The Prince and the Pauper...!

I arrived to Buenos Aires, Argentina after an overnight flight from Colombia. As I mentioned in my last blog, I was a little out of sorts. I went with Jeremy´s recommendation on how to get from the airport to the hotel (about 30km away) and took this VIP car that was "supposedly" the best bang for your buck. As I was riding in the car I decided to glance at my Lonely Planet Travel guide (for the 1st time about Argentina). As I read through the guide I learned that the VIP cars where extremely expensive and the best option was to take the shuttle for $8. Hmmmmm I thought to myself...that is way cheaper then the $40 dollars I am spending right now in the VIP private towncar that "Jeremy" recommended. This was the intro to the next week of my life....my week of traveling with Jeremy Goodwin!
For those of you that do not know...Jeremy is one of my best friends. Our personalities are hilarious with one another and we spend most of our time laughing at our idiocracies then actually living a productive life. Furthermore, Jeremy is a well traveled individual. He even has his own business where he sends highschool students to go travel abroad and encourages people of all sorts to travel and learn about other cultures. HOWEVER...and I say this in all caps...Jeremy travels well! He is either a working traveler...or a vacationer. The word "backpacking" is not part of his vocabulary or his mindset. So when Jeremy randomly emailed me about 2 weeks ago and asked to meet me in my travels...I was very excited. Jeremy, however, did not know what he was about to get himself involved with.
And so the story goes...The Prince and the Pauper!
I arrived to the hotel and was really excited to not only see Jeremy, but to also chill in an actual hotel for a few days. We had a blast catching up with each other and exchanging stories. I was so happy to have a comfortable bed and a private bathroom with hot water. I opened my backpack to grab some clothes for my shower when all of a sudden Jeremy said "Wow Dude....what is that smell?" I really didn´t notice anything, but I figured it was coming from my backpack...proof that my natural aromas were not that popular among the "vacationing" American. "It is my towel" I explained ...a little embarrased. I decided though, that it was probably time to wash my clothes. That day, Jeremy and I went for a jog around the city and he showed me some of the main attractions. Then we met up with some friends that we knew and enjoyed a nice traditional Argentinian Parilla (grilled meats). It was an amazing dinner. We went out on the town to some posh bars and all I could think about was how I was not staying within my budget.
Buenos Aires was an amazing city, though. I am not much of a big city girl...however, this had to be one of my favorites. Every street comes to life with tango music, food, wine, people, and old architecture with a modern touch! I haven´t quite figured out 2 things about Argentinians... A) when and where they work and B) how they are not overweight and dying from heartattacks by the minute. People do not have dinner until 10 or 11pm each night and then hit the dance clubs until sunrise....almost every day of the week! On top of that...the daily diet is steak, wine, bread, and italian food. Not too many vegetables are consumed around this area. Every day I walked through the city and just saw people hanging out with each other...drinking wine and conversing. My argentinian friend, Adrian, explained to me that the people in argentina have a very different mindset then americans. They only work as much as they need to and then spend the rest of the time "enjoying life with family and friends". This has been proven to me...over the next few weeks of my travels I witnessed the wonderful world of Argentina and how they spend hours and hours with family and friends...eating..drinking...eating some more. Throw in a little bit of work...a few futbol games...and you are living the Argentinian lifestyle!
After a few days in Buenos Aires, I decided that I really wanted to see Uruguay, which is an hour boat ride from Buenos Aires. Jeremy really wanted to go to this popular beach resort town called Punta Del Este. It seemed pretty expensive to me, so I recommended a smaller beach town that was more on my budget. I like the more chill-out, relaxing, low key scenes, while Jeremy enjoys the scene and be seen places. Anyways, after much conversation about money, cities, etc. I decided to go to the beach resort town on one condition...we would have to stay in a hostel, because there was no way I could afford a hotel room. I think Jeremy threw up in his mouth a little bit, but he agreed to the proposal and then diligently started researching hostels online....I let him even figure out what hostel to stay at.
So then we were off...the Prince and the Popper on a ferry to Uruguay. Our first stop was in the quiant town of Colonia. This town was super cute with cobblestone streets and old timey cars. I felt like we went back in time about 40 years. We had gone back and forth about renting a car to drive around Uruguay in. When we got to the car rental place they only had manual cars in our price range. Neither of us really knew how to drive manual, but the salesman insisted that we rent the car. They even volunteered to teach us how to drive...haha I guess they get a really big commission check on rentals and an even bigger check from the insurance company when we crash the car. We decided to just rent a golf cart for the afternoon and cruised around the lazy beach town. That night a big storm rolled into town and the power went out in the entire city. We found an awesome little Italian restuarant and had dinner by candle light....how romantic! Our hostel in Colonia was actually really nice in "backpacking" standards. It had a great common area and the decor was trendy. We slept in a room with 6 other people. Jeremy simply could not understand why in the world you would want to sleep with 6 other random strangers in a room. For about 5 to 10 more dollars we could have had a private room. But when you are traveling for a year...5 to 10 bucks adds up quick. On top of that, the shower was about 1 foot by 1 foot...we had a snorrer in the room, and no AC. This was no big deal to me...welcome to my life for the past 4 months, but Jeremy on the other hand..could not wrap his head around the situation. He was a good sport though and we laughed a lot about his "vacation" with Andrea.
The next day we headed to Punte Del Este. We stopped for a layover in Montevideo. Jeremy and I were starving so we ran into the McDonald´s to grab a quick sandwich (this would be one of the first few times I ate fast food on my trip by the way). Jeremy was so proud of his spanish speaking skills and was handling most of the conversations during out travels. So it really cracked me up when he went to order a 10 piece chicken nugget. Apparently, the girl thought that he ordered 10-10 piece chicken nuggets....100 chicken nuggets! It was about the time she told more people to move to the kitchen to help cook and told Jeremy he owed about 700 pesos that he realized she misunderstood. Can you imagine us walking out of McDonald´s with 100 chicken nuggets?
We finally arrived to Punta Del Este and walked about a mile to our hostel. That is another thing that I try to do to save money....walk everywhere. Jeremy insisted on taking a cab, but I told him that was not in the budget. I carried my bag like a backpack and Jeremy had his roller suitcase. He rolled that damn suitcase wherever he went...REFUSING to stop rolling..no matter the conditions. Mud, potholes, curbs, grass, dog poo....he kept on rolling. I had to laugh everytime he went over an obstacle in which he had to struggle a bit to ROLL. Heaven forbid he carry it like a backpack!
We arrived to the hostel (that Jeremy booked for us). It was called Roger´s Hostel and was a house in the middle of a neighborhood. We walked in and there were a couple of surfer looking guys that appeared to be stoned out of their minds hanging out in the common area. We stood there for a few minutes not really knowing how to check in or who was in charge of the place. A few guys rolled up the driveway on their skateboards and one of them approached us to get us checked in. He explained that for the first night we would have to sleep in seperate dorm rooms. Hahaha I just had to laugh at this moment because this meant that Jeremy would be in a dorm room with complete strangers without me. The hostel was pretty funny as well...I would rank it at one of the lower grade hostels I have stayed in. It became clear to us that it was a cheap place for the surfers to stay at when they came to the beach resort city. It had character, but it lacked in other areas. We got settled in and went out to go grab dinner. Since it stays light until about 10pm down here, the time just slips away. I think we had dinner at about 9pm..then decided to go check out some bars around town. We found this lovely bar called "Company". From the outside it looked like one of our classic dive bars that I love. After we went inside and ordered a drink we realized it was a kaoroke bar...for people over the age of 50. We were the youngest people in the joint, but ended up having a blast dancing and singing with the old crowd. After that we made our way to the "cool" bars and met up with some people from Chicago. We talked to them for several hours then decided it was time to head home...since it was 5AM! On our way home we decided we needed some drunk munchies and stopped in at the McDonalds (3rd time to eat fast food on my trip). We ate a sandwich and then left, but we both were still kinda hungry for some crazy reason...so we walked right next door to the Burger King and had some nuggets (4th time I ate fast food on my trip!). Do you see the trend here....when I am with Jeremy I spend money and eat fast food...NO BUENO!
We finally got back to the hostel and to no surprise, there were still people up even though the sun was rising. Jeremy had a small issue in his room because a group of guys tried to sneak someone into the hostel and he was going to sleep on Jeremys bed. I am assuming they worked it out, because I found the guy passed out in the hallway the next morning. The next day I woke up to music blaring and people wrestling and acting goofy in the house. I was so hot and hungover and just needed to get out of the frat house. We went and spent the day hanging out on the beach...it was so nice. We found a place to eat and ordered some wine and relaxed ALLLLL day. The prices were outrageous and I must admit that it was hard for me knowing that each sip of wine could get me a nights stay in Ecuador, but I decided to let loose for a day and live like I could afford it ;)
When we arrived back to the frat house this really hot surfer guy came up to me and asked if Jeremy and I were a couple and if we wanted a private room to ourselves. I guess he worked there, but all I could hear was him asking whether or not Jeremy and I were a couple in which I immediatly responded "Heavens no....NOOOOOO...totally not together....I am single". He responded "Ok..so I will move him into your dorm room and you will stay in the dorm room again tonight, ok?". My eyes were still gazing at him when Jeremy came up to me and asked what in the world I was thinking. We could have easily shared a double bed for one night and had our own PRIVATE ROOM! This hostel was a mess and super loud with people partying all night long. It would have been much better for Jeremy and I to pretend we were a couple and get the private room. I must admit...I screwed that opportunity up for us...If the guy hadn´t been so cute we probably would have enjoyed our second night there a little better.
The next morning Jeremy and I woke up before everyone else in the house...packed out things...and left quietly. Good old Roger´s hostel...I am so glad Jeremy was the one that booked it or else I would have never heard the end of it. After that experience, Jeremy refused to stay in another dorm room or Hostel for that matter. It became clear to me that he loved HOTELS....he loved 5 star hotels...or 1 star hotels..as long as it was a HOTEL. But the minute you added an "s" into the word...he hated it. He was not going to stay in another hostel that was for sure...and he decided to book us a hotel in Montevideo for our last night together...his treat!
Montevideo was an awesome capital. I really loved the feel to it...almost better then Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires is an amazing city as well, but Montevideo is way more chilled out. I am more of a chill person myself so I enjoyed the layed back pace and atmosphere. It is located on the coast and they have this awesome boardwalk that runs throughout the city. I got a good run in for excercise and was able to see the city while soaking in the Uruguayan people. I am not sure if I have mentioned this or not, but everyone in Uruguay and Argentina drink this tea called Maté. It is a major tradition in this area and is a bit of a process. First of all, they carry this huge thermos in one arm and then have a tea cup with this special straw that they sip out of. They don´t leave anywhere without the thermos and tea cup and the drink it allll day long. It is more of a social thing in which they meet up with their friends and pass around the maté. When I went jogging in Montevideo...people were even powerwalking with maté in their hands. I just could not understand the phenomenon. I mean...some people walk around with a smoke in their mouth, or chew gum all day, or a toothpick behind their ear. But these people carry a freaking thermos and tea cup everywhere...It just seems really inconvenient to carry all those things around all the time and still get your everyday tasks fulfilled. But they do somehow....they love their maté. Here is a picture of a nice fella drinking his Maté...loving life!
The Holiday Inn hotel room was a real treat from Jeremy and I am thankful that he got it for us. The prince and the popper had a blast together and we certainly laughed a lot. I wish I had room to share all of the stories that happend with the week we spent together in regards to our different travel styles, but I have already bored you enough. I spent more money then I normally would have, but we had a blast. Jeremy saved a hell of a lot of money too and probably even MADE money since he wasn´t spending it back in Austin...amazing, right?
Jeremy had another week or so in Argentina, but he expressed to me that he was not going to continue traveling with me. He needed a vacation and wanted to relax and he clearly would not get that from his backpacking amiga, Andrea. Plus, my friend Lark from Austin was coming to travel the last 3 weeks with me...she would also be on a strict budget and Jeremy knew that we would out rule him on every travel decision. So...Jeremy and I parted ways when we got back to Buenos Aires and I met up with my friend Lark....only 3 more weeks of my adventure in South America before I head home to Texas for a bit (tear....it will be sad to leave!).

goodbyes...and COLOMBIA!!!

My last day in Banos was an interesting day for me...probably one that I will never forget. I was kind of in a weird mood because I was leaving a place that I had really grown to love...my home more or less for the past 2 months. I felt weird because I was leaving and I never knew if I would actually see these people or this city again in my life. One thing I have learned about traveling...is you have to say goodbye a lot. It is not one of my favorite parts of travel...
I had gone back and forth about leaving Banos and heading with my friend, Marina, to Colombia. My package had not arrived yet and I knew if I left without it, that I would probably never see it again. But for some reason...I just knew it was time for me to move on. I needed to be in Buenos Aires by the 15th of January so only had about 10 days of travel for Colombia. Marina agreed to travel quickly with me up to Medellin and see me off to Argentina. I thought that was very cool of her to do...she didn't have to travel all the way with me, but we enjoyed traveling with each other and knew we would have a good time.
The last day of Banos was also the day that I had to say goodbye to Tamara. Tamara was a special person to me because she was one of the first good friends I met as a solo female traveler. As I mentioned previously, she is this extremely outgoing, friendly person from Portland, Oregon. I really enjoyed her friendship and learned a lot from her...especially how to be open and meet people and make connections. This skill will help me so much in my future solo travels. Anyways....a few tears later and we said our goodbyes. However, I know I will see her again...we have way too much fun together to not hang out again :)
I also went and said goodbye to my teachers and a couple of friends around town. I soaked up my last glances of Banos....the waterfall that fell into town and the mountains surrounded the city. I really REALLY hope I can come back here someday. I know I have a lot of travel ahead, but I fell in love with this town.
Marina and I boarded the bus and gave each other a look of exhaustion. We had a HUGE day of travel ahead of us. Our goal was to make it across the Colombian border in the same day....a goal that was slim of obtaining since border crossings usually mean hours and hours of lines and bullshit. We had heard HORROR stories of trying to get into Colombia. But we were in it together....we would be fine. As I got on the bus I received a text from my friend Dario who I had a falling out with a few days prior. He wished me good travels and apologized for some things that had happend. I am not sure why, but the text put a smile on my face. I hate to leave things in a bad manner...and I felt good that he sent me the text. In case I ever go back to Banos, we would be friends again.
As one last attempt to get my package, I decided to stop in the town that it was supposed to arrive to, and tell the post office to return the package to sender when it did finally arrive. Marina and I hopped off the bus in the other town and grabbed a cab to the post office. I was still kinda out of it because of the goodbyes from Banos and my mind was a bit cloudy. We got to the post office and I smuggly walked up to try and sort out the situation and see how to get my package back home. Marina is totally fluent in Spanish and was able to help me talk to the clerk. When I gave him my name he looked at me and said "Andrea....Andrea Galant". I was like...yeah thats me...I need to return to sender. Then I looked over to the corner of the room and saw the Trinity Publications box...and the clerk explained that they did in fact have my package and have been holding it since the 16th of DECEMBER!!!!! I was in shock. I could not believe that they had the silly package after all. I had gone to the Banos post office day after day asking about the package and it was sitting in Ambato for the past 3 weeks. I was on cloud nine....the day was so weird and filled with all sorts of emotions. It was like Marina and I were floating on this cloud to Colombia and everything seemed to be working out (which is pretty rare on travel days). I opened the bag and found my ipod, bra, perfume, holiday cookies from Jatana, and our family christmas card. I have no idea why, but I really needed this package....it felt great to see my family in the pictures and to have some personal belongings from home.
Marina and I...totally taken back that my package had arrived...hopped back on the bus and stuffed our faces with holiday cookies. Today was going to be a good day, I could already tell. We went from city to city hopping on buses and getting to the next place seamlessly. We both could not believe how easy everything was going...we knew we would arrive to the border late at night and hoped that it would be open and we would be able to cross. Finally, after one full day of bus travel, we arrived to the border town in Ecuador. We both walked up to the border office and saw a line of people standing outside. Most of them were Colombians trying to get into Ecuador...they would have to wait until the next morning though since the office was about to close. They told Marina and I as well that they were not taking anymore people for the night. We were so frustrated....it was about 15 minute ride back to the border town and that meant more money to spend on a cab. We sat outside for a few moments...frustrated...and then Marina went back to the door and knocked and got the officers attention again. In spanish she explained the situation and we both gave him the puppy eyed look of desperation. He sat there for a few moments...then let us come in the office. There were TONS of people in line inside the office and it was this major cluster. But the guy behind the counter yelled to us and asked for our passports. We ran in front of everyone in line...showed him our passports...he stamped them then told us we had about 3 minutes to run across the bridge to the Colombian side or else we would be stuck in Ecuador the rest of the night. We took off running...still not really understanding how we were able to cut in front of everyone else in line. We arrived to the Colombia border and all the lights were off...shit! we thought we missed it. Then some dude comes out of nowhere with a cigarette and tells us to relax and when he finishes his smoke he will check us into Colombia. Apparently, that was the border patrol guy. So...about 3 minutes later we got stamped into Colombia..NO QUESTIONS ASKED! I think Marina and I made record time at the border crossing...about 12 minutes exact! That just does not happen at borders...it us unheard of. We both sat on the Colombian side of the border and looked at each other gasping for air from the run...WE WERE IN FREAKING COLOMBIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Since it was so late we stayed the night in the Colombia border town and had plans to head to Pasto the next morning. Apparently, there was the Negro y Blancos festival the next day and we wanted to check it out.
Colombia....how can I express the emotions of my days in this wonderful country. First of all, I never once felt in danger....in fact...I felt more safe in Colombia then I did in Ecuador. There is military presence everywhere and it is very modern and clean. The Colombians welcomed Marina and me with open arms...They love tourism in their country and will do whatever they can to make you feel welcomed. Everyone was so nice and would go out of their way to help you. From the experiences that I had, Colombians were much nicer then the Peruvians or Ecuadorians...
So we arrived to Pasto which had this crazy festival going on called Negros Y Blancos. The day before was "Negro" day where they smear grease and paint on everyones faces. The day we arrived was "Blanco" where they throw flour and shoot foam at each other. We got off the bus and met some lovely fellows who decided to help us find a hotel. As we were walking some kids ran at us and threw white flour all over us. It was pretty ironic...here we were...our first day in Colombia...Covered in white powder! We found a hotel and put on our worst clothes possible. Then, we headed out into the town to experience one of the wildest days of my life...one of the greatest festivals on earth. Thousands of people were throwing flour and shooting foam at each other. It was all OVER us! Even the cops were getting involved with the festival and they were actually the main targets among the locals. We had plenty of foam fights with the colombian police. Check out some of the pictures!
It was a hilarious day!!!
The next day we headed to Cali, which is the salsa capital of Colombia and also the plastic surgery capital of the WORLD! Not to mention, the city is located in a valley so it is steaming hot. We spent about 3 days there in a fun hostel and met some pretty interesting characters. One night we went to this bar that had a live salsa band. They were awesome. Beautiful girls were dancing salsa perfectly. It was actually really intimidating! I wish I could dance salsa like these women, but my body just won't move like that. The next day, our friend Tim that we met in Banos, met up with us in Cali as well. We all hung out and found this great dive bar. We called it the dirty hot salsa club...it was perfect! We met some guys who tried teaching us how to salsa dance. The club closed at about 2am, but for some reason we were all ready to party. This short, fat, mafia looking guy asked us if we wanted to go with him to this salsa discotec about 12km out of town. Marina and I said "of course we do" and grabbed the 5 other guys we were hanging with from our hostel. I am pretty sure the chubby mafia guy was not planning on us bringing 5 other guys....it was funny. We all found ourselves at this insanely big discotec dancing to salsa and drinking Aguadiente, which is the nasties liquor ever. We danced until 5AM! Finally, we made it home and decided to go grab breakfast....we didn't get to bed until about 8am in the morning! That is how you roll in Cali, Colombia....geeez we were exhausted!
After the blow out night we decided that we should leave and head to a small village town to do some hiking and dry out for a bit. So...Tim, Marina, and I had a full day of bus travel to the quaint town of Salento. Salento is beautiful...it is in the coffee country and is surrounded by rolling hills and lush trees. One of their biggest attractions are the wax palm trees. They are these stunningly tall palm trees that grow throughout the jungle area. When we went hiking we had some great views of the coffee area and the palm trees. After our hike we were starving, but we had been eating so bad and drinking so much. I decided that I would have an attempt at cooking my hostel mates a good healthy meal. I decided to cook my mom's famous taco salad. I forgot, however, that we were in some small village where half the ingredients were missing. So I re-named the salad to Colombian Hostel Taco Salad. It was actually really amazing....tons of veggies, avacado, mango, fresco cheese, chopped beef, with doritos crumbled on top. We grubbed big time!
The next day we headed up to Medellin...my final destination in Colombia. This was my last night to hang out with my friends before we all went in different directions. Medellin was a really nice city. It used to be the cocain capital of the world, but since Escobar died they have had time to clean it up...and clean it up they did do. The city is super modern and very nice...the mayor also declared it a bilingual city so most everyone speaks english as well. Since it was our last night we decided to go grab some drinks and have one last hoo-rah together. We met some other peeps from the hostel and headed out to some trendy bar. When I was there, I met this lovely Colombian fella named Andres. He was extremely nice and we ended up hanging out most of the night. He has traveled a lot and had similar interests so we had some great conversation. I told him how I was leaving at 8pm the following day and how it was a shame that we could not hang out more. He invited me and Marina to lunch the next day and said he would show us the town. So, the next day we met him for lunch and had a lovely time....then he spent the rest of the day taking us around Medellin. It was a really fantastic day. I only had a short visit to Medellin, but thanks to Andres, I was able to see a whole lot! On top of it all, Andres offered to take me to the airport which was 30km outside of town (a $20 cab ride!) Both him and Marina drove me to the airport to see me off to Argentina. Good thing they came too bc it was a bit of a process for me to get through customs. Apparently, since I bought my plane ticket in Colombia, they charged me a "colombian" tax, but since I am not Colombian...they ended up giving me $30 back....they literally handed me money back in the airport. I didn't know what the hell was going on and thought they were setting me up for some drug mule scene. Then, after they gave me money they told me that I needed to prove that I was leaving Argentina. I have an outgoing flight, but my ticket was only online. So I had to go to some random room to print out my ticket to prove I was going to leave Argentina.....it was this whole long PROCESS! Getting out of Colombia was not as easy as getting in. Marina and Andres helped so much with the translations...if I was alone...I think I would still be in the airport at this moment in time trying to figure out the whole process.
ANOTHER GOODBYE.....It was hard to say goodbye to Marina. I really enjoyed traveling with her...she is a really lovely person with an awesome spirit. I shared many great experiences with her. We hugged in the airport and knew that it would be a long time before we ever saw each other again. I got a little teary eyed but did my best to hold everything back.
As soon as I left them my mind went blank....I was on my own again...I had not been on my own for about a month. All of a sudden I realized that I did not remember anymore spanish. I couldn't understand anyone. The security people kept asking me questions and I could not understand them...I walked aimlessly through the airport and somehow managed to get to my gate. My mind was spinning because the last 10 days of my life had been a whirlwind and I just left another travel companion. On top of that...I just met this amazing guy that showed me his city...what kind of life was I living? Each day was so different from the next. I seriously almost had a weird breakdown in the airport...so many different emotions were going through my head. Goodbyes are hard...I miss Tamara and Marina...I miss Banos and my friends there...Colombia was amazing and I wished I had more time to spend there...where was I going? What more adventures did I have ahead of me? Am I stable enough for this type of lifestyle??? So much movement and uprooting and goodbyes and unsettling...but at the same time, so much adventure and meeting new people and experiencing unbeliveable things! I am really enjoying traveling...but it is not as easy as I thought...at least not emotionally. (Gosh it sucks being an emotional woman sometimes :)
The next day I was meeting up with my friend Jeremy. He made a last minute trip to come see me (and clear his mind with some things in his life). So...as messed up in the head as I was during that flight to Argentina...I was really glad to know that I would be seeing a familiar face the next day. Somehow...things always happen for a reason and work out in really odd ways. HELLO ARGENTINA.....HOLA JEREMY! A new country....a new adventure!

The Jungle....and Feliz Año Nuevo!

After the grand festivities of Christmas, I hung around Baños another day or two. This town is so small and I have gotten to know quite a few people. With that said...there is also a lot of drama and gossip. My friends and I have named ourselves the Mala Influncias (bad influences). We go out and have fun several times a week....dance all hours of the night. Some of the guys think that if you dance with them, then you are "with" them....and then that is when all the drama starts. At first it was a little frustrating because none of us were doing anything wrong, but then we decided to get over it and not worry about it....we were all leaving after New Years anyways. So, to let some of the drama cool off, we decided to head to the jungle for a few days.
There were 6 of us that went to the jungle. Stella from England, Jorn from Norway, Jules and Marina from Ireland, and Tamara and Me. We took a 4 hour bus ride into the town called Tena, which is the gateway into the jungle. On the bus, I sat next to our jungle guide, Estuardo aka Pajaro (bird)...I immediately got a good vibe from him. He didn´t speak much english so I was able to practice my spanish with him on the bus. My friend Marina is fluent in spanish, then I am the next in line for speaking it (far from fluent as we all know). But I think since I sat with him on the bus he felt comfortable with me....he would go off in spanish to me and want me to translate to the others. Sometimes I would understand and other times I would ask Marina for help. Regardless, it felt good that he thought I could understand....at least I was getting good at "acting" like I knew spanish.
Once we arrived in Tena, we all hoped into a camisetta, which is basically some dude that owns a truck and says he is a cab driver. We stuffed all of our belongings into the truck and took off towards the jungle. On the way, we stopped in a small town called Misahualll. This town had all of these spider monkeys that run around the center. The story is that a person had a pet spider monkey that got loose in the town. In order to find it, they brought in another monkey and let it run wild as well. Now they have about 50 or so monkeys everywhere. They are mean, and they steal peoples belongings. It´s pretty funny!
After a long day or traveling, we finally arrived to our jungle lodge. Wow, was this place nice! We weren´t sure what to expect because we had heard horror stories about people sleeping in shacks in the middle of the jungle with their bodies exposed to the snakes and critters. Well, this was far from a shack. It had plush gardens everywhere and little cabinas with running water and electricity from 6pm-9pm everynight. That afternoon, Pajaro took us to a watering hole and we all swam. I was sitting on this rock in the water and Marina was next to me. All of a sudden she screamed and I looked over to find one of the biggest spiders ever just chilling on the rock next to us. I flipped out...Pajaro calmed us down though. He said this particular spider wasn´t dangerous....and that it ate small fish and insects from the river. All I know is that any spider that can eat a fish sounds pretty freaking scary to me. I wasn´t very comfortable swimming there anymore. After swimming, Pajaro took us to a locals house where they make "jungle juice". Jungle juice is basically cane liquor fermented with tons of different fruits. We all bought a few bottles and sipped on it. It tasted ok and was fun because of the moment, but I probably would not order it on the regular.
We all went back to the lodge and Jules taught us how to play this AMAZING card game. It is called "shithead" and I am addicted to it now. I guess it is pretty popular in the traveling circuit because it is super easy to learn and a lot of people can play at once. I plan on teaching all my Austin friends how to play when I am back visiting in February.
As I was getting ready to head to bed the first night, Pajaro called me over to this dark area. I went over there to soon realize he was calling me over to show me this big ass Tarantula just chilling a few feet away from my cabina. It was probably not that best time to show me a spider like that....I was so exhausted, but I knew there was no way I would be able to sleep well after seeing that. Tamara and I shared a bedroom together and after inspecting my bed and sheets thoroughly I layed down and tried to relax. That was about the time when I started noticing all these little holes in the screens and the hatched roof. My mind started to go crazy...imagining all of the insane creatures surrounding our cabina. The sounds of the insects were almost deafening. Then, I heard a loud "thump"...jumped up in my bed and let out a little yelp. "What the hell was that", I said. Tamara started laughing hysterically.....she had just hit her elbow against the wall and that made a loud thump. Let´s just say...I layed there that night with my eyes wide open peering over my sheets....just waiting for some massive tarantula to fall on my face through the hatched roof. Once again, I thought...why do I get myself into these types of situations?
The next day we had a fresh breakfast and headed off to the river. We were going to be taking a canoe around all day to various areas of the jungle. My friend Jules had a horrible rafting accident in Chile were she nearly died. She is now pertified of boats in the water. She was soo scared to get on the canoe with us. The canoe was pretty safe, but you have to respect someone when they have a true fear of something. After my incident with the heights, I totally understood where she was coming from. I told her that I was a pretty decent swimmer and if something were to happen I would go in for her. Jules is a very spiritual person. She lives in a spiritual compound in Scottland and refers to herself as a new aged hippie. I told her I would send her good energy on the canoe ride if she sent me good energy with my fear of a spider falling on my head in my sleep. We had a deal! She ended up doing really good on the canoe.
We canoed to an animal refuge. This is a place where they keep hurt or disabled animals and help them heal, then hopefully release them back into the wild. We saw monkeys, birds, wild pigs, and other weird animals that I had never heard of before. I took pictures of a lot of the animals and you can see them on my picasa.
Next, Pajaro took us to a museum where he showed us different hunting methods that the indigenous people still use today. He also used a die from a pod plant and painted designs on our face. I felt like a jungle warrior princess....especially when I was holding the machete. We also visited a woman who was making pottery. She was using clay from the jungle and paint from the plants. Then she would glaze the pottery with resin from the trees. It was all very interesting. I was really enjoying the jungle.....now if someone would just turn up the A/C and remove the mosquitos....I could see myself hanging in the jungle for awhile.
We headed back to the lodge and after dinner, Pajaro took us all out for a "night" walk to look at insects and snakes. It was really fun! We were all walking close together with our flashlights in the middle of the Ecuadorian Jungle. I felt really safe though...Pajaro knew his stuff. He was born and raised in the jungle and knew all of the bird calls and survivor tactics. We walked up to this little pond and he took out his machete and stared at the water for awhile. Then all of a sudden he went "Whack" with the knife and killed a fish.....seriously...he was a badass!
I decided that I was going to drink a lot of jungle juice this night so I would forget about the critters that were going to hunt me in my sleep. Good thing I had a few cocktails because when Tamara and I went back to our cabina....we were greeted by the biggest freaking cockroach I had ever seen (and I live in Texas!). It was just hanging out on Tamara´s bed and we almost thought it was fake. I yelled for Pajaro...he came running in thinking something was seriously wrong. When he saw the cockroach he just made a comment about us being silly tourists and then picked it up and threw it out the door. I was kinda buzzing from the juice...and although the roach creeped me out...I just kinda said..."ya know...were in the jungle...were in their territory..and I doubt they want to seriously hurt us"....and drifted off to sleep.
The next day was the full fledge jungle trek. We all put on our wellies (jungle boots) and tons of bug repelant. Pajaro grabbed the machete and we were off....heading into the heart of it all. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! He showed us all of these medicinal plants, birds, monkeys......we ate ants. Yes, I actually ate some ants and to be honest they tasted pretty good. Like little squirts of lemon juice in my mouth. He said if you get lost in the jungle you can eat these ants for energy. Then he showed us ants that can kill people if you get stung and all other sorts of interesting things. We swung from vines like tarzan and acted like stereotypical jungle gringos....but it was tons of fun!
I forgot to mention....a day or two before I left for the jungle I went and sat in the volcanic baths in Baños. I went underwater and had a weird pop in my sinus cavity of my head. Ever since then, I had a terrible headache in my sinus cavity and it didn´t seem to want to go away. Pajaro saw me rubbing my head several times and he would rub herbs and lime on my head and give my temples a massage each night, but it did not seem to help. Jules, the new aged hippie, told me that maybe I was struggling with something and that it was my 3rd eye trying to deal with it. She told me to talk to the trees and look for an answer..... I just figured I busted a capillary in my head from the heat of the volcanic rock. Whatever was wrong with me though....my head it hurt...and it hurt for days.
With Jules being real spiritual and studying shamanism.....Pajaro asked a local Shaman from the jungle to come visit us and "cleanse our souls". Pajaro also told the Shaman about my head problems and if he could do anything about it. I wasn´t sure what was going on....I am kinda spiritual I guess...but I know NOTHING about shamanism.
The Shaman was this 80 year old man who had been practicing his entire life. He was the 3rd generation Shaman in his family. We all formed a circle and he appeared to us in his shamanic dress. He drank ayahuasca, which is a hallucinogenic drink made from plants. He then passed the glass around for all of us to try. We took a very small sip, nothing that would have any effect on us. It was REALLY nasty. He drank like half a bottle and then we had to wait 15 minutes for it to take effect. Once he was in his "trance" like state....he then went to each of us one by one and chanted and shook plants around us, etc. It was actually a really cool experience. I was trying my best to really be in the moment and let my soul be cleansed. It was good for the Malas Influencias! HA! After the Shaman experience, we all huddled around a bombfire and exchanged stories and drank a little bit of jungle juice. Jules asked me if my head was still bothering me and to my amazement I had not thought about my head since the Shaman. The pain was nearly gone! Now....I´m not saying it was because of the shaman...it could have been a coincidence. All I know....is some dude chanted to me and shook a plant and drank some hallucinogens....and my head did not hurt anymore. Believe what you will....but still....kinda freaky, right?
Jules suggested that maybe it was meant for me to have a pain in my head as sort of an awakening into a more spiritual life....
Our last day in the jungle was spent visiting some Quechua families. They welcomed us into their home and taught us how to make Chichua (spelling???) which is fermented liquor from Yucca plants. We went from chopping down the yucca tree and going through the entire process....and then tasting the drink. We also tried various fruits from their farm and made natural chocolate from cocoa beans. It was a really nice day....in fact...the entire jungle trip was awesome! We all went back to Tena and said our goodbyes to Pajaro. I am really going to miss him...he was such a lovely guide.
Then, it was back to Baños.....back to my home. I was excited to get back...plus, the next day was New Year´s and it was going to be one big fiesta!
Once we arrived into town I ran into my Alaskan friends. They had come back from the coast to celebrate New Years in Baños as well.....I was so excited to see them!
New Year´s in Baños.....and for most of Ecuador I think, is pretty crazy. The men dress up as woman and beg for money and all the kids dress up in costumes like we would do for Halloween. For weeks before the holiday, each Barrio (neighborhood) builds their own display of fake people and stages. Some have political statements, others are just funny jokes etc. It is sort of hard to explain, but if you view my New Years pics on Picasa you can see what I mean by the displays.
Anyways, at midnight on New Year´s the barrios then burn the displays in the middle of the streets.
For New Year´s dinner we were all invited to our local friend´s house, Marcelo. He is a famous jungle guide in town. We all went over and he cooked us Choncha (pig). It was sooooo tasty. We ate and drank and bought masks to wear in the streets. After dinner, we went walking through the entire city to view each barrio display. It was a RIOT. The men were dancing in high heels and mini skirts and begging for loose change so they could go by beer in the bar later that night. Kids were holding ropes across the streets to stop cars and making them pay money in order to proceed. There was music blaring everywhere and people hugging and kissing all about. This was HANDS DOWN one of the best New Years I had ever had. Nothing could compare....so different then anything we would do in the USA. One of the barrios made a haunted house. We went through it and it scared the crap out me....people running after me with chain saws and sparks flying everywhere. I am not sure how safe it was either. Like as in not safe.....I mean that I would not be surprised if it was a real chain saw....Ecuador is crazy like that!
Anyways, at midnight the fires were lit and firecrackers were going off everywhere....it was such a intense site. We were running around hugging and trying not to get hit by firecrackers....laughing...dancing....CRAZINESS! We then proceeded into our favorite bar, The Leprechan, and danced and drank and acted silly. FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!!!!!!!!
The next day I felt like shit....Yo estuve chuchaqui....I was hungover! But it was all well worth it.
I love Baños and will never forget this town. I am leaving tomorrow with my friend Marina to Colombia for a few days....before I head to Argentina. It will be sad to say goodbye to everyone, but it is time for me to go (especially with all the stupid boy drama ...hee hee). I did talk to my school though, and it may be an option that I return here to teach english after my travels. English teachers are in high demand right now....so...we will see.
My package still has not arrived yet....which I am very frustrated about. I am going to stop at the post office and see if they can just send it back to Texas once it arrives. Who knows....it is only material goods and they can all be replaced...just kinda sucks.
Ok...VAMOS A COLOMBIA.....cheers and good luck to everyone in 2009! I spiritually feel that it will be a grand year for all :)

Feliz Navidad!

Wow! Things have been eventful for me the past few weeks. I have met so many wonderful people in Baños....which include other travelers and locals.
My friends from Alaska, Natura and Migo, came back to hang in Baños for a few days. They also brought another friend, Alan, with them. Natura and Migo had an awesome opportunity to stay at this very posh hotel in town because Migo´s mom had a time share there. This hotel is at the top of the mountain and overlooks the town of Baños. I have hiked passed it many times and watched the "rich" people swim in the spas and pools and always wanted to go check it out. Alan was staying with me in the dorm room in town and one day we hiked up to the pools to "pretend" we were guests as well. We all swam together and enjoyed the spas overlooking the town. It was lovely! After a few hours though, the manager came up to me and started asking me questions on whether or not I was a guest...at first I made up a room number, but it was clear that he did not believe me. That was when I did the old "no hablo español" line ....quickly grabbed my things and headed down the hill. I was happy to have gotten a few hours in at the pool before I got kicked out.
My alaskan friends are extremly adventurous.....I like to think I am adventurous as well, but come to find out...I am actually a very big scaredy cat.
They all wanted to go river rafting one day and needed 4 people to get on a raft. They asked me to go, but I just wasn´t sure how much I would like it. Ever since my segway accident (if you don´t know the story I will tell you about that later) I feel better with both feet on the ground. Anyways, after a little persuasion and a promise that we would do a category 3 trip, I decided to go with them. We all hopped in this van and headed out with the tour guide to the river about 45 minutes away. The guides had an ipod in the van and jammed out to all the classic songs like "Sweet Home Alabama" etc. We all sang at the top of our lungs and laughed the entire way to the river. I am sure they do that for all the gringos....they must think we are all crazy.
It hadn´t really hit me what we were about to do. I went rafting with my mom when I was younger, but don´t really remember the experience too well. Right before we got to the river, the guide asked us if we wanted to bump up our trip to category 4 and 5 rapids...he spoke really fast and I wasn´t sure what he was talking about, but the Alaskans quickly said "Yes!". Oh lord, I thought....what the hell have I gotten myself into?
We got out of the van and the guide gave us a few lessons. He explained what to do in certain situations such as if you fall out of the raft, if the raft flips, if you are going down the river and hit a rock, etc.....that was about the time that my stomach starting hurting really bad and I became extremely nervous. It became clear at this moment in my life that I am not much of an adrenaline person. We got in the boat and practiced rowing......I also didn´t realize that we had to put work and effort into the trip. I was laughing so hard because I was nervous....here I was in the middle of Ecuador about to go down some Amazonian river with out signing any contract with some people I hardly knew. All I could do was laugh....and I laughed a lot.
We got in the boat and headed down the river....Alan and Migo were howling in the wind and I just sat there staring at my death ahead of me. Natura asked me if I was ok....she said I had the most horrific expression on my face.
As the guide yelled to us the direction to row we headed into the first rapid. I gripped my feet into the loops as hard as I could and we started hitting the huge waves and crashing all over the place. I remember seeing this big ass rock in the middle of the river and I just thought to myself....dear God....please...let´s not hit the rock. About 5 seconds later we crashed into the rock and the raft slid up and we are hanging sideways about to flip....I screamed at the top of my lungs....everyone screamed! I am not sure how, but we managed to get the raft off the rock and back into the river and down more rapids. Once we got through and were in a calm part I glanced over to Natura and we both looked at each other with the same expression...."What the "F" have we gotten ourselves into". I was shaking uncontrollably and was petrified....I wanted to get out of the raft. The guide could sense that I was scared so he pulled the raft over and gave me a pep talk. He explained that he went rafting twice a day and if I did happen to fall out that I just needed to remain calm with my feet in front of me and he would save me....everything would be fine. Everyone calmed me down and I decided to change my attitude about it. We were all in this together and needed to work as a team, we would take care of each other if something bad were to happen.
We went down a few more rapids and I was slowly starting to enjoy it. It was a gorgeous river with mountains all around us. We pulled over to this bridge where we all got out and the guide took us over to some jumping spots. We jumped off the first two spots which were not very high....then 3rd spot was a bit higher. Everyone was doing dives and flips into the water.... then I suddenly remember that I was also scared of heights. I sat up there looking down and just could not get myself to jump off the ledge....I felt like a wuss. I was just so overwhelmed with everything....I am just this simple girl from Austin, TX.....these people were crazy Alaskan adventure people. The anxious feeling began to overwhelm me and I suddenly just wanted to be back in the raft. I am not sure why, but the fear of the height made me lose the fear of the rapids.....I was ready to take on the river again and not be anywhere high.
Once we got back into the raft I felt much better....and I even started howling into the waves as well and was really starting to enjoy the experience. When we were finished rafting I looked back at the past hour and realized how amazing it was. I am really glad that I went rafting.....I can´t believe how scared I was, but it was an awesome adventure.
After spending a few more days in Baños, a group of people in my hostel all decided to go travel to Quilotoa loop. Quilotoa is a small village next to a big crater lake. You can hike to the lake and then hike to varios towns around the area. We decided to go hike around the area for about 3 days. The group consisted of my girlfriends Tamara, Marina, and Erin. And then my friend Alan. We hopped on a bus and headed out of town. The bus ride was insane! There was one part where the bus decided to drag race another bus through this town. We all sat there staring out the window at the other bus and gripping each other....somehow we did not crash. I decided just to close my eyes and pretend I was somewhere else for a few hours.

The crater lake was so beautiful....I had never seen anything like it before. It is also very big....it takes about 5 hours to hike around the circumference of the crater. We hiked down into the lake and met a local fellow who asked us if we wanted to go Kayaking in the water. We were planning on hiking to the town of Chiculan, which was about 6 hours away. He said if we crossed the crater lake by boat we would save an extra hour. We decided to do it...thinking it was a good idea at the time. He confirmed over and over again that the path out of the crater was easy and safe. But for some reason I just could not see a path across the way. By the time we arrived we all got out...hesitantly...as we stared at this mammoth mountain in front of us with no clear path. Now...I love hiking and all. I can hike for days. Mountain climbing on the other hand is not my cup of tea. of course, Alan (The Alaskan mountain man) was smiling ear to ear....he loved this sort of stuff. We started hiking up the mountain and came to a very steep ridge that we needed to get up. The earth was this sort of sandy muddy stuff and some parts would crumble when you stood on them. Alan scaled the area and struggled a little bit, but managed to get up the pass. Erin went behind him...Erin is from Whistler, Canada and has a little more outdoor experience as well. She seemed a bit nervous, but managed to get up the passage as well. Then Marina started to climb the area....she is a bit like me when it comes to hiking...not a big fan of the heights. She became very nervous and started praying...I was right behind her. I was slowly working my way up the steep passage hoping that the places I stepped would not crumble. I looked down below me and just saw the water about 300 feet below....if I fell....it would be really bad. I started to freak out again and became very anxious. Marina was praying for both of us.... It was extremely scary but somehow we both managed to make it up this steep passage way. Fortunetaly, this was the only tretorous part of the hike...the rest was sloping hills and nothing too steep.
The hike was awesome...we walked through small indigenous villages and saw shepards and sheep and rolling lush hills. We all shared stories and chatted the entire way. It was really neat to learn about the people I was traveling with...where they came from and the type of families that they had. I really enjoyed the company. Alan was awesome as well. He would scope out the trails and had a great sense of direction....we made a good hiking team.
We arrived to Chiculan several hours later....ate a good meal and then hit the sack. Alan left the next morning to join up with the other Alaskans. Tamara had an upset stomach so decided to take a bus to the next town. Erin, Marina, and I decided to hike to the other town. We didn´t know much about the hike, but I figured it would not be that hard. I asked the hostal owner if she had a map and she pulled out this sketchy looking drawing and said a few things quickly in spanish. Then she handed me a bag of candy and told us to just ask the villagers how to get to Insinlivi and give them a piece of candy in return for the directions. Since we were not coming back to Chichulan...we had to carry all of our belongings with us. Still, we all figured it would not be that hard.
We all 3 walked briskly and enjoyed the natural surroundings. We shared more laughs and stories and managed to figure out the first half of the hike by talking to a few villagers and passing out candy. We walked down deep into this canyon....then realized that we were going to somehow have to get out of the canyon. We hoped that the pathway would be clear and easy as it did not look like there were any villages around. Our womanly instincts must have been low this particular day because we got lost.....lost for about 2 hours. We walked up and down the side of this mountain, carrying all of our belongings. We were not chipper and happy anymore...we were exhausted. We had been walking for about 4 hours already...If we did not find out way out of the canyon soon then we would need to head back to Chichulan before the sun set. We all missed Alan on this hike....he kept our spirits up and had a good sense of direction. Marina decided that she would climb this really sketchy area up the hill to see if she could see a pathway on the other side. She was gone for about 15 minutes and I was beginning to get worried. Then all of a sudden we heard other people talking....other hikers that Marina had run into. They were hiking the opposite direction then us. They told us how to get out of the canyon, but that the next 3 hours were going to be all uphill and challenging. The hike was really challenging especially carrying all of our belongings. By the time we arrived to the other town we were barely moving....just sorta scuffling our feet inch by inch and hardly saying a word. It looked like we had been lost in the mountains for days...but it was only one afternoon.
The next morning Erin and Tamara headed off to the big city, Quito, to take care of some things and Marina and I decided to go check out the Cotopaxi National Park. Once again....we did not research anything about it. We figured we would take a bus to the park and then just walk around and view the 19,000 ft volcano. Turns out the volcano is like 40 kilometers into the park. There was no way we were prepared to walk that far. We decided to hire a guide. We hopped in the guide´s jeep and headed into the park. From the past few days of trekking we were both sore and tired and dehydrated. We also forgot that Cotopaxi National Park is at a very high altitude. After about 30 minutes of driving we both started to feel really ill. I was getting dizzy and could hardly keep my eyes open...Marina was feeling the same. I could hardly even talk or pay attention to what the guide was saying. He kept trying to get us to get out of the jeep to hike around some areas and we just told him we didn´t want to walk. At the time, I was so out of it from the atlitude sickness and dehydration....but now that I think about it, the guide must have thought we were both crazy. He was very sweet and tried to be enthusiastic and here we were barely able to stay awake on the jeep ride. Basically, we paid him money to drive us around in a jeep in this beautiful park so we could sleep the whole time. He seemed a little worried about us. When the tour was over he drove us to the road where we were supposed to catch our bus and he waited with us...He was a very sweet guy and I wish we did not get sick so we could have enjoyed the tour more.
On our way back into Baños I looked out the window and saw the volcano that sits right behind the town. Smoke was coming out of it. Turns out the volcano became active while we were out traveling.
When I was previously in Baños, I met this chef at one of the restaurants. He is this awesome Irish lad that travels and cooks along the way. He lived in Austin in the 70s so we totally hit it off. On Christmas Eve he prepared this awesome turkey dinner for about 20 travelers. I had a great time chatting with people from all over the world and the food was amazing! We drank egg nog and wine and I ate the best bread and butter pudding in my life. After the dinner we all walked up this hill a little ways and watched the lava spewing out of the volcano. I had never seen a volcano before so it was a site to see for me. Here I was with 20 other travelers in the middle of Ecuador watching fire and lava spit out of a volcano. FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!!!!!!!! It was a Christmas I will never forget.
As I am writing this blog it is Christmas Day. I called my family on skype and enjoyed hearing their voices. I miss all my friends and family, but I am not homesick yet. It helps that I have friends here in Baños and I am glad that I am able to be with them during the holidays. I have decided to stay here through New Years. I am waiting for a package to arrive so hopefully it is here by then. After New Years, it will be hard to say goodbye to all of my friends and my favorite town in Ecuador. But I must move on.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season...

Baños, Friends, and Celebrations

After my Machu Picchu hike...I spent a few days traveling back up through Lima and back into Ecuador. I really enjoyed my time in Peru and am glad that I decided to do the hike. As for my health....I am feeling better, but still having dodgy stomach. I think it is just all a part of traveling....it is hard for your body to re-coop bc you are always on the go.

I contacted Brad when I arrived back in Ecuador. He is really enjoying his time in Montañita. He camps on the beach and spearfishes with some locals that he met. I think he is even trying to make some money with the fish that he catches. He told me he plans to stay there for about 3 months. Montañita is a nice town, but it doesnt have a lot to offer me and I certainly could not stay there for 3 months. So...I decided to move back up to Baños to regroup and figure out the rest of my trip.

I know I have mentioned this a few times, but I LOVE Baños. It is such a precious town that I could easily find myself living in someday. I enrolled back in spanish classes. I decided that I would do at least 2 more weeks of classes to really get some good spanish under my belt. Plus, this would give my body more time to rest. Since I was hanging out for a bit, I instantly emailed my dad to send my very first "care package". Hopefully the package arrives soon, I am expecting my ipod (I have a lot of bus rides ahead of me), another bra (I only brought one bra bc I am an idiot), and some perfume (I am done being al natural....I need something to cover up the smell of my clothes).

The first week in Baños was lovely....I spent my mornings in class and my afternoons out hiking. I could tell that I was a lot stronger at the hikes after the Salkantay Trek. I loved exploring all the different parts of nature and taking in the fresh air. I was eating healthy and really starting to feel better. However, I spent most of my time alone. Outside of my spanish class....I hardly had a conversation with anyone. Sometimes it was really nice....I got a lot of reading time in and great people watching at the restaurants. However, I had not had a decent conversation with someone since I left Cuzco, Peru.

And then....I met Tamara.

I was studying in the terrace of my fabulous hostel when I heard this woman talking and walking up the stairs. She looked to be in her early 40s and just had this boisterous energy about her. She was trying to talk spanish with the owners and checking out the hostel. She asked me how I liked it and I told her that it was lovely. Tamara was with another girl, Rachel, that she met on the bus into Baños. And then there was Erin, another girl that she had striked up converstation with in the hostel. Tamara was one of those people that made friends wherever she went. Turns out she is a very succesful real estate agent in Portland Oregon...no surprise at all.

So within 10 minutes I was drinking a beer with 3 new friends. We instantly connected because we realized we were all solo female travelers. It was so refreshing to sit and talk with other travelers IN ENGLISH. We were exchanging stories and places that we have been to. There are the 4 main travel questions that takes you from being a stranger to instantly having a connection with someone. What is your name? Where are you from? Where have you been? And where are you headed? From those 4 questions you can easily find a way to relate to one another.

We all decided to go grab dinner together and drink a little bit of wine. I was so excited inside....I was actually going to go eat with people and maybe have a bit to drink. I had needed some interaction....turns out...we all needed interaction.

The dinner was great and the wine started flowing. Rachel and I were the youngest of the group. She was only on a 3 week holiday and was leaving in 2 days. She was this crazy chick from LA...who had all these insane travel stories within her 3 weeks here, from being mugged to going to the hospital for a concussion, etc. She was a bit of a drama queen...but I liked her and could tell she was a lot of fun. Erin was also a really unique woman. She was on her late 30s but looked to be in her 20s. She is native indian and is a gardner in Whistler Canada. She had done a lot of traveling in her life and I really enjoyed getting to know her. We actually may meet up in a few weeks to travel with each other again.

After dinner we headed out to the bar. I had not checked out the bar scene in Baños yet. We found this great "gringo" bar and the festivities began. We played pool...hung out with the local guys (who love gringas) and salsa danced. We definitely made a scene that night....didnt get home until almost 5AM!!!!!! The next day, we were all walking through the plaza and heard our names several times. We were now the popular gringa party girls. The rest of the week we all hung out and went hiking and had dinner together. Out hostel has a great kitchen so we would go buy groceries at the market and cook up feasts. Some of the girls would move on and then we would meet other travelers and they would join us in our ventures.
I was having a blast...the only negative thing was that I was spending more money then I normally would have. I decided though...that this sort of thing would come in waves over my next year of traveling. I should enjoy the company because there would be more weeks of loneliness ahead of me.
This week is some other big holiday for Baños. I still never really know what we are celebrating and the locals can never give me a straight answer as well. I have decided that they just really love to party in latin america and will use any excuse in the world to dance in the streets all night long. The past few days there have been tons of concerts and parades around town. We have all enjoyed being apart of the festivites. I have been hanging out with Tamara and this Irish girl named Mirana Murhy (can the name be anymore irish?). We all fight over who is the bad influence of the group, but we have a blast with each other every night.
One of the biggest events of the year occured a few days ago. Baños has this boxcar race. Teams of 2 build these boxcars and race down this really steep hill in the middle of town. The entire town lines up on the streets to watch. Everyone stands in the middle of the streets to try and get pictures of the boxcars and then have to dive out of the way so they don´t get hit. It was a riot....we were passing around bottles of beer and praying that the boxcar didn´t crash into us. The race is actually really dangerous...the racers could crash and if they hit the spectators then someone would get really hurt. It was pretty much like the "running of the bulls" Baños style....There are pictures on my picasa album.
I have also met a few very nice local guys around the town. There is one, named Dario, that I have hung out with a couple nights. He knows that I am practicing my spanish so he lets me chat with him and he talks slowly and clear. He has also been trying to teach me how to salsa and merginue dance. He has had a lot of patience with my two left feet Hahaha. Dario is really well known for his futbol skills around town and just won the paragliding competition in the region....oh did I mention he is extremely good looking as well :)
Anyways, it has been fun hanging out with him. We are just friends and I know that I am leaving soon....so I am not going to just leave it at that.
So a few of the other travelers I have met decided that we all want to spend Christmas together in Baños. I am going to go hiking around other towns in this region for a few days and then we are going to return to celebrate Christmas together. I am not sure yet what I will do for New Years....it would be nice to be with friends as well.
After the holidays though, I have decided it is time to get on the move again. Erin, the traveler from Whistler Canada, is heading into Colombia ....I think I am going to join her. I plan on spending 10 to 15 days there and then flying down to Buenos Aires. My friend Lark from Texas, is going to meet me in Buenos Aires on January 21st.....we are going to explore that whole area together. There are soooooo many places to see in South America. I have really enjoyed my opportunity to get to know the town of Baños...but I must move on.
I will be posting more pics the next few days of the celebrations in Baños.

Salkantay Trek & Machu Picchu

Well let me begin this blog with the fact that I am still alive right now. About 2 days ago (Thanksgiving Day to be exact) I felt like it was close to the end for me....well maybe it wasn´t that bad, but I did have a fever, traveler´s diaherrea, bug bites all over my body, blisters on my feet, lost a toenail, and could barely walk because my body was so sore.
Why was I under this sort of condition you may ask? Because for 5 days prior to Thanksgiving, I decided to take the Salkantay Trek to visit Machu Picchu. Let me start from the beginning.....

It all started in Lima, Peru....where I spent about 18 hours hanging out in the airport. I flew there from Ecuador and thought that I would save money by staying the night there to get to my connecting flight the next morning. Too bad I forgot that the prices are all jacked up in airports. I probably would have saved more money by shopping at Sacks 5th Avenue for 2 hours. I felt like Tom Hanks in "The Terminal" roaming around the airport...checking out all of the stores and restuarants. I did not sleep what-so-ever.
Finally, I fly into Cuzco, Peru which is the main city hub for treks to Machu Picchu. Cuzco is at an altitude of about 11,300 feet. As soon as I stepped off the airplane I was short of breath. I started to get a little bit of altitude sickness and was even feeling a cold coming on...Probably due to the altitude and lack of sleep the night before. After checking into the hostel, I roamed around the city and talked to several tour agencies. I found one that I liked and decided that I wanted to do the Salkantay Trek....it was 5 days long and the views in the pictures looked amazing. Come to find out, though, the Salkantay is the most challenging of the Machu Picchu alternative treks. It is the longest and it goes to the highest altitude. I was a little worried, considering I have never really hiked in the mountains before.
Since I had altitude sickness, the tour agency suggested that I acclimate my body for a day...so I checked out the town of Cuzco and mentally prepared myself for the 5 days ahead of me. I also went and bought a few items that I needed for the hike such as a pancho, sunblock, bug repellant, water purifer pills, and snacks.
Day1 - 4:30AM
A cab picked me up and I met 2 of my fellow trekkers, the Mexicans: Rolando & Mario. We immediately got along right off the bat and started chatting it up with each other. The cab started to drive and backed right into something...it made a horrible crash noise. However, it didnt seem to phase him as he threw the car into drive and kept on going. Mario looked at both of us and said "Let the adventure begin". We arrived to a random bus that locals were piling into. The driver just motioned us towards the bus so we got on. After about ten more minutes, 6 more trekkers got on the bus and we headed off on a 3 hour ride. It was at that point that I looked around and realized that I was the only girl amongst the group of trekkers. Hmmmm...I thought to myself.....is this even a "girly" type thing to do. Am I completely out of my element? Am I actually a Man-Woman??? Just kidding...haha, but I did think it was odd that I was the only chick. Come to find out though, two other girls were to join the group the following day.
After we arrived to our starting point, we met our guide, Henry, and had a breakfast. Everytime we ate during the hike, we were given cocoa leaves to help with the altitude. By the end of the trip we were all pretty addicted to the leaves....we would put them in our tea, soup, beer, or just chew on them for fun.
So we started trekking on the first day. The view was amazing. The rolling green hills were turning into mountains and it felt really good being out in the open air....I didn´t feel like I had a cold anymore and I could not stop smiling. I wasn´t sure if this was because of the magnificient nature or the cocoa leaves. We continued walking and getting to know each other. Other then the 2 Mexicans, there were 6 American guys. 3 of the guys were friends from San Francisco and the other 3 guys were from San Diego and LA. We all walked briskly and tried not to act like the trails were very challenging. After lunch, the sunny fresh weather grew into a dark storm cloud. Soon the temperature dropped and it began to rain. I was really glad I bought that pancho. I slipped into it and before I could get it all the way on, the hail began to fall. It was at this moment that I felt like a true adventure girl.....here I was...walking through the mountains of Peru in a pancho with hail beating on my head. It was a neat feeling for about 3 minutes and then I was totally over it. The hail and rain SUCKED. My shoes, socks, and lower pants got soaked. Since it was later in the day, they never came close to drying. (This would pose a major problem later in the night).
Finally, we arrived to our camp site...worn out from the first day and sick of the rain and hail. For the time being, the weather had cleared up. We were all freezing though, because the site was at a really high altitude. I do not remember the exact height, but it was dang cold!!! Since we were on park land, we were not allowed to build a fire. So our wet shoes and socks were not going to dry anytime soon. We all gathered for tea and supper and huddled close to one other to stay warm. During dinner, the rain started up again. And while it was raining...we realized that icicles were forming around the hut. This meant that it was below freezing. The rain turned into hail again and we sat there wondering if it would let up for us to get back to our tents. Finally, there was a break in the rain. I had my own tent for the night, but I was shaking so bad that the Mexicans let me come sleep with them. We figured we would have a better chance of survival if we had more bodies in one tent. We all layed down and after a few moments realized that the tent was leaking. The rain was so fierce at this point that it was causing a river to run underneath our tent and the water was not only coming in from the sides, but up from the ground as well. At first we all kinda laughed because this was the perfect scenario for one of those Survival shows on Discovery Channel....but after about 5 minutes...we were not laughing anymore. We were miles away from civilization....no one else around except for our group. No fire, no electricity...nothing! The bottom of our entire tent filled up with water and we layed there shaking through the night. It was miserable....I watched the time pass SLOWLY....it had to have been one of the worst nights of my life. I could hear the other guys in the tent next to us going through a similar situation. We all just layed close to each other and waited for the sun to rise. I figured...as long as we were in the tent next to another human body, we would be able to stay alive.
Finally....the morning came. I got up and tried to find some dry clothes to put on that I did not sacrifice the night before. I put back on my wet socks and shoes and headed to the cooking hut. The other 3 guys were in there already with a blank stare across their faces. They did not look good. We switched stories about how horrible our nights were and they then confessed to me that they were not going to continue on with the trek. The night was so horrible for them, that they just wanted to go back to Cuzco and take a bus to Machu Picchu. Since 2 other girls were coming by taxi up the trail, they were going to take the taxi back. So....after day 1....our group went down 3 guys and gained 2 girls.
Day 2 was the hardest trekking day of the entire trip. Not only were we all running on no sleep from the night before, but it was the day that we would reach our maximum altitude of the Salkantay mountain. The views were extrodinary as we walked passed rivers, lagoons, and glaciers. We even saw a couple of avalanches from a distance. What was really neat about the hike was that we never passed any other hikers. Every once in awhile, we would see locals or herders pass by, but that was it. I pushed my body to its limits on this day....slow and steady...I kept my pace to get to the top of the mountain. It was very difficult, but I was mentally ready for the challenge. When I reached our destination at 15,000 feet I was extremely proud of all of us. We took tons of pictures. The San Francisco bunch had a video camera with them. They have been filming themselves dancing at various sites throughout their travels. It was here, that Andrea made her debut on their camera. The whole gang danced around the altitude sign in their own crazy way. (I will let you know when they post the video on youtube....it is going to be a good one). After reaching that point, the rest of the day was down hill. But we were all so worn out that the down hill wasnt as easy as we had planned...but we made it to our camp site. The site was at a much lower lever and warmer then the night before. It was on a beautiful ranch heading into the jungle. We drank a few beers...told a few stories..and slept much better.
Day 3 we walked through the jungle. The terrain was completely different. The weather was warm and sticky and it wasnt the altitude or hail that we were fighting...it was the MOSQUITOS! Those damn pesky things....I must have had an inch layer thick of repellant on my body at all times. We stopped at a rest station and there was a make-shift soccer field. We played a short little game with each other...it was a lot of fun, but pretty exhausting since we were still high above sea-level. After our hike, we arrived to a town called Santa Teresa. This town is known for its Hot Springs. We all headed to the springs since none of us had a shower since we left 2 days ago. The springs were awesome...it felt good to clean off my body. Everyone wanted a beer so I volunteered myself to go get them. This was a mistake! As soon as I stepped out of the water and walked to the bar I looked down and saw my entire body covered in bugs. The spring water had washed all of my repellant off.....it was too late...they all had already bitten me.
Day 4 was also still through the jungle. We trekked along a strong river all the way to this town called Hydro Electric. This was the train that could take you to the town, Aguas Calientes, which is the gateway into Machu Picchu. On the way to Hydro Electric, we stopped and played in a waterfall for a bit. We walked by wild pepper bushes, coffee bean trees, lime trees, and banana trees. The jungle had so many awesome plants and flowers everywhere. After lunch at Hydro Electric, some people decided to take the train to the next town, and the rest of us did the 6 mile walk along the rail-road tracks. I was determined to walk the entire way to Machu Picchu. Aguas Calientes was a major touristy town, but it was also very nice. This was our last night as a group and we were staying in a hostel. It felt so nice to get a real shower and sleep in an actual bed. After our last supper together, we all headed to bed early....tomorrow would be a long day at Machu Picchu...and it started at 4AM.
Day 5 we all woke up and began the trek up to Machu Picchu. It was a 1.5 hour hike uphill to the site. I was sooooo worn out this day. My body was on its last leg of hiking and I was running on low. Not to mention, my stomach was not feeling too good from the "last supper". I spent most of the night sitting on the toilet. This was also the day that my toenail was starting to fall off. So, despite my body slowly telling me to take a break, I made it up to the ruins. As soon as I got there, I forgot about all the pains in my body. Machu Picchu is a site to see! No matter how many photos you have seen in your text books or on the internet....nothing compares to seeing it in real life. Our group was especially lucky because it had been raining for the past week. This was the first clear day they have had in a long time. The sun shined down on all of the ruins and we explored for hours. We even tried to do a dance for the video camera, but we got in trouble by security.
The ruins itself actually do not have a name...no one has ever been able to determine it. It is the mountain next to the ruins that is called Machu Picchu. On the other side of the ruins is a mountain called Wainapichu. Most people hike up this mountain because there are more ruins on the top of it. It is a bit dangerous though...in fact, 7 people have died on this mountain just this year. I was so exhausted that I decided it was not a good idea to hike that mountain. I would hike Machu Picchu instead...simply because they did not tell me a statistic of people dying...surely it would be easier, right? Oh my goodness....this hike was insane!!! Not only was I not mentally prepared for it, but it was an optional hike...and that really bugged me. Why was I putting myself through yet another challenge? Why did I have to be apart of this over-achiever group? Anyways, it was painful...there were times where I was crawling on all 4s up narrow steap stairs....people must have died on this mountain as well. It was worth it though, once we got to the top it felt like we were on top of the world. We could view the ruins below us as well as all the mountain ranges surrounding us. My friend jammed his Iphone music and turned on the video camera. For about 15 minutes we all danced on top of the mountain like mad-men....it was a glorious moment!!!!
That night we ate beer and pizza and struggled to move any part of our bodies. We took the train back to Cuzco and said our goodbyes. We were all exhausted.
The next day was Thanksgiving. I woke up and simply felt like shit. I felt a fever coming on and my body could barely move. My toe was officialy throbbing now and the bites would not stop itching.....I dont know how many times I had gone to the bathroom since the last supper.
I called my family on Skype....I was a little bit homesick. Here I was sick and sore in some random peruvian town, while my family was gorging on turkey. I tried not to dwell on it....it was just one day and I would feel better again....this emotion would soon pass. The Mexicans were still in town so they decided to join me for a nice feast. We ate at a very nice restaurant and exchanged stories back from the first day we met and the cab hit some unidentified object. After dinner, Mario and I tried out one the Inka Massages......it was extremely sketchy. The place was pretty gross and smelled bad. I am not sure why we even went through with it...we both kept looking at each other waiting for the other person to back out of it. Basically, this woman just beat the crap out of my body and then used some hot wooden ball with thorns to scratch my bug bites.....it wasnt the best massage of my life, let´s just say that. I went to bed shortly after the massage because I could tell that my body just needed rest.
The hike was amazing....I honestly can´t believe that I put myself through something like that, but I would do it all over again. I met some amazing people and saw sights that I only dreamed about. My body was not 100%, but I think that it did alright for its first mountain hike ever.
The good thing is, having walked 50 to 60 miles with traveler´s diaherrea, my jeans are now a bit loser. See, you always have to find the glass half full when traveling or else you can drive yourself crazy. For instance, the 20 hour bus ride I took yesterday is not so bad....it could have been 40 hours instead. Or, the guy sitting next to me smells pretty awful, but at least I am not sitting next to a big pile of poo! The moral of this blog is....always look on the brighter side. My body may be falling apart....but I saw Machu Picchu :)

The Wedding

So Brad was heading back to Montañita (beach town) for one last effort at spearfishing. Montañita is only about 2 hours from the airport I am using to get to Peru, so logistically it was better if I headed in that direction, too. Plus, there were rumors of a Full Moon party at the beach that weekend so I figured it would be a good time regardless.
I said goodbye to my family and friends in Baños....I am hoping to get back there for a few more weeks, but things seem to constantly change with me.
At the bus stop we met a strange character from England, named Adam. He was also on his way to Montañita. He was extremely obnoxious and all he talked about was his wild stories and whether or not he could score drugs in Montañita. Brad seemed really annoyed with him and muffled to me that we were not going to travel with him after the bus ride. I just thought the dude was crazy and was entertained by his lavish travel stories. Anyways, more on the weird English dude later.
We had another glorious 15 hour bus ride to the coast. UUUgggg I really do not like the bus rides and my stomach hurts just thinking about how many hours of bus travel I have ahead of me on my trip. I lost all my ipod music on some shitty computer, so I just sit there and stare out the window and try not to vomit from motion sickness. Ok...I´m done bitching....I just really don´t like the bus rides here.
Anyways, on the last bus ride heading into Montañita, I sat next to a charismatic local named Darwin. He spoke really slow and clear so I was able to practice my spanish with him. We were chatting it up and he told me how he loves to scuba dive and shoot fish with a spear. My eyes lit up as I told him that my travel buddy has been DYING to spearfish and needs some people to go with. I didn´t realize at this moment in time, that Darwin was a well-known local in Montañita. By meeting him..Brad and I were instantly friends with many of the locals.
Once the bus ride was over, I introduced him to Brad and they went off talking about Spearfishing. They arranged to meet the next day to go.
That night we met up with some friends that were in town that weekend....my friend Jim works at the language school there. They were having a BBQ with all of the students and he invited us. The BBQ was awesome...steak, chicken, fish...yummy! I met some really cool people from all over the world. We all went out that night and hit up the scene. People were buying drinks left and right. We went to this bar that had a band and I ran into the crazy English dude. He said he travels around Beat Boxing and was going to get on stage in a few minutes. I was like...oh lord...this guy IS CRAZY. Then all of a sudden the dude gets on stage and goes to town with Beat Boxin. Everyone in the bar is super impressed and jamming out to him. I must admit, he was pretty darn good and I was moving my body to it. It is just funny the type of people you run into while traveling. A day ago I thought he was some washed up druggy. Come to find out...he is a washed out druggy that is damn good at Beat Boxing!
Anyways....I must have had a lot to drink that night because the next day was AWFUL. I felt like dog poo...and swore I would never drink again. Of course, it had to be the most amazing beautiful sunny day of the week. So I dragged myself out of bed and layed on the beach awhile....I got kinda burned, but sweated out the hangover. Brad went fishing with his new friends and they caught a couple. One of the guys invited us over to his house to cook up the fish and hang out for a bit. It was a really neat experience to be invited into a strangers house that we just met and have him prepare us food. The guy spoke REALLY fast spanish so our communication was very basic. During dinner, he invited us to his cousin´s wedding that night. We were a little hesitant about going, but decided that it was a unique opportunity. Lenein, the guy, told us that we just needed to bring a gift for the bride and to meet at his house at 10pm. Oh yeah, the weddings start late....and go ALLLL night long.
We had no idea what to bring as a gift...so at the last minute we were running around the town trying to find something. I ended up just buying a nice bottle of wine bc that is totally normal in the USA. After I purchased it though, I asked the clerk if the wine would be appropriate for the wedding and he simply just said ...Not really. Hahaha oh well...we were late and I already bought it. So we met up with Lenein and he took us to the store to buy wrapping paper and then we headed off to the wedding. We walked to the wedding bc Lenein explained that the cab wouldl charge double since he was with Gringos....its better if we just walk.
So we got to the wedding and Brad is holding the bottle of wine THAT I BOUGHT (he hadñt paid me back yet at this time). The wedding is huge...and there are tons of people already sitting down. We all walked down the middle to greet the bride who is standing there accepting gifts. Brad walks up to her and hands her the wine and she graciously accepts it and gives him a party favor. She then looks at me...empty handed. I have no idea what to do so I just walk up to her and say ¨Congratulations¨real Texan like and give her a hug. She says thanks, but doesn´t hand me a party favor. HAHAH oh well... I jsut followed the others to a table and sat down.
As soon as we sat down, they put beer on our table and handed us a heaping plate of food. The music started blaring all around us. The vibe was amazing...and Lenein told the bartendar to make sure there was always beer and drinks on our table. Let the party begin!!! Darwin, from the bus, rushed over and asked me to dance. I was already reallly nervous about this because of my dancing experience on Halloween. I told him in broken spanish that I was really bad, but that didnt seem to bother him. He grabbed my arms and whisked me onto the EMPTY dance floor. Thankfully, he was a really good lead and twirled me around everywhere. I was able to loosen up and actually started enjoying myself dancing. For about the next 5 hours, Brad and I consumed beer and danced all over the place. Unlike the USA where I normally just sit in my chair at weddings, I had the guys lined up ready to ask me to dance. They dont care about anything...they just like to dance and have a good time. Oh, and the songs are like 20-30 minutes long. Right when I thought the song would be over, it would remix and another beat would start. I definitely had a good workout that night.
At about 3am we tried to leave the wedding to meet up with our friends at the Full Moon party. However, the locals were not having that idea. They grabbed our hands and brought us right back to our table and gave us fresh beers. They said the night was young...at 3AM!!!!!! We danced for a few more hours and got home close to 5am. The next day, we found out that the wedding didnt close down until almost 8am! Now thats the kinda wedding I want to have!
The night was amazing and definitely an experience for the books. It is crazy how we just met these people the day before and they already invited us into their home for dinner and took us to the biggest wedding in town. I was very greatful to them for doing that.
I will get some pics up in the next few days...my computer keeps screwing up. Oh, and there is a fabulous video of drunk Brad at the wedding. I am hoping to put it on YouTube. Try searching Brad Butler Ecuador Wedding in the next few weeks and hopefully it will pop up.
Well, I leave tomorrow to head to Peru. I have a 12 day adventure ahead of me but I am really excited for the challenge.