Bolivia Summer 2007 and everything since then

New job, new house, new adventures!

2009-08-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

(I hope I don't get in trouble for using these images...)

As many of you already know, I got a job with Habitat for Humanity through the AmeriCorps program that will start on September 1! After volunteering with them since February a ridiculous number of hours (what else is there to do when you get laid off?), I applied for one of the AmeriCorps positions, interviewed, and was hired back in June. This made me deliriously happy, not just to have a job offer, but to be able to work with such a great organization doing work that I truly love.

As AmeriCorps, I'll be organizing volunteers that come on site, leading construction groups, doing some community service projects, and a variety of other duties that I'm sure will be revealed in good time. I also get to live super cheap in a house owned by Habitat with the other AmeriCorps volunteers. There will be four of us living and working together, trying not to kill each other before the end of the year. It'll be an interesting social experiment to say the least.

Another perk of the job is the opportunity to go to El Salvador with Habitat in October! HFH Portland Metro/East (the affiliate I'll be working with) has international affiliates in El Salvador and Thailand to which they tithe ten percent of their building costs to build homes in those countries. A group of about 20 of us will have the chance to go and build for a week in Central America! Of course, I couldn't pass up a chance like that and finagled my way into the trip just before the cutoff. I'm still working out the details, but I'm planning on staying for an extra nine days or so to travel in El Salvador and Nicaragua (Honduras seems to be a place to avoid at the moment; who knows what it will be like by October), blowing all of my vacation days in the second month of the year. That seems prudent, right?

finally... camping

2009-06-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

I went up to Bagby Hot Springs just south of Mt Hood this past weekend with a bunch of Habitat for Humanity peeps... just about two hours from the city and you're in the middle of nowhere with spectacular views. It felt great to be out of the city, build fires, do some (easy) hiking, and be rewarded with many soaks in naturally heated tubs made from carved out trees. (No photos of the tubs in order to maintain the soakers' decency!)(To give you a sense of scale, this was taken looking down from about 30 feet above the water.)
There were some really old trees (but still alive, unlike this one). Many older than the good 'ol U.S. of A.

ask and ye shall receive

2009-05-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

haha! Guess what I saw today?Lettuce and thyme.
They're tiny, but they're mine. (insert joke here)

Victory (garden) will be mine

2009-05-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Garden of Eatin': A Short History of America's Garden from roger doiron on Vimeo.

I'm taking a stab at gardening this year as well; I've tried planting tomatoes, sweet and Thai basil, lettuce, chives, lavender, thyme, and rosemary from seed. Right now it's a waiting game: nothing's poking up yet, except the cilantro, which I bought already sprouted. The weather's been toying with my farmer's emotions - marble-size hail on bright, sunny days, plenty of rain followed by days where I have to remember to go water things. A practice in patience, something I could always use a little extra of. Good things come to those who wait, right?

and the winter fun continues

2009-04-02T17:50:00.001-07:00

I might have to drive an hour and a half to find it, but by golly there's a heck of a lot of snow out here.

A good time was had...

...by all.

what's today?

2009-03-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Apparently it's national ravioli day. Should that be capitalized? (Capitalized upon, for sure.)

things i like to do

2009-03-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

Saturday: x-country skiing up at Mt Hood

Sunday: Oregon coast, Cannon Beach and more

Just a few more of the many reasons I'm glad to live here.

this is where i live

2009-03-03T18:12:00.001-08:00

What a wonderful welcome, night of our housewarming.

Before.

After.

Haley, resident dog. She drools, but it's cute.

Home brew. IPA this time, stout next.

Work in progress, but fully functioning. I know the sauna looks like it's about four feet tall, but I swear full-sized people fit. I think we've had 11 in there at once before. Still to do: tile behind the stove, put up hooks, finish the deck outside.

oh yeah

2009-02-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention (read: shout from the rooftops) that I got a job! It's only temp work, and it has nothing to do with anything I've studied or done before. But it's a JOB. That pays me $$$. Because it's temp work, it definitely plays with my employment emotions at times (read: too often for comfort. I think they secretly take pleasure in making us all sweat on a regular basis). But I'm thanking my lucky stars for something, anything.

Your daily dose of hilarity.

2009-02-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

So funny I cried. I can't wait to exploit my future children like this.

Muir Woods

2008-12-01T00:46:00.000-08:00

I went on a pre-Thanksgiving adventure with my friend Val to Muir Woods. It was really incredible, especially since it was my first in-person look at California Redwoods. Even though it rained steadily all day, we had a good time wandering up and around the park for several hours. The rain lent it a certain ancient air, too (once you got away from screaming kids near the visitor's center, that is), which was kinda neat. Everything was rich, rain-soaked, and lush. Like Fern Gully.

Here are a few shots from the day (my favorites from the trip, some of the only ones that even came out on such an overcast day!).Detail of a cross-section of a fallen tree, almost as tall as me (what a poet I am).

This was an incredible color of green, which the photo doesn't do justice.

Not a fantastic photo, but you can see how the bark actually spirals up the tree.

I'm standing in a tree!

A fallen tree rests precariously on another stump, part of which has been polished to a shine by... people, I presume?
[Sorry for the awkward spacing of photo captions... It looks better if I put them above the photo, but that's just not the way I like to roll.]

On an unrelated note, a shot of my Saturday morning, around 6:30 a.m. at Ferry Plaza in San Francisco. Setting up for the day's market.

hey stranger

2008-11-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

As I suspected would happen, I've let this little blog 'o mine fall by the wayside for, oh, I dunno... a couple months? A few changes in the world since my last entry that deserve mention, I think.And guess what? On November 4th, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama was elected to be the 44th President of the United States of America. I missed out on most of the revelry because I actually worked at a local polling station that day (6 am - 9:30 pm, faithfully serving my country). But I was richly rewarded with some of Obama's acceptance speech on the car ride home.

This past week I was listening to some NPR show (maybe it was Forum, based on the call-in format? I can't remember.) with callers discussing how their lives have changed in the not-even-two-weeks (at the time) since the election. The cynical part of me was thinking, "Right, because people's lives will have been radically altered in a tangible way before the guy even has a chance to throw together a cabinet." Some people contributed meaningful talking points, while others publicly patted themselves on the back for progressing so far as to deign to talk to "that one" at work since the election. Anyway. Today I finally listened on youtube to Obama's full speech on race, given at Constitution Center in Philly back in March '08. I was once again pretty much blown away by the man's ability to speak frankly, openly, honestly, clearly, and sensitively on a subject that is taboo in so many parts of the country.

One section that struck me, especially, was the following:
The path to a more perfect union "means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny."

Obama directed this portion primarily towards black men, but I think it speaks to everybody in the U.S. and the individual responsibilities that we shoulder to collectively create the change that we want to see. I'm no expert on kids, education, or even society. But his discussion of the responsibility to, and of, future generations in this country were, I thought, profound, and I'm glad someone in such a position of power has finally said it. And I'll leave it at that.

As for other aspects of my life these days, a quick summary. I'm still working for Lucero Organic Farms at the farmer's markets around the city, but that'll only run through the end of the primary growing season (read: only a week or two more). I'm attempting to fill some more of my time by subjecting myself to medical studies in the bay area (so far no luck on that - this really is a tough job market). And I'm learning more and more about the wonderful world of sewing! I never thought I'd be a domestic diva (and never thought I'd ever utter or write that phrase until this moment), but there it is. I cook, I sew, and I'm not afraid to admit that I love it.

I made a whole buttload of tomato sauce with very ripe tomatoes, onions, and peppers from the farm stand a week or so ago, and just this week whipped up some eggplant parm with more ingredients from my employer. And just yesterday I finished my first quilt! Ta-da!
I may still do some more hand quilting on it, but it's in working order and on my bed now (it's a little less than half the size of a queen-size quilt).

And finally, yet another major life decision. I'm movin' on up! To Portland, that is. No, I do not have a job offer up there. No, I do not yet have a place to live. But I have a plan! After I get back from the east coast for the holidays (17 Dec - 7 Jan for those of you who might be interested), I'll be on my way, probably for a mid-January start. So in the two weeks in early December before I head home I'll be packing up (again) and keeping my fingers crossed that I can fit everything back in the car with a few new acquisitions from my three months out here. And the rest of the plan? Uh... find a job. That's definitely at the top of the list. Find a place to live. Sharing a spot at the top. Perhaps actually slightly edging out the job's place. Other things on the list include finding wonderful new friends, travelling as soon as I get a penny to my name, world domination (I kid), and reconciling myself to the more homogeneous demographics of the Pacific NW.

More food

2008-09-27T21:45:00.001-07:00

'Cause I love talking about/eating/looking at/and now selling food.

Another day selling at the farmer's market, and today I helped set up the stand. Early morning sun + colorful food = Nerissa taking pictures. I can't help it, it's irresistible.

Oh, and they're called pluats, not plumpricots. Although I think "plumpricot" is much more descriptive. I got more today, yay.

Some type of heirloom tomato that I haven't memorized yet (there are over 50 types, I need time.)

LOTS of tomaters (I'm not sure that'll read how it sounds in my head, but I know what I mean, even if you don't.)

A sea of okra, the last of the figs, and itty bitty tomaters.

One of the prettiest eggplants I've ever seen.

"Hiking"

2008-09-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

The other day I went with some lovely Pittsburgh lady friends up to Marin County to go hiking along the coast near Rodeo Beach (I think). Due to the goat trail-like paths, we couldn't exactly manage to stay on the proper route and probably did barely half the distance we meant to, but it was nice to see/hear/smell the ocean. Highlights of the day included seeing bird poop-stained rocks (see photo below); discovering a now-decapitated seal corpse on the beach; getting marked by not one, but two dogs as we had a snack on the beach (the sand about ten feet away, not us); and making fun of/being awed by surfers.

The only thing I took a picture of was the poop, though. Enjoy.

Jackpot

2008-09-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

I got a job without even trying today. Don't get too excited, it's only a part time, temporary, sporadic gig. But it's paid. I volunteered to help out at the Berkeley farmer's market and was put in touch with a vendor whose strawberries are famous city-wide. He needed help, so I showed up today. I sold a ton of strawberries and other assorted organic, local produce (mostly tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, melons, etc). I helped break down the stand at the end of the day. And then, an unexpected but wholly welcome thing happened: the vendor paid me for my time. And all the while I thought I was volunteering! Plus, he asked me to come back next week, and perhaps a few extra days a week thrown in if need be. So, it's not a career path, it's not even going to be enough to pay the rent. But I haven't been paid to do anything since May, people. May. So I feel pretty good today (patting myself on the back).

Oh, and did I mention the perks of the job? They include: being outside all day; chatting with lovely/weird/nice people all day; strawberries galore; greens with edible flowers tossed in from the vendor next door; vegan cookies from another vendor; itty bitty cherry tomatoes; and plumpricots (I don't know if that's what they're called, but they're a mix of plums and apricots. Apriplums?) from yet another vendor.

Behold:

(Photos taken in the very low light of my IKEA lamp on my desk at night. It's artistic/blurry.)
(I also just noticed my looming hand in the cookie pic. Apparently I couldn't even wait long enough to press the shutter before reaching for one.)

One last note: welcome home, Mom (tomorrow)!

International relations?

2008-09-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've just started "geotagging" some of my photos on flickr, because I read about it and, of course, just had to try it out. But I just tried to take a look at some specific places around Bogota, and lo and behold, there's mostly cloudy satellite images of the city! What's the deal, Google/NASA/U.S. Government?

Oh, and I also came across this neat little blog insert thingymajig...

Cool, huh? I think it makes me look like I know how to code things! (nerd alert)

Update: crap, it's not working, is it? I claim no responsibility whatsoever.

d'oh!

2008-09-12T20:01:00.001-07:00

Now why didn't I think of doing this?

I'm still wondering how they kept the lens bug-free...

California update

2008-09-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

It's been what, three weeks since I got here? I suppose it's probably time to elaborate a little on my experience here so far. Um, yeah.

Well, I experienced my first earthquake last night! A 4.0 about 30 miles away. It was weird, five seconds or so of rumbling and slight shaking. At first I thought that perhaps I was just going a little crazy. But no, that's only part of it.

I'm spending my days at this point doing yard work at my aunt and uncle's house in exchange for subsidized rent, as well as attempting to secure some employment, both short and long term. The outlook is grim thus far. Yay for the current economy. Thanks, Dubya, it's been swell. We recent graduates applaud you. But hey, at least I live in a pretty place with lots of fresh, local food available.

There's also some intermittent seeing of friends and making of new friends. Oh, and I went hiking at Point Reyes and took a little wine tour up in Napa recently.The view from the hike along the peninsula. There was also a herd of elk along the way.

Getting a little Georgia O'Keiffe-y.

Messing with colors on the camera makes pretty pictures.

Napa, late afternoon.

This exhaustively descriptive and exciting update has been brought to you by a slightly-anxious-at-the-prospect-of-remaining-unemployed new Berkeley-ite.

The simple life

2008-09-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

In an effort to make my life somewhat less convoluted, I've finally paid up to have an unlimited flickr photo account, so all my photos will be hosted there from here on out. Of course, I've made my life that much more complex for the moment, as I'll need to transfer all of this past year's pics over there. Ugh. Why me? (dramatic fist shaking occurring)

It's also meant that my oldest digital photos have been salvaged from the flickr server. Please forgive my entry-level digital photography and captioning. Looking back through the comments I made, I cringe every so often, but in a nod to historical preservation, I'm not altering any, unless there are egregious spelling errors.

Enjoy!

We interrupt this blog to bring you an important message

2008-08-24T11:20:00.001-07:00

For my birthday this year, I was inspired by a friend to urge you to help me help others get clean water in Africa. Click the link above for more information.

I have arrived

2008-08-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

After driving 6,851 miles over 74 days (minus 25 I was out of the country) and spending way more than I bargained for on gas, I have arrived at my quasi-final destination: Berkeley. I am installed in the downstairs mother-in-law apartment at my aunt and uncle's house and am settling in. It feels soooo good to not have a car full of stuff any more!

The days after Yellowstone were uneventful, simply driving back through Wyoming, Idaho, hitting up Nevada for the first time, and coming west into California. Driving through Reno, the most exciting thing I saw wasn't a casino; it was a sign for a Sierra Trading Post outlet store. Unfortunately, I completely missed the exit due to a renumbering scheme that I'm sure was meant to make things easier, however doesn't work so well when the billboards don't keep up. That was sort of the highlight (and subsequent disappointment) of the final leg of driving. Nevada is a fairly uninteresting state to drive through, I hate to say.This dude was highly amused by me taking a photo of the sign, when he clearly just did the same thing, and even pulled over to do it.

I had an interesting driving experience, though, on the day that will heretofore be known as the Day of Things Flying at Me. First it was a bee that was somehow not killed when it hit my car, bounced into my open window (no AC, remember?), hit me, and fell between my front seats. I could see its stunned little body (little relative to me; big for a bee) laying, legs up, below my emergency brake. This made me nervous. Very nervous. I was on edge, which was not a good thing, since I was on one of those windy, steep mountain passes, which are usually fun to drive, especially in a 5-speed. This, however, was one of the most stressful driving experiences of my life. Just try to keep an eye on cars in front of you, behind you, and in the oncoming lane, the windy, skinny road, the falling rock signs, and a Mexican killer bee 6 inches from your thigh (I'm sure that's what it was; what else could sustain a trauma like that and survive to taunt me?). It ain't easy, my friend. It even managed to eventually flip itself over and crawl around, which elevated my blood pressure and my heart rate considerably. Even thinking about it now makes me rather nervous, and I'm just sitting at a bee-free desk. Anyway, it was 20 minutes before I could pull over to extract this death machine from my car using an ingenious method of two sheets of paper as a scooper. Again, elevated vitals. Those things might look all cute and fuzzy and chubby, but really they exist to make people scared for their lives.

Incident 2 on on Day of Things Flying at Me: a rock. I was casually hanging my arm out the window, working on my trucker's tan (which is pretty decent by this time), when a rock from an oncoming work truck flies into the side of my wrist. Ow. People observing me probably got a good chuckle from my reaction(s): pain, shock, embarrassment, and anger, all mimed for their pleasure within a few seconds. And then my arm went back out the window (it was hot).

Incident 3: UFO. I don't know what it was, where it came from, or where it went inside my car, but something hit me in the chest. Not as hard as the rock, but disconcerting nonetheless. (Aside: I was hit - by myself - several times in the arm, head, and back while fly fishing. Those bigger lures can really getcha.)

And now for some more notes to begin to wrap up this portion of our hero's epic journey. This little joke came to me more times than I can remember while driving:
What's the last thing that goes through a bug's head when he hits a windshield? His butt.
It made me laugh a little each time. Eventually, though, I felt rather sorry for some of the nicer bugs that I hit. It was kind of their fault, though - I would see a very pretty something-or-other flying willy nilly down the road, then suddenly veer into my path, like it had a death wish. What if all those bugs that go splat on our windshields are just suicidal? That would be really bizarre, no? (When you drive almost 7,000 miles completely alone, you have time to think these things over as if they are reasonable queries.)

Hay. It's really pretty, especially at this time of year when the fields are being cut down and hay bales (I almost just wrote hales there, which would be a neat conjunction to shorten up farm conversations) are being dried and rolled up in fields. There were many times that I wanted to stop and just look around some farms, clamber around on the 20-foot high bale piles, or take some pictures. There was that nagging fear of being shot from the porch by a slack-jawed yokel that usually won out, though.

One of my new favorite treats, introduced to me by Tori of the Great Sand Dunes (her official title), is Cocoa Roast Almonds. Yum.

Today's driving highlight was on Route 80, approaching San Francisco from Sacramento, where I had to go around a smattering of about 15 or so individual shoes lying in the road. I don't know if there was a pair among them, which was intriguing.

And finally, from the archives, an image which I meant to share earlier but forgot to:This is a stunning work of art. Just look at the movement in the figures, the camera falling to the wayside as the surprised man's bleeding butt cheek goes flying from the bison's horn. I do have a question, however: how many is "many"? It's said so casually, in passing: "Many visitors were gored by buffalo last summer." This was so vague, blunt, and startling that I laughed out loud. Probably not the reaction park rangers were looking for, but, hey.

To be continued when I'm not half asleep.

More states, more parks, more animals

2008-08-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging from the Grand Tetons. Yes, there is wireless in the park (granted, at the we-don't-camp cabins and I'm probably not supposed to be here). But let me back up.

Tuesday I went up through northern Utah to see the Spiral Jetty in the Great Salt Lake. Obscure, I know. But pretty.
Oh, and I passed 140,000 miles on the car while driving the 16 miles (each way) of dirt track to Spiral Jetty! Put the car to the test, especially since it's all loaded up and has super low clearance these days... I also got to ride on an ATV for the first time, simply by random chance. I must say, even though I've always viewed that crowd as gas-guzzling environment-killers, it was super fun. I kind of want to try it again (sheepish grin). Side note: thanks to Tom and Amy, you guys know what you did... and it worked!

Next up: Idaho. Didn't do much but camp there before moving on to Wyoming for the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.

And finally, Wyoming! I took the more scenic mountain route to head up through the Grand Tetons on my way to Yellowstone, rather than battle construction on the alternate route.I got the Tetons pretty early on Wednesday, so did a four mile hike that quickly turned into something more like a seven mile hike. Beautiful and worth it, but I shoulda worn more than sneakers. I got my first glimpse of lots of wildlife as well, including a moose (a cow, not a bull), a doe and two fawns, a wolf (!!!!), a marmot, and tons of birds. I only got a good photo of the moose, though.
I then moved north to Yellowstone to set up camp (luckily right before it started raining), and went on the advice of a friendly park ranger to get up to Old Faithful in the late afternoon, since the crowds might be less. And behold:(More pics here, perhaps not today but soon).

The next day I got my first glimpse of bison (the first evidence, however, was in the form of a large pie in a parking lot. And I mean large). Actually, the first one was quite a close encounter, since it was strolling down the road.Most of the rest were a bit more sensible, and stuck to their greener pastures. It's rutting season, so they were very vocal, but unfortunately I didn't get to see any male virility contests. A German photographer I met let me glimpse through his camera lens (one of those ones that looks like a bazooka, on a tripod) and lo and behold, I was staring at a bison's glistening nostril. Not something you see every day.

I also hit up the canyon falls, some more geysers, and went all the way up to Mammoth hot springs, but truth be told, I was not really in the mood for any more crowds or steaming patches of land. So I kinda just drove by and got some ice cream. But I can say I was there! Oh and I saw another moose, a fox, and passed by a bear, but felt sorry for it with all the crowds already gathered, so just passed by. Traffic was even stopped with so many people crowding around, and when I asked the guy directing cars what all the hubbub was about, he said in the most laconic and unimpressed voice possible, "Bear sleepin' in the woods." "Oh," I said, and moved on.

I actually enjoyed the views and general surrounding of the Grand Tetons more, but spent most of my time in Yellowstone because it's just so big. I drove over a hundred miles yesterday getting from one area to another. But Yellowstone is very diverse, and has tons of roadside vistas... It took me over two hours to drive back to my campsite because I stopped so many times. I was amazed, though, at what a tinderbox it is. There are still lots of dead trees, both standing and criss-crossing the ground, presumably left from the fires of 1988, and I can only imagine what might happen if the same conditions prevail in the near future...

Today I head out, but not before I got to grab a shower (unlimited hot water for $3.50! Seemed like a steal at this point) and, of course, some internet time. From here I go back through Idaho, Utah, and then hit up the new state of Nevada before getting back to California. Not sure how long I'll take to do all of this, but I'll be in the San Francisco area by some time this weekend.

Photos

2008-08-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

More photos from the past couple weeks will be up here soon.

Delinquent (time-wise, not jail-wise)

2008-08-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've written... At first it was due to lack of motivation, then a lack of internet. But now I'm connected again, however briefly, and will try to sum up the past week or two (eep, has it been that long??).

So apparently the Olympics are in full swing. I had completely forgotten about it, but suddenly I turned on a TV and there were lots of men in tights and skimpy suits. If it ain't ballet, it's gotta be world-class macho sports.

After almost a week of fun in Gothic with my aunt Mel, Adam came to hang out for a few days, so we did some really beautiful hikes and hung out at the arts festival in town, eating food on sticks and getting poured on at one point. The people-watching is top notch at a festival in a small hippie/yuppie town. Before hitting the road again, I stayed in Crested Butte with a family friend for a few nights (thanks so much Lucille!). Then it was time to move on.
Out walking Lucille's dogs

Wandering CB

Old (but still young) friends

Gorgeous! Rustlers Gulch hike

Next up: hot springs! No pictures because it was a, ahem, clothing optional place, and you just gotta respect that. But after that, sand dunes!! Wow. Who knew Colorado had so much sand all in one place? They're fairly understated from far away, but once you get up close, you realize just how large and vast they are. More than 30 square miles (I'm told), and the highest dunes reaching about 650 and 750 feet high, they are an awesome sight. It was raining the day I arrived, which I thought would be a big bummer, especially since my tent has decided this is the summer to fall apart and leak, but the rain helped immeasurably the next day, since hiking on compacted, damp sand is about a thousand times easier than hiking on dry, loose sand. As the ridges dried, they got harder and harder to climb up, reducing me to crawling on hands and knees to reach the last few feet, only to slide right back down again.
Creepiest fence ever, on the road to the hot springs.

Approaching the dunes from the campsite.

Words can't suffice.

I met a few young dudes who had thought ahead to bring plastic sleds. They let a few of us atop the second-highest dune try them out, to varied success. Apparently sand doesn't move that fast (unless you are a tiny child, or on a ridiculously steep slope), but it was fun nonetheless. A bitch to get back up to where you just were a few seconds before, though!
I met a fellow female traveller, Tori, on top of the dunes, and we headed to Zapata Falls a few miles away as well... freezing cold water to wade through, but worth the numb feet!
Tori climbin' them falls.

Finally, this past weekend I learned how to fly fish! Didn't catch anything (it's catch and release anyway), but it was fun, relaxing, and the scenery can't be beat. Here's the proof that I did it:
Now I'm in Salt Lake City, to move on into Idaho and Wyoming (Yellowstone) in the coming days. I should be in Berkeley in a week, though!

Streams of alcohol, lakes of whiskey

2008-07-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-26T22:15:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

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

Guatemala II

2008-07-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

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

El Salvador; or, wired on café

2008-07-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

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!

Colombia

2008-06-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

I´m in Bogota! I got in on Wednesday after some heart-pounding moments of travel from Los Angeles. Well, one heart-pounding moment, at least. I was in Mexico City for my four hour layover, but had arrived before 6 am from LA, so was tired, to say the least. Apparently I couldn´t resist the sweet escape of sleep while waiting at my gate, even though I had managed to stay alert for the first three hours... Well, I woke up to find myself completely alone. The hundred or so people who had been my waiting companions had all abandoned me, without even a friendly nudge to wake me up. Even the signs for my flight had been taken down. Needless to say, my heart rate went up significantly. I grabbed my bag and ran over to the door, where there were still a few airline employees... I knew there was a plane there, I just didn´t know if it was my plane (my lack of a working watch didn´t help the situation). Luckily, I was allowed to board (the last one on, but at least they hadn´t given away my seat yet!) and we left - but not before the "caution" light went on in the cockpit (the perfect way to calm one´s nerves) so we had to taxi back for some unscheduled maintenance. Apparently I succumbed to sleep once again, because I didn´t even realize that my flight arrived an hour late to Colombia...

But now, all is well. It´s the day of Mony and Peter´s wedding, so the rest of today will likely be a bit of a blur...

So far since I´ve been here, we´ve all gotten to see a bit of the city, both on a brief driving tour of the Northern areas, and a longer tour yesterday that took us to the historic center of La Candelaria. Besides the fact that our tour guide barely spoke English (most of the rest of our group doens´t speak Spanish) and didn´t provide any historical context for the sites we were seeing, it was a good day. Luckily, a friend of Mony´s family provided us with more substantial guide work. There were some beautiful sites though, and some amazing views of the city. Mom, I even saw the Supreme Court building and took some pics just for you! :) We saw the Presidential Palace (from the outside) and were lucky enough to be there for the changing of the guard, which apparently only happens every once in a while. The guards outside are very polite when they shoo you away from the gate with their AK-47s or M-16s whatever they are. Here´s a photo (thank you Google images) of one of the dirty sky rats in the Plaza Bolivar near the Palace... Yuck.

We also ate lunch at a traditional restaurant (their understanding of what constituted vegetarian food was expectedly different from ours) with two guitarists serenading our group of 25 throughout. It´s nice how appreciative people here are when they learn that I speak Spanish (and I´m amazed at how much I retained despite a year with very little practice). In other news, I think I now have my own personal Mariachi band because I talked to some of them while I was waiting on our bus at the end of the day... They liked a gringa talking to them, even if it was mostly miming through the window! They caught my gist, I think (I was asking them why they weren´t wearing their sombreros; even on break they´ve gotta keep up appearances!).

On Thursday night we all attended a cocktail party at Mony´s apartment which overlooks the city from the mountains to the east (perfect for sunsets, which we saw last night up there). There was schmoozing and music all night; afterwards a large group went to a dance club about a half hour outside the city and we all danced the night away.

It´s been interesting so far to see the city through a different lens, rather than my usual poor student method of doing everything as cheaply and on-the-fly as possible. Since I´m leaving a day after most of the rest of my Pgh group, hopefully I´ll get to see some more at the end of my week here. Until then, it´s wedding today, a BBQ outside the city Sunday, then a trip to Villa de Leyva on Monday, which is known for its crafts and its local villages. I can´t remember the rest of the plan at the moment, but I´ll try to get to a computer again in the next few days to update. Unfortunately, I neglected to bring my camera cord, so unless I find an internet cafe with one of those little card readers, no photos until I reach my home land again next month! But hey, at least I´ve avoided my tradition of having my camera stolen so far this year... Keep those fingers crossed for me.

West coast shenanigans

2008-06-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

(more photos here)

Driving into California from Arizona was fun; you can really tell the difference between the two states' policies and priorities... California had an agriculture checkpoint for all cars, and I passed through an area of Route 10 that had thousands of windmills spinning away. The mountains were really breathtaking as well, all different, fading shades of grey-blue in the distance.

I arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday to stay with my cousin, Annemarie, and her sister Alex came in on Friday. I got the super fun task of driving to pick her up and drop her off at the airport, my first experience driving on LA's freeways in the middle of the day when all of humanity is out en masse. It was well worth it though, since all us ladies had lots of fun this past weekend cavorting with the LA crowd... let the imagination run wild with that one. :)

LA is definitely one of those places that I'm really glad to have people to visit, but I know I could never put up with the city for any extended period of time. But I've finally gotten to see some of the places us East Coasters have always heard about but (at least I) have had some crazy TV-begotten notions about: Hollywood Boulevard, Bel Air, the Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica, Malibu, etc... It's a really pretty place to be, minus the smog that can be seen whenever you're looking down on one of the valleys.

Up next is Colombia! I leave super early Wednesday (more like Tuesday night) from LA to Bogota via Mexico City. I haven't even begun to pack, but I have all day tomorrow to get that done. I keep reassuring myself that being totally unprepared is no predicament, these things usually work themselves out.

Sorry this is a rather bland entry, my mind seems to be elsewhere at the moment. Also apologies to all those people that I meant to call before leaving the country, but because of the time difference between the coasts I never found an appropriate time to get in touch!
The next entry will likely be from Colombia, where I'll be for a week to celebrate Peter and Mony's nuptials within a week of exploring Bogota and the surrounding areas. Until then...

Raising Arizona

2008-06-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

113°. That is why I haven't yet set foot outside today. I'm calling it a "rejuvenation day" rather than a "I'm scared of heat stroke" day. I'm in Phoenix, AZ, couchsurfing yet again for a few days before I go to Joshua Tree in California, then on to Los Angeles on Saturday to see some fam (yay!).

My possessions are not all coping with the heat very well in the car, unfortunately. My Birk clogs have fallen apart, the glue surrendering to the sun gods; even the darkest of chocolate is mere pudding; water bottles frozen solid in the morning are lukewarm in a few hours; and I'm drinking ridiculous quantities of water (and thus making a ridiculous number of associated pit stops). I'm a little worn out, and am looking forward to some cooler temps at some point, although I might have to wait for Bogota to get those...

So here are some notes from the road from the past few days:
There's a town in Texas called Iraan, something that amused me to no end. Even more amusing was Iraan's interesting mix of energy sources: both oil derricks and windmills, hundreds of them all along the ridges. Of course, it was Texas, so Jesus was not to be outdone by some paltry windmills: there was a massive cross perched on an opposing ridge, as if to defend the area from the heathens who dare to impose alternative energy upon the people of this land. Another Jesus-related declaration seen in the great state of Texas: "Jesus Christ is Lord, Not a Swear Word" (on the side of an 18-wheeler).

As I passed through El Paso, I caught a few glimpses of Juarez across the border... it wasn't pretty. Even had I planned on stopping, I was so sick of being in the car that day and so close to my destination in New Mexico, I just bypassed all of it. I was, however, stopped at a border patrol station that funneled everyone off the highway for a few questions from a local sheriff. The guy in front of me with Florida plates was waved right through, but me, with my load of stuff, got a curious look and a few pointed questions such as "Where are you headed?", but with an intonation that I heard as more like "Where do you think you're going, missy?" Maybe I read too much into that one though.

In New Mexico there were lots and lots and lots of dust devils; at any given time I could look on the horizon and see five to ten of them. There were associated warnings about wind and dust at intervals along the highway:

As I drove, the road followed the railroad tracks and gently wound through the stark landscape. There's some poetry in that, I think, although I'm not the person to actually work it out.

NM actually was a low point in the trip, though, since my couchsurfing host flaked out on me, and the campground I found was apparently RV-only (just a gravel lot off the side of the road, not very inviting) and I had little choice but to check into a hotel. It was comfy, but I'm cheap and it made me mad.

Once in Arizona, the sun was so intense that I didn't even want to stick my arm outside the car. It actually felt cooler to just have the breeze within the car rather than the wind rushing by outside. Even at 5:30 pm, the temperature was 108°, down from a high of 112° that day. At the truck stop I stopped at to refill my water bottles and cool off, the guy at the counter told I should go sit in the bathroom, since it was the coolest room in the place. I resisted the temptation to crack some inappropriate jokes there.

Finally, the sheriff in Tucson had a badass Batman symbol as his front license plate, which I would totally have on my car if I were an officer of the law.

To wrap up this post, I leave you with some surrealist art a la moi... (I have no idea if this would actually qualify as surreal.)

(more photos here)

Things forgotten

2008-06-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

(more photos here)

There are lots of little things that I forget to mention as I write these entries, but to me, at least, they seem poignant (or just goofy). So here are a few from the annals of my mind, regarding places and people I saw previously...

On the drive to Tennessee from Kentucky, there was a peacock feather of all things, floating in the middle of the road. On the drive to Houston from New Orleans, there was a huge dead alligator (belly up) on the side of the road. Must have been 8 feet long! Only in Louisiana...

The people in Houston were some of the nicest I've met. Rather than the style of southern hospitality that exists in Louisiana, where people talk your ear off when you ask what time it is (but don't actually answer the question), the people in Houston were genuinely helpful (and then they talked your ear off). One woman on the bus invited me to a children's outdoor fair hosted by one of the oil companies the next day (I said maybe); but then she helped me find my stop and get on the MetroRail, even though it was out of her way. And all I had to do in return was listen when she told me she wanted to be cremated right there in Houston, then have her ashes spread in the bayou, so that hopefully some of them would make it out to the sea. Just a simple request, right?

Another woman, Rosalinda from the Philippines, was the guard in the ceramics room of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. I'm not sure exactly why I struck up a conversation with her in the first place, perhaps I was just ready for some more human interaction after being on my own most of the day. I can't even remember exactly what we talked about, but we probably chatted for a good 15 minutes or so, since there wasn't another soul to be seen in that exhibit. I do remember that she confessed that she didn't like the exhibit that much; she was partial to the medieval paintings.

On the drive from Houston to Austin (oh yeah, I'm in Austin now), up route 71, I felt like I was in classic Texas: ranches all around, longhorn cattle, huge skies, and swarms of bikers (both on hogs and crotch rockets). Oh, and I finally met up with 100°+ temperatures... at 6pm!! Here in Austin last night, I went out to see the Rogue River String Band at Thunderbird Coffee shop (but there was beer there too, go figure). Stephen's (the couchsurfer I stayed with in Houston) brother is one of the members, so in addition to hooking me up with his friends here in Austin to stay with, Stephen provided me with entertainment too! (Thanks Stephen.) They were great, his brother D.W. has an amazing voice. And everyone wore plaid of some sort, but not in a planned sort of way (I hope).

OK, that's enough of my rambling for now... I need to get packed up and on the road! I'm off to Las Cruces, NM, if I can stand the drive in the heat (9 hours, 103° expected). Wish me luck.

(Oh, another thing... I tried alligator meat in New Orleans! I had a bite... well, a tiny morsel of it. According to the bar man, it tastes like chicken.)

map

2008-06-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't really been using the other site with the map feature, I'm just gonna have some fun here with maps. Bear with me as I navigate the world of HTML.

View Larger Map

Map for June 4 - June 15. Gotta love Google. The only thing I can't figure out how to do is link each stop to a date... Oh, well.

Don't mess with you-know-who

2008-06-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

Howdy partner, let's raise and rope broncos! That's right, I'm in Texas.

(more photos here)

I got the itch to move on the other day while in New Orleans, so I packed up and headed west to Houston. I can't say that I'd ever had a burning desire to visit this large state, but so far so good. I'm couchsurfing in the city and went out with my host and some of his friends last night to a place where you get unlimited free appetizers with drink orders, but get this - it's all local/organic food and gourmet. I was in heaven.

Today I'll probably try to navigate the city's public transportation and check out some museums and the business district...

Earlier this week while still in the Big Easy, I got to hang out with some couchsurfers, Erin and Patrick - a good time was had by all. We did a walking tour of the garden district, drove through the lower 9th ward to see the (very minimal) reconstruction efforts there by volunteers, ate lots of food, went to a drag king show on Bourbon St... the list goes on. It actually rained quite a bit this past week, and one day had an absolute downpour for about an hour... As a result, the roads were flooded, the streets were deserted, and the trolleys lost power. Erin and I had a trolley car all to ourselves in the middle of a busy intersection outside Harrah's casino (which we also took shelter in; I lost $1.30) for a little while. It's experiences like these that may seem like inconveniences at first, but really you end up slowing down a bit and taking everything in, not a bad thing.

Miriam and I attempted to go see Rebirth Brass Band play on Wednesday night, but when we showed up to the seedy bar where they were scheduled, it wasn't even open and there were unsavory types loitering nearby, so we hightailed it out of there. Too bad, I really wanted to hear some live local music!

Up next for me is Austin, then who knows? I have to pull out an atlas and work out where to go between here and L.A. Suggestions are welcome for obscure places to go in the southwest!

adventures in new lands

2008-06-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

(more photos here)

My back hurts. I guess that's what paddling 12 miles and being in the sun for over 8 hours straight will do to a girl. It was well worth the pain, though, seeing the Wolf River in Mississippi and doing a bit (a lot, actually) of cleanup along the way.

I met up with two couchsurfers, Darryl and Erin (a Kiwi), and a New Orleans outdoor group guy, Adam, for a wee paddle down a small river near the Mississippi shore. It was thankfully less humid and only partly sunny, which made the day bearable (although my upper legs are a bit pink despite liberal sunblock applications). We took our sweet time paddling/drifting downriver, and the water was shallow enough that we could hop out to run around whenever we liked (or drag the canoes over fallen logs and shallow sandbars). There were a couple good swimming holes and a rope swing beneath an overpass that broke up the trip; all in all a good day.

The rest of the week is wide open, although I'm set to explore the city some more with Erin and some R&R with Miriam... I'll likely get on the road again by Friday, but plans have yet to gel for that.

'nawlins

2008-06-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

(more photos here)

I'm in the Big Easy! I'm crashing with Miriam this week just off Bourbon St in the French Quarter - pretty amazing.

Let me back up - I think I left off in Louisville... since then I've gone to Memphis, where I couchsurfed again, then was up at the crack of 8:30 to a phone call from my Becky in Africa! I was a little out of it, but we managed to chat for a few minutes (albeit not at that hour, a little later - thanks Becky for letting me sleep a little longer). I chose to experience Memphis via the wonder that is Elvis: none other than Graceland. Unfortunately I didn't have either Elvis or Paul Simon on my ipod at the moment, but even I admit that that would have been supremely cheesy.

I do wish I had had some company at Graceland, besides all the whackadoos with southern twangs and an unhealthy love for everything related to The King. It was amusing, however the best part was probably the cookies and cream ice cream for breakfast there. (I'm on vacation, I can do what I want.)

So I arrived in 'nawlins on Friday evening, settled in a bit, then hit the streets with Miriam to grab food and catch some music. (Friends of friends who know people who play music. Obviously.) We woke up early this morning to drop my car in a non-permit/safer area of the city with a fellow couchsurfer, then joined a group of probably 75 people for an urban 'hike' on a Rails to Trails conservancy project that is still very much in the early stages of completion. There were some pretty sweet photo ops along the way that made the heat and humidity worth the trek. (I must say, though, it was one of the longest 3 miles of my life, probably made worse by our lollygagging ways in the heat).

The French Quarter is incredible, but I've already caught a few glimpses of the less fortunate parts of town: a tent city under one of the city highways; a homeless man prostrate on the ground, moaning, without any shade or the willpower to move; the abandoned projects that are slated to be demolished to make way for either high-end homes or mixed-income housing, it wasn't clear which. I'd like to see more of the city in the coming weeks, but also don't want to step on toes or rudely gawk in places where the devastation hasn't been dealt with completely, so we'll see.

Monday I'll be canoeing in Mississippi on either the Wolf or Okatoma River with some couchsurfers - should be fun!

A couple of other notes - I'm working on a pretty wicked trucker's tan/burn from all that driving with my "AC" on (my window open, arm hanging out). Also, I'm mad at Mississippi for messing up my "Welcome To" photo series. Where was their sign??? If it was even there, I maintain that it was minuscule, wholly inappropriate for such a large state. Perhaps I'll try again on Monday when we go canoeing.

Photos

2008-06-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

Since I've run out of room on flickr, and I'm not willing to pay for a bigger account, I'm gonna try out photoshop's new online photo site. Click here for pics!

On my way

2008-06-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

I've now officially left Pgh behind... :(

NYC was tons of fun, as it always is with my old cadre. Got to finally visit the MoMA and wander around Manhattan, read in Central Park, all of the quintessential (i.e. cliche) NYC things.

My last night in Pgh was also a good time, thanks to all those who came out to help celebrate (and the grilled cheese). But this morning (well, afternoon) I was off to begin my big road trip. First destination: Louisville, Kentucky, 400 miles away. The drive was decent, I was kept company by NPR most of the way, until I hit tornado-style rain and winds along the Ohio/Kentucky border. That was buckets of fun.

So now I'm all cozy in Louisville at my first ever couchsurfing house, watching the Pens game and already thinking of sleep. Pics to follow.

Ha

2008-05-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome back! It's quite obvious that I didn't do anything with this blog all year, but now that I'm heading off on a new adventure, it's time to restart my active updates.

I graduated on April 26, and since then have been bumming around Pgh working, seeing friends, and trying to get all packed up/purge my belongings. The plan is to leave Pgh June 4th to begin my cross-country travel extravaganza. For those of you who keep asking and never remembering (cough, Dad, cough), here is the rough plan of action:

June 1-3: NYC
June 4-6: drive to NOLA
June 11(?): begin driving to NM
June 22ish: arrive in LA
June 25: fly to Bogota
July 3: fly to Guatemala
July 16: fly to Mexico City
July 20: return to LA
July 26ish: meet people in AZ to do a Grand Canyon trip
August 2: drive to RMBL in CO
late August: drive to SF
September: find a job! (somewhere betw. Seattle and SF, I figure somebody will want to hire me. I hope)

Total mileage: at least 5200 (eep). Everything is subject to change. Yay for adventures!

Besides seeing parts of this country and others that I've never travelled to before, this is a sort of self-exploratory trip as well: will I be able to stand myself on the road for long days at a time? We'll get the answer to this and many more fun questions as our hero's (my) quest continues.

I may also be using another site that tracks my progress using a map and linked photos if I can get my act together enough to keep up with it. You can click here to see if I've kept my word.

a new era

2007-11-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm not in Bolivia any more. I'm in Pittsburgh, which tends to much less exciting, but fun nonetheless. This blog is now becoming my general website, but I'm probably not going to bother to change any layout stuff, so it'll look pretty similar. I probably won't even post too many entries, but will try to remember to put up photos or links or other interesting tidbits when I come across them.

In that vein, here is an interesting animation that everybody can ponder:

Peru - Machu Picchu

2007-08-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

I headed up to Peru over land, stopping in Copacabana on Lake Titicaca on the way (super fun, beautiful, and we got to watch our bus travel over water to cross from the east side of the lake to the west). I left Alyssa in Copa and headed up to Cusco on my own, meeting many interesting people along the way. In Puno, the first "big" town to hit in Peru, I went out on the lake to visit the floating man-made islands on which a population of about 400 people live (still no pics, as I still had no camera).

Once in Cusco, I ended up waiting an extra day for my Dad and Shae to arrive (stuck in Miami for a night) with almost no money... I did a lot of walking, talking to people, meeting some more really interesting characters. Luckily they did show up the next day, and we got organized to go to Machu Picchu (more work than it should be, trying to get train tickets, etc).

Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu, wasn't anything to talk about, really, but we did a spectacular hike the afternoon that we arrived up Putucusi, about 4 hours round trip, with time at the top to scope out Machu Picchu from above and across the valley. The hike included hundreds of feet of vertical wooden ladders and a total climb of about 600 meters (in about an hour and a half, not so easy). It was well worth the effort, especially since Machu only came into view in the last 5 yards or so, a very sudden reward.

The next morning we were up before dawn to catch one of the first buses up, and there were already hundreds of people in line before us. As the sun came up and the moon was still out, there were llamas wandering the grounds and we got out first up-close views. I can't begin to describe how impressive the work there is: endless terraces, intricate stonework, and lots of mystery as to what in the world those crazy Incas were thinking. After an 11 hour day in the park, tons of walking (including backtracking on the last miles of the Inca trail), and way too many people, we were wiped out.

We headed back to Cusco via the Sacred Valley with yet more grand, sweeping views and Inca ruins, spent another day in Cusco (way too touristy), and then had an eventful bus ride to Copacabana, back across the Bolivian border. This included the bus breaking down at 2 am, a 6.5 hour wait for any new transportation, and finally arriving there after 20 hours of travel. Typical.

Copacabana was bustling by the time I got back there, as thousands of people came in from both Peru and Bolivia for the weekend religious celebrations leading up to the Bolivian day of independence, August 6 (today). The beach scene made me think of what it might have been like in the 1920's on Jones beach or some classic place like that: families picnicking and colorful paddle boats abound.

Way to go, Incas. Awesome work.

Uyuni

2007-08-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

To escape Cochabamba for a little while, Alyssa and I headed to the town of Uyuni, which lies to the east of the large salt flat of the same name. The trip was half bus, half train, which was an awesome ride... We saw flamingos (huge!) and lots of birds on the way, as well as a spectacular sunset. Since neither of us had digital cameras anymore, there are no pics to show at the moment (the banner of this blog is a pic of the salt flat, though, to give you an idea...); we did purchase a "Canon" point and shoot film camera and some film, which I think actually gave us a much greater appreciation of our surroundings, made us really look at things rather than try for the best shots, etc.

It was bitterly cold at night and windy during the day, but the sights were spectacular... we visited the Isla del Pescado in the middle of the salt flat, thus named because in the rainy season, when the entire area is covered in up to a few feet of water, the reflection in the glassy surface makes the "island" appear in the shape of a fish. It´s all covered in cactus and has lots of ancient coral reefs to climb on, as well as volcanic rocks strewn about.

We spent a night in a small village at the base of the Volcán Tunupa, where there were lots of llamas milling around, miles of loosely constructed rock walls (with plenty of rocks to spare in the surrounding fields), a very excited puppy, and of course no heating. The next morning we hikes up to see the remains of some mummies in a cave, complete with ancient pottery... most of the other goods had been sacked long ago. We then climbed up to the first vantage point to see the (inactive) Volcán Tunupa, with its immensely impressive crater. We were hurting a bit on that hike, having come from Cochabamba the day before at about 2600 m to Uyuni at about 3700 m. It was well worth it though, and our awesome guide Walter basically ran circles around us while carrying our small pack for us and not drinking any water.

Pics to come on my flickr site once I get the film developed and put onto CD, or the nice Frenchcouple we were with sends us some digital pics that they took for us.

Long overdue update

2007-07-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Where to begin?

1) Environment Las Americas is no more, at least for the time being... The board is gone, two directors quit, along with a few others, and there is nobody left in the office... We are shut down until October 1, according to the founder and Executive Director who is, to say the least, optimistic (as well as delusional and dictatorial, but that's all for another day).

2) I went to the Festival de la Virgen del Carmen in Independencia northwest of Cbba. It was awesome, a nonstop music and dance fest with some of the friendliest people ever and gorgeous backdrops. Amid dancing with anyone and everyone in the pueblo streets all night, every night, we went hiking in Las Vegas (read: dry area) and visited a mine where they extract and polish beautiful, striking blue rocks (similar to Lapis Lazuli, I'm told, but different). Our final afternoon there, we had in-your face views of the bull running... A little different from Pamplona. To see photos of everything (there are lots), click here or on the photos below.

3) After very little sleep on the ride back from Independencia, Alyssa (a co-worker) and I had a great Wednesday with some Indian-style veggie food in town and a hike up to the Christo de la Concordia, which affords some sweeping views of the city.

4) On the way down from the Christo, Alyssa and I were robbed at gunpoint in front of a handful of people who did nothing... After hours with the police and walking home with nothing but a police report in hand, there was, of course, nobody at either of our houses to let us in. We also found out later that (supposedly) the same four guys who robbed us also robbed two money changers (coincidentally, the guys that we usually go to near our office) and shot them (they survived)... We were told by ramdom people in the market today (Thursday) that it was on the news last night, including a video shot by a journalist of the second crime. We had to go back to the police station this morning to watch the video of the two money changers being attacked and shot to see if we could identify the four guys (really bad images of them, we're still not sure)... It's been a long 2 days.

Despite this completely offensive (not to mention scary) event, I am still loving being in Bolivia. Tomorrow I leave for Uyuni, where the massive salt flat in the south is, then next week I meet my Dad and his wife in Cusco, Peru, to see Machu Picchu... Hopefully in the days before I leave in early August there will be another short trip to the Chapare to go downriver in dugout canoes to visit indigenous villages... we'll see if there's time.

¡Lluvia!

2007-07-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

¡Finalmente, llovió! After more than two months of completely dry weather, it rained last night... for a little while, at least. There's also fresh snow on the mountains to the west. It's also been pretty cold, although it's generally colder (freezing, actually) inside the office than outside, where there is sunshine. As I write I am wearing wool socks and am wrapped up in a llama-wool shawl.

Other, various news:
This weekend I'll be traveling to Independencia, in the west of the department of Cochabamba, to go to a festival for the Virgen del Carmen. Really I'm most excited about the bull running on Tuesday afternoon... :)

My organization, Medioambiente Las Americas, is perhaps on its last legs, unfortunately. Due to various problems with the board and resignations of virtually all of the directors, an impending financial crisis, and a general feeling of discontent with the way things are being done at the top, things are falling apart. I've already completed my requisite 300 hours of work for the internship, so at this point I'm just helping to wrap things up before I travel for the next few weeks (later next week I will most likely leave for Peru with Aurélie, although now there is also talk of southern Bolivia/Chile).

Besides all of that, I'm having a great time. Recently I've been out and about more than in the past. I got to see a play (I actually understood 99% of it!), meet a bunch of artist-types, went to an art opening last night, and have generally been having a blast. Of course, now that my time here is nearing its end, I am figuring out all of the things that I should have done in the previous two months!

La Paz/Tiahuanaco

2007-06-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

What a blast. I went to La Paz for a couple of days, mainly to attend the Aymara new year (also the winter solstice) just outside of La Paz, in Tiahuanaco. We were a motley bunch, with 3 Bolivians, 4 Americans, 2 Germans, and 1 Frenchman. We took an a bus from Cbba and got into La Paz just after midnight on Thursday morning, left our bags at our hostel, and headed straight back out to catch a trufi to Tiahuanaco, just under 2 hours away.

When we got there around 3 am, there were already thousands of people eating, drinking, playing music, and huddling around fires to stay warm. At almost 4,000 meters in the middle of the night, it was freezing outside (there was actually frost on backpacks). Tiahuanaco is the site of a park that holds ruins from about 700 AD, predating the Inca in the area. The ruins aren't actually all that impressive, until you see a celebration like this take place and can sort of imagine what it might have been like back in the day.

Since the gates didn't open until 5 am, there was a lot of standing around, jumping up and down to stay warm, etc. When we were finally let in (estimates range from 4-10 thousand people that day, I think it was somewhere in the middle), paths lit by clay lanterns led us up to the "cheap seats" overlooking the central plaza. There was more sitting around, and to keep ourselves busy we chewed coca, offered up wishes to the four winds, and tried to ignore the fact that we couldn't feel all of our digits.

When it finally started to get a bit light out, we could make out the central plaza, where a large fire was ablaze with offerings from the gathered crowd. There was some music, but the real action didn't start until the sun started to show itself, around 7:15 am. At this point, the entire crowd turned to the east and raised their hands to the first sun of the new year, taking in its energy (I got a lot of energy that morning in the form of a sunburn).

Once the sun was up, there were cheers of "Ayaya Bolivia!" (Aymara for "Viva Bolivia!"). The Aymara flag went up (beautiful), an army band played the national anthem, and then the real party started. Everybody flooded the central plaza, Aymara bands played drums and flutes, and we all danced.

Back in La Paz, we spent the next day and a half wandering and eating. It's an amazing city with breathtaking views. A few more pics before I cut off this long post:

Mikaël, Aurélie, Coco, and me in our hostel room.

Lindenfelser

2007-06-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

Linden = type of tree
Fels = rock (how appropriate)

As my late Grandpa once showed me, we hail from the town of Lindenfels, Hessen, Germany...
Pretty, huh?

Despedida

2007-06-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

As I write, I'm listening to the mariachi band that plays every Sunday at the bar across the street, loud enough for everyone within a 3-block radius to hear... It's good until the 5th or 6th hour, roughly...

One of our workers, Erica, is leaving us today. She's off to Ecuador for another job for the rest of the summer, rounding up high school students who are studying there for 6 weeks. So, we had a despedida for her on Friday night, combined with a birthday celebration for Johanna, another worker. There was lots of celebrating and dancing in a very tiny space - made even more interesting as it was turned into a sort of dance version of musical chairs: whoever was left the odd person out without a partner had to dance with a broom for a song.

Some of our office crew at the party, from left: John (part-time volunteer from Essex), Meghan (national director, her house), Erica (who's leaving), Boria (from Santa Cruz), me, Alyssa (volunteer from D.C.), Erik (director of ecotourism), and Johanna (campaigns). Missing: Ivon, Fatima, Judy.

In other "news", I finally found an artist I have been trying to track down at a local fair yesterday... He makes some wicked cool jewelry, which I am a sucker for, so I bought a necklace from him:

Up for this week: hopefully going to La Paz overnight on Wednesday for the Aymara new year celebration on Thursday, then doing a bit of sightseeing, maybe some biking.

Life cycle of an avocado

2007-06-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

(credit to Steve for the inspiration for the pics, from his artichoke series hanging in my living room)

Fresas

2007-06-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share with you the wonderful image of a delicious strawberry... I've eaten almost a kilo today and last night. I hope they don't give me a bad case of Montezuma's revenge.

Photos

2007-06-13T11:57:00.001-07:00

For more photos, I've started putting some up on Flickr, since Yahoo photos is soon to be defunct. Click here to see them. (My old photos from Yahoo will probably be transfered to Flickr soon too.)

Misadventure in Oruro

2007-06-13T08:44:00.001-07:00

I introduced Animal to some animals, originally uploaded by trekker_neris.

Where to begin? What was supposed to be a nice, 2-night trip to see a volcano and some hot springs turned into a circus of compromises and unexpected delays.

The trip to Oruro was interesting in itself - within a half an hour on the windy mountain roads, we saw an overturned 18-wheeler that had apparently been carrying scrap metal or something of the sort. Luckily it tipped toward the mountain rather than down the precipitous slope, and it even left enough room for our bus to squeeze by. At every town or toll booth we would pick up or drop off market women selling either complete, hot, fried chicken meals, fresh oranges, ice cream, or bread. As people finished their meals on the bus they either threw the trash out the window or dropped their chicken bones and orange peels on the floor. Funny that they kept most of the organic, biodegradable stuff on the bus, and threw the plastic stuff out the window where it'll sit on the roadside for the next few decades. It got dark about half way into the ride, so the views over the 100's-1,000-ft dropoffs ceased, but the sunsets here have always been an awesome sight.

We got into Oruro late and found our hotel (a little over $10/night/2 people, relatively expensive by standards here). Of course there are practically no restaurants or cafes in the town, at least none that are open according to any discernable schedule. I think by then end of the last day we had walked the entire town at least a half a dozen times, for lack of anything else to do. The next day we planned to go to Volcán Sajama, which we were told was about an hour and a half further west towards the Chilean border by a friend who is from Oruro. Well, that was an extremely optimistic estimate. It turned out to be more like 4-5 hours more, but by the time we found that out, it was too late in the day to be able to get there, have time to hike around, and catch the last micro or bus back to Oruro. We had to settle for seeing the snow-capped peaks from the bus between Oruro and Patacamaya, a town on the way to La Paz. We tried to make the most of our stop in Patacamaya by watching a local football game, wandering the market, and approaching mules and other tethered animals scattered throughout the town.

Since Volcán Sajama was a bust, we tried to make the most of our Sunday afternoon and evening by wandering some more, and decided to go to the local hot springs the next morning. This also turned out to be quite a chore, since the micros (5 Bs. or about $0.70) won't run unless they are full, which they will never be on a Monday morning. We ended up paying way too much for a taxi driver to take us there, wait for us, and bring us back to Oruro. This should have taken about a half hour each way, but of course there was a paro on the main roads out of town, so our taxi had to cut through the town garbage dump each way, where other micros and buses were getting stuck in the massive ditches and muck left and right. This also meant that our bus back to Cochabamba that afternoon couldn't get through, so we had to amuse ourselves with more town wandering until about 6:30, when we were lucky enough to get the last 2 seats on one of the first buses back out of town.

ripple - if you use Google to search, please read this!

2007-06-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

I've just read a brief article on an organization called ripple, which has its own search engine that is directly powered by Google (so it basically comes up with the same stuff as a regular Google search). But instead of giving money to the regular advertisers that Google has on its search pages, this org donates 100% of its "ad" revenue to one of 4 charities: water through WaterAid, food through Oxfam, education through Oak Tree, and money through the Grameen Foundation (the microlending pioneer).

So, for any of you who use Google to search, whether you use it once a week or have it as your homepage like I do, please use ripple instead! You'll get the same search results but will be helping a cause at the same time.

For the article that I read, go here (on the WorldChanging site).

Tell all your friends!

World Envrionment Day

2007-06-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today was world environment day, so everyone here at the office spent the day out in the city, handing out information on Environment Las Americas' programs and campaigns and the issues that are affecting Cochabamba, Bolivia, and the Americas. I ended up at the local University de San Simon, getting students to sign up as new members of our organization. While it seems kind of crazy for an environmental organization to be handing out tons of paper, people were actually reading the fliers and talking to us about the issues, which made me feel a bit better about the effort. (Aside: I thought it was kind of funny that Google didn't have some cartoon thing on its home page for Environment Day, but I couldn't find any way to contact them to complain. It seems as important as St Patty's Day or something that gets shamrocks for the O's in Google!)

Other things that are going on: our ongoing work to build up an ecotourism program - right now this involves a lot of planning for a new website, meetings with the tour group that we want to work with, and trying to make lots of new contacts in the ecotourism/community tourism world. We have a really great opportunity to provide an in-depth learning experience for tourists here while helping communities to make money via community tourism, which is seen as one of the last alternatives in many places to growing coca, which generally requires the deforestation of national parks, where many indigenous tribes live. Things are moving pretty slowly, which can be frustrating at times, but I'm hopeful that we can get together a great program.

Also last week a bunch of saw Pirates of the Caribbean - while it wasn't as great as the first one, it was certainly entertaining! Definitely a highlight of my week... This week there is a día feriado on Thursday (a national holiday), so one of the other volunteers, Erica, and I might try to go to Oruro for a few nights to sit in some hot springs and see a volcano. Anything to get out of the city soon. It might also generate some more pictures, since I haven't taken any in the past 2 weeks.

I'm finally getting to know my way around the city, and actually remember how much things should cost in the markets so I don't get ripped off (although it's sometimes hard to feel bad about giving someone a dollar instead of 80 cents...).

update

2007-05-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

OK, so here is a picture for all you folks who have complained at the lack of photos!

This is the view from my room of the mountains to the north... My friend Photoshop put together the panoramic for me, so please excuse the weird coloration...

So far I have been getting into the work that I'll be doing - I've worked on the website (www.environmentlasamericas.org or www.medioambientelasamericas.org for español), with more improvements coming soon. The new director of ecotourism, Erik, will be here by next week, so we can get moving on the project that I'll be working on all summer. We're trying to re-develop an extended (44-day) ecotourism program, which I think will be really interesting.

I've also gotten to tag along to the weekly radio show that our organization started last month on Radio Gente, the third largest radio station in the city. The show this past week was on Kara Kara, the garbage dump that I mentioned before, and the efforts being made to improve the conditions there.

Life is good. Yay for avocados (aguacates) and delicious bread (pan).

I have arrived

2007-05-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in an area of the city called Cala Cala (North of downtown). From my window I can see the mountains, and from the kitchen I can see the statue of Cristo lit up in blue at night. It is a bit noisy around here, but it's only about a 10 minute bus or taxi-trufi ride to downtown.

So far I have slept a lot and had some good meals. Yesterday I ventured out with Meghan, the national director for Environment (medio ambiente) Las Americas, who showed me around a bit, and bought some food. Today I went to the local garbage dump with Erica, one of the other volunteers here. She is working on a project concerning the living and working conditions for the community that both lives and works in and on the dump. These people eek out a living by sorting through the massive garbage pile for recyclable materials to sell back to various companies. One woman that we talked to said that she made 300 bolivianos (a little over 30 USD) in several months of work there. I wasn't able to take any pictures, as it is forbidden there.

More to come as I start to get a feel for the city... Tomorrow there is supposed to be a paro (a blockade) in the city, which, depending on the size and length of it, could make travel and buying food hard for the next few days. We'll see!

Hasta luego

For those (Mom and Grandma) who want to send letters, my address is:

Nerissa Lindenfelser
c/o Medioambiente Bolivia
Joel Camacho No. 2340
Cala Cala
Cochabamba, Bolivia

Please make sure any packages (if there are any) are under 2 pounds, otherwise there is some outrageous pick-up fee for me ($15 or something like that).

I'll be using Skype to be in touch with most people (username: nerissal).