March 1, 2007
I went to Paul’s house in the afternoon with Anna. We had some mate and chilled for a while. Then we walked to COPA because Anna had her academic interview and Paul and I wanted to use the internet. We chilled there and then walked back home (which is about 40 minutes for me). That night we met up at Paul’s again before going out. Anna didn’t want to go out because she didn’t want to walk from her house to Paul’s alone. Mateo, Paul and I went and got here and then chilled in a plaza near her house for a little while. We went to Aristides Villanueva, which is the street with all the bars (its actually my street with a different name and 2.5 blocks from my house). We went to the one bar that has pool tables and played a round. Mateo and I were a team and Anna and Paul were the other team. I sunk 2 balls on my first attempt. Then I sunk some more and Mateo got two in. I won us the game by calling and sinking the 8 ball in a corner pocket. We made friends with a group of Mendocinas (girls from Mendoza) because we were looking for information on boliches and stuff. I got home late and went to bed.
March 2, 2007
I, luckily, did not have classes, so I got to sleep a little later than the rest of my friends. I woke up with a slight cold, but went to the tourism office to try to get a copy of the culture guide, but they didn’t have any. Then I had more of the amazing grape juice that they sell at a cart on the street here. Its white grape juice and super fresh and only costs a peso ($.30USD). I walked through Plaza España where there was a feria (market). Next, I went to the grocery store and then returned home. I ate lunch and napped during the afternoon. Anna came over at 6 because we were going to go shopping. We went to UCong to check schedules for classes that are going to start on Monday and then walked around a little bit. Paul met us at Plaza Independencia and we went out to dinner. Mateo came and we went to the Vía Blanca, a parade. The Annual Festival of the Vendimia (wine harvest) is going on right now. All of the 17 or so departments (towns) in the Mendoza province have beauty queens running to be queen of the vendimia. Friday night’s parade was a display of the queens, each on her own float, throwing fruit, water, wine, raisins and other stuff at the crowd. Mateo and I watched the parade from a street lamp, while Anna and Paul stayed on the ground. We had a decent view. It was interesting, but a lot of the same thing: another float with another girl, throwing something at us. We couldn’t actually get anything because we were on the streetlight, but Anna and Paul ate grapes and grabbed a bag of raisins that we shared (raisins are bad here; they have seeds). We went back to my house because I live three blocks from the parade route. We played cards for a while and then went to a party 11 blocks away. There were a lot of people from COPA there, which was nice because I hadn’t seen them in a while. They went out to dance (and some went to another party) and I went home because I was tired and didn’t want to go out any more.
March 3, 2007
I woke up pretty early and went to the Carrusel, the morning version of Friday night’s parade. This time the route was reversed and there was music and dancers. The girls continued throwing things, including apples, pears, raisins, cookies, nuts, grapes (a lot of grapes went flying through the air), and melons…yes, honeydew melons came soaring through the air thanks to the girls from Lavalle. I was behind a barricade, but the nieces of the woman next to me were in front. These girls had the most ridiculous amount of fruit. They had every kind of everything, except wine because they’re too young. They just kept coming back with more stuff to put in their aunt’s bag. There was one float that passed with an asado (bbq) going. They were cooking up the meat and distributing it to the crowd….mostly to the police and EMTs. The people around me shared some grapes (we weren’t in an area where stuff was being thrown because we were on a corner, but everyone in front of the barricade brought us stuff). It was fun, but really sunny and I was very tired from not getting too much sleep the night before.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Buenos Aires y Mendoza
Feb 22, 2007
Arrived at the hotel and found my room. There was already a girl in the room and the other one was downstairs. My roommates were Jerin and Jenna. Jerin is from Atlanta, GA and goes to the University of North Carolina. Jenna is from rural Illinois and goes to UIll in Urbana-Champagne. We had lunch as a group and then, after some free time, had an orientation session at the hotel. Dinner was in Recoleta at an Italian restaurant. Then, I went to Gilda’s and picked up my stuff. It was weird taking the colectivo and walking along the botanical garden and all that….kind of like dejá vu. I sat in her kitchen and chatted with her and the new COPA girl. Then, I took my bag and went downstairs and hailed a cab. I told the cabbie exactly where I wanted to go; he looked at me and said, wow, you know your way. I told him I lived in the city. We chatted: he was from Cafayate (I had just come from Salta) and his sister lives in New Jersey. I got to the hotel at midnight and went up to my room. Jerin, Jenna and I stayed up until 2:30 AM chatting and listening to music.
Feb 23, 2007
I woke up early to use the internet. Then we had a day-long city tour. We started by going to Recoleta and walking around the cemetery….my third time seeing Evita’s grave. We walked through Buenos Aires design, then drove to San Isidro for lunch overlooking the river. Then we drove back into the city and went to Palermo to the Rosedal. Finally, we went to Plaza San Martín and looked at the Malvinas memorial. Then we returned to the hotel and had more orientation. That night, after chatting with Paul and Mateo, Anna and I went to a play where the entire cast started out naked then put on a uniform and acted out scenes about current social topics such as the daily grind of a job/stressful life or father-daughter sexual abuse. We met up with the boys in Plaza Serrano. We tried to go to a bar, but they told us that only three people could occupy tables on the sidewalk (we took a table after a group of four left). We gave up because the bar was kind of expensive and went to a little café/bar that was also a bookshop. It was the kind of place that I wish I had known about while I was living there because it was so cute and interesting: the menu was a book. We took the 152 back to the hotel and went to bed at 4AM or so.
Feb 24, 2007
I woke up with very little time to pack (aka I slept through 3 alarms). We left pretty early and took a tour of the Plaza de Mayo, then drove to and walked around La Boca. Finally, we went to San Telmo and ate lunch, then stopped by Puerto Madero. At the airport, we checked our bags, but I forgot to check my pocket knife. They wouldn’t let me through at security, so I had to run down to the check-in counter and luckily caught the last girl checking her bag. She put my knife in her bag (after I knocked over the post for the queue). We went back upstairs and through security. I fell asleep, on the floor, while waiting for the flight. Jose woke me by kicking my feet. During the flight, I organized some photos from my trip. The families were waiting for us at the airport. Mariana’s first reaction when she met me was that I sound like a porteña. She drove me to her house; we chatted along the way about my allergies and my interest in photography. She had received a paper about me, which told her what I was allergic to and that I had been to Kosovo and other information. I was tired, so we didn’t do much that first day. Her house is perfect. Its on the main street, but you enter through a gated door off the street and then walk 60 feet down an ally way, which has lots of potted plants to a patio with more potted plants. Its painted a sunny yellow color, inside and out. You walk in to the living room, which feels like a sunroom (windows, small high windows on the other side, plants, white tile floor and yellow wall). Then the kitchen and dining room are right off the living room, with a sky light and everything is open. Our rooms are off to the right side (mine in the back and hers in the front) with the bathroom in the middle. My room had lime green closets!, which are fun. I love the colorfulness and openness of everything. It’s a super cute house and feels like a little cottage. Its great because I can walk home at whatever time I want, but we have peace and quiet (sort of) because we are set back, off the street a bit. For dinner we had eggplant milanesa and roasted peppers and I discovered that Mariana and I eat basically the same foods.
Feb 25, 2007
Empanadas here only cost $.70 each. Drove around the park, which was full of people. Went to Villavicencio, which is in the mountains outside of Mendoza (about 45 minutes away). Drove around a little more and then went out and had ice cream at Perín. I have cinnamon and grapefruit (my two fave flavors). Then we ate dinner super late, while watching the Oscars on television. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want. There is food in the fridge, I just open the door and eat. It doesn´t matter what the food is there for. Mariana is a great cook….we had gnocci Bolognese which was amazing…her sauce was fantastic. She made a stir fry today and I can´t wait to try it for dinner.
Feb 26, 2007
Orientation day one. Went to CICUNC and listened to Jose (our program director) talk and then I left early because I didn’t have to take the diagnostic test. Didn’t do much during the afternoon, then went to a wine tasting at Jose’s friend’s house. We were given a wine demonstration, tasted some wine and then ate dinner (empanadas and milanesa). Afterwards, I went out to a bar with some of the people in the group. Then walked home at 1AM or so and felt totally safe. The students, there are only 30 of us, are very different from those in the Buenos Aires program. This group is from all over the country and very few knew each other beforehand or go to the same university in the US. Overall, I am happy, but I don´t know them very well because I don´t have to take the grammar class.
Feb 27, 2007
Jose told me I could take the “Cititour” with the Spanish classes. I figured, of course, I want to take a tour of the city. I met the group at Plaza Independencia and we started the tour. It turned out to be more of a Treasure Hunt at the Mercado Municipal and Mercado Persa. We had to ask prices of things and other questions. The activity was rather stupid, except we witnessed a couple fighting (like actually throwing punches) on the street. That was insanely intense and almost scary. The woman was really going after her husband/boyfriend. The teachers tried to take us to lunch, but ½ of us didn’t want anything to eat because we had eaten beforehand. A bunch of us went back to Plaza Independencia and then went out and got some ice cream. I had vanilla al malbec (literally wine-flavored ice cream). After the teachers set us free, I went and bought a new SIM card for my phone, so now I have a Mendoza number. Then we went to an orientation session at Universidad de Congreso, which as a horrible event….boring, hard to understand, and not really helpful. I took a bunch of people to Movistar to help them buy cell phones or figure out SIM cards and tarjetas and all of that crap. Finally, I returned to my house and then went out to a festival in Plaza Italia. I went with Mariana and her friends. We ate and drank and enjoyed Italian music. Kate and Katie (who are living with Mariana’s sisters) were there, as were Mariana’s nieces and nephew. We played with the children and took them to get some pizza, then returned home.
Feb 28, 2007
I woke up and did nothing during the morning, then went to COPA at 2ish (Mariana’s friend drove me to the park entrance and I walked the rest of the way). I had a meeting with the academic coordinator about classes and then the secretary sent me the schedules for my classes. There are already conflicts in my schedule regarding the classes I was interested in taking, which makes me sad. Then we had an academic orientation, which was mainly information I knew, but still good to hear again. I took a micro home….for the first time. The route actually followed my street for a while, so it was pretty easy for me to get off. I ate dinner (gnocci bolonese) and then went to the movie theater. The university had a theater in the center, which is free for COPA students. The line at the theater was incredible, around the corner and down the block. Paul, Anna, Maggie, and Mateo met me at the theater, while I was waiting on line. We saw Los Infiltrados (The Departed), which just won the Oscar. It was absolutely amazing. All the Bostonness made me a little homesick, especially seeing the bridge over the Charles and the State House and the accents…..and they mentioned Somerville!!! Homesickness for Tufts aside, the movie was really fantastic: you had to think to follow it. I can’t imagine what it would be like to watch it as an Argentine, probably difficult to follow, even with the subtitles. Afterwards, Mateo and I walked home (the rest took taxis). We walked through Plazas Independencia and Italia, both of which had people. He is frustrated with the people who speak English in our program and pretty much just misses Córdoba (he studied there last semester).
March 1, 2007
I went to get a university student bus pass….a somewhat disastrous process, this being Argentina. Yesterday, I had gotten the letter of university status from COPA and Jose told me to bring a copy of my passport and a photo. So this morning I got more photocopies of my passport and went to the bus station, where he had told me to go. Getting there was a pain in the ass because the intersection (aka main road and highway) is under-construction. The amount of guys talking to me was incredible…construction workers in a group=piropo (catcall) hell. I finally made it to the terminal. Once inside the terminal, I had to locate the city bus ticket office. This was difficult, but after asking a woman, I did finally find the ticket office. After waiting (thankfully only 5 minutes) on the line, they told me that I had to go to Lavalle 315 and ask there because they don’t issue the abono estudiante (card with discount) at this location. So, I left the terminal and went to the address, which didn’t exist. I walked the block and went to a plaza with a cathedral (I didn’t enter). Then I walked the other side and found the government office where they sell these tickets. I waited for about 15 minutes and when I got to the front they told me I had to go to the next window and that my photo was too big. It turned out ok because the woman just cut the photo and was able to use it. I had her explain the entire system to me and I think I have to go before April 30 to renew the card and I can only put more money on the card at this office or at the bus terminal (where I was earlier). Once I had the card, I walked towards my house, stopping to stare at the cardboard cut-outs of the girls running to be Queen of the Vendimia (grape harvest, festival this weekend). I took some pictures and then walked the peatonal, crossed Plaza Independencia, went to Plaza Italia and read for a while. Then I went back to my house and had lunch.
Arrived at the hotel and found my room. There was already a girl in the room and the other one was downstairs. My roommates were Jerin and Jenna. Jerin is from Atlanta, GA and goes to the University of North Carolina. Jenna is from rural Illinois and goes to UIll in Urbana-Champagne. We had lunch as a group and then, after some free time, had an orientation session at the hotel. Dinner was in Recoleta at an Italian restaurant. Then, I went to Gilda’s and picked up my stuff. It was weird taking the colectivo and walking along the botanical garden and all that….kind of like dejá vu. I sat in her kitchen and chatted with her and the new COPA girl. Then, I took my bag and went downstairs and hailed a cab. I told the cabbie exactly where I wanted to go; he looked at me and said, wow, you know your way. I told him I lived in the city. We chatted: he was from Cafayate (I had just come from Salta) and his sister lives in New Jersey. I got to the hotel at midnight and went up to my room. Jerin, Jenna and I stayed up until 2:30 AM chatting and listening to music.
Feb 23, 2007
I woke up early to use the internet. Then we had a day-long city tour. We started by going to Recoleta and walking around the cemetery….my third time seeing Evita’s grave. We walked through Buenos Aires design, then drove to San Isidro for lunch overlooking the river. Then we drove back into the city and went to Palermo to the Rosedal. Finally, we went to Plaza San Martín and looked at the Malvinas memorial. Then we returned to the hotel and had more orientation. That night, after chatting with Paul and Mateo, Anna and I went to a play where the entire cast started out naked then put on a uniform and acted out scenes about current social topics such as the daily grind of a job/stressful life or father-daughter sexual abuse. We met up with the boys in Plaza Serrano. We tried to go to a bar, but they told us that only three people could occupy tables on the sidewalk (we took a table after a group of four left). We gave up because the bar was kind of expensive and went to a little café/bar that was also a bookshop. It was the kind of place that I wish I had known about while I was living there because it was so cute and interesting: the menu was a book. We took the 152 back to the hotel and went to bed at 4AM or so.
Feb 24, 2007
I woke up with very little time to pack (aka I slept through 3 alarms). We left pretty early and took a tour of the Plaza de Mayo, then drove to and walked around La Boca. Finally, we went to San Telmo and ate lunch, then stopped by Puerto Madero. At the airport, we checked our bags, but I forgot to check my pocket knife. They wouldn’t let me through at security, so I had to run down to the check-in counter and luckily caught the last girl checking her bag. She put my knife in her bag (after I knocked over the post for the queue). We went back upstairs and through security. I fell asleep, on the floor, while waiting for the flight. Jose woke me by kicking my feet. During the flight, I organized some photos from my trip. The families were waiting for us at the airport. Mariana’s first reaction when she met me was that I sound like a porteña. She drove me to her house; we chatted along the way about my allergies and my interest in photography. She had received a paper about me, which told her what I was allergic to and that I had been to Kosovo and other information. I was tired, so we didn’t do much that first day. Her house is perfect. Its on the main street, but you enter through a gated door off the street and then walk 60 feet down an ally way, which has lots of potted plants to a patio with more potted plants. Its painted a sunny yellow color, inside and out. You walk in to the living room, which feels like a sunroom (windows, small high windows on the other side, plants, white tile floor and yellow wall). Then the kitchen and dining room are right off the living room, with a sky light and everything is open. Our rooms are off to the right side (mine in the back and hers in the front) with the bathroom in the middle. My room had lime green closets!, which are fun. I love the colorfulness and openness of everything. It’s a super cute house and feels like a little cottage. Its great because I can walk home at whatever time I want, but we have peace and quiet (sort of) because we are set back, off the street a bit. For dinner we had eggplant milanesa and roasted peppers and I discovered that Mariana and I eat basically the same foods.
Feb 25, 2007
Empanadas here only cost $.70 each. Drove around the park, which was full of people. Went to Villavicencio, which is in the mountains outside of Mendoza (about 45 minutes away). Drove around a little more and then went out and had ice cream at Perín. I have cinnamon and grapefruit (my two fave flavors). Then we ate dinner super late, while watching the Oscars on television. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want. There is food in the fridge, I just open the door and eat. It doesn´t matter what the food is there for. Mariana is a great cook….we had gnocci Bolognese which was amazing…her sauce was fantastic. She made a stir fry today and I can´t wait to try it for dinner.
Feb 26, 2007
Orientation day one. Went to CICUNC and listened to Jose (our program director) talk and then I left early because I didn’t have to take the diagnostic test. Didn’t do much during the afternoon, then went to a wine tasting at Jose’s friend’s house. We were given a wine demonstration, tasted some wine and then ate dinner (empanadas and milanesa). Afterwards, I went out to a bar with some of the people in the group. Then walked home at 1AM or so and felt totally safe. The students, there are only 30 of us, are very different from those in the Buenos Aires program. This group is from all over the country and very few knew each other beforehand or go to the same university in the US. Overall, I am happy, but I don´t know them very well because I don´t have to take the grammar class.
Feb 27, 2007
Jose told me I could take the “Cititour” with the Spanish classes. I figured, of course, I want to take a tour of the city. I met the group at Plaza Independencia and we started the tour. It turned out to be more of a Treasure Hunt at the Mercado Municipal and Mercado Persa. We had to ask prices of things and other questions. The activity was rather stupid, except we witnessed a couple fighting (like actually throwing punches) on the street. That was insanely intense and almost scary. The woman was really going after her husband/boyfriend. The teachers tried to take us to lunch, but ½ of us didn’t want anything to eat because we had eaten beforehand. A bunch of us went back to Plaza Independencia and then went out and got some ice cream. I had vanilla al malbec (literally wine-flavored ice cream). After the teachers set us free, I went and bought a new SIM card for my phone, so now I have a Mendoza number. Then we went to an orientation session at Universidad de Congreso, which as a horrible event….boring, hard to understand, and not really helpful. I took a bunch of people to Movistar to help them buy cell phones or figure out SIM cards and tarjetas and all of that crap. Finally, I returned to my house and then went out to a festival in Plaza Italia. I went with Mariana and her friends. We ate and drank and enjoyed Italian music. Kate and Katie (who are living with Mariana’s sisters) were there, as were Mariana’s nieces and nephew. We played with the children and took them to get some pizza, then returned home.
Feb 28, 2007
I woke up and did nothing during the morning, then went to COPA at 2ish (Mariana’s friend drove me to the park entrance and I walked the rest of the way). I had a meeting with the academic coordinator about classes and then the secretary sent me the schedules for my classes. There are already conflicts in my schedule regarding the classes I was interested in taking, which makes me sad. Then we had an academic orientation, which was mainly information I knew, but still good to hear again. I took a micro home….for the first time. The route actually followed my street for a while, so it was pretty easy for me to get off. I ate dinner (gnocci bolonese) and then went to the movie theater. The university had a theater in the center, which is free for COPA students. The line at the theater was incredible, around the corner and down the block. Paul, Anna, Maggie, and Mateo met me at the theater, while I was waiting on line. We saw Los Infiltrados (The Departed), which just won the Oscar. It was absolutely amazing. All the Bostonness made me a little homesick, especially seeing the bridge over the Charles and the State House and the accents…..and they mentioned Somerville!!! Homesickness for Tufts aside, the movie was really fantastic: you had to think to follow it. I can’t imagine what it would be like to watch it as an Argentine, probably difficult to follow, even with the subtitles. Afterwards, Mateo and I walked home (the rest took taxis). We walked through Plazas Independencia and Italia, both of which had people. He is frustrated with the people who speak English in our program and pretty much just misses Córdoba (he studied there last semester).
March 1, 2007
I went to get a university student bus pass….a somewhat disastrous process, this being Argentina. Yesterday, I had gotten the letter of university status from COPA and Jose told me to bring a copy of my passport and a photo. So this morning I got more photocopies of my passport and went to the bus station, where he had told me to go. Getting there was a pain in the ass because the intersection (aka main road and highway) is under-construction. The amount of guys talking to me was incredible…construction workers in a group=piropo (catcall) hell. I finally made it to the terminal. Once inside the terminal, I had to locate the city bus ticket office. This was difficult, but after asking a woman, I did finally find the ticket office. After waiting (thankfully only 5 minutes) on the line, they told me that I had to go to Lavalle 315 and ask there because they don’t issue the abono estudiante (card with discount) at this location. So, I left the terminal and went to the address, which didn’t exist. I walked the block and went to a plaza with a cathedral (I didn’t enter). Then I walked the other side and found the government office where they sell these tickets. I waited for about 15 minutes and when I got to the front they told me I had to go to the next window and that my photo was too big. It turned out ok because the woman just cut the photo and was able to use it. I had her explain the entire system to me and I think I have to go before April 30 to renew the card and I can only put more money on the card at this office or at the bus terminal (where I was earlier). Once I had the card, I walked towards my house, stopping to stare at the cardboard cut-outs of the girls running to be Queen of the Vendimia (grape harvest, festival this weekend). I took some pictures and then walked the peatonal, crossed Plaza Independencia, went to Plaza Italia and read for a while. Then I went back to my house and had lunch.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
The world´s most dangerous road
Tuesday morning we woke at 6AM. we went to another hostel for breakfast at 7AM (it was across the city). the breakfast was the most amazing bolivian breakfast we have had (considering that mostly we just munch on fruit or what ever else we have lying around). they had hot coco, tea, coffee, bread, jam (apple=yum!), etc. we ate and then put on bike shorts and bike shirts. we got into a huge van with 10 other tourists, two guides and a driver. our bikes were stored on top of the van. we drove to la cumbre, which sits at 4.700m above sea level. from there we mounted the bikes in preparation to bike the ´world´s most dangerous road.´ it was chilly at la cumbre, but not that cold. we started the biking and pretty soon came upon the first of two government checkpoints. we went through this one, but sierra got a bloody nose, so that took a little while to stop. at this point we were biking on paved roadway, which was curvy and entirely downhill, so it was fun and i went super fast. i even passed a truck...which was such a rush. we had to pay a tax at the second checkpoint, which sucked. then the road went uphill for a little bit, which made my asthma act up because of the altitude. i also couldn´t get my bike into a lower gear, finally did and then couldn´t get it to change again.
after the uphill bit, we arrived at the turn-off for the dirt road, which was actually the ´dangerous´ one. it used to be the only road between coroico and la paz. that meant that trucks, buses, cars, and bikes all had to share it (this is not a two lane road....its a two way road, but its more like one lane with maybe passing room in some spots). now, there is a new paved road, so only bikes use this dangerous road. that takes most of the danger out of it (which i was pissed about). the road used to see at least 100 deaths a year because of the curves, the dirt and the entire thing is downhill....oh yeah, there is no guardrail and its on the side of mountains, will the jungle below (and by below i mean that when we started we couldn´t actually see that far down because of the fog and depth). at times my wheels were only about a foot from the edge. you have to ride on the edge side incase anything is coming up the mountain (that way they can see you and vice versa).
the first 1.5 hours were fun and i went pretty fast. it was kind of difficult because i kept feeling like i was going to fall off because i kept hitting rocks that would alter the direction of my bike. then we rested for a while and i slowed down, after almost falling in a waterfall. there were waterfalls along the way and i had no choice but to go through them. the last 1.5 hours went slower because my hands were so red and sore from having to use the brakes so much. also the rocks caused me to bounce and made it harder to hold on.
the sceenery was beautiful and the ride was really nice, but intense. the final 20 minutes were fun. we had to ride through two rivers (not deep, but i got really wet). then we had to go over a speed bump. they had warned us about it, but i didn´t realize i was at it until i was in the air above it. we finished the ride in yolosa, at 1.100m above sea level. the entire route covers about 80 km and took us 5 hours or so.
then the guides took us to a fancy hotel in coroico (this vacation destination near la paz). we showered with hot water and had a buffet lunch/dinner. the food was good and we were so low that i could eat like a human again. at higher altitudes its harder for me to eat a lot. after hanging out there for a while with our group, sierra and i went and found a cheap hostel in town. we went to bed super early because we were exhausted.
wednesday we woke up early and took a bus to a town about three km from coroico, from there we walked in the hot morning sun to the cascadas, three little waterfalls about 3 km from the little town. the road was dusty and narrow, so it was hard to breathe when cars passed. again, we had to cross the waterfalls which meant getting wet becuase the water crosses the road to go down the cliff on the other side. the waterfalls were nice, but not that worth it. we couldn´t find a bus back to coroico, it passed us in the other direction, so we walked the entire way back. we grabbed our bags (just our little backpacks, we left the big ones in la paz) and headed for the bus station. i got a coffee to go because i wanted to try the local coffee, which was good. we had to wait an hour at the bus station and i played cards with some guys (aussie, brit and kiwi), while sierra watched because she didn´t know the game.
then we got on a little bus (more like a van) to la paz. i had the window open and was reading when some little kid threw a water balloon at the van (they do it all over peru and bolivia...it happened today too). my book survived, my shirt was soaked as were my pants. luckily the passport and money were in a plastic bag in my money belt because that was soaked. the water actually felt good and made me ´cleaner´ than before. the bus ride sucked because i was so crammed in and uncomfortable. also, it got progressively colder as we got higher. i dried off pretty quickly though. at one point we were in a tunnel that was so long and dark that i could not see sierra next to me...not even an outline of her. it was sooo scary. it also rained most of the way back to la paz and was still raining when we arrived and had to find a micro (local bus) to the center.
we finally found one to the center, but the center was a distaster becuase the miners were striking. roads were blocked everywhere and there were firecrackers being set off. we bought tickets to sucre. then we went to the hostel where we did the bike tour. we got our free shirts and CDs with pictures from the trip...we still haven´t checked them out though. then we had dinner at a bolivian fast food place - hamburgers and fried chicken...there are a million of these places. the burgers were good and this was basically the first real food we had eaten all day, so we didn´t feel too guilty about the calories. then we went to our hostel, but had very little time left before our bus left. we changed (we were sooooo wet; some little girl on the street asked her mom why we were so wet, that was hilarious), grabbed our stuff and ran out the door. we jumped on a micro headed to the terminal and got there 6 minutes before our bus left.
the bus to sucre was really nice, esp. for bolivia, but it was even nice for argentina. the seats were too big and they gave us blankets, however, i didn´t sleep much.
after the uphill bit, we arrived at the turn-off for the dirt road, which was actually the ´dangerous´ one. it used to be the only road between coroico and la paz. that meant that trucks, buses, cars, and bikes all had to share it (this is not a two lane road....its a two way road, but its more like one lane with maybe passing room in some spots). now, there is a new paved road, so only bikes use this dangerous road. that takes most of the danger out of it (which i was pissed about). the road used to see at least 100 deaths a year because of the curves, the dirt and the entire thing is downhill....oh yeah, there is no guardrail and its on the side of mountains, will the jungle below (and by below i mean that when we started we couldn´t actually see that far down because of the fog and depth). at times my wheels were only about a foot from the edge. you have to ride on the edge side incase anything is coming up the mountain (that way they can see you and vice versa).
the first 1.5 hours were fun and i went pretty fast. it was kind of difficult because i kept feeling like i was going to fall off because i kept hitting rocks that would alter the direction of my bike. then we rested for a while and i slowed down, after almost falling in a waterfall. there were waterfalls along the way and i had no choice but to go through them. the last 1.5 hours went slower because my hands were so red and sore from having to use the brakes so much. also the rocks caused me to bounce and made it harder to hold on.
the sceenery was beautiful and the ride was really nice, but intense. the final 20 minutes were fun. we had to ride through two rivers (not deep, but i got really wet). then we had to go over a speed bump. they had warned us about it, but i didn´t realize i was at it until i was in the air above it. we finished the ride in yolosa, at 1.100m above sea level. the entire route covers about 80 km and took us 5 hours or so.
then the guides took us to a fancy hotel in coroico (this vacation destination near la paz). we showered with hot water and had a buffet lunch/dinner. the food was good and we were so low that i could eat like a human again. at higher altitudes its harder for me to eat a lot. after hanging out there for a while with our group, sierra and i went and found a cheap hostel in town. we went to bed super early because we were exhausted.
wednesday we woke up early and took a bus to a town about three km from coroico, from there we walked in the hot morning sun to the cascadas, three little waterfalls about 3 km from the little town. the road was dusty and narrow, so it was hard to breathe when cars passed. again, we had to cross the waterfalls which meant getting wet becuase the water crosses the road to go down the cliff on the other side. the waterfalls were nice, but not that worth it. we couldn´t find a bus back to coroico, it passed us in the other direction, so we walked the entire way back. we grabbed our bags (just our little backpacks, we left the big ones in la paz) and headed for the bus station. i got a coffee to go because i wanted to try the local coffee, which was good. we had to wait an hour at the bus station and i played cards with some guys (aussie, brit and kiwi), while sierra watched because she didn´t know the game.
then we got on a little bus (more like a van) to la paz. i had the window open and was reading when some little kid threw a water balloon at the van (they do it all over peru and bolivia...it happened today too). my book survived, my shirt was soaked as were my pants. luckily the passport and money were in a plastic bag in my money belt because that was soaked. the water actually felt good and made me ´cleaner´ than before. the bus ride sucked because i was so crammed in and uncomfortable. also, it got progressively colder as we got higher. i dried off pretty quickly though. at one point we were in a tunnel that was so long and dark that i could not see sierra next to me...not even an outline of her. it was sooo scary. it also rained most of the way back to la paz and was still raining when we arrived and had to find a micro (local bus) to the center.
we finally found one to the center, but the center was a distaster becuase the miners were striking. roads were blocked everywhere and there were firecrackers being set off. we bought tickets to sucre. then we went to the hostel where we did the bike tour. we got our free shirts and CDs with pictures from the trip...we still haven´t checked them out though. then we had dinner at a bolivian fast food place - hamburgers and fried chicken...there are a million of these places. the burgers were good and this was basically the first real food we had eaten all day, so we didn´t feel too guilty about the calories. then we went to our hostel, but had very little time left before our bus left. we changed (we were sooooo wet; some little girl on the street asked her mom why we were so wet, that was hilarious), grabbed our stuff and ran out the door. we jumped on a micro headed to the terminal and got there 6 minutes before our bus left.
the bus to sucre was really nice, esp. for bolivia, but it was even nice for argentina. the seats were too big and they gave us blankets, however, i didn´t sleep much.
La Paz
Sunday, we went to Tiawanacu (that is so spelled wrong), which are pre-inca ruins outside La Paz. They were interesting, but not super fabulous. they are also not completely excavated, so you climb up one point and think you´re on a hill, but you´re really ontop of a temple. some of the temples were really cool, one had heads sticking out of the walls and another had the puerta del sol (gate of the sun), which was ornately carved with a calendar. we met lots of people on our tour group and had a good time. that night we went back to the city and called Sierra´s friend - Xime (she had been an exchange student at sierra´s school). she picked us up and drove us to the nice section of la paz, which is about 1/2 hour south of the center. we went to her house, which sits on a hill overlooking the city and is three full floors. she took us to a mexican restaurant, which was yummy, but had the smallest portions i have ever seen. then we went to a bar/restaurant with one of her friends. first, we stopped at the friend´s apt building, which i swore was a hotel. the bar was full of gringos, mostly aussies and brits. they were all glued to TV screens, watching some football game. we sat at a table under one of the screens and finally figured out that they were watching the superbowl (unfortunately we missed 1/2 time and the commercials were in spanish). we didn´t stay late and the friend drove us home. both girls drive american made suvs (xime a jeep grand cherokee and her friend a dodge durrango). they wear abercrombie and speak english pretty well. they are super rich, especially for bolivia.
monday, we walked around the city a little. we went to a really pretty church in the center and some markets. one was the mercado de hechiceria (witches market), which was bizare and had animal skeletons for sale, along with other charms and herbs and stuff. we also walked through the mercado negro (black market), which was just like any other market in bolivia, aka you can buy everything there. then we took a cab to xime´s neighboorhood and went to lunch at her house. we had bland food - corn, meat, boiled potato. it was ok, dessert was great- apple compote, made from apples from the tree in the backyard. her house was a palace. i think her bathroom was the size of my family room. the room with the toilet was bigger than my parents entire bathroom. we showed her facebook and just hung out a little while. then she drove us to the valle de la luna (valley of the moon), which is about 10 km outside la paz. it was super cool. its this valley with these sand/dirt formations that look like a moonscape. we wandered around a little while, taking pictures. then we drove around looking at the mountains for a while. during the drive xime declared that total eclipse of the heart was the best song in the world (the bad dance remake version); she also announce she was going to convert to budhism, but then realized she would have to give up smoking. she dropped us off at our hostel and we went to bed.
monday, we walked around the city a little. we went to a really pretty church in the center and some markets. one was the mercado de hechiceria (witches market), which was bizare and had animal skeletons for sale, along with other charms and herbs and stuff. we also walked through the mercado negro (black market), which was just like any other market in bolivia, aka you can buy everything there. then we took a cab to xime´s neighboorhood and went to lunch at her house. we had bland food - corn, meat, boiled potato. it was ok, dessert was great- apple compote, made from apples from the tree in the backyard. her house was a palace. i think her bathroom was the size of my family room. the room with the toilet was bigger than my parents entire bathroom. we showed her facebook and just hung out a little while. then she drove us to the valle de la luna (valley of the moon), which is about 10 km outside la paz. it was super cool. its this valley with these sand/dirt formations that look like a moonscape. we wandered around a little while, taking pictures. then we drove around looking at the mountains for a while. during the drive xime declared that total eclipse of the heart was the best song in the world (the bad dance remake version); she also announce she was going to convert to budhism, but then realized she would have to give up smoking. she dropped us off at our hostel and we went to bed.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
copacabana and isla del sol
copacabana was insane. we went to the festival for the virgen of candelaria....basically the patroness of the town. there was a parade that basically lasted all day, then we went to eat dinner, then there was dancing in the streets and it smelled like beer. it was like a college homecoming weekend....tons of music, alcohol and dancing tourists and bolivians. it was hilarious....this is supposed to be their biggest religious holiday and they spend it getting drunk. anyway, they also constructed a stage 1/2 a block from our hostel. the music began at around 11pm on that stage and when i woke up at 7am, they were still playing....sierra woke in the middle of the night when they played mana (mexican band she's obsessed with).
so, we left early friday morning for the isla del sol (island of the sun). we got there at 10.30ish and began our hike. we went to some inca ruins as well as the rock where the inca believe their religion started (it was a rock...kind of like plymoth rock....just a rock). the walk was about 5 hours in the hot sun...the island is basically a desert. parts were uphill and we were at 3800m to begin with...needless to say, my asthma had a great time. some other tourists gave me coca leaves to chew and this mint plant to breathe, which along with my inhaler, helped. anyway, so we arrived at the little town and found a place to stay (after bargining with some local boys, we paid 1.25usd). then we walked to some other ruins but they were closed and not that interesting. then we watched the sunset, which was amazing because it was across the lake and there was rain in that part of the lake. the sunset looked like black lines (almost stripes) touching the ground.
this morning we woke up and climbed down the escalera del inca (inca stairway) to the port, which was a muddy, slippery challenge because it had rained. we took a boat to copacabana and then a bus (more like a mini van) to la paz. the ride was pretty, but tedious...3 hours. la paz is interesting. we entered from above...this may be the largest city i´ve been in....its absolutely gigantic. its in a valley and when you enter, you can see the entire thing...its so ugly. everything is red brick buildings....not like nice bricks, more like the bricks you would use on the inside of a house because they are so ugly.
so far, we've lounged at the hostel and been to dinner. the food we ate was super yummy...i had this mix of onion, tomato, meat, hot dog, and french fries all cooked in a tomato sauce with spicy sauce added....its all food they can do in argentina, but don´t bother with because they don´t do spice. it was simple and yummy. then we went to a fruit market...it was insane...just crossing the streets and there are people everywhere...also we have to climb uphill to get to our hostel....i´m not looking forward to that. we´re at 3400m or something...
so, we left early friday morning for the isla del sol (island of the sun). we got there at 10.30ish and began our hike. we went to some inca ruins as well as the rock where the inca believe their religion started (it was a rock...kind of like plymoth rock....just a rock). the walk was about 5 hours in the hot sun...the island is basically a desert. parts were uphill and we were at 3800m to begin with...needless to say, my asthma had a great time. some other tourists gave me coca leaves to chew and this mint plant to breathe, which along with my inhaler, helped. anyway, so we arrived at the little town and found a place to stay (after bargining with some local boys, we paid 1.25usd). then we walked to some other ruins but they were closed and not that interesting. then we watched the sunset, which was amazing because it was across the lake and there was rain in that part of the lake. the sunset looked like black lines (almost stripes) touching the ground.
this morning we woke up and climbed down the escalera del inca (inca stairway) to the port, which was a muddy, slippery challenge because it had rained. we took a boat to copacabana and then a bus (more like a mini van) to la paz. the ride was pretty, but tedious...3 hours. la paz is interesting. we entered from above...this may be the largest city i´ve been in....its absolutely gigantic. its in a valley and when you enter, you can see the entire thing...its so ugly. everything is red brick buildings....not like nice bricks, more like the bricks you would use on the inside of a house because they are so ugly.
so far, we've lounged at the hostel and been to dinner. the food we ate was super yummy...i had this mix of onion, tomato, meat, hot dog, and french fries all cooked in a tomato sauce with spicy sauce added....its all food they can do in argentina, but don´t bother with because they don´t do spice. it was simple and yummy. then we went to a fruit market...it was insane...just crossing the streets and there are people everywhere...also we have to climb uphill to get to our hostel....i´m not looking forward to that. we´re at 3400m or something...
Thursday, February 01, 2007
copacabana, bolivia
so, getting back to arequipa, peru: i saw a frozen mummy that had been found in the mountains above the city. she was preserved because of the humidity and temperature. somewhat gruesome, but still kind of cool at the same time. i also went to a convent which was basically like a small city. it was old and very interesting because all of the nuns had private houses inside and they were really wealthy. then, we took a bus to puno, which was a lousy bus ride because it was day time and puno is at 3800m above sea level, which is really really high. in puno, we stayed at this super cute hostel and in the morning we went to see the floating islands on lake titicaca. the aymara people built islands on the lake (out of fungus and reeds) to escape the encroaching spaniards. the islands are still there and people still live on them, but they are super touristy at this point. the people are very set up to welcome tourists with songs and shows and lots of stuff to sell. sierra and i even tried on their clothing. we also went for a ride in a boat made out of reeds. in the afternoon, we crossed into bolivia. it was the first time i'd had to walk across a boarder. we went through peruvian immigration and changed money (there is no atm here), then walked uphill to bolivian immigration...that meant i was actually pretty winded onces we entered bolivia. the guy in bolivia actually had trouble finding space in my passport because the stamps are bleeding through the pages and the first 9 pages are full. once in copacabana, bolivia, we found a hostel for $1.25 USD. óther travelers have told me that it has hot water....a nice surprise. we have a room on the 4th floor, aka i'm winded by the time i make it to the room, but we have a superb view of the lake especially of the sunset, which was really pretty. so far we've tried the trout (from the lake) and haven't really done much else. today is a religious holiday, so we're going to check out the festival later. there are a lot of travelers here in town and a lot of people going to the isla del sol (incan religious birthplace) and then la paz. we've met some really cool people and are having fun. bolivia is pretty damn cheap, which is awesome, but the altitude sucks a lot. more later....chau chau
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
arequipa and puno
yesterday we got to arequipa at 5 am and walked around a little. the city is amazing....its super old.full of spanish architecture with a volcano in the background. went to a lot of churches, and a really cool convent. also saw a frozen mummy that was found in hte mountains outside the town. a lot to tell, but the keyboard im using is sticking and i cant type....arequipa was fun, the ride to puno, 5 hours, sucked....we're so high up here, 3800m.....a little tired and dizzy....going to floating islands and then bolivia tomr.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)