scorbs

Pablo Neruda’s Valaparaiso home – La Sebastiana – is a beautiful place.  It has a very peaceful vibe as you walk around…

Some pictures from the picturesque town of Vaparaiso

colored walls

painted lamps

gone flying

stepping

stop it mom!

parades

looking up

homes

murales

the hillside

alien alert

me

Tomorrow, I leave for Chile!

The plan is to fly in to Santiago, and then head north to Valparaiso, a nearby seaport city.  I’ll be spending the majority of my time, though, in one of the most remote places in the world: Easter Island.

It’s my first major trip traveling alone, and I’m really excited about it.   Over Thanksgiving, I did a 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat, which was awesome.  (If it’s something you’ve considered, I’d highly recommend it.  It’s a challenging experience, but definitely worth it.)  So, I think having this time by myself in place like Chile will be invigorating.

Anyways, I’m looking forward to lots of photography (I got a new lens!), culture, spanish practice, beach time, yoga, and SUN.

Oh, and attempting to subsist entirely on empanadas and chilean wine.

I may come back weighing 300 pounds. 

Quick facts:

• local time
  • valparaiso:  UTC – 3 (noon in seattle = 5pm in valparaiso)
  • easter island:  UTC – 6 (noon in seattle = 3pm in easter island)
• currency
  • 1 usd = 663 Chilean pesos
• weather
  • valparaiso: sunny, mid-70s
  • easter island: sunny, mid-70s
• easter island trivia
  • population: ~ 4,000
  • size:  63.1 sq mi
  • famous for: the legendary moai
  • remoteness:  2,237 mi west of continental Chile (a 5 hour flight) and 1,290 mi east of Pitcairn

Unfortunately, the arrival home – while appreciated – wasn’t quite pleasant.

Monday, my, um, digestive system started to go down hill.  After dinner, it was completely shot.  I had a 101.5 degree fever, major cramping, dehydration, swollen stomach, and a migraine that went through the roof. 

Tuesday, I laid curled in my hotel bed until 5pm.  I had 2 pieces of toast and 8 soda crackers…. and somehow managed to go to the bathroom about 10 times (only slight exaggeration).  However, in the evening, we had to make the journey from Arequipa to Lima to Houston to Seattle.  It was 20 hours of travel with 4 flight legs.  Fortunately, I had a lot of medicine in my system and an amazing boyfriend.  Still, the trip was absolutely awful.

I went to the doctor yesterday, and the good news is its not a parasite – just a good old, Montezuma’s revenge bacterial infection.  (Interestingly, I had totally forgotten about that term – but both my dad and my doctor mentioned it.)

Tonight, I’m feeling significantly better.  It think the antibiotics finally kicked in.  Still, I haven’t really ventured outside yet.

The only bright side (?) to this whole experience is that I lost 6 pounds.  Personally, I don’t think it was worth it. 

Anyways, pictures coming soon.  Here is one to wet your appetite:

native woman with llama; Cuzco, Peru

In the highlands of Peru, I´ve been drinking a lot of coca tea to help with altitude sickness. I think it has actually helped (though I was told chewing the leaves was more effective).

I´m in Cuzco airport right now waiting for a flight to Arequipa. We just flew in from the jungle, so the altitude is bothering me again. I ordered some mate de coca (this time in a tea bag and not just the leaves). The package lists the ¨properties¨of coca tea:

• Restorative and energetic
• Excellent for diet.
• Digestive.
• Anti-diarrheac action
• Acts against fatigue and alitude sickness.
• Relieves tiredness of voice.
• Regulates the metabolism of carbohidrate.

Sounds like the perfect tea, no?

We just spent the last four nights in the Amazon jungle outside of Puerto Maldonado. It was great… but I have to say, the mosquitos were ridiculous.

Growing up in Southern California, going to school in Northern California, and now living in Seattle, I´ve never really had to deal with mosquitos. Here are some things that I´ve learned:

1. Mosquitos can bite through clothing. Smart little buggers! On one of the nighttime walks, I got about 15 bug bites on my back…. through my shirt. Ridiculous!
2. Deet ¨repels¨ mosquitos….. but in the loose sense of the word. I was Deet-ed, and for good measure OFF-ed as well, and the little guys just kept coming.
3. There´s a reason why REI sells full body bug nets. Though you might look like a tool, you´re protected.

All said, i have something like 70 mosquito bites. They were easy to count since each flared up bright red like a hive. Thank goodness for Benadryl and Hydrocortisone.

After Machu Picchu, we descended down in to the Amazon.  We decided on Puerto Maldonado, which has some of the more untouched rainforest. 

Unfortunately, one of the catches of going to the Amazon during the rainy season is that you’re less likely to see wildlife.  (Since there’s a lot of rain, the animals don’t have to move around to get water… and likely to be spotted.)  What I really wanted to see, which we didn’t, was some funky monkeys. 

a capybara – the largest rodent in the world.

a caiman.  (here’s another where you can really peer into his eye)

turtles on a log

leafcutter ants on the move

i totally forget what this guy is called….  anyone know?

big ant!

moths

Machu Picchu, in all its glory….

the feet that got me there….

Arg!!  The weather on the entire Inka Trail was *perfect*…. until the very last day. 

We awoke at 4am to make our way to the Sun Gate, *the* place to see the sunrise….  We really booked it and we were the third & forth people there.  And by there… I mean a big wall of white fog. 

The “vista” above Machu Picchu wasn’t that much better.  Our guides kept saying that it would clear… and then around 8:30am, it finally did….

the llamas, also upset by the fog….
 

yep, that’s machu picchu.  not exactly how i envisioned it….

but then it started to clear! !

and clear even further!!

The third day of the Inka trail might have been my favorite.  The hiking was challenging, but not ridiculous.  And we started early enough that we were able to see many of the small ruins all by ourselves….