Goodbye Vancouver (again) and Hello Asia!

Hard to believe that South America was just 2 weeks ago. I wanted a more comprehensive, we traveled x amount of kilometers but man, I'm not sure I like google map. But here's a quick map with all the places we went to. Tally - 1 continent, 7 countries, over 30 cities and countless friends:


View South America - Te amo! in a larger map

I'm fully aware that time does fly but I'm in complete shock how quickly being home in Vancouver has come to an end. I have never had 17 days go by so quickly. It's seriously been a whirlwind. I barely had enough time to refuel on best friends, get a new passport (with more pages of course) and get things done. When I first got back, I had a bad case of 'Reverse Culture Shock' - I was really weirded out by everything, including seeing an immense number of white and Asian folks (I know, I'll have to get over this. lol) Everything just felt so surreal. It's been great being back but it still doesn't feel real and yet here I am completely panicked about leaving in a few days. To be honest, it was too short - I didn't even get a chance to see everyone, or do everything much less process and reflect about how traveling has impacted and changed me. I would have loved to have spent more time with people. I don't really want to go through the whole "missing everyone" ordeal again. I'm a little heart-broken about saying good bye.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about exploring Asia. I bought a one way ticket to Manila and start in the Philippines with my whole family for my Grandmother's 90th birthday! It'll be epic and a fantastic party! After that, I'm not sure what I'll be doing. I do plan on staying put for a little while, slow down a bit and do some volunteering. This part of the journey will be different since I'll be on my own - I'm going through Yuko withdrawal already! :( However, I know that it'll be filled with new experiences, lessons and more adventures.

PS - I've given everyone a hard time on this but I really REALLY want people to keep in better touch. Technology makes it easier with Emails, Facebook, Skype- charinascruz. Despite wherever I am, I still want to feel connected and hear from everyone!!

The Galapagos Islands - The Origin of Species

How do I even begin to start choosing highlights from a trip to the Galapagos? It's hard to describe the feeling of being on the islands - I'll admit, I wasn't completely blown away in the beginning of the trip. I dunno, maybe I've been extremely blessed and have seen some amazing things around the world but as spectacular as it is, it wasn't earth shattering...I know, it's awful to admit that. But as the days continued, there were just so many things to appreciate. How can you not fall in love with nature when turtles swim around you, the sea lions laze around and frolic in the waves and you see ancient giant tortoises in their natural habit. I went on a cruise and spent 8 days on a 16 passenger boat named the Golondrina. I was fortunate enough to be with a great bunch of people and have a friendly and knowledgeable guide. I must say, there were some fantastic moments of complete bliss sitting on the deck soaking in the sun and smelling the fresh sea.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Animal watching - The best thing about the islands is that it's the humans that have to move around animals and not the other way around. Seriously, what a concept...but it really adds to the experience when you have to look at where you're walking so you don't trample the iguanas in their little kindergarten sanctuary.
• Sea Lions - OMG, they are the cutest things in the world. I've learned that it's impossible to take too many pictures of them (as seen on FB). We even got really lucky and saw a newborn baby being cleaned by its mother on its first day on earth! Though I did find that it's a little freaky to swim with them cause they are huge and fast but it's crazy cool how close to you they get.
• Random sightings - We saw 2 whales on our way to snorkeling and penguins while we were sitting on the deck sunbathing.
• Snorkeling - The water was freezing! I have never had to wear a full body wetsuit (you feel like a sausage it's awful. lol) but there were a few things that I'd never seen before such as the Galapagos Octopus & a Yellow Puffer and schools of mantle rays.
• Swimming with the tortoises - It's mesmerizing watching them eat and swim surprisingly fast...I don't know why they have such an unfortunate rap, I mean their hundreds of kilos heavy, it's amazing they can move in the first place.
• Scuba diving and seeing 2 sharks sleeping and a hammerhead shark. I'm surprised that I didn't guzzle my tank faster than I did!
• I love Boobies!!! Blue footed boobies (the famous Galapagos bird) look kinda cross-eyed and dopey and I think they're sooooo cute. Red footed boobies are pretty cool too. Seeing little kids with the "I love Boobies" shirt around town makes me laugh every single time.
• I had a fantastic cabin mate - Thanks Monika!
  

LOWLIGHTS

• Being sea sick...T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E...the rocking of the boat did not feel like a lullaby despite how much I willed it to! Pills don't really help much...and neither does drinking...I still kinda feel like the earth is constantly shaking like it's on a gigantic wave. I'm kinda over boats for now...
• The waves. There are some strong currents here!
• My brand spanking new waterproof camera is NOT waterproof - The downside is that I had to get pics from other people but I'm happy to say that there is a better ending to this story now.... The amazing Romana got me a refund...I can't even begin to tell you how impressive watching her negotiate in Spanish was!
  

I've had some pretty cool chilled days walking around Puerto Ayora. I went for a monstrous 40km uphill bike ride that took me to a beautiful turquoise beach - let's just say I'm just trying to lose weight I gained during the 8 day cruise (and other places). It's amazing how you can do absolutely nothing on the boat and all you want to do is to eat and sleep.

After the Galapagos, we ended up in a really cool little beach town in Ecuador called Montanita. We hung out with Jess and the Israeli boys enjoying the laid back atmosphere and soaked in more sun and the wicked hippie atmosphere (you'll see the cute trenza that I got as a souvenir).

Hard to believe that 7 months in South America has come and gone. In many ways it's gone by ridiculously fast. I can't believe this is the last blog in this continent. There are some amazing things to see and experience and it's truly been great. I wish we had more time since there are so many other places I'd love to see, ah well there's always next time...We're in Lima enjoying our last few nights in the continent with our fave Londoners who we bumped into on our 30 hr bus trip (our longest ever). Great way to end this part of the journey. It's hard not to get a little sad and introspective when things come to an end since traveling is filled with beautiful moments but it's always wonderful to think about the new adventures yet to come...

We'll be arriving back home to Vancouver soon. Yuko will be there but I'll only be in town from Sept 3-20th and would love to see everyone!! I'll be heading to the Philippines and will continue my travels in Asia. I'm secretly hoping that there'll be a "Welcome back/Tell our stories once/Show our pictures/I'm leaving again for a long time" Party. I'll keep everyone posted...ps - the number everyone can reach me is at my parents' (604) 519 1873 or their cell at (778) 836 7096 which I will probably have on me! See you all soon!

Who knew iguanas could have the most interesting expression!?

Those are white tipped sharks taking an afternoon nap.

Mr turtle just popped up beside our dinghy :)

Tortoises make me feel young, light and wrinkle free ;)

Super-Snorkelers

How adorable is this sea lion?

The famed Boobies. Notice the little boobie?

Ya, this pose was fun.

And into Peru we go...

* It's late as always but I'm in the Galapagos and since that blog is next, I had to get this up...*

Puno, Peru - We finally crossed into country number 6. I've noticed that South America has this weird obsession with getting you off a bus to walk over to immigration and into the other side. Gosh knows, it would be easier to go on a bus but apparently, walking is literally a right of passage. We stopped off in Puno long enough to see the Floating Islands on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. Although extremely touristy, there is something really cool to be said about the man-made floating islands made out of the local reed that is found in the lake. It started hundreds of years ago as a way to escape the mainland (and the Spaniards). Nowadays, it's a bit kitchy since the locals pretty much live off of the tourist that visit. The experience comes complete with them singing "Row Row Row Your Boat" as you enter (wrong words and all). However, it's still pretty much amazing to see how an entire village on floating man-made reed islands can sustain itself. The next island we visited proofed exactly how small the world is when I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen since university. Imagine my surprise when I heard my name called after huffing and puffing up a huge hill...

We then headed straight to Cusco, since our main priority was really to see Machu Pichu. The only part of Cusco we really saw was the cute main plaza where all the tourist agencies are set up. We went horseback riding in the Sacred Valley, which in reality sounds far cooler than it actually was. Don't get me wrong, the views were great but I think that's the slowest horse I've ever been on. The most interesting part was the witch we met in one of the ruins who read our futures from a cigarette. I'm supposedly going to marry a blond man with honey coloured eyes have 3 children, a dog I don't really like but my oldest son does and a house with 2 floors and large windows - I'll keep that in mind....that narrows things down. Yuko didn't like her reading too much but I'm cool with apparently not being too rich but very very happy.

Machu Pichu - I chose a the 4 day Inca Jungle trail since I wanted variety in my trek. Since Yuko's stomach hated her throughout Bolivia she opted to take the train there and back. As for me, well let me tell you, that was the best/most exhilarating, challenging and physically demanding thing I have ever done!
Day 1 - It started with a very early morning downhill bike ride for 50+ kms. Very much like Death Road (expect without the constant fear of dying) - you start from a much higher altitude amidst the clouds and cold wind. This time, I rode like a pro, feeling very much at ease with the speed, fog and mist that surrounds you. We ended up biking much longer than expected since there have been local strikes going on. Something about gas prices being unfair for the locals. We were fairly lucky since it wasn't really violent and they pretty much let us pass every single checkpoint. After about 4-5 hours of adrenaline pumping biking we ended up in Santa Teresa and rushed to do some river rafting. Despite being "dry" season, we rafted and body surfed on level 3+ rapids on the Rio Urubamba.
Day 2 - There was lots of walking, I means lots and lots of up and downhill treking that took you past rivers, hills and mountains. We walked on part of the 40,000+km of the Inca Trails which connected the better part of the region. We were painted like warriors with the native plants, saw fields of coca leaves (the legal kind), swam in natural thermal baths and crossed the river with a pulley cable. As fun as that was, the 7+ hours of walking that day meant that I developed blisters on both sides of both feet - yeah, not so fun.
Day 3 - Thankfully not as arduous as the day before but there was definitely more trekking. You know you're tired when you look at your watch and it's only 9:30am knowing full well that you still have over 20km of walking to do. The views are amazing though and it's hard not to enjoy yourself when you have great company. We hugged the river and walked by the railroad on the way to Agua Caliente.
Day 4 - The group woke up at an unGodly hour of 2:45 am to make sure that we were amongst the first 400 so we can sign up to climb Wayna Pichu. I was one of the few that decided to safe my energy for the 2 mountains and paid the $7 to get up to the gate. As soon as you walk in, it's hard not to be in awe of the magnificence of the ruins. We watched the sunrise from between the mountains and light up the terraced vistas of Machu Pichu. We walked around and marveled at the history. We tackled Wayna Pichu, which is roughly about 45 minutes uphill until we could see that ruins were actually designed to be shaped as a condor. We hung out on top, soaked in the rays and enjoyed the views. And as if that didn't get us tired enough, we decided to go up another mountain that was even higher and harder! The views were pretty darn great already, I couldn't imagine it getting better. Oh and yes it did. The Machu Pichu mountain, itself is an 1.5 hour hike up the opposite side of the ruins that enables you to see 360 views of the whole region. It was worth the 20 hr day we had just to see it. Definitely an awesome highlight!

After Cusco, we started to make our way north towards Lima and had a little pitstop in Huacachina, a little town known for lagoon and it's legendary sand dunes. Ken and I went sandboarding and riding on a buggie in Huacachina with Jesus, the crazy awesome driver! I grew up in the Middle East with tons of sand dunes but I have never flown through or jumped dunes quite like that!! At those speeds, roller coasters just won't cut it anymore. I won the medal for "fastest and longest" ride down the biggest and steepest dune ever. I realize that I feel most alive when I'm doing something exhilarating and beautiful. It's not that I'm an adrenaline junkie by any means, but there is something to be said for feeling nature's elements at it's ultimate peak - Feeling sand on your body, the wind through your hair, the tingle in your belly when you fly through the air. We ended the day watching a beautiful pink sunset and took silly pictures.

Mancora, is one of Peru's premier beach destination, and while I liked it, I think Yuko was more disappointed in the lack of surf-able waves. Maybe on my way back, I'll take advantage of the kiteboarding that goes on there. The best part of this town was meeting up with old friends, hanging out in with guitars & harmonicas, trying to find the hot springs in the national park and getting lost with our moto-taxis (kinda like tricycles in the Phil or tuk-tuks in Thailand) and eating churros on the beach.

Extreme Buggie: My medal - Fastest Canadian down a dune.

3+ rapids, you ain't got nothing on us!

The coolest trek and ruins ever!

I've never been so happy to make it up a mountain!

Somos Pumas - Best 4 day excursion to Machu Pichu!

Yes, it was beautiful.

Bolivian adventures never cease to amaze!

From Sucre to La Paz, we took what was apparently the nicest bus that Bolivia probably has to offer. Sadly, the first 1.5 hours was probably the most painful bus ride I've ever taken. Thanks to the wonderful sea sickness pills that my parents had given me, I passed out for the next 10 hours! We woke up to a lovely view of La Paz, which is the highest capital in the world. It makes for a picturesque site since the city is built in a valley with homes all round the surrounding mountains and cliffs. We haven't really gotten use to the altitude...we were hoping that 3 weeks in over 3500m would do it, but it's still hard to make it up a flight of steps without puffing and wheezing!

Bolivia's history - I went on a really informative city tour around La Paz. No wonder there is so much poverty here. They have had over 200 military coups in the last 155 years. They even had a president that only lasted for 6 hours. At one point in the last 20 years, inflation would rise nearly 500% every month. There is so many things to enjoy about Bolivia. There is much more culture here and you see indigenous people everywhere dressed in traditional garb. Aside from Catholicism, the Spanish influence is not as evident. There is an interesting balance between religion and superstition and the mixture of different beliefs intertwined. When you visit Witches' Market, the tourist shopping area - you can find mummified baby llamas in every stage. The very small/fetus size ones are for offerings to Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) and the slightly bigger ones are buried under a construction site before they build a house for luck, safety and prosperity. Unfortunately, the hardship of the locals are also seen in everyday life. The wrinkles that line the faces of people are evidence of the lack of opportunities that exist. I never thought I would be heartbroken about how the crackdown on cocaine could make a whole country suffer even more. Because of the limits of coca leave production, Bolivia loses over $500 million dollars every year. In a country where you can easily survive in relative luxury at $10 a day, the impact on the locals is staggering.

We've met many people who have absolutely loved the insanity of Bolivia. And truly, there is a never endless amount of adventure that occurs here. Everything is a challenge here - breathing, getting a bus, crossing the street, arriving anywhere. The only thing that seems easy is getting sick. Every traveler we've met is sporting a cough of some sort, either because of the freezing weather or some sort of food poisoning. Interesting enough, I've had one of the best meals of my life here! It was Mixto Shawarma (chicken, shish kebab, beef, tabouleh, eggplant) and the most delicious chocolate cake (with layers of dulce de leche and almonds in between). I know, I had to talk about it since it was fantastic. Of course when I tried to go for a repeat the next day, the place was closed down (with a sign that didn't explain whether it was the sketchy kitchen or the illicit activities that I'm sure goes on there...)

Death Road - Known as the "Most Dangerous Road in the World", it's famous for tourists biking (and unfortunately dying). Don't worry Mom and Dad, I've already done it and survived!! Oh my gosh, this was one of the best and most exhilarating things I've ever done. Yuko skipped it cause there was no way she was going to go down from 4700m into 65km of downhill goodness. The trip starts with a drive from La Paz for an hour until you are high up in the Bolivian Andes. I wasn't expecting to see snow and ice everywhere. But all of a sudden we stopped a lagoon, where the guide proceeded to give us a full face helmet, hardcore pants and vest, knee and elbow pads and one of the best full suspension bikes I've ever tried (and trust me, it was worth paying extra). You start at a freezing icy highway, where you zoom past trucks and cars at some crazy speed. The views are spectacular of the mountains and valley. You feel the cold brisk air invigorate you as you bike through clouds at a breezy 80km/hr. There's plenty of stops along the way to admire the views. One of the guys in my tour bailed within the first 10 minutes. Thankfully, he is alive and well, it served as a great reminder to the rest of us to be extremely careful. Trust me, between all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I was holding on to the brakes for dear life for the whole 4 hours! You continue to a gravely road, which is technically the start of Death Road. It's insane and it's clearly not for the weak of heart with extreme drop-offs, no guardrails and its muddy road with loose rocks. It's width is the size of a one lane road with 150m cliffs on one side and the mountain on the other. It's exhilarating and you feel so alive biking through mini waterfalls. You see amazing views of varied topography, from hawk-like birds flying over you until you end up in a really hot subtropical area. The whole experience was simply amazing...

After La Paz, we decided it was a shame not to do anything Amazonian in South America. So we took a 3 day tour of The Pampas and we're soooo happy that we did because the Amazon Basin was fantastic! After a quick panic in the airport where we thought we missed our plane, we ended up making friends with our Dutch boy and took a small 20 seater with twin propellers to Rurrenabaque. The next day our tour began and luckily we had the best group and guide ever! Although the Brits had a weird and hilarious obsession with llamas - hence our group name "Sexy Llama Bitches". It started with a 3 hour jeep journey, where we caught a glimpse of some of the wildlife we were going to see. Hard to believe it was going to get even better after seeing all those birds and these gigantic guinea pig looking mammals (whose name I can not remember for the life of me). After, you're treated to a 2 hour ride on a motorized canoe that takes you down a winding river. It was exciting seeing caymans (kinda like an ugly crocodile/alligator) and turtles and so many different types of birds (only ones I can name - the herons and storks). I didn't know that turtles where so affectionate. They look like they are perpetually spooning sitting on logs on top of each other like they're doing a conga line.

Our "ecolodge" was basically wooden cabins with beds and mosquito nets. It as very rustic and kinda cool with all the hammocks you can laze about in. The next day we went searching for Anaconda in the muddy marsh. Let's just say that I now have a sock that will perpetually be brown cause my boots had holes in it. Thankfully, we saw one on dry land - did you know that a 3 foot anaconda is like 50-60kg?! We all felt really thin ;) After the trek, we went down the river, saw a toucan and a sloth and went fishing for piranhas. Although Yuko didn't catch one she was a trooper for trying since you have use meat as bait. As for me you ask, I caught the first one! We had it for dinner later on that night. Tastes like fish ;) ...and it's not that meaty but there's something satisfying about eating a meal you caught. On our last day we swam with the dolphins, caymans and piranhas...apparently the dolphins keep you safe by warding away the carnivorous animals, call me a skeptic but I wasn't sure how I felt about that specially since they were all in the water that day. So, I jumped out of the boat and got Yuko to take a picture...I lived to tell the tale!

Isla Del Sol - Our next adventure took us to Copacabana in Lake Titicaca. At over 3800 m and over 160 sq km, it is the highest navigable lake in the world. According to Incan mythology, this is the place where the world was created. The god, Viracocha, came out of the lake and created the sun, the stars and the first people. We took a boat out on its turquoise waters and took some lovely pictures of the views. The ruins were disappointing (what bloody ruins? It's just a rock seriously) but the 3 hour hike was beautiful. It was majestic feeling the hot sun bear down on you and watch the rays sparkle on the water. The next day, Ben had the great idea of taking a rowboat, having a picnic and a swim. That was one of the most relaxing and funniest experiences ever...let's just say that the water was freeeeezing!

We've headed into Peru already...I know these updates are getting long but it's really hard not to try and share the cool adventures we've been having. I think it'll get even better!

Row row row your boat...

Isla del Sol - Birthplace of the Sun

I'm a piranha fishing pro!

Best Tour Ever! The Pampas Rocks!

A cayman right before he lunged for the water!

La Paz by night at the Mirador (viewpoint)

The Witches' Market. Llama fetus anyone?

My hardcore mountain biker chic look.

The cliffs we biked on Death Road!

Bolivia = the REAL South American Adventure!

While I don't normally skip adventures, I'm going to for this particular goodness. Don't worry, I'll get back to it...but right now, I'm going to delve into the random adventure we've just had. So our supposed 2 hour ride from Potosi to Sucre took a wonderful 12 hrs. Since I did the mine tour, we missed the last bus and decided to take a "taxi" which is actually a minivan that shuffles people across the 2 cities. First there was the flat tire, but that was fixed relatively quickly. I was in the front seat with the driver and Yuko was nestled in between 2 older Bolivian gentlemen (that ended up being quite nice). So off we drive on the thankfully paved roads...and about 20 kms away from Sucre our taxi broke down. First it was kinda exciting, in a Bolivian adventure sorta way. After tinkering with the van for about 2 hours, the first theory was that it was the lack of gas, but the driver hitched a ride, got some and then they figured out it wasn't. After a few more hours, other theories emerged about the battery, the alternator and then the pump. Needless to say, we were obviously not amongst mechanics. So they gave up and ended up starting a bonfire on the side of the road. We ended up tearing down trees for firewood, enjoyed the stars and practiced our Spanish. The stark realization that we were going to have to sleep in the van in almost freezing temperature didn't really hit us until 3am (we were suppose to arrive at 10:30pm). So yup, we've finally used my emergency blanket and my super duper headlamp! We finally got into Sucre after hitching a ride with this crazy woman taxi driver at 7am who was nice enough to pick us up but drove like a manic fiend across the winding road overtaking everything in site from trucks, to kids running and barking dogs. And before you ask, we still had to pay the full amount despite getting here way later than expected...meh, at least we're safe and sound in Sucre. From the little we've seen, it's a beautiful and peaceful UNESCO city. We've stayed almost a week here - not doing a heck of a whole lot but getting warm and healthy. Again, it's been meeting about great people...we've had copious amounts of wine (the Bolivian strain is not so bad), played hours and hours of Shithead and just generally hung around talking about life and such.

But back to the last few weeks. After La Serena we headed to San Pedro de Atacama, Northern Chile. This was our last city in Chile, which means we were going to do it well. We wonderfully bumped into our fave Scots, and we had a crew of Londoners, French/Canadians and Irish who we did some fantastic tours with. On one of our excursions we woke up at 4am to head to the Geysers. Aside from the fact that it was -9 we had a blast looking at the natural geysers, blasting jets of water and steam into the air. We had almost forgotten how cold minus anything feels. But we were rewarded with a swim at a hotspring (that felt pretty damn chilly). I tried llama meat for the first time and it was delicious! I think it might be my new fave meat - it's really really tasty in a non gamey way. It's suppose to be healthier and leaner than beef. Either way, I can't seem to get enough of it. We got back early to watch the Chile match in a bar that was filled with really proud and excitable locals. I've never been in a place where people celebrated so much even though they lost " Vamos vamos Chilenos"! We started with 10 pitchers of beer and ended up having our own little bonfire party at the hostel with pisco sours and wine. The next day, we discovered the joys of sandboarding! Of course Yuko is now a pro as well...apparently anything with a board and she's ON baby! ON! If only it didn't kill your lungs so much to climb up the sand dune, it'd be far better. We went to the Valley of the Moon afterward and as you look over the cliff, you see this majestic view of craters and dunes. It was amazing seeing the sunset as it changes colours and actually see the moon rise from behind the mountain. After, it didn't take much to convince us to go to the desert party, which pretty much consisted of drinking and standing around a gigantic bonfire. But we had great company and I'm a big fan of drinking under the stars in open air...
Salta, Argentina = Felt a bit like a blip but Lynsey, Toby, Yuko and I had a fun wine/gorge tour to Cafayate. HL - Yuko scrambling up a cliff in boots...yeah, we thought it was a city tour. Oops, not so much. Her new nickname...spiderwoman. We headed up north again to the border and walked through to Villazon, Bolivia to take the train even further north.

Tupiza, Bolivia - This was just another short pit-stop to stock up on Alpaca goodness so that we could be warm and be prepared for our excursion. We heard that the Salt Flats were going to be extremely cold and we definitely needed some warmer clothes. Our list consisted of buying sweaters, toques, scarfs, socks, leg warmers and basically anything that we thought we would need. Check the Facebook pictures, you can see us modeling the gear and looking local. It's funny, I still think of Flashdance when I wear the leg warmers...we look local, in fact, we're actually taller than a lot of the locals! Wahoo. We feel like giants...Yuko loooooves it!

Uyuni Salt Flat Tour - We took a 3 day tour = ie. we spent 3 rather grungy dirty days on an old beat up Toyota Landcruiser we named Tupac (in our defense, he was an aboriginal leader that fought against the Spanish Conquistadors...the rapper may or may not have been named after him). Day 1 - Lots of salt. Bolivia has the largest salt flats in the world. It was really impressive and we tried to take some funky pictures but to be honest, it really didn't turn out very well. Apparently, taking perspective pictures are a lot harder to take than it seems. We also played in the Train Cemetery - which is a graveyard for all the old trains that use to carry the minerals across the country. It was basically like an adult size jungle gym with lots of rust. We stayed in a Salt Hotel, saw some mummies in a cave and watched shooting stars. I've never seen so many stars in my life. With no light pollution, at over 4000 meters, you can see the Milky Way and stars all the way to the horizon. There is something wonderfully poetic about seeing millions of stars surrounding you. Day 2 and 3 consisted of seeing lagoons, lakes and some really interesting rock formations. We saw a red lagoon, a blue one, a white one, a green one. To be honest, we were kinda done with it...the cool thing was that it started to feel a bit like a South American safari. We saw flamingos, llamas, vicunas, wild rabbits and other bird species. We spent a lot of time in Tupac seeing the landscape and played a lot of random music from Scotland, Ireland and Canada - educating each other of some really cool bands. It was a nice refuge from the incessant pan flute that they seem to play everywhere here! Make them stop!

Potosi - This is the highest city in the world. At a breezy 4060 meters above sea level, it was really hard to breath. Nothing like struggling to breathe after walking 50 meters and feeling your heartbeat a million times to feel alive! Apparently, drinking mate de coca or chewing coca leaves (yes it's from the coca plant but no it's not like doing coke) helps with altitude sickness and energy. I did the mine tour (Yuko opted against it since it's not great for claustrophobic people) on the local mountain that they've been using to extract primarily silver and zinc since the 1800s. It was fascinating crawling through the sometimes extremely hot and cold mine. The pictures do not do it justice, there is no way of being able to truly describe it. The conditions are really awful and the life expectancy for the miners is very young. They use their own explosives, there is asbestos everywhere and depending on where you are, there is not much air circulation. I really enjoyed learning about the culture behind it. They believe in God, Tio (God of the Underworld) and Pacha Mama (Mother Earth). And it's about respect and paying homage.

Aside from the fact that it's been on the cold side, we're really enjoying Bolivia (ok, at least I really am). It's rougher, poorer, less westernized and it's interesting. The people are either really friendly or completely not. It's ridiculously cheap (definitely more of what I expected or had hoped the rest of South America would be). Everything here is truly an adventure...tomorrow we're off to La Paz to have some more wonderful excursions.

Llamas and Flamingos. Our Bolivian safari.

What...another lagoon?

Salar de Uyuni. The largest Salt Flats in the World.

The Valle de la Luna, San Pedro.

We tried really hard to get good pictures at the Salar. Results...questionable.

The mine tour in Potosi.

The different coloured quebradas (mountains)

We feel as cool as we look ;)

Vamos Chile! Watching the game with the crew.

Vamos Chile!

So far we've spent 3 amazing weeks in Chile. Should have known that the gorgeous drive from Mendoza into Chile was a foreshadow of things to come. The bus ride through the Andes was definitely a highlight and should be done in the day time when you can see the massive expanse of the mountains, the clear blue skies and the winding snow capped peaks. Then we got to our friend, Pablo's parents' apartment on the 23rd floor overlooking the city of Santiago - Fantastic, we were smack in the middle of downtown and within spitting distance of all the major tourist attractions!

First impression - Awesome! We jumped off the bus and got into the subway, which is brand new, efficient and clean. We took a look around and were met with the gorgeous Santiago night-scape.
Second impression - Even better! Santiago is like South America with a system! It's organized, the people line up, the shopping is better and the infrastructure of the city is oddly very North American.

Highlights:

• The walking tour - we did a free/by donation walking tour of the city, which was wonderfully informative and we met the most amazing Belgian Couple!
• Pablo Neruda - He's a Chileno poet/politician that had the knack for collecting the most random things from around the world. We got obsessed and saw all 3 of his houses in Santiago, Valparaiso and Isla Negra. Superb and his poems are great too!
• Pisco Sours, Terremottos and Carmeneres - All dangerously potent drinks that are pleasurable in their own way! All worth trying and consuming in vast quantities!
• The Views - From, well, everywhere it seems! Cerro Santa Lucia, San Cristobal, the apartments...
• Valparaiso - It's a gritty, artsy port town by the coast that has amazing colored houses and graffiti everywhere. It's beautiful and dark and worth visiting.
• Hanging with Pablo and getting a great feel of Santiago and Vina Del Mar.
  

Things we've learned:

• It's crazy fun to be in a city when they win a World Cup match. The city literally comes alive! Chi-chi-chi Le-le-le Viva Chile. I guess this is the best they've done in ages and boy, are they celebrating! Avenida Alameda, their main road (which was right outside the apartment) was closed down and thousands of people poured down waiving their flags and cheering like mad!
• They love being in pictures. The Chilenos will literally pose for you even if you don't want them to!
• There are lot of avocados and onions here. Like you get guacamole with every single thing you order!
• It's on the expensive side, Chile is definitely not cheap, but the quality of everything is much better than anywhere else. The cutlery doesn't break and the serviettes work.
• It is a long, long country and we have to take more buses!
  

Currently, we're heading up northern Chile to go to San Pedro de Atacama, one of the driest desert regions. We took a pit stop to do some start gazing! We wanted to do something a little different and seeing stars and the moon from a super telescope was fantastic. We're in La Serena, one of the best places in the world for astronomy - apparently, there are only 4 places and Chile, has the biggest and the best of them all. Plus, you see different constellations from the Southern Hemisphere and it's all upside down compared to the north. Yup, we're astronomers now, and randomly, it is the time for Scorpios...

The view from the Mandiola's residence! That's the Andes!!

Pablo Neruda's house in Isla Negra - our fave new poet!

Pisco Sours and lunch with la familia.

Amazing grafitti in Valpo

Our awesome host, Pablo.

Chi-chi-chi Le-le-le. Viva Chile!

La luna...from the super telescope. Soooo beautiful.

4 Months and counting!!

We finally made it to our 4th country in 4 months! Currently chilling in Vina del Mar, a wonderful coastal city in Chile. I'll write more about how impressive Chile is but in the mean time - to commemorate our 4th month. Here's a list of some things we've learned, what we're confused by and stuff we love.

Things we've learned:

• Travel tip -Don't go with the cheapest bus option and pay for the cama suite - it's either too hot, too cold, has no food or is filled with crying babies.
• They deliver everything here - there is ice cream delivery (Cordoba) !!! And you can order as many flavours as you want. That is impressive...
• Warning - Do NOT expect North American service anywhere...Eat well before you are starving.
• Efficiency is not high on the list of business practices here.
• Hot sauce is not hot in South America.
• Fashion - Mullets and rat tails are back (why oh why!?)
• Safety Tip - Always carry your backpack in front.
• Travel Trick - Pack your dirty laundry on top of your mochilla.
• Burger King is alive and kicking, jean shorts are not dead, MC hammer pants are making a comeback, Converse makes a killing here.
• Life Saver - Don't trust pedestrian lights - just cause it's green shouldn't mean you should walk.
• The drive from Mendoza to Chile is one of the most beautiful ones out there!
  

Things we are confused by:

• Business hours. We are still not sure how and when this continent actually works...seriously.
• How Yuko can get groped during a wine bike tour on a moving bike! hahahaha
• Babies on motorcyles (that is not a car seat!)
• Watching a stray dog getting out of a public bus alone in downtown Santiago
• Serviettes that don't soak up anything & how there can be a monopoly on crappy cutlery
• No concept of food cost - you will find a jar of mayo in your sandwich and a full block of cheese in your empanada
• Why clubs start at 2am and people have dinner at 11pm!
• How you can have pickles but no relish, peanuts but no peanut butter and soy sauce that doesn''t have salt.
• How women can walk in high heels - between looking out for dog poo, ditches, potholes and uneven pavement...my feet have seriously changed shape and I'm in runners!
• Siestas during winter. Isn't the concept of closing during the afternoon because it's too hot?
  

Stuff we love:

• 4 generation family asados in Argentina are awesome! You don't have to be a meat lover to enjoy the goodness of this.
• Speaking Spanish with the Malanos ;) and only being quasi understood but still have great conversations! Muchas gracias!
• A bicentenial celebration in the capital city is the best experience ever - gigantic parades, fantastic floats, open air concerts and thousands of people out in full force celebrating. Thanks BA!
• Brazilien Cachaca, Argentinian Malbecs and Chilean Merlots and Cab sauvs follow a close second.
• We're still great friends. It's true folks - after 4 months, we still like each other!
• The sexiness of the Braziliens, the beauty of the Argentinians and we've only gotten to Chile!
• The Brazilian Portuguese is wonderful to listen to - it's like they're singing a song when they talk.
• Corner stores that sell everything and we mean everything!
• Alfajores with dulce de leche - they are basically suped up wagonwheels :)
• Pedestrian only streets
• Traffic lights turn from Red to Orange then Green - it's like advanced warning that you're about to get hit.
• Bakeries/Panadarias everywhere and 24 hour pharmacies (with little windows that open like in a gas station to take your order)
• Hooks on tables so your bag won't get stolen
• Ice cream and food by weight, fresh fruit from Brazil that melt in your mouth
• Listening to our MP3 player in the subte/bus while people watching

Some fave moments in the last 4 weeks:

The most amazing drive ever. Mendoza, Argentina -- Santiago, Chile

Thanks for the Bicentennial party BA!

We love Argentinian wine.

We all managed to say on the horses!

The best Cordoba experience.