I´m still alive, and Rio bound soon!

Hi everyone! I was seriously out of internet access for 2 weeks. Feels good to be back in civilization again. Civilization would be Salta, Argentina, by the way.

I did end up doing that Coricho road mountain bike trip. The road really was the most dangerous one in Bolivia. There were two trucks that went over the edge in the past week. I wanted to get a photo but Julio, the guide said it would be in poor taste since people died. He´s right, but the photo would´ve been cool.

After that, riots started erupting in La Paz, so I got out and went up to the Amazon for a week. I treked in the jungle, czeched out all the "toxico" insects, drank water out of a tree, and swam in the Amazon river. After that I headed to the pampas to meet all the alligators, monkeys, pink dolphins and stuff. The guide, Juaquin, would make Steve Irwin look like a pansy. He grabbed alligators for us to inspect, wrestled cobras and andaconda snakes out of the marsh for photos, and showed us how to fish for pirahanas. I was the only one who caught them. Must´ve been all that wonderful fishing Papa and I did when I was younger. I also swam with the pink dolphins and alligators. You know, alligators will only bother you if you are near a nest. Not that I´m speaking from experience or anything...

Then the rainy season really did arrive and I was stuck in Runnebaque until the grass runway dried enough for a plane to take off. There were tons of other backpackers in the same boat as me so it made for a very entertaining time. The only bar there floods in heavy rain. I met my first farmer traveler. He runs a sheep and corn farm in Australia and takes time out inbetween harvest and shearing to travel. The plane that finally took me away was so small that we had to wear oxygen masks in flight. I got a photo of the pilot taking photos out the window while flying the plane.

By the time I made it back to La Paz, the riots had stopped. I was done with the city anyway though and went on to southern Bolivia to czech out those salt lakes everyone kept raving about. I went on a group tour, and the other backpackers I was with were hilarious. Good thing we all got along since we were seven in a small 4x4 jeep for 3 days. The first night we played a game of strip poker and when Jilian, the French dude, had to start showing skin, all the other French backpackers in the hostel shouted, ¨Viva la France!¨and took their clothes off as well. Just in case any of you are curious, I fared very well in the game. No worries.

Our guide didn´t speak English, the tour reminded me of the one I did in Turkey. He´d make random stops at various places and just point and say the name in Spanish. I did work out most of it, like vizcahas are like large chinchillas, and live in the random rock islands in the salares. Aren´t you glad you know that now? The best part was the Sol de Manana. There were geysers, mud pools and a NON- sulfur hot spring where we soaked all morning, feeling quite in need of a bath after 3 days without.

I nearly missed the bus to San Pedro de Alcama, Chili. Just my luck that the bus driver happens to be the only anal-retentive Bolivian in existance (My friend Gary calls Bolivia the country of "nearly"). I couldn´t find my ticket fast enought and had to throw myself in front of the bus shouting, ¨No salga, por favor!¨ The last thing I needed was to be left stranded in the middle of the desert. I got quite an audience, with my little spectacle, but it worked. I got on the bus and then found my ticket. I also became friends with two wonderful Brazilians, Shenk and Mauro, who let me come along with them in their comfy SUV to Salta, Argentina. It was a 12 hour trip, and I kept them entertained with travel stories. They wanted to hear every bit about my journey, since May, and said not to leave out details, since there was loads of time. I learned Portugese, got great tips for Rio, and ideas for places to go afterward, in Brazil.

I feel like this is long enough as is. I have too many emails to read and try and answer now. Hope you are all well and the Bostonians are surviving the snow.

All my love, Carla

Movin´ Right Along in South America

Heidi and I left Cusco and headed on to Lake Titicaca. The islands there are beautiful and, I thought, as nice as the Galapagos islands were. There is one called Uros, which is made entirely of reeds and floats in the water, like a cork. The Peruvians who live there never leave, as the guide said. They get everything they need from the island reeds and the lake. When I asked how they manage to kill the birds they eat, he replied, "with guns." So I guess they do have to leave sometimes, eh, to buy guns? I am getting quite sarcastic as I grow travel weary. The other island Taquile, had no Taquila that we could find, but also didn´t have dogs, cars, or bicycles. Made for a nice change from the mainland.

Heidi and I made friends with 4 others on our island tour that day, and went out for dinner with them that night. One couple is from England. More Brits to be friends with! The others were Canadian and Irish. Eddie had us all in stitches with his Irish humor, as the Irish do. I learned a bunch new cards games that evening in the bar, and got invited to dance the salsa with a Peruvian called Thomas. He was a very good lead. I think I may like the salsa better than swing!

I had gotten my fill of islands in general, and the Peruvian culture, so when Heidi left for Boston, I left for Bolivia. I took a very long and rather complicated bus/boat ride across the lake to Bolivia. When we reached the waterway, the driver had us get off the bus and board this tiny boat I was sure would sink with the amount of people who got on. It was a lot more sturdy than the raft the bus was driven onto, in order to get it across to Bolivia. That raft was so dilapidated looking, I just had to take a photo of it. Alison, I am becoming as photo savvy as you now!

So here I am in La Paz, for a bit of rest and regroup to where I go to next. There are heaps of things to do from here. Today I walked around in Valle de la Luna, which looked like a cross between the Badlands of South Dakota, and Bryce Canyon in Utah. After I was completely winded from walking around the trails (the altitude just kills you here) I had to czech out the "kick *ss zoo" as the writer in the Lonely Planet described it. Well, I think the zoo in Cairo was better, that´s how pathetic this was. I can say I have visited the highest zoo in the world, but the animals were nothing to write home about. I may have to write to the Lonely Planet and tell them they need to redescribe the zoo as "sucks *ss."

I´m just biding time until I meet up with the La Paz Hash at a bar here in Zona Sur tonight. Zona Sur is the wealthiest neighborhood in La Paz. Guess the "south end" of every city isn´t like Boston´s Southie, eh? Makes me a bit homesick, really, thinking of Southie.

Tomorrow I will czech out all the markets in the center of La Paz. Apparently there is a Witches Market that is reputed to sell some dodgy items. This girl, Allison, from Texas, who walked around the zoo with me today, was there yesterday and she told me they sold animal fetuses! Ewwwwwww! Makes me think of Harry Potter, when he accidently got stuck in that sketchy part of Diagon Alley.

I haven´t decided if I want to snow board down the highest peak in South America, or mountain bike down the steepest slope in South America, or just get on a bus and go see the Salt Lakes in Southern Bolivia. Mom, don´t worry, I think the latter will be the winner.

Love and miss you all!

Surpaiki Apu!

That is an Inca blessing that was said at the top of the mountain on the Inca Trail. I put coca leaves under some rocks and said "Surpaiki Apu!" It is supposed to bring good luck and it worked. Even though it was the rainy season, it barely rained at all. The Inca Gods were in favor of me having a great experience here in Peru.

I flew to Cusco from Lima with my friend Heidi and we spent a couple of days getting used to the high altitude. The first day here I had trouble breathing and my heart was racing. I think that is how people with heart failure must feel! Cusco is a beautiful city. It used to be the capital of Peru, until those darn Spaniards came and colonized the country. They changed it to Lima so they could have a port capital. There is plenty to do around Cusco. There are tons of museums, shops, churches, and ruins galore. Heidi and I saw just about everything. We also met up with two very nice doctors from Boston, Aswama and Dennis. They had been doing volunteer surgery the past two weeks in Cusco and were taking some time off to do some sightseeing. Just our luck they were on a private tour of the ruins in Cusco. They let us join them then took us out to lunch, and then we all had fun drinking and playing games in the bar that night. I played about 10 games of backgammon with Aswama and only won twice. Being from Beruit, he is quite good, and the beer consumption didn´t help my concentration at all. Aswana had some hair raising stories of his medical days in Beruit, during the war, but my favorite one was how he proposed to his wife, an anesthesiologist, over an open heart surgery.

We left for the Inca Trail the next day, and started at mile 82, in a small town called Chilca. The whole trek would be 42 kilometers and take us 4 days. I was so excited to do some backpacking again and see the countyside of Peru. The trip exceeded my expectations. We had 16 great people in my group and a wonderful guide, Juan. The first day we came across a drunken Peruvian fast asleep on the trail with his backpack still on! I should have taken a photo but felt it might make him angry.

The second day was the most challenging. We had to hike uphill for 4 hours straight. I was really feeling the weight of my pack by then. Chris, an Aussie, was having a tough time of it, with altitude sickness, so we kept each other company. We were at 13,000 feet, with a 1,200 meter assent. The two of us kept each other moving and laughing once the others long past us. Chris got a classic photo of me imitating the drunken Peruvian on the trail. He and I also took our minds off our discomfort by talking about our friends, family and love lives. Thinking about all of you our there kept my energy going. I thought Chris and I would miss lunch, we took so long to make it to the camp, but we just made it with 10 minutes to spare! His girlfriend was a little annoyed at him, for taking so long, but I suggested he pick some flowers to hand to her at camp, and it worked. Guys, you can NEVER go wrong with flowers!

The third day was the longest, but we saw 7 Inca ruins along the way. Juan was amazing with his knowledge of the Inca history. Made me want to go out and get a book and read more about them. The last night we stayed in a campsite with a bar. We had dinner in a civilized manner at a table indoors and got to drink some Peruvian beer and dance the salsa. I didn´t stay out late though because we had a 4 am wake up call to hike to the Sun Gate in time to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. Unfortunately our good luck with the Inca Gods had expired by then since it rained that morning and clouded over the valley. By the time I made it to Machu Picchu it had cleared, however, and there was no one there but us. My photos are just incredible! It was probably the hardest hike I´ve ever done, but I feel so good having accompished it. Thanks Mom, for loaning me your hiking boots. They saved my feet!

We stayed a night in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu, and famous for their hot springs. A bunch of us from the group all trouped over there after spending the day walking around Machu Picchu and sat in the hot spring for 3 hours! There was even a place to buy beer while you soaked, but I was quite content just soaking sober. We did a massage circle and everyone fought to be in front of Heidi, since she is a massage therapist.

Now we´re back in Cusco, for a day, and tomorrow we take a bus to Puno. Lake Titikaka is suppose to be very beautiful and a few of our new Inca Trail friends are heading in the same direction. I am
sending my love and thoughts to you all!