Forgotten Tales, & Chasing a Caboose

Ok...before we get too far from this magical place there are tales to be told & experiences to be shared (before I forget!).......

Catwalk anyone?? On our last night at the Purple Valley Yoga center, we decided to celebrate with a few new friends. We loaded up a cab with 6 people, I finally got the cab drivers to break their 4 people to a cab rule, and headed to Baga Beach for drinks and dancing at Titos Bar. In we went full of excitement and joy, the restaurant was mostly populated by Indians making it feel like a truly authentic Indian experience. We were busy chatting away and celebrating when this woman's voice boomed out over the PA system something like...and now ladies and gentlemen get ready for a real Indian experience in fashion, before we knew what was happening, the lights went low and three scantilly clad women in short shorts (very short) were seated on with their backs to us and the song about big butts began to blare. It was a fashion show of sorts, if you like short shorts, bathing suit tops made of small wooden pieces, absurdly high-heeled shoes and loads of flowing see through black material. It was quite an experience!!

Scooter lessons??? Since arriving in India I have wanted to learn how to drive a scooter. We thought it would be a great way to get around on our own. Never mind that I have never driven one, that there are cows/dogs/people in the roads and that they drive on the left hand side of the road. Well our friends, Sybill and Florian (from Switzerland) rented one and he knew that I wanted to learn how to drive it, so he told me how, had me start it and then let me drive it. It was early, only a few people out and about so the only road hazard was really myself. After a precarious but graceful turn around (on a dirt road) he told me to try driving it down the road. Never one to pass up adventure or the opportunity to ride on the back of a motorized bike, Kelsey hopped on the back (without shoes) and away we went. I made it down the road just fine but when I had to turn onto a dirt road that is when the trouble started...I accidentlly drove straight towards a large cement post (by now Kelsey was off the bike), I tried to ride up onto the post, this was unsuccesful so I tried to turn the scooter sideways, and then began yelling for help. Kelsey, along with this weird "Italian" guy I met a few days earlier and a few Indian's eventually came to my rescue. The Indian's suggested turning off the bike, the "Italian" said bikes are dangerous, and Kelsey said what do you want me to do? Amazingly I only gave the scooter the smallest little scratch and walked away unharmed...it was pretty funny!!

And now....chasing a caboose. We spontanously decided to leave Arambol the day after Christmas. After two train rides, one which included us wandering up and down narrow train isles to find a place to sit, we arrived in Kulem (or Colem or Collem, we saw all 3 spellings). We got off the train here because we had read about a large animal sanctuary and waterfalls. The town of Kulem, is a sleepy little town, with very few tourists and even fewer who take the train. We got off the train, and walked about 30 feet before being engaged by the man who ran the "tea stop". He offered not only to be our cab driver but our waterfall tour guide. He told us not to pay the 1800 rupee fee for a jeep to the waterfalls, but to go with him on the train the next afternoon. He also told us not to tell anyone about it..which raised our suspicions but that would be the next day and we would worry about it then. Sanjay (that was the tea guys name) brought us to this restaurant, he talked to the owner whose home also doubles as a hotel. It was not until about 9:30pm that night that we realized staying in this guys home meant that there would be people walking through our room to their room....all night long. It was not as bad as it sounds...but it was a bit odd. We spent the next morning in the animal park, saw a bison and loads of monkeys, Kelsey was prepared for larger animals, as she carried a stick to ward them off. Then in the afternoon our adventures really started...Sanjay picked us up, we waited 45 minutes for a train (it was beyond us to figure out the train schedule) and then headed towards the falls. After about 30 minutes on the train, watching the sceenery change from the sleepy town to jungle and hills, we spooted the waterfalls...after 40 minutes the train slowed at Duhsagar falls, and Sanjay told us to jump off. Yes, he said jump off...so we did!!! Then we were walking back up the tracks towards the falls, we walked through a DARK tunnel (Sanjay said to watch for large rats!) and then we were at the falls. We giggled to each other the whole time. After a few photos and moments of thoughtfull reflection, I asked Sanjay how we were going to get back, he said on a train but there was no real train stop so I was not sure what he meant. We obediently walked back down the tracks towards a check point for the trains, according to Sanjay there was a station manager there and he would be able to tell us when the next train would be arriving. After about 35 minutes, (it was now getting dark) Sanjay told us to start running down the tracks as a FREIGHT TRAIN drove at us!!! Because we had nothing better to do and because we were up for the adventure, we followed him (I was wearing flip flops), before we knew what was happening, we were chasing a train and climbing up onto the caboose!! That was to be our ride home....sitting outside on the flat bed back of a freight train's caboose. It was magical...we could see all there stars, were able to smell some fresh air and were delighted about our unique adventure. It was a great ride back, complete with small groups of men gathered along the sides of the train tracks, cooking over open fires.

That night we collapsed in exhaustion from our busy day...we were so tired we did not even wake up when the family walked through our room. Sanjay picked us up from the restaurant/hotel then next morning (we are now entitled to a lifetime of free tea from our friend), and we took a train back to the beach town of Majorda. We spent one last night and morning by the beach before heading to the Goa airport. Yesterday we were stuck in the airport for 7 hours because there was really bad fog in Delhi! We finally arrived in Delhi at 10:30pm, and today had another wonderfully adventurous day poking around...

We leave tomorrow at 2pm.....I have so much more to write but I think I have written enough for today... Until then.................

Brian the Christmas Messiah Crab

Happy Hanukkah!!! Merry Christmas!!!!

We have been spending the last week in a town called Arambol with the people that we met from the yoga retreat. It has been great just relaxing & appreciating having the time to just be.

I took kitesurfing lessons and became frustrated from not being able to fly the kite properly especially since the two people that I took the lesson with were naturals. Kelsey has a great video of me having a fit about the kite not staying in the air. But I can now keep a kite in the air and make it do these beautiful figure 8's.

Kelsey has had a bit of a bug...she has had a few emergency bathroom experiences. One bathroom emergency included her choosing between a squat toilet or seated toilet (one with a man showering just next to her, visible through a window!) . She chose the squat toilet that came with it's own pet...a scorpion on the back of the door. So not only did she have to balance over a squat toilet with an upset stomach, but she had to avoid a run in with a scary scorpion.

We spent yesterday walking up to a beach called Querim. We were baby sitting for our new Swiss friend's daughter, Liv. We brought her to this cool fresh water lake that is separated from the salty ocean by a strip of sand. Liv buried herself in the mud and was a great sport as we scampered along the shores edge, climbing rocks while seated in her special backpack carrier.

Along the way Kelsey collected shells....one of the shells was occupied by a crab, but we did not know that. We brought it home, and went out to dinner and when we got back, the shell was on the floor. We would put it back up on the shelf and then about 10-20 minutes later it would be on the floor again. It was not until this morning that we realized that there was a crab inside. We christened him Brian (from the Life of Brian movie) and our roommate Nicola announced that he was the Christmas Messiah!!! It was a morning full of laughs!!

Tonight we are having dinner with our friends and we are having a gift exchange!!

Love you all!! Happy Holidays!!

Becoming bendy & finding our innner mula bandha

We have one & a half days left here at Purple Valley. This morning we finished our last yoga class & we were filled with bitter sweet feelings. It has been a magical two weeks. We have explored our dedication to yoga and the yogic path, questioning our motivations & ultimate desires as they relate to our yoga practice. We have had deep & thoughtful conversations with our humble teachers & moments of humor when our male instructor discussed how he would practice yoga if he were pregnant. We have searched for answers to unanswerable questions about the difference between yoga & religion, between philosophy & dogma, & the difference between lollys & lollypops. We have both been able to deepen our practice on a spiritual as well as a physical level. We have tried to wrap our brains around the idea of mula bandha only to be told it starts as the physical experience of tightening your pelvic floor & becomes more than a core strengthening activity an "energetic" lifting from your root!! We also learned that if you look off into the distance and then down to the tip of your nose you feel it in your root lock area (do it, I dare you!!!) During our Sunday morning practice, we secretly listened & observed with amazement at the "really bendy people" (who visit on Sunday) whose breathing sounded like an ocean & bodies twisted into seeminly impossible postures. I marveled at this guy people refer to 45 day Ian..he meditated for 10 hours a day for 45 days...WITHOUT TALKING!!!!

Kelsey discovered that she can relax her arms & twist them behind her back without pulling them off & she is really really close to doing a headstand without help. I have discovered that I can almost lay flat on my stomach with my legs wrapped over my shoulders & that I can do a back bend without pain in my shoulders. The word breathe took on a whole new meaning especially in those really twisty poses & the phrase "bend or die" became our secret mantra.

We made total strangers our best friends & laughed at what seems like nothing, we have been touched by the kindness of these strangers & inspired by one another. Our nights ended with fits of laughter at speed scrabble matches (where people were prone to making up words) & our own silly behavior once in the safe confines of our room. And we continued to stuff ourselves silly with good food!! To put it simply it has been splendiforusly superb!!!

We have visited more beaches, explored a spice plantation & took two cooking classes. Did you know that only one pineapple grows on a plant at a time and that if you cut the top off of the pineapple and replant it a new plant grows and produces a pineapple? We visited markets and haggled till we liked the price. We befriended a shop keeper whose name translated to "happy together", which prompted us to break out in song, while we drank tibetan chai tea with her.

I have been so happy here, so genuinely joyus of heart. One of the things that I have appreciated & enjoyed is that the women who run this place, as well as our instuctor are not super thin bendy types. They have strong, healthy, flexible bodies, of all different proportions & they are proud of their bodies curves & shapes. It's food for my soul to be around women like this.

We contiue to try to understand the nuances of driving in India. As in many countries I have been in horn honking is a special talent. Each honk has a different meaning, one honk for I am passing you, another for move you are in my way, and still another for watch out danger!! The rules are beyond my ability to understand...disregard the lane lines, drive with four to five people on a scooter, text and talk on the phone while driving, let go of the steering wheel to pray as you drive past a temple, but the police will pull you over if you have five people squished into a in cab. The pricing seems to have no rhyme or reason even when it is printed on a nice piece of paper...the same price to drive 15 minutes as it is to drive almost an hour??? And the people, cows, and stray dogs walking all over the road seem to disregard the cars even when they are inches from hitting them, nothing leaves on time and no one is in a hurry.

But.....I suppose when you grow up believing in reincarnation...if I did not get to "it" in this life time or I did not get "it" right in this life time then maybe in the next, there is no stress or hurry to get out of the way of a car. It's really a lovely idea.....no tic lists, no to do list, no check in the box, no hurry to get this or that done, no stress to get into the next yoga posture...if you don't get it now then maybe in your next life. It's even more beautiful than that because what you do with your life now matters...it matters for your health now, the quality of your life now & for your loved ones NOW (and if you believe in reincarnation it counts towards your next life).

But don't be fooled...I am still me and Kelsey is still Kelsey...manic, crazy, happy, sensitive, a bit impulsive & full of love!!!!

And now.......LUNCH!!!

Yoga Camp

Daily schedule (Mon/Tue/Thur/Fri/Sun):
5:30 or 6:15am: morning reveille either a roosters,dogs or cows
7:00-8:45ish am: morning yoga practice
9 to 10ish am: eat from gourmet buffet (fresh pineapple/papaya/yogurt/rolls)
10-1*pm: chat about how to barter at the market/lay by pool (very important)
1-2pm: eat again (vegetarian delights sometimes vegan)
2-4:30 pm: continue chatting and laying by the pool
4:30-5:50 pm: afternoon discussions/practice (meaning of ashtanga yoga/ayurvedic medicine/breath work/chanting), pracitice to music
6:oo pm: eat again (same as lunch)
6:45-9:00 pm: chat, play games, laugh, and try to figure out how the day was so busy but not really
*10-1pm is also used for cooking classes, ayurvedic medicine lecture, or reading

Wed afternoons:
visit local market/Anjuna beach

Friday night/Saturday:
Free play NO practice!!!!



We are living in paradise here at the Purple Valley Yoga Center. We are about 15 minutes east of a town in Goa called Anjuna (which means the beach is now 15 minutes away). We are sharing a room in the Ganesh House, we have a bar that we pretend is a walk in closet with all of our things hanging from it, our beds are shrouded in wonderful white mosquito nets and now our biggest decision everyday is weather to sit by the pool or a hammock. It is absolutely rediculous how spoiled we are here. The yoga is hard but the instructors(a Canadian couple) are wonderful. They seem to know just how much to push and when to push. Plus they are really approachable, so even though they spend most of their year studying yoga/breathing/chanting and are trying to reach some sort of enlightened state they are exceptionally down to earth and real.

We are meeting more people from all over and everyone is at a different level. We have been hanging out with this guy Mace, who is sort of like the bag that Marry Poppins carries. You never know what he is going to pull out of the bag or what he is going to say. He seems to know all sorts of things, and one minute he is telling us about his life when he was a dancer, the next he is telling us about how he was into the hardcore party drug sceen in Australia and then he is telling us how he was a Harri Krishna. Only an Australian can be telling you a story about an intense metaphysical experience and use the terms "full on", and "rocked up". We have had several good laughs with him. We have also been hanging out with some really cool/fun women from Austraila to Egypt. And we have gotten to see some amazing yoga practice and poses.

Once again I have loads to say about the fresh cooked food. Each meal is buffet style and it is a genuine feast. The cooks are incredible and it seems as if each day they try to do better than the day before. We have feasted on veggie Korean pancakes, pasta with avacado and coconut cream sauce, savory curries and spicy dal (lentils) prepared all sorts of ways. Occasionally there is a dessert, spice vegan ice cream,apple crisp, yummy pudding. There is an endless supply of tea and coffee.

Plus if we are feeling tired or sore from yoga there is an ayurvedic hut where we can get massages or a consultation with an ayurvedic doctor to determine if our "constitution" is imbalanced

We continue to laugh ourselves silly on a regular basis!!

Love to you all!!

Multicultural

We are truly enjoying the fly by the seat of our pants life style and we are well matched for this kind of travel. As soon as I start taking my self to seriously Kelsey is quick to remind me to be lighter in my heart. As soon as Kelsey gets too silly or acts like a spaz, I just laugh at her and that seems to do the trick. We seem to be keeping a good balance even when we get a bit persnickety with one another.

Our cab ride from Palolem to Anjuna was mildly hysterical. The driver could not remember how to get to Anjuna so he frequently stopped to ask for directions. He managed to miss the road signs twice, I spotted them and suggested that we go that way but he was not too keen on hearing what a western tourist had to say. It was a hot long ride, with five people, and six bags stuffed into a small car. At one point we were on a bridge in the capital city of Goa and I made the mistake of saying out loud that I would love to take a picture.............so in the middle of traffice on a two lane bridge with traffic going around us in every direction our driver stopped to let me take pictures. There was a bit of manic shouting coming from everyone in the car but we all got some nice photos. The driving here is like that in most poor and under devloped countries..lines are for weaving in and out of and other cars are for pushing out of the way. Having sat in the front seat yesterday I can say with confidence that passing on a two lane road here is a test of ones faith in the driving gods. We arrived in one piece and are staying at a beach front hotel. There were two and a half of us staying the room, this ditsyAustrailan guy slept outside on the hammock.

Yesterday while we sat on the beach, we met three guys from Austrailia, Sara is Irish, Elisa is French, Hamil is Afghani, David is German, Laura is Canadian, and Jake is South African...and last night 10 of us ate dinner together, laughed until our sides split, and sang songs while walking back to our hotel room at 2am (we channeled Janis Joplin, you would be proud Dad!). At one point I sat back to listen to all of the accents and it sounded like a choir, it was the best music I have heard in a long time.

We are going to spend the rest of today laying in the sun and hanging out with our new travel friends, and the 100 or so cow and dogs that occupy the beaches here. There is one cow in particular that has an injury to her leg...she thinks she is a dog or she was a dog in her previous life and still enjoys life's simple pleasures....scratches to her head, nuzzling her head against your shoulders and eating off of plates not being watched (she even eats limes!!). The life of the Goan cows and dogs is pretty good...tourists take your picture, feed you scraps, pet you and you get to enjoy hot days by the ocean...not too bad!! Tonight we are off to the retreat center and some deluxe accomodations!!!

Love you all!!

Catching up.......

We have done so much since I last wrote to let everyone know that we arrived safely and I still have not told you about our adventures. In an attempt to catch everyone up, please imagine that you are going back in time to when Kelsey and I did not get much sleep and were about to board a plane to Taipei, Taiwan.

Taipei:

1. arrived in Taipei, no bags a the baggage area... they decided to catch the later flight,
   
2. filled out the required paper work to recover our bags, walked to the customs area. (Oddly enough when the airline misplaces your luggage you need to walk through the "things to declare" line)
3. took a 1 hour bus to Taipei, figuring out how to get the bus was quite comical
4. bus dropped us off in the middle of the city, got lost looking for the hotel, took a"short cut" through a dark alley but did manage to find our hotel.
   
5. upgraded at the super fancy hotel Kelsey booked for us...the room came complete with a heated toilet seat..yup that's right the seat was heated. Not only was it heated it had a super fancy bidet (that Kelsey tried to use only to make the whole bathroom wet). After exploring all of the fancy toilet bowl actions, we made our way out to eat. (Our long flights and many layovers were all about food)
6. ate at the night market, got super fresh pineapple and dragon fruit, watched a woman make dumplings, ate those with soup broth super cool!
7. stopped at 7-11, stocked up on face masks, chocolate, water and other goodies
8. returned to hotel room, used face masks...laughed till we cried, crashed exhausted at 12am
9. 5am woke up, put on the same clothes we had been wearing since we left... and returned to the airport
10. cleared customs, found out our bags were at the airport and would be on the flight to Delhi, got coffee, played in the duty free stores, then walked to our gate...and that's when it happened.................................................

We were on a walkway that looked down on to our boarding area, the whole area was full of women wearing Sari's, and men with turbans, we stood silent for a few moments, looked at one another and smiled...we were really going to make it to India. We descended the stairs to the boarding area, boarded the plane and off we went. It was a 7 hour flight, Kelsey became obsessed with a video game on her little personal tv, I watched movies but we could not contain ourselves...way too excited. The plane landed and that is when the mayhem began and it has not stopped since..................................

1. landed in Delhi, Kelsey (no joke) pulled up the bottom of her seat, she pulled it all the way off in an attempt to find her lip stick (it really is a flotation device), men in turbans laughed at us
2. the immigration officer told me that he thought that Kelsey was pretty, with Kelsey standing right there, we laughed
3. waited forever for our bags but the luggage god was kind to us...he delivered them!
4. I lost any semblance of sanity I had left trying to figure out how to get to the domestic area of the airport (apparently you have to take a cab..same airport, but a car ride away)
5. I had an exciting discussion with an airport security guard after I walked out of the customs area without my bags, or passport (I really was at my wits end!)
6. Took the cab, rescheduled our flight from Delhi to Goa (Kelsey told me she would handle it, seeing my insane state)
7. ate our first Indian meal (super yummy)
8. got back on another plane headed for Goa
9. 8:45pm finally arrive in GOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10. Met this woman names Sarah, she asked us where we were going, told us where she was going, wanted to know if we wanted to join her and another woman, Elissa, for a cab ride to south Goa, we said yes
11. 11:30pm..arrived in South Goa at Pololem beach...have not left yet......................
12. Kelsey realizes she has left all of her underwear in the hotel in Hawaii (we laugh again)
    

It is just magical here. Our beach hut is at the south end of beach, we fall asleep to rushing waves, wake up to the sweet salty air as the sun rises and the most difficult decision we make each day is where we are going to eat. We sleep soundly and happily. For me it's the smells of a place that make it so wonderful and this place is full of magical smells. When we walk the streets I can smell cumin and curry floating from restaurants and peoples pores. When we walk the beaches I can smell the salty wet air, and pungent body odor. When we rode bikes we could smell the fields and garbage being burnt. For Kelsey it's the sounds, and there are so many sounds. People talking, singing, music playing...it's great.

Since arriving here at Pololem we have done yoga 3 times(once everyday since arriving), met a guy from San Francisco who we went kayaking with to an island where we saw dolphins playing in the water, a kingfisher bird and moneys. We rode three people on a scooter, rode bikes in the sweltering heat wearing flipflops, nicknamed each other Wanda and Francine, and have just been laughing ourselves silly. Each day we have been approached by people selling items on the beach and we are both just horrible at bartering, Kelsey is so bad that the little girl that sold her a couple of necklaces gave us free anklets she felt so bad ripping us off.

The food is amazing, fresh fish, savory sauces, fried veggies, lime soda and curry. The people are genuinely friendly and eager to help. Quite simply.........we are having a blast!

Tomorrow we head up to Anjuna (sharing a cab with the women we came down with) and then on the 6th we start our yoga intensive.

Sorry this is soooo long..we love you all!

5 flights, 4 layovers, one taxi...72 hours.....

Just so everyone knows we made it to GOA last night.....sleeping in a hut on the beach....it's hot, beautiful and like paradise! I will blog tomorrow to catch everyone up....but for today it's the beach, yoga and lassi's!!!!!! Thank you to everyone who is replying..it means the world to us, we love and miss you all!!!

36 hours...27 hours left..timewarp!!

Somewhere in the last 36 hours we lost a whole day...here in Japan it is Nov 30th at 2 in the afternoon but my watch says it is 9pm on the 29th. We have laughed so much...from Kelsey almost walking into a light pole to a bus driver that sounded like Kermit the frog and talked about his family geneology at 5am today (or yesterday?)

Oahu was full of surprises....

I realized when we got to the baggage area that my brother in-law was in Hawaii and as it turned out he was on Oahu but leaving in 4 hours. His friends White Crow, Wendy and Everett however live in Honolulu and we were in Waikiki, which are very close. For months now I have wanted to me White Crow, he is a Native American storyteller with whom I have shared emails since Travis forwarded him my blog link while we were in S. America. We made plans to meet up with White Crow, Wendy and Everett and then spent the afternoon enjoying our very delux hotel (overlooking a beautiful harbor with sea breezes and sunset views, thanks to Kelseys mad booking skils). Once in the hotel we immediately changed into our bathing suits, layed by the pool, and relaxed..it felt totally sureal. It also felt like this whole having to change our plane ticket thing was supposed to happen. It made me really believe that when you really want something to happen the whole universe conspires to help you get what you want.

We took a quick walk to the beach, watched sailboats float in the distance, burried our toes in the soft wet sand and enjoyed magnificent sunset views. We floated easily from one conversation to the next and caught our breaths long enough to both think that we live blessed lives. We returned to the hotel, used the internet and booked tickets for our flight to Goa (and it was not until 3 hours into our Hawaii to Japan flight that we realized we booked them for the wrong day...we got a bit confused about the whole international date line thing). Wendy and White Crow picked us up at the hotel, and gave us real Hawaiian leis, that smelled so good, it made my senses swirl with delight. We enjoyed a great dinner with Wendｙ, White Crow and Everett.

We left Hawaii this morning (or yesterday) for Japan, feeling like the few people we had interacted with were sweet generous souls who make Hawaii such a special place, a place we will both return to on another adventure. I ate Sushi for breakfast (Kelsey had oatmeal) and then we boarded a China Air flight to Japan. For the next nine hours we laughed at just about everything and about nothing (we also drank wine at 9:30am, and chose between pork with noodles or pasta for breakfast (we do not know the difference)). The coolest part about the flight were the little TVs that had all sorts of movies and things to watch for free (kind of like this FREE internet cafe run by Yahoo!). Then we landed here in Japan and were able to change our plane ticket to Taipei, Taiwan, FOR FREE, which means we now have a night in Tiapei! We booked a hotel and cannot wait to explore.

Getting to India is turing out to be quite the adventure. I think we both secretly feel like schwank (Kelsey made that word up just now) international travelers. I feel really lucky to live my life...and now for sushi in the Toyko airport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hawaii Here We Come

Wow, the last two days have been a mind bender! Kelsey and I are headed to India...our tickets have us leaving the US on Friday November 28th and landed us in Mumbai. Mumbai as many of you know has sadly been under attack by a group calling itself the Decca Mujahideen. Kelsey and I played phone tag for hours trying to figure out what to do. I was unable to tear myself away from the live CNN stream from India. We tossed around idea after idea...change our tickets to Delhi, go somewhere else like Bali. Our emotions were twisted up like a long strand of DNA, and our loved ones were freaked out at what was occurring.

The live news from Mumbai was heart wrenching and the terrorists seemed to be erratic, planned attacks, hostages taken, Americans and Brits targeted, Indian nationals killed, famous land marks on fire, a Jewish Chabad taken over by terrorists, and no reported demands made. And yet in the middle of it all, the news continued to report and it looked like people were walking and going about their daily business. There were all sorts of unconfirmed reports with no real clear information. The authorities knew that the terrorists arrived by boat, carried grenades, guns, plastic explosives and huge quantities of dried fruit. Yes, the news did report just that, huge quantities of dried fruit....which at first seemed really weird until someone pointed out that the fruit may have been their cover, merchants bringing in dried fruit. I still think there is something odd about it. One of the news anchors also reported that the attacks were something like and I quote "a long drawn out Bollywood movie" which made me giggle.

After hours of "what to do" phone calls, research on Bali (it's the rainy season) and pricing and repricing tickets we finally made a decision...................................................

We canceled our tickets to Mumbai (due to the chaos we were given a FULL refund) bought tickets to Delhi (that leave on 11/28/08)on a totally different carrier (for less than the tickets to Mumbai that we bought months ago) the only catch is that we have a 20 hour lay over in Oahu, Hawaii. Soooooooooooo we booked a hotel and will enjoy our brief stay on Waikiki beach at a 4 star hotel (thanks to Kelsey's mad hotel booking skills) and then the next morning we fly out to Tokyo Japan then Taiwan then Delhi (two places we have never been). The total time of travel is 63 hours and 30 minutes, that makes me giggle too!! Once we get to Delhi (a city we have no guide book for and no plans for) we are going to book a jumper flight to Goa.

I am very awake with travel jitters. Mondo and I just enjoyed a great Thanksgiving with friends and family in Mountain View CA and we are staying with family in Concord. As this journey begins I am filled with so much thankfulness, thankful that Kelsey and I did not leave for Mumbai earlier this week, thankful that I could make decisions about what to do from the comforts of my home, thankful that my family understands my need to see the world and be me, thankful to my husband for being so generous and supportive (even though his face said something else) and thankful to Kelsey for having an adventurous spirit.

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving and now.........................LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN!!!!!

Final thoughts

We have been home for 3 days. It is amazing how quickly I have fallen into the excesses of my previous life.....my cell phone (with internet), filling each minute and moment up with appointments........it's more tiring than traveling.

But it feels good to be home, to hug my friends, to be able to call my best friend and family whenever my hearts desire. And it is exciting....we are moving to a new place and beginning a new life in northern California, so it kind of makes our adventures and explorations feel seamless, which is a lovely way to feel.

We have been very lucky....I have a job that I am excited about, we found an apartment we are excited about (washer/dryer/dishwasher/garage) and we won't need to dip into our savings. As an added plus, my job does not begin until right after Labor day so we are actually still on vacation. We will leave this weekend for Colorado to see family and pick up our dog (who has spent the summer with the most generous and kind friends we know). I am still floating around in a the "be here now, no worries" mood I attain when I have not a care in the world. I do not seem to be too manic, I can only hope it lasts!!!

I thought I would finish by sharing some very silly tid-bits from our trip.............

1. Items lost:
two pairs of underwear
one laundry line
two books
one pair of shorts
a pair if binoculars
one hair clip
one water bottle
one pair of headphones
one hat


2. Funny quotes...

A fellow traveler to me: "I am wearing your pants, you do not need to apologize for not sharing potato chips with me."

Travis, with my back turned to him, "How do normal people do it?" (he was actually talking about playing an air-guitar)

This will be my last entry for this trip....I leave for India with my friend Kelsey in 14 weeks....I am sure the two of us will have plenty of adventures for me to write about!!!

Until then, thank you so much to all of our friends and family who read this blog and for your wonderful comments. I will check the comments one more time this month so feel free to add a final comment or two!

The long walk home

We began this "long walk home" when we started the Inca Trail on August 11th. It was a wonderful experience and a lovely way to begin leaving. Our group consisted of 31 people, 8 American's, team Portugal (4 women in their late 40's who have been friends for more than 20 years), 17 super-human porters, 1 prone to hyperbole guide and 1 soft spoken assistant guide (who I swear was somehow speaking and swallowing her words at the same time). We were lucky because our trekking group was short 4 people which allowed our group to be a bit more intimate, and in general we were a good mix of people who all got along very well.

The trail itself is fantastic. We started in a town called Ollaytantambo. It was warm and we were all chatty with excitement (in-spite of waking up at 4:30am). We walked on fairly level terrain for about 4 hours before we experienced the first of many fully catered meals. The porters are machines, they race ahead on the trail, set up a dining tent, bowls full of warm water with soap and towels, and prepare ridiculously good nourishing meals. The food was outstanding, traditional fare (rice, potatoes, quinoa, veggies, meats, puddings and an incredible steamed cake the final night), enough so that we stuffed ourselves silly at just about every meal. Over the next three nights and four days our group of 12 split itself into two perfect halves, 6 of us walking at a faster pace than the rest but always waiting at important spots and cheering one another on. As the terrain got more difficult our guide reminded us that we were a "spiritual family" and that was all we needed to remain connected. We crossed Dead Woman's Pass under the watchful eye of Pachamama (who decided to make the weather cold, and the skies full of mystical clouds, which blocked our views of some beautiful glaciers). Our guide had us perform a ceremony of thanks to Pachamama which included us saying a prayer over a pile of rocks and pouring Pisco over the rocks once we conquered the pass (I felt we had the best ceremony of the day...other groups were blowing on things and turning in circles, still others just sat around). The terrain changed from verdant green hills, to arid mountains, to cloud forest, to early rain forest, it was magical. We walked along the ancient Inca road, past ruins the whole time and had quiet moments of spiritual peace. Our reward at the end....arriving at the Sun Gate (along with the 200 other tourists who began walking the trail with us) as the sun rose and shined its light on Machu Pichu.

Our guide, though prone to hyperbole and telling tales that I am pretty sure he made up, was fun. The two best "tales" that he told included explaining to us how the Inca's knew about eggs and how they knew about fried egg construction (really) to explain how one ruin was built. The other tale was how he himself "reconfirmed" that the trail was built for llamas and not horses...this tale included explaining how he watched a llama carry 20 kilos and an horse carry 200, and that because of the angle of the road the horse broke it's ankle....not because it was carrying 200 kilos.!!!

I had some very insightful moments while walking the second day. I was feeling totally at peace with myself and my life. I think I spent about 40 minutes walking and talking to Mondo about how lucky we are and how I feel I have very little left to prove to myself about who I am and how comfortable I am in my own skin....I should have seen the neon foreshadowing of the next day as I espoused such peaceful spiritual thoughts!!

Let's be totally honest ....7 weeks of spending 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with another human being is challenging..I decided that the third and most beautiful day of the Inca trail was the best and most optimal time to feel fully challenged. I think it started at 5:30 am when I tried to pack my bag and began feeling like Mondo was sitting too close to me, and it all kind spiraled down hill from there until I was in tears and gently arguing with Mondo about how I was tired of feeling like his and Travis' mother. Fortunately by dinner and after having a bit of time to myself while walking, I seemed to have returned to a more stable state of being and the last night and next day was again peaceful...well sort of....

On the final morning all the groups get up at 4 and then wait in line to begin walking the last few kilometers to the sungate. Everyone is excited (and we all felt blessed because the cloud cover cleared revealing a full moon and many snow capped mountains) and the trail is very narrow. Our guide said to use our judgement but that it would be ok to pass people as we made our way to the sungate. Our groups judgement...the trail was too narrow, and that there were too many people to pass, so best to just be patient, we would all get there before sunrise....but not everyone felt that way. There were three rogue trekkers who, I am not kidding...pushed people over, and thought that they needed to tell people that they were trying to get to the sungate, as if the 200 or so other people walking like cattle, were not doing the same thing. The grumbling came up the line of hikers as these impatient and self-important people approached our group. Feeling peaceful and trying to keep my energy balanced (given my behavior the day before) I grumbled a bit but decided to let it go. This was not true for three members of our group who decided it was their job to remind these people that they just needed to chill out and that everyone was trying to get to the same place safely. There was a bit of a heated exchange, which included some comedic comments since the pushy group only spoke Spanish...and that's when everyone realized they were from....SPAIN!!! Ah the irony...here we were at Machu Pichu, a place the Peruvian's proudly tell you remained hidden from the horrible Spanish invaders for years....but this group of Spaniards still felt there was some conquering to be done!

Having completed the Inca trail, we settled in Aguas Calientes for the night, soaked in hot springs (more like luke warm lime green springs) and enjoyed the company of our new friends. The next day because we had not done enough walking the day before we hiked to the top of Putukusi to take in some more sites of Machu Pichu. In the afternoon we caught a train and bus back to Cusco, slept for a few hours, woke up and took a cab to the airport and boarded a plane bound for Lima.

We arrived to the cloudy overcast skies of Lima at 8am, were greeted by a cab (this cute little man who waved around a sign with Mondo's name), and arrived at Lex Luthor's Guest house (which had by far the hottest showers we had in Peru). The comforts of the city were a welcome site....movie theaters, fast food franchises, and STARBUCKS!!! We visited pre-Incan ruins called Huaca Juliana. For years assumed to be a mound of dirt upon which locals played soccer and drove their dirt-bikes, this place is an ancient city with it's original dirt bricks from the 4th century. We took the mandatory tour, which included a small petting zoo including animals the original inhabitants raised (ducks, llamas, guinea pigs, and hairless dogs (they were really cool)). After the tour, we ate at the museum's restaurant. This is when the decadence began.....

We ran up a 100 dollar bill consuming the house specialties....ceviche, cuy, and pato (fish, guinea pig and duck) and then delicious desserts and coffee!! It was the fanciest restaurant Travis has ever eaten at, way too many forks for him to know which one to use first! Our initial indulgence was followed up with a movie (in English with Spanish subtitles), drinks from Starbucks, a visit to Lima's Chinatown with another decadent meal (the highlights of which were the musical accompaniment, whistled Christmas carols, and a discussion about the street balloon vendors).

Our grand finale for the trip....a magical night at this water park, Parque de la Reserva. It's a park of water fountains. There are all different types, each one choreographed to music, and laser lights. The fantasy fountain was the best, with a fantastic display of water and pictures projected into the water. There were interactive fountains, ones you could walk through without getting wet and others that soaked every square inch of your clothing. We were some of the only gringos and we stuffed ourselves silly with cotton candy!!! It was a perfect end.

Travis left that night at 11pm (his flight was at 1am) and we left the next morning at 11am.
As we left hostel it was hard to believe that we were heading back to California. I recently received an email from someone we met traveling, she described vacations as "dreamlike" experiences. I think that is a wonderful way to summarize the last 8 weeks, as I think back on everything we saw and did...in my minds eye it is one elaborate beautiful dream.

Border crossings, Floating Islands, Cusco, and Peanutbutter

We got our exit stamps for Bolivia, walked 100 yards and got our entrance stamps for Peru without too much difficulty (Mondo and I did not have our "I was here" ticket for Bolivia and were threatend with a fine but no one ever charged us and the Peruvian people did not like Travis' handwriting but they let him in anyway!) The funny thing about walking into another country is that it is really like walking into another country. The difference between Bolivia and Peru was apparent immediately, the entrance office was stocked full of people in suits and official uniforms versus jeans, and the road we walked on was paved. The bus transportation however was pretty much the same as it was in Bolivia.

Yes, that is right, frequent stops for no apparent reason, and seats that did not really recline back, but the ride was only for 3 hours, and we arrived in Puno, Peru in one piece. We promptly made our way to our hotel, booked a tour of the Uros floating islands and Taquile, watched TV (really) and went to bed. The next morning we inhaled our breakfast (apparently in Peru things leave on time!), jumped on our micro and then our boat to the floating islands. (Again the difference between Peru and Bolivia was obvious, our guide spoke english and spanish, the mirco and boat were clean and in working order). It was an over cast and cold day but we had a great time. The floating islands are incredible. The local people cut totora reeds and layer them and then live on them. Their beds are even made of these reeds. The island we visited was small and contained a few generations of one family. We learned about their lives, their dress and culture. Then somehow the three of us ended up on a boat made of the totora reeds and we were brought to another island where we watched a family constructing a totora boat. Then we got back on our boat and headed to Taquile.

Taquile is primarily inhabited by a the Taquileños (shockers) who appear to be in a constant state of traditional celebration (they earn quite a bit of money from tourism). In an effort not to be cynical, it is an interesting community. They have a collecitve econonmy and live by a very virtuous code of ethics. The women wear skirts layered one on top of the other in bright pinks, greens, reds, and yellows, there are women spinning brightly colored llama yarn at every corner and the men dress neatly in white shrits, vests and black pants. The colors you wear indicate your marital status. It is a peaceful and beautiful place. I was struck by how many people I noticed walking as if they just could not make their legs work, I was also stuck by how most people (locals and tourists) did not seem to "see" those people. All in all it was lovely day, we made it back to Puno with enough time to eat dinner at a fried chicken joint (really) and catch our bus to Cusco, Peru.

This bus ride was also pretty typical of what we have experienced but this time there were five women who had shopped till they dropped in Bolivia arguing with the bus driver at every stop (no joke, they needed a small truck to meet them at the bus when we arrived in Cusco). The bus arrived at 4 in the morning (an unholy hour even for me) but the driver let us sleep on the bus until 6 (a man who should be sainted after all the ruckus with those ladies). We tempted fate and caught a cab to our hostel, and because the hostel owners are also saints, they let us check in!!! This was lovely because this is the first city since Rio that we are staying in for more than a day! This meant that we could unpack, really relax, and take a much needed nap.

Cusco is a stark contrast to every city we have seen since Sao Paulo. We have heard from everyone that it is the most expensive city in Peru. It is also the most touristed city in Peru, rightly so since there are tons of partially preserved Inca ruins within walking distance of the city and the infamous Machu Picchu only a short distance away. We spent our first day wandering the streets and visiting a few museums. The whole day felt a bit decadent, we ate breakfast at this place called Jacks, where I was able to order yogurt, granola and fruit, with real honey (and that night we ate Thai food!!) We went to a supermarket where I spotted peanutbutter for the first time since Brazil, and it was then that I decided I liked this place. Cusco has by far more tourists than just about any place we have been. I decided that there are more tourists in the city proper than locals but it is a lovely place to spend a few days. People are constantly trying to sell you things, llama scarves, carved gourds, chess sets (Incan's versus Spanish) and the opportunity to take photos of young girls in traditional clothes along with their adorable baby llama (who is all to happy to dring from a bottle). We have spent the last two days exploring tons of Incan ruins, some in the city proper and some about 11 km outside the city.

The destruction of these ruins by the Spanish continues to amaze me. They apparent decided their god was more important then that of the Inca (an incredibly evoloved spiritual society with awesome building skills) and built this huge church over some ruins. Then after an earthquake destroyed some of the church about 400 years later, the church decided to look good and leave the orginal walls exposed, along with some other orginal structures for the public to see. The church now functions as museum, in which every tourist seemed to congregate, full of Incan structures, musical instruments and religious art born form the Cusco School (Escuela Cuzqueña). The art is traditionally religous in nature and tells biblical stories.

I can only look at so many gold framed pictures of angels and saints before I am dizzy, but the exhibit was interesting, and I entertained myself by trying to read all the descriptions in spanish. The most disturbing piece of art (as far as I am concerned) was a sacreligious sculpture of my pal Jesus (head to foot) from the tusk of an elephant. It alludes me how people can justify killing my favorite animal to create a likeness of anyone. I truly believe that Jesus would have preferred it if the statue was made from marble, leaving this magnificent animal to roam the earth (but that is just me!). I did see the most beautiful statue of the virgen Mary that I have ever seen. It is made of white marble, and she is gloriously pregnant and the status seems to glow. I loved it because in all of the pictures and sculptures I have ever seen of her, she never looks so peaceful and proud of who she is, it really was incredible. The sign under the sculpture says that this statue is one of few that portrays Mary so beautifully and it is because the virgen revered by South Americans.

Tonight we are headed for dinner (for which I am now 25 minutes late) at one of the best restaurants in Cusco (I had to make reservations!) and then tomorrow at the crack of dawn we leave for our Machu Picchu trek. We are very excited and I am sure that, after all the ruins we saw today and will see over the next four days, we will be done with Inca ruins for the next few years!!!!!

Thank you to everyone who thought good things for Travis, he is better. This is both good and bad. Good because I never want anyone to be sick but bad because now it is like traveling with two Mondos...and one is enough for me!!

I love you all!!!

Tiwanaku, WMD, Lake Titicaca

The best way to describe how I have felt lately is like this................



I am in magical a hallway with doors on either side, I can open anyone of the doors whenever I want, and it seems like no matter which door I open there is always something amazing inside for me to enjoy.



We were able to get Travis's bag, after a bit of yelling at American Airlines, and a free ride to the airport and back. We spent that day, August 31st, in a town called Tiwanaku. Getting there was like getting everywhere in Bolivia, we took a cab to a micro and then left. The micro was packed with locals and a few tourists. Travis had the good fortune of sitting near the door, this meant that everytime we stopped to let someone on or off he had to get the door. Travis has this look about him that makes him look like a local no matter where he goes. Today that meant that the older traditionally dress women on the micro were very worried he would get left behind everytime he got off to open the door and let someone on or off. First they would yell at him in Aymara, then they would try Spanish, at which point I would translate and tell him to get in. This happened at least 4 times before we actually arrived in Tiwanaku.



I was super stoked to go to this "ancient ruined city". It was founded some 3 million millenia ago and it was the original site of these terraced farming ledges called sukakullos. It was amazing to walk among such an ancient place. It was difficult not to appreciate the intellegence and motivation of these people. We spent the entire day wandering the ruins. We used an ancient megaphone in a rock that worked really well, and enjoyed lunch in a local restaurant. We caught what we thought was going to be a micro back to La Paz but it turned out that this particular micro was not allowed to drive into La Paz Thursday through Sunday because it did not have the correct license plate (yes, this is really what they said to me, no doubt). We then did a "hot lap" (as Mondo called it) around the mostly indigenious city of El Alto. El Alto is a place where we stuck out like not just sore thumbs but swollen white sore thumbs (except Travis of course) and where you can literally purchase anything, even brand name stollen goods. We coerced at mirco to bring us back to La Paz for 20 Bolivianos. The whole experience made all of us giggle.



The next day we woke up early and went to a cafe, where we met our fearless leader Dale. He was to be our guide for our bikeride down the WMD (which is not short for weapon of mass destruction but world's most dangerous road). It was a beautiful easy ride that started at about 14,000 + feet and ended at about 6000 feet. The road was curvy with humongus drops off the side, and tons of other people either driving or riding down the road. The ride finished at this place called La Senda Verde, an animal retreat/bed & breakfast. There we were provided with a free dinner, shower (complete with shampoo, soap and towel) and free t-shirts. But the truly cool part were the animals. All the monkeys, birds, badger like animals, and dogs are there as permanent guest or to be rehabilitated and re-released into the wild (this was mostly true for the monkeys, the dogs are just pets). Most of the monkeys were either pets or in a show of sorts and the owners were unable to continue caring for them. There was one howler monkey (who could leave if she pleased), three spider monkeys (who could leave if they pleased) and tons of capuchin and little yellow monkeys. We decided to stay the night, which turned out to be magical.......once the other riders leave the monkeys relax and become your best friend. Before any of us knew what was happening there were all sorts of monkeys climbing all over us (they are all given preventative rabies shots by a volunteer vet from New Zealand). It was amazing!

That night a few of the people who work at the refuge invited us to a local parade (it was the beginning of a long holiday). It turned out we were marching in the parade and were invited to sing (don't worry, those of you who have heard me sing...I held my tongue). The next day we continued to play with the monkeys. At one point, my head became the safe haven of the small badger like creature who was being chased by one of the dogs!!! The thing was litterally on my head and attempting to climb into my shirt. That night we caught a free ride back to the hostal, enjoyed a rowdie night, which included Travis asking the following question "how do normal people do it?" (I was not looking at him at the time but apparently he was trying to play the air gituar.)

The next day August 4th, very tired and a bit loopy in the brain, we caught a bus to Lake Titicaca. It was truly breath taking to slowly drive over a hill and spot the lake for the first time. The blue color is a rich dark blue from far away and a turquoise green up close. We were headed for the town of Copacabana. This meant that we actually had to get off the bus at one point and be driven across the lake in a separate boat, while the bus crossed on a barge. This is done not to milk yet more money from the tourists but because a few years ago, a barge with a bus full of people sank (no one was hurt, just cold and wet). We arrived to the maddness of Copacabana at about 12pm. As I stated earlier it is a long holiday week here in Bolivia. I have yet to be truly clear on what has been happening but from what we can gather, there is this huge celebration of the virgen, followed by Bolivian independence day. Apparently the virgen celebration is actually a Peruvian thing (we can see Peru from the beach) and there are ton's of Peruvian tourist. Either way this place is a madhouse!!!

We checked into a hotel, got lunch (it was about this time that Travis's stomach decided to stop cooperating and has yet to behave) and then wandered about the city. We walked up to Cero Calvario, it is here that one can truly appreicate the intermingling of the traditional Aymara beliefs and Catholicism working hand in hand. It is a huge steep hill, with crosses all the way up, and along the sides of the path are people selling miniture versions of all the things a person could desire. Really, you can purchase model trucks/cars, fake money, alcohol, homes, small statues that symbolize all sorts of things, firecrackers, confetti, you name it and you can buy it. Once at the top of the hill you find a small virgin statue, there we observed people say a prayer and then go to a traditional shaman. The shaman then goes through a long and complicated process of blessing all the items you have purchased (this includes, spraying beer on everyone, tapping them with a dead armadillo and blowing sweetly scented smoke into the air, throwing confetti into their hair, and finally lighting firecrackers.) It was just fantastic to watch. It does not end there, then the people collect their goods and walk still higher to pray to another virgin. The idea is that by blessing these offerings and bringing them to the virgin you ensure the arrival of these items in one years time (love, money, cars etc).

Then we wandered down to the main cathedral which is where preists bless peoples cars. Here people purchase streamers, ribbons, bows and confetti. They decorate their car, the preist then blesses the car by throwing beer onto the car, the people finish the beer and then drive away. It is pretty hysterical, not only do most people get a bit tipsy but the beer makes the confeti stick to the window when they drive away which means no one can see where they are going.

Having had enough of the madness we decided to leave for the Island of the Sun (Isla del Sol) the next day. We deciede to walk along an old Incan trail (which is now a road) 17km to the town of Yampupata. There we caught a boat to the island. We spent the night on the island, which is truly a magical place. To the south east you can see the snow covered mountains in La Paz, to the west you can watch the water swallow the sun at sunset and to the west you can also see Peru. It is easy to understand why the Inca's determined this to be a holy place, the place where the sun and the moon were born in fact. We wandered about the island walking from the south end to the north end, visiting Incan ruins along the way. Then we returned to Copacaban via boat. We returned to more mayhem than we left, there were people singing in to a bullhorn until about 3 this morning.

Today we are taking it easy, catching up on email, and trying to help poor Travis who really has a case of travelers stomach (think good things for him!). Tonight we leave for Puno, Peru. I am leaving with great ambivalence but I am really excited to be continuing our adventures!

La Paz, Travis, Jungle

So much to say............................................................................................

Our bus ride from Uyuni to La Paz was long, cold and bumpy. Our bus was probably built in the late 70s and had a horrible time shifting into reverse. It was supposed to be a 12 hour ride, it was more like 15. We had two flat tires, and at some point after the bumpy road ended and the paved road began, there was either a fire, car accident or a protest blocking a road (chances are all three). Since the road was closed our fearless bus driver decided to take an alternate route that entailed taking our very old bus into riverbeds. It was quite exciting to be in a large bus while it lurches steeply to the left and then steeply to the right, kind of like a roller coaster.We got to La Paz in one piece with our bags, thanks to the bus and luggage gods.

It was quite a shock to our senses when we arrived. La Paz is a huge city, the buildings and traffic start in the out lying city of El Alto, and seem to go on forever. The city is jam packed with people, cars, and animals, all trying to cross the street at the same time. There is smog and noise and all matters of insanity taking place....and then you look up and you see steep snow covered mountains to the north and east. The mountains are breath taking and it makes the city seem so much more peaceful and tolerable. We spent our first day wandering the streets, booking tours and getting clean. We were really restless because Travis was due to arrive the next day and with only 18 hours to his arrival we could hardly contain ourselves.

The next day we woke up early (5am!) and got a cab with Juan One (apparently there are at least two Juan´s here in Bolvia). We got to the airport only to learn that Travis´plane had been delayed. We waited, the plane arrived and then we waited, and waited and waited......and then I overheard someone say that a bunch of people had lost bags, and apparently the luggage gods decided to take the day off because Travis´ bag was one of the lost bags. We had another problem though....we had tickets to leave early the next morning for the jungle town of Rurrenabaque. We spent the next few hours arranging to have the bag brought to the hostel that we would be staying at when we got back from the jungle and buying Travis the essentials (underwear, socks, one long sleeve t-shirt and a toothbrush). And then because Travis is a saint and a good sport we let the whole thing go, and just wandered around the city. It felt soooooo good to have Travis with us, we had been anticipating his arrival for a long time. It was 11 before we all finally fell asleep.

We woke up to a cold dark morning, which felt even colder because we were dressed for the jungle. We met with our friendly cab driver Juan I and headed to the military airport, where they do not check your ID to see if it matches your ticket and you do not go through security so it´s totally cool if you are carrying a knife or gun. It was a spectacular ride, we flew up over the mountains, and then down into the jungle. We arrived (with our bag, apparently the luggage gods returned from their siesta), were picked up by the tour company, checked in for the tour, ate breakfast and within one hour we were in another Toyota Landcruiser heading to the town of Santa Rosa. Our group contained six people, a young couple from Israel, a token Frenchman, and us. We drove for 4 hours, saw a sloth and eventually made our way to the entrance to the Pampas. Our car ride ended at the Rio Yacuma. It was then that I realized that our guide did not speak English, this annoyed me because we arranged specifically to have a guide that spoke English since it is not really relaxing for me when I play translator. But it seemed pointless to be annoyed in such a beautiful place. Once on the river there were capybara, pink river dolphins, cayman, alligators, monkeys and birds everywhere. It took most of the afternoon for us to make our way down to the rustic camp site. At night we went to look for cayman and alligators, and learned that the cayman in Bolivia are not as small or docile as those in Brazil, apparently they are known to eat people. I also realized that I know far more Spanish then I thought and can translate pretty much word for word as long as we are talking about animals and plants. We slept in a dormitory type room, each bed covered with a mosquito net, and fell asleep listening to the music of the jungle.

We spent the next morning walking around looking for anacondas. This seemed a bit ridiculous since every other tourist there was doing the same thing, and it was a thousand degrees out with 90% humidity. But it was fun, and funny since many of us ended up falling into the mud in the swamp. We walked to a beautiful pond with the biggest water lilies and lotus flowers that I have ever seen and saw a lone spoonbill bird scooping it´s lunch out of the water. During our siesta after our lunch we watched howler monkeys and these other cute little monkeys play. In the afternoon we went to swim with the dolphins. It was awesome, there were alligators on one river bank, a capybara that I named Patrick on another river bank and dolphins everywhere!!!!!!!! They swam around you, next to you, bumped into your legs, and played near you. Alligators and cayman are afraid of the dolphins because of their high pitch sounds, and groups of dolphins have been known to kill either reptile when they feel threatened. The guide said that people believe that the dolphins protect all mammals that swim in the water and when people swim in the water the dolphins congregate there intentionally. One dolphin even mouthed at Travis´foot!! On the way back to camp we saw a few capuchin monkeys. We were lucky and had a national geographic monkey moment. We watched a baby capuchin climb to the edge of a branch which bent down into the water and watched the monkey drink water from the river, it was incredible. It then sat down in the crook of a branch and it watched us intently with it´s head tilted sideways. That night we watched a beautiful sunset, cheered as Travis played a ridiculous game of volleyball, took a magical boat ride under thousands of sparking stars, and again fell asleep to the music of the jungle.

We woke up super early the next morning to the sounds of the howler monkey bellowing to one another in the trees, climbed back into the boat, and watched the sun rise. We saw at least three spoonbill birds, two toucans. Then we went back to camp, ate breakfast, stole a banana and went to see if we could coerce one of the small monkeys to take a bit from our hand. These little monkeys are everywhere, and they eat all the leftover fruit from camp so they are kind of like feral cats. It was a blast, the monkeys would timidly climb down towards us, watch us and then once you reached out your hand they would quickly snatch the banana piece from your hand. Their little fingers were super soft and they used their tails to anchor themselves to the tree, so even if they fell forwards they did not fall off the tree. We finished by going piranha fishing, which was silly because the fish were small and difficult to catch, but we did see two more toucans. We made the long journey back up the river, then back on the road (where we spotted a huge iguana), arrived back in Rurrenabaque, checked into our hotel, and took much needed showers. We went out for dinner to a super cool bar, stayed up late, met cool people and wandered back to our hotel and fell asleep.

The next day we headed out for a two day trip into the selva (aka the rain forest). We met our guide on the bank of the Rio Beni. Watching our guides get ready for this trip was a bit of a circus, and it was more like four Bolivian´s were going camping and decided to bring along a few gringos for fun (I am not sure why three people needed four guides but that is besides the point). While we waited to leave, we watched someone run down to the bank with a wheelbarrow containing a boat motor. Eventually this motor was attached to our boat. We headed out, and drove about an hour down river before we parked the boat. Our guide said that the cook (his wife) would be making lunch, that we could swim in the river, and that he and his friend were going to set up camp. I could not just sit there and watch so I offered to help cut the vegetables. After lunch we brought our bags up to camp, which was a tarp tied up with vines to bamboo posts with mosquito hung from additional bamboo posts, it was way cool. For the next two days we walked through the thick jungle and learned about the medicinal uses for many plants in the jungle. Our guide literally had to cut his way through the trees and vines with a machete (he said that after about 15 minutes the plants begin to regrow). This time our guide knew a fair bit of English but because he realized that my Spanish was pretty good he only spoke in English when I seemed to fumble on a word. He and I even made jokes in Spanish!! We drank fresh water from a vine whose core filters toxins from the water, ate fruits from palm trees, tasted milk from a tree, learned about all sorts of horrible ants, saw the biggest and most beautiful butterflies I have ever seen, burned termite homes to keep the mosquitoes away at night, and fished in the dark while watching millions of stars and listening to the animals sing to mother earth.

Today as we packed up camp it began to rain, it cooled the air and made the boat ride back quite pleasant. By the time we reached Rurrenabaque the rain had stopped, the air returned to it hot humid state and we needed showers!!! We arrived with barely enough time to get our packs together, and check in for our flight back to La Paz, as filthy but content traveler. The flight back was as spectacular as the flight out, and we arrived safely in La Paz with our bag (thanks to the luggage gods).

We are now clean, fed and just about ready for bed. Travis´ bag is here in La Paz but for some reason it never made it to the hotel so we have had to read the riot act to American Airlines. Hopefully tomorrow in the morning though we will have his bag and be setting off for a few more adventures!!!!

Miss you all!

Potosi & Salar de Uyuni

I have a lot to say, the last five days have been amazing.

As I wrote the air in Potosi was thin, it was also finally cold. This change in temperature was great because it meant we finally got to use the jackets and sleeping bags we have dragged across this mighty continent.

Our time in Potosi was jam packet with activities. Potosi is the highest city in the world and it's history is a bit tragic. In a nutshell.......... the Spanish brought small pox to South America, basically wiped out the major Incan population, made their way to the mountains after hearning tales of silver in a mountain in Potosi. They arrived, turned the locals into slaves (and made sure they brought a few African American slaves too, just for good measure) and began mining the mountain for vast reserves of silver, and other minerals. It is said that two bridges could be built from Potosi to Spain with the bones of the people who have died in the Cerro Rico mines.



We first took a city tour, learning about the vast number of churches the Spanish established for the aristocrats and noble men. Apparently under each church there is an indigenous cemetery, just lovely. But the churches are beautiful and all of them are decorated in mestizo-Baroque style. This means very bloody figures of my pal Jesus and intricate designs covered in gold leaf with images of Catholic iconography and the polytheistic images of the Quechea beliefs. The artists were supposedly indigenous slaves who demonstrated amazing artistic ability, the churches initially insisted that what they created represent strictly biblical images but the salves quickly added their own traditional images. Apparently Potosi was once one of the wealthiest cities in the world and the Spanish had a casino that employed women from all over the world, including Japan. This helps to explain why at times the people in this area of Bolivia look oddly asian to me. We visited a market and our guide explained to us the uses of the odd and brightly colored items on many of the market tables. We then ambled along narrow streets and got to see streets lined with colonial architecture. Our guide then dropped us off at the Casa Real de la Moneda (a mint). We then toured the mint, viewed more amazing art, learned more about the horrible treatment of the indigenous population, and got to look at the original equipment used to turn the silver mined from Cerro Rico into currency. It was a very full day, complete with a wonderfully filling dinner and a restful nights sleep in a reconstructed mansion.



The next day we went on a tour of a Cerro Rico mine. The tour had about 18 people who are broken up into smaller groups of 6. We were given clothes, boots, helmets and lamps for the mines. Each group then goes to the miners market where you purchase gifts for the miners. The gifts are dynamite and coca leaves (which they chew all day to avoid hunger and keep awake while working in the mine). We were left then to shop for snacks before we boarded the bus again to go to the mine. It is quite a site for the area to see a bunch of gringos dressed as miners walking around, more than one person had a good laugh!! Once at the mine we first visited the place where the metal and mineral still pulled from the mine are refined (an OSHA regulators nightmare) and then we headed into the mine. The air was instantly dark and heavy and everyone immediately had trouble breathing. We visited a museum with information about mining and then walked a bit deeper into the mine. Our group wandered into a small side tunnel and discussed life for miners and their families as well as the deity Tió (who it is believe the Spanish may have invented to scare the miners and keep them in the mine). The most depressing thing that we heard was that the miners (aka slaves) were originally required to stay in the mines for 24 hours with only 2-3 hours to rest, no wonder so many people died! It continues to be a depressing existence, miners live till they are about 50, ususally dying from severe respiratory infections (shockers) and frequently the miners have large families, the young boys often begin working in the mines as early as 8....so much for child labor laws. The miners spend all day working underground and only eat before and after they leave. The condition of the mine tunnels was deeply disturbing to me. I have been caving and spelunking before so small spaces don't really bother me but there was something about the mines that freaked me out. Just before we were to descend further through narrower shafts and into the larger mine itself, I decided that I had seen enough, Mondo offered to leave with me but I felt this was my issue and that he should continue on. (He later said that had I asked him to come with me he would have because the same thoughts were running through his head). I was escorted out and ended up talking (in Spanish) with a little girl and her older brother about the mines and child labor laws at home. Everyone else came out an hour later, coughing, having trouble breathing and, having lost their voices (making me feel even better about not going all the way down). Armando said it was really disturbing the way that things were done, and that he took videos so that I could see what went on in the mine. The whole experience was a disturbing, and left a somber energy in the air on the way back to the city.



Then because we were not depressed enough we decided to visit a beautiful convent where the second daughter of every aristocrat was sent for a life of service to my favorite pal Jesus and the big guy god himself. They were not just sent to this convent (Convento-Museo Santa Teresa), they spent their entire life living hidden from all other people besides the other nuns, their families were not allowed to ever see them even when they died. All nuns were burried in the church. The art was incredible and our tour guide was this cute little woman who only wanted learn more english. At the end we purchased yummy marzipan made by todays nuns (who live a very different life and of which there are only 5) from centuries old recipes. Then we got our bags (which were being stored at a tour agency) and made our way to a bus that then brought us to the town of Uyuni. Needless to say we both think that the people of Potosi and Bolivia in general are some of the most exploited people we have ever encountered.



The bus ride was amazing if not a bit frightening. The moon was full, the valleys and hillsides lit up under the moon and the air cold. The bus was jammed full of people, and the roads were rocky and sandy, and we were in a BUS!! We arrived to Uyuni (a place that would not exist were it not for the vast numbers of tourist who want to visit the Salar) in the middle of the night slept for about 5 hours and then got into a Toyta Landcrusier (no joke) and headed out to the Salar de Uyuni. We were scheduled for a three day tour, the Salar and the Reserva de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa. Our travel companions, a family from France (who knew a few english words but mostly spoke only spanish and french) and our tour guide T-bu (yes same name as the tour guide in Samaipata) and his wife Eva (our cook). I could spend days telling you about the dramatic sceenery but to keep it brief....I have never in my life seen a place so spectacular (even more than the mountains in Nepal). There are train cemeteries, salt flats, strange islands with cactus 9 meters high, high altitude lagoons in bright reds and greens, amazingly colored hillsides, outrageous rock formations, geysers bubbling mud and spraying sulfer filled air in every direction, and hotsprings. The elevation was between 4000-5000 meters the whole time, and oddly enough it barely snows. I think the strangest thing were the fauna...we saw the typical llamas, vincuna, viscacha and get this....flamingos!!!! It was wonderful! We even visited a necropolis, which was a bit creepy but cool. We had heard horrible stories about guides and food but we were very lucky, our oddly put together group, enjoyed amazing food, safe driving and prompt service (for Bolivia). I was even able to traslate most of what our guide said for Mondo. I managed to talk to the French family, in Spanish, and helped Mondo commuincate with them at times too...he did pretty good with getures when I was not there to help. We all had a good laugh one night when I realized that I was going around telling people that we were tired (in spanish cansado) and not married (casado) oops!!!



We came back to Uyuni last night, had a shower and now have a whole day to kick back. We leave tonight for La Paz, which will be a shock to our eyes after being in small cities and the barren mountains. It is an overnight bus ride and then we have one day to make plans before Travis joins us!!!



Today is our anniversary and we are stoked to be celebrating in such a cool place!!!

Love you all!!

Sucre

Did I mention how much we love Bolivia????? We are totally smitten with Bolivia, and we are trying to figure out how to return for a month next summer to study spanish and volunteer. Really we love Bolivia.

The city of Sucre can best be described as white. It is unofficially the capital of Bolivia, it is where the supreme court resides as well as the main Bolivian university. There is a city rule that buildings within a certain range of the city plaza must be painted white or face a serious fine. This is apparently true for the base of most of the trees in the city center as well.

We arrived in the city at about 5 pm in the afternoon. We are now officially experts at arriving in a city and getting a crazy taxi to the city center. My spanish has gotten proficent enough for me to chat with the cab drivers now, and this guy had a lot of questions. We have gathered that not too many Americans travel here and people are full of questions about America. The cab driver recommended his favorite salteña place and hotel, which he felt the need to escort us to (think he was getting a bit of money for the referral). We settled in, and went immediately to the Joy Ride Cafe. The cafe is justl like something you would find in most colllege towns, complete with an "American Breakfast" and yogurt with granola. We decided that we need to move and booked a 6-8 hour mountain bike tour to a town called Yotola (sp). Then we wandered the streets.

Besides being white the city itself is quite quaint. The streets narrow and there are wooden sign posts hanging outside the shops, the churches are incredible, it is said that there are more churches in Sucre than anywhere else. It was here that we began to see the faces of the indigenous populations. It is also here that we have begun to witness the tradtional religious beliefs(complete with multipul dieties) living side by side with Catholicism. I have been amazed at how the facial structure of the indigenous population is similar to the structure of many of the faces that I saw in Nepal.

Sucre is also the place to purchase sweaters, weavings, scarfs, finger puppets and all sorts of handmade goods. It was hard for us not to want to purchase every nice sweater and scarf that we walked past.

We have officially given up not trying to get sick from the food because it generally means that we do not try the food that looks the best to us, so now we eat anything that looks like it might taste good. This is wonderful because it means that we have tasted amazing foods and been introduced to wonderful people who are all too happy to talk to us and ask us questions. Our first night we ate at the market. There were not many choices, everyone was selling the samething......rice, meat, fried chorizo, fried egg, fried potatoes and grilled veggies. We settled into eat and realized that we did not have anything to drink, and just as Mondo began to look around, this lady at the far end of the room began waving at him wildly, apprently she was the juice lady.

We woke up the next morning, checked into a larger but less expensive hostal and went to meet our guide Charlie for our mountain biking adventure. The bikes we ok, they provided us with helemts and lunch. Our fearless guide, Charlie was great, he wanted to improve his english and he wanted to help me improve my spanish. In Charlie's spare time, he plays the guitar in a band, spends all of his money on fixing his Honda Civic (which he likes to drive around the city plaza) and is studying at the university, oh and does not plan of getting married until he is 30. He was great, he educated us about the sceenery and the area. The ride takes almost 8 hours because you are guaranteed at minimum 5 flat tires and tubes for the tires that have been fixed so many times it is almost not worth using them anymore. But the best part of the ride was the end!! We get to Yotola and there we go to this lady doña Neena's home where she has made Chicha a local maize drink. She was the cutest, sweetest little lady that I have ever met in my life. She was tiny and I made a joke that she was like a female Yoda! She chatted with us for about 20 minutes and told me we should return again next year. We rode back to the city, had a late dinner and crashed fully exhausted into our bed.

We spent one more full day in Sucre, most of it at the indigenous museum which was incredible. We got to see women weaving and learned all about the Jalq'a and Tarabuceños populations. We ended up purchasing a weaving (because as most of you know, we really needed more stuff to hang on the walls of the home we do not have!), ate one last dinner and packed our stuff.

This morning we left for Potosi, either the highest or second highest city in the world. We intended to take a bus but there were no tickets so we took a cab, yet another prayer to the taxi god. We arrived safely at the taxi station and got in another jalopy and drove to the city center where this very helpful woman found us a hotel, got us a city tour, a tour of the mint, scheduled a mine tour for tomorrow and booked bus tickets to Uyuni and a tour of the Salar de Uyuni.

The air is thin, the people continue to be beautiful and we are having a blast!!! I will write about our adventures here in Potosi in a few days!!! Miss you all!!

Apprently some people are having trouble with the links so what I am doing now is bolding words, I suggest that you do a google search with this word, generally the wikipedia link is pretty good!!