Easter Chili, Machu Pizza and Lima Beans

A wild and tasty two weeks of travel. For some reason we set a departure date and to keep to an aggressive timeline. Acting like travel ninjas we traveled almost always at night, taking night buses and exploring by day. Not ideal but we had a surprisingly good time, saw some sweet stuff and checked off some biggies on our goal list. In two weeks we took 6 night buses, a couple day buses, 2 trains, a boat and plenty of taxis. Some say its the journey not the destination but whoever said that may have lived under power lines as a kid. For us the destination was the goal but are glad we took the cheaper bus route instead of flying. We met some cool people- a San Fran photographer and a young Colombian traveler. We did have some uncomfortable buses but for the most part they were decent. We survived fluctuating A/C /Furnace systems on buses, a hidden diaper behind the curtain on a bus (for the longest time I thought it was sMelica), a strike, and a group of pompous Brits who - after we had been waiting 5 hours for a delayed bus claimed that we were in their seats(there were other open seats) then found out that he read his ticket wrong and then prompted to discuss it for the next half an hour and decide whether this was the worst bus they had been on (it wasn´t that bad)- It took a lot of self control not to tell them off.

That sums up the journey- Now for the destinations. We made stopovers in Mendoza, Argentina... A nice city with wide tree lined streets, plazas, a place known for their wine and being at the base of the Andes and the Americas largest peak. We then crossed the Andes on the eve of Holy week vacations along with thousands of other holiday goers, spending 4 hours at the Chilean border. Vina Del Mar was our next stop, spending 2 days at the Chilean resort town. Vina had nice palm lined streets and ocean front promenade. On Easter families were out in force along with interesting kids games, random jumping castles, trampolines, and bubble boys in a pool on the beach. The sand art was good and ranged from Homer Simpson to Jesus. we also made a day trip to Valparaiso. A sketchy but picturesque town 15 mins from Vina. We were told by at least 8 people to make sure we go to Valpo but be careful (Even our Chilean friend in Oz said the same) We hadn´t been there for over a half an hour and had already been told to watch our camera and carry our backpack on our front...That doesn´t really make you comfortable or to want to take your camera out for any snaps. The place was cool, it was an old port city with colorful houses built up steep hills and trams transporting people up the steep hills to other levels of the city. Edgy, rough, and antique would be a good way to describe it.

Next we took a long journey through northern Chili, a place that is filled with very little other than desert and mines. We stopped at the chill coastal surfing town of Iquique, spent the night and were at the Peruvian border the next day. We shared a taxi with an impatient if not comical old British/American and crossed over into Peru in a classy Ford LTD. Then we took an OK night bus to the shores of Lake Titicaca and the town of Puno. Lake Titicaca.."As Fun as it sounds" or "Something for everyone" could have been the slogans. Titicaca is a massive lake at around 12,000 ft. elevation. The claim is that it is the highest navigable lake in the world or something. It straddles the border of Bolivia and Peru and the running joke is that Peru got the titties and Bolivia got the caca or vice versa.

We arrived on the night bus before 6 a.m. and were greeted by a nice hotel tout who set us up with a hotel, breakfast and a tour for the day. Too easy, and we were really too tired to make any decisions. By 7 a.m. we were off for the day motorboating Lake Titicaca. Our first stop was a floating island where we met some colorful locals who were carrying on the old ways and living on these floating island made out of bricks of moss and reeds. We heard about their daily lives and then the island turned into a floating craft fair. We then headed to a real island for the afternoon and hiked around it for a few hours. We had a nice lunch of lake trout and saw some nice little villages across the island. It definitely reminded us of the way the families look and live in Nepal.

When first getting to South America we had a goal to get to Machu Pichu and to hopefully do the Inca Trail. The trail was booked out for 3 months and had decided to do the train instead.

Our tight timeline didn´t leave much room for error and planned to leave Puno early the next morning for Cusco/Machu, however, there was a strike closing the road for a couple days. We had almost written off Machu Pichu and thinking the closest we would come would be eating at the Machu Pizza place across the street, when we learned the strike had lifted and buses were running again. We did some scrambling, bought our train tix (must have been the last few because we didn´t sit together), bought bus tix, and ditched on our hotel for a night bus to Cusco. We arrived at 5 in the a.m. and our train left at 7, we took the nice 3 hour train ride to Aguas Calientes-the town below Machu Pichu. We lucked out with another nice hotel tout and we were off to the lost city of the Incas by noon. The place was packed with the usual tourist crowd. It was a bit annoying but we were so amazed by the place that it didn´t really matter. The place was unlike anything I had ever seen before and it gave you the feeling that you were so far away from everything. It had the mix of being natural

beauty with the mystery and awe of the people who were able to build on such an amazing place. There were bright green terraces, llamas grazing everywhere, clouds towering over Waynu Pichu, amazing stone work, and an overall great setting. By late afternoon the crowds and our tour guide eves dropping had all but vanished. We sat on a grassy terrace overlooking the postcard shot- feeling great -amazed at this place and relieved and thankful that we were able to make it. We hiked the hour and a half back to the AC and by chance met up with the Colombian friend from the train and had dinner with

him. Just a great day overall. Next morning we took the 5 a.m. train back to Cusco and eventually a night bus to Lima. We were told by numerous people and the guide book to watch out in Lima as it too is shady. We luckily had no issues, checking into a decent hostel, going to a ruin in the middle of the city(seeing a Peruvian hairless dog) and some other tourist areas. We had an early flight the next day and our cab driver must have been anxious because he showed up 45 minutes early at the 3:45 a.m. The cab driver was the Peruvian version of Jerry Stiller (Melica wouldn´t let me ask him for a photo). Next stop Colombia...in search of Shakira, a cup of coffee, and some relaxation.

La Argentina

Hola amigos, just a quick update from the other America. Our flight to Buenos Aires was good, and got into BA with no problems. We met up with Melica´s sister Tirtza and spent the next 11 or so days checking out all of BA and taking a 3 day trip up to the falls at Iguazu. Tirtza just got to BA about a month ago and is doing a university exchange. She had a few days before all of her classes started, and after 2 days in a stinky hostel it was a good opportunity to travel around a bit. We took an 20 hour overnight bus north to Iguazu. We thought we booked a semi-cama bus but there was a promotion and we got a cama, but should have been the exclamation point because it was the best bus we have been on yet, with seats that lay all the way back to a bed, 2 decent meals, movies, and a bus steward who I almost expected to tuck us in. Puerto Iguazu was a decent little town and we found a good place to stay. We spent the whole day checking out the falls and they were very impressive. They say there are over 270 falls and some over 80 meters. We picked a good day, super hot and humid but a beautiful day. We did heaps of walking and ended up seeing a crocodile, a coati (racoon/anteater thing), and a little fury anteater thing. Overall a good day, the biggest falls I have ever seen and definitely worth the trip. After another overnighter we were back in Buenos Aires, it means good air in Spanish but most of the time it smelled like exhaust and dog crap. BA is pretty European; organized, big plazas, parks, dog walkers, cafes, discos, and a feeling that the town never sleeps. All in all we did have a good time in BA. Tirtza had class a few days but mostly we hung out and went to the sights around town which included: The Recoleta cemetery a huge cemetery with mini shrines and statues at each grave- a quiet neighborhood and nice for a stroll. We dined at La Cabrera, a restaurant that was recommended to us. Beef is big in Argentina and we heard this place had the best and we should starve ourselves before arriving. We weren´t disappointed and we split two meals between the 3 of us and still had leftovers. The steak was as big as my face and a couple inches thick. We capped it off with some tirimisu and called it a night. We also hit up the weekend craft fair. It actually wasn´t as bad as it sounded. There were heaps of talented artists and some unique items. The highlight for me was just the atmosphere, the street performers and definitely some of the best hippie watching this side of the amazon. (slack lines, hula-hoops, juggling and other stuff i´d never seen). We also did the BA thing and took in a tango show. This also may sound lame to some of you, but it wasn´t too bad. It was like dinner theatre, you show up get a seat, order dinner, the band starts playing and you just sit back and watch. Couples from the audience got up and did the tango, some appeared to be fresh off some lessons and this was their big debut. Then the professionals showed up and showed everyone how it was done with some flips and fancy footwork. Melica and I contemplated showing them up and turning it into "Dancing with the Haarrs" but we were too full off of the pizza...next time.

A lot of the time in BA was spent just walking around and exploring the city, always a good way to really see a place. On one of our last days in BA we walked around the big-eco park, and took in another craft fair. It was early afternoon and we decided to keep walking towards a touristy street with brightly colored houses and interesting architecture. It was early afternoon and we heard this one area was a bit shady but we ended up walking through there anyways. Looking back it was stupid but once we were in the neighborhood there was no going back. We were just like, where´s the exit¿ We started getting strange looks, cars were on blocks and without saying we all had the feeling we shouldn´t be there. Without looking at the map (definite no-no in this area) we navigate toward the tourist area. We were almost out when some punk aged 16-20 rode up on his bike and stopped in front of us and started saying something to me like ¨money money¨and grabbing for my pockets. It all happened really fast and you always think of good stuff to do later but I told him firmly to stop in Spanish and don´t touch me in English. We kept walking...faster and for some strange reason he just left us alone, maybe it was the crazy eyes. I later asked the ladies what he was saying and they said, "give me money or i´ll kill you now¨, I guess sometimes it is good not to know that much Spanish...All joking aside it was not fun and we shouldn´t have been there and were glad to get out safe. The "El Caminito" was our goal in the walk and we made it there but didn´t really feel like doddling around. Overall our time in BA was good but Tirtza´s classes had all begun and we needed to start heading on. It was great traveling with two fluent translators, and definitely good to see the sisters back together. I don´t know if they stopped talking for the whole 11 days and we all had some good laughs together.

We needed to get back to nature and a place more our style - and we did so by taking another overnight bus to Bariloche. Bariloche is technically in Patagonia on the northern end and in the lakes district. We rented a sweet studio apartment with a stellar view of the lake and mountains. We rented it for the week from the cousin of a co-worker and it has been really nice. (http://www.barilochevacationrental.com/) They are a couple from Tahoe who now live here and manage some properties and do some free-lance writing...very cool. The only damper on the week was the weather. We had a few good and clear days but it has mostly been stormy. We took a very nice 30 km bike ride and ended up getting drenched -cold but worth it. The views have been amazing and the hiking really good as well. The town itself is great with nice stone and wood accented buildings and amazing cabins all around. The town is also known for its chocolate and has some factories. We have done some extensive taste testing and mostly drooling at the large vats of spinning chocolate.

We have decided to head north, a tough decision as we both love the outdoors and there is some really cool hiking and glacial viewing down south but for cost and time reasons we are heading north. Not sure on our exact plans but hope to hit some of northern Chile and then on to Peru...

Hasta la vista.