Peru-zing South America

A Typical Week in Bocas (well for me anyways)

2011-10-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

I am yet to give any detailed accounts of how the pre-school is going here in Bahia Honda. One of these days, the post will cover nothing more than the adorable little children I am working with, but not this one (But, yes, the kids are maybe the cutest things I have ever seen in my entire life). I thought I would let you all in on the typical “work” week I have here in Panama. I have to pinch myself when I think about it, cause I am honestly not sure how, exactly, I got to this place. Every moment here has been an absolute joy and is the perfect icing to top the cake (the cake being the past year in South America of course).

Sunday: Due to my obsession with sports, I have developed a routine which allows me to spend this splendid day in the main town of Bocas del Toro. Margaret and Henry recently began renting a small apartment, with A/C and internet, which they use more or less as an office for when they are in town. It’s the perfect place for me to crash when in town and allows me the opportunity to go out for a drink or two on Saturday nights and then watch some football on Sunday.

Monday: The past two weeks I have spent both Saturday and Sunday night in town. I would prefer to head back to the lodge Sunday nights, but it is close to a $20 boat ride so I wait until Monday when Henry, Margaret and Lucho come to town for their weekly errands. We spend the day in town and in the early evening, around five, we had back to the lodge where we have a small meal and a calm night (some may call it the calm before the storm).

Tuesday: Typical arrival day for guests of the lodge. La Loma Jungle Lodge is only open from Tuesday until Saturday (when all guests must depart), and as a result most guests arrive on Tuesday and stay four nights. Henry, Lucho and I go into town in the morning where Lucho is dropped off at his pre-school, Tangerine, until the afternoon. Henry and I head back to the apartment to shoot out emails or take care of various other tasks that need to be done. At one, Henry picks up Lucho and brings him to me at the apartment, he is my responsibility from that point until we head back to the Lodge. Last week I took him to the park for most of the day and this past Tuesday I took him to a swim lesson for most of the day. I couldn’t help but laugh as all the mothers walked in with their kids and I was there, the 23 year old “Manny”, changing Lucho into his swim shirt while the other mothers lectured/prepared their kids. Once all the guests arrive, it’s back to the lodge for what is almost always an absolutely mouth-watering dinner.

***I have to touch on the food briefly. If you recall, when I first got this gig, I was told I could eat dinner with the guests and then, more or less, fend for myself on the other nights. If only I had known what that truly meant. The Lodge was featured in a 2008 edition of Food and Wine and has received only the best reviews from previous visitors of the Lodge. Needless to say, the food is amazing and allows my taste buds to continue to expand their palate of savory flavors.***

Wednesday: Pre-School!!! Every Wednesday we have class from about 8-11am. For the past few classes I have been kayaking to school, about a 10-15minute ride, with a few materials at the front and listening to my ipod (in a plastic bag, of course). Class Routine….

Due to a variety of circumstances, we end up starting class around 8:30 every morning with Quien Esta?(Role Call) and the Buenos Dias Song (Good Morning Song). We then follow up with about 30-45 minutes of some sort of theme for the day, whether it be numbers, animals, alphabet or colors; we try to incorporate singing, reading and drawing somewhere throughout. Next comes hand-washing and bathroom time, followed by a glass of water for everyone. Then we head to the park at the top of the school grounds and play for around 20 minutes. Upon our return, and after another b-room/hand washing run, it is snack time! We generally provide a muffin or some sort of healthy treat for the kids, made fresh the night before by the staff at La Loma Lodge. Lastly, we end the day with story time and reading. I try to read at least one story to the kids and then allow them to read (look at pictures) on their own.

After class I hang around and do some cleaning up, then kayak back to the Lodge. Once I get settled in it is normally close to lunch time (1pm) and I join the guests, if they aren’t out on an excursion, for another splendid meal. Though I have no other obligations on Wednesdays, I generally end up helping out quite a bit around the lodge. Again, a marvelous dinner served at 7pm, some lovely conversation – generally getting to know the guests better – and it’s off to bed.

Thursday: I mentioned above that I only eat lunch with the guests if they are not out on an excursion, well Thursday is one of two days when I have enough time to potentially join the guests on whatever excursion they may be embarking on. Last Thursday I joined two couples as they headed out to the Zapatillas Islands. It is about a 45 minute boat ride from the Lodge and along the way there are a variety of snorkeling spots. The islands are exactly what you think of when you imagine the islands the couple is seated on in the Corona commercials, sipping their beers: Long, golden sand beaches; beautiful clear water with a very small shore break and, literally, a jungle directly behind you. We were only missing the beers, unfortunately, though I will not make that mistake again (because, yes, I will have the opportunity to return at least once more!). There is only one small issue with me joining for these excursions, and that is my Thursday night English class which I am teaching to the local Ngobe adults. Every Thursday and Friday night I have been giving classes, free of charge, to anyone in the Bahia Honda community. My most recent class I had eleven students. Class is from 4:30ish until 6pm or sun down when I kayak back to the Lodge (classes are right next door to the school at the local restaurant). Per usual, 7pm dinner, and an early bed-time on a school night!

Friday: Double Day. Pre-School in the morning, English at night. My busiest day of the week, but gives me a reason to celebrate the weekend! Also, Friday’s are usually the last night for guests since the Lodge shuts down from Saturday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon.

Saturday: Departure day, back to Bocas. Since guests are leaving on Saturday, it means a boat is head into town and I am always on it. Depending on the flight times of the guests we will leave early morning or late afternoon. I was actually lucky enough to join a group two weekends back for an early morning cave excursion prior to heading into town! Besides the entrance to the caves, where thousands of bats are hanging from the ceiling, it was incredible. Not to say the bats weren’t neat to see, but considering I was bare foot , walking in guano (bat shit) wasn’t the most appealing thought. Anyways, that is not the normal routine. So I usually get into town by around 3 or 4 in the afternoon and settle down in Henry and Margaret’s apartment for the night. Occasionally I’ll go out for a drink or two, but generally just catch up on some emails, blogging, fantasy football, etc…and hit the sack.

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

2011-10-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Role Call -- Day One

Day One: Class Shot!

Day One: Class Shot! (2)

Dania

Fredi

Paint Time!!!

Story Time

Jenifer

Joel

Josef

Mayeli

The Very Hungry Caterpillar...read this one as a kid myself!

Rubiela

There were 13 kids on day one and 17 on day two...only doing classes on Wednesday and Friday mornings for now. The kids are wonderful! I will hopefully write a better post tomorrow!!!

Fifty-One Weeks…90 years

2011-10-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

I know that my blogs tend to get long sometimes, so for those of you more interested in the goings-on’s at the Lodge and the development of the school (and not my spiel about my upcoming trip to San Diego), feel free to skip the first paragraph.

It has been fifty-one weeks since I last set foot on American soil and 90 years since my grandmother was born. I only wish her birthday were next week, as I would have then completed exactly one full year in Latin America without ever returning home; but then again, coming up short by a week isn’t so bad either (probably better than most of you expected! Ha!). In fact, her birthday is the sole reason I am returning back to the States’ and I couldn’t be more excited! Nearly my entire family on my mom’s side (about 25 people, ages ranging from one to, well, ninety) will be flying in either today (Thursday) or Friday and staying for the weekend to celebrate the life of our incredible mother, grandmother, and friend. I can’t express how lucky I feel to have the opportunity to return home for this wonderful event. If I had to rank the things I missed most from home, family would undoubtedly take the cake, and I will be fortunate enough to be surrounded by nearly all my family in this brief vacation home. (While on the topic, friends (a close second), food (Mexican, In-n-Out, Sushi), and football, would probably have to round out the top four; but I will return to that in a minute.) I am not sure about all that is planned for this upcoming Fentin Family Reunion, (and for those wondering, yes, we are absolutely the kind of family who normally has shirts made for these events--I’ve found my collection over the years to be great for any kind of manual labor) but I do know that Saturday night my dad is cooking dinner for the entire family, which will probably be the best meal I’ve eaten in months, while we celebrate the life of my wonderful Grammy. As for those other things I mentioned...I’m hoping to go out Thursday night with some friends and a few of the age appropriate cousins! And since there is “always room for one more at the Fentin’s” (a t-shirt slogan we once used…) I expect my friends to be coming and going (and possibly sleeping…Mac) from the house to join in any games (corn-hole, ping-pong, cards) or activities we will undoubtedly decide to take part in. Besides the delicious meal I am sure I will be helping to prepare on Saturday night for the birthday celebration, there are a few other delicacies that must be had on this trip home. (1) In-N-Out; for those of you yet to try it (or hear about it, living under a rock?), you don’t know what you’re missing, and I, in fact, had a 3x3 (three meat patties, three slices of cheese), animal style (topped with grilled onions, lettuce, cheese, pickles n tomato) with a chocolate shake on my way home from the airport last night. Many trips will be made to Roberto’s for their California Burritos and potentially some taquitos as well, at least one sandwich from Board-n-Brew, and if I am lucky (you’re reading this mom, right?) a going away dinner at Nobu! Last, but definitely not least, FOOTBALL. For those unaware, my 49ers are currently 2-1 (should be 3-0) and in first place in the NFC West. Since I am still unsure of when I will be returning to the States’ this coming weekend may possibly be the only 49ers game I get to see all year and thanks to my sister and her boyfriend ordering NFL Sunday Ticket, that is currently the only other plans I have set in stone for my time back home. I will be planted firmly on the couch, laptop next to me checking my fantasy teams, looking for my friends Isaac and Amy on TV watching the Niners’ destroy the Eagles on Sunday morning! (Hey, gotta be optimistic right?) That just about covers San Diego, now an update about the Lodge!

I realized I failed to discuss the people I am living and working with at the lodge in my last post, so I thought I would start there:

Henry, Margaret and Lucho – Henry and Margaret built and run the lodge and have been doing so in Bocas for six years (they have been in Bocas for eight, but it took two years to build the lodge). Henry is from Peru originally, but moved to Pasadena, California when he was five and grew up there. Though he is not exactly the most knowledgeable person about sports (my favorite topic of conversation), we get along quite well. Margaret is from England and the two of them met at a very small school in California (I don’t recall the name). Lucho is their three year old son who I will be watching on occasion throughout my stay. When he chooses to use his words, he has quite a thorough vocabulary, but he often chooses to whine instead. He will definitely be a handful on his “bad days”, but is a good kid at heart and hopefully won’t give me too many problems.

Hilda, Bolivia, Fidelina – three women who often hang around the lodge, Henry and Margaret give them as much work as they can find to help support their families. Hilda is probably in her early thirties and has nine kids, not sure about Fidelina, and Bolivia has more than I can count or remember. They are a bit shy around us gringos, but you can tell they mean well in all they do.

Mr. Kelly, Roger and Tio – The three workhorses on the farm/lodge. Mr. Kelly is the foreman and lives in his own house he built on the property. He comes from West Indian heritage and was brought up speaking their own dialect of English, quite entertaining to talk to. Roger is a bit younger, maybe around my age, and is a good work and also an athlete. He plays baseball for the Bahia Honda team and I’ve already gone to practice with them once and plan on attending many more over the next two months! Tio is, in the simplest form, a freakin worker. If I had to guess, he is the oldest of the bunch, but you wouldn’t guess it based on their work ethic as he is constantly on the go from chore to chore.

There are a bunch of others who come and go on occasion and I am sure I will get to know many more as the community feels more comfortable having me around. As for my schedule at La Loma…I mentioned in my last post I was going to be meeting with the community to discuss the pre-school and other potential opportunities to help. My first day of pre-school is officially on October 5^th, the day after I return from the States’, and is from 8am-10:30am. For now, I will be giving classes every Wednesday and Friday morning, if all goes well we will hopefully add a Monday as well. Not only will I be giving classes to the 3-5 year olds in the community, I have also arranged to teach English to the indigenous adults every Thursday and Friday night from 4:30pm-6pm. There seemed to be a lot of interest in both the pre-school and English classes at the meeting, so I can’t wait to get the ball rolling and see how things go.

Above/Below are a few pictures of the pre-school. It is far from comparable to any school I ever attended in the States’ and prior to spending two and a half hours sweeping, killing spiders, washing the tables and clearing out the trash; it wasn’t anywhere near fit for the children to enjoy. Hopefully the bit of cleaning I did will help, and after a few days of decorating and sprucing up the walls, it will be a much more kid friendly environment.

Thanks for checking out the photos and I’ll get back to you after my first week of classes!!!

Welcome to the Jungle!

2011-09-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

I apologize, as usual, for the loooooong gap in entries. According to my records, I have quite a bit of catching up to do, including the following topics:

Casey and Jmac visit

Leaving Peru

Medellin, Colombia – Including my dad’s visit

My cousin Danielle and her friend, Justine, joining me in Panama

…but for now I am going to skip all that and jump to present day.

As of last Monday, I have finally made it to my last destination on this crazy journey throughout Latin America; Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro, Panama. For those who do not recall (or simply never read), this last stop has a chance at being the most rewarding and life changing experience yet to date. As a brief reminder (or maybe not so brief), prior to arriving in Panama I had very little knowledge of what I would be taking part in down here. There were possibilities of developing a pre-school, or helping coach a children’s baseball team, or constructing new water treatment basins, all of which would take place in the nearby indigenous community of Bahia Honda. What I did know for sure (or so I thought) was the condition of housing and food that would be provided me. I would be living at La Loma Lodge, a lodge run by a gringo (a perfectly acceptable and non-offensive term in Panamanian) couple named Henry and Margaret, with no electricity (meaning no internet…ahhh!!) in the middle of a rain forest. I would be welcome to eat alongside the guests of the lodge on the days there were guests (usually Tuesday to Saturday) and scrounge for myself/eat with Margaret and Henry on the other days. Beyond this, I had next to no information regarding how my stay would go, who else I would meet and what else might take place. To put it simply, I was taking a true “leap of faith,” “shot in the dark,” or whatever else you may call it. Needless to say, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I was more than ecstatic to be taking part!

A couple of friends joined me for my first shower at the lodge...

To be perfectly honest, I still have next to zero idea what I have gotten myself into…but I do have a few more details. To my surprise and relief, the lodge is equipped with a few solar panels (four new ones were just installed this week) which provides enough electricity to use light fixtures in the evening and even charge electronics such as a laptop or camera on particularly clear, sunny days (which happen to be quite common here). Now, I can only imagine what some of you negative Nancy’s must be thinking, “What about the bathroom/shower situation!?? Gross!” Well, you couldn’t be more WRONG! Due to the fact that this is a lodge, where people pay to come on vacation, the four cabins, and the main lodge are all equipped with a full bathroom, toilets that flush and showers that provide warm water (though I can’t imagine one truly desiring a hot shower with all the humidity). There is, however, one caveat. For my first two weeks here at the lodge there will be no guests and therefore I am staying in Cabin #1. After those first two weeks, and once guests start trickling in more and more weekly, I will be moving to the Rancho (or so it is called). While this will also be equipped with running water, a hot stove, hammock and bed, I will NOT have direct access to a bathroom/shower and will have to walk about 500 feet to gain access to such accommodations.

As for what I will be doing here in the Bahia Honda community, the exact details are still a bit vague. On Wednesday, Margaret and I have scheduled a meeting with the community for those parents interested in having their kids attend some sort of pre-school/activity club. We are hoping to run the club two or three times a week and will be looking for parent volunteers (since without them, I will be the only one coordinating and running all the activities). As mentioned before, I am also hoping to start a youth baseball team with another member of the community and employee at the lodge, Roger. He plays on the adult team here as well, which I am hoping to join! Lastly, for a small fee, I will occasionally be watching Lucho, Margaret and Henry’s three year old son, during the week when guests are here and the two of them are too busy to tend to all of his needs. To go along with these activities within the community and lodge, I have also set a few of my own goals. (1) With the assistance of a book and my past experiences, I am hoping to develop a daily yoga routine (2) Henry recently purchased kayaks (which are yet to arrive) and I hope to take one out every morning (or most) along the bay for a morning workout/swim/wake-up (3) lastly, finish the eight books I have collected along my journey and hopefully more that have accumulated here in the lodge (I have already finished one: A Civil Action).

That’s all for now. I know say this after every post, but with the lack of internet at the lodge, I expect to have plenty of time at night to update my blog and will hopefully be able to post a new one once a week when I come into town and access the internet.

Before I go, I want to wish my mom a happy belated birthday AND want to inform any of my San Diegan readers that I will be back in the 858 for a long weekend from September 28^th until October 2^nd for my grandmothers 90^th birthday! I hope to see as many of you as possible during my brief vacation back home!

Bring On the Tourists!

2011-06-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Over the past two weeks I was lucky enough to have a few visitors from the US. First to arrive, with no more than a week and a half notice, was my good friend from Villanova, Steve Gentoso. For those of you unaware of who this young man is, he is the brave soul who ventured with me on BOTH of my journeys driving across the country last year. Both routes, to and from SD to Philly; oh, and he also happened to play on my rugby team with me. Upon his arrival, I immediately sent him on a solo journey to the North of Peru to visit Mancora. Due to the short notice of his arrival, I had work all week in Lima, so I sent him up to the beach towns where I knew he would enjoy himself more (he did). He made it back to Lima by Friday in time to meet up with another friend of mine from ‘Nova who had arrived in Peru to volunteer in hospitals, Kaela.

We had a few drinks Friday night, but since I had a rugby game Saturday, we didn’t go too crazy. Saturday, Steve and Kaela came and watched my game, we won! The two of them had arrived on the perfect weekend as a buddy on the rugby team was celebrating his birthday at his aunt’s Peña. A Peña is a traditional Peruvian music club filled with folkloric music/shows, dancing, drinking and eating. Needless to say, we had a blast, and they got to know a bunch of guys from the team. The following week, Kaela and Steve made their way back up to Mancora for another sun-soaked week. I, unfortunately, could not accompany them due to work and the fact that I will be going in two weeks with Casey and J-Mac.

After another week up North, Friday night, Steve made his way back to Jersey (for Father’s Day) and Kaela made her way back to Lima. Once again, I had a rugby game Saturday (my LAST one down here!), so we took it easy that night. Another convincing win and a delicious BBQ at the field kicked off the Saturday festivities. Following the game, we all made our way to check out a new bar in Miraflores which may soon become our official team bar. We spent the night drinking, enjoying a bit of food and possibly a little too much laughter. It was a treat to spend such a memorable last game/night with my team, Old Markham, and I look forward to my next chance to play with them in the future (Possibly this Halloween)!

A quick note…I have failed. It is difficult to admit, but it is true. My attempt to spend 500+ days basking in the sun, tanning and enjoying the smiles that a beautiful, sun drenched day puts on each and every individuals face has ended at almost EXACTLY one year. If you include the last month or two of my senior year at Villanova (April and May), I was able to arrive, be it by plane, train, bus or automobile, to a land of sunshine and smiles during my journey around the Americas during the last year. Be it the beautiful beaches of San Diego, the gorgeous mountains of Vermont, the sun-stretched Andes in Argentina, or the beautiful sunsets in Peru, the sun has been there to join me through it all. Until now; thus, I have failed. But fear not, as I am back to chasing the sun North as I head to Colombia and then on to Panama in the coming months! Bring me back my sun!

My next round of tourists will be arriving tomorrow and early Thursday morning. We quickly head to Cusco this weekend for the Inti Raymi festival (one of the largest in Peru all year) and a stop off at Machu Picchu. Like I mentioned before, we will then head up North to Mancora for six days, and then they are back to the States.

Since I don’t see myself posting while the two of them are here, Happy Fourth to everyone who follows! Have a wonderful long weekend when it arrives and be proud to wear the Red, White and Blue…we are lucky to be so privileged!

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.” - JFK

Riding in Comvi's with (Peruvian) Boys

2011-06-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

For those unaware…the title is a play on the title of the movie Riding in Cars with Boys. Though I have never personally seen the movie, it fit too perfectly for me to pass up the opportunity! Just a couple of funny/heart-warming stories to relay to ya’ll!

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I often forget exactly where I am in the world while I get caught up in that little thing called LIFE down here in Lima. Anyways, the other day brought me back a few years. While taking a comvi home from rugby practice, a young couple (I am talking 13-ish), took a step on the crowded bus, looked around and immediately got off. Most inexperienced traveler’s here in Lima would assume they were just waiting for a less crowded bus. While they would be factually correct, there intuition would be failing them; as the true reason for the couples’ quick turn-around on the bus is that no seats were available for them to make out on! This immediately got me thinking about the little nuances similar to this in the US. Where as in the States’ you often find young couples going to the movies or staying late after school to hang out, here in Lima the common make-out spots are open parks and comvi’s. Don’t get me wrong, it seems movies are a popular hang-out spot for teenagers here as well, but with the addition of the comvi, those Peruvian girls have one more spot to meet “the One” while riding in Comvi’s with Peruvian boys.

Last week was quite an eventful week when it comes to storytelling. Let’s start with the more embarrassing/frustrating of the bunch. After proctoring an end-of-the-unit test for my students Friday morning, I was on my way home to celebrate the start of the weekend. As you know by now, this isn’t my first time riding through the city, and at times the drivers in Lima can be a little over-aggressive. Knowing this, I am always very alert and aware of my surroundings while on the road. One particular spot always seems to be a bit of an issue for the Limenos trying to make their way to work. There is a tricky intersection where cars have the option to veer right or stay straight which inevitably causes massive issues for the drivers here. Since drivers here will do ANYTHING to gain just one spot in front of another car, it is not uncommon to find a driver, from the FAR left lane, attempting to cut through three lanes of traffic and make a quick right turn. Well, clearly this isn’t anything of news to me, and if it isn’t news to me, then by no means is it news to anyone driving a car here in Lima. So last Friday, while trying to weave my way cautiously through this intersection, all hell breaks loose (most definitely an exaggeration). As I am passing through the intersection, I notice another car making its way through as well. Seeing as how I am a big person on a small bike, I decide to use the car as a shield and pass through the intersection trailing this car. Well before I knew it…SMASH!!! I had run directly into the back of this idiot who had decided, after passing half-way through the intersection, to slam on his breaks and allow a fellow idiot to cut over from the far left lane and pass by. I smacked into the back of his car pretty good, but landed on my feet while allowing my bike to fall to the pavement. The driver, either unaffected or unaware, continued on through the intersection. I stopped for a brief moment, realized that out of the 20-or-so cars in the intersection not ONE was about to stop and ask what happened, and moved off to the side of the road. Once again, escaping relatively unscathed, I was able to catch a glimpse of the car I had hit driving away, and HAPPILY noticed two decent sized dents on his trunk left by my handle-bars. Once again, it was my left thumb that took the brunt of the damage, as I am pretty sure it was the only thing between the handlebars and the trunk of the car. I continued on my way home, and couldn’t help but find myself laughing cheerfully along the way. I don’t know exactly what led to the laughter, but I imagine it was a combination of the absolutely HORRIBLE drivers here in Lima, combined with yet another crash on my bike and, of course, the fact that I had once again emerged relatively unscathed. Just another bump in the road!

Some tear-jerking stories from the past week…

Last Wednesday I broke the news to two of my favorite students that the following two weeks will be my last two weeks of teaching here in Lima. We quickly discussed how we would go about transitioning to a new teacher and class was underway. About 20 minutes later, while the students were in the middle of an exercise, I left the room briefly to grab a glass of water. Upon my return, Ursula immediately proceeded to tell me that, “We felt a lot of sorry,” that you are leaving us as our teacher. Though I didn’t show it, I was extremely honored and had a brief moment of sadness pass through me (Before you say anything, I swear they have improved their English under my instruction, but when it comes to portraying emotions in a foreign language it is very difficult – trust me). I don’t expect all my students will react this way, but it is nice to know that my hard-work has been appreciated by some!

Lastly, again on Friday, I was lucky enough to receive a package in the mail from my loving uncle, Tom. My mom had told me many weeks prior that he had sent something, and I had given up hope on it actually arriving to its intended destination. I figured somewhere along the way (it’s a long way from Detroit) it had gotten lost in the mail, snagged by some corrupt policemen, or just misplaced. Either way, it is and always will be the thought that counts and I was touched at his attempt to reach out to me. So you can imagine my shock when last Friday I receive a phone call asking me to come downstairs and sign for a package! I threw some clothes on and flew downstairs eager to see what had arrived. I couldn’t have asked for a better assortment of things…between a few fun-sized packs of Snickers, a few different books (in Spanish and English), and a hand-written note (the best part by far) from my uncle, I knew this was shaping up to be one heck of a weekend. What made it even better, was the conversation that proceeded on my Facebook account after offering a few mini-snickers to my rugby buddies. The love I felt from both my family and my rugby teammates on that day cannot be explained in words. All I can say is my heart was filled with more than its fair share of love last Friday.

Hope you enjoyed a little story time…I wanted to get a blog in before tonight because my good friend from Villanova, Steve, will be arriving from New Jersey tonight. A shout out to our good friend Ean Mulligan who was supposed to be joining Steve on the trip; unfortunately his grandfather passed away and he was unable to make the trip. You will be in our thoughts this week Ean, I hope all is well and everyone in your family can remember all the special memories that man brought you. It may be a while before I blog again, but I will try and sneak one in somewhere between Steve’s visit and Casey and J-Mac coming to town!

“If we couldn’t laugh we would ALL go insane!” – Jimmy Buffett

A crash and a comeback

2011-05-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned last time, the six month fog has joined the party here in Lima. It doesn’t bother me much, in fact, it is a nice change from the 12 straight months of sunshine I had experienced. Yes, you read that correctly. Going back to May of last year, after graduation I returned back to beautiful San Diego for a wonderful summer. Then, just in time for “fall” to come around (I put it in parenthesis because seasons don’t exist in San Diego), I made my way down to the other side of the hemisphere where summer was just beginning in Buenos Aires. I have since experienced stunningly beautiful weather wherever I have journeyed, so I would say it’s about time that a little cloud cover join the mix. Anyways, I didn’t bring up the fog to make you all jealous, but rather to tell a little anecdote about my bike ride to work last Friday.

(Insert Creative Title Here):

After having spent the past several weeks riding the same bike route every Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning to work, little comes as a surprise. The ride takes anywhere between 15 and 20 minutes depending on how hard I am working. Or, to be more blunt, based on how late (or early) I am for class. So last Friday comes around as usual and it was probably one of the uglier mornings I have seen here in Lima. Nothing overwhelming, but the thick fog had turned into VERY light showers and as a result, the roads were a bit damp. It was a far cry from the downpour I hiked through in Machu Picchu and nothing like some of the raging storms I had experienced in Philadelphia, so I simply carried on my way, business as usual. The last part of my ride is very slightly downhill and besides one turn, it is a straight shot to class. Well, that one turn was the death of me. As I was cruising along, likely belting out whatever song was currently playing on my I-pod, I approached the turn. With no cars at my rear, I was free to take a nice wide turn as not to lose ALL of my momentum from the previously-noted downhill portion of the trip. Wrong decision. As I lightly tapped the breaks my rear tire slid out from underneath me and I hit the surface. Multiple thoughts flew through my head, the first two being, “Oh no, am I going to be able to teach class after crashing my bike!?” and “I hope no one saw me.” I quickly hopped to my feet and although I knew a car had been waiting to turn on the other side of the road, I ignored them completely, hoping they wouldn’t stop to offer help (they didn’t…jerks). I then realized that I had escaped the carnage almost completely unscathed. Other than being in a minor state of shock, having a small scuff mark on my pants, and having some crooked handle bars, I was good to go. Oh, and of course, the small chunk of flesh that my handle bars used as a landing point on my thumb. After a brief moment of recollection, I hopped back on my bike and rode the remaining 500 meters with a set of crooked handle bars.

The most embarrassing/disappointing part of this entire story (for me at least) was the aftermath. Due to the fact that I had nothing more than a slightly bloody thumb, when I proceeded to tell my students of my “horrific” accident on the way to class, they simply smiled and nodded. (And everyone knows smiles and nods mean exactly TWO things: (1) you don’t understand what the person is saying and/or (2) you DON’T CARE) I’m guess it was probably a mix of both. So with such an anti-climactic ending, you must all be wondering why I bothered telling you this story…well: (1) Because it’s my blog and I can write about whatever I want HA! And (2) to impart words of wisdom for your future endeavors: If you find yourself telling a story and losing interest from the audience…LIE!!! i.e. I am sure if I told my students I flipped head first over my bike, broke my ankle, and broke three fingers, their reactions would have been vastly different, and truth be told, the reason anyone bothers telling a story is for THE REACTION.

Last Saturday was game five of the rugby season which means we are officially one quarter of the way through the season. With a total of six teams (including us) we play each team in the league FOUR times. A lot in my opinion, but it gives teams a chance to play a lot of rugby, so hard to complain. Anyways, game five was by far our most epic game of the season. We started out right where we had left off the week before, ugly, pathetic, horrific, lazy and unenthused. Since I am playing fullback (similar to safety in football) I have a view of the entire field and it was obvious that our team lacked energy. We were missing tackles, dropping balls and kicking way more than we should have been. Regrettably I was involved in one significant miscue and dropped a kick which led directly to a score for the other team. ***Side note: Prior to the start of the game, our team had decided to use only positive reinforcement on the field. No yelling at one another for mistakes or bad plays etc. While I understand the premise, sometimes it is necessary to get in someone’s face and get them fired up.*** To be honest, the last thing I needed after my mistake was a bunch of guys telling me it was “ok” and not to worry, rather I would have preferred a kick in the butt to get me going.

After a lackluster first half we were down by two scores heading into the second half. As the second half began, it took the first ten minutes for our guys to regain our focus, but suddenly things started to click. We were getting the ball out to the backs swiftly and without delay which led to a few pretty runs. Our forwards were hustling and getting to all the rucks and we were winning our line-outs and scrums. It was beautiful. We went on to win 31-19 and I scored two tries, including the final try of the game to seal the victory. I must say the last try was a thing of beauty as our pack worked the ball down the right side of the field, sucking in the defense. After one last crash ball, Gustavo (scrum half) swung the ball out wide to Angel (Fly half) who had called a “miss one”. The next pass made its way to the outside center, Girgis, which pulled his man in to make the tackle. Just prior to getting hit, he got the ball out to me coming in from behind the play to support and I had a huge hole to run through. The fullback on the other team was slow to fill the gap and I blew right by him and made my way to the touch zone for the final score. It all went just as designed. After an ugly first half, we played a wonderful second half of rugby and now have a 3-2 record on the season. We will need to continue to play as we did in the second half tomorrow as we go up against our biggest rival Newton, the team we lost to in our first game of the season. One final note, I was once again awarded the “game ball” for our last game and have won the award twice in the four games I have played. It is an honor to be rewarded with such recognition, but of course, I was much happier that we had actually won the game.

All for now, let’s hope I have more good news to report after tomorrows game!

Become Legendary

The Fog Comes Rolling In...

2011-05-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

My luck has finally run out here in Lima. The first three months I was here, February through April, I was gifted with beautiful clear, sunny skies every day and night. Ok, ok, it may have rained twice, for a total of 45 minutes, and been cloudy two more times, but that is IT. Prior to my arrival in Lima, I was told many things, mostly how ugly the city was and that there is nothing to do. I personally disagree, but one thing that I can’t disagree with was the weather forecasts. It is a known fact that for about 9 months of the year Lima is covered by fog. It hangs over the city from morning until night, slowly draining the life out of the city, as poor weather has been known to do to even the liveliest of towns. I was expecting this fog to roll in around the end of March, beginning of April, so as each day of April wore on and the sun continued to shine brightly, I had my doubts. As the title indicates, the time has finally come. With the beginning of May came the first few days of fog, intermittently mixed in with days of sunshine, slowly presenting itself to the people. I am not certain, but as of today, I think the fog has officially found it’s resting point for many months to follow. Like always, it is necessary to take the good with the bad, so rather than be bothered by the colder mornings and nights, I embrace the fact that I can now ride my bike to work without showing up to class drenched in sweat. I can also wear one of my favorite clothing items – sweatpants! And lastly, I can once again come to appreciate the greatest city this young man has ever spent time in, San Diego.

One more thing about the fog. As I mentioned, with the rolling in of the fog, comes cooler temperatures. For me, my wardrobe has remained the exact same; t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops etc. For the rest of Lima, they bundle up as if winter storms are rolling in. Layers upon layers at night and big, thick blankets to sleep with. It makes me laugh. One would think as a San Diegan, born and raised, I would be joining them to cover up. Possibly due to my stint in Philadelphia, or possibly due to the fact that I don’t get cold easily, and probably due to a little bit of both, I am still enjoying every bit of it. I have, however, noticed more and more people around me getting sick. Guys missing rugby training because they are stuck in bed for the day, students missing class because they went home early and most shockingly, Sra. Vilma (my boss) had to take a day off from work because she was sick. I mention this because it took her taking a day off from work to get healthy for me to realize just how hard she works. I think I have it tough working six nights a week at the hotel and then teaching English as well; here is Sra. Vilma’s typical schedule. She works seven days a week, every week. She normally gets to the hotel between six and seven in the morning, sometimes earlier, and stays until around ten at night (or whenever I arrive from teaching/rugby practice). During the day she will occasionally take a nap to catch up on some sleep, which she almost never gets enough of. Furthermore, her breakfast consists of a piece or two of bread with jam (not daily); always a solid, healthy lunch; and nothing for dinner, except, once again, the occasional piece of bread or sandwich. Lastly, the little amount of sleep she does get while I am at work is often interrupted by yours truly due to passenger requests such as taxi pick-up, payments and reservations. All of which I have not been shown how to handle / she prefers to handle on her own. Her missing one day showed me just how much she does to help run this hotel and also portrays how hard working most Peruvian women are! Very, very impressive.

My time here continues to fly by and I officially have LESS than two months remaining here in Peru. I am yet to book by plane ticket to Colombia, but it will be shortly after the departure of Johnny Mac and Cassey, on or around July 11^th. As I realized this fact the past week, I also realized that it meant my days of playing rugby in South America are dwindling. Speaking of rugby, after our first match against Newton, the 20-19 loss, we won the following weekend by a large margin. Unfortunately, five minutes into the game I badly sprained my ankle. Thanks to my good friend adrenaline, I was able to complete the game, but the following day was unable to walk. My ankle had swollen to the point that no bone structure was visible, simply a round ball at the bottom of my foot. Though I resisted, the family I live with insisted on taking me to the hospital for x-rays. After spending 4 hours in the waiting room, the x-rays came back negative and the doctor simply suggested I stay off it for about 10-15 days and ice it constantly. I didn’t practice that Tuesday, but knowing I wouldn’t play in the game Saturday without practicing Thursday I gave it a shot. I made it through practice, but made the executive decision that I would be hurting the team more than helping if I played that week and watched from the sidelines. Not something I am accustomed to doing, but in what ended up being a very sloppy game, we won. That brings us to the past week. I was able to practice Tuesday and Thursday through some pain and make a start again this Saturday. I’ll make this as brief as possible: We lost. We played brilliantly for the first 20 minutes of the game, took a dominating lead, and then quit. We stopped tackling. Stopped passing, thinking, running, TRYING TO WIN. After 20 minutes we thought we had won, and the other team stuck it to us. I rephrase, the TWO GOOD PLAYERS on the other team stuck it to us. I repeat, two good players. That is all they had, and by the end of the game, those two good players had given their team a three score lead which we never made back. A game I hope we learn from, and then erase from our memory immediately.

I apologize for the long break in between blogs! With my ankle injury, I was moving a bit slower in all aspects of life and therefore took a bit longer to get my everyday activities done. I hope to pump out one a week for the following weeks to come and then finish off with a grand account of my time here in Lima! Yet another chapter is coming to an end, but you know what they say...“With every end comes a new beginning.”

Schedule is SET!!!

2011-05-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

After just over three months of tweaking and negotiating, my class schedule is finally set. The final version comes in looking something like this:

Monday: Two classes – (1) 7-8:30am (2) 6:30-8pm

Tuesday: One class – 1:30-3pm; Rugby practice 8-10pm

Wednesday: Four classes – (1)7-8:30am (2)1:30-3pm (3) 6:15-7:45pm (4) 8-10pm

Thursday: Tuesday: One class – 1:30-3pm; Rugby practice 8-10pm

Friday: One class – 7-8:30am

Saturday: One class – 9-11am; Rugby game

There are a few specific details which were finely crafted into this schedule to ensure optimal performance:

(1)You may notice that on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I don’t teach. This gives me a chance to catch up on any sleep I lose waking up at 5:30 to make my Mon/Wed/Fri class at 7am. A necessary luxury when also working a night shift at a B&B.

(2)Secondly, and possibly most important, I have carefully selected only classes close enough to my apartment that allow me to ride my bike to attend. This not only saves a few bucks a day, but also provides a bit of cardio on my days off from rugby.

(3)The finishing touches needed on this masterpiece that is my teaching schedule was the optimization of my hourly wages. As expected, each company pays different hourly wages and of the ten classes I am teaching, five of them are in the highest wage range I have been offered!

Unfortunately I have just under two months left of teaching here in Peru, with Casey and J-Mac arriving at the end of June and my departure coming shortly after theirs, but I will be sure to enjoy the continuity and beauty that has become my weekly schedule here in Lima!

First International Rugby Match

2011-04-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

I grew up lucky enough to be a gifted athlete. My entire life has revolved around sports, since the day I could walk I’ve been swinging a bat, throwing a ball, dribbling, shooting, scoring! Throughout these many years of sports, I have been lucky enough to win multiple championships along the way; be it little league baseball, competitive soccer, track & field, high school football or intramural flag football, losing was never an option. So it may come as a surprise to many that after this weekend, having lost 20-19, I am making the claim that this may be my best accomplishment to date.

Part of my very open plan for traveling down here to South America was to try and join a rugby club. I figured it would be a wonderful way to meet people, stay and shape, and be a part of a competitive environment. And that’s exactly what it has been.

Since the first day of training, I have become quite good friends with a fellow rugger, Jose Diego. He is the captain of the team and I was put in contact with him prior to my arrival in Lima. His English is perfect, which is both a good and a bad thing, as it has slowed my Spanish education. I have slowly but surely gotten to know the name of just about every player on the team, all 70 of them, which has been one of many difficult tasks.

The next was getting in shape. Thanks to the drop in weight, this was much less difficult than in past years. Having not seen a rugby field in over a year, I knew day one of training would be a challenge both mentally and physically. Like most young players, I often dreaded going to practice (regardless of the sport) and couldn’t wait for game day. Well, I made a choice before my first day of rugby (and after realizing I was going to have to pay monthly dues) that I would get up for each and every practice, and practice as if it were a game (expecting it may be my ‘game’ of the week). Well like I said, getting my legs/lungs into shape was easier than expected because it had been over 6 years since I weighed 185 pounds. My legs had so much less weight to carry around that I found myself keeping up with even the fastest runners from day one. This alone was not enough to get into rugby shape, so along with making the commitment to going to every practice (I’ve only missed one week when I was hiking Machu Picchu and that was training in itself!) I have been trying to put on weight through home-workouts and eating as much and often as possible!

The last aspect of sports which has been the true pleasure of my time training with this club is the competition. Old Markham’s was the first rugby club established in Peru and as such, has a long tradition of excellence. Their expectations are high and about 4 or 5 players on the team also play for the Peruvian National team. While in the States, I was always lucky enough to start or at least come off the bench on most of my teams. For this reason, the game WAS the most important part of the week. As an American, in a foreign country, joining the most prestigious club in Peru, I had little to no expectations of starting or even seeing the field with the first team. Here is where a little luck mixed with dedication and hard work has truly paid off. The team has a new head coach this year, and thus, the bias towards previous starters is lessened greatly. Furthermore, often players do not show up for practice and as a result there are always a few “open” spots on the first team. I have taken this opportunity to portray my skills and as of now have earned a starting position on the first team.

I got the opportunity to start on Sunday and definitely made the most of it. Having never started at Winger, I was extremely nervous going into the game. For those unaware, a total of 15 guys start in a rugby game. Out of the 15 positions, there are five positions on the field where my skill set fits in. Including the current starters, there are probably around 8-10 guys fighting for those five spots. Of course I knew this going into the game, so this only added to the pressure of playing in my first international rugby match. A bad game, and I would certainly be riding the pine in our next game. Well, it’s a good thing I LOVE PRESSURE. I played an exceptional game, and as a result, at practice on Tuesday I was awarded the game ball for best player performance in our loss. Though I can honestly say I would give it up in a heartbeat to have been on the winning side of the match, it is an honor to have been selected. I’ve since made it my goal to (1) win this award after every match and (2) score at least one time in every match from here on out.

After each and every practice, I find it hard to believe that I am actually playing rugby down here in South America. It’s another chapter to this wonderful journey and I am doing my best to soak up each and every moment of it. I know this is a unique opportunity and I intend to squeeze every bit of good out of it.

“The freedom to move forward to new opportunities and to produce results comes from living in the present not the past”

Six months and a failure steer the ship

2011-04-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that it has been just over SIX-MONTHS since I hopped on that plane and headed to Buenos Aires? Me neither! All-in-all I’d say it’s been an overwhelming success. I couldn’t have planned it any better (and thank goodness I didn’t try). If someone would have told me that in a span of 6-months in South America I would have:

…visited nearly the entire country of Argentina

…made hundreds of new friends

…spent 100+ hours on dozens of buses

…trekked Machu Picchu w/ my mom and sister

…and joined the first rugby club ever to exist in Peru

I wouldn’t have believed a word of it. Not one. Well, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT, because I’m half-way through this adventure and the fun has only just begun!!!

Having settled in quite comfortably here in Lima, my ‘exciting’ stories are few and far between. I wouldn’t ask for it to be any different. On my daily bike ride to work I am often left pinching myself, reminding myself that I am living in South America, alone on this amazing journey. Well, the next thing I know, my bike breaks; great. Yes, this is the same bike THAT ISN’T EVEN MINE! It’s not enough that I am an American, wearing dress clothes, riding a bike that it is too small for me, in Peru; I was now pushing myself along the busy roads holding a bike pedal in my hand, thankful that the way home was mostly downhill. I was devastated! My new found means of transportation, exercise and penny-saver had failed me. Luckily, my buddies’ dad is a carpenter and works out of his garage just five blocks down the road from me. With just a few minor adjustments to the bike, disaster was averted. I was back on the road!

I want to once again thank everyone who voted for me in the Isla Palenque Intern contest. A further thanks goes out to those who spent the extra time emailing their friends and family encouraging them to vote as well! It was fun to dream and as a result I may have stumbled onto another unique opportunity.

Bastimentos Island, Panama

After seeing my video submission, a friend of mine from Villanova sent me a message stating the following (in summary): “Hey Ryan, my sister’s best friend and her boyfriend moved to Panama last year to start up a volunteer organization. I am not sure if that’s something you’re interested in, but if you are going to be in Panama, you should definitely contact them!” She sent this to me after day two or three of voting, so I was still hopeful that I would move onto round two. Regardless, I am always on the look for a new opportunity, a new country, and a new adventure to take on down here, so I began my pursuit. After emailing back and forth for the past two weeks, it seems the following opportunity is well within my grasp and on the brink of happening. The organization is located on Bastimentos Island which is a part of a collection of islands in Panama known as the Bocas del Toro. On this island, a lovely woman named Margaret and a few others have been working for a few years now within the local community known as Bahia Honda. Bahia Honda is made up of about 25 families; I assume quite large ones, who have recently developed an elementary school system for their children. They are now looking to initiate a pre-school program and it looks like I will be lucky enough to take part in this challenge. Literally, starting from the ground-up, I will be part of the inaugural group of teachers (I think there may be 3 or 4 of us) to get the ball rolling. Details are still very unknown and there is a chance it will fall through, in which case, there are multiple other volunteer opportunities I can help with. Furthermore, Margaret has a 3-year old son who would need looking after three times a week. In return for all of my services, they would provide room/board and a small stipend. I would have all weekends off, and during the week would spend most of my time entertaining guests at the gorgeous lodge that Margaret runs as well. Clearly things are still getting worked out and nothing is set in stone, but the opportunity has me giddy and excited thinking about where this South American adventure will bring me. Enough so, that I felt the need to inform my readers!

Last note for now; tomorrow I will be competing in my first rugby game in about a year and a half! I have been a dedicated player and attended nearly every practice since my arrival here in Lima. As a result, I have been practicing and starting with the first team. Though I am not certain, all signs point to me starting in tomorrow’s game against Old Markham’s (my club) biggest rival Newton. I must admit this is the most nervous I have been going into competition in quite some time. I hope to represent the USA well and will be sure to report back on how the game went!

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."

~ Sir Winston Churchill

Where’d the last month go?

2011-04-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Trying to finally catch up to present day here! Seems like every time I go to start a new blog two weeks have passed and there is just TOO much to write about. Due to this, I’m going to take down the entire month of March (with exception to Machu Picchu) in this here post! Strap yourselves in for a crazy ride. This is: The Monthly Rundown.

Week One: March 6^th – March 12^th

Sunny Dayssss

After arriving back from Cusco, my mom and sister had one more day here in Miraflores before their red-eye back to the States. After failing to get massages, we watched a movie and then went out for some sushi. Because it was Sunday, the top two recommended places were closed, but we were able to find one open! It wasn’t the best sushi I’ve had, but considering I won’t be touching the stuff again for months (out of my budget) it was a wonderful last meal. The rest of the week went by with little to report. I started teaching a few new classes and continued with rugby practice every Tuesday/Thursday night. One thing I love about working at the B&B is the people. That weekend, I went out with a few lovely girls from the US staying at the hotel. They had studied abroad the previous two months in Ecuador and were in Lima for their spring break. There is always something new to experience here in Lima and tourists are always the best to find them!

Week Two: March 13^th – March 19^th

March Madness sparks a Wonderful Week!

The first week of March Madness, is, and always will be, THE GREATEST WEEK OF THE YEAR. This year was the definition of just such occasion. It was such a great week, I actually went out of my way to make a list of all the wonderful things that happened that week…and here it is (with post-week commentary):

My dad put in a bid to purchase Mucho Gusto - unfortunately this fell through, but at the time it was exhilarating and the potential for buying a bar/restaurant is still on the forefront of his mind!

1. Duke:

a. Wins the ACC Tournament - This still counts!

b. Receives a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament - Duke then lost in the sweet 16 to Arizona)

c. Kyrie Irving announces he may return - he did return

2. My sister successfully defended her dissertation!

3. Set schedule @ work

d. I finally asked my boss for EVERY Saturday night off - prior to I had to pretty much ask permission every night that I wanted to go out or have a night off

4. Kick-off the Season Rugby BBQ on Saturday – was an absolute blast; only downside -- got bit over 100 times by tiny little nats

5. Wireless internet in the apartment – prior to I only had internet access in the hotel!

6. Skyped with Chelsea, Scooter, and my cousin Danielle – Scooter and I have since attempted to skype every Wednesday (Fail) and my skype date with Danielle turned into skyping with the whole family!

Like I said, at the time this was the greatest week ever. Knowing this, I should have predicted what the following week would bring…

Week Three: March 20^th – March 26^th

Luck runs out…

After such a fantastic week that was, I went into this week with my head on a swivel, knowing something were bound to go wrong. I probably didn’t help my chances by borrowing a bike from a friend to get around town. In a city with 9 million people, constant traffic and mini-busses driven by crazed drivers, I was really testing my luck. I am happy to report, so far so good (KOW – knock on wood). I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, as it definitely takes an experienced rider to weave in and out of traffic. In fact, just last week, a student of mine saw me riding to class and asked if I was scared that one of the combi’s would hit me. To be polite, I told my student I was a bit nervous, so I took back roads most of the way. What I was actually thinking, “Don’t live your life scared, it will only take away from potential adventures in front of you; I guess that’s why I’m living in his country, and not vice-versa. “

My only other report from this week may upset many of my readers, so I apologize ahead of time. Anyone who has seen pictures of me since I have been down here in South America likely has noticed that I have lost some weight. ‘Some’ would be an understatement. A friend of mine has a scale and I finally got around to using it; predictions on how much weight I’ve lost since arriving in Buenos Aires anyone??? (Pause for thought/responses…) Twenty Pounds! I am currently weighing in at 185 lbs. If I recall correctly, this is the least I have weighed since my Sophomore year of high school. However, I don’t tell you this to infuriate you, but rather to explain my process in trying to gain the weight back! As I am trying to take advantage of this whole ‘room and board’ gig I am working for, I spend little to no money weekly on food. This means I am forced to make do with what is provided here at the hotel: eggs. Every morning I have two egg n’ cheese sandwiches, fresh fruit and a yogurt. Lunch varies daily depending on what the maid cooks. Dinner is then back to eggs, where I once again have two egg n’ cheese sandwiches, yogurt and for dessert, a few glasses of milk with Oreos! ***I am happy to report, that recently, the husband whom I live with, is quite giving and has been keen to buying me a sandwich or something similar for dinner many nights of the week to spice things up a bit!*** If I can put on 10 pounds in the next month I will be thrilled, in the next two months I will be happy and in the next three months I will be satisfied. I’ll keep you posted.

As for my luck running out, well, Duke lost embarrassingly to Arizona; my bracket (along with the whole world) got completely ruined; and I slept through a class I was supposed to teach on Sunday While this may not sound so "unlucky" to most people; anyone who knows me, knows that the single act of Duke losing causes more pain and agony than anything else that could have occurred and therefore, is bad enough.

Week Four: March 27^th – April 2^nd

My weekly routine

The weeks have really flown by and I definitely peg that to my comfort level here in Miraflores. Having a bike to get around is more convenient than I could have ever imagined and I dread the day my friend returns from Chile and asks for it back. My teaching schedule is about as full as it can get with classes every Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat morning. Along with most nights filled with either classes or rugby practice. With most of my days generally free, I tend to take a solid nap everyday (after normally having slept no more than 3-5 hours the night before) and read about or listen to podcasts about sports and world news. Also, with saving money at the top of my list, a gym membership is definitely not in the works, so I have taken to home workouts, using 7-Liter jugs of water as weights!

This past Thursday I was lucky enough to get invited to a local concert. A friend of a friend is a singer here in Lima and was performing at a bar in Barranco. There were about 200 people at the bar and it was amazing…we got front row seats! Thursday also marked the beginning of the 2011 Major League Baseball season. Unfortunately, my Giants lost a pathetic game to the Dodgers, and have been playing quite poorly, not to worry, it’s still early. For me, the beginning of the season brings both the beginning of Fantasy Baseball and the pleasure of knowing there will always be a game on to watch while at work (I love MLB.TV). I love sports.

Finally, most of you already know, starting this week and following into next week, I will be and have been heavily persuading friends and family to vote for me to become the next Isla Palenque Intern. This has consumed a good portion of my time and I will really be pushing this next week to get the word out! I am currently in the top-10 in voting, but to be sure I make it to the final round, I will need AT LEAST 1,500 more votes! So keep on sending those emails and reminding everyone you know to vote!!!

http://www.islapalenque.com/island-intern-contest/2011/03/28/ryan-fentin-thompson/

“If you ain’t first, you’re last” – Ricky Bobby (Talladega Nights)

Nothin like a little Family Lovinnnnn – Part 2

2011-03-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

I admit, my blogs have been few and far between as of late. Sorry to disappoint those of you out there who look forward to reading it (the two or three of you that exist). But not to worry, I am back on track and am hoping to put together two solid entries THIS WEEK! I last left you all wondering, waiting and eager to hear about the incredible journey my mom, sister and I took part in on our way to Machu Picchu, so without further ado…the famous Inca Trail!

Day one – Training Day

Pick up 5:30 am. Very unlike South Americans, they were at our doorstep at 5:33, impressive, and a good sign for the rest of the trip. Everyone else had already been picked up, so it was off to the 82km starting line in Ollaytantambo. We grabbed some breakfast there, though the three of us had already eaten at our hotel which caters to trips like this and starts their breakfast at 4:30 in the morning! As I mentioned, KM82 is the famous starting point for the “Official Inca Trail” and we were not the only ones waiting to embark. There were probably about 100-150 people in total, including the porters, waiting to start this life-changing journey. Well, to be honest, it is only life changing for about 30-40 of those waiting, as the guides and porters do this just about every week of their life (except February when the trail is closed). Anyways, we hit the first check point and…already a hiccup. Our porters’ bags were over-weight. Each porter is only permitted to carry 25 kilos (about 45 pounds) each day, and must weight in at the start of each day to ensure this. Well, no surprise, us Americans had over-packed our bags and we had to wait about an hour before we could hit the trail.

***Quick anecdote about the porters. If desired, us tourists could pay a bit extra to hire a porter to carry some or all of your belongings. When we signed up for the trek in January, I figured most people doing this were in good hiking shape and would be carrying most of their stuff. For this reason, I advised only my mom to hire a porter as I figured my sister and I could handle the extra load. Wrong; we were the only ones. EVERY other person in our group had hired their own personal porter. Not one per couple, one per person. The only other people who SHARED a porter were two brothers around my age…and like I said, they shared one. As far as I’m concerned, we are better off having carried it all…but you wouldn’t have heard me saying that during the hike!***

Our guide had nicknamed day one of the hike “Training Day”. All this made me think about was the movie with Denzel, which provided solid motivation throughout the trip. We stopped occasionally along the trail which was littered with ancient ruins, some bigger than others. Our two guides, Valentin and Livos, both spoke decent English and were very knowledgeable about everything we saw along the way. After an early wake-up and about 4 hour of hiking/walking, lunch was a welcome site when we arrived at our tents. None of us knew exactly what to expect food-wise and we were blown away with what they served and how they served it.

Lunch Menu:

- Stuffed avocado

- Aji de gallina (chicken in peanut sauce – Peruvian dish)

- Rice

- Pumpkin soup

- Cucumbers and tomatoes

- Choclo con queso (corn with cheese – Peruvian dish)

To make the meal even more enjoyable, as we rolled into camp, the rain started to come down. Since we had made it to lunch, and we were eating inside a tent, we stayed dry the whole time. And here is the best part, the rain stopped just as we finished up lunch! We continued on the trail, the second half a bit steeper and more difficult than the first half, but still very doable. We had already been warned about day two, nicknamed “challenge”, and were informed that to take a little time out of the day 2 trekking, we would push on a little further during day one. In hindsight, 100% worth it. After a steep climb for about an hour, we reached our campsite for the first night.

View from Campsite

Dinner Menu:

- Popcorn/Cookies

- Smoked trout

- Chicharon de Cauliflower (Cauliflower tempura)

- Vegetable soup

- Fresh veggies

- Rice

Everyone passed out immediately following dinner, as we had an early start the next day.

Day Two – Dead Women’s Pass (The Challenge)

Top of Dead Woman's Pass!

Yes, that is the name of the climb we were tackling on day two. We soon found out it was NOT because of the females who had died there, but because the two mountain peaks which we were passing through looked like breasts. A bit of a reach, but I prefer that reasoning over the other! Today was hands down the most miserable day of the trek. Eight hours of steep mountains, crooked and broken staircases made of boulders, torrential downpour and the beginnings of a 24-hour flu. Due to the fact that we had hiked about an hour extra the day prior, this day began and we immediately hit extremely steep slopes. The rain held off for the first few hours, but was relentless for the rest of the day. By the time we reached the top of dead women’s pass, the rain was really coming down, and for me, this is when the day went from a difficult climb to a wretched day. The climb down. Though climbing up was a struggle physically, climbing down was a true test of mental grit and determination. With such strong rains, the rocky stairway going down transformed in front of our eyes. The first transformation was into a small stream and then into a small river. Each and every step had to be carefully calculated, and with 40+ extra pounds on my back, balance was more important now than ever. After leading the pack most of the way on day one, I accepted my place at the rear on day two. I wouldn’t be passing anyone on this day, nor did I aspire to. Most of the group got split up and I took the rear, alone and slowly. I think I arrived for lunch about an hour after the rest of the group, but was never happier to see all the smiling faces.

Unfortunately, we had been badly misinformed by our guides on the severity of day two, and it turned out there was a SECOND extremely difficult climb and descent to get to our campsite for day two. This theme carried throughout the trip, with our guides often misinforming us or misleading us as to what we would be taking part in each day…a bit frustrating for many of us. By the time I arrived to camp on day two, I had come down with a bit of a cold and as a result didn’t eat much for the following 24-hours. Thank goodness my mom didn’t notice or she would have been freaking out! Thinking back, it was probably quite dangerous, as I was exerting myself to physical extremes and not replenishing the fuel that my body had used throughout the day. Hindsight is always 20/20! As I stumbled into camp, last once again, I was happy to see that my mom and sister had made it safely and they were quick to let me know that I was CRAZY for signing us up for this adventure. (Don’t worry, they had changed their minds by the time they left!) After another delicious meal, we capped off the night with a delicious fruit tea mixed with rum! I thought this would put me right to sleep after a long and strenuous day, but for some reason, the second night was the one I slept the least. The body and mind work in strange ways…many I will never understand.

Day Three – Unforgettable

Named so due to the spectacular ruins we would see (and for us, the ease of the trekking), day three was a wondrous day. Up to this point I had failed to mention the bathroom facilities we had access to. To be honest, much better than I would have expected along an ancient trail. At each campsite there were squat holes and you were even able to flush the “toilets”! Of course, no showers existed, so for many, this is what made day three “unforgettable”. After about 5 hours of hiking we arrived to lunch, the same campsite where we would also eat dinner and spend the evening, and had access to showers. Now for those unaware, we left on the 2^nd of March, which means, after having closed the trail for the entire month of February, we were only the second group to pass through. One would expect that this little bar/resting area with showers would be well equipped and ready to cater to their only business of the year. WRONG. They had already run out of towels, toilet paper and apparently, friendly staff members. The workers were complete jerks, still baffling to me, as we were literally their only source of income, and were not the least bit helpful. Example A: While we ate lunch, they bumped the most random selection of 90’s rap/hip-hop music, and when we requested they turn it down, so we could talk without our heads thumping, they simply ignored us. I guess they knew we had no choice but to stay and eat whether or not they appeased our desires, so they chose not to.

After lunch some of us took short naps before our night expedition. Another instance where we were gravely misinformed by the guides, (though this time I think they were intentionally joking with us) we were TOLD that there were some incredible ruins about an hour’s walk/hike away. For many of us, after three grueling days, we were unsure if it was worth the effort and considered hanging back. Thank goodness we all chose to stick around. The walk took no more than 10 minutes and the ruins were by far the most amazing we had seen yet. Wiñay Wayna was one of the last sites to be discovered by modern day explorers and as a result is still very much in the process of being restored. It is unknown to many, that there is actually ANOTHER trail that leads to Machu Picchu that only takes ONE day to hike. After initially building the Official Trail, the Incans realized that the climbs and descents were much too difficult to be braving each and every day of the year. For this, they created a shorter, flatter route (and yes, as the group was provided with this information, we all flashed looks around like “and why didn’t we take this path?”). Anyways, the ruins were incredible (and those of you who have seen my Isla Palenque video, that is where I am in the intro video), and after snapping hundreds of photos, we headed back for dinner and the end of the evening.

Day Four – The Reason

We came up with this name ourselves, I’ll give most of the credit to my sister. No explanation needed; we finally made it to Machu Picchu! That morning we were up for breakfast at 4am and ready to hit the trail by 4:30am…not so fast hikers. Our guides failed to inform us that the checkpoint didn’t open until 5:30 which meant we were stuck sitting around for an hour. After 4 days of being mislead and misinformed, this was the final straw. Members of the group had made it clear that we wanted to climb Wayna Picchu and that we would like to try and make the 6 am climb. We figured, with waking up at 4 in the morning, this wouldn’t be a problem. For those unaware, Wayna Picchu is the gorgeous mountain that is posted directly next to Machu Picchu and provides the greatest view of the ruins. Each day, only 400 people are permitted to climb the mountain due to its precipitous cliffs, narrow pathways and the high risk involved. This was not about to deter most of the group (all but 4 of us made the climb), so our only obstacle was ensuring we claimed seven of the 400 available spots. It seemed our guides were out to ensure the exact OPPOSITE. After arriving at the ruins around 8-8:30, we sat around for another half hour waiting for our food to arrive. Every moment that passed I was getting more and more frustrated with our guide, Livos, and desperately wanted to separate myself from the group and make the climb. At long last, our group got moving and thanks to a stroke of luck, we were able to claim some of the last available spots. The seven of us got climbing while the other four members hung back and took a tour of Machu Picchu with the guides. All I can say is THANK GOODNESS those spots were available. Without a doubt the most rewarding, breath-taking, mind-boggling, eye-popping views I have ever had the pleasure of taking in. Words cannot describe the beauty and magical feel that engulfs Machu Picchu. Needless to say, a trip of a lifetime. Enjoy the pictures and I strongly encourage anyone who has a chance to take part in the same life-changing journey my mom, sister and I were fortunate enough to embark on.

The two weeks with my mom and sister were a wonderful whirlwind of a tour and I enjoyed every moment of it. Not to mention, it was nice sleeping in a comfortable bed every night, eating delicious food, and soaking up the laughter and joy of spending time with loved ones. Thank you Nicki and Mom for lasting through it all!!!

***For those who haven't yet voted...please follow the link below and click the THUMBS UP above my video. Also, PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE WITH CHERRIES ON TOP, email this link to anyone you know and ask them to vote for me as well!***

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Nothin like a little Family Lovinnnnn - Part 1

2011-03-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

Whenever I decide to return back to that lovely country just North of where I am currently residing, I will have thousands of stories to tell people. Of course, I realize no one will want to hear most of them, or maybe any... so lucky for you I will stick to the highlights. (Btw...that's also the beauty of writing this blog! I can write whatever...and ya'll can choose whether or not to read it) The past two weeks I was lucky enough to spend with my mom and sister will be the pinnacle of it all. Without a doubt, visiting Machu Picchu was the highlight of their trip, but for me, the entire two weeks was the highlight of MY trip. So let’s get to the story telling!

Their flight got in around midnight on Wednesday the 24^th and after a smooth transition through customs (so I was told) they got to my B&B around 1:30am. I had purchased some food for them which had gone cold by the time they got it, yes, even after I reheated it one time in the toaster…my timing was a little off! The owner/my boss had reserved the ‘nicest’ room in the place for them, room 203. I enjoyed it because it had two beds! One king size and one single (for me). Though I was technically working, I am normally permitted the option of sleeping in the first room in the hotel if available. Though room 203 is the furthest to the back, I simply left a sign at the front desk to knock on the door or shout if anyone needed anything…luckily no one did (or I didn’t hear them). Thursday was a slow day and we started it off with a ‘bag exchange’. When I initially came down to South America I carried my clothes in a good size duffel bag. While this was great for stuffing, it was not so good for traveling, which I found out the hard way on my journey from Buenos Aires to Lima. Anyways, my mom was generous enough to buy me a solid traveler’s backpack which I would/will use both in Machu Picchu and for the remainder of my trip. It is a bit smaller than my duffel bag, so I had to make some sacrifices on clothing: my two biggest dump offs were my $1 sport coat and bright blue DUKE sweat pants; they will both be missed dearly (though I think I wore them a combined two times in 4 months…so not that dearly). After making the transfer, we headed out for a bite to eat. For those unaware, Lima is very well known for their ceviche and my mom and sister were well aware of this. It was a beautiful day so the 30-or-so minute walk from the hotel to Punta Sal, a splendid restaurant overlooking the cliffs and the Pacific Ocean, was wonderful. My sister took plenty of pictures which will be added once she posts them**cough cough**post them please. That night we had another delicious dinner, including another mouth-watering ceviche, and enjoyed a few pisco sours, the official drink of Peru.

With just a brief stay in Lima, I wanted them to see a few of the sights and sounds around, so we made our way to the historical centre city of Lima on Friday afternoon. This was my second trip into the centre, so I was able to be a bit of a tour guide (though not much of one, besides the whole other language thing) and took them to the most interesting landmark of the city, the Church of San Francisco. No, this is not the best part of the city because it has San Francisco in the name, though that would be a GOOD ENOUGH reason! Underneath the Church are catacombs where literally hundreds of thousands of individuals had been buried hundreds of years prior. It is a bit creepy being down there, but also very unique and interesting to be a part of their history. After walking around the centre a bit more, we made our way back to Miraflores and eventually to Kennedy Park where we were catching a bus tour of the city at night. The best part of this tour was our first stop, “El Parque de Agua” or the Water Park. El Parque de Agua is a collection of massive fountains spread throughout a large park, lit by a beautiful array of lights. Included was a very interesting light/water show which was accompanied by Peruvian dance and music. The water park is the largest of its kind in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records!

The following morning we were off to Cusco, a city situated at an altitude of some 11,200 feet, had prepared for this unusual altitude by taking altitude sickness pills prior to and during our arrival (though not sure if they were needed, none of us felt any side effects from the altitude, therefore highly suggested for anyone visiting Machu Picchu!) Due to the altitude, it is requested that groups arrive at least two days prior to any Machu Picchu visits and being overly cautious, we arrived four days prior. Not to worry as there is plenty of activities to do in and around Cusco. ***History note: Cusco was the most highly regarded city during the Incan times. The King resided in Cusco and it was a main trade route throughout all of South America. Due to this, there are literally hundreds of ancient ruins throughout the city and in the neighboring villages.*** The day of our arrival we took it easy and thanks to Slingbox, we were able to watch the Duke vs. Virginia Tech game (of course after they lost and looked awful in the process…maybe not so much thanks). Sunday was our first day of exploration and we decided to do a very short hike to test out our lungs. Cusco is located between the Andes and the town literally rises up along the mountain side. At the top is a beautiful white statue of Jesus that was donated in 1945 by Arabs. It provided an incredible view of the city and a great first day.

Monday the 28^th we got our first taste of Incan ruins outside of Cusco. Through a suggestion of a family friend (thank you Kelly!) the three of us had booked a mountain bike excursion to the quaint town of Maras and the ruins of Moray. To say the day went without hiccup would be a vast exaggeration and, in fact, a lie. All started well with the company picking us up from our hotel a half-hour late. We then hopped in a cab (they paid for it) to meet up with another couple and our guide for the day. To my mama’s delight, we were issued bikes/helmets and immediately rode through the busy city streets of Cusco where we were to catch a bus to our jump off point for the day. So far, so good. It didn’t take long for our first bike issue when Isabel’s, the young lady of the couple, gears refused to change. This would be an ongoing issue for her throughout the day, but far from the most difficult. The first hour of the ride was absolutely gorgeous as we rode through the rolling hills of Ollaytantambo along back roads and dirt paths. To the disappointment of the group, it had rained the night before and the quickest route to Moray was over-flooded and impassable. Not to worry, our guide knew an alternate route! Wrong again. After about 15 minutes of riding along the alternate path, we hit thick mud and were forced to get off and walk. To make matters worse, Richard, the other half of the couple, literally had his chains break. After about 20 minutes, our guide was able to temporarily fix them and traded bikes with Richard. Due to the muddy paths we had to change plans once again and make our first stop at the small town of Maras. The path to this quaint town is where the day went from bad to worse for the three females. It was a steep downhill path with some large rocks and jumps throughout. Needless to say, Richard and I absolutely loved it, but the girls were forced to get off and walk a few times throughout the descent. After reaching the town, we hired a taxi to then take the six of us to Moray. After the day had finished, we were all able to admit that this adventure was absolutely worth the pain and adventure as these ruins were stunning.The multiple levels were each used to farm different strands of potatoes, corn and other farmed goods. The Incans had developed an incredibly unique irrigation system which allowed water flowing from the mountains above to pass through each and every terrace; truly ahead of their time in many aspects of society. Much to the dismay of the women, after making it back to Maras, it was back on the descent for our return to Ollaytantambo. Luckily we had some breath-taking views along the way which lifted their spirits just enough to put a smile on their faces. After a long day, we returned back to Cusco by bus. By now, both my chains and Isabel’s were constantly in and out of working. An issue that didn’t bother me, but only due to the fact that the rest of the trip, once we arrived in Cusco, was all downhill. To put the icing on the cake, our bus ride ended at the top of Cusco, where we then rode thirty minutes, downhill, through city traffic, fading sunlight and uneven streets to our final destination. Needless to say, Richard and I arrived with smiles on our faces after a long, strenuous, and exciting journey. On the other hand, the girls were tired, upset and rather spiteful towards our guide and the tour company. We did the right thing and still tipped the guide, after all, none of the issues we faced were actually his fault, and we headed back to our hotel to relax for the night.

Tuesday came before we knew it and our trek to Machu Picchu would soon be upon us. We spent the day at the local hand-craft market in Cusco buying a few souvenirs and checking out more of the city. That evening we had our pre-departure meeting where we met our lovely group of 11 who we would spend the following 4 days and 3 nights laughing, loving, and struggling through the famous Inca Trail.

The Daily Grind...

2011-02-23T20:23:00.000-08:00

My mom and sister are set to arrive any minute now and I wanted to post a blog prior to our adventure to Machu Picchu! I am beyond excited to spend the next 11 days with my mom and sister, hiking through the Peruvian jungle, and checking out one of the Modern Seven Wonders of the World!

Things here in Lima are starting to take form with teaching and I am starting to get the hang of the culture. One of the biggest issues for foreigners living in a new city is often getting the hang of the public transportation system; you can rank Peru at the top of that list. Though they recently developed a Metro/Bus with its’ own lane on the freeway, it provides access to very limited parts of the city, and is not very convenient. So with no subway, train, or city bus system in place, how do people get around? The answer: Combi’s. This picture is of the most commonly used Combi’s there are some busses which are a bit bigger and more spacious, though far from comfortable. Anyways, the hard part is not finding the Combi’s, it is knowing where they are going. The main drags are constantly lined with them, and their 4-5 main destinations painted on the side. Along with the painted destinations, there are two individuals who work the “buses”. First, of course, is the driver, and second, the “cobrador” or collector. The cobrador not only collects your money, but it is also his job to usher as many possible passengers onto his Combi. As there are constantly Combi’s coming and going, it is truly a competition of who is louder, more persuasive and for me, simply someone who yells a street name I recognize. I have grown to really enjoy the bus rides, watching the cobrador work is free entertainment, and I enjoy trying to guess the street name he/she is shouting out. Furthermore, if you speak Spanish, you can just tell them where you want to go and they will tell you if they pass that way…but don’t count on this, as they of course work on commission and will tell you anything for a buck (or a Sole here in Peru). Anyways, at this point I have been relatively successful with my Combi experiences and definitely plan to continue their use, due to economic reasons of course. Oh right, of course no one would use this crazy form of transportation if it weren’t ridiculously cheap: a short ride about 10-15blocks, .50 Soles (.15 cents), a longer ride between 1 and 1.5 Soles and I am yet to pay anything more than that, so unsure of how far you have to ride to pay more, though it is available!

I’ve picked up quite a few teaching gigs and upon my return from Machu Picchu should be teaching about 20 hours per week. It is pretty tough to get much more than this due to the scheduling of the classes, but I am going to continue to try. Two of the ruggers I am playing with run their respective English Institutes and I expect to find some more work with them. In fact, I met with one of them just this past week and it looks as if through their Institute I am going to have an opportunity to work and teach kids as well which I am very excited about! Some bad news, I’ve heard from multiple sources that one of the Institutes I am working for is VERY unreliable. They pay their employees late, and sometimes not at all. I think I will be quitting prior to my departure for Machu Picchu, as I currently have opportunities to teach at somewhere between six and eight different institutes right now, and have no desire to deal with such issues. Suggestions are welcome on how to politely tell them I hear they are a poorly run company and do not want to deal with the hazards that come from working with them! Thanks ahead of time.

At this point, I have been to three rugby practices! I received great news today that my health insurance back in the States covers any emergency injuries while I am traveling (yes I probably should have looked into this earlier). So upon my return from Machu Picchu I will be ready to get out and bang heads with some of the guys. Unfortunately, this weekend is the most exciting beach tournament of the season, and I will be missing it to visit Cuzco/Machu Picchu, but hey, can’t do everything! It seems to be a quality club and I am going to have to work my ass off to prove I deserve a spot on the A-Side roster. I look forward to the challenge and will keep you posted…still unsure of what position I am going to play.

I know, I know, nothing too exciting to report, but just wanted to update before Machu Picchu! I expect it will be a lengthy blog entry filled with stunning pictures, so just be patient!!! One last note, I am looking to change the name of my blog, seeing as how I am no longer living the dream in Buenos Aires. Suggestions are welcomed, wanted and desired…so please get at me with any you find appropriate.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

…Well except when the end of the journey culminates with the breath-taking site of Machu Picchu!

See you all on the other side!

Bienvenidos a Peru! -- Part Two: Arequipa, Mejia and the Capitol of Peru: Lima

2011-02-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

As of today, I have officially been in Peru for 17 days. Thanks to the wonderful family I stayed with in Arequipa and an extremely efficient first week in Lima, those days have absolutely flown by. I have enjoyed some beautiful sunny beaches in Mejia and some overcast, cloud filled days in Arequipa and Lima. The food, customs and atmosphere in Peru are a whole new experience when compared to Argentina, just as I had hoped, but let’s start from the beginning…

After a grueling 12 day journey across the continent of South America, there was only one thing my heart desired: the beach. I think my heart yearns more for the beach than the average individual, I thank my parents for raising me in San Diego for this, and nothing could have been a more welcome site than a beach, an umbrella, a towel and a good book (in Spanish, of course!). Well alright, in reality, I didn’t IMMEDIATELY go to the beach, so let’s start in Arequipa…sorry, I got excited thinking about the warm sand. I first arrived in Arequipa late in the evening on Tuesday, January 25^th. Prior to my arrival, I had asked my dad if he had any former business partners in Lima or Peru (though I never knew what he was doing down here, I did remember him flying to Peru quite often when I was younger!) and to my luck, he was able to put me in contact with Enrique Mendoza, a wonderful man whose family lives in Arequipa. So upon my arrival I had planned to stay at Enrique’s house, well, Enrique was out of town on a business trip that evening and his wife was 2 hours away at the beach, so instead, I stayed at his parents’ house: WOW! This house was unbelievable. Clearly an extremely wealthy family. I was greeted at the door by Enrique's parents and stepped into a picture perfect home. To the left, a grand piano perched in a small inlet. To the right, a beautiful office filled with many leather bound books, directly ahead, a gorgeous living room and in the back drop, a 12-seat, solid wood, dining room table, with, of course, a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging above. They prepared a bit of food, though I insisted I wasn’t hungry, and I proceeded to tell them a bit about my trip. They were VERY impressed with my Spanish, though the father, Kiko, insisted on trying to speak in English. I proceeded to ask Kiko how many rooms were in the house, how long they had owned the place etc…the answers blew me away. 10 bedrooms, so many he had forgotten when I asked the question in the first place, and 55 years. I did the math and figured out that Kiko had purchased this mansion when he was just TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD!!!! I couldn’t believe it, I need to get my act together, I’ve only got two years ‘til I need to buy my first mansion!

After sleeping in a massive, king size bed (another welcome site after sleeping in hostels and buses the previous two weeks), I was greeted in the morning by their house maid who prepared breakfast for me. I also met their gardener/general help and later was taken on a tour of the town by their personal driver. I was living in the lap of luxury. I’m not sure I thoroughly enjoyed being waited on hand and foot, but clearly Kiko and his wife were very accustomed to this life style and I simply followed their lead, though I went out of my way to be a bit more polite. ***Side note: Now that I've been in Peru for just over two weeks, I realize that if your family has any kind of money, you have a housemaid and you have a beach house for the summer. Though not everyone has the luxury of three personal helpers, it is clearly customary to have a housemaid who prepares lunch everyday and does the cleaning. This includes the apartment/family I am living in, though I am yet to let her do anything EXCEPT for iron a few shirts for me, as I am afraid to ruin them if I try myself.***

I stayed two nights in their lovely house, and at long last on Thursday morning, I was greeted by their son, Enrique. While staying in this mansion was an absolute pleasure, I knew with the arrival of Enrique, I would soon be headed to the beach. On cue, Enrique informed me we would be leaving that afternoon after lunch for Mejia, a beach town just two hours away. Enrique’s parents have owned a house in Mejia for as long as their house in Arequipa, 55 years, and Enrique also owns his own apartment. During our drive, Enrique’s mother mentioned that their house in Mejia was just a small spot for vacationing; I should have known this was a severe exaggeration. After the two hour drive, we first arrived at the parents’ house to drop them off; the small vacation house was beautiful. From the outside, it appeared like the rest of the houses in the street, but upon entering, guests are greeted with a large balcony over- looking the small town and a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. The grandmother then proceeded to tell me how the three levels of rooms below us were all a part of their “small” vacation house. Like I said, I should have known. Enrique and I then proceeded to his apartment, a bit closer to the beach. Though there was no balcony, the view was still beautiful, overlooking the ocean. I was lucky enough to have my own room to stay in for those four nights which turned out to be the perfect way to relax following the long 12-day trek and prior to the hustle and bustle that would greet me in Lima.

No crazy interesting stories from Mejia, but a bit about the town; it is nearly uninhabited for the other three seasons of the year, and then comes to life during the summer (remember I'm on the other side of the hemisphere). There is one beautiful country club which most of the visitors are members of with a small 9 hole golf course (I’m pretty sure no one plays), two swimming pools, tennis courts, racket ball courts, ping pong tables, soccer (football) pitches, massage parlors, beauty salons, and anything else you would imagine at a 5-star resort. Oh, and with just about every available activity, lessons are offered by professionals, yes, including ping-pong. You can walk through the entire town in probably 15-20 minutes and everyone knows everyone, as they have ALL been going their every summer since the now adults, were children. We even ran into one of Enrique’s best friends whom he attended both Kindergarten and University with! Other than lying on the beach everyday for a few hours, my highlight of the trip were the gorgeous sunsets we were blessed with and the ceviche cook-off fiesta. The sunsets are self-explanatory. The ceviche cook-off was held on Saturday at the club and included 8 teams of amateur chefs competing in a one hour competition. Enrique’s brother had entered with some buddies, so of course, we were pulling for his team. My favorite part of this day was the free beer and t-shirts I received throughout the day. For those of you saying, “That would be Ryan’s favorite part,” gimme a break, I’m traveling on a shoestring down here, what do you expect my favorite part would be?! Unfortunately, one of the ceviches rubbed my stomach in the wrong way, so I was unable to attend the concert that evening at the club. All in all, it was an unbelievable trip. I couldn’t have gotten luckier, thanks Dad, to stay with such a welcoming, open family. They’d never met me before and invited me to join them for every meal and refused that I pay for anything. I truly cannot imagine a better, more relaxing way to spend a week in the middle of this journey I have embarked on here in South America.

We made it back to Arequipa on Monday and I stayed one more night there as my bus left Tuesday evening for Lima. I spent the day checking out the city centre and the famous convent, Santa Catalina, known as the city within a city. In the past, once a monk or a nun would check into this convent, unless they were to renounce their faith, they would never leave the premises again. Though I was not ready to leave, it was time for me to continue my journey, and Tuesday evening I was off on my final leg of my trek from Buenos Aires to Lima; a fifteen hour over-night ride. I had very ambitious plans for my arrival in Lima, and scheduled to arrive at around 10am (we got in at 11) and immediately hit the trail to find a hostel to work at and a teaching job. I had been in contact with multiple companies regarding both prior to my departure from Buenos Aires, so it was simply a matter of contacting them to set up interviews and meetings. Of course, as things go when traveling, I veered a bit off the path when I met some really lovely people at my hostel and chatted away the day with them. We proceeded to go out that evening with a friend of theirs from Lima and had a heck of a time. As you can guess, this also put a bit of a dent in my plans for the following day, Thursday, though by the end of the day I was able to secure a job with a bed and breakfast! The place, B&B Wasi Miraflores, as indicated is located in Miraflores. Miraflores along with Barranco and San Isidro are the three nicest districts of Lima, set on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and much safer than the center city of Lima. I like to think of them as more the suburbs of Lima, though they are still very much within the city.

The job – part I. Prior to my arrival in Lima, I had determined I wanted to work at a hostel, or something of the sort, to provide free room and board during my time here. I planned on teaching during the days, so I needed something at night, and I also wanted a quiet, laid back, tranquil atmosphere so I could get some rest during the week while teaching. The deal at this B&B is as follows; I work the night shift meaning I let guests in and out of the hotel during the evening and provide any amenities they may request. Though it sounds miserable, the hotel only has eight total rooms and can hold, at a maximum, 20 guests. What this makes for is a VERY slow paced environment with very limited guest traffic. Whenever I feel tired, I switch the lights off in the lobby, lock up the doors and go to sleep on a couch in the lobby. I generally wait for all guests to have arrived back for the evening, but if there is a straggler they simply ring the doorbell when they return and I let them in. Yes, by the end of the next 5 months, I imagine I will be in need of a couple solid nights of sleep, but I am saving a ton of money by doing this and also, I don't work every night. Along with a couch to crash on in the hotel, I have my own room half a block away at the owners apartment. They just moved in a month ago and I was given my own room with a full bed and lovely view looking into the private yard of the apartment building. As for the ‘board’ aspect, this mainly refers to the food that is included. Though breakfast is not generally a huge meal in Peru, luckily, I get to eat the same meals as the guests at the B&B. Typically a general breakfast will include eggs, toast, fresh fruit and some of the most delicious fresh squeezed orange juice I have ever tasted. You don’t hear me complaining, that’s for sure. In Peru, the main meal of the day (and really the only true meal) is lunch; when it is customary to have all family members who live in the area to meet for a meal. I am lucky enough to be living with a Peruvian family, so every lunch is a different Peruvian delicacy, enjoyed with the company of their family. Dinner, however, is not so much of a tradition in Peru and I am left to fend for myself. Often times there are leftovers from lunch, or I can prepare eggs and toast again, but I have also been cooking a bit for myself as well. To be honest, this aspect of the job search went seamlessly and I can’t imagine a better situation to be in.

The job – Part II. So I’m sure some of you are wondering when I am going to actually start teaching English, considering that WAS the premise of this trip down South, I guess that’s fair enough. I had three interviews this week, all of which, the interviewers were very pleased to see a native English speaker sitting in front of them and were quick to offer jobs. However, things work a bit different in the English teaching world, and in reality, I can technically say I am working for three different institutes. The institutes are approached by companies looking to teach their employees, generally managers and higher up executives, English. The institutes then email their teachers offering them the class and if you are available for the specific time and dates of the class you accept. For this reason, one can work for multiple companies and take work as it is offered. In fact, I am giving my first class tonight!

The transition from Buenos Aires to Lima has been very smooth and I didn’t waste any time getting mixed into the culture. I have been put in contact with multiple people my age down here through friends and family and am doing my best to get out and meet each and every one of them. The people in Peru are extremely friendly and will go out of their way to assist you whenever possible. Some good news, I have gotten in contact with some fellow ruggers down here and am finally hoping to pick up a ball and start playing again. I need the competition. I’m still adjusting to the culture, as I have only been here a week, but like any big city, there is traffic, dangerous areas, and plenty to do at night. I’ll be sure to update you as I further adjust to the customs and way of life here in Peru, and of course, keep you updated on my teaching endeavors!

One last note...I can’t believe I’m already in my second South American capitol, and am looking forward to the challenges that come with it. Oh, and for those who don’t know, my mom and sister are visiting at the end of the month and we are visiting Machu Picchu and doing the official 4 day/3night Inca Trail. Get ready for my best blog yet upon our return, of course including stunning pictures of the ruins themselves!!!

Two Weeks to Cross…Bienvenidos a Peru! -- Part 1: Twelve days on a bus

2011-01-31T17:22:00.000-08:00

The 12 day trip from Buenos Aires to Peru DEFINES the phrase…a whirlwind of a tour: Three countries. Six cities. Dozens of new friends. 64 hours on 8 different buses. Hundreds of pictures. 3300 miles…and memories to last a life-time. So let’s start from the beginning…

Iguazu Falls (1/14-16): After a 20 hour bus ride, spanning two days, I arrived in Puerto Iguazu at 9am. I’d already booked a hostel to stay at, Marco Polo Hostel, which was conveniently located across the street from the bus terminal (I knew this when I booked it). With a 9am arrival time, I knew I’d be there a bit before check-in, but figured I’d close my eyes for about an hour while I waited for the normal 10-11am check in time. Boy was I wrong. Though their check-out time was quite normal, 10am, their check-IN time was not: 2pm. Now if this had been a five star hotel, with cashmere robes, fresh towels, slippers, and a fruit basket waiting for me upon my grand entrance into my room, then yes, I could understand the need for a four hour turnover time; but not at a hostel. I mean what is there to do? Change the sheets … uh…. and… well… THAT’S IT!!! If lucky, a nice hostel will wash the floors as well. Despite my frustration, I wasn’t going to let this ruin day one of my trek across South America. They had a luggage storage room where I proceeded to place my life in their hands. Not the most re-assuring way to start my trip, but I had no choice. I slipped into my bathing suit, which I conveniently packed on top in my suitcase, and went to catch a bus.

After a 20 minute ride to the falls, I proceeded to pay the 100 peso entrance fee (only 40 pesos for any South American citizen) and entered the park. There are two sides to the falls, the Argentine side and the Brazilian side. Actually, Paraguay also borders the falls, but I read nothing about a Paraguayan side…still not sure why. Well, on day one I had decided to go the Argentine side; since I wasn’t leaving ‘til 9pm the following day, I planned on going to the Brazilian side then, which never happened, but I’ll get to that later. On the Argentine side, there are three potential paths available; the first takes you to a view overlooking the falls. The path includes bridges which give you the opportunity to actually look out over the falls ALLLLLLLL the way down to the bottom. There must be close to 100 different waterfalls scattered all around. There’s really not much to say,check out the pictures, they are incredible! The second path takes you further down to the bottom of the falls. At one point, you can nearly walk underneath one of the falls, which was extremely refreshing on a scorching hot day.

The first two paths are the more popular, touristy paths to take. They take you to see the main falls and without a doubt laid the groundwork for some of the most breath-taking sites I have ever seen. But for me, the third option was my favorite. A bit more off the beaten path, was the Macuco trail. I didn’t read anything about this prior to my arrival, but realizing I may never again visit the falls, I went for it. The path was an easy 3km walk along which I saw a few locals and maybe one or two other tourists. The 35 minute walk was more than worth it. After descending some rickety stairs, I was greeted by a small swimming hole, with a water-fall pouring down and a few locals cooling off enjoying themselves. For me, this was heaven. I snapped a few pictures, hopped in the water, and climbed underneath the waterfall. I hung there for a little more than an hour and then headed back to the hostel.

The hostel was offering an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet for dinner that evening. Though I was skeptical, I really had no other choice and went for it. Though the pizza was not great, to my surprise, it ended up being all you can eat! I had met some nice travelers at dinner/happy hour and decided to head out with them to the only club in town, Cuba Libre. Around 4:30am, not too late for Argentina, I couldn’t find my companions and decided to head back to the hostel. After nearly getting lost on my way back, I ran into a couple of locals hanging out consuming some beer. I started chatting with them and ended up hanging out drinking beer learning about the real side of Iguazu. As the sun came up, I regrettably had to let them know I’d be going after we finished the next liter of beer. Two hours and two liters later, I made it back to the hostel at 8am. As I approached my room, my roommates (they hadn’t gone out the night before) were walking out the door to start their day. I took a quick two hour nap, remember check out time was 10am, ate some breakfast and laid by their pool for the rest of the day. To be honest, I was never too sure about going to the Brazilian side of the falls, as I had heard they charged Americans the same fee it costs for a 90-day visa, $200, to simply enter for one day. I figured everything happens for a reason. That night I watched some of the playoffs on my computer before I had my next long trek to San Miguel de Tucuman.

Tucuman (1/17): After another 20 hour, overnight, ride from Iguazu, I arrived in Tucuman at 6:30pm. Definitely one of the worst hostels I’d stayed in, but options were limited and I was only staying one night. All but ONE of the locks to the lockers had been ripped off in my room; naturally I was a bit nervous once again to leave my laptop, ipod, camera etc. but I had no choice. I placed my valuables in and proceeded to check out the town center. Northwest Argentina was a very important trade route, and as a result, became the center for many South American battles. I came to learn that all of the cities in Northern Argentina were developed in a very similar manner. Upon their establishment, a beautiful town center with government buildings and other important monuments were constructed, and the town expanded from there. Though Tucuman was not the most beautiful city, the buildings in the town center, when lit up at night, were stunning.

Salta (1/18-21): Here came the first hiccup in the trip. I expected to have a bit more to do in Tucuman, though I’d heard prior it wasn’t anything special, so I booked my short 4 hour bus ride for late in the evening as to have the day to explore Tucuman. Poor decision on my part. Only took about three hours in the morning to see the entire town which left me the rest of the day to relax. While this wasn’t so terrible, the planning was. I ended up arriving in Salta at 1am (after changing buses halfway through the trip) and stayed the night at a different hostel than I had booked. Live and learn; don’t arrive after 10pm. The next morning I moved to the hostel where I actually had a reservation and immediately struck up a conversation with one of my new roommates, Agustin. A cool fellow from Buenos Aires, we went to check out the town (another beautiful town center) and grab some food. He had met some people at another hostel and their hostel was having an asado that night, so we decided to check it out. Prior to, we had a very entertaining conversation (or so we were told the following day by other guests at our hostel) in which I spoke Spanish for the greater majority and Agustin spoke English, only to switch to our native tongue when incapable of expressing ourselves. The asado was great, but I had booked a tour to Cafayate the following day that left at 7am, so we left early.

When I signed up for the tour, I thought I was going on a typical tour bus, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I was picked up at 7:40am in a small minivan with two ladies in their 30’s and our guide, a native “Salteno”. After picking me up, we proceeded to pick up a grandma and her granddaughter and off we went, me and five Argentine females. Needless to say, the tour was in Spanish, along with all conversations. This wouldn’t have been so terrible if there were one other male to join the conversation, but it turned into a lot of jokes aimed at yours truly (it also didn’t help I was the only foreigner). Oh, and not to mention I probably didn’t understand 75% of the jokes, though I laughed the entire time. Luckily the views along the way were absolutely breath-taking (pictures don’t do it justice) and because we were in our own car, and not a tour bus, we could get out and take pictures wherever we pleased. Our first stop was brief, just long enough to take pictures of a tiny, remote town called Alemania. Alemania has a population of about 300 indigenous Argentines, whom live on their own in the middle of the mountains. Though the government has issued them solar panels to help keep warm during the winter, they generally refuse to accept the changes in society today and live off of their own farms, animals and labor. It was truly incredible to witness, even from a distance.

There was only one part of the trip where I decided to cause a problem: wine tasting. We had planned to visit two wineries, but due to rain, one was not running tours. So when we got to the second (just in time for a new tour to start) I was keen to listen to the history of the winery (one of the oldest in Argentina). Apparently I was the only one. While I listened/followed the 20-30 minute tour, the five women sat by the car. I wasn’t about to let that ruin my experience, and I carried on with the tour until OF COURSE the wine tasting had finished. ***Side note: For my first time, I tried a Torrontes, and absolutely loved it. I am normally not a fan of white wines, but this particular grape was delicious.*** Following the wine tasting, it was back on the road to Salta where we had one more stop to take along the way: Tres Cruces. This was a view point we passed by on the way to Cafayate (ironically to try and make it in time for BOTH wine tours) and was undoubtedly the best sight of the day; overlooking the river, mountains and winding road we had just passed along. After 12 hours with 5 women, my brain had taken all the Spanish it could for one day; I was ready to get back to the hostel and relax. Upon my arrival, I was informed by Agustin that we would be heading to the other hostel that night to play ping pong…jackpot! Agustin was rather confident in his abilities, but I was quick to put that to rest. I was leaving the following day at noon for San Salvador de Jujuy and still hadn’t climbed Mt. San Bernardo; the closest mountain to Salta, just on the outskirts of the city. Agustin and I recruited some others to join us for the 8am departure time and off we went. To get to the top was less of a hike than a stair climb, which included 1,070 stairs. Every step was worth it. At the top was a breath-taking view over-looking the entire city of Salta, including the beautiful mountains in the background. We got back with just enough time to have a snack and I was off on my bus ride to Jujuy.

San Salvador de Jujuy (1/21-23): After an easy two hour ride, I was at my next destination…and after telling the cab driver the wrong address, I got in some more exercise, walking a few extra blocks than were necessary. To my delight, the receptionist at Wak Yohi Hostel thought I was Argentine! Of course this was before we proceeded to have any kind of lengthy conversation, but hey, it’s a start!!! I was starving, so naturally, I went out to buy some groceries. Upon my return it was raining, so I cooked a late lunch/dinner and hung in the hostel the rest of the evening. The following day, Agustin and I made plans to rent a car (in Salta, where he still resided) with two girls we had met and head out for the day. I was ready to go at 12, the time we arranged the pick-up, and about 15 minutes before I was going to venture out on my own, they arrived…twenty past two. I was just relieved they made it at all. It took two hours to get to Purmamarca, once there we climbed a small hill to get a better view of the town, and more importantly, the mountains of seven colors. Following our descent, I attempted to take the wheel, but failed (limited experience driving manual) and Rivika was once again put in the driver seat (where she resided the rest of the day). Our next destination was the Salinas Grandes, translated as Large Salt Flats. After about another 2 hours, climbing just under 10,000 feet (and reaching a peak height of 18,000) in the car and then descending about halfway, we arrived. The salt flats basically appear to be massive, frozen over lakes, which in reality are made all-naturally out of salt. We took some awesome pictures, and I became a bit obsessed with the salt crystals. Though difficult to explain (and see in pictures), the crystals broke off into millions of perfect right angles. Stunning to witness. We had hoped to make one more stop on the day, but with our late start, we decided to head back to Jujuy from the Salinas. Though it was Saturday, and the hostel was having an asado, I had to be up early for my next departure, so called it an early night.

Arica (1/24-1/25): This was probably the most difficult stretch of the trip. At this point, including day tours, I had been seated in either a car or bus for close to 60 hours over a span of nine day. Though the seats were plenty comfortable, there is only so much reading, sleeping, (bad…whatever they offered) movie watching, window peering, and thinking one can do. And I was in store for another 24 straight. The trip from Jujuy to Arica took me first to Calama, after crossing the border to Chile, which was a 12 hour trip. I then had a 4 hour “lay-over” in the bus terminal which offered a brief glimmer of relief: I was able to get ESPN on. For those unaware, the NFC/AFC Championship games were on that day. Though the NFC game was not shown, after watching an hour of tennis highlights, WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Steelers vs. Jets game came on! I couldn’t believe I was getting away with watching American Football in a Chilean bus terminal. It was too good to be true, and after watching Big Ben’s 9-minute, dominant, opening drive, the manager changed the channel to local news…which NO ONE was watching! Needless to say, I was distraught and sat for the next two hours praying he would change it back. No such luck. Even writing this now, that moment still irks me quite a bit. As the next two hours painfully eked by, my bus arrived and I got on for another 8 hour ride where I finally arrived in Arica at 6am. Thank goodness I had looked up a few different hostels, ‘cause the first one I rang was booked. It seemed luck was finally on my side when I arrived at the second hostel. I was greeted by a very lovely Swedish mom who had basically turned her house into a B&B. The prices were the same as any other hostel, but the location was perfect (5 minute walk to the beach) and the atmosphere was that of a house, not a hostel: just what I needed after a LOOOOOOONG 24 hour journey. I laid down for a bit and then got headed to the beach. It was beautiful and the water was the perfect temperature, but it was filled with jellyfish, so I only went for a brief dip. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that in Arica, there is a hole in the O-zone layer. Luckily I had put on sun-screen, but still burned pretty good after lying out for only an hour. I learned quickly and afterwards went to town to buy some veggies to cook dinner. Though I only stayed one night in Arica, the hostel I stayed at made it a pleasure and was just what the doctor had ordered.

The city of Arica is located at the northern point of Chile, only 30 minutes from the border of Peru. The next day I enjoyed a delicious breakfast and was on my way to my third and final country (of this trek). After the entertaining taxi ride across the border, I quickly found a bus to take me to Arequipa, my first stop in Peru. The 8 hour trip was a bit uncomfortable with my recent sun-burn, but after 12 days of traveling, I was jubilant to have FINALLY made it to my new country of (temporary) residence: Peru!

Soon to come…Part Two: Arequipa, Mejia and the Capitol of Peru: Lima

Despedidaaaaa…Goodbye Buenos Aires, Hello Lima!

2011-01-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

I last left you anxious readers wondering, waiting and eager to hear about my NYE and trip to Uruguay (I know this isn’t really true, but it makes writing this more fun, so let’s just pretend! Haha!). This will be my last blog post written in Buenos Aires, and likely, the last post I write within the country of Argentina. Wow, how time flies!

New Year’s Eve in Argentina is a family celebration. Families bring in the New Year together, with family and friends at their houses. Due to the fact that clubs, bars and other nightlife don’t begin until two or three in the morning, our house did the same! There were about eight of us who hung out, drank and celebrated together. I made sure to do TWO shots at midnight, one for my friends in Argentina, and one for my friends and family back home in the States! The entire city was lit up with fireworks for about twenty minutes, including the park around the corner from our house. We all sat outside, enjoying our beverages and watching the shenanigans around us, while bringing in what hopes to be another wonderful year!

The following day, I spent the entire day, along with a few of my other roomies, seated on the coach for the greater majority of the day; only getting up to buy an entire pizza for myself to consume throughout the day. Grease + water = best cure to a hangover!

Though I came to Argentina to work, I didn’t tell that to the customs officials, who stamped my passport with a 90 day tourist visa. Well I had nearly overstayed my welcome by the beginning of the year and had to leave the country before January 8^th! I had booked a ferry ticket for the 3^rd of January to travel to Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay. Colonia is a very quaint city with a calming view of the ocean/river and beautiful sunsets. After the worst three hour ferry ride of my life; during which nearly half the passengers had to ask for barf bags, close to a quarter actually did the deed, and the girls sitting both next to me and in front of me each made multiple trips to the toilet; we arrived in Uruguay. What a relief. The hostel I was staying at for one night had advertised they were within walking distance AND had posted signs from the port leading to it; to my pleasant surprise, they had! The hostel was nice enough, comfortable bed, a few available hammocks to lounge on and a good sized kitchen, but since I only had night in Colonia, I wasted no time! The hostel also offered bikes to rent for the whole day ($2.50) which I immediately took advantage of. I had done a little research before arriving and read about the best beach In Colonia, Playa Ferranda. It was a bit outside the main drag of the city, but I was determined to spend a day on the beach, basking in the sun.

After an easy 25 minute ride, I arrived at my destination. Empty. There was not a sole on the beach which stretched for probably about half a mile. I repeat, not a sole. I wasn’t going to be bothered by this and pulled my bike onto the beach, which is when I realized (1) I had forgotten a towel and (2) the wind was whipping around quite violently (hence the lack of inhabitants). Undeterred, I removed my shirt, laid it out and rested my head on my flip flops while listening to some Rolling Stones. After about 10 minutes I saw a few other natives braving the winds, though I quickly realized, only to eat at the local Beach House. After about 20 minutes, I went for a stroll down the beach, snapped some photos and went to try the local grub. The menu was nothing special and I got the “Beach House” sandwich. The sandwich would have been tasty, if while I sat, taking in the view, the wind wasn’t whipping sand onto my plate (and my sandwich) which added an undesirable crunch to my meal. The owner, a man who claimed to be from Miami, and insisted on speaking horrible English to me, recommended I check out a private, man-made lake around the corner. After finishing up my meal, I made my way to the lake, which was actually quite nice, and then headed back to town.

I took a quick nap before heading to the grocery store with my roommates and making a late lunch at the hostel. Since I only had one day in Colonia, I wanted to get out and check out the historical part of town before the sun went down. It was a very unique area, which you could only enter by draw bridge (no longer functioning) and was surrounded by massive walls. I expect it was some sort of military base in the past and was clearly a popular spot for light houses. I walked around, checked out the ruins and both the old and new boat docks where I realized (in my opinion) the best part of this town, the sunsets. Though the sun was not setting yet, I could tell there were a couple of beautiful spots in this historical town to take it in. I spent the next 45 minutes (I had seen the whole town) deciding where best to take in the view. I settled on a spot and relaxed there until the gorgeous “puesta del sol” came and went.

Since the moment I had arrived in Colonia, I was dreading one thing: the ferry ride back. My ride was at 11:30 the next day and I wanted to stay up and drink the night away so I would simply pass out on the ride back. No such luck. Not much to do in Colonia on a Monday and I ended up wandering around the “city” a bit before heading back to the hostel. It must have been my lucky day, ‘cause the ferry ride back was smooth sailing the whole way, and took only two hours! I had successfully renewed my tourist visa in Argentina for 90 more days!

After getting back from Uruguay, I still had a few things on my list to do here in Buenos Aires, first one being to visit the town of Tigre; actually a small island about 45 minutes to the North of the main city. It’s considered an island because it is surrounded on all sides by rivers, though it is not actually in the middle of an ocean…quite interesting! I had planned to go alone, but knew that some of my roommates probably wanted to check it out as well, as it is a well known spot for visitors of Buenos Aires. I got two takers! We planned to leave early Sunday morning, which for me meant a wonderfully laid back night of watching the NFL playoffs on Saturday night. ***Side note for the playoffs – how in the WORLD did the Saints lose to the Seahawks. I watched the whole game and still have no idea how they blew that. They were undeniably the better team, yet managed to lose the game. Congrats Pete Carroll*** Ended up only being two of us who made the trip, one individual couldn’t make the early 9am departure time. After a crowded 45 minute train ride, we checked out the Puerto de Fruta, which had everything BUT fruit (ok two stands had fruit out of close to 100) and I bought myself a new Mate’ gourde. Up to this point, I hadn’t eaten anything but a couple of pastries all day, so we searched for food. We found a waffle spot, that served waffles with just about anything you could want. Quite an interesting concept, I got one waffle sandwich with bacon and cheese and another waffle stick (check the picture) of jam and cheese with a four cheese sauce. They were delicious, and I was stuffed! We continued on. After having read multiple reviews suggesting NOT doing the boat tour…wait for it…we did the boat tour. It was an hour long ride that went through five of the seven rivers around Tigre. Got some good shots, but, like the reviews said, it wasn’t anything too special. It was a scorching hot day, so after the boat ride, we walked around the city briefly and made our way to the train back to BA. To my surprise (and delight) we made it back in time to watch the second half of the Eagles vs. Packers game! (I must admit, though I love watching Vick play and lived in Philly for four years, I was happy the Eagles lost. A part of me just needs Vick to at least be out of jail for TWO full years before he can win a super bowl…which, by the way, is my prediction next year. )

I experienced my final asado in Buenos Aires last night. While it was sad to say goodbye to everyone, I was overjoyed to have met so many wonderful people during my time here. Per usual, as the crowds left, I stayed up with some of the house-mates chatting the night away (and paid for it this morning). Though I am sad to leave Buenos Aires and all the wonderful people and places I have enjoyed; I am overjoyed for the next journey, the next discovery, and the next adventure that awaits me.

I want to add…I am overwhelmed by the number of people who read this blog. It is such a pleasure to write and I hope you all enjoy reading. I’ll do my best to keep it interesting when I get to Lima! I know I’ll have plenty to discuss from my journey across this continent so stay tuned!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Felices Fiestas (Happy Holidays) from Bariloche and Feliz Año Nuevo!!!

2011-01-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

Of course first and foremost…Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had an absolutely incredible holiday season…filled with laughter, joy and maybe a little drinking; like I said at midnight here in BA, cheers “to one more year in good health and happiness.”

This will officially be my last “this is a long entry” warning. They are all long. My only advice is to stop reading when you get bored. Oh, but for this one specifically, you may want to split it off into a few sections, or set aside a time to sit and enjoy, cause it’s looooong.

For those who don’t know, I spent the first half of my holiday season in Bariloche. Bariloche is known world-wide as a jumping off point to trek the Southern half of Argentina, including the Andes Mountains in Chile. To get there from Buenos Aires, buses leave daily to make the 20 hour trip down south. Our group of six left on Wednesday Dec. 22^nd to start our amazing adventure. The five of them had all booked their seats well ahead of time, and selected seats near the front of the bus (with the best view). Unfortunately, the procrastinator that I am, I waited a bit longer and got a seat a bit further back on the bus. I was seated next to a young guy who grew up in Bariloche and now lives in Buenos Aires, and across from a couple who also grew up in Bariloche but now attends University in Buenos Aires. Seeing as how we had a 20 hour ride (turned out to be 25 hours!!!) ahead of us, I made some small talk. To my surprise (and delight), they had very differing opinions of the town they grew up in. The couple, specifically the boyfriend, raved about it; how incredibly beautiful it is, how the nightlife is amazing and the people are so friendly and welcoming. Everything I was expecting, hoping and planning for! The exact words from the solo traveler next to me “me odio Bariloche”…translation: I hate Bariloche. To be honest I was shocked. I didn’t pry too much, but I got the feeling he was more into tall buildings and a fast paced life style, which is not the atmosphere in Bariloche! The (25 hour) bus ride was not all that bad. The seats were pretty comfortable, they showed three movies (two in English), fed us five times and gave us a few chances to get off the bus and stretch our legs. Not to mention, when I wasn’t sleeping, the scenery was amazing!

We finally arrived (Thurs, Dec 23^rd), 4 hours late, in Bariloche. Such an incredibly beautiful little town/city. It looks like a ski town you may find in Colorado, clearly built up recently due to a massive in-flux if tourism. There is a ski resort just a few kilometers South that is very popular during the winter and the city is known for having some of the best chocolate in Argentine, if not the world! After arriving at our hostel,Penthouse 1004, we quickly settled in and were off to explore the city. Bariloche is set on Lake Nahuel Huapi, which is actually a collection of seven different lakes, and we immediately headed down to the lakeside to take in the beauty. After perusing for a while, our stomachs got the best of us and we headed to a neat restaurant in town called La Alpina for a snack (we had plans to eat at the best restaurant in town that night, so we didn’t want to spoil our appetites). I’d read somewhere that smoked foods in Bariloche were delicious, so I ordered the smoked platter which came with smoked trout, boar, and venison; all delicious! The girls ordered some delectable fondue, and Rudy got a hamburger.

We had an informational meeting to attend at the hostel at 8:30, so after our snack a few of the girls went to check out the chocolate shops, while the rest of us hit up the grocery store and made our way back. The staff introduced themselves, and provided details for the following nights (Christmas Eve) festivities. With the hostel fully booked, there were about 40 of us, each group was to cook some sort of dish for all to enjoy. Some starters, entrees and of course, desserts (though I ate none of them). Following the meeting, everyone showered and got ready for dinner, and we headed to El Boliche de Alberto. I split the most expensive beef option on the menu with Mandy and ordered a heap of fries. It was amazing, and I polished off Karina’s chicken, which was cooked perfectly, as well. There was only one down-side to our hostel: the common area “closed” at 1:30am. We didn’t get back from dinner ‘til close to 12:30 and Rudy and I settled in and cracked open a few beers. As 1:30 came around, we were forced into our rooms, but Rudy and I were determined to continue celebrating our first night in Bariloche. We cracked open one more liter of Quilmes and proceeded to pass the bottle between the two of us while quietly standing in the hallway, which became a bit of a running joke between the two of us: How to drink ‘after hours’ without getting ‘caught’.

The morning of Christmas Eve arrived and we had plans to be up and out of the hostel by 9am, we left at 10.

We headed to the grocery store to buy our ingredients for dinner that night, grilled veggies and garlic mashed potatoes, and then were off to check out Llao Llao and Campinario, two places a friend of Karina’s had suggested going to. We took the #20 bus 25km outside of the city to the locale of the most famous hotel in Bariloche, Llao Llao. Though we didn’t go in, it sat on top of a small mountain and I can only imagine how incredible the views are from the rooms (though I doubt better than our hostel!). The first hike we intended to do was through the Bosque de Arrayanes (Arrayanes Forest), but failed to find the correct path. The one we did take was about an hour long through a beautiful bamboo forest surrounding one of the seven lakes. We ended up walking back along the road, and passing the hike we intended to do along the way ha! But we had more important things to see, and had to be back at the hostel by 6:30 to get our cooking done by 8:30 (the owners were VERY adamant about this), so we hopped back on the #20 bus and got off at km17 – Campinario. We had two options here, (1) take the gondola to the top, (2) about a 30 minute, very steep hike to the top. We chose option two. It was worth it. Words cannot describe what I saw, but I will just give you an idea, and you can see the picturesfor yourself! Just to give you an idea, the view from Campinario is considered one of the top 10 greatest viewpoints in all of the world. At the top, you have a 360 degree view of all seven lakes that make up Lake Nahuel Huapi and the surrounding mountains and cities as well. On this day, it was cloudy and rainy, but that in no way took away from the stunning beauty before us, simply gave a different perspective. At the top, there is a small café with some of the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever tasted. This was already one of the highlights of the trip, but what followed was somewhat of a miracle. As we made our way out of the café for our descent, the sun had crept through the rain clouds, and an absolutely stunningly, gorgeous rainbow shone clearly through the forest trees. Breath-taking. We finally made our way down the mountain and back to the hostel to prepare for the feast that would ensue.

Julia and I did the cooking for our group. I made heaps and heaps of garlic mashed potatoes (soooooo cheap) and Julia prepared the veggies. You wouldn’t believe the plethora of food options that were presented throughout the night, it was incredible. Here’s a list of what I remember eating:

Starters:

- Salmon patte

- Brushectta

- Pepper filled olives

- Cheese platter

- Smoked trout (caught fresh the day before by one of the other guests)

Entrees:

- Gemran Schnitzel

- Meatballs

- Baked chicken wrapped in prosciutto

- Garlic mashed

- Veggies, veggies, veggies

- Pasta salad, multiple types

Dessert: (I only tried one tiny piece of white chocolate…my favorite)

- Applie pie

- Truffles

- Chocolate

- Cookies

- Chocolate fondue-ish

Everything was absolutely delicious and needless to say, I was stuffed by the end. But that wasn’t going to take away from the festivities that ensued for the rest of the night. I had purchased a bottle of Hiram Walker (Johhnie’s MUCH cheaper little brother) and Rudy had brought a bottle of Patron with him from the states. Dangerous. Since I cooked, I was exempt from doing dishes, but kept the washers company and struck up a nice conversation with two older women from Santa Cruz. After all was washed up, the cork came off the bottle of Patron. I was my usual outgoing, friendly self and after borrowing a Santa hat from one of the women was dubbed the “San Diego Santa". The owners cleared out tables from one of the common areas and had a disco ball set up which led to some dancing, and at the end of the night a few of us headed out to an Irish pub down the road. Rudy and I were the only ones from our group to make it out, and after having a few drinks we made our way back to the hostel earlier than the rest (around 5:30am) to catch some shut-eye before the following days activity.

December 25^th– Merry Christmas!!! Our group had booked tickets to go to Puerto Blest (Port Blest), another one of the seven lakes, the day before and were getting picked up by bus in front of our hostel at 9:30am. After only three hours of sleep, I was definitely still drunk when I woke up (I am sure of it because I wasn’t hung over at all…haha) and was greeted with a lovely surprise in the morning! One of the other guests had waken early to perform her Christmas ritual back home in Netherlands (I think) and was in the process of rolling up fresh truffles! She offered me one, and I graciously declined, but after offering again only a few minutes later, I felt inclined to try one. It was scrumptious. For the day trip, I packed a ton of food, including left-over’s from the night before, and was out the door and ready by 9:25. (Obnoxiously) Right on time--thank you family.

From what I hear, the hour boat trip to Puerto Blest was beautiful, I couldn’t tell you, I slept the whole time. We got there around 12 and had about 5 hours to explore two separate paths. The first, about a 45 minute walk along a gravel road, lead to Lago Frias. Unfortunately, there were a few ugly, old boats blocking the better views, so I climbed aboard one to get a better feel for the surroundings. Once again, amazing. I had quite a few suggestions for the tourism center to improve the walks that day and I’ll list them as we go along. Here was (#1) REMOVE the old, ugly, broken down boats from the spectacular views. (#2) Create a path leading from Lago Frias to the second attraction of the day, the waterfalls. Since clearly this path doesn’t exist, we had to walk back along the same gravel road to the starting point and headed towards Lago Cataras, and the waterfalls that preceded it. (#3) Don’t only advertise the waterfalls, advertise the stunning lake as well! We were a little strapped for time, or so we thought, and moved quickly along the next hike/walk through the mountains. Along the way we crossed over a few rivers and were blessed with a few incredible views of the lake. Clearly we were not the first to explore these waterfalls, as we neared, beautiful wooden steps replaced the dirt path which we climbed for a solid ten minutes. It was more than worth the climb. We made it to the top at ten ‘til 4, and had been told to meet for the ferry again at 4:15. As we made our descent, we ran into the tour guide (whom we chose not to follow for the day) and were informed the ferry was now leaving at 5. Typical Argentina.

Once again, I slept the entire ride back; my body was not pleased with my decisions the night before. Upon our return, the girls went for chocolate again, Rudy and I grabbed some garlic fries and socialized with the other hostel guests, and then we all went out for a Christmas dinner. A few of the girls went out that night, but I decided to give my body a break as we had a bus to El Bolson to catch at 8am the next day!

I ordered two remises (similar to cabs, but with a set price not a running meter) for 7:25 on Sunday, Dec 26^th. A common theme of the trip, at least for me, was to sleep during ANY form of long term transportation. Once again, I was told the two hour bus ride from Bariloche to El Bolson was beautiful and even included a few glaciers (I failed to see them on the return trip as well). We arrived at 10am and I immediately fell in love. This small town looked as if it were dropped out of the sky in the middle of the mountains; on one side, the Andes, and the other Mt. Piltriquitron Our hostel was considered “a ways” outside of the town centre, I chuckled upon our arrival at the hostel as it took only ten minutes to walk there. I immediately struck up a conversation with the worker at the hostel trying to plan an activity for the day. We knew about a street fair that occurred every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, but when we arrived, and walked past where the fair was supposed to be, no one was setting up. I quickly found out it was because it didn’t open until noon. Our plan was to check out the fair and hopefully upon our return, rent some bikes and check out Lago Puelo. To my dismay I had forgotten it was Sunday, and that most places, including tourism offices, were closed! Oh well, we tossed our luggage in our room, locked up our valuables in the locker and set off for the fair. It was a gorgeous day and the food there was delicious and cheap. I got a few empanadas and a massive Suprema de Pollo (chicken sandwich). The stand I bought it from had a few homemade spreads that I put on my sandwich and to my surprise…they were SPICY! The first truly spicy ANYTHING I had found in all of Argentina. I perspired quite profusely as I tend to do when eating spicy food, but I enjoyed every last bite!

El Bolson is also well known for their delicious beers. There were a few stands offering up some of these delectable drinks and Mandy and I decided to split a tall glass of the blonde ale (as it was a gorgeous day, it fit the mold). Wow! I have never tasted such a flavorful and savory beer in my life. I just wish it weren’t so expensive, one glass was enough. We made our way back to the hostel, and fell into a bit of luck. The hostess at the front desk knew a couple who rented out bikes in El Bolson and called their house directly. I am pretty sure they were ECSTATIC to have a group of six wanting to go for a ride, and arrived at the hostel within minutes. Off we were on our next adventure! The husband gave me a very brief and helpless idea of which paths to ride along, and needless to say, we went down a road with a dead end. Eventually, we made it to La Playita (a little beach) which was packed with locals. We stood out like a sore thumb walking along the beach with our back-packs, shoes, socks, and bikes…oh and to top it off we took some jumping pictures haha! The real beauty in El Bolson is the ambiance, atmosphere and lifestyle that the locals live. So being able to relax and enjoy this was the perfect way to experience this small town. That night we grabbed dinner at the Tenedor Libre (buffet style diner) and Karina and Mandy grabbed some ice cream at Jauja (famous in Argentina, originated in El Bolson); I held off for the following night.

The next day we were up early and made our way to the tourism/excursions office in town. I had a strong desire to do some type of water activity during this trip, and today was the perfect day for it. Some of the girls were opposed to the idea of going in the water so we decided to split up. I went with Rudy and Julia on a kayaking trip along the same lake we had rode to the previous day. It was amazing, the water was beautiful, and we stopped off on some rocks halfway through the ride to have a bite to eat. Mandy and Emily went horseback riding, and Karina did some beer tasting. Rudy, Julia and I were feeling quite ambitious that day (why not…it may be the only time in my life I’ll be in El Bolson!!!) and so we also planned to go on a hike with Karina after our kayaking adventure. We got back from kayaking at 3:30, changed, got ready and were picked up by our ride at 4 to go to the Bosque Tallado. The drive took about 30 minutes, which took us halfway up Mt. Piltriquitron, and we took it from there. Bosque Tallado is about a 45 minute, steep hike, to a carved out area on the mountain. At this point, a very ambitious, intelligent, and savvy individual had brought massive wooden carvings to the middle of the mountain for people to see. It was really neat, but for me the real treat was the refuge camp about 400 meters above this. Rudy and I were feeling quite ambitious and decided to climb to a point a bit higher up on the mountain which turned out to be my highlight of the trip. The view from up top was spectacular, amazing, breathtaking, incredible, wow, wonderful, and any other words you can think of! The two of us sat up there for about 15 minutes, speechless; taking in the view. To our left we could see Lago Puelo (the same lake we had been kayaking on that day, now about 8,000 feet below us), below us, the quaint little town of El Bolson, and stretching in all directions as far as the eye could see, the Andes Mountains. Truly a sight I will never forget. As we rode back down the mountain, our driver, a very nice man who had lived his whole life in El Bolson, reminded us that just on the other side of the Andes was Chile. Something I hadn’t truly grasped, which once again set me aback.

That night, we made some pasta at the hostel and then headed into town for a taste of the famous Jauja ice cream. I got white chocolate, chocolate with almonds and raspberry. The flavors were…to die for. Each tasted EXACTLY as depicted in the title, unbelievable. That evening Rudy and I hung outside the hostel polishing off the bit of Patron we had failed to finish on Christmas Eve as it was his and Julia’s last night with us. I was sad to leave El Bolson, it is undoubtedly one of my top three places in the world that I have visited.

We took the 8am bus from El Bolson back to Bariloche, and were to stay there one more night. I had read about a spot on the other side of the lake from Bariloche called Villa La Angostura, about an hour away, that I wanted to visit before we headed back to Buenos Aires. As Rudy and Julia departed back for BA; Mandy, Karina, Emily and I all made our way to the bus station to head to Villa. We got there and immediately headed to the famous park in the area, Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes. There was a small beach when we arrived, and decided this is where we would spend the day. We met an adorable black lab/retriever mix that I played fetch with for quite some time, never to meet the owners (if any existed). The girls had decided to take an earlier bus back to Bariloche to have one last go around of chocolate shopping in the city. I chose to hang back in Villa and do a separate hike to a waterfall. I failed. The tourist office gave me piss poor directions on how to get there, and told me there would be signs along the way for where to go. As I did not have a watch on me and did not want to miss my bus back to Bariloche, after successfully getting lost three separate times, I decided to turn back. All was not lost though, while failing to find the waterfalls, I stumbled upon some really unique trails. Signs were posted (I think) that said I was entering tribal grounds, or something of the sort. As a perused, I saw some amazing old huts, gardens, cages, and pathways. I even saw a local off in the distance fixing a broken down wire fence, and was able to see the makings of what appeared to be a small village in the middle of the forest. I didn’t want to upset the locals, so I didn’t tread too far onto their grounds, but what I saw was mind-boggling.

While my adventure here in South America is one I will never forget, this trip to Bariloche will forever remain a highlight of my time down here. I am so blessed to have had this opportunity and will cherish every breath- taking, mind-blowing panoramic view I took in.

I didn’t even get to my New Year’s Eve or trip to Uruguay, but I’ll save that for my next post. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them! And welcome everyone to 2011!!!