If Not at First, Try Try Again...

Second Atempt....mission accomplished

Booking through the hostel seems to be the much more reliable way to book q winery tour. I woke up early, knowing that I wanted to get to a winery today. When I approached the woman working the desk here she told me that it would be ok...then I pushed her, and got to two wineries tours out of her! Yes, that means I'ma little tipsy right now : ) But that is a good thing!!! This is my first winery tour/sampling expiernece, and it was everything I expected.

I had two recservations, and the travel inclulded the subway/metro, bus, and taxi. I was metally preparred for this challenge. I went solo, and managed well. The trains here are amazingly clean and frequent. I seriously think the subway comes every 90 seconds...or maybe less. A couple of transfers later, I find a couple from Germany looking for the same winery I am and we share a cab/colectivo to the winery.

Te first winery was an absolute charmer. It has been in the same famliy for 350 years. Starting with grapes from France, and aging the wine in American Oak barrles. The cellars were incredible, and full of character. Unfortunatly, the wine did not reflect the magnificent charactor of the winyard. Many tasters were not impressed. So, I decided to wait untill later for my gift purchase.

Next was the winyard Concha y Torro, a winery that exports all over the world, I thought this would be a good place to buy the gifts I owed folks back home. And, although the tour was somewhat lackluster, the wine proved to be remarkable. I tasted the complementary glasses on the tour, and then opted for the 4 addition samples at the end....which later turned into 5. I finally decided on the bottles I wanted...whith much help from a couple from NYC, and Rio de Janeiro and I was ready to buy and be on my way.

Pointing to the store, the bartender directed me towards the place where I could buy bottles of wine. Now, however, I had a bit of a problem. I needed to get several bottels of wine back to the states. And, well, I took the subway and the bus here...you get the idea. Picture yourself with 12 bottles of wine ridding the local bus.?.?

I obviously wanted a discount. Everything is negotiable in South America, and just because the bottles had price tags on them, that wasn't going to stop me...especially when I was buying a whole lot of them! Unfortunatly, the girl at the check out drove a hard bargin. I had become friends with the girld finding me the wine...but that wasn't the one checking me out. (god if I had a penny for everytime I made this mistake in sales...)

I asked her for 20%...a good discount, I thought- rellizing it was a bit too much.

She asked for my hat.

OK- now this is serious. Any guy out there knows that a hat that really feels right, is a priceless one. And I had just bought a beauty. A really cool sombrero type that I truly thought was going to make it through with me to the other side (US).

We finally setteled on 15%...which ended up being twice what I paid for the hat...so I guess I am happy about it. Now, the American thing to do would have been give the hat back to me at the last minute and all have a big laugh....and I really held onto that belief, until she pointed me out the door and down the street....then I relized I really just sold my hat...damn I miss that hat!

Bottom line, I finally got my gifts, tried some great Chilean wine, and gave up a great hat in the process....I hope its worth it!

Sunset of a Lifetime

Going from Oruro, just outside of La Paz, to Uyuni, the town where we started our salt flat tour...we were blessed with the most amazing sunset I have ever seen. The ride started just before sunset, and the first 30 minutes were beautiful. So, what does the most amazing sunset of my lifetime look like?? The perscription goes something like this...

The sky- a million shades of pink, reds, purples, and blues. Then sprinkle in perfect mountain skyline, that the sun is now hiding behind. Paint on some sweeping clouds accross the entire sky, perfectly appointed so that the sun can still reflect its glory for a few more minutes. Now, you are on a perfectly flat portion of desert land, maybe 10 miles of it before you reach the mountain silouettes. This is good. But, it rained last night- and these flat lands are now transformed into a giant shallow lake reflecting all of the greatness in the sky onto the land. Giant pink flamingos are feasting happily at the delight of the water and all it supplies. There are thousands of them. Many are flying almost in synch with the train, now moving at a steady pace. It seemed the perfect harmony of nature. And although it may have only lasted 30 minutes, it is a memory of a lifetime for me.

South American Business

I guess I have met people along the way who are working and living permanatly down here. But, most are in the tourism business. They are the hippie type who wanted to get away, and are happy running their returaunt, hostel, or worse...a suvaneer shop on the street.

However, I met my first ones where moving here. A group of 3 young guys from London, who recently lost thier jobs with Merril Lynch, joined a new start up investment company. They are here in Santiago for two weeks of training, and then off to Rio de Janeiro, where the will face the challenge of starting up an office there. A bold move, no doubt. Even they seem quite unsure about the outcome. But, I have been wondering, how bad does the economy have to get at home, before people start looking for opportunities elsewhere.

I guess I have my answer.

A Failed Attempt

Not everything goes smoothly while traveling. In fact, rarely do things go smoothly, but I was confident when my new friend from Santiago offered to accompany us to the winery region that the trip would go off without a hitch. She made some phone calls and found out the best winery in town (an hour and a half away) to visit- then we checked out the website and everything looked legitimate, so we headed off.

When we got there, after an hour and a half in 90 degree weather on a bus without air conditioning, I was a little on edge. But, I knew that great wine and food awaited...so that kept my spirits up. Then, when the driver droped us off on the side of the highway, about a half mile past the winery, I was a little perplexed- I mean ok, I see the winery from here- but how are we supposed to find a ride home??-, but hey, a little walking never hurt anyone.

45 minutes later we reach the gate of the winery. I´m sorry, he said, the last (and only) tour was at 5. It was 5:35. We were 3 people. I let the local do the negotiating. At this point, I was in disbelief. We just walked through grapes that looked delicious for the last half an hour, and now you are telling me we cant come in?? No, not even to buy a bottle for the raod. We turned around, tails between the legs, and my new local friend appoligizing franatically.

We finally made it back to the highway, where we flagged down a bus back to Santiago. Not exactly how I planned to spend the day, but these things happen in South America, and you just have to chalk it up as a learning expierence. What did I learn?? No one is a better planner than me. :)

Imediatly after we got back, I went to the mall (yes they have malls here!) for some retail therepy. I headed straight for the food court where I was in shock to find a Taco Bell!! I was so excited now...(I am admitedly addicted to the stuff at home, some days I ride through the drive through instead of going in, because I´m embarrased that I was just there the day before)...but this was one of those Pizza Hut- Taco Bell combo´s, and the menu was small, even if I couldn´t get my favorite dishes, I ate it up happily. Even found some new things that I want and don´t need at the mall (standard). Then I went back to the hostal smoked a cuban cigar poolside and drank a cold beer. It was about then that I relized, maybe this day wasn´t so bad after all.

Salt Flats- Bolivia

I really feel like I cant even begin to describe what I saw on my three day tour through southern Bolivia, and the salt flats, but I guess I will try.

the 'Salt Flats' is essentially an area in where an ancient salt lake existed, then dried up, leaving all the salt behind in a perfectly level and even distribution. It makes for some wicked vistas. And since there are no frames of refrence to the size of things, it is easy to fool the camera, and have fun with some goofy pictures- many of which I took. Essentially this is a photographers dream trip, everything was about the pictures...and I took a lot!

Over the three days, we saw an island that was filled with 1000 year old cacti. Volcanoes, ancient lava rocks that were frozen in the craziest shapes and forms. Huge rocks sticking out of nowhere in the middle of the dessert, snow capped mountains...that looked tempting to ski, beuatufilly colored lakes, most with giant pink flamingos, live creaters spewing and bubleing up hot sulfer dioxide, geysers, hot springs, and we even slept in a home made completely of salt.

We traversed this lanscape, that sometimes looked like Mars, in Toyota Landcruisers. This place was like the next life given to any fixed up Landcrusiers that exist in the world, they were all 10-20 years old, and lifted up, with big knotty tires, racks on top and brush guards in front with extra lights. They all carried extra fuel, and essentially relied on the driver if there were any problems. We had some problems with our fuel filter at a few points, and I actually saw our driver sucking gas out of a fuel line with his mouth, to clear the block. These guys are hard core! It felt like a Jeep Jamboree for Landcrusiers. Duddy you would have loved it, and I would be surprised if your old white one ends up down here somehow.

I'm not sure how to completely describe the sights of the trip. I will have to put my pictures up. I think some of them are framers!

First Impressions Count

My first night in Santiago...a blast!

I'm already liking this place, and despite many people telling me the city was an ugly place, and that the people were not nice- I have found the exact opposite true. I guess what is beautiful is different to everyone. I have been here only about 12 hours, but I have already seen so much!

In fact, as soon as we got into Chile, from Bolivia, things changed. All of a sudden there were nice paved roads, with guard rails!! and even run-away truck ramps like we have in the mountains in the states. It felt so familiar, for a moment I thought I was home. Those roads were a welcome change, especially since we spent the last 24 hours on them! Another thing, our bus actually left on time, and arrived on time...a concept that is lacking in Bolivia and Peru. This country has infrastructure, but you definitly pay for it, everything is more expensive here...really food and drinks are about the same as in Chicago, maybe 10-20% cheaper. The accomidation though is still quite a lot cheaper. My hostel here is 11 USD, compared to the average of 4-5 USD throughout Bolivia and Peru. But there is also business here, and money...not made from the Cocaine trade.

I went out to dinner with my friend Allan as soon as we got into town...we were ready to see something after that trip! We walked around our new neighborhood, its called bario brasil, and it is beautiful! Of course it comes with a central plaza, but its the streets, lined with trees, and the old decadent mansions that line the streets of this area that give it the charm. The streets are also lined with cool bars and resturaunts. We chose a cool sushi place for dinner, and everything went right from there on.

Two nice, chatty local girls sat at the table next to us. Eventually our conversations met, and soon after we were all having dinner together. They were well traveled themselves, and obviously well educated. Dinner was good, but not exceptional - as I have heard that Santiago has some amazing sea food...(yet to be discovered). But I was excited about one thing on the menu...Budwieser! I couldn't belive it...the first time in months that I have seen the stuff, obviously I started with that! The girls then told us about a concert they were going to later, and asked if we wanted to join. Obviously! It was unlike anything I have ever been to. Inside of a run down mansion, there was a stage set up on the second floor, in what might have been the great room, in from of a magnificent fire place. Lights were strung up above, and a makeshift bar in the next room served the drinks. It was an intimate show, maybe 30 people were there, there were tables and chairs for everyone to relax with the music, and the setting just made everything better. I went exploring through this 4 story masterpiece. Every room had a huge, ornate fireplace on one end, with terrific windows in every shape, at least those that still remained. I really enjoyed exploring, but when my new friend saw my amazement, she took me to the roof top, where a view of the city and the small plaza below awaited. It was all very cool. We even attended a small after party at our new friends apartment, and when we left she offered to show us the whole city while we are here!

I can't wait to see what else Santiago has in store for me, but I'm excited that I'm off to such a great start!

Pushing My Limits

Part of this trip for me is trying new things, that might be outside of my normal routine. The idea here is to discover new strenghts...and sometimes weaknesses.

When I arrived in Bolivia, my unplanned stop in South America. I knew that La Paz, where I am staying, is high up in the Andes. Its part of the reason I wanted to come. I do have a soft spot for mountains...and I also enjoy big cities. La Paz is the unoffical capital (don't ask me what that means) of Bolivia, it has about 1.5 million people, and it sits about 3,600 meters above sea level (11,800 ft.), beautifully setteled into a valley surounded by impressive Andes peaks. Natuarally when I hear they can be climbed, I am interested. One particularly impressive mountain is called Huayna Potosi. It is 6,088 meters up...thats about 19,968 ft. (really high). The 6,000 meter height is an important milestone for many acomplished climbers.

Of course, I readily sign up. After all, I have done 2 treks in Peru both summiting at around 4,600-4,700 meters...not exactly 6,000- but I figure I have a nice bit of aclimitizing and conditioning leading up to this. I also never had any real problems with the aformentioned treks with altitude sickness. So, I thought, maybe...I'm some sort of genetic freak and I have a body that can with stand low levels of oxygen. Its worth looking into, ...right?

Well, as it turns out- I am not a genetic freak that has some special power to function even with low levels of oxygen. ...I know, I was disapointed too.

It was an amazing ride, riddled with challenges along the way....here is the story of my climb.

I knew things were going to be different when myself, and three others from the hostel, went to suit up at the agency where we booked our trip. Included were crampon compatable plastic made boots, -10 below celcuis sleeping bags, gloves, headlamps, climbing harness, ski pants and jacket, crampons for the boots, and ice axes. It was going to get serious.

The first day was spent on a nearby glacier to the first basecamp, at 4,600 meters high (my previous high mark) where we geared up, and learned how to use our axes and crampons to climb vertical walls of ice, how to fall on your axe to save another climber who has fallen (and is tied to you), how to repell down these glaciers, walk on glaciers, proper jumping techiniques for going over cravasses in the glacier, and how to accend and decend step slopes. I had an absolute blast! It was like having a glacier in your backyard, someone give you all the gear...and say, "here ya go, have fun!" I mean, it was some instruction, but I just felt like a big kid the whole time playing around on this giant piece of foreign ice. One part I broke off and ate, you know, so I know what real "glacier" water tastes like...I guess its not helping global warming though. :(

It was only a 5 hour trek to the second base camp the next day, 5,200 meters (17,056 ft.). And everything seemed to be going to plan, I had my pack on- as usual in my previous treks- it was loaded up with my crampons and ice axe on the outside...it has never looked cooler. But then we started climbing...not just walking/treking, but on all fours going up the side of a mountain. The challenge was welcome, and all was well given the short distance that day. But now came the interesting part.

After dinner, served early, at 5 o'clock. We hit the sack. Sleeping in a cabin like structure on the mountain built to accomidate the climbers. It was quite comfortable...except for the fact that you needed to go to bed at 6 o'clock. Why? Well, because we leave at 1 am for the summit! Breakfast is at midnight! Needless to say, I couldn't sleep- and around 10 that night I started getting my first headache. It was too early for me to sleep, and its notoriously difficult to sleep at altitude anyway...so I got nothing. My first mistake...I was not in the best of moods at our midnight breakfast! So, just to clear this up, yes we are climbing about a 6,088 meter mountain in the dark. Why? (yes I asked) Its because when the sun comes out it can melt the snow on top of the glaciers making it unsafe to traverse. OK- fair enough. I will hike at night. But I couldn't see anything!- the fact that it was snowing wasn't helping. Thank god for that headlamp, the tracks in the snow, and the ropes that tied us all together as we accended...otherwise I wouldn't have made it 50 ft.

Our guide, as it turns out, is a slave driver! His pace is fast, at least for me- but he knows the pace we need to reach the summit. After the first 50 meter climb, one guide just told a hiker to go down, they weren't going to make it at that pace. We left 4 people at that 2nd base camp who stayed behind due to altitude illness. At least another 5 turned around on the mountain that day/night, including one girl who is mountain climbing guide in Turkey! After about 30 minutes, I get into the zone. And I later realize that 97% of what I see on the accent are foot prints in the snow, highlighted by my trusty headlamp. What can I say, I'm just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. This is the primary thought in my mind for the next 9 hours. Despite asking for frecuent breath catching breaks, I do well for the first few hours. Hmmm, it might have something to do with the 800 mg of ibprofin that I took around 11 pm the night before...just a few hours ago now. But soon, the lack of sleep sets in. I get tired, and on the breaks I am closing my eyes, coming close to going into what could become a permenant sleep. I knew that I must have been really tired if I was falling asleep while climbing a mountain! This was my second sign. Next, came the dizzyness. When I started falling over for no reason, I knew it had to be the altitude that was getting to me. But, I pushed through, and as the obstacles became more involved, my alertness also increased. Or, it could have been the 60 mg of psuedoephedrine (Sudaphed) that I took to ward off the sleepyness.

Nevertheless, I was strugeling. And as we climbed, it got colder, and the snow intesified. We stopped for a break. I have no idea where we are, but I know I have about nothing left in me...and I was done waiting for someone else to cry for help, so I could quickly jump to their relief by agreeing to desend. As I am proclaiming my lack of juice left to my firends in the group...which is sort of the anti-christ thing to do on a climb like this (because you could sap the small amount of energy remaining in the group with your proclimation). Our guides speak up at the same time. Serving as the official translator for the group, they come to me to speak. By one guide we are 400 meters from the top, ...the other one later tells me 200 meters... and they are advising us to stop where we are. The snow has gotten to thick, seeing distance is small- which negates any possible views from the top, and the real kicker- if we continue we are in risk of causing an avalanche... not a good thing. The thing that struck me though, was the genuine fear of these two guides to go up- I had the feeling they were scared! When it was 400 meters, everyone was ready to heed our not-so-fearless leaders advice and start our decent (which I am ok with at this point). But, then the other guy chimed in and had to tell us it was only 200 meters. It just seemed so close...we had to try! Without much discussion, we were back in our lines, marching to our leaders beat. But soon, the climb became steep, and technical. It took us a hour to do the last 200 meters. But, we made it! All of us in our group. I was so out of it though, that I couldn't fully enjoy it until later.

After the summit, I was chosen to lead the group down. A difficult task! Especially when the tracks you had to guide you up are snowed over, and you cant see more than 30-40 feet in any direction. The trip down was interesting, my legs felt like rubber, and I mistepped many times, falling into the deep powder, or catching myself with my axe. We eventually made it down to the 2nd base camp just after 9 am. It took us 5 hours to reach the summit, and 2 hours down- with one more to go back to base camp 1. This all happened today, and I feel like it lasted a week!

All in all, I am glad that I have climbed Huayna Potosi, a great mountain that I can say I climbed, but definitly did not conquer. I seem to not be able to pass up a good mountain climb/trek on my South American adventure, and I hope the many summits will become a metaphore for my life when I return.

Dollar Rising...At Least in Bolivia!

I love it. One of the local "casa de cambio's" where you go to change your money, publishes its rates on a red ticker symbol outside of their shop. Each day my exchange rate is different, and lately it has been rising. You can't imagine how imeansly entertaining it is to watch your money become worth more overnight! When I got here in La Paz, Bolivia, the exchange rate for dollars was 7.03. Then a day later- up to 7.035, then to 7.04...and now its a whopping 7.045. I know it sounds miniscule (and it is). But for some strange reason, I love watching it.

By the way, things are rediculously cheap here. I'm currently sipping on a coke that I paid 4 Boliviano's for (less than 50 cents for 20 oz), my internet cafe is costing me 2 Boliviano's an hour...about 25 cents an hour, and my hostel costs 40 Boliviano'sa night...about $5.50.

I think part of the reason come from my deep confusion and intruige for the process. I mean, its no secret that the economy in America is in the gutter. So, people are out of work and not spending as much money, the government on the other hand, seems to be on a spending spree. One 700 billion dollar bailout/rescue after another, some say it won't be long before we could see a trillion dollar spending/stimulus plan.

The conection that I fail to make is- how does this add up to an increased value of the dollar? I do have one working theory that the economy of Bolivia is actually falling more quickly than America's...not sure though...its a working theory. :)

I'm sure someone can clear this up for me....but in the meantime, I will enjoy my quasi wall street ticker here in the casa de cambios in La Paz.

I Went to Bolivian Prison

Before I left, I told myself it would be a great trip if I just managed to stay out of 2 places. The hospital, and prison. I made an exception.

San Pedro Prison in La Paz, Bolivia is such an extremely wierd place that it has actually become a tourist attraction! I had to go! Paying off people to let you into the prison is the standard mode of operation. I know, its wierd, actually paying to go into prison....I haven't gone mad...just let me explain.

Officially the prison is off limits to tourist. So, you find a guy who knows a guy, who's cousins', ex-wife's, daughter was there at some point (you get the idea). We follow some lady into the prison who we met in the park outside. By the way, the park was lovely, and the prison sits right in downtown La Paz, prime real estate for this town, it was just a short walk from my hostel. Immediatly after passing the first set of gaurds she took us into a waiting cell, and closed the door. I was nervous, but she came back moments later with instructions. Go to the guard write your name and passport number, he will sign your arm for entry, and then go into prison, your guide Louis Fellipe will be waiting for you inside. We followed the instructions accordingly, and soon we were in prison.

That was the last I saw of any guard. This 'prison' is more like a neighborhood of criminals, who now get one free meal a day, at lunchtime. There are 8 neighborhoods in all. Some are upper class, and offer inmates/residents gardens, apartments with private baths, billards halls, day care facilities (inmates serving more than 5 years are allowed to have their spouses and children live with them, they can come and go from the prison as they please), resturaunts and bars, and public showers and suanas. On the other hand, there are the slums- where inmates sleep in glorified cardboard boxes. The prison has a set budget, and each week the presidents of the neighborhoods, or sections, get together and negotiate how their money will be sent. Structual improvements are often needed, since the building looks to date back a couple of hundred years.

The upside of having a prison that is lacking in structual soundness is, of course, the possibility of escape. In fact, just three days ago 5 prisoners escaped. How? Well, the formed the quite ingeneous plan to dig a hole through the prison wall....which is made of dried mud. It took them 2 months, and they planned to exit into a small wheeled cart selling goods on the street outside. Aparently all went well, they have not been caught.

Our 'guide' was actually a Portugeus guy, in for drug trafficing charges. He has been in for 8 months and not been to trial. As far as I'm concerned this guy may as well have been straight from Sicily...he was 100% mobster!, complete with the slicked back black hair and black sport coat. Admitedly guilty, he didn't want to be extradited- hopeing instead, to raise enough money in the prison to pay off the right people and be released. Back in Portugal, nobody the wiser. At the end of the tour he took us into what must have been one of the nicer cells, and had a sit down with us....to discuss his tip. Many other men were in the cell as well, including the entourage who followed us for the tour (all of whom I'm sure were getting a cut of what we paid) and some new gentelman, who I can only assume were the leaders of the section we were in. We gave him a 15 Boliviano tip ($2) and a pack of cigerettes. Thank him, he was gratified, and we were shown the door.

Lets see- what other crazy things am I missing here??, they have soccer tournaments. One section has a cement field, you pay more for a cell with a view of the action. Also, you are allowed to fix up your place. If your making enough money inside, you can build on an addition! All prisoners hold the keys to their own cells. You have the option to rent or buy a cell upon entry. And if you own, when you are released, you sell you 'cell' to whoever wants to buy it! Literally their were signs on the walls, just like in our cities, advertising real estate for sale.

Try to keep in mind that this is a prison! I'm walking around rapest, murderers and drug dealers, here. This is the only prison in La Paz, and anyone who has commited a crime here, ends up in this prison.

I think this was the most outrageous expierence of my trip thus far.

San Pedro Prison, La Paz.

I Made it, I´m in Bolivia!

I know, I know, its not some huge accomplishment. But, for some reason, I do feel a bit accomplished.

I finished Peru. I did everything I wanted to do there, and what a great country it is- I will definitly miss my time there, but I´m also excited about moving on. I went out for a ´last supper´last night before my bus left Cusco for La Paz. In retrospect, I was a bit too optimistic that it would be my last supper in Peru. But not careing yet, and under the assumption that I better spend all of my Peruvian money before I leave, I splurged. Went out for a full course dinner, with drinks along the way, I even went for the expresso and brownie with ice cream desert afterwards....which was amazing! The only thing missing was my corporate credit card, and the doctors I used to go out with for fancy dinners like this one. I couldn´t help but be nastalgic about that...I truely did enjoy that part of my job. One other difference though, this one cost me, about 16 dollars. Gotta love South America.

Well, half buzzed and fully cafinated, I caught my bus....which was, I thought, a direct bus to La Paz. We had two stops in the first few hours, one where we waited an hour and a half until we boarded a completely different bus. I was not the only one bamboozeled, many were angry. My fit earned me the front seat in the next bus with virtually no leg room, and right next to the noisy engine. This one took us, thankfully, to the boarder. Which was another obsticle, and, as it turns out- especially for Americans. I was forced to get a Visa at the boarder....which wasn´t a huge hassel, save of course for the 135 dollars they made me pay for it! In case you are wondering, yes that is an outrageous amount of money in Bolivia. And it just plain sucks that we (me and 2 other girls) were the only ones who had to pay it.

Sweet, I´m accross! It was actually a bit of a rush, I felt like I was doing something wrong...even though I wasn´t! We changed busses again, and somehow, every time we change- the bus gets a little worse....a little smaller, a little less room, with out air conditioning...ect. Passing by lake Titicaca was really a nice added bonus of the trip though. I think they label it as the largest lake that is as high in elevation as it. Ancient indeginous tribes actually lived on the lake...literally. They built islands out of reeds that could hold little villages, houses and all. I know, pretty cool. The islands still exist today...but mostly as tourist traps...which thankfully, I avoided. I did however, upon the next hurdle of the journey, crossing the lake, get to ride on a boat acrross the lake...and get some cool pictures along the way. The boat trip cost me 1.5 Bolivianos....which is somewhere in the neighborhood of about 20 cents! It was beautiful. And about 5 hours later, La Paz apeared as a sprawling, colorful city, nesteled in a valley with high towering, comanding, snow capped mountains keeping the city in its place. Rummor is you can climb some of those mountains...I might just decide to test myself, and see how much altitude this body can take....we will see.

I have checked into my hotel, and I am staying at the infamous Loki Hostel. It is famous for its parties. And seriously, this place is just like a huge co-ed frat house. There are 14 beds in my room...all full, and the hostel probably holds another 100 on top of that. It comes complete with a dvd room, for those who spend the night before in the bar- which is complete with 2 pool tables....it even has a oxygen bar! (they claim the worlds highest)....I´m starting to hear that about everything here (worlds highest...not sure which are ture?).

Bolivia was a country that I´m pretty sure I laughed at in Spanish class in college...I remember thinking, ´why the hell would I need to know anything about that place...its not like I´m going there anytime soon.´ And to be honest, I didn´t even want to come here until so many people told me so many great stories as I have been traveling. Now I have to see for myself, ohhh the irony. All in all, I´m excited to be in a new country and in a big city, and I know that Bolivia will provide me with some plesent surprises along the way.

The Machu Picchu Trek

I just returned from Machu Picchu, and I´m proud to say that I was number 1 at arriving to the top. Yeah, I know- you don´t think that going to Machu-Picchu is, or should be, a competition...but it is! They only allow 400 visitors each day to climb to the top of Wayna Picchu, the taller mountain next to Machu Picchu that you see in every postcard and photo. Naturally everyone wants to go, I mean what is one more hour of climbing after a five day 40 mile long trek?? Well, the competition was a little over rated. Everyone, even people who had been there weeks before me told me that it was really important to get there early and secure your spot in line. The ruins open at 6 am, and the busses start arriving at about a quarter to 6. The hike from Auguas Calientes, the nearby town everyone stays in, is about an hour and a half. I was up at 3:45. I sure as hell wasn't going to be shut out of the top spot in the park after my 5 day journey. Myself and two others from my group left at 4:20. The next hour and a half was miserable! Tired, and already beat up from the journey to this secluded town- a two hour hike up old wet Inka stairs, in the pitch black, with rain, was not on my list of most desireable things to do that day. But what can I say- I was too cool to take the bus. We arrived at about 5:30- and I was number 10 in line. I was pissed- what the hell did we wake up for?? Where are the other 400 people? But only untill the busses arrived just 10-15 minutes later, when the packs arrived in droves...then I was happy :)

Then the race started. After you get into Machu-Picchu, at 6, then you need to run all the way to the other sde of the ruins to the entrance to Wayna Picchu....I know, not the smartest system. Also, my first glance at Machu-Picchu was spent jockeing for position in the next line. Well, I was still 11th in line when I got to the base of Wayna Picchu...but it was terrible cloudy (as my pictures will show) and the first 9 people opted for the later climbing time of 10 am. Sweet, now I'm 2nd in line! As our 7 o'clock climb group started, the competitive spirit was still strong within me. Either that, or I was just so damn eager to get away from the crowds that once I was let loose, I just took off. The trail up was mostly switchbacks, with some straight ups that were practically like ladders, all these with scattered homes here and there along the way. I found myself about an hour later, after many slippery wet steps designed for mini-me shoes, at the top of Wayna Picchu. All by myself! I explored the top for a while, and picked my spot to perch for the best view. After soaking in the 360 views of absolutly amazing mountain peaks, draped in thin lines of cloud cover at different altitudes, I seteled in. Feeling accomplishied of reaching the destination of choice from the previous 5 days, I wondered what to do. I almost took a video, I almost started writing, but then I just started thinking... and I couldn't help but ask myself, who the hell would want to live up here?? I mean, the climb was difficult!, and I can't imagine of doing it every time I wanted to see some friends, or shop for food! I stayed long enough to relax and wait for the clouds to clear...which they sort of did, in about 10 second intervals. I got three pictures during a clearing...and my camera died. NICE. I still had fun. There were a bunch of Argentinian guys up there who were singing cloud moving sogns that sounded more like soccer chants...it was fun- we had the whole crowd cheering on the clouds! As they moved in and out of our viewing position people cheered and groaned, a fun expierence.

I didn't really find any answers to my living questions on the tour though. They really don't know much about the people who lived there. Of course, they have their theories...which mostly soundlike interesting stories to tell to tourist to me. Hiran Bignham, a German carteographer, turned explorer, is largerly credited with the discovery of Machu Picchu in 1911. It is believed to be inhabited during the 15th century, and deserted in 1539. No one knows why they left, war, pluege.?. My personal theory is that they got tired of climbing all those damn stairs! The Inkas are certainly given a lot of credit for building it, and after all they were excellent with cutting these granite stones and fitting them together without morter. There are great examples of this in Cusco as well (the Inka capital city). I must say it is impressive, and it must have been terribly time consuming. Also, their famous trail system allowed for an impressively large empire. They communicated through messengers, the strongest men from each village were entrusted with this important job, and their trails connected many cities and villages throughout their empire- which today would encompass parts of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. And their language, Quechua, is still today the primary language spoken in the mountainas regions of Peru and Bolivia. I definitly now, have a better understanding of these people, their culture, and their history.

Oh, did I mention the 4 days leading up to this?? Well, lets just say- I summited my 2nd 15,000 ft. + mountain in the last 2 weeks, saw some amazing peaks and beautiful lush valleis with great waterfalls, and terrifying bridges. Most days started at 6 am, after a soggy night in an ill equiped tents, and ended around 4, after mind numbing stepping repitition which, in the end is rewarded with amazing views, new friends, blisters, akeing bones, some really great hot springs...and when civilization is reached....a cold beer.