big al's big wander

The Annapurna Circuit

2009-06-06T06:20:00.001-07:00

My final blog post, and written from the US! The Annapurna Circuit was a significant part of my final travel days, so I thought it important to include it. When I planned this trip, my main interests were to work my way through South America and to hike the Annapurna Circuit. I had been in Nepal, briefly, in 2003 and knew I wanted to come back specifically to do some trekking. This particular trek is the one everyone raves about. It is supposed to take between 2 and 3 weeks and passes through the Annapurnas - all in the 7000 meter range and goes up to a height of 5400 meters at the Thorong La pass. Well, I didn't want to do this on my own (too many trekkers "gone missing" and landslide stories), but didn't want to go on a guided trip either. How I hate the tour group! It ended up somewhere in the middle and was just perfect. I met Ash from the UK and we set out together, then met Edward from NYC on the bus, picked up Matias from Buenos Aires on Day 2 and then Day 4, a couple from Vancouver joined our group. Actually, since this was hut to hut trekking through tiny Tibetan villages it was so easy to meet other trekkers. We knew everyone on the trail by the end - lots of collections of solo travellers, sticking together to help each other out. Quite a nice community really. And you do need a supportive community out in the middle of nowhere with little access to ANYTHING! Some got altitude sickness, some got Giardia, lots had GI problems - water and food were a little sketchy and well, you name it. My medical advice was called in several times and I even required a little assistance myself (came close to helicoptering out when I came down with a flu-like illness and I fell behind my trekking partners.) Thankfully, everyone in our group made it.

The pass at 5416 meters (17,769 feet!) was tough, unlike anything I have experienced. The body feels so strange at high altitude - it is like an "out of body experience". I kept saying that I felt like I had been invaded by aliens.

A few steps, breathe, a few steps, breathe, wow those clouds looks so pretty, I just want to sit down and not get up. I've heard that from others - that is a common experience of mountain climbers, you just want to sit down and not continue, and you don't care. This definitely happened to me! I stopped to put on more clothes near the top and fell behind my friends. I looked at them and thought - oh, they are so far, I'll never catch up. That's ok, I'll just stay here. Weird how it works on the brain like that. Thankfully, I saw Michelle waving me on - we're at the top! (after many false summits). OK, I thought, I just have to make it that far, I can do it. Whew! We did the same for a Swiss couple coming behind us who were struggling. Everyone over the pass that day had a big dinner together that night. And we proceeded to celebrate for several days with big steak dinners. Amazing experience!

Meditating in McCleodganj

2009-06-06T02:59:00.003-07:00

McCleodganj - Dalai Lama's home in exile. It is also home to many people from around the world and travelers hoping to rub shoulders with His Holiness, or just capture some of the spiritual sense that surrounds him and his fellow Tibetan monks. So, while in McCleodganj, there are activity choices like: meditation classes, meditation retreats, massage, massage classes, sound massage (?), astrology, reiki, yoga (SO much YOGA) - yoga classes, yoga teacher training, yoga retreats... I actually met a group making a Documentary about travelers in India seeking spirituality. They all come to McCleodganj. Well, of course, I didn't want to get left on the sidelines! So, I signed up for a silent meditation retreat. There was a Vipassana meditation center which holds a 10 day silent retreat. But it sounded so intimidating - no reading, no journal writing, no listening to music on your ipod, no eye contact! I opted instead for the 3 day meditation retreat at Tushita.

And it was - great. When in our lives do we get to slow down like that? And it turns out, even for an extrovert like me, silence isn't so bad. It's funny, when you know you can't talk, and neither can anybody else, it takes the pressure off. Like, whew, kind of nice to not have to make small talk with this person right now. Also funny that you can connect with people in silence - of course eye contact helps, and I liked the thumbs up.

Meditating on your own is one thing, but there is something extraordinary about a roomful of people meditating together. Very powerful. And when we chanted together - Wow. Amazing experience, and I think I can take on the 10 day course now! Oh, one thing I forgot to mention about the retreat. This center was in the middle of the woods and surrounded by monkeys! They had caught on to the fact that there were humans hanging out at this place every day and had become very aggressive and creative in trying to get food. Needless to say it was a constant challenge to meditation practice. They ran around on the tin roof, whizzed past the windows and once even opened the door of the meditation room and grabbed a participant's purse to get her chocolate croissant!

GERD, Goats and Ganj: Medical Care in Himachal Pradesh

2009-06-06T02:59:00.001-07:00

Volunteering in Himachal Pradesh, Take Two. The medical side of the month was an interesting challenge in it's own right. HHE has been in existence for many years and is a tightly run operation. There are designated sites - rural villages that are remote to get to and, therefore, have limited access to medical care. Our entourage, a caravan of 8 loaded white 4x4 vehicles which looked, unfortunately, a bit like the UN, rolled in, set up our mobile medical unit and went to work. We did see a lot of patients and I think, I hope, we helped some of them. We were a bit limited in diagnostic tools, but did our best. We treated lots of GERD (acid reflux) and osteoarthritis. For complicated problems we gave our recommendations and hoped that the patient would follow up with an Indian specialist. One neurologic patient even was given some money to ensure they did, fingers crossed. The medical students were amazing - smart and dedicated and, well, we all had to be flexible and creative. Gyn and rectal exams behind makeshift curtains, delivering nebulizer treatments to asthma patients with precarious electrical outlet connections, running instruments back and forth to each other. We saw patients in a variety of settings. One memorable site had a baby goat rolling around in the medical tent while we were seeing patients and, at the very same site, marijuana was growing wild everywhere including in the medical tents! I wish I had a photo of that scene - patient care in the midst of goats and ganj! The patients were quite diverse despite being in the same region. Besides patients from traditional Indian mountain villages, we treated monks at two different monasteries and spent 3 days seeing Muslim goat herders from Kashmir. At all of the sites we were close to breathtaking views of the Himalayas!

From Sahoo down to Chamba: Life on the Road with HHE

2009-06-06T02:58:00.001-07:00

For the month of April I had signed up to volunteer with a US-based group, Himalayan Health Exchange, which provides medical care to rural villages in Himachal Pradesh, India. I was a bit apprehensive about returning to medicine (after 6 months away), teaching medical students and travelling with a big tour group after so many months on my own. Well, it turned out to be a great month, though not without it's challenges, of course!
The toughest adjustment did not turn out to be working in medicine again, or teaching students, it was being part of a group of 40 people and being told what to do all the time. So tough after 6 months of living the care-free life of a solo traveller! Not only were we travelling together, eating together, working together, but we lived in tents back to back. So much togetherness! So little privacy! Despite this harsh adjustment, they really were a great group of people to be "stuck" with. I enjoyed them all and we had (sometimes too much) fun. Bonfires every night, whisky always being passed around and, if we were lucky, we got a music performance by our drivers/interpreters which occasionally errupted into a dance party.

Our typical work day... Up early for hot water bucket baths in the shower tents (This was luxury camping!). Giant breakfast - our cooks were phenomenal. I think I gained 10 lbs this month, no exaggeration. Off to clinic - patient care all morning, lunch break, patient care all afternoon. Sometimes we finished early and had time for day hikes, jumping in the river, checking out the mountain village near our campsite, afternoon chai. Then dinner, sometimes a medical "lecture" and, of course, bonfire party time.
Well, even though we had drivers and cooks, who did nearly everything for us, we did have to do our own laundry in the river and put up with the joys of pit toilets. Can you imagine?

A couple of my favorite vignettes from the month...

The month did not have the most auspicious start... I arrived in Delhi, spent the night at the "assigned" hotel and got up early the next morning to meet the group. We hadn't actually had time to meet, but were hustled into jeeps to the train station. In the bustle of the train station, and trying to introduce ourselves to each other, some names were called out, mine included, and we were told to go to our assigned car. One of my "car mates" looked at the number on the train and on the ticket, which were the same, and was convinced that the train sitting there was our train. I was sceptical since it seemed like a local train and was early, but he said he was travelling in India for the last month, so I trusted him. The six of us got onto the train, stored our bags and, moments later, it started to move. We then see the rest of our group on the platform waving their arms indicating that this was not our train. The same guy who told us to get on the train now said we should jump off - now! But wait, guy that I just met who is telling me what to do, the train is moving! The other 3 women jumped and were successful. So, I went ahead, bags in hand. I was not so successful. In retrospect, I now know how NOT to jump off a moving train, that is for sure. But, since this was my first time... well, it's not as easy as it looks in the movies! First of all, don't jump with heavy bags in your hands. And second of all, don't just jump onto your feet as if the train were standing still - you have to run! I fell hard on my elbow and knee and was sure I broke my arm. Great, what a way to start off the month! I was able to move my arm later that day, though now I am convinced it was a hairline fracture as 2 months later I still have trouble leaning on it. We later found out that the guy who told us to jump has jumped on and off trains many times in his life and he said we were at the "upper limit" of possible. Nice!

One of my favorite moments of the trip was a day I didn't go to clinic because I wasn't feeling well. I was walking down the road and passed a group of women sitting by the side. They were road workers (all the heavy laborers here seem to be women) and were on their lunch break. They called me over to join them, and I did. We had a lovely time, laughing. It is amazing how you can communicate without language! I took some pictures and they made fun of the pictures of each other. It was all fun and games until the boss-man came over and told them to go back to work!

BA to BKK

2009-03-30T20:58:00.001-07:00

Buenos Aires to Bangkok. Wow. I had thought that the more you have travelled, the less you become affected by culture shock. Well, I was proved wrong by this cross-atlantic trip - really I had a tough time adjusting to being in Asia at first, and the transition, definitely more than if I just went back to the US, and I've even been to Bangkok before! I think part of it was that I wasn't ready to leave Latin America. I had gotten so used to the rhythm of life there, my Spanish was good enough to get what I needed - it had become so stress free! Ended with a bang in B.A. with visits by Ana, Molly and Todd and we had a busy week of sight-seeing. B.A. is such a vibrant, lively city - the steak, the markets, the art, the dancers, the steak! Don't think I was quite ready to leave. And suddenly, well not so suddenly - Sao Paulo, Dubai and layovers, I was in Bangkok. I was met by my friend Renee at the airport and spent some time catching up with her and her husband Rick and their daughter Raina. About 2 hours after arriving we headed out to dinner and who should come walking down the street as we're waiting for a taxi, but this big fella. Jet-lagged and delirious, I'm sure I blinked a few times. Didn't know how to handle that groping trunk of his either. Can you see how freaked out I am? The next few days I was a bit overwhelmed. Felt strange to be in a foreign country, yet they weren't speaking Spanish. Frustrating to suddenly not be able to communicate. And I couldn't recognize any street food either! But, I gradually adjusted, of course. Lots of nice relaxing down time at Rick and Renee's. Even picked up a bit more Thai, and have returned to one of my favorite travelling hobbies - adventurous street food eating!
Street market in B.A., including a pic of my cousin Deirdre and I. We ran into each other on the street. Unplanned, she lives in Chicago - crazy small world.
Art in B.A.:

Cemetery famous for Evita's grave and eating Steak at Desnivel...

Me and my new friend. My stylin' new hat and mode of transport, yes that is a Hello Kitty bike! These hot pink Barbie taxis are all the rage...

The ¨W¨

2009-03-07T03:38:00.001-08:00

The "W" trek in Torres del Paine, Patagonia. I'm pretty sure this is what people have in mind when they think about "Patagonia", big big mountains, glaciers and unpredictable weather (not cutesy swiss chocolate shops!) The trek starts near Puerto Natales, Chile, not far from the bottom of the continent. I couldn't get over how much that town reminded me of the flip side - AK! Anyway, in Puerto Natales I found my way to a hostel there which is well known for preparing people for Torres, and went to their "info session". There is a whole culture around preparing for and making this trek! People follow the advice the guy gives like a guru, funny story about that later. The talk is also a good place to meet up with other trekkers if you are alone, which I was. Rumors of winds so strong they blow people to the ground and deaths in the park made me think heading in alone wasn't the best idea... So, I met Alice, from London, and Carine, from Holland. We were a bit of a motley crew, but set out to prep for this trek. We followed the advice word for word - he tells you what food to bring, how to dress, how to handle the weather, what direction to hike, where to camp, etc. I will say it was all good advice and I definitely learned a few things that will help me in future mountain adventures....
So it is called the "W", because it literally looks like a W. It typically takes 5 days, but you can extend it to include the "circuit" which takes another 2-3 days. We stuck with the 5 day trip. The weather there is so variable, and you really have to be prepared for anything. And it changes so quickly! I heard some horror stories from friends who had done it, with trails washed out, etc. So, given that - we really lucked out. Spectacular sunny days for most of the trip - and views and views. Glaciers and peaks on almost every trail. Spectacular. I will say - the winds lived up to the hype. Up to 90 miles per hour at times. I met a guy who must have weighed 225lbs or more who had a big laceration on his chin from being blown down to the ground by the wind. Trekking poles definitely helped. And I finally saw condors!!! I actually got swindled into paying to see condors in Peru and never saw one. Have been hoping my entire time in South America and, finally, saw 6 in Torres. They are giant, wing span up to 4 meters, and magnificent. So, in following the advice, the recommendation is to spend the final night up near the Torres "towers" and then wake up before sunrise to see the towers with the red glow of the sun coming up. People listened to his advice so religiously, that I met some people that planned on hiking up there at 4 am, even though sunrise was currently around 7 or even later (he hadn't adjusted his lecture for the season changing.) It was so difficult to convince them of this! But finally, they altered their plan. They were there at the top, with sleeping bags and stoves, cooking breakfast - another recommendation. We did not bring breakfast, and I have to say - I was jealous, it was a long wait for sunrise! Hiked 90km's in all. Whew! Great trip!

Here is a shot of people at the towers for sunrise - it was quite a crowd!

Post-trek dinner...

Enchanted El Bolson

2009-03-07T03:36:00.001-08:00

El Bolson, "the big bag" in Spanish. Rumored to be Tolkien's inspiration for the Hobbit village, this is truly a special place. Still within Argentina's Patagonia it is set apart from the typical Patagonia tourist towns famous for their cutsy Swiss-style architecture and chocolate shops. I can see where there rumor about Tolkien came from - it is Hobbitesque for sure.

Guys wearing felt hats, hippies galore, beer and jam making, a giant craft market, live music in the park, organic veggie farms and nestled in a valley with big peaks all around. What a great spot. And what made it even better was the super chill retreat-like hostel I stayed at. A big log cabin, a bit outside of the town, on a river, lots of hammocks. So relaxing.

I went on a great hike up one of the mountains in the area which started in the Bosque Tallardo, sculpture forest. Local artists carved sculpures into the trees, which you encounter as you hike through the woods - so cool! It ended in a steep climb up to a great panoramic view (you could see Chile!)

Surreal Salares de Bolivia

2009-02-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

Uyuni and the salt flats of Bolivia. Unique landscape of miles of white salt ¨lakes¨ surrounded by pink and brown desert mountains. I spent 3 days on a tour with 6 Brasileros and an Aussie couple driving across this area in a jeep, stopping at the sites. This entire area was a prehistoric lake (sound familiar - no wonder it looks so much like Black Rock City!) and left behind are the giant salt flats - the world's largest - colored lakes, colored by the minerals in the area - borax, copper, arsenic, lead, and hot spring geysers. The salt flats make for some fun perspective pictures. You meet lots of travelers who have been here and everyone tries to outdo each other on the cool perspective pics. What you don't realize is that the drivers barely give you any time to take them! But, we still had fun messing around. The strangest thing was that after a couple of days of driving, the landscape kind of made me trip out. I swear I started seeing faces in everything, first the clouds, then the rocks... And, no, I wasn't even on any mind-altering substances! Crazy.

There was even a hotel made entirely out of salt - here is a pic from inside. Though, it was shut down because apparently plumbing and sewage was an issue...

For those of you not on facebook, I have more pics posted here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=
78276&id=704551738&l=5cc47e7a76

I love La Paz

2009-01-23T10:40:00.001-08:00

Even though I am travelling for 5 1/2 months in South America, I´m still moving pretty fast. It is rare that I spend more than 3 nights in any one place. I stayed in La Paz for almost 2 weeks. I think it was a combination of loving it because I stayed so long, and staying so long because I loved it. Raced there from Peru to meet my friends, Muz and Brooke, and made it just in time for a big Christmas Dinner at the hostel! Had a great time, and Christmas Eve is, apparently a big night out on the town - who knew? So, of course, we did our part. My first week was a little more of the same (after 3 weeks of travelling a good deal by myself and staying in non-hostels, often in my own room, I was ready for some socializing!)... then I got sick, which took me down for a few, then I went to the jungle (see previous blog.)

But it was my second week in La Paz, after I returned from the jungle, when I really got to know the city and grew to love it. Oh, where to begin. First of all - the market. Now, I´ve been to plenty of markets in South America, but this one is something special. And it was even more grand because it was Christmas time! It goes on forever and ever. One of my favorite areas was the dessert area - churros, and all kinds of sugary concoctions. But what they were selling was not the reason I liked it. There was stall after stall, 15? 20? all decorated the same way - lined with furry blankets with giant animal pictures on them on all sides of the stall, and then they all had TVs playing the same cartoon - I think it was the Lion King, actually. Like it´s own trippy little world in there. Then, there is the witches market up the street. It smells like anise when you walk by. There they sell all kinds of herbs and potions and little mini shrines of things that you want to wish for in the coming year, all things in minitature - cars, etc. And, let´s not forget the llama fetuses, which are a bit disturbing. Not sure what they do with those.

But you can really buy anything in the market - and it´s all in sections. I needed some new shoes and got lost in the shoe section which stretched for block after block. Many of the stalls sell random things, each for under a dollar. I bought some things, just because I could - batteries, etc. Wish I bought more - as I am now writing this from expensive Argentina! And on every corner you can get fresh Salteñas - these little empanada like morsels with a meat stew and a sweet sauce inside, delicious! One of my favorites was this guy right down the street from my hostel who was there every day shouting over and over, un Boliviano KlEEnex (one Boliviano is 1/7 of a USD).

OK, besides the market - I loved the contrasts
that I got to experience there. For most of the time I stayed in a hostel in the Centro, right near the market. It´s busy, it´s sort of organized chaos, it´s dense. You risk your life walking across the street each day. It´s fabulous in that dense city life sort of way. Mostly indiginous people, the women in their bowler hats and their poofy skirts. And then, I got to experience the Zona Sur. Wow - is this still La Paz? The daughter of my mother´s friend lives there and I stayed with her for 2 nights. It was great seeing her life, which is full and quite interesting. She is a teacher in the Zona Sur and also runs a volunteer organization in a village called Sorata outside of La Paz, coordinating medical care for the people that live there (their website) http://www.prosorata.org/. She is a mountain climber and has lots of mountain climbing adventuring friends, and teacher friends, and Bolivian friends from Sorata. Such an interesting and full ex-pat life! But let me get back to this neighborhood which blew me away, coming from the Centro... I felt like I was in L.A. Fancy clothing shops, fancy restaurants, fancy salons (OK, I admit I did get a cut and color while I was there...), fancy cafes. The streets are wide and clean, not cramped and filthy like the Centro. On the street where she lives there are guards in front of all the houses, and big fences around them. People drive SUVs. There are packs of trendily dressed teens hanging out in front of the fancy shops. Amy´s house is lovely, and it was so nice to be in a place that felt like a real home. And Amy took me on a great
day hike just 20 min outside the city, with views of the entire city below!

Some other random reasons... there is a big mountain looming over the city (Illimani) just like Mt. Rainier!

Check this billboard out - go La Paz!

Fever in the Jungle

2009-01-05T12:46:00.001-08:00

The jungle tour. Well, I had passed up taking a jungle tour in Peru and Ecuador, waiting to visit the Amazon in Bolivia because it was supposed to be cheaper. Then I got sick in La Paz and had a fever for several days before leaving for the jungle. Comfort sounded nice. Met an Aussie couple, Lyndall and Jason, who were planning to stay in a fancy ¨Eco Lodge¨, called Chalalan, and I signed on to their plan. This was mainly because I didn´t have the energy to figure anything out myself, but I did also hear good things about Chalalan, one of the few lodges run by a particular community, San Jose de Uchupiamonas, and all the money goes back to that community. Whew, blew a third of the monthly budget in 3 days!

This is rainy season in Bolivia. The town where you start the Amazon trips, Rurrenabaque, has a grass runway and planes don´t fly in or out when there has been a lot of rain. Hmm... Held up in La Paz for a day because of a heavy rainstorm. Finally made it there - New Year´s Eve in Rurre, woo hoo! Then left the next day for our 6 hour boat ride up the river to the jungle eco lodge. It was pouring, pouring rain. We did have a sort of roof on the boat, but I was told to sit up front where there was no protection and got pummeled with rain. Not being prepared, or knowing what to expect, I was wearing light non-quick dry clothes and got soaked to the bone - pants, shoes, socks. Buried my head in my jacket and just tried to tough it through, but I started shivering uncontrollably. Guess the trip sort of kicked my fever back in and I was a mess. The best part was that 4 1/2 hours into the 6 hour trip our guide asked me if I wanted to move to the back. I could have killed him. Finally arrived and I ran ahead of the group the mile or so to the lodge, just anxious to get warm and dry. Who knew you could get borderline hypothermic in the jungle? After a bit of a rest we did make it out for a jungle hike that afternoon and then I crashed, exhausted from the boat ride. The next day was an all day jungle trek. The rain forest is, of course, an amazing place. We did see some animals... lots of monkeys, mccaws, snakes. Alas, no jaguars! Perhaps we would have seen more animals if the Austrian woman in our group refrained from smoking throughout the hike! Anyway, one of the most exciting points of the trek was when our guide told us about the garlic tree. He cut some bark from the trunk and handed it all around. It did, indeed, smell like garlic. He said the people from his community used it to cook with and they also rubbed it on their skin for a mosquito repellant. I immediately started rubbing it all over my skin. After a few minutes, he added, oh, but foreigners shouldn´t eat it or use it on their skin because it is too strong and they will vomit. Once again, information that would have been useful earlier - thanks, Ivan! Of course, I am so psychosomatic I started feeling all funky. I´m sure it had nothing to do with having just hiked in the heat for 5 hours. Took a night canoe ride to search for caimans... and we found plenty. Headed back the next day. This time I sat further back in the boat! I am glad I went, but for a ¨luxury trip¨ it was hardly comfy and easy. Oh, I almost forgot, had a little friend who liked to live in my toilet!!

But, the biggest adventure turned out to be the trip back to La Paz! It was still raining when we returned to Rurre and our flight wasn´t leaving. It wasn´t leaving the next day either. Rurrenabaque is not a town where you want to hang out for long, so the second day we decided to brave the infamous bus trip. 18 hours in the dry season, now more like 20. Well, it was all that and then some. Crappy bus, crappy roads. We only took the bus 14 hours and then switched to a taxi for the last 4. The bus ride was good comedy throughout, really. One passenger had bought a seat for her 2 dogs. Another had bought 2 seats for herself, so she could be more comfortable. But somebody would continue to sit in her extra seat. For most of the ride it was a guy with a monkey. That´s right, I said monkey, a baby in a little sack. This was in the back of the bus, right next to Lyndall, Jason and I. There was an indiginous women in the very back row, right next to one of our seats (we alternated, thank God!). Her 3 daughters, who were not small, did not have seats and so were squeezed next to her in a non-seat or on the floor. My favorite point of the trip was when the bus guy came to the back to tell the monkey guy he had to get up, that this woman had bought 2 seats. So, he did, and moved back to his official seat, occupied by one of the daughters - and she got up and immediately sat in that woman´s extra seat. It was brilliant! The 4 hour taxi ride proved to be almost worse than the bus - there were 9 of us, and a dog, crammed into a wagon intended for 6. Went through all sorts of interesting positions trying to fit. Needless to say, I limped for 2 days after that trip! It sure was nice to get back to La Paz...

Getting off the gringo trail in Peru

2008-12-29T06:23:00.000-08:00

Peru, land of the iconic Macchu Picchu, the mysterious Nazca lines, beautiful beaches, Lima and Lake Titicaca. I travelled to all of these places this month and had a great time. But, I have to say, my favorite place in Peru was the Chachapoyas region. Underappreciated, for sure. When I was in Southern Ecuador, I met a Peruano who had travelled extensively both in Peru and other countries. He had just spent 2 weeks in Chachapoyas and raved and raved. So - myself and 2 American friends decided we had to go. We spent almost a whole day figuring out how we could do the trip on our own - walk for part, catch a bus or collectivo for part, etc. In the end, we decided it was far easier to go with the tour and it saved us probably 2 days waiting for transport, etc. One of the main reasons Chachapoyas is so great is that there really are very few tourists there. It is quite the contrast to, Macchu Picchu, for example. The town itself is a lovely, quiet colonial town, with views of the surrounding mountains. We set off from Chachapoyas early in the morning and drove to see the Sarcophagi built high up into the mountainside. The Chachapoyas people date back to pre-Incan times and had their own very developed culture. They actually helped the conquistadors in their fight against the Incas. This area hasn't had the money for restoration poured into it like other parts of Peru, for example - so there are hundreds of ruins, houses, etc hidden under the overgrown forest. After the Sarcophagi we drove to see the Valley of Belen. Such a pristine valley with this perfect river running through it.
From here we started our trek. Gorgeous scenery throughout and never saw another sole. It was the three of us and a French couple. The French were having a tough time with the hike and we ended up waiting for them quite a bit. Thankfully our guide, Augusto, was quite the character. He spoke 6 or maybe 7 languages and entertained us teaching us words in Spanish. We continued to stop along the way to look at Chachapoyas ruins hidden in the forest. Arrived at the first town - Congon and stayed the night there. Most of these towns along our trek, by the way, can only be reached by foot or horse/mule! Not many roads in Chachapoyas. We stayed with a family, whose house seemed to function as the town center - people were constantly coming and going, stopping by for food, etc. The owners of the house had us sit in the kitchen while they prepared the dinner. So - imagine this, here we are sitting at the table to one side,
next to us is the senora cooking and then beyond her is the area where the cuy live. Cuy means guinea pig, which are really not pets in most parts of South America, they are food. I haven't been able to bring myself to try them yet... buy here they were in their little cozy home waiting to be killed and eaten at some point. They apparently like warm, dark places - like next to the fire!

Set off the next day and found out that we are going to be spending almost the entire day (10 hours?) on horseback. We had 3 horses for the 2 of us, so we got to alternate. Thank goodness. I didn't realize how difficult riding a horse was. I was on the "horse" most of the day, instead of the mule and apparently horses are more stubborn. This animal did not listen to me at all - despite hitting it with a switch all day long, which I hated to do!

:( Frustrating. The 3 of us did far better than the French couple, however, who continued to have problems. Knowing I was a doctor, they had lots of questions for me - first they thought it was the malaria tablets, then the food, then something else. I really didn't think there was anything wrong with them and it's not easy to tell someone they are just out of shape!
Anyway... the scenery continued to be beautiful throughout - had a lovely lunch at a house perched on top of the mountain with a 360 vista (here I am in their garden), continued through cloud forest and we finally arrived in the next town, Chactamal.
Left the next morning for Keulap - the biggest remaining ruin of the Chachapoyas people - a large city and fortress built up high on a hill. Spent the day wandering around there. Definitely not as well preserved as Macchu Picchu, but there is something very cool about finding ruins in their more natural state - like you just discovered them.

The Highs and Lows of Travelling

2008-12-11T08:58:00.001-08:00

Ah, yes, the highs and lows of travelling. Perhaps that's why we enjoy travelling so much... Life is so easy most of the time. Days are filled with decisions like... should I read my book for a while or go for a beer and watch the sunset? Get up early for a hike or stay out on the town salsa dancing? The most stressful thing is usually being a little sleepy from the night bus and stumbling into the daylight in a new town to look for your new hostel. Yet you live for the moment so intensely because there is always the possibility looming that you will be chained to a toilet with the ´both ends disease´, or held at gun point when robbers board your night bus, or have an accident trying one of the various ´adventure sports´, like ´bike the world's most dangerous road´! (no waivers to sign here!) or, my personal favorite: die in a horrible bus crash as our oh so safe drivers overtake on blind curves. None of these things have happened to me so far, thank goodness. I am happy and healthy and thoroughly enjoying myself. I did, however, have my entire backpack stolen from underneath the bus I was on. Quite upsetting at the time. Anyone who knows all my trip planning details knows that I was kind of an anal packer. Determined to be the perfect ´light-packer´ I really did do quite well in my preparation. Too well, in fact. It was perfect. I had read lots of internet lists and blogs about how to be the perfect light packer - everything essential and nothing extra. The pants I had were the perfect pants - you could trek in them, yet wear them out on the town; the jacket the perfect jacket - warm, yet light and condensable. I almost had to laugh - Oh, Allison, you did so well! And all for naught! For the first couple of days all I did was think of all the items that couldn't be replaced... my Galapagos pictures and the back-ups, my lovely journal given by friends in Seattle with sweet messages written in it, the 2 bags of coffee I bought in Columbia from the coffee plantation I stayed on... Alas. It's just stuff. It was a good learning experience for me in a lot of ways. Definitely forces you to be more flexible. And not to be too attached to material things. The first two weeks I only bought things as I needed them. Bikini and flip flops when at the beach, trekking pants when I was in the mountains. I travelled with only a plastic bag at first and then upgraded to a small duffel bag. What was amazing was that the people at the bus station who usually hound you trying to get you on their bus ´Quito, Quito, Quito¨... didn't bother me at all!What is a backpacker without her backpack?

So, these are the before and after pictures. Here is me pre-theft, relaxing in Baños, exited to be on my own for the first time really since my trip started. This is the view off my back porch overlooking the garden and the waterfall. I had just had a massage and was looking forward to a nice dinner.

And here is me shortly after with the new reward sign I made, with help from my Aussie friend Andrew. (For you spanish speakers, yes, I know there is a typo which I painstaking went around fixing on all the signs :)

After Baños I headed to Vilcabamba for more R and R and stayed at the lovely Ichzcaluma hostel. A resort with dorm rooms for backpackers. Here is the view from the restaurant. Had another massage, and facial and Reiki! And went on a beautiful hike in the great rolling hills with some new American friends, followed by a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. Ahh... things are looking up again!

Iglesias Locas

2008-12-11T08:33:00.001-08:00

I definitely needed to write a blog post about churches as I saw 3 crazy ones back to back. Wild. The first one was near Bogota, Colombia in Zapiquira and was completely underground, inside a salt mine. It was originally built by the salt miners in the 1950s, but this structure became too unstable and dangerous. They then had a competition for architects to design the new one - which was constructed in the 1990s. The pictures don´t even do it justice. The structure and scale is massive. There is the main section of the church - with pews and the massive cross at the front. Then, along the path to the main section are the stations of the cross, each with their own cross. Smaller, but still not so small as you can see by me standing in front of this one... and they are all carved out of the salt of the mine.
The second church was near Impiales, Colombia, close to the border of Ecuador. This church was built into the side of a ravine. Again, I don´t think the pictures do it justice - but it is a unique place for sure. And, finally, the cathedral in Baños, Ecuador. Baños is located within lava-spewing distance from the volcano Tungurahua, and I think this gives the people an interesting perspective on life. They seem to be quite religious and pray to El Virgen de Aguas Santas, Our Lady of the Holy Waters. (There are thermal hot springs there.) The church has these paintings covering the walls and they all depict, in graphic details, various disasters or injuries for which they prayed to El Virgen de Aguas Santas and miracles happened! For example here we see a guy who fell off a cliff, with his horse, into the river and survived!
Various volcano eruptions, people falling from heights, getting smashed by trees... you name it, the Virgen saved them!

La Ciudad Perdida, part two

2008-11-16T13:42:00.001-08:00

(continued...) Arrived at the lost city, La Ciudad Perdida, via stone steps climbing straight out of the river - hundreds of steps up to the terraces of the city. La Ciudad Perdida was the holy city of the Tyrona people. It was built in the 800s AD and was in existence until the arrival of the conquistadors in the 1500s. The conquistators actually never made it to La Ciudad Perdida, but they conquered the Tyrona people who were living at the coast and, by way of infectious disease, managed to spread their foreign germs to the Tyrona people futher in the jungle and wipe them out. The jungle took over the city and was only discovered in the 1970s. 3 days from the nearest non-indiginous village it certainly is remote. There are 50 military stationed there, who seemed to be having a grand time. Actually they really were excited to see people. This one guy ran up to me while I was walking ahead to take some pictures. I was sure I had done something wrong and was going to get yelled at. No, he just wanted to chat me up! Sarah, Brooke, Muz and I had fun with our military photo session, as you can see.

Spent the night at the lost city and then started our trek back down. Here is us at the end... whew.

So, I said I´d get back to the Kogui people. They are the indiginous people living near the lost city and claim to be the direct descendents of the Tyrona. We kept interacting with them both on the trail and in our camps - the trail intersected their village and homes. Until La Ciudad Perdida became a tourist destination they had little interaction with the non-indiginous community. To this day the Kogui people who live above La Ciudad Perdida do not speak any Spanish and have not interacted with the ´outside world¨. I only have a picture of Kogui from afar. I really felt self-conscious taking photos of them up close. They seemed so shy and cautious around us, that's for sure. Our guide, Beto, filled us in on the lives of the Kogui. Well, it is a hard life, for the women anyway. As soon as they have their first period, they get married and start having children. They have one baby every year after that until - they have a birth complication, or a child with problems, or they can no longer get pregnant. They also grow and harvest all the crops, prepare meals and care for all of their children. The children, by the way, start having to pull their weight pretty early on. We came across 2 children - one about 4 or 5 who was minding his 2-ish year old sibling - just cruising around the jungle by themselves. By 40 the women are old, old. The men have it pretty easy by comparison. They take care of chopping down the big trees and, as far as we could tell, spend most of the day twirling their poporos, gourds with little sticks mashing the coca leaves up with snail shell which extracts the coca. We learned about 3 ´sacrifices´ which the Kogui still perform. The first is that if a child is born with a deformity or medical problem, they are suffocated by the chief. The second is that if twins are born, the weaker of the twins is also suffocated (the theme here is that the woman are pretty busy with their annual newborn, the rest of the children and all the other work they have to do, they certainly can't have 2 babies at once or a baby with problems!) And the last sacrifice is that when they get too old to travel to the village (crossing the river, etc, etc) they are given the ´special tea´ - which kills them. For the women this means late 40s, early 50s! The men seem to live a lot longer, or at least Beto told us about a chief who was 90 and had a new 15 year old wife. Oh yeah, once a woman can't have children anymore the husband can take a new wife, of course. Well I, for one, am pretty glad I wasn't born a Kogui woman!

La Ciudad Perdida, part one

2008-11-16T13:41:00.001-08:00

La Ciudad Perdida. Lonely Planet describes this trek as an 'Indiana Jones style adventure', and they are not just kidding. I had heard from several traveler friends that this 6-day trek was a highlight of their travels, not to be missed. So, my friend, Sarah, and I decided that was all we needed to hear and, despite knowing few details, signed up enthusiastically. The group headed out on November 4th - election day - and I left thinking that I wouldn't find out the new president-elect of my country for 6 more days. Our group of 8 set out with our quiet guide, Beto, and his assistant and cook, Ismael. Right off, we were told that the road that the trek usually takes by Jeep prior to starting the actual trekking was washed out with all the rain - which would add 2 hours to our trekking time that day (from 5 to 7 hours.) Oh - did I mention that October and November are the rainy season in this part of Colombia? Travelers are recommended to do this trek anytime but the rainy season. Hmm. Anyway - we started off. 2 hours up we stopped at the village for lunch - no problems at all. The hike started to get steep, and long. Peter, one of the Swedes didn't feel so well and hopped on a mule (Peter and Lars flew straight from Stockholm to Bogota and bussed it directly up to start this trek. More on them later.) We continued along. Then it started raining. Downpouring, actually. The trail, which was already pretty crappy - torn up by mules and muddy as can be - got quite a bit worse. It was useless trying to avoid the muddy parts at this point and we had to start slogging through. Lars was wearing Tevas and, sick of them getting stuck - just decided to go barefoot through the mud slosh. Then it got dark. This proved to be even more interesting. At this point we had no hope of seeing the trail and were really slogging through the mud - up to our knees! We finally arrived at the 'hostel', essentially someone's home with a space for hammocks strung up for us. Here is what we looked like when we arrived. Wet and muddy!
That night, Lars started having the both ends disease and was in pretty rough shape. Uh oh. Oh yeah, and I whacked my head on a cross beam while coming back from the outhouse in the dark - and had some concussive symptoms. Great! (what is it with me and head injuries?) Slept, or at least lay down horizontally, in our hammocks. My first adventure with hammock sleeping, not as easy as I thought it would be.
Up the next morning and went through the routine: put on same wet clothes from the day before (we each had one day/wet set and one night/dry set), still wet of course, slathered ourselves in Deet and/or this stuff they sell there called 'No Pickex', a soap you don't rinse off (pretty sure it would be too toxic to be sold in the states,) then slathered the sun screen, treated the water for the day and after a lovely breakfast made by Ismael - we were off!
Oh, wait, what do you know? The family had a TV! That first morning I got to find out that Obama won. Yay!!! Glad to not have to wait for 6 days to find out. But no details. All they said was 'El negro gano!' (the black man won.) Was thinking of all of you celebrating at home, and feeling very far away - in the middle of the jungle. Here is where I saw the news!
The second day was not as difficult. Only 4 hours - and we walked through the villages of the indigenous people in the area, the Kogui. (More on the Kogui later.) This time we made it to the cabin before the rain started. And we even got to stay in real beds that night! Lars and Peter had made it this far, but travelled the second day on mules and were both feeling pretty sick and weak. Mules weren't possible on the last day and they had to head back without getting to the lost city, which was a bummer.
The third day, and trek up to the lost city, was in a lot of ways the most challenging. Maybe not physically, but somehow emotionally. Definitely the most technically challenging. In the beginning we had to traverse, essentially bouldering, across a rock face with a straight, steep drop down to the river below. Oh, and the rock was wet - of course! Then we crossed the river using this pulley device that the indigenous people made. High above the rapids. You know how I love the heights! I didn't look down. Here is Maarten going across. Then the trail proceeded up the river - and we crossed it 8 more times on foot. The rapids were crazy strong. Here is Maarten again demonstrating one of the crossings. There is NO way I would have made it across without either a rope or the guide holding onto my hand. I felt the current pulling me down every time I crossed. One time the river was up to my chest.
Finally we arrived at the entrance to La Ciudad Perdida, the lost city. No wonder this place wasn't discovered until the 1970s. The stone steps rise right out of the river, and climb and climb.... (continued in part two.)

Ahh... Colombia

2008-11-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Colombia. What is it about Colombia? As soon as you cross the border - something is different. Is it the lush green mountains? The coffee farms? The salsa? No - I think it is the people. So friendly, chatty, and welcoming. So happy and full of the joie de vivre. They really want to get to know you. I think this is the reason so many people fall in love with this country. I sure did. It does seem a contrast for a country that has been through so much! Such resilience. Or maybe it is living through the trauma of the narcotics war that has made people have more of a life zest?

And there are still signs of the narcotics war everywhere. I have never seen so many men with guns in my life. They are EVERYWHERE. The highway, the grocery store, tourist attractions. Police. Military. Military Police. I guess it's supposed to make us feel safer? And, by the way, I think the average age is about 19. We decided that the military must have a good dental plan because 3/4 of them have braces! Teenagers with braces and big guns. It's quite the picture.
Despite this, I have to say that at first the sight of them was a bit disconcerting. We arrived in southern Colombia from Ecuador and in our second stop, Popayan, there happened to be a protest going on. Down the street from our hostel there was a line of police ready with their big 'riot shields'. Yikes. It was actually a protest on the government / president Uribe by the indiginous people and farmers for more rights. Seemed to be under control, but was still going on in Cali - where we had planned to head the next day. All info we gathered made it seem like we shouldn't have any problems. Headed out to the bus station with a guy we met in the hostel. Boarded the bus in Popayan and, about an hour on our way, we were stopped by the highway police. This had happened to us before and wasn't concerning at first. They usually just searched bags and seemed to pay more attention to the locals than the tourists. But this time was different. They only targeted the four of us. Asked us to get off the bus and took our passports. Double yikes. They searched our bags thoroughly. Oh, and our bus continued on without us. Barely even gave us time to get our stuff off the bus! We were in the middle of nowhere. They asked us a million annoying questions. What I did for a living, how much money I made, etc. Really started pissing me off and I don't hide that well (got to work on that, police don't like you to show them attitude.) They even wanted to see our cameras. What do you know, I had just taken a few photos of police from afar on my taxi ride to the Popayan bus station. I quickly deleted them as I was walking over to hand him my camera. Whew. After what seemed like an eternity (actually about 2 1/2 hours) they let us go. Drove us back to the bus station. When we got there different police again interrogated us. Thankfully, they didn't keep us for long. Of course we had to buy new bus tickets! The word was that they were looking for a couple of tourists who were trafficking. Hmmm. Anyway - after this incident we really didn't have any other problems. I hate to say it but I actually got so used to seeing the military and the police everywhere that I stopped even noticing their presence. Crazy.

And to go with these very random blog thoughts, I've included this random picture of dyed chicks. Yeah. I'm not sure either. They were in the baggage compartment on our bus across the border. Despite asking the owner of the chicks, and several other people, I never really got a good answer. They came in blue and green as well. Something like - it's a kitch quirky thing to sell?? was about the best answer I got.

Luxuriating in Los Galapagos

2008-10-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

After 2 weeks of the backpacker lifestyle, I went to the Galapagos. It was a big decision - big money for a backpacker budget, really. But so many people have told me I must go, and encouraged going for as long as possible. I met a few others at the hostel who were thinking about it as well and we decided just to go for it. And we went big - 8 day luxury catamaran trip. Amazing. Honestly, I just got back and it is a difficult adjustment. We had 3 gourmet meals a day and 2 snacks. They put little napkin jackets around our beer bottles. They made our beds every day and if you left your crap on them they folded it into neat little piles. Our days were filled with hikes on the islands, snorkeling, relaxing on the boat... rough, I know. The animals were amazing. So fearless and oblivious to us. You are really in their space. Truly a unique place in this world. Alas, now it´s back to loud crowded dorm rooms, unreliable hot water, bumpy bus rides and scrounging for food. I´m sure you all feel sorry for me.

Pata de Vaca in Quilotoa

2008-10-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

Left Quito and headed for the Quilotoa Loop - small villages tucked in the Ecuadorian Andes. Made it to Quilotoa - where there is a volcanic crater lake. Rode horses around the crater and had a great time despite some altitude issues (3800m) and my travel friend falling off her horse. Went to grab some quick lunch before our bus left and, not finding many options, knocked on the door of a place that looked like it could be a restaurant. A little boy of about 7 answered the door and said they were closed, but we should follow him. He led us to the back door of a house. We were welcomed in and found a woman cooking in a tiny kitchen and two tiny tables filled with people. The woman scooted the children aside to make room for us to squeeze in. She set down the first course. A bowl of soup with something floating in the center. My friend and I looked at each other - what the heck is that? It was about 6 inches or so in diameter. One side was purple-ish and had a scalloped edge, almost like octopus. Could this be a sea creature? Yet here we are in the mountains. Hmm. The other side felt hard, like bones. The man next to us picked his up and started gnawing on it. We opted to eat the broth around ours. I asked her what it was. ¨Pata de Vaca¨ she said, ¨it adds a lot of flavor.¨ Well, I wasn´t sure what ¨pata¨ meant, but ok, it is some part of the cow. We finished our lunch and raced off to catch our bus. As soon as I sat down on the bus I grabbed my spanish dictionary. Pata... Foot! Cow´s foot soup - delicious! :)

Jail Time in Quito

2008-10-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

At long last, my first blog entry - much overdue. Communication while traveling alas proves to be more difficult than you think it is going to be. It's hard to believe I've already been in Ecuador for 3 weeks! So far so good. Setting out on this trip I really expected to have a lot of down time and a lot of alone time and it has been the exact opposite. I think today was the first time I had a few hours to myself since I arrived! Have met lots of other travelers, made plans with them and suddenly I'm busy and constantly on the move. I'm sure there will be up and downs, but it has been a pretty packed few weeks. Quito for a few days, then Quilotoa loop, out to the coast and Puerto Lopez and then 8 days in the Galapagos. Head to Columbia tomorrow...

Jail Time in Quito:

OK, this first entry is a doozy. Arrived in Quito and stayed for several days at the busiest and most popular hostel in town, The Secret Garden. I have a love-hate relationship with the place, but I have met good people there and have gotten loads of good travel info. There was an idea going around the SG that a must do in Quito was a trip to the jail - Penal Garcia Moreno. And, after hearing the stories, a group of us decided that this was a trip we had to take. Penal Garcia Moreno is a real jail, not a museum, not an official tourist attraction. We set out on a rainy afternoon, 6 of us - 3 men and 3 women.

We arrived just in time before it closed. We were checked, then checked again with a "pat down", handed over our passports, gave them all our belongings to hold, had our arms stamped several times and, through 2 locked doors, we were in. Our friend who had been there already told us to give a name of one of the foreign prisoners - so we gave the name of an English fellow at the front and were ushered to his cell. When we got there - the tiny cell was full of other tourists. Most decided they were there long enough and left so we could squeeze in. Tiny tiny space - for 3 men. Bunks, with Bathroom/Kitchen combo all in a space of about 5x9 feet?

We brought gifts, as were told to - tp, chocolate, cigarettes. They were very nice and welcoming. Both men were from England. Both were there for getting caught with drugs on them - and both claimed to be innocent. One had drugs hidden in his suitcase, which he was unaware of when going through customs, and the other had drugs placed in a mail envelope he was sending, also unknown to him. They went on to tell us all about what it is like to be in prison in Ecuador. Essentially, the prisoners run the prison and everything can be purchased. If you don´t have money, you are in pretty bad shape there. You need money for food, protection, medical care, etc. Both of these guys were just going through their money from their English accounts. It´s a little bit of a free for all. The guards have little control - and all take bribes to get prisoners what they want and need. Ironically - you can buy any drug you want right there in the prison, as well as guns, knifes. On the lighter side, there are also some restaurants, shops that sell toiletries, etc. It was completely surreal to be there. I didn´t exactly feel unsafe, but it was probably good that we were in a big group. We were quite conspicous and got lots of stares. It was only later, after we heard the stories about how it is really run by the prisoners that I thought hmm, pretty much anything could happen while we are in here. Yikes! We were all relieved to get out of there without incident. Not sorry I went though - such a trip!