Lake Titicaca

July 7, 2011
Lake Titicaca

We were picked up from Hernan's at 7:45 and headed to the dock. Our first stop were the floating islands, Los Uros. They speak Aymara there and we learned to say 'Camisaraki?' 'Hauliki!' as a greeting. The islands were a little cheesey, feeling like they were set up for tourists but it was still cool to see everything made of straw.

Welcome sign to Los Uros

Boat made of reids

View from the house

Then we headed towards Amantani Island on a 3 hour boat ride. On Amantani, there are about 5,000 inhabitants that speak Quechua and some Spanish. When we got off the boat, we had to walk up a few flights of stairs. I caroused up them as if it were no big deal, quickly realizing I was at 12,600 feet above sea level. I was so out of breath it was embarrassing. We were paired 4 to a house with Me, Anna, David and Michael a couple from Colombia and we all stayed at Estér's house. The walk to the house, though mainly flat was nonetheless very tiring. The house was made of mud and had a beautiful garden and view of the lake.

Door of the temple of Pachatata

 Surprisingly, the mud kept the rooms very insulated and warm inside. The family had prepared a humble but delicious lunch of quinoa soup, cheese and potato. We then went to meet the rest of the group for our 'hike' up to the temple of Pachatata, father earth. We met by the stadium and began the climb. The hill was fairly small but at that altitude everything felt like a mountain. We arrived at the temple dedicated to Pachatata, who fertilizes the earth and is symbolized by the sun. The other hill on the island had a temple dedicated to Pachamama, mother earth, the protector symbolized by the moon. On the full moon, no one on the island works and once a year there is a festival in the temple to praise Pachatata and Pachamama.

 

Sunset from Amantani

 We arrived at the temple and walked around it 3 times, once for each love, money and health. Then I placed several small rocks in the wall making a wish each time. I then sat down in the strong winds and watched the sunset from Amantani before scaling down the hill, not following the path.

We went back to the house for dinner then Estér took us to the party with the other host families and tourists. We wore traditional clothing, learned the dances and listened to traditional music.








The next morning we had pancakes for breakfast then said bye to our host families before taking another boat ride to Taquile Island. Taquile is a bit smaller island with 3,000 people. We took a nice 40 minute hike to the plaza and enjoyed the sun on the island. We had some trout for lunch and were taught about the traditional clothing on Taquile, mainly the hats. Different colors and patterns determine the marital status of the men, and the position of the hat represent if they are looking to date seriously, casually or not at all. It's a very interesting culture, similar to the idea of a wedding band but holds a lot more information to be determined in just one glance. We then got on a boat back to Puno, where Anna and I headed to the bus station to buy tickets to Cusco. We went back to Hernan's for the evening and spent our last night with our friends playing card games and enjoying the company.

I fell asleep excited for the part of my adventure but satisfied with my first experience on Lake Titicaca.

Getting used to traveling,
Lauren Adele

Beginning of the End

I'm determined to update the blog about my 6 weeks in Peru and Bolivia before I head to Costa Rica. This is a daunting challenge for me; a large amount of reading, writing and organizing, but also an emotional challenge to look back at what has been a truly wonderful experience and give it justice in words. Here goes nothing...

Itinerary:
La Paz, Bolivia
Puno, Peru
Lake Titicaca, Peru
Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu, Peru
Cusco, Peru
Paucaurtambo, Peru
Arequipa, Peru
Colca Canyon, Peru Cusco, Peru
La Paz, Bolivia
Potosi, Bolivia
Uyuni, Bolivia
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Santiago, Chile 

July 4, 2011
La Paz, Bolivia
I arrived in La Paz, Bolivia for a night and settled into a cold hostel. My plan was to wake up early and catch a bus to Peru, to return to La Paz at a later date and that's exactly what I did. The bus ride from La Paz to Copacabana to Puno was breathtaking.

View from bus.

July 5, 2011
Puno, Peru

View from my room

I arrived in Puno, anxious and excited and headed straight to the couch surfer's house where I'd be staying. Anna was to arrive later than me, so I hung out at Hernan's house and chatted. It turns out his "house" is actually a bed and breakfast that he allows couch surfers to stay in for free. I had my own large room with a key and all!

I set out to roam the small town alone during the day and made it out to the pier and the market. It was a perfect way to start my adventure, roaming the town alone a little terrified but plenty excited. It was my first glimpse at Lake Titicaca, a name I've heard in school since I was a kid and the highest lake in the world. I walked out on the pier and turned back proudly to see this view:

View of Puno, Peru from pier

I was heading back to Hernan's when I noticeable group of foreigners kept looking back at me. Finally, they approached me and asked if I was a couchsurfer staying at Hernan's. Turns out Robin had recognized my stone necklace from my picture. I walked back to Hernan's with Robin, Anna and Julien, all from France. They were walking back from shopping for dinner so when we got back, I helped Anna in the kitchen and we made meatballs, rice, bread and more. Hernan's whole family was there, wife, daughter and father. We had a wonderful time eating and chatting (and no one there knew English!). I felt very welcomed.

Peruvian Ceviche.

Anna arrived early the next day, exhausted. I let her rest and explored some more of the town. We came back for lunch, which Hernan and his family prepared. It was Peruvian Ceviche, one of the most amazing lunches I've ever had! I've explained ceviche before on this blog, but this time was a little different, more authentically prepared by Peruvians.


After lunch, Anna and I set out to book a tour for some islands on Lake Titicaca only to come back to a house full of our French friends preparing chocolate fondu for dinner! And what a dinner it was.

I have to say, Puno was a cute town and all, but the peopleI met there (and the food) really made the difference. We made a tight community while we were there and it was the first of many great experiences I had on my trip around South America.

With wide eyes,
Lauren Adele

Feel Good Lost

Back in the States, with over a thousand pictures and over 50 pages of journaling to sort out before I can post on the blog. As soon as my overly-busy schedule gives me time (and as soon as my English returns to an acceptable level) I'll give full updates on my last 6 weeks in South America. But for now a quote to reflect on...

"Whether you're a Lebowitz or a Messner, an adventure is an experience that pushes your personal envelope, that forces you out of your day-to-day comfort zone. A true adventure, in addition to being exhilarating and inspiring, should also make you tired, nervous, disoriented, a little scared. My own personal definition goes like this: It's not really an adventure unless, at some point during the trip, I say to myself, 'What the fuck am I doing here?'" David Noland


And, a Chilean song to brighten your day!

Culture shocked,
Lauren Adele

Well it's about time...

For another update. This one, Buenos Aires, Argentina!

Day 1:
Mel and I headed to the airport on June 8th, a little nervous about our flight being cancelled due to the Ash Plume from Puyehue in southern Chile. We had no problem from it because the ash was all being blown to the east, but let me tell you, the landing was scary as hell anyways. Then through our Argentine connections, we headed to a friend David's place to stay for the first two nights. He had previously told us what the taxi should cost, but instead of being stern we got ripped off for the first of a few times in Argentina. We had a warm welcome with pizza, friends and maté.

Day 2:
The next day we set out to explore the city. The first stop was the MALBA museum. It was a great museum full of modern art that was set up in a wonderful exhibit.

We headed downstairs for the visiting exhibit by Christina Piffer. This exhibit was full of art made from different cow parts, including dried blood, braided intestines, and words inscribed in cow fat. You can see some of them here. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the exhibit. To me, it rose awareness of how these animals are treated in a shocking way.

Then we set off walking in the direction of downtown. We passed a park with a large metallic flower sculpture in the middle. We paused to take pictures then continued walking. Next thing I know, a lady came up us and tell Melanie and I we have bird poop on our clothes. In fact we do. Her and her husband luckily had napkins and water bottles to help clean us off. We say thank you and continue to clean ourselves. Then, my traveler's senses kicked in and I realize my purse felt a little too light. I checked it, asked the man for my camera back and before I know, they'd taken off.

 Moments before the snatch

Turns out, it wasn't real bird poop, nor was it a coincidence that they had all the correct cleaning supplies. I've come to the conclusion that the camera and I were not meant to be, after all we'd been through this trip. For this reason, this post is lacking in photos, except for the few Melanie was brave enough to take.

We continued our day and wandered around downtown some. It had a bustling and intimidating vibe, especially after getting lost and kicked off a bus. We made it to San Telmo, the oldest part of town, for the National History Museum (which consisted of many portraits of the same man and an odd photography exhibit) and a meal. We caught the bus back to David's and saw the Casa Rosada all lit up in neon pink for the night on the way. Casa Rosada is the Argentine "white house" which is pink.

At David's we drank some more maté, conversed and then headed out for the night. First stop was a couchsurfing party, where Buenos Aires natives and couchsurfers from across the world gathered. We met people form Brasil, Colombia, France and Venezuela. Then, in attempts to meet up with my Austin friend Erin, we headed to another bar. Seems we had just missed her by 5 minutes, but we got to enjoy some live hip hop and break dancing, the Argentine way.

Day 3:
On Friday, we woke up leisurely (which was nearly impossible not to with all metal curtains that completely shut out light at all hours of the day) and took a walk to the river. The river was a little dirty, but peaceful and it was neat to know that just across the way lies Uruguay. We said our goodbyes to David and had a wonderful pizza lunch. We moved locations to Melanie's parent's friend's apartment in the middle of downtown. Let me tell you, this apartment was nothing short of luxury. We were showed to our room. Feeling like a kid in a hotel room, we checked out the view from the balcony and plopped on the bed.

 View from the balcony

Next, we headed towards the Recoleta Cemetery, famous for its giant above-ground graves (more like mini cathedrals) and Evita Peron's tomb. It was amazingly beautiful and a wonderful maze to get lost in for awhile. Look at the pictures on this website to get more of an idea.

Mel and I in front of Evita's grave

After resting with dessert and maté con leche, we headed home to change then walked to Erin's house. Erin is a friend of mine from Austin who is studying abroad for the semester in Buenos Aires. She lives in a house over 100 years old full of foreigners and a few great Argentinians. The house is decorated with funky designs and is architecturally beautiful, including an Alice in Wonderland type spiral staircase and a trapeze on the way to the kitchen. The first night there we joined in on an asado (grill) on the roof. We had our first of the famous Argentine beef and it was delicious. We hung out with Erin and her roommates for the rest of the night then headed home.

Day 4:
Woke up leisurely once again, thanks to the metal curtains, and headed back over to Erin's for Melanie's facial and reiki appointment with Facundo, the Argentine landlord of the house. Melanie's friend of a friend Dana joined us for the day and we headed to La Boca. La Boca is the part of town you probably see most on post cards. It's full of brightly colored houses, vendors and tango dancers in the street. We decided to go the newly opened museum PROA by the water, full of Louise Bourgeois's work. I must say, it's the first art exhibit in South America that I didn't enjoy. We headed back downtown for the best pizza meal in Buenos Aires, complete with chocolate mousse.

Day 5:
On Sunday we headed to the famous Cafe Tortoni for some meat. The restaurant had wonderful high decorative ceilings and a sense of history, as it has been around for 150 years. I ordered a steak with a special slice of pork on top that my dad would be proud of.

Then we headed to the famous Sunday market. It was blocks and blocks of vendors selling everything from maté gourds to jewelry to vintage sunglasses. Of course, Mel and I made friends with a rock vendor (as usual) who gave us a free lesson on the different dialects of Spanish in South America. At the end of the market, tango music could be heard and tango dancers from ages 18-months to 80 years could be seen. On the way home, we bought a pack of maté of our own for our new gourds and bombillas.

We went home to relax for a bit before heading out to dinner at a friend's. Melanie works at a talent agency in Austin and one of their clients is Argentinian. She put us in contact with her sisters Poro and Bibi for dinner on Sunday night. We arrived at their new place, wined and dined, then Bibi decided to take us out to El Catedral. We walked into a large room with tables around an open area where a folklore dance lesson was in session. We found a spot, ordered the classic Argentine drink, fernet and coke, and picked a few items from the all vegetarian menu. We watched the rest of the lesson until the live band came on next. It was an all girl folklore trio with the name of Triuda that announced this was their first live show. They started off their set a cappella then integrated percussion. During a few of their songs one of the girls would come out front and dance. By the end of the set, some very good folklore dancers occupied the floor. Here's a video of some folklore dancers to give you an idea. It was an overall amazing set and experience, one of the best memories from Buenos Aires.

Day 6: 
Monday, we headed to El Ateneo a book store set in an old theatre. After spending some good time there, and having some lemon pie, we tried going to both the Bellas Artes Museum and the famous Teatro Colon, both of which had closed doors. Instead we walked to Puerto Madero to see the Puente de La Mujer, a foot bridge by the port. We sat and looked at the sun which made the ash in the air clearly visible. It was an impressive sight to see the ash in front of the sun like that. Then due to the cold, we decided to be the tourists that we are and headed to TGIFridays for happy hour.

At night, we had been recommended to go to La Bomba de Tiempo, a drum show. We arrived at a very cool location and watched the show. I wasn't significantly impressed but we had a good time none-the-less. We headed over to Erin's house again to meet up and ended up spending the rest of the evening watching two documentaries with her roommates, Dark Days and Capturing the Friedmans, both very shocking but good.

Day 7:
Tuesday was our scheduled ship out date but due to the Puyuhue volcanic ash, we were stranded one more night in the horrible city of Buenos Aires.

After waiting for awhile in the LAN Airlines offices drawing mandalas and chatting with old ladies, we decided to treat ourselves to a classic Argentine meal at a Parrilla. Let me tell you, I still can't think about this meal without getting the shivers. We were served a hot plate of all parts of a cow and pig that I could not stomach and ended up eating a salad instead. We went home to digest our meals and ended up spending the rest of the evening there.

Day 8:
We woke up early enough to squeeze in seeing the Bellas Artes Museum and have one last maté and dessert before heading to the airport with fingers crossed about our flight. We boarded on time, landed and caught the last shuttle, metro and bus back to home, sweet home in Santiago.

Overall, I loved Buenos Aires. I found the Argentine accent endearing and the culture bountiful. Argentina treated me well, and I'll make sure I'm back there within the next 10 years.

For now, I'm wrapping up with finals and flying out to Peru and Bolivia on July 4th for a month. I'm sure I'll have many more blog posts to come after that!

With tired fingers,
Lauren Adele

La Isla Negra

Solamente es un soplo
Más húmedo que el llanto
Un líquido un susurro
Es agua sexual 

Yesterday we ventured out to La Isla Nergra, just about an hour and half outside of Santiago. We toured another of Pablo Neruda's houses, who seems to a be a collector of all things I'm interested in. After the tour, I walked out on the rocks by the beach and soaked in the power of the waves. We dined in a seafood restaurant then headed back to the smoggy town.

Drafting a blue print of my future home on the coast,
Lauren Adele

Pass-times

Well, I apologize for the lack posts. To explain myself, I've been sick for about 2 weeks now and therefore have not done anything blog-worthy. Here's my attempt to summarize my pass-times in a semi-exciting manner. Pardon me if I bore you.

2 weekends ago, let's just say I got caught up on all the TV series on cuevana, sipped tea, and ate soup.

Last week, I made some new friends, played some air hockey (I've got a knuckle bruise battle wound), went to an art party and spoke some more Spanish. The highlight was Saturday. I woke up, had the morning to myself, the headed to Nika's apartment. Nika is my Californian friend and Angel is her Ecuadorian boyfriend, both of whom I plan on travelling to Bolivia and Ecuador after the semester ends. We headed to the market to buy ingredients for ceviche, and along the way we 'ran into' my favorite pub with the best cerveza I've found in Santiago and of course we had to stop. We entered the bustling market and somehow made it in and out of there with white fish, octupus, lemon, onion, and white wine (I seem to have forgotten to mention that Angel is a chef). With empty stomachs we headed back home to prepare the meal. Nika and I boiled quail eggs and made a mayo-garlic-pepper sauce to accompany, while Angel impressively cooked the ceviche. Let me tell you, the meal was delicious, not to mention the good company and conversation on the side. After that, some more friends joined and we play games and chatted in the apartment for the rest of the night.

Now, here I am, still feeling a little stir-crazy these past few days. To pass the time, I've meditated, and gone on quite the poetry bout (reading, writting (maybe one day I'll have the guts to post some), and now memorizing a poem, Porphyria's Lover). Wish me luck and ask me to recite it next time you see me! Also taking a personal survey of people's favorite poet and perhaps their favorite poem. So please, leave a comment and let me know.

The smiling rosy little head (this is a test to see if you read the whole poem),
Lauren Adele

A Peaceful State of Mind

A Saturday afternoon, an hour outside of Santiago, best described by pictures and this lovely song.

 My first Andean Condor! Huge.

 Look closely and you can see the sun and the moon.

Happy Mother's day, Mom. I sent you love and thanks from the side of this mountain yesterday.

Escuchando al viento,
Lauren Adele

Maritimes

This past weekend (April 29th - May 1st) Anna Bo-banna and I travelled to the other side of the country to the coast (all 2 hours away from Santiago). Viña del Mar and Valparaíso are two coast towns set right next to each other, practically one in the same. We also had our first experience with couchsurfing, a program where you can meet people in different cities and stay with them during your visit.

We arrived at the bus stop in Viña and our host, Eduardo and his friend, Carlos picked us up and brought us back to his house to put our stuff. Within the first 5 minutes in the house, his mom plopped 18 day old Maximiliano in my arms.

The whole house gave an impression that we were on a boat. He showed us our room and our bathroom, then we set out to see the town. The first item on the list was La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Neruda's houses located in Valparaíso. It was a lovely house, one I would aspire to have of my own one day, with a spectacular view of the ocean. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, so here are a few images from their website. On the top floor, Neruda's poem he had written about the house was displayed on his desk. You can read the poem here, and translate it here. 

We then went to El Museo del Cielo Abierto, The Museum of the Open Sky, which is a street tour of graffiti done by some of the most popular artists. 

After walking around the town the whole day, our host Eduardo informs us it's his birthday. Amazed by his hospitality, we wished him a happy birthday and headed back to his house for his celebration (Did I forget to mention he has a bar in his house?). We met some more Marines and passed the time with his friends and family. Eduardo has travelled to many countries across the world and has built up quite the worldly liquor collection. One of our favorites was the pistol shaped tequila bottle. 

We later headed in to town with Carlos and Eduardo to a live salsa club. 

The next day we were chauffeured around town once again. We made it to the dock, took an ascensor, and headed to the Marine Museum. 

There were two sets of these windows, the neatest stained glass I've ever seen

. 

The last attraction at the museum was the Fénix, the actual capsule used to rescue the miners this past year.

After that, we headed to the famous cemetery. The first grave I saw, I found a treasure inside. 

Some people really do live and die for soccer here.

Aaand after that, we headed to first lighthouse in Chile. Also, the first lighthouse I've ever been inside.

That night we stayed home and exchanged pictures and stories with the Donoso family.

Sunday, we woke up and decided to take our hosts out to their first sushi experience ever. (I think you can tell they liked it).

After hearing all about the Esmeralda, the boat the marines had taken on a training trip to 12 different countries 2 years prior, we got on board!

After our personal tour, we headed to the battleship, where we had coffee with the captain. 

Our visit to Viña and Valpo was great. We got incredibly lucky with our hosts and had an amazing Chilean experience, full of the benefits of being with Marines.

I'll be updating my photo link soon, as I know have a functioning camera again. 

Always at home with the sound of the sea,

Lauren Adele

Back Tracking

I've realized I forgot to update about one of my weekend adventures.

Saturday, April 16th, my friends and I revisited Cajon de Maipo (the place where we had previously celebrated the largest full moon in 18 years).


Melanie's mom, Patty, invited us to stay in a cabin in Cajon. As I arrived, Patty and her friend Christian had already started the grill and opened a bottle of Late Harvest wine.



We passed the time chatting and making new friends while the meat slowly cooked on an overcast day. After our meal, we moved inside, where I quickly got distracted by playing with the settings on Melanie's camera with my new knowledge from Photography class.

 One of the highlights of the night was a Reiki (read about it here) session I received from the newly certified Melanie. I relaxed and let go. Here are some results from my wandering mind.



When she moved her hands across my forehead from the center out, I had the image of her opening a book in my mind. The book then turned into a tree, and I was thinking of how a good book is a beautiful thing for a tree to turn into. The tree then took roots, and I felt planted here in Chile. I suddenly felt her pulling the roots out of the ground as if telling me I shouldn't be permanently planted anywhere, open to change. She then placed one hand on my left foot and one of my right hand. Then reversed. I took this as a time to center myself and my energy, to connect the left and right side of my body. More peaceful thoughts passed through my head as she finished the session. I got up feeling energized and ready for the night.

We passed the night with good company and good cheer, with some funny memories for all of us. The next day, we took our time getting out of bed, and relaxed while the grill was going again. Here's a picture of part of the group, and part of the feast we enjoyed.

Feeling grateful,

Lauren Adele

P.S. I've added a map of the places I've been to the links section on the right.