Friends are asking me to highlight the best part of my trip. How do you highlight a trip as diverse as the one we just experienced? As I try to pop out the 'best' memories, the trip marinades slowly and richer meaning starts to fill my heart and soul, just like the aroma of a good Malbec wine, flavor appears slowly and suavemente.
In Peru, the best by far was being on the top of Huayna Picchu, or the big rock. It is the rock that oversees all of Machu Picchu and only 300 people a day are allowed to summit. There were about 40 - 50 people en route, at the top and coming down when we were ascending. The sense of self in a place that magical is undefinable. I imagined the hundreds of Incans who were responsible for the labor, the planning and revising of such a gigantic construction project. We think we have these beautifully built structures in downtown cities but compared to the purposeful and intricate construction at Machu Picchu, we are building Lego houses.
I felt so close to God when I was on that mountain in the middle of a huge forest. His world is beautiful and designed with a purpose. His world is beautiful - I met amazing people at the top of that rock and all of us were floored, enamored and deeply moved by the magic at the top of that mountain.
Then... Buenos Aires hit me like a 90 mph fastball. The European buildings, sugar and cakes everywhere, the Malbec wine from Mendoza, dancing until 7 AM and the friendly people. I am definitely going back! The fashion... the shoes.... the people are just gorgeous!
I met great new friends in Buenos Aires and that is the best experience. International friendships are a work of art. To come together in someone's second (or third) language and laugh, tell jokes, share stories on ex-boyfriends, adventures and international love is deeply moving. I made great friends in Buenos Aires - from Brasil and Colombia - we live in such different places but we are experiencing similar stories. I just love laughing at jokes in Spanish, sharing stories and exchanging secrets - but now, we wait until someone visits the other country. It is hard, making great friends and then leaving within 1 or 2 weeks, sometimes a few months later. Thankfully, we have facebook!
Brasil - 2014 for la Copa!
Chile... oh Chile... how my heart swells when I remember your oceans, the faces of the children at Hogar de Cristo and the humility I learned while living in a place where I did not understand basic conversations. I am hanging on to the memories of studying in Santiago and the travels throughout the country like an infant holds onto their blankie. My world improved because I was exposed to truth and another set of cultural values and expectations. We live in a diverse world and to have the opportunity to cozy up in a corner of the world for a few months... lead to some great revelations.
I travel the open road... healthy free, the world before me, leading where ever God has planned for me...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Chile
The long awaited return to Chile. Five years ago my life took a turn for the better when I studied abroad in Santiago. Now, I am here again with my friend Liza, traveling como mochileras, to see this country in the wintertime.
Today is our first day of nasty weather. We are in Villarrica, the sight of the gorgeous Volcan Villarrica and in the land of the lakes. The air is covered in rain so we can´t see the volcano. We are heading out on a night bus to Santiago.
We crossed the Argentina'Chile border by bus...and that means we didn´t have to pay an entry fee into Chile!!! So when you travel by bus in South America, you escape the fee.
Bariloche ended up being a calm, relaxing week in comparison to the wild, sleepless party in Buenos Aires. Our host family was so great. Caro, our host mom, is a young mom with two beautiful girls. Since we were there during the Argentina 2-week vacation, the house was full of her friends that were in Bariloche for the week. The school was shit so I went 2.5 days. We learned more with our family than at the school. Caro´s boyfriend, Agustin is a great chef and cooked great food everyday for us. I have some great photos of us making empanadas (I will definitely make them in the states) and teaching liza how to open a bottle of wine the right way. Actually, I have a great video of that!
The best part of Bariloche was an all day bike trip I did by myself. I left school early one day and went on a Short Circuit bike trip around some lakes. The trip was difficult because there were a lot of hills. The views were preciosa and maravilloso - just unbelievable. Bariloche is very similar to a mountain town in Colorado but it has these amazing lakes. Colorado is missing the lakes - or else it would really be perfect. Barioche was FULL of Brasilians so I definitely learned to understand Portuguese. That will come in handy when I go to Brasil for the 2014 World Cup.
We also went to Villa la Agostura which is close to the Chilean border. Beautiful town!
The skiing in Bariloche was not that great but definitely worth the trip. We had a blast because of course, we were off track and snowboarded down some ATV trail! WHOOPS. The lifties thought that was hilarious when we asked them where we had been. Only crazy Americans would go through trees that were not marked.
The Argentinian people are beautiful - inside and out. They eat dinner after 10PM which is a little crazy, go out dancing until 5AM and drink little Italian coffees with more sugar than I usually consume in a year. Will I be back in Buenos Aires?
I met a woman that teaches in an IB high school outside of Buenos Aires and they are always looking for native English speakers because her school is bilingual. High school math teacher in Buenos Aires? Maybe one day....
Today is our first day of nasty weather. We are in Villarrica, the sight of the gorgeous Volcan Villarrica and in the land of the lakes. The air is covered in rain so we can´t see the volcano. We are heading out on a night bus to Santiago.
We crossed the Argentina'Chile border by bus...and that means we didn´t have to pay an entry fee into Chile!!! So when you travel by bus in South America, you escape the fee.
Bariloche ended up being a calm, relaxing week in comparison to the wild, sleepless party in Buenos Aires. Our host family was so great. Caro, our host mom, is a young mom with two beautiful girls. Since we were there during the Argentina 2-week vacation, the house was full of her friends that were in Bariloche for the week. The school was shit so I went 2.5 days. We learned more with our family than at the school. Caro´s boyfriend, Agustin is a great chef and cooked great food everyday for us. I have some great photos of us making empanadas (I will definitely make them in the states) and teaching liza how to open a bottle of wine the right way. Actually, I have a great video of that!
The best part of Bariloche was an all day bike trip I did by myself. I left school early one day and went on a Short Circuit bike trip around some lakes. The trip was difficult because there were a lot of hills. The views were preciosa and maravilloso - just unbelievable. Bariloche is very similar to a mountain town in Colorado but it has these amazing lakes. Colorado is missing the lakes - or else it would really be perfect. Barioche was FULL of Brasilians so I definitely learned to understand Portuguese. That will come in handy when I go to Brasil for the 2014 World Cup.
We also went to Villa la Agostura which is close to the Chilean border. Beautiful town!
The skiing in Bariloche was not that great but definitely worth the trip. We had a blast because of course, we were off track and snowboarded down some ATV trail! WHOOPS. The lifties thought that was hilarious when we asked them where we had been. Only crazy Americans would go through trees that were not marked.
The Argentinian people are beautiful - inside and out. They eat dinner after 10PM which is a little crazy, go out dancing until 5AM and drink little Italian coffees with more sugar than I usually consume in a year. Will I be back in Buenos Aires?
I met a woman that teaches in an IB high school outside of Buenos Aires and they are always looking for native English speakers because her school is bilingual. High school math teacher in Buenos Aires? Maybe one day....
Friday, July 16, 2010
Bariloche
A small mountain town in Bariloche, Argentina. think Breckenridge, but developing country with awful pollution and dogs living in the street.
then add the majestry of the ANDES mountains and the most beautiful blue lakes nestled at the base of the mountains. This mountain town is international and breath taking throughout the whole day. As the sun moves, blues, greens and pinks transform the skyline into postcard images.
Right now there are more Brasilians here than Argentinians and I just heard English for the first time today... I have been here for 5 days.
I went to an amazing restaurant in town, opened for 6 months now, Sesamo. The owner, Ari, is Israeli and moved here 7 years ago. Many Israelis travel throughout South America for months after the obligatory military service. He came down, loved it and moved to Bariloche with a good friend from Israel. They opened a hostel in El Bolson, a neighboring community, and know has about 100 beds. They opened the restaurant -Middle Eastern food in a country where the only food is pizza, pasta and meat. Thank you to Ari for opening a slice of heaven in Bariloche. The food is spectacular. I like to think that I am a good judge of Middle Eastern food and the hummus - jumus in spanish - is amaaaazing. I could eat there pretty much every meal!
The Rocky Mountains are the best skiing in the Americas. I can say that now that I have skied in South America. Pretty sure there isnt skiing in Central America so I have tried it all (almost). Vail is #1 for sure! Aca, the snow is like sugar but with a hell of a lot of ice. The mountain is big but there is no elevation so the runs are pretty short. The best part, our hilllllarious expedition into the trees that left us on a 4x4 trail in the middle of the mountain, literally off the ski map. of course we walked through an ATV trail and rode down part of it. Of course.
We had fun but I am counting down the days until opening day in the Rockies.
Off to Chile in a bus on Sunday....
then add the majestry of the ANDES mountains and the most beautiful blue lakes nestled at the base of the mountains. This mountain town is international and breath taking throughout the whole day. As the sun moves, blues, greens and pinks transform the skyline into postcard images.
Right now there are more Brasilians here than Argentinians and I just heard English for the first time today... I have been here for 5 days.
I went to an amazing restaurant in town, opened for 6 months now, Sesamo. The owner, Ari, is Israeli and moved here 7 years ago. Many Israelis travel throughout South America for months after the obligatory military service. He came down, loved it and moved to Bariloche with a good friend from Israel. They opened a hostel in El Bolson, a neighboring community, and know has about 100 beds. They opened the restaurant -Middle Eastern food in a country where the only food is pizza, pasta and meat. Thank you to Ari for opening a slice of heaven in Bariloche. The food is spectacular. I like to think that I am a good judge of Middle Eastern food and the hummus - jumus in spanish - is amaaaazing. I could eat there pretty much every meal!
The Rocky Mountains are the best skiing in the Americas. I can say that now that I have skied in South America. Pretty sure there isnt skiing in Central America so I have tried it all (almost). Vail is #1 for sure! Aca, the snow is like sugar but with a hell of a lot of ice. The mountain is big but there is no elevation so the runs are pretty short. The best part, our hilllllarious expedition into the trees that left us on a 4x4 trail in the middle of the mountain, literally off the ski map. of course we walked through an ATV trail and rode down part of it. Of course.
We had fun but I am counting down the days until opening day in the Rockies.
Off to Chile in a bus on Sunday....
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
argentina
Buenos Aires.
GO! Plaza San Martin and its center of the city feeling, go to a tango show and learn to dance the tango in order to go to a milonga and dance with an argentino. I did not have the confidence to do this but so many friends feel in love with the tango.
Milion. A restaurant that is hidden off of avenida Sante Fe, inside a gorgeous building with a small courtyard garden with tables outside. Upstairs,a sophisticated bar and wacky, creepy art with lots of knives. Weird.
The city parks are full of families and young teenage couples. What a sight!
Denver and Buenos Aires share a common characteristic - everyone has a dog. The dogs are so well trained; portenos walk their dogs on busy streets without leashes and the dogs stay within 4 feet of their owners the whole time. But the people are irresponsible and don't pick up the dog poo. Not okay.
If you enjoy fashion - clothes, shoes and hair - BsAs has something for you! The shoe stores along the main drag Santa Fe show off impressive heels, flats, boots and great purses. So many amazing shoes.
GO! Plaza San Martin and its center of the city feeling, go to a tango show and learn to dance the tango in order to go to a milonga and dance with an argentino. I did not have the confidence to do this but so many friends feel in love with the tango.
Milion. A restaurant that is hidden off of avenida Sante Fe, inside a gorgeous building with a small courtyard garden with tables outside. Upstairs,a sophisticated bar and wacky, creepy art with lots of knives. Weird.
The city parks are full of families and young teenage couples. What a sight!
Denver and Buenos Aires share a common characteristic - everyone has a dog. The dogs are so well trained; portenos walk their dogs on busy streets without leashes and the dogs stay within 4 feet of their owners the whole time. But the people are irresponsible and don't pick up the dog poo. Not okay.
If you enjoy fashion - clothes, shoes and hair - BsAs has something for you! The shoe stores along the main drag Santa Fe show off impressive heels, flats, boots and great purses. So many amazing shoes.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Buenos Aires
Where do I begin?
The party never stops in Buenos Aires. The first night here I was out until 5 or 6 AM, dancing and drinking. The salsa and reggaeton are SO FUN to dance to, I need to start a club in Denver for Latin dancing. It could be the next big thing. Anyway, I had class at 9 AM and I am pretty sure that for 2 of the 5 days of class I arrived with less than 5 hours of sleep. Each day, our profe asks what we did during the afternoon and at night and I just look at him...do you see the sleep in my eyes? But we are having SO MUCH FUN!
I am learning Portuguese. I can understand 80% of a conversation between Brasilians because I live with 8 Brasilians and there are so many at the school. I have even learned a few phrases. We had a party at our house - I live in a house with 10 or 11 people from our Spanish school - and I gave a hostess speech, my opening line was in Portuguese. Some of the people at the party thought I was from Argentina because I was speaking in Portuguese and Spanish. A dream come true for me.
Last night I was mistaken for Argentinian as well because people from our Spanish school did not think I spoke English. Hell yeah! Argentinians know I am not a porteña but they do recognize my Chilean accent and Chilean phrases.
Buenos Aires is a city for night people. I never consider myself a night person, but here we start the party around 11 or 12 at night and the clubs, called boliches, start filling up around 2 am. How do people do this!? I am loving it right now.
Last night we were at this place called Las Brujas and it is a salsa, merengue and reggaeton club. On a Tuesday night, it was packed and full of partiers. Beautiful man and a DJ that sings great songs.
Of course... the hotties are plentiful.
The party never stops in Buenos Aires. The first night here I was out until 5 or 6 AM, dancing and drinking. The salsa and reggaeton are SO FUN to dance to, I need to start a club in Denver for Latin dancing. It could be the next big thing. Anyway, I had class at 9 AM and I am pretty sure that for 2 of the 5 days of class I arrived with less than 5 hours of sleep. Each day, our profe asks what we did during the afternoon and at night and I just look at him...do you see the sleep in my eyes? But we are having SO MUCH FUN!
I am learning Portuguese. I can understand 80% of a conversation between Brasilians because I live with 8 Brasilians and there are so many at the school. I have even learned a few phrases. We had a party at our house - I live in a house with 10 or 11 people from our Spanish school - and I gave a hostess speech, my opening line was in Portuguese. Some of the people at the party thought I was from Argentina because I was speaking in Portuguese and Spanish. A dream come true for me.
Last night I was mistaken for Argentinian as well because people from our Spanish school did not think I spoke English. Hell yeah! Argentinians know I am not a porteña but they do recognize my Chilean accent and Chilean phrases.
Buenos Aires is a city for night people. I never consider myself a night person, but here we start the party around 11 or 12 at night and the clubs, called boliches, start filling up around 2 am. How do people do this!? I am loving it right now.
Last night we were at this place called Las Brujas and it is a salsa, merengue and reggaeton club. On a Tuesday night, it was packed and full of partiers. Beautiful man and a DJ that sings great songs.
Of course... the hotties are plentiful.
Monday, July 5, 2010
peru
machu picchu is a dream world. the fact the incans built this huge sustainable fortress at the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere is phenomenal.if you think about how long ago they were there... 1400s or so (right?) they built a dream city for thousands of people. the kings ate fresh fish every day because they had hundreds of runners down to the river. hundreds. liza and i climbed to the top of hyuana pichu and it overlooks all of machu picchu. all of it. the steps were built to withstand infinity. our own construction in the developed world lasts a generation, or less.
are we a developed civilization if we lack structures and systems that withstand our lives? i think so...
the incans also had water filtration systems and disposal systems integrated in the mountain. machu picchu is on top of the world, the feeling of climbing everest must be close to the one i felt but with a lot less danger involved!
peru is a country full of culture, history, spanish influence and friendly people. i felt so safe in every city we visited and i loved the people. they are happy, smiling and proud of their history.
more on the great food, photos and life in buenos aires soon!
are we a developed civilization if we lack structures and systems that withstand our lives? i think so...
the incans also had water filtration systems and disposal systems integrated in the mountain. machu picchu is on top of the world, the feeling of climbing everest must be close to the one i felt but with a lot less danger involved!
peru is a country full of culture, history, spanish influence and friendly people. i felt so safe in every city we visited and i loved the people. they are happy, smiling and proud of their history.
more on the great food, photos and life in buenos aires soon!
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