Streams of alcohol, lakes of whiskey

OK, so the mountains here aren't quite so prodigiously generous as all that, but they're pretty stinkin' good.

The past couple days have simply included hiking with my Aunt Mel around the cabin, taking pictures of wildflowers, enjoying the general splendor, and running away from flies and mosquitoes. Yesterday we also went bike riding on one of the trails outside of Crested Butte... I'm hoping to do some more of that this coming week. Tonight is a gallery walk in town, then dinner with the family...

Some of the exciting wildlife I've seen so far: deer behind the cabin, marmots on a wood pile, a fox carrying around a cat in its mouth, and lots and lots of birds. There are reports of bears climbing trees on the main street in town, but I have yet to experience that firsthand. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though.

There isn't much else to report! Adam should be arriving tomorrow, so we'll do some camping in the area, and I found out that Chacos are produced just over the mountains in Paonia, so I'm gonna make sure I head over there at some point, probably on my way out of town.

Plans have yet to gel completely for the next few weeks until I reach Berkeley, but there's plenty more to see between here and there.

For now, I leave you with some images from our hikes... more can be found here.

Warm fuzzies

I just redistributed my kiva loan, after my first borrower fully repaid his in full and on time. Helping the world at 8am, that's just the way I roll!

I'm at my aunt and uncle's cabin in Gothic now, at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab (RMBL), where there's no TV, no cell phone reception, and only occasional internet. It's heaven. I really don't know what else to say about it at the moment, except that the drive here was another one of the most beautifully breathtaking drives I've ever been on. Exciting, too, dodging deer on windy mountain roads, oh my! Got my heart pumping just a little bit for a moment there.

As I got close to Crested Butte, the last town on the paved part of the road to Gothic, I started seeing all the trophy homes, ridiculously perched on rolling mountain slopes now practically devoid of trees, all in similar shades of log. I suppose it's all to see and be seen... The town itself is tiny and sweet, though, with a welcoming, shiny metal sculpture of a knight battling a dragon. I'll have to check that out when I go back into town later in the week.

maps 2.0

For June 4-19, Pittsburgh to LA
Total miles driven: 3,215 (according to my odometer)

View Larger Map

For July 26-27, LA to Gothic, CO
Total miles driven: 1,003 (according to Google maps; about 800 of those on day 1)

View Larger Map

Route 160 East

It's been a long day. I got up 4am (Pacific time), and am now finally contemplating sleep at 11:30pm (Mountain time). Ah, the changing nature of road trips. I was supposed to head out of LA last night to have an early start at the Grand Canyon today, but that just didn't happen. So instead, since I'm what some might call more of a morning person than a night owl, I decided to get out of dodge before traffic hit the mean streets of LA. I got to see the sun rise over the hills this morning!

I arrived to the Grand Canyon around midday, but the crowds weren't too bad (although I have no point of reference, they just weren't as bad as I had expected). I came in by the South Rim and got to stop at a few different scenic overlooks... Near Grandview there's a place where you can climb down a bit of a ways as well without the eyesore of guardrails and cement steps, which was pretty sweet. I was nearly ambushed by some pretty aggressive squirrels, much to my horror but all the onlooker's delight. They were persistent little buggers, trying to get my cheese and crackers! My lunch, not yours! I was in the park for a few hours, not including driving time, and I'd like to think I would have spent a bit longer had I had some company... It would have been amazing to have hiked the canyon, but alas, plans fall through sometimes.

To be honest, the parts of the canyon that aren't all hyped up at the eastern end intrigued me a bit more. I think it's because the Grand Canyon is just so ginormous that you almost can't comprehend its proportions. Also, you can't really get up close to most of it, since it's so steep, so massive, etc. Anyway, I look forward to a hiking trip to get into some of the nooks and crannies some day.

The drive today was gorgeous. Route 160, especially, captivated me the entire way. There were a few blissful stretches where I even had the road all to myself in both directions. I got to see an overturned semi engulfed in flames (emergency crews already on the scene when I passed, so no worries), some nice rock formations (you can see lots of cross-bedding in the massive, light colored layer, as well as several fault lines breaking up the sections):

I mistook one of the little artisan stall areas for a scenic outlook once outside the paid park area, so I took advantage of the view anyway, and chatted with the one seller there:

The rest was just awesome, both literally and figuratively. The skies don't get much bigger than out here.


Oh, and I added a few more states today! I went to the four corners monument, which was, to say the least, underwhelming. But my feet were happy to be so omnipresent.


So after almost 800 miles today, just 200 more or so tomorrow and I'll be in lil' 'ol Gothic, wheezing at 9000 feet!

Moving on

Driving on the freeway in LA on my first day back in the States was not the easiest way to make a smooth transition back. But I survived. I even remembered to check my blind spot.

I'm on R&R right now in LA with my cousin. This was my Tuesday:

Rough life, right?

But it's time to move on again. I think by Friday I will hit the road, bound for Gothic, Colorado for a few weeks before coming back west to Berkeley. I'm to hit Vegas, baby, as well as the Grand Canyon and the four corners on the way up over the course of about three days, hopefully avoiding driving during the hottest parts of the day. We'll see how that works out. Until then, I have to get organized, take a pole dancing class, and enjoy my time in sunny LA. Like I said, it's rough out there.

I have glimpsed the future, and it is bright

So today after wandering around a local market for a couple of hours on my own, I realized that I had some extra cash unexpectedly left over. So what else can you do but go back to the tarot card readers that you passed on the way in and have them tell you your fortune? A lady doesn´t usually shuffle and tell, but I´ll spill a few of the beans.

Of the mother-son duo doing readings, I got the middle aged son. After three decks and 20 minutes, I had found out that I will be happy in the near future; I´ll have a job by the end of the year but I won´t like it; I will be expected to cook and/or clean for whoever I´m staying with (Mel and John, is that you?); my next boyfriend will be moreno and will have money (sweet); my old boyfriend and his mother are mad at me (crap); and I should call my mother.

There were a few things that were less run of the mill, however I´m gonna keep those little gems to myself. It was money well spent.

On the road again

Well, my last day in Mexico has arrived. Of course, even though I wasn´t completely psyched about coming here, I now don´t really want to leave. There is so much to do and see in this city, you could come back 100 times and still have more to do (I would guess).

Yesterday I went to Coyoacán to see my friend Jose from GSPIA. We walked around the super old neighborhood a bit, but unfortunately the main plaza was under construction. We went into the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, where there was an exhibit on traditional pottery that has made a comeback due to one guy in one town in Chihuahua, which was pretty sweet. We then went to Frida Kahlo´s house, which had loads of her drawings, doodles, letters, etc. It was incredible; unfortunately, you can´t take photos within the house, so I have no evidence of the drawings that blew me away. Jose also took me down to UNAM, the University, where there is a large, unfinished Diego Rivera mural on the outside of the Olympic stadium. The campus is huge (there are 80,000 students according to Jose), in an hour we barely crossed it. The tuition is apparently 20 centavos per year. That´s right, it is approximately 2 cents per year to attend the national university. That´s why everything there is about a million years old, but hey, I would be OK sitting in rusty one-armed bandits for four years if it cost me the cool sum of 8 cents.


Last night was Florent´s birthday, so we went out to drink copious amounts of tequila, or course. I´ll skip to the end and say that I fell asleep on the couch watching the old version of Lolita with everybody at the hostel.

So tomorrow morning I leave, yay for early morning flights. It´s really easy to forget that to catch an 8am flight, you have to get up around 5am. Ugh.

[Rest of the Guatemala and Mexico photo up here.]

Mexicooooo!

Hello from our southern neighbor (for most readers, anyway)! I´m in Mexico City, arrived Wednesday morning from Guatemala City... Wednesday was mostly spent attemping to recover the energy lost from a 4:30 am wakeup to catch my flight, thus napping, reading, and chatting were the orders of the day. Luckily with all that chatting I met a new travel friend, Flo, a Frenchman here to study for a year but who only arrived a day before I did. He and I and another Frenchman, Charles, spent yesterday in the histoic district where the Palacio Nacional and main Catedral are located. We got to see the biggest Mexican flag that probably exists, flying high in the center of the largest (supposedly) plaza in the world after the one in Moscow, or some such nonsense. Also, after some careful negotiating with the armed guards at the palace, we were let in despite the fact that two of us had no form of ID on us, and we got to see Diego Rivera´s famed mural on the inner staircase, depicting the history of the Mexican people for the past 1000 years or so. Quite impressive, to say the least!

The rest of the day was spent wandering, eating (of course. A brief rundown of the most delicious foods of the day: pastries from Pasteleria Madrid, including some buttery goodness, chocolatey orangey heaven, peanut buttery delight, and nutty sweetness; also, fresh-squeezed juices at Liquidora Canada (I have zero explanation for the second half of the name)). I wish I could post photos right now, as of course I took pictures of the food!

Today I am supposed to meet up with a friend from grad school who lives here, Jose, in the southern part of the city, where I hope to see some museums and visit Frida Kahlo´s house! fun fun fun in the sun sun sun (hopefully).

fotos

Guatemala photos (most) are now up here. Finalmente!

Guatemala II

Time flies! It's already time to say goodbye to Guatemala... I leave for the city tonight, then fly early tomorrow to Mexico City. To be honest, I'm not all that jazzed about it, simply due to fatigue of traveling. I never though I would say it, but I'm ready to go "home"! (However, due to the fact that I don't currently have an actual home, the U.S. will have to do.)

Images from an exhibition on "Desaparecidos" at the Spanish consulate, Antigua.

The past few days here have been made up of wandering aimlessly about the city, taking pictures of the endless quaint buildings, churches, and streetlife. It's a pretty chill city, good for food, people, and a more laid back atmosphere. And of course, there are those travel buddies you meet along the way. I spent the first couple days with Debbie, Joe (Canadian), and Justin (British), until they all had to go their separate ways to various other parts of the country. But no worries, because then I picked up Ben! A hostel neighbor from Berkeley (how fortuitous!), we've been carousing around for the past few days: book exchanges and food in Antigua, the markets in Chichicastenango on Sunday, more food and books.

Yesterday I also went up Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano about and hour and a half drive, then an hour and a half hike, outside of Antigua. A few people succumbed to the lure of the "taxis" (underfed horses) to get up, but I persevered! The hike was well worth it, and as we got to the top, the view opened up to massive, sprawling lava fields, some coming right down into the nearby farmland. We caught our first glimpse of the glowing red stuff, and made our way out into the lava. It was starting to get cold at the top, but I was finally glad to be wearing a skirt (the only alternative being heavy jeans, not fun while hiking in the rain) when some heat vents popped up below us to keep the chill at bay. After poking our wooden walking sticks into some of the closer glowing rocks ("rented" from kids for 1 Quetzal at the bottom), we ventured up to the active flows, where it was too hot to stand for very long. My shins started to get a bit burned as I oh-so-graciously videotaped an Aussie doing his best David Attenborough impression; the video is literally jumpy as I hopped from one foot to the other for 30 seconds. Most people's sneakers gave up the ghost while there, so they were forced to descend with soles flapping.

Franz and I on Volcan Pacaya, uncoordinated in our photo efforts.

Ben and I ventured outside of Antigua yesterday afternoon to stay at an amazing getaway called Earth Lodge, near Jocotenango. It's a small avocado farm (an obvious draw for me) that has dorms, tree houses, and family-style, and all-veggie dinners. It was heaven. I only wish we had more time to spend there! Veggie quiche, tzatziki, veggie pasta salad, garlic bread, and orange canela cake. With plenty more for seconds. Yum. Ironically, though, the avocados won't be harvested until next week. What a tease!

So that wraps up this portion of our hero's adventure. Now on to bigger (probably) and better (possibly) things!

Guatemala I

Where to begin? I've been in Guatemala now since Sunday I think, so about 6 days back here... Monday we (Anh, Colleen, and I) took the trip up to Flores, the closest town to Tikal, where we stayed two nights. The town itself is nothing to speak of, but we picked up another traveller, Debbie (a Guatemalan from Toronto), who stuck with us until today! We went to Tikal on the 5am bus, since we'd all been getting up at ridiculous hours anyway to catch buses, etc, and because we wanted to beat the heat and the other tourists. Tikal was practically deserted, which was wonderful. We got to climb about 5 or 6 temples, many of which we were the only people on. Photos to come once I have a way of getting them off my camera!

Unfortunately, it's hard not to compare Tikal to both Chichen Itza and Machu Picchu, and after much careful consideration atop ancient temple ruins, I've come to the following conclusions: Machu Picchu simply can't be beat: the craftsmanship, the location, the views (nor the price, which was ridiculously high). Chichen Itza has been very well preserved, and although it is overrun with tourists any day of the week, it is impressive and has a lot to examine closeup. Tikal, however, has bugs. This was pretty much all I could think about for a few moments, but then I realized, "Hey, I'm sitting 60 feet up in the air, looking out over the jungle with barely another soul in sight." So Tikal has that, the experience of climbing where thousands of people have climbed before, yet sitting in the middle of a tranquil jungle with howler monkeys and birds creating a wild cachophony of sound all around you. Score one for Tikal.

We were done by early afternoon, so returned to Flores, where we learned that it was impossible to leave until the next morning, a ploy we're pretty sure has been carefully organized by businesses to keep you there another day to spend some more money. So the next morning we left for Semuc Champey, where there are caves, waterfalls, and general splendor to behold. When we got there, however, there was no room at the inn for us in Lanquin, the closest small town. So we were convinced, along with our fellow travellers, to stay at the next best place, which was in Semuc Champey. A half hour bumpy ride later in an open air truck bed, we were there, where we learned we had no access to either phone or internet, which we needed to get in touch with our other friend, Franz, the German dude. On top of this, we were there so late there was no time to do anything that day, and the only buses out the next day were at 7am (another tactic to keep us there, I think), which Anh and Colleen had no choice but to take, since their flights out of Guatemala City were early the next morning. So we were not happy campers. Debbie and I were in foul enough moods that we decided to leave with the other girls and come straight to Antigua, a decision I regretted in the bus on the way here, but forgot about the instant we arrived to this beautiful city.

More in a bit, I have to spend some time scratching bug bites and then berating myself for giving in to the itch.

mas fotos

New photos from El Salvador up here. Guatemala to come later this week...

El Salvador; or, wired on café

OK, so I am absolutely buzzing right now. I heard everyone talking about how good the coffee was, oh man, it's great, so I thought, why not? I was cold and wet and soaked to the bone, so I tried it. Half a cup later I'm rarin' to go, wowza. So bear with me as I do a little stream of consciousness typing here.

I arrived in Guatemala City on Thursday night, got some sleep, and early Friday left for El Salvador with Anh and her friend, Colleen. A few more hours outside of San Saldvador, we arrived in Juayúa, a sleepy town that on the weekends gets going with a food festival. To make a long story short, we spent today on a hike through the cloud forests where they grow coffee, a group of five us us, plus our guide, Mario, and our host, Cesar. After many, many hours of trekking and almost falling down hills that we couldn't see the bottom of, we were picked up by Cesar to get to the hot springs to relax, give ourselves natural mud baths (we dug up clay from the fumaroles toward the end of our hike). Usually we would have walked, but apparently we were one slow group, so we got a VERY bumpy ride, with several of us almost flying out the back of the '76 jeep several times. Fun. It was a good day, even when the monsoon rains hit (even Cesar said he's never seen rain like that), in which we drove back, uncovered, almost 40 minutes. I should have brought another pair of pants.



Photos later, when I borrow a card reader from somebody, but they'll mostly be of clouds with vague shapes in them anyway :) [photos now up here]

Tomorrow we go back to Guatemala to set out towards Tikal and other locations. We picked up another traveller, Franz (I hope that's how you spell it), a German, who is daring to come with us...

Excuse me, I need to go run around the block a few times now.

A moment in history

I'm sitting in Mony's apartment with her family, and we have all been glued to the television for the better part of the afternoon/evening. The breaking news is that 15 people were rescued from the FARC very early this morning, who had been in captivity from six to ten years. This included 11 army and police officers, three American contract workers, and Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate. There is a sense of gravity to the situation, while at the same time there is an extreme lightness, with all of us cheering and Mony placing the Colombian flag outside on the balcony. I'm not sure that this can be called a turning point yet, but it certainly is a moment to let soak in, especially the implications that the cooperation between the exuctive and military branches of the government, as well as with the US and France, has.

Now on to me! :) I am finally getting photos up online here. This past week has been a bit of a blur, but in a good way. The wedding on Saturday was a ridiculously fun time: a backdrop to envy, live music at every turn, amazing (vegetarian!) food, and dancing for 6+ hours. I thought for a moment around 1:15am that the Estadounidenses had outlasted the Colombianos, dancing to music from a DJ... but no, around 1:30 the band came back on and the Colombians wiped the floor with us. Note to US men: learn how to dance! You will sweep any woman off her feet.

Sunday we all went to a finca (literal translation: farm; in this case, more like weekend country home with attached farmland) for a barbeque hosted by friends of the family, Fernando y Gloria. They have 18 hectares (about 45 acres), which we got explore a bit of (directly uphill, but well worth it for the view). Since I like to talk about food, I will regale you with the menu (picked at as it came off the grill, not a formal affair): arepas con aji (corn meal cakes served with a spicey cilantro and onion sauce); papas con ogao (boiled yellow potatos with a tomato and onion salsa); grilled chicken, beef, and pork (no more details than that); fried yucca; potato and plantain chips with chicharrones (fried pork skin); platano maduro (fried, squished, and refried ripe plantains); fresh avocado and tomato dishes; and veggie kebabs. Oh, and to top it all off, Colombian wafers with arequipe (their version of dulce de leche, sort of like caramel, only better), mora (blackberry spread), and a cottage cheese-like dessert doused in melted brown sugar. We had to hike just to work it all off... and have a limbo contest (congrats Chansonette).

Monday we all went to Villa de Leyva, a small Colonial-style town that has both attracted and become reliant upon tourism. It seemed that most tourists were actually Colombians or other Latin Americans, but there were a few other gringo faces to be seen. The main plaza is mostly cut off to cars, so the original cobbles are intact, and it was our backdrop over lunch. I got a bit cynical about the whole thing for two reasons: after going in and out of countless shops selling the same things more or less, you feel like you're getting only a superficial, materialistic view of a place; and we spent over nine hours on the bus there and back, to only have about six hours to eat and explore. It was a long holiday weekend (some saints or others), so traffic back to Bogota on the one-lane road took almost 6 hours, versus the three it took to arrive. Drivers had no qualms, however, about driving in the oncoming lane. I looked out the bus window several times to be greeted by oncoming headlights that were a little close for comfort. But the swerving and racing is nothing new, as the roads here rival those of Pittsburgh for their pothole-edness. Although here this is compounded by the fact that there are often no pavement markings, even on multi-lane highways. Virtually any driver here would be arrested on suspicion of drunk driving if anyone cared enough to pull them over.

We saw more of Bogota on Tuesday, including going up the Swiss-made cable car (teleferico) to Monserrate. The rain stopped just in time for us to get some sweeping views of the city from one of the highest points around, above 10,000 feet. There was a large group of school children, who swarmed me as I climbed some stairs in a rush of color and noise. Inside the church at the top was a typically Latin American depiction of the wounded, post-crucifixion: tortured, bloody, in agony, and appealing with his eyes to the churchgoers. There was even a head of what I assume was human hair. This leads me to some more general comments about Colombia and Latin America.

Colombia is a rapidly growing city that is enveloping the surrounding land and towns at a fast clip. There are signs everywhere that read "Esta propiedad no esta de venta" (this property is not for sale), indicating to developers not to bother. The city has yet to develop its tourism industry, and for this reason it's relatively hard to get around, especially if you don't speak the language. This is changing slowly, and I would be interested to visit again in a few years to see what has developed. On our way out of town on Sunday, we noticed that one half of the main streets (most are boulevards) was closed to cars to be used as a ciclovia (bikeway), as well as outdoor group aerobics being conducted. This is all part of a government initiative to promote healthy living (although I personally wouldn't want to ride my bike or jog 20 feet away from pollution-ridden vehicles in the remaining lanes. I have black boogers here as it is). Cycling is actually a very popular sport here, and we have passed many bikers in and around town, some casually getting from point A to point B, others racing downhill around curves in full jerseys and aerodynamic wheels. I haven't seen this in any other Latin American country to date, let alone with this level of popularity.

This is getting a bit long winded and it's late. More soon from Guatemala, hopefully with photos to boot!