7.27.2005
7.24.2005
another sporadic update from peru! i kno i´ve been bad with my blog... didn´t think it´d be quite so inconvenient getting internet access. but i´ve been keeping a faithful journal of all my journeys so i´ll eventually post up a synopsis WITH pictures. :)
so i´m on the last leg of my trip now... in the humid and hothothot city of iquitos, peru--amazon land. the warm weather makes me want to eat and siesta all the time; i´m starting to look like one of those tropical women in those huge mumus.
just got back from the jungle yesterday. tough shit. i got eaten alive by the mosquitos. i think i´m over 20 bites now...they´re so relentless. but it was definitely worth the extra trip. did yall know every inch of the amazon river is brown? full of silt and activity. and that´s what they pump for shower water. yall don´t want to be anywhere near me right now. it´s gorgeous tho. heavy, dark water teeming with brightly-colored birds and fish and pink dolphins. and the river is low at this time of year, so the mud beaches are open for the taking. our group stripped down to our undies and took the best mud bath ever. with little one inch frogs jumping around us and dolphins a few yards away.
an animal trainer was staying at our lodge and he rescued some baby animals from the food market--a couple turtles, a baby caiman (mini alligatorish thing), and a baby sloth. the sloth was so adorable. she looks like a monkey but moves like a slug and clings to you like those trolley dolls. dun be surprised if i come back with something moving under my jacket. totally illegal but so tempted...
and there was a kid there shooting something for animal planet--we called him bug boy cuz he is a bug genius. he picked up a HUGE cockroach in our bungalow without a moment´s hesitation. and he pointed out a bird-eating spider (they do exist!), living right outside one of our group´s bungalow. apparently, it´s the 3rd deadliest spider in the world.
the group was terrific--a couple crazy canadians, a handful of witty europians, and the cute american (that´s me btw. heh.). the canadians had jus gotten back from an ihuasca (sp?) ceremony, where you chug a hallucinogen in the dark with lots of chanting and do a group barf fest. sounded like an intense frat pledge test with drugs. one dood thought he was talking to god... O_o
so i´m on the last leg of my trip now... in the humid and hothothot city of iquitos, peru--amazon land. the warm weather makes me want to eat and siesta all the time; i´m starting to look like one of those tropical women in those huge mumus.
just got back from the jungle yesterday. tough shit. i got eaten alive by the mosquitos. i think i´m over 20 bites now...they´re so relentless. but it was definitely worth the extra trip. did yall know every inch of the amazon river is brown? full of silt and activity. and that´s what they pump for shower water. yall don´t want to be anywhere near me right now. it´s gorgeous tho. heavy, dark water teeming with brightly-colored birds and fish and pink dolphins. and the river is low at this time of year, so the mud beaches are open for the taking. our group stripped down to our undies and took the best mud bath ever. with little one inch frogs jumping around us and dolphins a few yards away.
an animal trainer was staying at our lodge and he rescued some baby animals from the food market--a couple turtles, a baby caiman (mini alligatorish thing), and a baby sloth. the sloth was so adorable. she looks like a monkey but moves like a slug and clings to you like those trolley dolls. dun be surprised if i come back with something moving under my jacket. totally illegal but so tempted...
and there was a kid there shooting something for animal planet--we called him bug boy cuz he is a bug genius. he picked up a HUGE cockroach in our bungalow without a moment´s hesitation. and he pointed out a bird-eating spider (they do exist!), living right outside one of our group´s bungalow. apparently, it´s the 3rd deadliest spider in the world.
the group was terrific--a couple crazy canadians, a handful of witty europians, and the cute american (that´s me btw. heh.). the canadians had jus gotten back from an ihuasca (sp?) ceremony, where you chug a hallucinogen in the dark with lots of chanting and do a group barf fest. sounded like an intense frat pledge test with drugs. one dood thought he was talking to god... O_o
7.08.2005
macchu picchu conquered!
we're back in lima after a 3 day trip to cuzco and macchu picchu. wut an eyefull. the tourist aspects were annoying -- horrible horrible attempts at american food, higher charges for us "unassuming" tourists, and "japonesa, chinois" left and right--but the country landscape was enchanting, the kindness of many locals heart-warming, and the overall experience memorable.
the incas' achievements blow my mind. paved trails and precisely cut stone steps climbing up thousands of feet to incredible heights. their sense of beauty and harmony with the mountains is reflected in the perfect appropriateness of macchu picchu's presence, seemingly carved by some deity's hand into the side of the mountain.
aguas calientes, the village at the feet of macchu picchu, was a hard lesson in tourism. our first taste of what we call "chish" -- fried fish sticks that have the consistency of chicken. we thought they brought out the wrong dish. very disconcerting. elena made friends with a dog named "orejas"--"ears" for the big floppy bloodhound ears on his head. he wouldn't leave her alone while we ate dinner (yes, in the restaurant) and she can't say no to things on four legs. the dogs here are like squirrels in LA, EVERYWHERE. from far away they look okay, but as you get closer, you realize they're all funny looking. their heads and bodies don't match at all. it's like someone went "chop" and played mix and match with them.
free-running kids are just as plentiful as the doggies. but they're much cuter. they love the trail mix bars. too bad we didn't bring kuLer stuff, like pencils and notebooks. it's so sad... they wander the streets and sell guds or beg for money in the most pitiful voices. there's so many, i'm not sure how to help. i wish i could hug them all and shower them with opportunities.
tomorro we're going to visit the clinics armed with our 200 toothbrushes and toothpastes. tonite, however, is play time cuz more of our group just arrived. pisco sours all around! "the" peru drink. a little bit of white wine, egg whites, and other stuff. reminiscent of a margarita. if we wake up in time, paragliding along the coast. for 25 bucks! everything's a bargain here.
the pictures will be up soon... promise. just need to figure out where to keep em.
ciao for now.
the incas' achievements blow my mind. paved trails and precisely cut stone steps climbing up thousands of feet to incredible heights. their sense of beauty and harmony with the mountains is reflected in the perfect appropriateness of macchu picchu's presence, seemingly carved by some deity's hand into the side of the mountain.
aguas calientes, the village at the feet of macchu picchu, was a hard lesson in tourism. our first taste of what we call "chish" -- fried fish sticks that have the consistency of chicken. we thought they brought out the wrong dish. very disconcerting. elena made friends with a dog named "orejas"--"ears" for the big floppy bloodhound ears on his head. he wouldn't leave her alone while we ate dinner (yes, in the restaurant) and she can't say no to things on four legs. the dogs here are like squirrels in LA, EVERYWHERE. from far away they look okay, but as you get closer, you realize they're all funny looking. their heads and bodies don't match at all. it's like someone went "chop" and played mix and match with them.
free-running kids are just as plentiful as the doggies. but they're much cuter. they love the trail mix bars. too bad we didn't bring kuLer stuff, like pencils and notebooks. it's so sad... they wander the streets and sell guds or beg for money in the most pitiful voices. there's so many, i'm not sure how to help. i wish i could hug them all and shower them with opportunities.
tomorro we're going to visit the clinics armed with our 200 toothbrushes and toothpastes. tonite, however, is play time cuz more of our group just arrived. pisco sours all around! "the" peru drink. a little bit of white wine, egg whites, and other stuff. reminiscent of a margarita. if we wake up in time, paragliding along the coast. for 25 bucks! everything's a bargain here.
the pictures will be up soon... promise. just need to figure out where to keep em.
ciao for now.
7.03.2005
hola para cusco!
over 72 hours and many number 2´s later, i think we´re getting the hang of this. the food deprivation began in san jose (san jO!), costa rica. no water, no uncooked foods, nothing cold. i ate the shittiest egg mcmuffin, smaller than my palm, for 4 bucks. we walked the airport back and forth at least 6 times (in search of a very kuL souvenir-- pix later). but to the eyes, costa rica is a visual heaven. as we flew over the coast and towards the city´s airport, the endless cluster of green hills evoked the thought, "this is paradise..." not a spot of brown on the landscape below us. little houses speckled the tops of each gentle peak and stretched out to orchards, and then to the upward slope of yet another slope, radiating in all directions.
unfortunately, we never left the airport. the customs process and reentry would´ve taken more than the 3 hours we had, but i definitely plan to explore on my flight back.
the south american landscape screamed, "i am grand, impressive, expansive, magnificent." the mountains are on a wholly different scale, brown and austere in their stalwart stance. i thought i saw trails paved along the ridges, smooth light brown curves...mind-boggling.
a short 2 hour nap later, we were over lima, the desert capitol of peru. the buildings look like matchboxes, highly flammable and inescapably boxy. from the ground, they are strangely reminiscent of the barrios of seoul... shrn greeted us at the airport with our taxi drivers, luis and miguel. classic.
the next 2 days, we ate, partied, shopped, and wandered the streets. UNbelievable coffee and chocolate. ridiculously cheap clothes. oy, gotta go. more details later.
unfortunately, we never left the airport. the customs process and reentry would´ve taken more than the 3 hours we had, but i definitely plan to explore on my flight back.
the south american landscape screamed, "i am grand, impressive, expansive, magnificent." the mountains are on a wholly different scale, brown and austere in their stalwart stance. i thought i saw trails paved along the ridges, smooth light brown curves...mind-boggling.
a short 2 hour nap later, we were over lima, the desert capitol of peru. the buildings look like matchboxes, highly flammable and inescapably boxy. from the ground, they are strangely reminiscent of the barrios of seoul... shrn greeted us at the airport with our taxi drivers, luis and miguel. classic.
the next 2 days, we ate, partied, shopped, and wandered the streets. UNbelievable coffee and chocolate. ridiculously cheap clothes. oy, gotta go. more details later.
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