Panama and the beginning of the end!

Well, I dont know exactly where I left off as I am a few glasses of wine deep after my cousins birthday party here in Guatemala city, but Ill start in Panama city. After arriving in the city I was picked up by the hostel, thinking it was a nice gratis ride from the airport. The guy picked me up, made me wait while he got a half a chicken, then ate it, and then began to drive like a bat out of hell, while telling me he "knew" all the cops and they wouldn't arrest him. He then explained that the real hostel was full, but I could stay in the old space, which apparently they had almost completely moved out of, and then told me to pay him 17 dollars! I thought I was getting robbed, but the city turned out to be just very expensive.

My goals for the city were threefold; see the canal, buy a surfboard, and see the Casco Viejo. I accomplished on other goal, which was going out for a night on the town, with a very nice young lad named Jack. He had been working for the English consul in Costa Rica and was on his way to Colombia, and decided to join me (or did I join him) to some club in la Ciudad. The next day, right at the crack of 12 we walked the Casco Viejo, avoiding ladrones left and right. It really was an amazing part of town. We were able to see Noriegas old bombed out palace, along with all the embassies and a great view of the whole city. After a large plate of lentils I fell asleep with visions of the great canal in my head.

The next day slightly earlier I made my way to the canal, the Miraflores locks to be exact. It was rather incredible to see this huge ship with 5000 containers on it navigating this canal with around 6 inches to spare on either side. Apparently it costs 267,000 dollars to pass the canal, and it is the only time when the captain of a ship has to give up control of his ship. I watched a few ships pass, hiked around a botanical gardens and made my way (via chicken bus) to the city. The only goal left was to find a surfboard and then the beach. I went to a surf shop, and after realizing that all the boards would break the bank, met two Panamanians who were going to the same beach as me, Playa Venao (or Vanado depending on who you were). We then picked up my bags, some "other" things which they insisted upon, and an old board I had seen the day before for 160 bucks. The only thing left was the girlfriend of Yungfa (the driver who happened to be Chinese). I really didnt know what to expect, but all of the sudden we were in America. I mean we drove into the old Canal Zone where all the military personnel lived. It was really incredible, every street had a large sidewalk and tract homes which all looked so similar to the houses in some neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and out walked Jenny, the girlfriend. Somehow I knew she was trouble.

Finally beginning our 6 hour drive at 11 at night, we arrived in Aguadulce at around 3 in the morning, to stay in Chuch's relatives house. While hanging out and talking in Spanish on the back patio, far from Yungfa, Jenny all of the sudden leans over and whispers "your so hot" to me, as I struggle to understand what I just heard. I knew she was trouble. The next day on the way to the beach my bank account was again called on to purchase supplies for our trip. Apparently because Im an American I owe everybody something, and had to bankroll the whole trip, I didnt mind bc I was getting a ride to the beach, but I spent about 8 times what the bus would have taken and ended up arriving at the same time as I would've anyway.

We immediately surfed the nonexistent swell and then got a small cabana on the beach where I was to spend the next three weeks. After a dinner in which I began a long string of fried fish meals it was off to bed, as there was really no more light. Thats apparently when the sand flies as well as Jenny began their attack. I put repellent on for the sand flies and had to just avoid being anywhere near Jenny to fend the two off. I finally made it to sleep only to awake to screams and the smell of burning. Struggling out of my sleeping sack, I looked over to see Yungfa and Jenny's mattress on fire while Jenny bravely tried to put it out. I helped, but in the end the fire started by the mosquito coils they had dangling dangerously over their bed had made a rather large mark, on my psyche and the bed; I had to escape from these dangerous lunatics. The next morning things were made easier by the fact that Jenny got in a fight with the restaurant owners and had to leave anyway.

After surfing I sadly reported that I would no longer be joining them on their trip, and instead would head to the Eco Venao, a reforestation project/ hostel above the beach. After arriving I met Charlie and Daniel, an American and Italian whom I proceeded to search waves out with, and basically have a good time. We mostly surfed in the mornings and at night, and in between I read and slept in Hammocks. As it was the rainy season, it managed to rain most days, but the surfing was really quite fun, and we managed to make lots of friends in the little town named Pedasi to surf with.

In the end I had a great time, made lots of new friends, surfed a bunch, and basically prepared myself for grad school at UCSF, kind of.

Cartagena, returning to the ocean and the good life

Well hello. I guess its been a while since Ive written. I guess its a lot harder when you are on beaches and in the jungle to find Internet access. I have been enjoying myself immensely, the weather is a heck of a lot better in this part of the world. After arriving in Cartagena with my dad, we spent a few days just exploring the old city and basically I just tried to acustubrarme with the really hot weather. We headed to a great beach, of which there is a picture, and slept in some of the more rustic beds that my day and I have ever slept in. But the beach was great, and it was really nice to see my dad. We then headed up ther coast to see Santa Marta, a town where while we were there beer reigned supreme. I mean me were just in the streets drinkin ALL the time, later we learned it was the middle of vacation, and Columbian independence day. I just liked eating good food and paying more than 3 dollars for a place to sleep in, one that didnt involve bedbugs and other friends.

My dad left after only a week, and I went to the Ciudad Perdida (literally lost city). It was an incredible 3 day hike in through jungle and crossing multiple rivers. I hiked mainly with an English chap named Rupert. Every day we would get to cool off after hiking in these pristine river pools which really increased the enjoyment of the trip. My bag on the other hand has not smelled the same since, and actually need to be cleaned quite desperately. The ciudad perdida was the capital of the Tayrona Indians who lived in the Sierra Nevada. This mountain range just rises from the coast of Columbia, and in where the legend of El Dorado was started, as early Spanish settlers had easy access to it, and the Indians had an incredible amount of gold. The trail used to be impassible, but is now quite safe due to the militares who kicked the guerrillas out of the mountains, and now keep about 50 men at the city at all times, armed with the latest weaponry (see photo). Everything about the hike was just amazing, and on returning I stayed with Rupert in Tagunga for the final days of the festival. We then went to the national parque Tayrona, which is just a beach with a few hammocks on it. We slept on the beach, in the hammocks, and basically enjoyed ourselves thoroughly for a few nights.

I then left Rupert, along with a nice Swissso on the beach and continued back to Cartagena to catch a flight to Panama, land of surf and fun. I had booked everything, including a private bus back to Cartagena, thinking it would be safer, well I was wrong. The bus arrived on time, and we left Santa Marta at 3:30 as advertised, but when we arrived in Barranquilla we met lots of traffic. Apparently the president was there, and as is customary with presidents they cause lots of problems in the city they are visiting (thanks Bush for making my 20 minute commute 2 hours in LA). So we left the city late, and it was getting dark. Now I know what you´re thinking, ¨¨the guerillas come at night¨. You would be right, but the President Uribe has really taken control of the security situation there, and I therefore did not expect any problems. Yet, when we were aburptly stopped by a burning tire thrown into the middle of the road I knew I was done for. I was going to be kidnapped and that was it. I was the only gringo within 150 km and the guerillas had stopped traffic in a small carribean town on the coast of Columbia. Incidentally, the door of the van had broken earlier on this epic trip, so my only defense was the Patagonia windbreaker which Martha, Max´s mom had supplied before the trip. After throwing the hood over my head, we waited. However, the more time that passed the more it looked like it was going to be alright. Apparently the locals had become fed up with their lack of elctricity and decided to do something about it, and that something was a roadblock. We made one manuever so that we werent the first car, and as I sweated my head off in the jacket our driver tried to figure a way out, as we were only 25 km from Cartagena. The whole time I just thought that if anyone knew there was a gringo, I was done for: everyone in the car agreed it would be better if they didnt find out. So when we walked over the roadblock to a waiting van I kept a low profile. Entonces, everything turned out alright, except for the next day when the hotel I was staying in was hit by lighting, and then I left the country.

I arrived in Panama, bought a surfboard: A 6 foot six shortboard, some wax and sunscreen, and have been on the playa Venao staying at an eco lodge for backpackers and other very interesting characters for a week now. I have really valued this time to just relax, and as there is a 7 foot swell set to arrive wednesday, it looks like Ill be here a while

I need to relate the charaters I met on the way here, maybe tomorrow...I need to sleep to surf!

Lima, Ica and desert oases

Continuing in Lima...

After going out we were all feeling a little sick, especially Stephan who threw up a few times. That didnt stop us though, and we went to the centro Historical de Lima to look a cathedrals and the museum of the Inquisition. Soon after arriving frenchie (one of the girls) was hungry so we stopped and got some civiche. What a bad restuarant. First we ordered, I got some drink called chicha along with Stephan, and she got some civiche. It took only moments for us to get our chicha, me to drink it, and then realize that this was the drink made from purple corn which began the drink making process with indians chewing the corn, and then spitting it into the drink. I didnt feel so well. After 30 minutes the civiche arrived. It was tough, fishy, and didnt really look that good, but we all ate it and by the end all were about to throw up.

The girls then went home while stephan and I went to the catacombs. The catacombs were interesting as there were more than 70,000 peoples skeletons there. Apparently everybody in early Lima wanted to be buried there, and would only be buried somewhere else after they exhumed the body of some priest and put it in the alternate cemetary. Anyway, I gues the crypt was closed for some years then opened in 1937 when some anthropologists decided to take all the bones out and cont them, also ordering them by bone type, and making interesting designs. It was a little creepy to see all these femurs of long dead Limenos arranged in concentric circles around rows of skulls. This one stupid american (we mistakenly went on the english tour) asked over and over why they had taken the bones out and arranged them, while the tour guide dutifully answered the each time.

That night we took it easy, and the next day went on a nice tour of Miraflores which included the beach and the rest of the town. The next day Stephan left, we made dinner, a chicken salad made with a 3 dollar whole rotisserie chicken (the cheapest Ive seen) and a bunch of Pisco sours (made with lime juice, sugar, Pisco, and egg whites). After that I had had enough of Lima, I headed to Ica, a small town to the south. I got there on Friday, always the most traffic and craziness in South America, and had some Chifa (chinese food) which made me feel terrible (the first time Ive gotten sick). The bed was the worst I think I have ever slept on, it was pretty funny bc it once was a normal mattress but at this point it is just a top and bottom of a mattress and no springs in between so you end up sleeping on a board. I then went to the, Poor mans Galapagos, a short boat tour which takes you to these islands that have a lot of birds, and bird guano, on them. Apparently these islands are so endowed with the good white stuff that a war precipitated over them in the 1800s over their large nitrogen based crop of crap.

After puking off the boat, (never eating chinese food again) I went to a small oases town of Huachina. The hostal was really cool as it included a pool and lots of fun folk to hang out with. I spent the day working on my tan, (my first day swimming except for hot springs on my whole trip) and took a dune buggy ride where we got to go Sandboarding. Sort of like snowboarding but on steep ass dunes. That night while everyone else went to Ica to party I went to another hostal that was even more laid back than mine. As soon as I walked in the bartender offered me a joint and explained that I could light up at the bar no problem. I wont say anything self incriminating so lets just say I had a fun night which included running up the dunes and getting sand into every (I mean every) orifice on my body.

The next day was spent around the pool, and then I made it back to Lima for my flight to Cartagena the next day, where the tropical phase of my journey has commenced.

The Jungle, Machu Picchu and more peruvian lies

Hello from Peru. I am currently in Lima on my way to Cartagena, Columbia where I am meeting with my dad, I am so excited! Finally a bed with springs, or at least no bedbugs, hot showers, and decent food (I finally got sick).

After Grock arrived, (Mr. Andrew Grock the first to all those who dont know), we had a coca leaf mate and went walking. Despite the fact that Andy had spent the night on an airplane and in an airport, that tea kick-started his system and boy did we walk. We walked to three separate ruins outside of Cuzco, about 15 kilometers in total, mostly uphill. Amazingly enough Grock had no problems with the altitude, and was in good enough humor to meet some cute girls along the way. It felt a little weird for me to be talking all the time, as most of my trip I guess I hadnt been, but it was great fun. The name of the first ruins sound like sexywoman, but look like piles of rocks, how dissapointing. They also happened to be the site of the Inti Raymi the day before, but looked a great deal different from closer up. The next site we had to walk pretty far to get to, but by the time we did we had picked up two new girls to hang out with and basically annoy. I believe I managed to pull my shoe off at one point to smell my sock (it really stank) as one of the girls was reading about ancient Inka history, Grock laughed. Finally we made it to the best ruins I saw in Peru, Pisaq. They are on a hillside which is pretty much impregnable, or at least appears to be. The ruins consist of many terraced hillsides and some cool ruins with sundials and a small spring. I say they were the best ruins bc their dramatic location rivals Machu Picchu however there were no tourists so we had it to ourselves.

After the ruins we returned to reality in Cuzco and began planning our next few days. We decided to take an alternate 4 day journey to reach Machu Picchu which ran through the Jungle. The first day we were suppposed to bike ride from 4,500 meters (14,850 feet) to 1,100 meters (3,630 feet). The distance that we descended alone was higher than I have ever been in my life. The tour group, which by the way had alredy lied/overcharged me numerous times proceeded to lie to me again. They told us that there was a small landslide and that we may have to get off of our bikes and walk them over it. We initially agreed, but when the horribly cheap owner refused to lower his price we set out looking for alternatives. We discovered that another agency was taking a 10 hour busride to get around the slide, but as they were more expensive and were not going to bike we went back. The agency promised us repeatedly that there was no chance of us ending up on a 10 hour busride, I guess they werent lieing bc it turned out to be 12 hours! The next day we got up to the top of the mountain, and proceeded to bike down. About 1 hour in a police vehicle comes from behind us and stops us saying it is impossible to pass, at which point this horrible lady who came from one agency tries to intervene. The police then show us photos of the slide. It apparently was a slide below the road, and even if it hadnt slid more it looked like about 2000 foot vertical fall and really no way to get past it, especially with bikes. We were all very upset, and at one point all wanted our money back. The lady who came (I dont think she always comes, only when they anticipate trouble) then asked for receipts, and then ripped the name off of one receipt! We were all really pissed, but the group seemed good, and it didnt seem worth the trouble to lose a day in Cuzco so we all agreed to take the bus.

Seeing as this was Andys first overnight bus we proceeded to get good and drunk. After a few bottles of rum our guides were probably the drunkest and boarding the bus was an adventure, especially when one of the girls in our group had her wallet stolen! I ended up sleeping ok, as Im used to the torture of night bus rides, however Andy had the worst seat in the bus and ended up sleeping next to dried hamster piss on the floor.

When we finally arrived in the jungle we had breakfast and proceeded hiking. This turned out to be amazing as we passes coca leaf, avocado, and coffee bean plantations all on the terracced hillsides. After 6 hours of fast hiking we arrived at some delicious outdoor hot-springs and relaxed the trip away. We then had a few after dinner games of Asshole of which I won the majority, but lost the last one of the day which forced me to carry the pack of one beautiful Irish girl named Fiona for one hour the next day. The next hike was relatively easy and we arrived in aguas callientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. Instead of relaxing, we all decided to climb a hill which overlooked Machu Picchu. We were suppossed to begin climbing it at 3 because it takes a while to ascend (1.5 hours) and when it gets dark the ladders are extremely dangerous. We didnt start untill 4:30 and were forced to climb it as fast as possible (30 mins) after which I could ring the sweat out of my shirt. We then took the first of our ¨naked in Peru¨ pics which had Machu Picchu as a monument framed by our butts.

The next day we got to MP for sunrise, however there was no sun to speak of. We climbed the Wayna Picchu and took another naked in Peru shot, then went down the long way which pretty much ate up our time there in MP. By this time we were all pretty tight in our group and made plans to go out in Cuzco, which we did. After a night which ended with me locked out of our hostel for a brief period, I wont go into specifics but lets just say we had fun, we flew to Arequipa, city of light.

Andy and I booked a trip to see the deepest canyon in the world and then had a delicious but overpriced dinner. This trip was the polar opposite of the other. Instead of trekking for hours each day, this trip shoved you in a van and didnt allow you to even walk if you wanted. Instead of cool young folk out for a good time, this trip was full of cranky old french people with a distinct hatred of youthful Americans. During the first day we managed to get to almost 5,000 meters which is pretty freaking high, and then Andy and I ditched the tour to climb around a creek and ended up in some more hotsprings. After this we had dinned for 5 soles (1.5 dollars) and tried to meet with our group but they lied to us (damn french) and told us to go to the wrong restaurant. Another thing, the tour was suppossed to be in English and Spanish but our guide kept forgetting, while also speaking in a very low lispy spanish accent, with the frenchies in full translating mode. Needless to say Andy didnt understand a dang thing, and I only understood enough to know I wasnt interested.

The canyon was cool, we saw condors flying about 20 feet from us and got attacked by some interesting bugs which really freaked Andy out. We then flew to Lima and stayed with two girls from the good tour in the nice neighborhood of Miraflores. After Andy left Stephan from the tour came top stay with us in Lima. We cooked an amazing rendition of my classic Hostal Pasta, and went out to the cool neighborhood of Barranca for a night out.

Cuzco, Machu Pichu, Bailamos!

Hola Chicos! I have just been spending some of the best days of my trip with my good buddy Andy Grock, Grockster if you will. After arriving in Arica for the surf contest I spent approx an hour looking for a place to stay that wasnt 15 dollars, and found one that was 7. I was excited. The wave called the Gringo was one viscious wave. it broke in about waist high water on top of rocks, let me tell you there were some concussions and stiches the first day, and the second day the first surfer broke his board on the first wave of the day, after which the top 50 surfers in the world decided they were too scared to surf. It was cool being there, and I managed to run into this girl from new zealend whom I met on the bus from the airport in Santiago. We played hacky sack, and I think had more people taking pictures of us then anything else.

After the amazing game of hacky sack I had the three consectutive most shady meals of my trip. First I had some civiche in a mercado where they had posted all kinds signs (about 3) saying Do not eat uncooked fish as it is bad for you. As we all kniow civiche is uncooked fish. Then I bought some salmi and bread and fruit, after which I crossed the border into Peru. A note, apparently crossing a border with bread, chicken, (of which I had a drumstick from the night before) fruit and vegetables (I had a carrot) is illegal. I was sweating when they x-rayed my bag. Right after the x-ray they started yelling and I thought I was done for, but they just stopped this nice looking lady with a bag full of what looked like Marijauana. Another note, traveling at high speeds in a 50 year old ford with 7 people in it across a border in the middle of a desert is a nerve racking experience, oh yea, no seat belts. But I had to do it to save about 30 bucks on my bus which I bought in Tacna, Peru, and was still way overcharged for.

Buses in Peru are not like busses in Chile or Argentina. Wow, understatment of the century. When we finally got on this but to Puno we had a box of hamsters (to eat) a box of chickens (for eggs) and three dogs (to eat?). It was the smelliest longest most miserable bus trip, well until my next overnighter in Peru. We arrived at about 13,000 feet on the banks of Lake Titicaca, and watched the sun come up over the highest navigable lake in the world. I then got on a 6 hour bus to Cuzco which was fun, but also quite miserable.

Cuzco is a wonderful city, full of historic spanish buildings built out of the stones which were once ancient Inca buildings. I arrived and got a look at the festival of the sun. Wow! Every city in the province had representivitves and they were all dancing through the streets. I had a great steak dinner which cost a fortune (read 15 dollars but I hadnt eaten anything but old chicken, bread and salami for hours). The dinner was good fun as I sat overlooking the plaza where all the action was. I talked to everybody who sat next to me and actually ended up seeing all of them again in Agaus Callientes. The next day all of the locals left and only tourists were left to see the actual Inti Raymi or Festival of the Sun. We hiked to a few plazas and I actually bought a tour so I wouldnt have to be alone. We saw the sacrifce of a llama and then the burning of the llamas heart to try and determine the future, which looked good. Another note, evrybody in Peru lies constantly. It is actually amazing. I wazs told we would have food, seats and tour guides who spoke quechua on this guided tour. We had no seats, (we sat on a hill with trees blocking the festival), no lunch (a bar of coca leaf grain doesnt count) and I am convinced our guides were making up what the festival was all about. But it was fun, and the next morning Grock came!

More later, right now I need to catch a plane, yea I splurged 11 hours in a bus or 30 minutes in a plane, to Arequipa!

El Norte y el Sur de Chile

Hola todos! While in Santiago I felt as though I were home. I had a nice bed to sleep in, my parents were there (thanks Andreas and Vicki) and all around it was comfortable and nice. Of course I wanted to leave as quickly as I could. I left the warm house of the Vorwerk´s late one Sunday night for the freezing confines of the Transantiago buses followed by one of the worst, ok the worst busride. I made the HUGE mistake of choosing the window seat in the front of the bus. There were only two seats and I chose wrong. I had so little room that my right foot had to be angled all night. I had dreams of beds, and during the night every single part of my body fell asleep at some point. Despite this my time in Pucon couldnt have been nicer. When I arrived Sergio, the cousin of Cecelia, a grad student in the lab I worked in, picked me up right on time. It was so nice to talk with him as he was super excited to have me and to go on some adventures! We grabbed some bread and made for his house, 30 km out of town. it was the exact opposite of Santiago. No smog, no traffic, just pure nature. He lived with his mom on a piece of land that has its own natural hot springs! They are not quite ready yet, but as I was reminded many times by the time I return they will be. When I arrived we immediately went to a museum, and then began the preperation for an asado we were going to have. I learned the two most important, ok really the only two ingrediants for an asado are lots of meat and lots of beer. We got about 5 pounds of beef ribs and 7 liters of beer, and some tomatoes and other stuff to. We then went for a nice hike to see two lakes near Sergios house, (it aint called the lake region for nothing), and then started the asado. We were forced to do the asado under a little auxilliary house that Sergio had and were thusa bombarder with smoke during the entire process, but we got it done. We had to sit out there stoking the fire, drinking beer, and just having a great time for about 3-5 hours, Im not sure as the beer was steadily working its magic. By the time the ribs were done they were the most beautiful things I have ever seen, crispy, covered in fat, and perfectly tender. Needless to say we ate them all, and went back out to the fire to finish off the beer.

The next day we woke up a little late to a scolding by Sergio´s (and my) mother who was incredulous that we finished as much beer as we did. We then left to see the Cuevas (caves) on the side of the volcan Villarica. As we bagan the ascent we realized we couldnt make it in Sergios car and decided to walk the rest, in about a meter of snow. After an hour or two walk in the snow, (oh yea it was snowing as well), and we arrived. It looked like there wasnt another person around, and I began to blame Sergio, until we saw a girl in the ticket booth. Sergio rapped on the glass and the girl asked, ¨hello have you come to visit the caves?.¨ I had to hit Sergio to keep him from saying, ¨No, we came for a cup of tea,¨ but it was a ridiculous question. After speaking with Sergios friend we got a free tour of the caves and a free ride ont he back of a modified snow pickup with some Brazillians, sweet. That night we had a great soup made with some of the ribs that we didnt use in the Asado, and then we went to a hot springs nearby where Sergio had some friends.

The next day we visited some waterfalls all around Pucon, and had an amazing lunch of homemade Fetuccini Alfredo and great donuts made from pumpkin. After thislunch I decided I was far to comfortable and left for the furthest south point that I would reach, Valdivia.

Valdivia was a cool ciudad, between rivers. The fish market was amzing with some of the freshest fish I have ever seen, and lobos del mar, otherwise known as sea lions, sitting right next to the fishermen witing for scraps. I went for a long walk and ended up by some forts which were used to defend the city from attacks by pirates and by the native mapuche who kicked the settlers butts quite a few times. I had some great fish for lunch and then saw the news which featured Santiago up to it neck in water and I knew I had to head back for some snowboarding.

The busride back was so much better than the one down, it cost less, the legroom was immense , and it even smelled better. I arrived back in Santiago to find the rumors of traffic were not exagerated too much as it took em about two hours to get across town. However the sun was incredible, the first sunlight I saw in Santiago. It looked especially amazing as it struck all of the two meters of snow that had fallen in the preceeding two days! As I already wrote, I went snowboarding two days, the second being incredible, the first indecipherable.

It was near this time that my good friend Andrew Grock, AKA Grockster, emailed me and informed me of his plans to meet me in Peru ASAP. I therefore dropped everything, left for La Serena with plans to head to Northern Chile and Peru as fast as I could hop on a bus.

Let me tell you something, if you can avoid arriving in a city in the morning (5 oclock in this case) definetly avoid it. Another note, busdrivers know which will be worse, arriving too early or too late, and will always try to accomodate you. In this case we were meant to arrive at 6, but there we were, groggy as hell at 5 in the morn. Despite this, I made my way to Valle del Elqui and the little town of Pisco Elqui. It turned out to be the right stop as it was a beautiful little valley of grape farms and distilleries. I rented a bike and rode for a while, (until my bike broke I think I am far too big to ever rent a bike as I always manage to break rentals, see Ecuador) I then toured a Pisco distillery and drank some of the good stuffa, followed by a wonderful hamburger and drinks in the bike rental guys bar.

The following day I managed to escape the valley on the first bus of the day at 12:30 and made my way to La Serena to buy a ticket for Arica, site of a surf contest with the top 40 surfers in the world! And thats where I am now. A great little town in the middle of the desert, with a world class surf break, and great rotisserie chicken, (a whole chicken for less that 5 bucks). Tomorrow I will continue my gawking at the surfers and then head to Tacna, Peru where I will catch a bus to Cuzco for the Winter Solstice festival on the 24th, and my reunion with Grock on the 25th.

Chile, Estados Unidos of the South

Sorry for the long delay I have just been living in LA-LA land for the last few weeks. After arriving in Santiago de Chile on the 4th of June I changed my money in for thousands of Pesos thinking I was in for a good time. A few seconds later i spent all that I had to catch a bus to the house of Andreas, Vicki, Felix and Max Vorwerk, my family in Chile! Initially it was great to be out of Hostels so for the first day I just hung out and rested under what I thought were cloudy skies but later found out was a substance familiar to my heart, smog. I helped Max, my second cousin (our grandparents were brother and sister), take these three great dogs for a walk in the hills above Santiago, ang the next day went to school with Max. Basically I was one of the family. The next day I went to the center of Santiago and visited an amazing pre-columbian art museum, where I thought of my sister who did her thesis on that type of art. That night I went out with some of Max´s friends to a bar and to a disco, the whole time I was trying to size up the differences in the way i was seeing the city compared to my normal methods of hanging in a hostel near the center of the city.

Later on I was invited surfing with some of Max´s friends, Pancho and his friend. I was told by Pancho to be ready at 4, but being pretty smart I called him at 4 to find out that he wouldnt be there until later, lucky me. The drive was beautiful, especially as the sun began to rise over un-smoggy hills. When we arrived at the beach and I eventually found my way into the water I realized that my rented wetsuit was completely inadequete. Wow was it cold. I caught a few waves before I completely lost feeling in my feet and hands. However before we got in Pancho told me I had to stay in for a while so as not to be a mariposon, like a wimp but a more negative conotation of being a butterfly as well (god only knows why that is so terrible). Therefore, when I finally got out I experienced some of the worst pain of my life as my feet were completely numb to my high ankles and it was pretty difficult to walk. I only regained feeling in all 20 toes after about an hour and a half. Anyway, it was really fun to be out of Santiago. The next day we had a great lunch with the family in which Max and Felix cooked, and then I left for Pucon on a night bus to visit the cousin and aunt of Cecelia.

Before I leave Santiago let me tell you a few things. It is big, and by big I mean Los Angeles big. Starting that comparison, let me just finish it. LA, terrible public transportation, Santiago, a new bus system called transantiago which is the subject of complaints on EVERY single episode of the nightly news the whole time Ive been in Chile, and which takes an hour to reach any where in the city. LA, smog, ditto Santiago. LA, miserably selfish people obsessed with money. Well this is difficult bc of my limited experience, but yea most people I met, obviously not my family or any of there friends, were very closed off and inacessible, and yes selfish. Example? Anytime, anywhere, if you are standing or sitting in someones way and they wish to get around you, they will not ask if you can move, or tap you lightly, they will just sort of push you. I think this is a manifestation of selfishness, but I could be wrong. Despite these obvious flaws, my family and their friends were some of the most warm and welcoming people I have ever met, and welcomed me into their lives as though I had always been there. Including speaking German at a birthday dinner for Andreas in which I was the only one of about 13 people who didnt know what the heck was going on. And in the middle Vicki asks me if I understand anything in spanish and I answered in English, ¨no, Im confused¨ to the uproirous laughter of everybody at the table. I really was confused. I had been speaking spanish with Sergio, (cecelias cousin) and then read an entire book in English on the way home, and then spent a whole night trying to speak German, I couldnt speak properly in any language for days!

So as you may have figured I spent more time in Santiago after Pucon. When I got back to Santiago they had just recieved over 2 meters of snow and I was able to go on the first day of the season to Valle Nevado, a mountain just over 12,000 feet which is only 40 minutes from Santiago. The first day was great, well scratch that, the snow was great but the visibility was about as bad as it can be. I tried to snowboard but continually almost injured myself falling off small cliffs which were completely invisible to me. I got a few great runs in knee deep powder and vowed to return. And return I did, the next day. I went with Felix and his friend Sven and Svens girlfriend who happened to have a cabin directly on the slopes. Wow, I couldnt imagine two more different days. The first day I took a miserable bus to the slopes which took forever and cost a fortune, the second day rode up in style in Svens Range Rover. The first day I couldnt see an thing, the second day the sun was shining and I could almost see the ocean. It was incredible! Felix and I did so many runs, I was in the powder and he was on the groomed runs initially, but I convinced him to do some crazy stuff with me. We did a chute between two rocks and got fresh tracks on a black diamond that was closed off, it was sweet. I had one of the best days ever bc I wasnt with the powder hounds of California and was able to get fresh tracks from bottom to top, which never ever happens in Cali. Anyway, I finished off my Santiago experience the right way and took off to La Serena in the north, where I am writing now before getting on a bus to Arica which will cover about 1,500 km and 19 hours!

Pictures of Chile

These are the most recent pictures I have taken! Starting with Aconcagua 22,841 the highest peak in the western Hemisphere out of the airplane to Santiago. Next is my cousin Max and I at his University. The next pic is the Moneda palace which was raided by Pinochet during the (very bloody) coup in 1973, followed by pictures from a surf trip to the coast today. In the one with the surfer you can also see Aconcagua which is clear across Chile, neat!

Colonia, and goodbye to Beautiful Uruguay

Arriving in Colonia, a little (you guessed it) colonial village on the coast I went looking for something to eat. I found this cool little restaurant called the Drugstore in the center of little cobblestone streets and right next to the central square. I was enticed to go in by Luisa, the manager of the place. She spoke impeccable English and after convincing me that I wanted to eat there told me about her amazing life working with a fake social security number in New York, and as a chef in Porugal. She appeared to be about 35, but that may have been 35 years old like my dad is 35... I also met Maia, this beautiful waitress with whom I immediately fell in love. But as I was leaving the next day, I merely promised to return someday...

The next day I woke up, took a ferry to Buenos Aires, again with the Austrians, and ate lunch in San Telmo. Lunch was my last Argentinian Steak and boy was it good. Covered with Roquefert cheese and bloody as hell, all for 5 dollars!

I made my way to the airport after buying more Yierba Mate (it has become quite the addiction) and on to Santiago de Chile!

Montevideo, Capital of my heart

After the initial rough around the edges appearence, I really had a great time. Montevideo is so laid back I could have been in San Fran, Ca. Every street has London Plain trees which give it this great feel, and it definetly was the safest city Id been in a while. I just walked around with the swiss girl the first day while alternately bargaining for a new mate and bombilla, and looking in museums (all free). Every person I met was so friendly, and the girls, wow. I think the girls in Uruguay are the most beautiful. Well, the Argintinas are nice as well, but they all seem so full of themselves that I feel like Im back in LA. The Uruguayenas on the other hand are very innocent and just drop dead gorgeous.

While in Brazil my budget sort of flew out the window, so I decided to get back on track here in Uruguay. The first night I made some great lentils in the kitchen, and a sandwich for lunch the next day. The 200 grams of cheese, 200 gs salami, giant loaf of bread, 6 eggs, 200 gs lentils, 2 onions, head of garlic, tomato, and 2 carrots all together cost...4$! I was stoked, food for two days for almost nothing, I love this place. The next day we walked to the beach and watched kite surfers for a while. When we walked over to say hi to them one of the guys invited us to their house for a party on saturday night. Then we went to a farmers market\garage sale and got some amazing grapes and arrugula, and a CD of Puro Rock from Uruguay.

That night I started drinking beer at about 1 am and went to some clubs with the Brazillian guys. It was great fun, dancing and drinking and all that, and no smoking inside, what a progressive country! The best and worst thing were the girls. They were all so beautiful, but completely unaccessible. I wasnt looking for a girlfriend but just someone to dance with a little. That proved to be impossible as the guys are so aggressive, that girls are afraid to even talk to you.

Anyway, made it home at around 6:30 and slept most of Sat in anticipation of a great night on Sat. This night was different. It started with going over to another Brazillians house, a guy who had stayed at the hostel for a few months but later moved to an apt in the center of town. He was actually on his way to Michigan, Ann Arbor to work on his PhD in Sociology This proved very usefull as the brazillians and I started on a night long discourse on social inequities and the problems of raising children in this day and age in the United States and Brazil, and why people were so different in Uruguay. We also foreyed into Politics, with the main question being, how in the hell did Bush win a second time??? The discusion tailed off at around the 9th liter of beer at which point we left for Almodobar, one of the big clubs. The night reminded me of Spain, with tons of people in the streets and lots of little clubs along two main streets. We had a great time dancing and being rejected by girls, when finally at around 8 in the morning we went to, god forbid, McDonalds and continued our analysis of the United States, with the conclusion that if people have everything, as in the States, they will be as (or more) unhappy as people who have nothing.

After a long sleep I left to Colonia to sleep and ponder the questions of the Universe, or at least this planet.

Goodbye to Brazil, Gremio, Inter and hello again to Brazillians

A few days ago I left Canela with a heavy heart, after thoroughly enjoying myself, making new friends and partying in the clubs I said goodbye to Vagner and the amazing 5.50 cent buffet libre in which he worked. After extensive planning, making phone calls to Porto Allegre in portugese is not the easiest thing to do in the world, I hopped on a bus for Porto Allegre and an 8:30 overnighter to Montevideo, Uruguay. I didnt realize that Gremio, one of Porto Allegre's futball teams was in the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores and was playing in Porto Allegre that night! Of course we drove right by the stadium along with 60,000 screaming honking fans, (I think they won), and I hopped on the bus mere seconds before it left for Uruguay.

A little about Porto Allegre Futball. Inter, the other PA team last year won the Copa Libertadores, championship of South America, and then finished by beating Barcelona, the champion of europe. They are therefore known as the campeons del mundo. This year it looks like Gremio is going to win, didnt I say that PA is the futball capital of the world?

Anyway, back to bus reality. When I first got on I met all the other travellers, one of whom was a catholic priest from Ecuador, and two others were travellers from Austria. I could never tell if they were boyfriend girlfriend, or father and Daughter, but I ended up seeing them several more times, finishing with lunch in BA. The bus was nice, big seats lots of room, but the road made up for that, nice and bumpy. We made it through customs at about 3 in the morn, thank you german passport! And got to Montevideo at 8 in the morning. I beelined it for a hostel and slept for a few hours before breakfast.

A little about hostels. Each hostel has its own personality and therefore its own charms and problems. The charms include breakfast, free internet, the problems horrible beds, loud roomates and absolutely horrible bathrooms. At first it seemed this one suffered the problems with no redeeming factors, my room was occupied by a smoking man, possibly from Saudi Arabia (I was told), the bathrooms were wet all over, with no hot water and no toilet paper, and the bed, wow, the mattress stunk and was about as effective as a single sheet over a wooden plank. Despite these problems it soon became my favorite hostel!

I moved rooms, put two mattress on top of each other and learned to use the bathroom before the guys from Bangledesh did, (they were the source of the water apparently). I met a nice girl from Switzerland who only spoke spanish with me, and 3 great Brazillians who were studying Architecture in Montevideo, and they had a fireplace in the hostel which kept things nice and toasty.

Porto Allegre, Canela all you can eat and the freezing southern winds

From now on I will always pay the extra 5 dollars to not sit on the slow bus anywhere! Instead of six hours the bus to PA took 9 hours! With stops every few minutes it was pretty difficult after a while, but I made it to saturday night in Porto Allegre. Well it wasnt quite what I thought it would be. The center is not realy where you want to be on Sat, its full of shady characters and homeless guys, not quite the lively party scene I was expecting. The hotel I stayed at was nice enough, but the guy at the front desk put me next to the elevator; and by next to the elevator I mean my head was about 6 inches from it. Needless to say sleep was controlled by how much people went up and down. Good thing they stopped at around 3 and didnt start until 7, when I promptly woke up. I decided that walking around the town would be fun on a sun morn, maybe a little shopping, sightseeing... well the shady characters were still around and I literally had to run at one point when 4 guys tried to surround me, needless to say I decided to flee while I still had the majority of my posessions. Thinking quickly I read about a little mountain town called Canela, and took the first bus there!


The two towns had about as much in common as New York and Ojai. When I got here I spent the day walking around sipping mate and eating chocolate; (apparently this area absorbed a lot of Italians and Germans) What a great town! I met a couple of nice brothers in the hostel who spoke spanish, one of whom was a midget as well, of course we got along famously! The only problem with this town is the complete and utter absence of any form of heating, be it a fireplace or central heating. The showers also are not heated by water heaters but instead by these little electric things attached to the water flow above your head. They dont work that well. Despite what I thought was adequete planning, I was not prepared for the cold. I dont know why not, maybe my body is used to summer right now and my internal thermostat is turned way down, but Im wearing 6 layers, every long sleeve shirt I own and my jacket at all times and still Im pretty cold! Despite the cold, the people here are warm as can be. I already made a few friends and went to a great open mike night last night. Today I just got back from a long (10K) hike to this waterfall which falls 130 m and has a lot of falcons and other rapiers which live near them! I just had a great lunch of all you can eat Buffet with my friend Vagner, and we made plans to go out tonight to some club in the next town over.

I forgot to mention the all you can eat spots in Brazil, well there are a lot of them! It is pretty amzing, every Churrascuria, or meat grill place is all you can eat, and most cost 5 dollars! There are numerous buffet livres for lunch with some only costing 3.50. Lets just say if I were a certain Andre two chicken I would be in hog heaven!

More later, hopefully tomorrow when I transfer pics onto the site!

Brazil, land of sun, surf and spandex!

Well, last time I left you guys I was on my way on an overnight bus to the Isla Santa Caterina, also known as Floripa and as Florinopopoulis. As I got on the bus I made the acquaintance of a nice Kiwi (from New Zealand) Virginia who now lives in London. We talked for a while and decided to try to get a place together on the Island as it is cheaper to get doubles than singles. Wow did we luck out, we got a place with two bedrooms, a porch, a a great view of the nicest beach, playa ingles! It was so great to be there! It was sunny and warm, and the ocean was so nice to swim in. The beach we were at didnt have too many waves, but there was one only a few minutes away that had some pretty big ones, so I set out to do some surfing! But apparently no. During the months of May and June surfing is prohibited on the island so that fisherman can catch a particular type of fish. Now Im really not so sure about this as I never saw the fisherman actually fishing, more just drinking beer on the beach, and I could really not figure out how in any way surfing would affect their ability to sit on the beach and drink, but there it was.
The best part of Brazil is the people. They are without doubt the nicest and warmest people I have ever met. They helped me with everything, from figuring out the right bus to take to where to get a haircut. The man at the front desk of out hotel was so happy all the time it was amazing, he always had a smile on his face, and was always there to help. I think after working in a hotel for a whgile I would not be the happiest of people but he was! Anyway, I did have a great time for three days, relaxing on the beach reading, sunbathing, and drinking the best beer; Antarctica Pilsen. I began formulating a plan at this point and decided to head south and eventually back to BA to fly to Chile to save money on transportation and lodging. Therefore after a few days I headed to Porto Allegre, the Soccer capital of South America!

Iguazu Falls and Swiss guy

When I finally arrived in Iguazu I looked for a posada with my own room which I needed after sharing with 6 anonymous people in BA. I found one where I was the only person, and proceded to wash clothes without realizing that the extreme humidity would induce mildew and not drying of my clothes. After a wholly unsatisfying lunch I went for a satifying hike among the forest which surround Pto. Iguazu. After a great night sleep, I took off on the earliest bus to Iguazu, ok the 5th of the day, but whos counting? The falls were everything I thought and much more! They were the most powerfull falls I have ever seen, especially now bc it is the rainy season and they are swollen with brown water from the jungle. I guess I cant even really put into words how cool they were, but eating lunch with this swiss guy I met at the edge of the biggest one, we agreed that lonely planet had it right, this is what europeans must have thought the edge of the world looked like. After a 8 km hike to another fall, we went back and had a lunch-dinner of all you can eat Parilla for 5 dollars. At this point I decided I would go to Brazil using my German passport which would help me avoid the visa necessary for US citizens (along with the hefty 150$ price). I tried to book a flight to Rio, failed and decided to bus it (20hrs). First the swiss guy and I went to the Itaipu dam which according to the dam people produces the most hydroelectric energy in the world. A little about the swiss guy: He was at the tail end of an 8 month journey and was a little disillusiuoned with travelling. Also he was quite the addict, with cigarettes and mate chief among them. He did manage to connect me with this great site, hospitality club, with which you can stay with locals all over the world for free! I signed up already. However, later that day at the Bus station, I decided against Rio, and instead went to Isla Santa Caterina!

Buenos Aires

Hello all! Sorry for the long delay between posts! After leaving Quito, and being stuck in the Lima airport for 5 hours, until 4 am for a 4 hour flight, I made it to BA! I caught a ride from some nice Venezuelen women, one of which had an art opening in the Palermo district, read rich, area of BA. I just walked around the city, fighting off a cold, the whole first day. I saw the balcony where Evita said, Dont cry for me Argentina, or at least I think she did. I also got to see the birthplace of Tango, which was cool, but the best part was lunch! I walked to what I was told was a cheap and good place for lunch and boy was it! Only 3 dollars for a huge plate of Ribs cooked up fresh! After the big lunch and a nice nap I met the first of many Israelis in the hostel. Wow, it seems only Israelis are travelling these days. Anyway, after a nice dinner with them we ended up walking around the city the next day together and switching hostels to the Palermo district. The new hostel was a questionable improvement, but the area was much better. We found an all you can eat Sushi place for dinner, it was so good! The next day we went to the Zoo! I finally got some pictures of monkeys, the same kind I saw in the jungle, but this time they were moving a lot less. After another filling and cheap lunch at a parillada (grill) and another nap, we went out to experience the famous BA nightlife. Wow, it was poretty amazing! We went to Opera Bay where there were 3 different dance floors, one with Rap, one with rock and one with electronica. I talked with some Argintinian girls who didnt believe that I was from the US bc my accent was so good, I know it was weird, I guess they thought I was messing up on puropose. Anyway, at about 6, after dancing all night, I decided I had had enough and went homne and slept until 2 pm, when there was a BBQ on the roof of the hostel! After another night of the BA nightlife, I decided I had had enough, and at 7 am I made an online reservation to go to the Igauzu falls on an 18 hr overnight bus, good thing I was kicked out of the hostel at 11 am, bc I slept the whole 18 hrs! I have to mention that this day was pretty hard. I really felt the absence of anything familiar, and felt pretty alone. I mean BA was nice and all, but it was so big and such a city that I just wanted to get out. Goog thing Puerto Iguazu was different.

The Oriente, Cuyabeno Rainforest

After awakening numerous times throughout the ride, I finally awoke at 6 in the small border town of Lago Agrio, where I promptly lost the incredibly ineffective clock which I had brought. Lacking any timepiece, we travelled (I say we meaning the Guide, Jiro, and a Texan couple) for another three hours to the entrance of the Cuyabeno reserve, and then three more hours by boat to the camp. On the way in we saw three species of monkey, and many more of birds. The Camp was a little rustic, but what can you expect in the middle of the rainforest? We had a great dinner followed by a night walk in which we saw a Tapir and many, many insects including tarantulas, giant locusts, several other types of spiders, and more mosquitos and moths than stars in the sky. As a sidenote, this was where the relationship which the Texan couple had was elucidated. Apparently you can describe the husband as a ¨mandarino¨ which I was informed of by my guide. This means he is someone who is dominated by his wife. It may be that he was shorter than her, or that she had an MBA, JD and was an accountant, and he was the son of Immigrants from Puerto Rico, but he sure got told by his wife. Nonetheless, she was also the type of person who needed something to complain about, and was completely illogical- traits shared by many americans. Back to the story: The next day we went on a 4 hour hike in which I learned about many different plants, but didnt see too many animals. After lunch we went to see a 3 meter long Anaconda which some of the guides friends spotted, and our guide almost grabbed. And then we went to a village in which we helped to make Cassava bread from the roots of Yuca plants, and I was attacked by sand flies. Over a hundred bites later, we went to sleep, but not before the woman had complained enough that she decided to leave early the next day with her mandarino in tow. The next day was the best! We went out early, and as the woman refused, Jiro and I jumped in a little canoe at 6 am to paddle around. We spotted two more types of monkeys, one even had a baby on its back. Also some really rare birds which I didnt think were quite as cool, but was assured that they were ¨oro¨or gold to bird lovers. We then managed to lose the texans on our way to lago grande where we fished for Piranha with hunks of bloody steak. I caught two, and made them eat stuff, which was cool. We then had lunch and then a long swim in the lake, with the Piranhas. As long as you are not bleeding apparently they are quite safe. After another long hike we watched the sunset and bagan looking for caiman, which are like crocodiles. Again, Jiro almost caught one. I on the other hand realized that the thing on my leg was a huge wolf spider! Jiro calmly caught it and put it on my hand, that was pretty scary, its fangs were about an inch long. On the boat ride home I swallowed about 300 gnats and mosquitos, but we managed to catch a small boa. The next morning we awoke at 3 am, and did the whole trip back to the airport, there was no way I was going to take a 9 hour bus. After arriving in Quito Mark, Aline, and some of their friends went out dancing. Sunday we went shopping, and yesterday I went to a place called Papallacta where I went for a hike at 10,000 feet and sat in more hot springs.

Today I go to Buenos Aires at 9 pm, for yet another overnight trip. I am so excited about BA! Cheap steak, great wine, and parties till 6 in the morn!

Ill write more soon, same channel...

Ecuador-Tonsupa, Banos

Hello all, sorry I havent written in a while, but I was busy making sure I had something to write about.
I went to the Middle of the World, or so I was assured by the museum there. Apparently the Spaniards couldnt figure out the real equator, so about 300 meters from this big monument there is a little museum which shows you cool stuff. They claim the correalis effect is visualized when moving a trough of water form the equator to about 6 feet on either side of it. I managed to disprove this. The equator, or near it, is the only place you can get water to go straight down as it drains through a hole. In the northern hemisphere it will always go clockwise, while in the southern it will go counterclockwise. So first they show water draining straight, which is cool, then they move the trough to the northern side, but as they pour the water in, they pour it in such a way as to induce a clockwise motion, and then repeat the feat on the southern side, inducing a counterclockwise motion. So of course I, as a graduate of several Physics classes, had to object, and was able to create a counterclockwise motion in the northern hemisphere. Needless to say, they had excuses, mainly that near the equator the pull is different and that I just induced it, which is what I said to them. But it was pretty cool that the water would drain stright down, bc that you cannot see anywhere else but the equator.

After that Mark got the day off work and we went to the top of Pichincha, the volcanoe overlooking Quito. We were at 4,100 meters, which is about 13,000 feet above sea level, the highest I have ever been in my life! We tried to go for a walk, which was quite difficult, and after it started hailing, we decided to investigate the effects of alcohol at that altitude. Later that night we got on an overnight bus to Esmereldas, specifically the beach at Tonsupa. First overnight bus went well, except that the seats are made for 5 foot tall ecuadorians, and the bus drivers are a little manic. I took two sleeping pills and some whisky, and still only slept for about 2 hours. The beach was great though. Even though when we got there I was informed that nobody brought a camera because their friend was robbed at gunpoint a few weeks before on the same beach. Nothing more dramatic than a little sunburn, and some great bodysurfing happened to us. We stayed in a condo overlooking the beach, there were seven of us, including Mark´s friend Jem, who as it turned out was a male ¨dancer,¨ and his other friend Megan, from Alabama. After I informed Jem that I couldn´t move my hips independently from the rest of my body, and Megan that when I was a kid my dad threatened to send me to Alabama if I was bad, I think they both took a liking to me. Anyway, we had a great time, got back to Quito after eating great seafood, and drinking more than a few Pilsener beers.

Banos-Un pedazo del cielo
First thing Monday I took off for Banos, a small town with great thermal baths and all kinds of cool outdoor activities to do. On the way there I learned that Buses in Ecuador will stop anywhere at any time, and that you are not very bright if you catch the bus at the bus station. Apparently it is even favorable to stand outside the bus station because no matter what time they tell you the bus is leaving, it is guarenteed to leave an hour more later. After driving through all of Quito, offering rides to everybody we passed, we got on our way to Banos. It ended up being an great drive, even though some guys tried to steal my bag: I saw the first erupting volcano of my life! After finding a room at a great little hostel, I got some food, a burrito, and then headed to the Thermal baths. I was informed by a nice scottish fellow that he had eaten at the same place the day earlier and along with the rest of his family, was still suffering gastrointestinal strife as a result. I managed to survive the ravages of the burrito and ate some fairly decent italian food, followed by an early night to prepare for the following day in which I bike rode 20 km past 8 waterfalls, jumped off a 30 meter bridge attached to a few ropes, and went canyoning in which I repelled down a 45 foot waterfall! I then got on another overnight bus to Lago Agrio and the mysteries of the Rainforest.

Quito, land of lost baggage

Yea, first thing that can go wrong. Continental lost my bag somewhere in Houstan, guess I shouldn´t have tried to bring all those nudie mags with me, all the customs guys got stuck reading them. I have still had a great trip. I met the nicest people on the way down: A nice couple in LAX on their way to Sonoma, and a guy, Matt and his kid jackson from Memphis on the plane to Houstan. Wow, Memphis is a much different place than LA, apparently if you don´t have a concealed weapon you are just asking to get robbed! And on January first everybody in town waterskis in 25 degree weather on the Mississippi! Sounds like I need to visit.

Quito is great though, Mark picked me up from the airport last night, sans backpack, and I spent the day walking around the old town. Old town Quito is all colonial buildings and is pretty much identical to Spain. Everybody wears suits and it feels really safe which is nice. There are even old men napping in the main plaza, just like Spain! There are two large volcanos on the east and west sides of the city so the city only runs north south. Tomorrow, I am going to go to the Mitad del Mundo, and see the correalis effect, and other such fun stuff. This weekend Mark, his girlfriend Aline and I will go to the beach. Apparently it is the best time to go as it is winter. Next week I am goiong on a 3-4 day jungle tour in the oriente, just to make sure all those vaccines I got really work.

Schedule

Just wanted to list my schedule, or at least what I know.

Tuesday May 1st
Quito, Ecuador to stay with my friend Mark and his girlfriend who are there teaching english. I will probably do a few one or two day trips, and then Mark and I will go on longer trips on the weekends.

Tuesday May 15th
Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have no plans other than to explore and travel to Santiago, Chile over land. I will go to Pucon to visit Cecelia's family and Santiago to visit my own family.

Friday June 22nd
Lima, Peru. Again, no plans except to explore the country and to surf.

Monday July 9th
Panama City, Panama. Meet Max, surf and travel to Costa Rica, eventually to Guatemela to visit Imogen and friends.

Wednesday August 29th
Los Angeles, CA. Travel back to the real world, and begin Grad school at UCSF in middle Sept.

This is the website for my grad program in case you're interested
http://www.ucsf.edu/ccb/

Leaving Los Angeles

Hello all,

Im finally getting ready to leave for Ecuador. Just got waterproof shoes, repellent, and sunglasses, hope I dont need too much more. I guess this is the last time I will be living in Los Angeles. For the first time in my life I will call another place, San Francisco, home. But right now its time to see the world, or at least a part of South America.