IQUITOS, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!

Bienvenidos a la selva!
No AC.  No electricity.  2000% humidity.  For 3 whole days!  I may have been sweating the entire time but I enjoyed every minute of it!  The Amazon is a wondrous place.

Our journey began at 4:30 in the morning on Friday the 14th as we loaded up and headed to the airport.  The heat welcomed us off the plane in Iquitos and we started off down the only paved highway of the region to Nauta, where we would catch our boat to the Pacaya Samiria EcoLodge.  When I say the only paved highway of the region, I am speaking specifically of Peru's state/province of Loreto, which is about equal in land size to that of California but with a population only a little over one million people.  To finally arrive at our ecolodge we traveled by plane 1.5 hours, bus 1.5 hours, and by boat for 1 hour.

Although we were only there for a short 3 days, we accomplished everything you could wish to accomplish while in the Amazon.  The first day we went downstream to the mouth of the Amazon River, which seems like something you just hear about.  But, there I was in a boat in the Amazon River in the Amazon Jungle watching Amazon river dolphins surround us and large Amazon rain clouds gather overhead.  We saw a lot of river dolphins during our time there.  There were gray river dolphins that are basically identical to a regular dolphin and there were pink river dolphins that were bigger and, of course, pink!  We sat in the boat for a while just enjoying their company and snacking on chifles, dried banana, yucca, and plantain chips!  They're delicious!  Later that afternoon and the next morning we went on two different treks through the forest.  The key to success for these treks:  1) rubber boots and the ability to keep from slipping 2) a machete and a good guide (Rey and Buceel were true Amazon men!) and 3) LOTS OF BUG REPELLENT, just take a shower in it basically!  During our treks we saw several critters:  spiders, millipedes, centipedes, cicadas, bullet ants (aka "10 hour pain and a possible hospital visit if you get bit by them" ants), butterflies, caterpillars, lizards, and poison dart frogs!  Among our other Amazon activities were swimming, fishing for piranhas, visiting a local village, and hunting (not literally) cayman.  Did I mention that we swam in the same place we fished for piranhas?!  As long as you have no open, bleeding wound, you should be okay!  My exact thought while jumping overboard was "how awesome is my life?! I'm swimming in the Amazon right now!"  Every now and then it just hits me how without my scholarship money I wouldn't be here right now and I am so blessed to have had this opportunity.  I had one of these moments while swimming in the Amazon with piranhas, river dolphins, sardines, and who know what else.  I should mention that sardines are agressive little suckers.  Kinda like minnows they nip at you but they also jump out of the water and beach themselves on your back while you are floating on your stomach or slap you across the face while you are having a conversation.  But being attacked by sardines or not, we had a good time nonetheless.  After lunch on board our boats we broke out the cane fishing poles and sardines as bait and began our fishing for piranhas competition!  The sardines as bait were caught by a nice local using his hollw tree canoe, a paddle, and a spear that he somehow managed to throw into the water and bring out 2-3 speared sardines everytime.  But, guess who caught the first piranha?! I did! :) After the competition (our boat won!) we went to the 20 de Enero Village (January 20th - it is very common for village names to be the date of their founding).  This was interesting because these people live in a village in huts with thatched roofs and many times dirt floors unless they are built on stilts without running water or electricity.  It's amazing how developed some parts of the world are in comparison to others, this village as an example.  They still have to hunt/fish/gather for their food and many of the children don't obtain a good education.  This village did have a school house but it relies on volunteer teachers that must move their for months at a time in order to work there as it is too far to travel to everyday.  Our guides explained to us how isolated they really are.  First, these villages are positioned on the river with boats being the only mode of transportation and by boat I mean their hollow tree canoes.  Suppose one has the time to travel, the majority wont have enough money to travel by boat and then by plane, so they are unable to go anywhere.  But suppose someone has enough money to travel by boat but not by plane, in many cases they wont have enough time because by boat to get to a city outside of the Amazon area where they could take a bus would take 4-6 days alone so to return would be another 4-6 days by boat and many don't have enough time to travel this way.  Therefore, a great majority of the people living there have never left that region even to go to other parts of Peru.  But, we were able to tour the village and ride in one of the canoes (caution:  they are very easy to tip over, get in, shut up, sit down, and stay still)!  Our "driver" was Mai, an 11 year old little boy that lived in the village.  Following our village visit we continued downstream to another river tributary where we saw several types of birds, sloths, and monkeys, and watched the most amazing sunset with the sun going down over the river.  At nightfall began my brief experience as "Audrey, The Crocodile Hunter," ...not really, because we were looking for cayman, but that is what I felt like as I was holding one!  It was awesome!  That night we returned for a wonderful dinner (I finally tried ceviche - raw fish that is prepared in a way that it seems cooked!) and some traditional dancing!

Our cabin at the ecolodge.  Why do they bother with putting blankets on the bed? 
It's way to hot to use them!

Poison Dart Frog :)

Me and one gigantic Amazon tree!  And my awesome rubber boots!

Amazing sunset! Agreed?!

I forgot to mention we saw this huge snail! So cool!

Drinking filtered Amazon water from a vine...so refreshing!



Again, swiming with piranhas, river dolphins, sardines, and who knows what else...

My prize piranha and me :)

My "Crocodile Hunter" Moment!!

Daybreak in the Amazon...the river dolphin that popped up in my photo was just a plus!

The Amazon was amazing!  Sweat, bugs, bats (in our room at night) and all!  I don't think I have ever loved cold showers so much or been so thankful for a mosquito net and a flashlight at night!

This weekend I am headed north to Mancora, almost to Ecuador and very close to the equator, to enjoy white sand beaches and sunshine! Chau! xoxo!

~ON TOP OF THE WORLD~

If I have ever visited a place that can only be described as breathtaking, Machu Picchu is it.  I have never before experienced something so incredible, words to try and explain it really won't do it justice and it's hard to understand unless you've actually been there.  I have never visited the Rockies or any other mountains so maybe I don't have anything to compare them to, but the Andes Mountains are gigantic.  They have no problem making you realize just how small you really are.  So, first to be surrounded by these overwhelming mountains and then to see the ruins of a civilization hundreds of years old still intact and perfectly hidden amongst the Andes was just the absolute most amazing experience and the highlight of my trip so far. 

We arrived in Cusco and immediately began our journey to Machu Picchu.  Along the way we stopped at a local's house to see how textiles from alpaca are made and dyed, had a traditional lunch, and visited the ruins in the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Ollantaytambo.  Then, we boarded a train and arrived after dark to the town of Aguas Calientes, the town closet to Machu Picchu.

The next day we boarded our last bus that would finally take us to the entrance of Machu Picchu!  And, what a great year to visit!  2011 is the 100th Anniversary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu by the American explorer, Hiram Bingham.  Before the guided tour we had the option of climbing Waynapicchu...


This is Waynapicchu.  Don't underestimate her.



Now, I just happened to be one of the few lucky enough to experience a stomach bug during this trip so on top of a high altitude headache, I wasn’t feeling quite at 100% this morning.  But, who knows exactly how many chances I will have to climb this mountain again so off I go and there is no turning back.  It is a long, hot, steep, step after step after step process, but the view from the top was completely worth it and unlike anything I ever seen!  The reward was a 360 degree view of the Andes, Machu Picchu, and the Urubamba river running in between it all.  There were ruins on the very top of the mountain that have basically been untouched…it is not “fixed” at the top for tourists, you have to jump/walk from rock to rock or at some points go under them and just watch your step because it is so steep.  Those Incas had to have had fantastic thighs because I don’t know how they went up and down these mountains everyday.  And, I don’t know how I did it, especially not feeling well, but I did and once I could see the top and the “finish line” I forgot about basically everything and just started sprinting up the steps as fast as I could go.  It was such an awesome, indescribable feeling to be at the top, like being on top of the world…



Proudest picture of my LIFE!

Awesome, isn't it?!



 After conquering Waynapicchu, we began our guided tour of Machu Picchu.  The only reason Machu Picchu even still exists today is because it was never discovered by the Spanish explorer, Pizarro, and his conquistadors.  Machu Picchu was built into the mountains in a way that it was naturally camouflaged from below.  So, because it was never discovered, it was never destroyed by the Spanish.  We got to see the temples believed to be for the nobles, the sundial, used to tell time (like many of the ancient civilizations, Mayans, etc. the Incas studied the stars), an area called the Condor (the three sacred animals for the Incas were the Condor, the Puma, and the Serpent), and, of course, a lot of llamas.  After our tour, despite being hungry and thirsty, I sat for a while and just enjoyed the scenery, tried to take it all in, it was just so incredible.  I can’t fully explain the feeling. 



The view from the other side, looking back at Waynapicchu!



He's posing...



And a view of the other side (opposite of Waynapicchu) from within
 the ruins, the mountain Machu Picchu...perhaps I will climb it one day too.



After a wonderful day spent at Machu Picchu, we boarded the train to head back to Ollantaytambo for the night.  The next day we got to enjoy some shopping at one of the markets (blankets made from alpaca fur are the best ever), visited a llama and alpaca farm, and visited the ruins of Sacsayhuaman (or “sexay woman” as English speakers like to pronounce it) on our way back to Cusco.  In Cusco, we had a full day free to visit museums, markets, and just explore.  In the morning, by accident (not that it could be missed) we watched the parade that happens in Cusco every Sunday with the military and people from all different regions and backgrounds dressed in their traditional clothing, dancing, and playing music!  It was quite festive!

Market shopping anyone?

 This trip had no problem in making me fall completely in love with Peru.  It is a land to be explored there is no question about it and I definitely see another trip to Peru in my future.

LOVIN' LIMA

Where to begin?!  The last few days have been just crazy, moving and starting all over again!  We had to meet at 4 in the morning on Saturday to be taken to the airport for our flight to Lima.  AND, after stressing, griping, and then deciding to deal with it, planning on paying $200 just to get my bags here...the guy at the airport didn't charge me a dime!  For any of the three of my bags!  Lima was destined to be a wonderful trip!

Day One - Airport reception by the wonderful ISA Staff.  A tasty lunch at a typical local restaurant that costs about 9 soles or 3 dollars ish that includes your drink, an appetizer, your meal, and a dessert! Food is super cheap here! I had tuna stuffed eggs on a vegetable salad and meat with tacu tacu which is rice and black beans cooked a special way...hard to explain.  But one thing everyone noticed that this place has that BsAs doesn't: SPICE! Praise the Lord! So glad to have a little picante back in my diet!!  We followed our lunch by a super long program orientation and were finally introduced to our host mamas who took us to our new homes! :) My host mom's name is Ana Maria Fernandez Revoredo and she is too sweet.  The house is actually two houses side by side connected by the front patio/garden and the back terrace.  On our side is Ana Maria, me, my two roommates Carlin and Kristen from Texas and Kentucky, and Ana Maria's youngest son, Gonzalo.  On the other side is Ana Maria's mom, brother, sister, oldest son and his wife.  We also have a maid that comes Monday through Saturday that is named Magdalena.  So after arriving to my new home and dragging my luggage that weighs as much as I do up the stairs, I unpack and eat dinner while needing toothpicks to hold my eyes open.  What a day.
  

My new room!



Our front patio area!

Day Two - FREE to explore but first I sleep in to get some well needed rest.  After brunch, Ana Maria takes me around the area in her car to show me a few of the sights..including the ocean!  And after we returned home, I set out on foot with a map in hand and go to find my friend's houses.  We live a lot less spread out here than we did in Buenos Aires.

Day Three - Tour of central Lima!  We walked (and it was quite a hike..and the sun happened to be out and now we all have red noses and foreheads) from the University to the center of Lima.  We visited the Plaza de Armas, had amazing churros with manjar blanco (the peru version of dulce de leche...doesn't look like I will be losing weight anytime soon ha), and ate at a Chifa (Chinese food restaurant).  Afterwards, for my friend's 21st birthday, her host mom invited some of us over for dinner and a cake and we all had the best time!  It felt so traditional..greeting everyone with a kiss on the cheek, sitting down for dinner around the table, having wonderful conversation IN SPANISH of course, and singing happy birthday in english and spanish!  It was a great time!

In front of the cathedral in the center of Lima!

Day Four - We all went bowling and to Larcomar, a huge open air, multi story mall built into the coastline of Lima that overlooks the Pacific!...I could definitely get used to shopping there....



View from the Larcomar shopping mall

BUT, this is only the beginning!  I absolutely LOVE LIMA so far...Peru seems to just scream Latin America! In contrast to BsAs, that was much more European feeling.  The people here are so friendly, genuine, not in a hurry, have time to talk, its nice.  There is color everywhere and I just love the feel of it.  We head to Machu Picchu on Thursday and I can't hardly wait!

And tomorrow?  I'm going surfing.  My idea of surfing may be more of standing on the beach with a smile on my face taking a picture with my surfboard...but I'm going to give it a try!

Super tired, gotta get to bed to be well rested for my surf lesson! More later!! Chau chau!

Welcome to LIMA :)

Hola todos!

Buenos Aires was fabulous but my time there finally reached its end.  It's amazing how fast 8 weeks flys by!  My program is already halfway over!  But, I'm super excited for Part Two of this dream I am living!  I've just arrived in LIMA, Peru!  And, so far?  I absolutely LOVE IT!!!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS/OBSERVATIONS!
1.  Much more Latin American, a lot less European (than BsAs)
2.  The people are incredibly nice.  Latin hospitality at its finest.
3.  I'm realizing all over again (the first time was in CR) that throwing your toilet paper in the toilet is a hard habit to break...it goes in the trashcan here.
4.  The buses can be anything from a 9 passenger van (that they squeeze 20 people into) to a painted/decorated school bus and taxis can either be a taxi or a guy driving a three wheeler with a covered seat on the back (not recommended!).
5.  No worries about stepping in dog poop on the sidewalk (BsAs, you really need to learn to pick up after your dogs).
6.  Lots of fast food restaurants for being international - Pizza Hut, Papa John's, KFC, Burger King, McDonalds, and its not fast food but a Chilis, too!

SOOOOO MUCH MORE TO TELL!  This place is awesome!  Much more soon!!! :)

Living the good life..Being a city girl..

After almost 7 weeks here in Buenos Aires, I feel like I am finally getting the hang of it!  Only to go someplace new in a couple weeks right?  When I first got here the noises kept me up at night or early in the mornings and I have finally adapted to sleeping on the 8th floor of an apartment building in the heart of the city.  I feel like I know my way around the Belgrano neighborhood, where I live, and the neighborhoods nearby, such as Palermo and Recoleta.  I am familiar with the subte, more or less with the buses, know where the trains are, and have been in my share of taxis.  It's weird to think that I haven't driven since July and won't until December.  I have become accustomed to the smell of fresh baked bread on every block when passing the panaderias, watching for the dog poop that is always on the sidewalks, and dodging the cars when crossing the street.  Last night, we went to the movies and it cost a cheap US$4.50 but the majority of things in Buenos Aires, dinner, clothes, necessities, are comparable to the prices in the US if not even more expensive.  Hence why I have not done a lot of clothes shopping during my time here.  My literature class is going well.  I don't like it as much as the grammar course I took when I first got here but it definitely beats a literature course back at home.  We read very little, discuss a lot, and take a lot of field trips.  Last week I went out more than I have since I have been here.  With the nightlife starting so late, its sometimes hard to get in the mood to go anywhere.  But last week we went to a concert called La Bomba and it is held in a large warehouse and is a group of musicians that play mostly different types of drums.  It was very fun and interesting.  Jobs is a bar we have been going to on Tuesdays.  There are a lot of Argentineans but also a lot of international students and they have darts, board games, pool, etc.  On Thursday we went with a guy from our group that is gay to the Buenos Aires "Out and About Gay Pub Crawl"..it was interesting and a good time!  And, Saturday we finally did it the Argentine way and went to bed when the sun was coming up.  I can check that off my list, I don't think it will be happening again...I like my sleep too much!  This week has been relaxing and the weather here has been so pretty.  Yesterday after class we were headed to a park to enjoy the outdoors and instead stumbled upon a Polo scrimage and sat and watched it.  Looking forward to my last few days in the big city!  I have a few more things to check off my list before I go on to conquer Peru!  More pictures of Uruguay soon!  Besos!

Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, and Whales, OH MY!

Last week was our "free" week off of classes after finishing a month long Intensive Spanish course of 5 days a week and 5 hours a day.  So in taking full advantage of a free week here in Argentina we planned a 7 day trip to Bariloche and Puerto Madryn, both in Patagonia!  Bariloche is to the southwest in the Andes and is close to the border between Chile and Argentina.  Puerto Madryn is almost directly across Patagonia from Bariloche on the coast of the Atlantic.

So, on Friday Holly, Caty, Lindsey and I, hauled our stuff to our last class then flagged a taxi and headed for the Retiro bus terminal for our 22 hour bus ride to Bariloche!  This..however..was not the best bus ride...apart from it being 22 hours long.  On all of our previous trips we were on the second floor of the omnibus and this time we had the pleasure of being on the first floor.  Next to the kitchen and the bathroom.  Needless to say it felt like a very loonnngggg bus ride.  But, totally worth it! 

In Bariloche, we checked in at our hostel and went for our first activity of the week - ziplining!  The scenery was beautiful, tall trees, snowcapped mountains, and Lake Nahuel Huapi, and it is even snowing on us.  We were all having a great time until the "cankle incident."  That is, 7 out of 9 platforms are completed...Holly is ahead of us already on the next platform, through the trees so we can't see her..and it's Caty's turn, she goes, and through the trees we hear a very loud bang.  Lindsey and I laugh it off, knowing she had a rough landing but then feel bad for laughing when we make it to the next platform and see the pain on Caty's face.  On that line, she had lost her glove with the brake on it and slammed into the platform.  We make it back to the hostel, Caty gets out of her skinny jeans that are about to burst at the seams because of the swelling, and the bruising has already begun.  Poor Caty, we weren't laughing then, but by the end of the trip we were all joking about her "cankle!"  Her leg was swollen to twice the size of the other one from below her knee all the way to her foot.  However, she was a trooper!  The only activity she missed was horse riding the next day.  Francisco picked us up at 10 on Sunday for a few hours of horseback riding through the mountains and an asada.  Him and his dad, Chango, do horseback riding tours around the mountains next to their house.  So, while Lindsey, Holly, and I rode horses with Chango, Caty hung out with Francisco while he cooked our lunch.  This time my horse's name was Hidalgo!  We had a good ride around the countryside and when we came back the food was amazing!  I never like flan until now.  See the pictures below :)

Holly and I ready for some zip-lining!

Group pic of all of us...right after Caty practically broke her leg...such a trooper!

Left to Right:  Holly, Lindsey, Caty, and Me

 Hidalgo and I :)

           This is why I now love flan. I mean really just how delicioso does that look?!

All of us with Francisco and Chango!

So after a whole 2 days in Bariloche, we head out on another overnight bus to Puerto Madryn!  Aside from spending our days enjoying the seaside town, perusing through the shops, eating too much ice cream, and endulging in dinners out on the town, we kayaked with the sea lions in Punta Loma, and went on a tour of the Valdes Peninsula where we also did a whale watching tour...my personal favorite!  Kayaking...my first time...was a challenge.  But, nothing was going to stop me from getting as close as possible to the sea lions!  Not even my kayaking partner, who the whole time that i am sweating and panting and paddling as hard as my rookie kayaker arms can paddle to get to the sea lions is sitting behind me back paddling.  She was slightly afraid of them despite me telling her over and over again that they would not hurt her!  If only I had had my dive certification then there wouldn't have been a kayak in between me and the sea lions...but, I guess I will save that for another day!  It was still awesome.  The next day was a tour of the Valdes Peninsula, which besides the coast and one tiny town was made up of field after field after field of sheep farms.  Besides sheep, we saw wild alpacas, emus, elephant seals, and my favorite, the whales!  One of the most amazing things I have ever done.  We were on a boat for about 2 hours watching them and the entire time there wasn't a second that passed that somewhere around us there wasn't a whale.  They were friendly and have more of a personality than you would think a whale would have.  They would surface on one side of the boat, go under, and resurface on the other side.  I could have stayed on that boat all day long.  It was such a great experience getting to see all of the animals in their natural habitat...loved it! What a great week! :)

 Sea Lions (lobos marinos) in Punta Loma, Puerto Madryn

 We saw Southern Right Whales....I was amazed and in love :)

An elephant seal (elefante del mar)...more like a giant slug!

NOWHERE, ARGENTINA…

I don’t know if I have ever been somewhere where I felt so out in the middle of nowhere, so far away from everything, that I couldn’t even point to where I was on a map.  Our trip to Córdoba changed that.  Córdoba, the city, is the second largest city in Argentina, but we didn’t visit the city so I am referring to the province.  After a 12 hour overnight bus ride (which I am getting used to) we arrived in Capilla del Montt and from there took a very rickety old van for an hour drive down very curvy, rocky, washboard roads to arrive at the Ongamira Estancia…I felt like I had been dropped into a history book.  The estancia was established in 1597 by Spanish settlers that came to the area and it is now run by Europeans and a chef from Australia.  It was small and cozy and with 19 people in our group we had the entire estancia to ourselves.  For the next three days, we huddled by the fire whenever we could to keep warm, enjoyed the best homemade food (including pizza, lemon cake, grilled veggies and meat, and yogurt and oatmeal with fresh fruit and dulce de leche for breakfast), and trekked across central Argentina exploring the outdoors. 

Day 1 – After the rickety van ride…we set out on foot for a 4-5 hour hike.  It was great exercise.  Especially the last part, when we started up a mountain and every time we thought we were at the top we would have to continue climbing, it was a vicious cycle but the views were worth it in the end.  Along the way we stopped for lunch by a stream and there were horses there that kept us company.  After the hike, we came back to the estancia, enjoyed dinner, and gathered in a circle to sing and play the guitar.  There were actually some very talented people in our group.  One of which happened to know an old NSync song that was a favorite amongst all the girls and we all sang along.  Then, I had briefly mentioned to one of my friends that earlier this year my brother taught me to play a few lines of Johnny Cash “I Walk the Line” and she feels the need to speak up and say “Audrey, play Johnny Cash!”…ha…to which I politely reply “NO.”  I was not about to sit there and pick out a whole 6 notes of Johnny Cash after NSync was such a big hit.  One more thing to note, I slept the best I have slept since being in Argentina while we were at the estancia.  No sirens, no dogs barking, no children screaming, no horns honking. Just silence.  It was awesome.

Day 2 – We pile back into the rickety old van and head for the salt flats.  This is where the “nowhere” part really comes into play.  It was a three hour ride there, the direction I couldn’t tell you, and when we arrive there is nothing. Nothing.  For miles and miles and miles there is only salt.  It makes you feel so small, just a speck, in an ocean of salt.  You could scream and stop and the silence would be immediate because there is nothing for the sound to bounce off of.  Juan our guide, told us to just walk and enjoy it because chances are we will never be somewhere like that ever again…but he also added don’t go so far that you can’t see the fire to get back.  We were there at sunset and you could get awesome silhouette photos.  I tasted it, and yes it tasted like salt.  We walked for probably a couple of miles and stayed out until the sun went down and the stars appeared.  Some of the brightest stars I have ever seen.  After dark, we all gathered around the fire and made a homemade stew and played some more on the guitar.  It was a great evening…one of my favorites for sure here in Argentina.

Day 3 - I try to hide the nervousness I have for riding a horse to the top of a very tall mountain.  After all, considering half of the people I am with it seems have never even been on a horse, I am one of the more "experienced" ones although I am really not "experienced" at all.  I rode some in middle school at my aunt and uncles house...on flat land...in a pasture.  Not up a mountainside.  But, after the first 15 minutes I felt pretty good.  And, after the entire ride up and back down again I felt like a pro.  The thing is though that these horses have probably walked the same trail up and down the mountain several times and because there were over 20 of us with the guides they were pretty much just following the leader.  But still, I felt like a pro!  The only trouble I had was not being able to get back on my horse after lunch...not because I ate too much!...just because my legs are too short!  We rode up the mountain in a little under 2 hours, parked our horses, and began to climb (and this time I literally mean "to climb") up to the top peak of Colchiqui Mountain.  After that I felt not only like a pro horse rider but also a pro rock climber :) .  At the top, we ate lunch, Juan shared with us the history of the mountain and the indigenous people of the area, called the Comechingones, and we saw some of the Condors that live there.  The views were incredible and I wish we could have spent more time at the top.  But, after scooting down the mountainside, having help to get back on Picasa, and after Picasa returned me safely to the bottom of the mountain, we got back in the rickety van to head to the bus station. 

What a weekend.  There really aren't enough words for it.