua since I’ve been here but not enough to have a conversation with anyone. The non-beaten path also includes trying some of the local cuisine. I’ve written about trying guinea pig and cow’s hearts which definitely aren’t my new favorite dishes but they definitely are a part of my experience here and they make for interesting stories. My grandma Hetty always used to say “While in Rome, do as the Romans do.” And here, the phrase is “A donde fueras, laz lo que vieras.” Something I definitely and highly recommend.

Fortunately so far, my lessons learned contain las anécdotas…or funny stories that originated from not-so-funny circumstances. Besides my hair being jacked-up, I’ve been able to do more than a little chuckling at my mistakes which is the best thing to do when there’s something that doesn’t go your way. It’s much better than the alternative, and is likely to leave you in much better spirits and without a headache and runny nose.

So, what’s next for me? I’m leaving my computer and a few other things here in Arequipa and I’m taking the 4:00 bus (my ticket most definitely says 16:00) to Tacna which is really close to the Chilean border. I’m not exactly sure what my plans are between now and the 19th, when I’ve promised the Sarfatis I’ll be in Santiago to meet them at the airport for a few days of fun with old friends before they take off on a two week cruise. From there, I’ll either head south to Patagonia or perhaps take a flight up to the Galapagos Islands to meet some friends for Christmas. If I head south, then I’ll more than likely make a big loop counter-clockwise around South America and if I head back north after Santiago, then I’ll make a clockwise loop. It looks like even from the tip of South America it’s incredibly expensive to go to Antarctica so I’ll have to save that place for another adventure. A few places on my list…the beach for surfing, Patagonia, The Galapagos, Iguazú Falls between Argentina and Bolivia, the Amazon, and I haven’t really decided where else.

I’ll definitely try to keep up with my blog although now that I’m traveling it won’t be as easy as writing stories from my apartment with my own computer. But I’m sure it will happen. If you’re on Facebook, I’ve upload much more pictures there than on my blog so if you’re not already my “friend” find me there. That’s all for me this morning. I’ve got to head down for breakfast then start packing up my stuff. I’m looking at my room right now. Gee, I either brought a bunch of stuff with me or have bought a bunch of stuff since I’ve been here. I’m not sure which.

A Little Lost on the Inca Trail

Well, I'm not sure if it's ever happened before and in all actuality it sounds a little strange but I did get lost on the infamous Inca Trail. Well, maybe it's not soooo hard to believe, after all it wasn't discovered until 1911 and even then Hiram Bingham really didn't realize what he'd found.

So now you're probably wondering how I got lost. Well, to tell you the truth, I'm really not sure how it happened and until Brent found me, I didn't realize I was lost. Sure, I knew it had been awhile since I'd seen any of the 15 other people in my group but I was making all kinds of friends on the trail so I didn't feel all that lonely.

Anyway, back to the story...we were on our second day of hiking which just happened to be the toughest day, up and over Dead Woman's Pass. (Maybe someone did get lost before me after all. :o)) We had started walking at 6:30 that morning and had already had one little break and I was told then that the next stop would be in a little over an hour. And, just like any good hiker, I checked my watch, and headed off into the high jungle. At that point, I was thinking, "I've got an hour; then look for the little SAS guy with the flag..." It was a good thought.

At one point, I walked by an area where it looked like most every group had stopped to take a break and I looked around a bit but didn't see a SAS flag and I checked my handy-dandy wristwatch and it said I still had 30 minutes to go, so I continued on up the path. When my hour of walking came and went with no sign of a flag or anyone in my group I though, "Gee, I must be walking really slow today, how did everyone pass me?" So, I continued up the mountain, taking my time to stop and look around and stare in awe of the beautiful scenery, to take pictures, sip some water, and to chat with my fellow hikers. I was having a good day.

It wasn't until I reached the top of Dead Woman's Pass that I started thinking something was wrong. There were people around and I even saw some friendly faces. When you're traveling, you often are on the same tours and since I'd already done a city tour and a Sacred Valley tour I had already made several friends in the Cusco area. At one point, I looked down the path which led down the other side of the mountain and thought, "Maybe I'm not going the right direction but no, there are only two...the way I came from and this way, so this has to be it." But there weren't any people on the trail and from where I was standing; I could see a long, long, long way down the valley.

But still, there weren't any people. 200 hundred tourists walk the Inca trail every day and 300 porters. That's a lot of people on one trail or in my case, the direction in which I was looking...and still, no people. Strange. So, I ended up going back to the very top of the mountain and looking around some more trying to look like I knew what I was doing. But it was really windy and getting cold so I thought, "What the heck! They must have gotten way ahead of me somehow." So, I turned to go down the mountain.

I had only gotten about 20 or 30 feet down one of the steepest parts of the trail when I heard "Katie!!!" And I turned around to see my Australian friend and tent-mate, Brent. I quickly returned to the top and was about to ask him where everyone was when he asked "Where in the heck have you been? I've been practically running up the mountain looking for you!" "Oh! Holy heck!" was the only thing I could think to say. He then radioed back to Carlos and Alvaro to tell them that he had found me. Of course, when everyone else who was chilling at the top heard him say "I found her." That got everyone's attention. (A little like the time when the boy followed me out of the bathroom saying "You DO realize that you were in the BOYS bathroom, right?!?" Yes, thank you...I think I've got it now. --For the record, I didn't see a sign and there wasn't a soul in the bathroom when I went in.)

After being told by Carlos to make sure not to blow the next stop (in both Spanish and English), Brent and I headed off down the mountain in search of camp site #17 which was supposed to be an hour and a half hike down to the valley. Needless to say, we arrived much earlier than everyone else...almost two hours earlier. The one good thing about arriving early was that we got dibs on the tent for the night...J3 - not sure what the J stood for but the 3 was definitely for 3rd wheel which is how Brent and I referred to each other as we were the only two without a friend or significant other. By the way, J3 was perfect for us not just because of the name...it also didn't leak. We were blessed with four days of gorgeous sunshine and two nights of very heavy rain. Some of our group members weren't so lucky and all their belongings got soaked. Needless to say, we didn't give out our number and were on the verge of saying that our tent did leak so no one would try to steal it from us. Leakless tents are a hot commodity on rainy nights.

Of course, there is a reason why Machu Picchu is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It's because it really is this amazing, mystical, and spiritual place. The entire journey is that way really, Machu Picchu is just like the icing on the cake. The clouds that morning, just like the other other days, moved in and out mysteriously. It really is a test of patience because if you wait long enough the clouds will disappear leaving you with this spectacular view and just as quickly would hide what you had hiked almost 50 km to see, all in a matter of seconds.

We arrived at the Sun Gate early in the morning after hiking a little over 7 km through a dense rain forest. I know one thing, the people who take those amazing, 'I look like I'm a model' photos in front of Machu Picchu, didn't hike the 7 km to get there that morning. It was absolutely hot and humid and I looked nothing close to pretty. And in fact, no one did, and even worse, everyone stunk. Some worse than others (okay, a LOT worse than others) but I'm sure there wasn't one person who's going to look at that picture and say, "Gee, I was lookin' good that day."

After a three hour tour around Machu Picchu several of us took off for Wayna Picchu, the mountain that you always see in the famous photos. Maybe I should re-phrase that...it's the steep mountain that you always see in the famous photos. It was worth the 40 minute hike to the top though. What a view! On the way up, a guy said that you haven't actually experienced Wayna Picchu until you've been stung by a wasp, to which I though..."Ugh! That doesn't sound like fun at all." When we got to the top, I understood what he meant. There were hundreds of wasps, black ones. Brent and I did stay long enough to take some pictures and eat a Twix. And I'm happy to report that neither of us suffered anything other than sore muscles.

On the way down, we saw a guy who was clinging onto the mountain for dear life, body completely against the side of the mountain, body trembling, while his friends were trying to coax him down by saying "Only three more steps, you're almost there." The thing they forgot to tell him was that that was only to the next terrace. He still had who knows how many steps left to get to the bottom, as he was probably only 10 meters from the top. I have no idea how that guy (or if) he made it down on his own. It was incredibly steep, the entire way, up and down, with a narrow path and even narrower steps. But the view...it was definitely worth the trip.

A gentleman on the train back to Ollaytaytamba asked me if I would do it again. My answer, there are some things that you just shouldn't do again because they were so perfect the first time. And doing it again would probably ruin it. The weather was perfect, the people in my group (all Americans and Australians) were amazing people, the food was incredible, our guides were friendly, knowledgeable, and fun, and as I said, the entire place is absolutely mystical. So, no. I don't need to do it again, it couldn't have been more perfect just the way it was.